#Bruce says as he lies there naked with his girlfriend

[obito76]

What if Raven stayed with someone older? Like Batman?

Unfaithful

---

She loved it. She loved the feel of his cock. Her naked body pressed up against his, moving under him. It was the greatest feeling she'd ever experienced. Sometimes she'd lay against him right after their rough sex sessions, panting and coated with the sweat he'd made her break out in. And sometimes she'd wake up in the morning and find herself standing in the light of his window, overlooking his acres of private land.

And that was how she'd found herself this morning. She stood there in only a silk robe, the morning light illuminating her pale skin and making her look as angelic as he always told her while moving inside her. She always seemed to be in deep thought in the morning. She was in deep thought all the time, but her deepest thoughts came to her in the early morning. Raven sighed. Another weekend, another lie to her boyfriend, just to come here.

I'm sorry Dick.

He slowly and quietly slipped out from under the covers wearing nothing but his skin. He made his way over to her and gently placed both of his hands on her shoulders. She barely moved at all as he slipped her robe down and off of her, tossing it away. She was used to it by now. Once she was as bare as he, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her close; her naked back pressed to his naked chest.

Raven wasn't exactly sure why she liked what they were doing. Even though it was just an affair. Just like every other weekend she lied to Dick and came here to see him.

She turned into his embrace and was almost unaware of the strong arms wrapped around her and the warm chest pressed against her face. The coldness of his watch against her neck gave her a point to fixate on, and she slowly came back to Earth. She realized that he was rock hard again, she smiled. This is exactly what she carved at every weekend, taking risk of lying to Dick just for this.

She was here for Bruce Wayne.

Raven didn’t move. Her body was begging for his attention but she simply stood in his embrace. “Are you trying to kill me standing like that…” Bruce trailed off as he looked over her body. “Naked and beautiful.”

His once over made Raven realize how close they were. She was practically sitting in his lap now, her hands loosely grasping onto his biceps. He didn’t shave today, she realized, the faint stubble standing out against his skin. The urge to reach up and touch it was suddenly too much.

“You’re always like this when you want to fuck me,” Raven whispered, hand slowly reaching up to brush against his lips. “Why?”

Surprisingly, Bruce’s hand moved to caress the side of her face. “Because you’re good, Raven.”

Good. What does that word even mean? Raven thought Dick and her was a good couple, but that turned out to be untrue. She thought she was a good girlfriend, but that idea is out the window as well. There is no good. Good is lying. For once, she wanted to to be bad. And with her boyfriend’s dad looking at her lips, she realized exactly how bad she was.

“What if I don’t wanna be good anymore?” Raven breathed out, leaning closer to his plush lips.

Bruce, transfixed. “You don’t?” The hand around her waist grew tighter.

“No,” Raven dragged her hands up his shoulders and into his hair. “I want to be bad.”

“Bad girls get punished,” Bruce gently grabbed her jaw. “Is that what you want to be?”

“Yes,” Raven answered.

It was a collision of teeth and lips as they both closed the minimal distance between them. His mouth was so wet and his tongue soothed every nip of his teeth, it was like he’d done this before. Oh yeah, Raven thought. He had, Alot.

“Fuck Raven,” he groaned into her mouth. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”

“I can say the same,” Raven moaned.

Bruce growled, the hand on her waist sliding up to paw at her breast. “Naughty girl,” he said as he kissed her jaw, her neck. “Do you think of me, late at night while sleeping with Dick?”

“Yes…” Raven breathed out.

“With your hands in between your legs?”

“Yes.” She ground her center against his thigh, desperate for relief. “Wishing my fingers were yours instead.”

“God,” Bruce bit her neck, creating a purplish bruise that will last at least a week. “You’re such a fucking slut.”

“Only for you, Babe.”

The word slipped out without thinking. Raven had never said it before, but in that moment it just felt right.

And evidently Bruce thought the same way. He pushed her back onto the bed and began to worship her body. Even though he just called her a slut, she could tell by the way he stroked her thighs and kissed the sole of her foot that he had compassion for her. Dick never looked at her like that.

“I’ll take care of you, honey,” he murmured into the inside of her knee. “I promise.”

Raven watched as he gently opened her legs and crouched between them. “You’re beautiful.”

She blushed, but he doesn’t see that, instead diving headfirst into her young cunt.

“Ah!” Raven cried out. He wasn’t light, like Dick. No, it was like he was suffocating himself, forcing every inch of his lower face in between her lips. She felt his tongue deep inside her before licking a long stripe up to her clit. “Fuck…”

“You taste so fucking good, Raven,” he murmured into her skin. “I could eat you out all day.” He sucked at that little bundle of nerves and she nearly passed out from the sensation. It was a million times stronger than anything she’s ever experienced before. For a moment, she almost forgot she has a boyfriend.

“Think you could take one of my fingers, sweetheart?” He brought a hand to circle around her opening. “Those fingers you’ve fantasized so much about.”

“Yes, I can take them.” Raven rose to her elbows. “I’ll take whatever you give me.”

“But I thought you were a bad girl,” he teased, sliding his fingertip in before pulling out and circling again.

“I’ll be good for you, Bruce.” Raven didn’t know how this turned soft so fast. She thought she wanted to be punished, but now, with his warm amber eyes focused on his finger as he slowly lying inserts himself inside, all she wants is for him to shower her with affection and lust. “I promise.”

“You’re so tight.” He added another finger, causing Raven to moan and open her legs wider. “I still don’t know how I’m able fit in every time.”

“Well figure it out then,” Raven smirked, coherent thought becoming impossible once he curled his digits to rub against her front wall.

Bruce brought his mouth back to her clit and thrusted his fingers in time with his licking, occasionally humming to send vibrations straight to her core and bring her closer and closer to climax. Raven arched her hips, desperate for more contact.

“I’m gonna…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, words were few and far between in her brain.

“Cum for me, Raven,” he whispered into her cunt. “I want to feel you cum.”

One more stroke in the right place and the coil became undone. She closed her eyes involuntarily and tightened her legs around his head as pleasure washed over in waves, it was almost too much.

“Bruce!” Raven tugged his hair, but he refused to pull away. Not until Raven was shuddering from another orgasm and finally went limp does he look up.

“Wow…” He admired, wiping his soaked mouth with the back of his hand. Raven looked at him through half-hooded eyes and smiled. “You’re amazing, Raven.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. Bruce leaned down and kissed her softly, allowing Raven to taste herself. It was hot and in total contradiction to the lazy way that their lips moved against each other.

“Now I want to taste you,” Raven broke away to say.

“You don’t have to.” Bruce bushed hair out of her face.

Raven untangled herself and slid onto the carpeted floor. Bruce sat normally and watched as she settled in between his legs.

“I know.” Raven rubbed his thighs up and down. “But I want to feel you hitting the back of my throat.”

“Shit, girl,” Bruce chuckled. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Raven was in the middle of coming up with a retort when he came forward and settled his cock on her face. Her mouth watered.

It was so thick. That was the first thing she noticed. It throbbed at her touch, veins bulging from the base to the tip leaking precum. Then she noticed the length. She didn’t have a ruler, but she knew that he was above average, especially from the way it curved towards his torso.

“Wow…” Raven breathed out, even though she had sucked him countless times. She still gets excited like she was when she felt him at very first time.

“Don’t be shy,” he gently pulled her head towards his crotch. “Show me what you can do.”

Raven stuck her tongue out and started with a long lick up the shaft. She pressed the softest kisses to his tip before coming down. she closed her eyes and buried her nose in balls, inhaling his scent deeply. Keeping her nose tightly pressed against his balls, she wrapped her hand around him and began jerking him off.

Bruce groaned and threaded his hands in her hair. Once he was slick enough, Raven opened her mouth and took him inside.

He tasted like man and heat and Raven savored it. She started moving up and down enthusiastically, trying to take as much as possible as quickly as she could. She gagged when he reached the back of her throat, but she kept going, ignoring the tears that ran down her face.

She glanced up and saw Bruce with his eyes closed and head back against the wall. His blissed out expression encouraged her to keep going, even as her jaw started to ache.

Once he fit entirely in her mouth, Raven moved her hand down to fondle his balls, causing him pull her off.

“Shit, Raven, you have to stop,” he chuckled. “I’m not gonna last.”

Raven wiped her tears and smiled. Before she knew what was happening, Bruce had her spread out on the floor, his body totally covering her.

“You look so sexy underneath me,” he muttered into her neck as he nuzzled against her. “So hot and needy.”

Raven preened. She rubbed his chest before sneaking her hand down to grab his throbbing cock, words unnecessary.

“Taking such good care of your boyfriend’s dad,” Bruce rambled, pulling her up a little to kiss and bite at her breasts as Raven left his cock and wrapped her legs around his naked hips.

“Stop taking about him and focus on me,” Raven moan and smiled, the guilt and pleasure coming back to her with a force.

“Fuck…” Bruce moved back up to be even with her face, his hard cock rubbing against her thigh. “Are you free next week?”

“That depends,” Raven put both hands on his face. “Are you gonna fuck me now?”

He growled, reaching down to rub the head of his dick in between her folds before sliding in all at once. Raven gasped at the welcome intrusion, hands falling to grab his shoulders. She’d never felt so full before beside with him, like she was being split in half. But then he pulled out and she’d never felt so hollow.

“Bruce…” Raven breathed out.

“God, you’re so fucking tight.” Bruce looked in her eyes. “And warm, fuck.”

Raven pulled her legs back farther, the shift in angle causing him to hit that spot she thought only her toys could reach. “Harder.”

His eyes blackened at her words.

“Harder?” His hips snapped with a strength she hadn’t seen before, leaving Raven breathless. He laughed darkly. “Did your boyfriend make you feel like this?”

Raven shook her head. Bruce wrapped a hand around her throat, lost in their pleasure. “So fucking blissed out you can’t even speak?”

She placed her hand over his, keeping him there. “No.”

“Only daddy can give you what you want, is that right?” Raven nodded. “I want to hear words.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Raven babbled in rhythm with his thrusts.

Bruce sat up and pushed her legs further back by the knees as he rutted into her. His normally styled hair fell over his face, moving back and forth with him, making him look feral. Raven had never seen pecs do pronounced before, leading down to a pudge that had no business making her chest explode with the feeling full of lust. She felt so exposed now without his body over hers, but he was the only that gets to see her like this, and for some reason she’d never been more turned on. She quickly brought her hand down and rubbed her sensitive clit. It only took a few strokes before she was over the edge again. Her legs twitched and her back arched, pushing her pelvis into his, body desperate to have him inside her.

“Shit,” Bruce quickly pulled out and finished all over her stomach, some of it even reaching her collarbones, pooling in the sinews. “I almost didn’t make it.”

Raven lightly touched his spend with her finger, spreading it around her torso. “I almost wish you didn’t.”

Bruce scoffed, collapsing next to her. “Next time.”

She turned to him. “Next time?”

He took the hand that was tracing his cum and pulled her close. “If you want,” he said, his demeanor a complete one-eighty from the man that was fucking her a few minutes before.

“What about Dick?” Despite her new-found lust, Raven didn’t want Dick to find what they were done. She may not a faithful girlfriend but she wasn't monster either.

“I can figure something out something.” He kissed her fingers. “What do you say?”

Raven nodded, unsure what else to say. This seemed to mean a lot more to him than it did to her, but she wouldn’t mind fucking him again. Or cuddling afterwards. Or enjoying a home cooked meal by him. Then fucking him again.

The more she thought about it, the more appealing he was and the more horny she got.

She waited until his spend had dried before pulling her shirt down and finding her bottoms. Bruce brought his pants back up and threw his shirt on, but left it unbuttoned as he walked Raven to the door. He held out the bag she brought with her.

“Keep it,” She told him, “Gives me a reason to come next week.”

Bruce’s smirked. “Are you sure?”

Raven stood up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his, leaving him dazed.

“A little lie wouldn’t hurt.” She couldn’t help but glance down at his bare skin peeking out between his shirt.

“Whatever you say.”

Raven waved to him as she drove away. With feeling of his cock burning a hole in her body, she gazed out the windshield with a satisfied smirk on her face. Dick will call her soon enough, but she’ll ignore him. He will text, asking if she wants him to pick her up and Raven will say 'No'.

Everything was right at the moment.

And Bruce Wayne was her new favorite part of it.

---

Prompts are open !!!

Thanks for the ask buddy 🔥

Keep sending me smut requests.

Until then..

[redhoodieone]

Too Late to Apologize

Hi everyone!!!! This is my first fic since my absence and I hope you all enjoy it! If this fic is well received, I’ll write a part 2 with the “dirty deeds”.

Warnings: Language, Cheating, Heartbreak, Fluff, and Talks of oral sex.

I’d have to be the biggest fool to not see it. Here we are in our big king size bed and we couldn’t we be further apart. I’m lying on my right side and stare at the way his back muscles relax rise and fall with every deep breath. The way he grips his pillow where his head lies facing the other way, I can’t help but wonder if he’s dreaming of her.

Because Dick Grayson sure as hell doesn’t dream about me anymore.

It’s midnight. Dick had taken the night off so we could have a night together. After fast and satisfying sex for only him, he had dozed off before 10:00 leaving me horny and puzzled about what just happened.

Sure, I’ve done everything he likes which only involves a blowjob (with always harsh constructive criticism from him) and having to cum once in my mouth and the other in a condom.

I think about touching myself under the sheets but change my mind considering the urge for a release had suddenly passed.

After a minute of hesitation, I finally crawl over his naked body to get his cell phone that has been lighting up with several text message notifications.

Settling back on my side, I turn away from Dick and unlock his cell phone to access it.

10 unread text messages from Barbara and Kori.

My throat tightens from fear and nerves.

Hey, can you meet up tonight??? I miss you :)

from Barbara

I need you Richard...I need you so much right now.

from Kori

When are you going to tell Y/N you guys are over?? It’s been like three years, babe. Seriously.

from Barbara

I don’t know why you can’t just leave her. She’ll never love you as much as I do. You and I have history, Richard. Y/N would never keep you happy.

from Kori

And come on, you know that I’m always down to do anything you want. She’s such a prude!

from Barbara

If you come over tonight, I’ll let you put your penis anywhere in me...is that dirty enough for you?

from Kori

I exit out of his text messages because I can’t read anymore. The tears behind my eyes sting like fuck and threaten to fall, but I don’t want to waste any of them on someone like Dick.

The truth settles in bitterly for me. Of course I knew Dick’s entire past of girlfriends and one night stands. He never hid the fact that he’s a charming and irresistible womanizer like his adoptive father Bruce Wayne. Even though I wasn’t a superhero like him, his family, and friends, I knew almost every girl he’s been with.

Barbara Gordon. Batgirl.

Koriand’r. Starfire.

Donna Troy. Wonder Girl.

Zatanna.

Even Raven and Helena Bertinelli aka Huntress.

And what strikes a nerve within me is when I remember Zatanna admitted that every time Dick has a serious girlfriend, he’ll end up seeing another girl behind their back.

Just because he can.

But here I am now. In bed with a sleeping Dick Grayson. Who is secretly seeing two girls behind my back.

The thought disgusts me.

Thank God Dick and I had the brains to remember to always use condoms. I’m even on the pill; and always have been since I was a teenager.

As much as I want to cry, wake him up and beat his ass for breaking my heart, and kick him out of my life forever, I know it’s not possible.

Because Dick wouldn’t mind that would he? He probably wouldn’t care to lose me. He...he would find the next girl he’d move in with and start a life with them, only to have the other girl or two on the side to keep him interested and fulfilled.

Why am I not enough for him? What is wrong with just being with me? Does he feel like I’m wasting three years of his life just from being with me?

I slowly climb out of our bed and slip my black skinny jeans on, throw on a faded Van Halen t-shirt, and grab my black Converse before sneaking out of our bedroom. I quickly throw my hair up into a messy bun, pick up my small black backup and leave.

Only a note is what I leave behind, along with my heart, that says,

If I can’t have all of you, then you don’t deserve any part of me. I’m sorry.

Because Dick won’t miss me. He’s dreaming of two girls or maybe more. I’ll never be in any of his dreams now.

***

I find myself walking down the sidewalk during the constant icy pouring rain of Gotham. I hadn’t brought my jacket so I’m forced to cross my arms in create some kind of warmth. My teeth chatter and I suddenly wish I didn’t leave Dick’s apartment until morning.

I see my favorite coffeehouse that’s opened 24 hours a block from where I am. I quickly make my way to the crosswalk until strong big hands grab my shoulders from behind.

“BOO!!!!”

I scream in complete horror and whip around only to discover it’s Jason Todd. Laughing his ass off at my scream.

“Jason! What the fuck?!” I yell, slapping his arm repeatedly.

The tallest brother in Dick’s family throws his head back and laughs harder; the kind of laugh straight from the gut that’s real. Having to look up at him because of my short height, I can see the way his body rumbles while chuckling.

Jason finally settles down and his irresistible green eyes shine at mine. He smiles, revealing his white teeth and perfect grin. I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe when my eyes instantly take in his appearance.

It’s no surprise that Jason fucking Todd is hot. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that. He’s extremely built; at just 6’0, he has strong big muscles that would shame any men. His strong jawline can cut anyone. And then there’s his thighs...

Oh no.

What am I doing??!

I can’t fantasize about Dick’s brother! That would make me a whore, right?!

But I can’t help myself at all. My eyes continue to take in the way Jason’s dressed tonight. He’s wearing black pants that define his bulge and thighs. And underneath his tan leather jacket is a tightly muscle fit black t-shirt.

And with the way the rain’s drenching me like a wet rat, the rain sprinkles beautifully over Jason’s face. His dark hair was clearly spiked and styled tonight, but the rain hasn’t flatten it in the least bit.

I’m suddenly thirsty. I might be dehydrated.

“Y/N,” Jason speaks, his smooth, deep, whiskey rough voice snaps me back to reality. I blink a few times.

“Oh! Uh...sorry. I zoned out,” I admit softly. I can feel my cheeks darken in embarrassment.

Jason chuckles lightly. He tilts his head to the coffeehouse. “Let me walk with you. I was heading over there for a cup of coffee anyways.”

“Just for a cup of coffee? It’s past midnight,” I point out, with a raised eyebrow.

“I...I wasn’t exactly having a good night so I just needed to get out,” Jason says, shrugging his shoulders. He smirks at me and quickly takes off his jacket to give it to me. When I don’t reach for it, he puts it on me. His hands stay on my arms and he smiles proudly. “There. You looked freezing and I don’t want you to get sick.”

I stare at him in shock. He takes the opportunity to guide me to the crosswalk. When the coast is clear, he walks beside me. Once we reach the other side, we head straight over to the coffeehouse.

Jason wraps a protective arm around my waist as he opens the door and lets me go inside first. The place is empty, except for a rough middle aged trucker sitting on a stool at the counter. Jason leads me to my favorite spot to sit: the corner booth where the large windows gives me the perfect view to look up at Wayne Enterprises.

He sits across from me. Once we get comfortable, the young fresh-out-of high school waitress comes over to take our order. And she doesn’t even hide the fact that she’s checking out Jason.

“Hi, are you ready to order, handsome?” the bubbly waitress giggles, as she looks at Jason as if he’s God’s greatest creation on earth. And I can’t help but silently agree with her.

Jason smirks and looks away from the waitress and stares at me. “What are you gonna order, sweetheart?”

I swallow hard. His attention on me is new...or has he always looked at me like I’m important and that I matter?

“I’ll uh...I’d like a hot skinny vanilla latte, please, and a blueberry muffin,” I request politely.

“I’ll have the same, except make my coffee regular,” Jason says and focuses his attention back on me.

The waitress huffs in annoyance and heads to the kitchen. Once she’s out of earshot, Jason reaches across to touch my shaking hands on the table.

“You’re still freezing. Come sit next to me.”

“Um, are you sure? I don’t want to get you cold and sick.”

“I rarely get sick. And I love the cold. Come on, Y/N. Dick would kill me if you get pneumonia,” Jason says seriously. He motions me over. “And die.”

I tense up at the mention of Dick. I force myself out of my seat and move over to Jason’s side. He immediately stands up and motions me to scoot in first, as he’ll sit on the end. As I sit down, Jason quickly sits beside me and wraps an arm around me. He rubs my arm soothingly before he rubs my other arm.

His touch is special. I practically feel static shooting throughout my body every time his fingers rub my bare arms to heat me up. I glance up to look at him and immediately notice he’s staring right down at me. His emerald eyes look concerned.

“Something happened with Dick, huh?” Jason asks, his question clearly takes me by surprise.

I hesitate to answer. But his fucking beautiful eyes beg me to respond.

“He’s...cheating on me,” I choke out. I can feel my throat tighten. The fucking tears threaten to fall again. I mentally scream at myself not to. “He’s...he’s seeing Barbara and Kori behind my back. I-I saw their text messages on his phone.”

Jason immediately looks shocked...and pissed off???

“Listen, I know what you’re going to say. I know I shouldn’t have looked through his cell phone, but-but I felt like he was hiding something from me. And it turns out he was,” I say sadly.

“Y/N...” Jason sounds broken at my confession.

“I know I deserve it. I...I wasn’t exactly keeping Dick happy, let alone keeping him satisfied in bed. I really had this coming, didn’t I?” I ask, completely unraveling before Jason. “And do you wanna hear the fucked up part about our sex life? He constantly always criticized me for the way I sucked his cock. Like...I could never do it the way he wanted me to. It’s like, he wanted me to suck his cock like how all his past girlfriends and sluts did it.”

Jason stared down at me in disbelief. He clenches his jaw in anger. I’ve never seen him act this way; mostly around me when it’s just the two of us hanging out. Which is quite rare, actually.

The flirty waitress returns with our coffees and blueberry muffins. She sets them down and walks away quickly with a pout. Jason still pays no attention to her.

“He was always like, ‘Y/N, swallow more of my cock,’ ‘I told you to relax your fucking throat, Y/N,’ and especially, ‘why the hell can’t you deep throat me?! What the hell’s wrong with you?! Stop gagging! Stop crying! Can’t you follow my fucking instructions?!’ Its like, I tried my hardest with him. I really did. But...sometimes I think it was just something that’s too difficult for me to do when he never even tried my requests in bed,” I reveal, my cheeks must be red like roses. I’m almost too shy to tell him, but a part of me wants to do it.

“What are your requests in bed?” Jason breathes out.

There’s no going back now. I’m too far gone with him. “He never...went down on me,” I admit quietly.

“HE NEVER ATE YOU OUT?!?!”

“Jason! Quiet down!” I hiss out.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just...very shocked to hear this,” Jason says dramatically, and even clenches his chest where his heart is. He then straightens up and really looks offended. “That is the most fucked up thing I’ve ever heard that’s come out of your mouth, sweetheart.”

I reach out for my coffee and sip. The heat warms my mouth and body. “Why do you think that? Dick said pussies are always ‘too wet’ and sometimes the smell bothers him, even though I never complained that his cock lacks girth,” I say.

Jason gasps dramatically again, and wraps his arm tightly around me. He looks me straight in the eye and I’m suddenly drawn to whatever he’ll say to me...

Or do to me.

“Jesus Christ, doll! Listen to me. I can honestly tell you that nothing is more sexy than a girl’s pussy. God,” Jason pauses to close his eyes. He appears to be imagining a woman’s vagina because he hums in pleasure. When he opens his eyes, he immediately looks...horny. “You know, I can actually get off by just eating a girl out. Nothing is sexier and tastier than a wet, tight, and delicious looking pussy. Just the natural smell and taste is truly divine. If I had the perfect girl and her pussy in front of my face, I wouldn’t fucking hesitate to eat it. I’d eat it every day if I could!”

Jason’s words shock me to my core. My panties dampen with fresh slick. I desperately wish he could show me exactly what he would do now.

“And don’t listen to dick face, Y/N. I bet you suck cock real good. You just haven’t had the perfect, big cock you deserve,” Jason says, before he kicks his lips. His eyes darken with animalistic lust. “What do you say we...show each other what we could do with our mouths, sweetheart?”

I would be a fucking idiot if I say no. And without a second thought, I answer truthfully. “Yes, please.”

[janiedean]

crack prompt inspired by all the tvd talk on your blog: damon, jaime, tony stark all walk into a bar alone and end up drunk oversharing ~~

(if you wanna include ships in it anything with delena/dalaric/bamon; brienne; pepper/bruce/strange/rhodey is okay lmfao so pretty much anything goes, i just want them being each other's therapist because the timeline collapsed for some time and their universes interacted somehow lmfao)

*spins the wheel* AAAND hello anon we can absolutely try that u__u

ten years on tumblr anniversary prompt post | buy me a coffee | commissions open

Well, now I really did bite off more than I could chew, Tony thinks as he shakes his head and hopes that he and Bruce didn't fuck up the entire fabric of reality.

Well.

He's not in New York and he wasn't in the span of five seconds since they got the machine turned on, but - but well. Bruce isn't here, so hopefully he'll figure out where the fuck he ended up. Maybe we should have been sober when trying to work out that whole different timelines and multiverses thing.

Now, damage control. He should probably try to not go anywhere, but in case he actually just... teleported somewhere, maybe he should just ask where he is. He glances at his back. He's in front of a bar named Mystic Grill, which... okay, shitty name, but he could be anywhere in fuck-all-middle-of-nowhere Idaho for all he knows. He takes out his cellphone, and there is zero reception.

Bad news.

He sees a blonde kid with a police badge coming up the road, so he clears his throat and stops him.

"Uh, officer?"

"Hello," the kid says, "I don't remember seeing you around here."

Yeah, because I'm not from this world, most likely. "Eh," Tony lies, "I was driving my car but it broke down outside town and the way I got in, there wasn't a sign. Would you mind telling me where exactly I ended up?"

"Mystic Falls," the guy says, "I didn't know the damned State of Virginia now took us off the maps, too." That was sarcastic, Tony can hear it, but.

He's sure that there is no such place where he comes from.

"Right," Tony says, "I'll, uh, be out to find a mechanic then."

The kid gives him instructions to reach one, Tony thanks him and lets him go. Well, he can't certainly go anywhere now, but at least it seems like they fucked up just his -

"What the fuck," he hears from his left side -

Just in time to see a blonde guy wearing a white armor and a white cloak fall through a portal just the same as his own, that disappears a moment later. The blonde guy has green eyes, Tony notices, is lacking a right hand because he has a rather heavy golden prothesis on it that looks tacky also for his own tastes and looks completely out of his depth as he moves to his feet.

"Uh," Tony says, "I imagine you aren't from... here."

"Certainly not," the guy says, sounding... near hysterical, as he takes the surroundings. "What - what are those things anyway?" Cars. Oh fuck, he's looking at cars. "How are you dressed? What - what are these houses?"

"Er," Tony says, "humor me a moment. What's your name and where do you come from?"

The guy rolls his eyes. "Jaime Lannister, and I come from Westeros, thank you very much, now where the hell am I?"

... Great, Tony thinks, now it's not even someplace where the USA exist. "Er," Tony says, "in another world. Listen, it's my fault, I, uh, sort of caused it, and my colleague will most likely fix it, but it's really better we don't go anywhere so he can locate us more easily. Tell you what, can I buy you a drink while we wait?"

"Another world?" The guy blurts, and then - then he stares at Tony, then at his surroundings, then rolls his eyes again.

"You know what," he says, "I've had a shit long day. What can this be on top of fucking undead Catelyn Stark? Buy me the fucking drink."

I'm not doing drunk science anymore, Tony vows to himself as they walk inside the place, and he really hopes he can spin some story as to why the guy with him is wearing bonafide armor -

"And who the fuck are the two of you now?"

So: Tony had not taken into account that there would be just one person in the bar and that this person would be of course not human because no one human could pin the two of them to the wall in a split second and hold them there with such strength, and that's how he finds out that pretty guy with blue eyes, dark hair, pale skin and homicidal face is a damned vampire.

Except that the moment Tony explains it - Jaime or whoever he is is just keeping his mouth shut, wisely - the guy stares at them, and then more, and then -

"With everything I've seen in the last years," he says, "honestly, that's not even the most fucking stupid. So, you just want to lounge around until your friend shows up to fix whatever the fuck you did?"

"Er, yes?"

"Whatever. I'm Damon. I can cover your drinks and compel the bartender to forget your face. I sorely fucking need some myself."

He lets them go, but then - "Get that armor off," he tells Jaime, "this isn't New York City."

"I can't just leave my armor around!"

"Just leave it in the bathroom and take it back later," Damon shrugs, and then nods towards what's most likely the bathroom.

Jaime shrugs and goes, muttering something about maybe having drank too much milk of the poppy, and Tony doesn't want to know whatever the hell that is.

--

"Listen," Jaime says later, wearing an attire that's still obviously Middle-Ages-like but at least doesn't stand out too much, sipping at the bourbon Damon shoved at them, "I'm choosing to think I'm making this all up, but if I'm not, how long will it be before I can go back where I come from? Because you dragged me away from a rather fucking delicate situation."

"No idea," Tony shrugs, "but he's good at his job. And he was less drunk than me. We might get you back at the point you left."

"And what would that delicate situation be?" Damon asks. "Entertain me."

"And why should I tell you?"

"First, I bought you that alcohol and you're definitely enjoying it. Second, this is my town and I could tear your throat open if I wanted to." Fuck. He just showed fangs at the both of them. What the fuck. "Also, my murderous former girlfriend who is the cause of all my problems just finally fucked off this planet for good after possessing my current girlfriend who looks like her but really is the whole contrary and my best friend just came back to life after being dead for a whole lot of time and it's a complicated situation and I need a distraction or ten."

"That... sounds like something," Tony mutters, sipping at his alcohol. It's good, at least.

"Believe me, it is. So, what's the poison from Middle Ages here?"

"Ah, fuck that," Jaime says, takes a drink, and starts talking.

--

Half an hour later, Tony thinks that he and Damon are equally staring at the guy with the same disbelieving face.

"... Was that the undead woman that got you like this?" Jaime asks, blinking. "Considering that he seems like he's some kind of living dead, that's a tad hypocritical."

"No," Damon says, "that's the least of my problems. How haven't you frenched this Brienne person already?"

"I frenched?"

"Dude, he's from the Middle Ages," Tony takes pity on him. "He means put your tongue in her mouth."

"I - what - she's not - I'm not -"

"Listen," Damon cuts him, "I've been there. I mean, thinking I couldn't live without an arse who didn't give a fuck about me, which you admitted. But you do realize you spent at least five minutes of your charming tale describing us exactly how this Brienne of yours is ripped and has pretty eyes and was about to die for you?"

"Yeah, uh," Tony says, "let it come from someone who had the right people in front of him for ages and didn't let himself go for it, you really don't wanna drag it any longer."

"That's - she's a knight, that's not -"

"Oh, sure, all knights are shit where you come from, you said that, but suddenly someone would rather hang than kill you and you're here jittering because you got sucked here while she's dealing with a zombie that wanted you dead but I have to think you don't wanna french her?" Damon rolls his eyes again, pours himself another drink and honestly, Tony has cut down on the alcohol lately but he's gonna just make a damned exception. "Please."

"He's right," Tony says, "and also, let it come from someone whose dad was loaded on money and fairly shitty and still way better than yours, whatever he said about you is wrong."

"How do you know -" Jaime starts, half-blanching.

"Told you," Tony shrugs, "loaded on money, shitty father, at least I missed out on the shit sister. Honestly, man, just fucking drop her like hot coal and follow your gut. And let it come from someone who's fucked around a lot to get distracted, if you wanted to bone her in that bath then you're into her."

"I -" Jaime goes red in the face, finishes the drink, "it's not like it ever happened with anyone else before, it was a mistake, most likely -"

Damon gives him a look that looks halfway worried.

Tony thinks he just matched it, except even more worried.

"My vampire friend," he says, "are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"I'm afraid so," Damon says, and then looks back at Jaime. "Newsflash," he goes on, "if you get hard looking at a naked woman most likely you find her attractive. Also, you can find more than one person attractive in your life. And let it come from someone who's been there in the sense that I thought I could only love fucking Katherine, you really don't want to keep on doing it."

"I didn't say I wasn't done with Cersei," Jaime replies, somewhat weakly.

"Good," the two of them reply at the same time, and Tony has to snort.

"Look at that," he says, "for once I'm the one with the healthiest relationship history sitting at a table. Who'd have thought?"

"Fuck this," Damon says, "I'm getting more bourbon."

"Please," Jaime says, and - well. Seems like when Bruce comes to collect him, Tony won't be sober.

--

"Wait," Jaime says, "wait, wait, wait, she possessed your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, well, as if," Damon shrugs, "honestly, sometimes I think I should have just run away to New York after deserting."

"You deserted what?" Tony asks.

"The fucking confederacy," Damon shrugs. "Well, what are you staring about? I'm a vampire, I've been around ages, I'm from fucking middleofnowhere Virginia, you think I got drafted with the unionists? But I disagreed and I hated it and I never wanted to go, so I fucking deserted. I hope you aren't here judging me, or -"

"Please, I used to build weapons for the army and stopped when I realized it wasn't what I wanted to be, and honestly, that just means you have a conscience, so -"

"Wait, you did what," Jaime says.

"Deserted. An army. Back in the day. Risked my neck for it, and I came back and met Katherine and honestly I should have just gone North, but -"

"Hm," Jaime says, drinking, and then - "you don't regret it?"

"No," Damon says at once, "best decision I ever took. Why, you want to do that, too?"

"Sure he wants to," Tony says when Jaime doesn't immediately reply. "Let me guess, not just your army. You want to desert the whole shebang, don't you?"

"I don't know what a fucking shebang is, but yes. So what?"

"Well, if you want my been there done that advice, do that," Damon shrugs. "From what it sounds like, your entire world is collapsing because of zombies anyway, what do you have to lose? Your sister? You're better fucking off without."

Jaime stares down at the glass, then knocks it down. "Can I have another?"

"Sure," Damon says, and generously tips it.

--

"So what," Tony says, "now that your best friend you had a thing with while your girlfriend was with your brother is back to life you're having trouble adjusting?"

"She also hadn't been possessed by my murderous ex until then," Damon shrugs.

Jaime just looks at them, then drinks some more. "Who am I to judge on that anyway," he says, "but that sounds like a lot of work."

"You wouldn't believe," Damon shrugs, knocking down some more of his bourbon. "Never mind that Stefan won't get over brooding instead of fessing up to the girl he is in love with now, but it's not like I hadn't expected it."

"Tell him to," Jaime says at once. "I let my father fuck things up for my brother once and I hate that I ever did, just - don't."

"This is getting fucking eerie," Damon says.

Tony, who is currently feeling very thankful he doesn't have siblings, takes another sip. Then -

"Man, if it's complicated just date the both of them. If they both like you and aren't the kind of super monogamous people that can't handle a threesome once in a while, they won't have a problem."

"... And what do you know?"

He shrug. "Well," he says, "my steady girlfriend was in front of my eyes for years. Took us a while to get over ourselves. The guy I was doing drunk science with, well. Was an instant hit and I didn't let myself drag it in the centuries and guess what, we have a nice lovely arrangement where I'm with both of them, they commiserate about how much of an idiot I can be and sometimes we all occasionally have sex. It's grand. You should try it."

And I really hope Bruce shows up soon.

"Huh," Damon says, "maybe it has merit. For me. Not for you."

Jaime sputters. "I said nothing!"

"You shouldn't even think about threesomes. I can see it in your face you're not the type. And certainly not including your sister."

"Fuck you," Jaime replies without meaning it, "I was not considering that." Huh. Now he sounds offended Damon implied it. Maybe he really will fess up to the other one when he's back.

"Then it means this enlightening talk has enlightened you," Tony grins. "Mind telling us more about that hand?"

"And why?"

Tony shrugs. It's not like he doesn't have time to waste. "What if I could help you with that thing?" He says, nodding towards Jaime's stump, and then - well. Time to test if he can summon the armor here, too.

--

"God," Damon says a while later, "I'll have to compel that poor bartender so hard, but fuck this is something."

Sure it is, Tony grins. "Hey, I managed to fuck with quantum reality, I'm not the first idiot that passes by."

"Seven Hells," Jaime says, "I have no idea what it is you're putting on me but if it works half as well as that thing you have, I'm going to show back up in King's Landing just to show my sister who has the useless hand now. If she didn't get herself killed."

"Well, now that is one reason I could approve of," Tony laughs, "and don't fucking move."

Sure, building a prothesis from the rests of whatever nonfunctioning electronics the bartender had lying around is... somewhat a challenge, but as stated, he has time to waste and it's not like he's wanted anywhere soon.

"By the way," Damon says as he watches him tinker around with the toolkit he found him in the backroom, "do you need advice in the whole I fucked up and want my brother to forgive me department?"

"What if I do?" Jaime replies through his teeth. "Because now that would distract me from how much this entire thing is fucking hurting."

The more they talk while he tinkers, the more Tony decides he's absolutely glad he was an only child and that his father only fucked one son up.

--

"You're doing this while not even being fucking sober?" Damon knocks back more bourbon. "You sure you don't wanna stay here and turn into an immortal? You'd be useful."

"Thanks but I like my life as it is," Tony snorts. "But if you need tech tinkered with, you can ask while I'm here."

Jaime is just staring at the steel-colored hand coming to life while Tony puts piece after piece together, his throat working up and down.

He drinks some more. "Fuck, if only I had such a thing when I realized what the fuck Aerys had turned into."

"Wait, who's Aerys now?" Damon asks.

--

He hadn't told them that part in detail.

When he's done and Tony is at the fourth finger, he kind of wants to hurl, but mostly -

"Do we really have to stay here," Damon says, "or you think we could sneak him to a VA? I can compel them to just hear that he's talking about Vietnam or something."

"He's not old enough for Vietnam, but you know what, I think we could risk that."

"What in the Seven Hells is a VA?"

"Someone I really could have used in the nineteenth century," Damon sighs, and then just as Tony moves to the last finger -

"Tony, what the hell is this?"

--

Turns out, where Bruce comes from it took him two days to figure this out. He also immediately spots three different improvements Tony could do to that hand, and when he hears the entire shebang he raises his hands and says that he can send Jaime right back when he left at any point and he and Tony, too, but he supposes that if they want to compel the VA before they leave it's not like he's in a hurry, and wait, vampires?

Damon ends up asking him if the threesome thing is really working out as well as Tony says.

While he does, Tony manages the finishing touches on the sort-of-steel-and-iron-hand he cobbled up together, and thank fuck Bruce showed up because he had been the one studying how Barnes's arm worked, back in the day, and gave Tony the pointer he needed to make sure the entire thing was... well, connected to the nervous system without needing to rip Jaime's wrist open.

"Right," he says, "try to move the fingers."

Jaime holds them in a fist.

It works.

"Seven fucking hells -"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a genius. Just keep it out of too many lines of fire, but if you're from the middle ages it should withstand most stuff. You're welcome. And go french that knight of yours instead of waiting, really."

"I think in between him and you, you've made a case. Uh, thank you, I -"

"Nonsense, I was the reason you're here, I might as well have helped out. Hey," he says, "so, what about a last round before we drag him to the VA and Bruce here settles everything?"

"I'm so down for it," Damon says.

"Do I even have a choice," Bruce groans, but then he does sit down at the same table and lets Tony fill his glass.

"Oh, don't look like that," Tony says, "after all I didn't destroy the universe and made some friends, it could have gone worse."

"Wouldn't know about that, but I could have done worse, too," Damon says, and orders more bourbon.

"I sure as the fucking Seven Hells will never manage to explain this to anyone," Jaime says, "but I guess I'm not too disappointed, either."

"Tony," Bruce groans, "did you manage to somehow end up with two people with - never mind. Of course you did. We're never doing drunk science again, hear me?"

"Maybe so," Tony agrees, though... well.

Maybe he will want to check on them, once in a while.

But he can think about how to convince Bruce to make sure they can later.

For now, he'll enjoy his last round.

[catxsnow]

I’M BATMAN B.W.

Request: Can I request a Bruce x reader fic? Where Bruce and the reader are together for a while. Bruce thought it would be just like his old flings but he realises that he's fell in love with the reader so he decides to tell her he is Batman. And during the confession he starts with "I am..." and the reader finishes with "Batman!" as a joke but then of course it turns out to be not a joke. After that an awkward but emotional conversation ensues. Whether you write it or not, thank you!

Warning: mentions of sexual content, fluff

A/N: I’m sorry that it’s taking me so long to get some of these requests out! I promise you they’re being written! 

Also the second I watch the New 52 animated movies I am the BIGGEST Bruce Wayne whore. One look at this motherfucker and I am WEAK

GIF not mine

Word count: 2.1k

When you first started seeing Bruce, it was nothing but casual. He would show up to your apartment or you to the manor, you'd spend your couple hours together tangled between his sheets and then both of you would continue on with your day. You were a fling, and at first, you loved it.

Bruce Wayne wasn't just the richest person in the Gotham, he also had to be the hottest too. For you to catch his eye was a mystery upon itself. You met him at work and had just luckily stumbled into him when you were walking through Wayne Enterprises. It was rare to ever see him while you were working.

Apparently you made enough of an impact on him for him to ask you if you would like to see each other that night. The look in his eyes had made you agree without even hesitating. Least to say, Bruce found out he like your bed more than he was expecting to.

It was nearly a year that the two of you would have casual sex. Never staying the night, never talking about what the hell was going on between the two of you. It was all fine and dandy until Bruce started getting you to stay over at the Manor. It wasn't very often that you would, but during the times that you did, you found yourself gaining feelings for him that you had managed to avoid the entire year.

You were smitten with Bruce and he saw you as nothing but a fuck.

Or so you assumed. Bruce wanted more with you. He didn't want this casual relationship anymore. It was so easy to talk to you about anything, even if you didn't know everything in his life. Bruce found a comfort in you that he didn't have in a long time. He found love in you.

It wouldn't be late nights that you would see each other any more. Bruce would find you while you worked and offered to go buy you lunch. Lunch dates turned to dinner dates which turned to him asking you to be his girlfriend. You felt giddy like high school girl again when he started to spoil you.

Your periodically timed sex with him turned into a full blown relationship. Down to the 'I love you' and the 'I want you to meet my kids'. Things with Bruce Wayne had become more serious than you ever imagined they would be. At the start of this, you always assumed that he would get tired of you and move on. He was the biggest playboy in Gotham.

You were surprised that you were the person to get him to change his ways.

That night, you and Bruce laid in his bed. The two of you half naked with a thin layer of sweat covering your bodies. You traced random little shapes into his skin as he stared up at the ceiling. You could tell by the way that his eyebrows furrowed that he was deep in thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?" You asked, sitting up right in the bed so you could see his face properly. The sheets were pulled up your chest as you reached for the shirt that he had previously been wearing. Bruce watched as you pulled the material over your head.

"I love you," he answered. Bruce was very cut off from you sometimes. You felt like you knew him pretty well, but then there were times that you felt like you didn't know him at all. Of course you knew about his childhood and his parents, you figured that was why he was so reserved sometimes. You learned not to pry, if he wanted to tell you, then he would.

"I know," you smirked at him. Bruce trailed his hand up your bare leg until he reached your waist. "But seriously, Bruce. You've been more quiet than usual, what's going on?" You were worried about him. It had only been a few years that you guys were together - half of that being just hooking up - but that didn't mean that you didn't know him well enough to see when he was conflicted about something.

Bruce said nothing. The pad of his thumb swiped against your skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps. No matter how many times he touched you, he had the same affect that he had on you in the beginning.

You didn't push him to say what was on his mind. Bruce was a man of many secrets, that was just something that you were forced to learn to accept. You had your arguments about it, the bickering. The 'where were you last night' fights. All of them ended with Bruce assuring you that he loved you, and only you.

"I want to tell you something," Bruce finally caved. He was propped up on the pillows he had on the bed. His one hand still lingered on your skin and the other was tucked behind his head. The turmoil he had within himself about telling you the truth was eating him alive. You were the person that he wanted to spend his future with, meaning you needed to know the truth.

He just hoped that you felt so strongly about him as well. It wasn't often that either of you brought up the future, each to scared for your own reasons to see if the other was as committed. Of course you loved Bruce, you wanted to spend your life with him, to marry him one day. But he was so closed off, you couldn't tell if he ever wanted the same as well.

"So tell me," you continued for him when he took a pause. Bruce's eyes were filled with worry, doubt, you could tell that he was hesitant to tell you this. You pried his hand away from your waist and entangled your fingers. His hands felt so large in yours, years worth of callouses laced them.

"There's no easy way to tell you," Bruce tried to get you prepared. He felt your grip on him tighten before easing up again. Your heart rate was rising with nerves and you were terrified with what he was going to say. There was an endless list of possibilities and each one of them ended poorly for you. He was after all, a well-known playboy. "I am..."

"Batman!" You joked. As you laughed, you could see that his face was not only shocked but nearly... proud? Bruce's eyes darted away from you for a moment and your face dropped. You had only been joking to lighten the mood. Fear of what he could say clouded you and you blurted out the first thing that you thought would make you laugh.

But here Bruce was, shying away from you gaze and his hand limp in yours. You expected the worst from him - he was cheating on you, he didn't love you - and you were willing to say anything to stop your heart from racing out of your chest. But now, seeing the look on his face, what he wanted to tell you was nothing that you expected.

"Wait..." you trailed off. Your playful attitude washed away and quickly turned into a whole new kind of worry. Bruce Wayne, Batman? The more you thought about it the more it made sense. His sudden disappearances, his scars, his adoption of kids even lined up with the change in Robins. "That wasn't seriously it, was it? Bruce you're joking, you're not really Batman are you?"

"I'm Batman," Bruce confirmed. He was telling the truth. As much as he hid things from you - and now you could see why - he never lied to you. You sat their with your mouth agape, still processing his words. Your boyfriend, the loving and caring man that took care of you when you needed him was the same person that risked their life every night and mercilessly beat up criminals.

You needed a minute to process all that. After living in Gotham your whole life you had heard the rumors of the bat, at first you didn't believe them until you had seen him on the news. You never had the luxury of meeting him, and to be honest you were glad you didn't. He had always scared you.

Someone who went against psychopaths like Joker and Two-Face had to be some what insane.

Bruce watched you get off the bed and pace around him. You felt small under his gaze, the sudden information made you realize that he could squash you like a bug if he so wanted to. You were already intimidated by how fit he kept himself but knowing that he was Batman as well? That made you feel incredibly weak.

You guided your hands through your messy hair, unable to think clearly. All your thoughts were jumbled as you tried to piece everything together. The night at the gala that he had suddenly left you - the same night that Batman had put Bane in Arkham. The time that he had a bruise on his jaw and assured you that he had just been a klutz.

Bruce keeping so many things from you - this had covered just about every mystery there was to him. He kept you in the dark for so long because he not only wanted to protect his identity, but you. If he was telling you now, that meant that he must have wanted to keep you around for a while.

As you heart swelled with love rather than betrayal, you had finally stopped your pacing. Bruce had sat on the edge of your bed with nothing  but his underwear and tired eyes. He yearned for your touch, to comfort you through this revelation. However, he also could understand if you never wanted to see his face again.

Not everyone believed in the Batman.

Lucky for him, you did. Bruce was caught off balance as you pounced on him. His back fell against his bed and you straddled over top of him. Bruce trailed his hands up your bare legs to your hips as you kissed him. All those nights worrying what he was doing, you should have been worried about his life.

"I want to see it," you pulled away. "The legendary batcave. Prove you're really the bat." A coy grin played on your lips. Bruce knew that face, he knew what kind of trouble it could lead to. The last time he had seen that face, you had dragged him into his work office and gave him the best head of his life. This time, the circumstances were a little different.

Bruce nodded at you. He shoved on a pair of pants and lead you out of his room and towards the study. You watched as he opened the face of the old grandfather clock and pulled one of the dongles. A loud clicked echoed through the manor and the clock suddenly opened. No way.

Bruce gestured for you to follow. Your bare feet padded against the cold steps. He held your hand the whole way down, ensuring that you wouldn't fall. Bright lights shone through the dark cave and you were amazed by the room. Batman was truly equipped for anything. The space was incredible.

The suit Batman wore was on a mannequin in one of the glass cases. You stood before it, having to gaze up at it's glory. Bruce stood behind you, perfectly eye level with the cowl. He was Batman.

"Bruce this is incredible," You gawked. "I can't believe you trust me with this secret."

"Of course I trust you," Bruce assured. "You're the love of my life. If I want to spend a future with you,  you need to know all parts of my life." He continued to shock you that night - wanting a future with you as well? Bruce Wayne was full of surprises and you didn't think that you could handle anymore that night.

"I love you, too," You turned to face him. Once again, you had to stand on your toes to peck his lips. Bruce didn't realize how much weight was off his shoulders now that you knew the truth. He was tired of tip toeing around you all the time.

"Will you take me for a ride in the batmobile?"

"If you would like."

"Will you let me drive it too?"

"Don't push your luck."

[buckys-little-hoe]

We’ll meet again | Platonic!Avengers x Reader

Pairing: Platonic!Avengers x Reader

Summary: No matter when and where, you always sing the same song, so your teammates ask themselves why you sing that song. The answer shocks them.

Warnings: Angst. Mentions of car accident and death.

A/N: It’s a little bit different from the other things. Hope you’ll still enjoy it! :)

—

You hum a song quietly as you fold your laundry together. You are standing in the laundry room right now because your favorite shirt got dirty. You were walking earlier and Sam had pushed you into the mud. The smell of detergent is in the air. You enjoy the calm, no annoying teammates who put their curious noses into your affairs. You put your cell phone on the dryer and pull the headphones out of your ears. You digress with your thoughts as you put sock after sock together. "Let's say goodbye with a smile, dear. Just for a while, dear. We must part. Don't let this parting upset you. I'll not forget you, sweetheart.” Your voice is gentle and has something mesmerizing.

Bucky also notices this, sneaking up as always. It is a habit that he cannot take off. That's why you don't notice him. Once again, the former assassin is grateful for his quiet steps. "We'll meet again. Don't know where. Don't know when. But I know we'll meet again some sunny day.” Without any worries you continue singing while he leans against the bare wall with a smile. He knows the song, he is sure of it. When he went to war, his colleagues with a relationship had been serenaded by their girlfriends. It was comforting if someone would not return. Quite sad actually, the more he thought about it. "Keep smiling through. Just like you always do. ‘Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away." You put your shirt in the basket and pick it up. When you turn around, you almost get a heart attack.

Bucky stands before you with a bright smile. "I like your voice, doll," he says with honesty and your cheeks turn red. Oh god, that’s embarrassing. The thoughts shoot through your head. "Uh ... thanks Bucky," you reply shyly and disappear through the open door.

—

"So will you please say hello, to the folks that I know. Tell them I won't be long. They'll be happy to know that as you saw me go. I was singing this song.” Your voice echoes through the ventilation shafts. Clint lies on the cool metal and listens to your voice with his eyes closed. You are taking a shower and Clint was actually on the way to his hidden nest, but your singing stopped him. You would never find out that he had been listening. What did the archer have to lose? It's not the first time he's eavesdropping on his teammates. But with you, there is something else. He just can't stop listening. Your voice expresses so much sadness and hope that he can only wonder what had happened. Why do you sing it with so much feeling? But right now he's just enjoying the song. He doesn't know it. It sounds older. He likes the text.

"We'll meet again. Don't know where. Don't know when. But I know we'll meet again some sunny day. “, You sing with your eyes closed. The water runs over your naked body and the heat loosens a few knots. You take the shower so warm that even the window and mirror are fogged up. Will the pain go away at some point?

-

"So you want please say hello. To the folks that I know. Tell them I won't be long. They'll be happy to know. That as you saw me go. I was singin 'this song.” You stand with your back to your teammates. You're preparing dinner tonight. Your friends are all sitting in the living room.

"I love her voice, but why does she always sing the same song?" Steve asks after a pleasant silence in which they could only hear your singing.

"I thought only I have noticed." Sam shrugs. Natasha rolls her eyes and pushes him off the couch. Bucky looks at her gratefully and she gives him two thumbs up.

“Maybe you just have to make wishes like to the DJ," Tony sarcastically puzzles. Now everyone is rolling their eyes in annoyance.

"I assume it's Lady Y/N's favorite song," Thor intervenes. Wanda nods in agreement.

"We'll meet again. Don't know where. Don't know when. But I know we'll meet again some sunny day. “ You finish the song quietly and add the sauce to the noodles.

"Maybe she has a deeper connection to the song," Bruce says. Tony shakes his head.

"I think you are interpreting too much into it, Dr. Banner. “, Vision says and everyone is muttering now.

"The food is ready!" You call with a smile and interrupt the discussion. Everyone gets up and goes into the dining room. After eating, everyone stays seated with a full belly. It is exceptionally quiet. This almost never happens when all Avengers are present.

"Y/N, we wanted to ask you something," Natasha says after a moment's hesitation. Your heart stops. Did you do something wrong? Didn't it taste good?

"Yes?" You try to keep your nervous tremors under control and you can do it.

"Why do you always sing the same song?" Clint asks, falling into the house with the door. You sigh quietly and try to smile, but it doesn't reach your eyes. Your heart weighs heavily and you blink the tears away.

“Back then I was in the car with my parents on the way to school. Unlike any other day, my mother went with us because my father wanted to drive her to the doctor who was on the way. Vera Lynn’s We’ll meet again was playing on the radio. I was angry with my parents because I was afraid to be late to school. My father wanted to drive her there anyway.” You take a deep breath. It's okay, you can do it. You can talk about it. "So we were arguing. My father stopped concentrating on the street and we got involved in an accident. The song didn't stop playing. Unfortunately, I did not pass out. Instead, I heard the song and saw my dead parents for about five minutes.” You finish your story and look into the faces of your comrades. During your story, the color was gone from their faces. Clint regrets asking. "The song helps me to remember that I'll see them again someday. That at some point I will have the chance to apologize. “, You explain.

Bucky, who is sitting next to you, takes your hand into his and squeezes it once. "They forgave you long ago, I'm sure of that," Thor says with an encouraging smile. He too had lost his mother after an argument. If anyone can empathize with the pain, it's him.

"It'll get easier," Steve assures you.

He's right. It will get easier. It just takes time.

[css1992]

I won’t go home without you

Summary/Prompt: “roommates au: where peter is tony's roomate for about a year. Peter has feelings for tony and decides to seduced him even though he has an on and off relationship with pepper”

Word count: 13.7K+

Warnings: Explicit, nff, underage drinking, loss of virginity, jealous!Tony, violence (just a boys fight, not between starker), a little angst with a happy ending. Can’t think of anything else, if you find anything triggering, please let me know!

No Pepper bashing! In this house, we stan Pepper Potts, thanksbye.

*

“I swear to God, Tony, sometimes you make it impossible to love you!”

Peter could hear Pepper’s voice through the door, she sounded furious and upset, which was unusual for her. She was always so – put together. Like she had it all figured out. She was classy and elegant, smart, beautiful and polite. She was the perfect woman, the perfect girlfriend. Peter still felt a little embarrassed to think that when he met Tony, almost a year earlier, he actually thought he might stand a chance with him. A few days later, he met Pepper and it dawned on him that the older boy was way, way out of his league.

“Wow, fuck, I’m so sorry it’s such a hardship to be with me! Why the fuck don’t you just go!?”

They met on their first day at MIT. It was the best day of Peter’s life, he’d always dreamed of going there, but he never actually thought he’d get in. And even if he did, he knew he’d never be able to afford it, so when he got the scholarship, it was like a dream come true – May was really proud. He was so nervous about meeting his roommate, he was afraid it would be some stuck-up, rich, little genius who’d make fun of him for his worn-out clothes, beat-up phone and used textbooks.

“That’s because you keep coming after me with your bullshit promises and lies, and I’m an idiot for falling for that!”

Tony was nothing like Peter had dreaded. He was so cool and laid-back, when he walked into the room the younger boy was immediately smitten with him. Peter noticed he wore nice clothes and his bags looked really expensive, but he was so nice to him. He introduced himself, let Peter choose which bed he would like to sleep in, he even took him out for coffee and they explored campus together. Tony was handsome and charming and an absolute flirt, by the end of the day, Peter was helplessly in love with him, he would write songs and poems about the older boy if he had any talent – unfortunately, he didn’t.

“Go on, then, leave, that’s all you ever do anyway. And don’t worry, I won’t call, we’re done for good this time.”

He remembered spending the next few days thinking of ways to ask Tony out. He rehearsed what to say in front of the mirror – it was terrible –; he looked through his clothes to see if he had anything nice enough to wear to a date – he didn’t –; he even went as far as to try and tame his curls the day he was supposed to ask him out – it was hopeless –, but it was all for nothing, because when he got back to their room that evening, with sweaty palms and wobbly knees, he found Tony kissing that gorgeous, cherry blonde vision that was Pepper Potts.

“You’re gonna end up alone, Tony, I mean it. If you don’t learn how to let others in, you’ll be lonely and bitter, and it’s gonna be all your own damn fault!”

And they made perfect sense together, they belonged to the same world. They were high school sweethearts, Pepper went to the same private school as Tony, her family was wealthy, just like his,  she was tall and her nose was so fucking straight and perfect, just like her hair, and she had gorgeous blue eyes and she probably had beautiful clothes to go on dates with him, and they could go to expensive restaurants and split the tab and she’d be able to afford her half, and she could probably write poetry about him. They were just perfect together.  

“This is bullshit and you know it, Pepper, you fucking know it!”

And still, when they weren’t together, Tony acted like Peter might have a chance. Like something could happen between them. Whenever Pepper dumped him – which had happened at least three times over the course of that year; four, if he counted that current fight – Tony would act different around Peter.

The younger man wasn’t sure if he was just imagining things – probably –, Tony was always sweet and a little flirty with everyone, but when he wasn’t with Pepper, it was – just different. He’d take Peter out on what other people might consider dates, his touches lingered for longer than necessary, he’d hug and kiss him whenever he had an excuse, they’d cuddle in bed to watch movies and eat pizza, it was just – weird. Good weird. Peter wasn’t complaining.

His friends seemed to think Tony saw Peter as a younger brother, Pepper thought so, too, but it wasn’t that, it wasn’t that at all. He noticed the way Tony looked at him sometimes, the way he stared at his ass when he turned around, the way his eyes lingered on his body when he changed into his pajamas at night. Tony wanted him, but for some reason he never made a move. Actually, he made several moves, but he never took the final step. It was like a very cruel, very drawn out foreplay that never led anywhere. Then he and Pepper made up and it was like nothing had ever happened.

“Have a good life, Tony.” Peter raised his head when Pepper’s voice got louder as she opened the door and walked right past him, she didn’t even notice his presence. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, with his headphones on – although nothing was playing – and his backpack and a few textbooks resting on his legs. He was just coming back from the library when he heard the yelling coming from inside the room, so he decided to wait outside, but that had been over an hour earlier. He was hungry and his back hurt when he finally turned to see Tony walking out of the room right behind Pepper.

“Good fucking riddance!” The older boy yelled at the blonde’s back, but she had already turned the corner. His eyes dropped to where Peter was sitting and he leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms over his naked chest. He looked so good, all fucked out, they were probably having sex before the fight, his hair was such a sexy mess, like someone – Pepper – had run their hands all over it. “How much of that did you hear?” The older boy asked, rubbing at his forehead, and Peter just shrugged with a small smile.

“Not much. Are you okay?” Tony reached down to help him with his backpack and textbooks as Peter got up from the floor, which proved to be a little challenging since his legs had fallen asleep. Tony held him by the waist when he almost stumbled back down, their chests touching. “S-sorry.”

“It’s okay, munchkin. And I’m peachy.” The older boy smiled a little sarcastically, but Peter didn’t mind, he knew it was just a defense mechanism. He had some of his own. “I’m sorry you had to wait outside. Let me buy you a drink?” He still didn’t let go of Peter’s waist and the younger boy realized it was gonna start all over again. All the heavy flirting that made him fall even harder in love with his roommate, that made his heart swell with hope, only to be crushed again when he and Pepper inevitably got back together. Great.

“Yeah, sure. Let me just put this stuff away,” he whispered under his breath, watching a dirty, lopsided smile forming on Tony’s gorgeous lips.

Fuck.

*

To Peter’s relief – and disappointment –, Tony had invited other people to join them. Rhodey, Thor, Bruce, Clint and Natasha were already at the bar when they arrived and, somehow, they seemed to already know what had happened. Rhodey, Tony’s oldest friend, made jokes about how he and Pepper would eventually get back together for the hundredth time and Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head emphatically.

“I mean it, I’m done with her, it’s just too much drama, I don’t need this shit in my life right now.” Tony’s arm was a heavy, comfortable weight on his shoulders, his side was flush against Peter’s, their thighs pressed together, even though there was more than enough room in the booth for them to sit further apart. If Peter turned his head slightly to the right, his lips would be inches away from Tony’s jaw, the unmistakable smell of his aftershave would get him drunk way faster than the booze. “I’m getting another one, do you want one, too, Pete?”

“Yeah, sure.” The younger boy downed the rest of his beer as Tony got up to get more. Of course he had a fake ID – he was so cool – and it was convincing, too. It helped that Tony looked older than he actually was, he even had to shave everyday. Peter couldn’t grow a hair on his face to save his life and on top of that he had a baby face. The older boy had hooked him up with a fake ID, too, which was how he could get into bars with them, but every time he tried to buy a drink people looked at him suspiciously.

“You should give it a shot,” Peter was startled out of his thoughts by Natasha’s voice in his ear. The other guys were distracted, talking about their plans for the summer, but she was looking straight at him with a smart glint in her eyes. “You know. Stop pining, start acting.”

“Wai – what? I’m – what do you mean?” He giggled nervously, hands sweaty, but Natasha didn’t even pretend to believe his confusion. Peter liked her, but she creeped him out a little, she always acted like she knew what was going on with him and sometimes even he didn’t know what was going on with himself.

“C’mon, Parker, I’m not blind. You’ve been crushing on him forever, it’s cute and a little pathetic.” She shrugged and Peter actually choked on air. He looked around the table to see if anyone had heard her, but the others were still distracted by their own conversations. “It’s okay, they’re clueless.”

“I-I-” Peter didn’t know what to say. Should he deny it? Could he even make it convincing? Should he confess? Play dead? Call the cops?

“You should seize this opportunity, you know. Now that he’s single again.” Natasha rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her beer, and Peter blushed just thinking about doing what she suggested.

“I-I couldn’t, Nat. He loves her. They belong together,” Peter muttered, playing with his empty bottle, when he felt Natasha flick his forehead. “Ouch!”

“If they belonged together, they’d be together, dummy. They love each other, but it just doesn’t work between them. They know it, they’re just too afraid to admit it, they’ve been together so long, they don’t even know what it’s like to be alone anymore. They’re scared.” She downed the rest of her beer and glanced towards the other guys to make sure they were still distracted. “He wants you, Pete. And he knows you want him, too. That’s why he keeps leading you on, he wants to keep you interested, he’s saving you for later, like a snack. Don’t let him. You’re not a snack, you’re a three course, hot meal, a fucking feast. Make sure he knows it.” She leaned forwards, lips brushing against his earlobe, and if there was one single heterosexual bone in his body he would have shivered – but there wasn’t. “You should see how he’s looking at us right now. So jealous.”

Before Peter could say anything or ask what she meant, he felt Tony plopping back down in the booth by his side, one arm quickly reclaiming its spot over his shoulders, pulling him away from Nat, not so subtly.

“Hey, what are you whispering about?” Tony pressed his side to Peter’s, his arm bent so he could run his fingers through Peter’s wild curls. The boy shivered – because, yeah, every single bone in his body was very gay and very attracted to Tony –  as he turned to look at Nat, who smirked at the older boy.

“None of your business.” She shrugged, turning away from them to join Clint and Thor’s conversation about climate change. Tony didn’t pay her any mind, he pulled Peter even closer – he was seriously beginning to question impenetrability – and placed a beer in his hand.

“We should do something fun this weekend, just the two of us,” he spoke close to his ear, the bar was crowded and loud, it was a good excuse to lean even closer to him and feel his hot breath brushing his neck.

“Like what?” Peter turned in his direction, their faces were inches apart, Tony made no move to pull away. God, was Natasha right? Did Tony really want him, was he really aware of Peter’s interest? Was he playing a game, trying to keep him close, leading him on? For what? What even was his endgame?

“I don’t know, we could catch a movie, grab a bite, walk around. You know. Just hang out.” Like a date. Peter wished he could say it, but he was a coward, so he just looked into Tony’s beautiful, soft, brown eyes, the eyes that made him fall in love in the first place, and smiled, nodding his head.

“Sounds fun.” The older boy beamed and the hand that had been scratching his scalp slid down his temple and twirled a curl behind his ear. Fucking fuck –

“Your hair is getting long,” Tony mumbled, eyes focused on Peter’s locks, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Yeah, I don’t have the money to get it cut right now, but when I head home for the summer May’s gonna do it.” At first, Peter was a little embarrassed to talk to Tony about his financial situation, he knew the older boy was filthy rich, but he acted so cool about it that Peter sometimes forgot completely.

“I kinda like it, it suits you.” He said, resting his hand back on Peter’s shoulder. “But then again, you’re gorgeous, so I guess any haircut would look great on you.” Peter’s breath hitched, because, yeah – he definitely wasn’t imagining things. Tony was flirting. And not, like, good-naturedly, it was real. Natasha was right.

Maybe.

What if – what if Peter took that final step that Tony refused to take? He was so sure he could make him happy. They wouldn’t fight, Peter would get him. He knew Tony kept crazy hours because he didn’t sleep well, he drank too much coffee and slept in way too often. He knew he didn’t like to talk about his dad or about the company that waited for him back home. He knew he didn’t like to talk about his feelings, but he didn’t need to, because he wore his heart on his sleeve and Peter could read him like a book. He knew he sometimes needed his space, needed to be alone. Sometimes he needed time to study or work on his projects. Peter understood him completely and he loved every single quirk of his. He knew he could make him happy.

Well, he could at least try.

*

The first time he cuddled with Tony in his bed, his scent enveloping him, his warmth seeping through his clothes and transferring to Peter’s shivering skin, he knew they were right for each other. Peter might not be perfect for him, he wasn’t rich, sophisticated, well-mannered or well-connected; he wasn’t a genius – although he was pretty smart – and he wasn’t the most good-looking guy out there – he wasn’t tall, his eyebrows looked funny and his lips were a little too thin –, so, yeah, he knew he wasn’t perfect for Tony, like Pepper was, but he was right for him. He knew it.

Tony didn’t seem to notice it, though, no matter how many other times they laid in each other’s arms. Like at that moment, lying on the grass by Charles River bike path with his arms and legs spread out like a starfish, with Peter’s head on his shoulder and a timid hand on his stomach. Peter could hardly breathe, but Tony was relaxed, peaceful, star-gazing and sharing trivia about the known universe with the younger boy – most of which he already knew, but it was nice hearing it from Tony’s lips.

“What are you thinking about, munchkin?” Tony interrupted his own rant about the Chandrasekhar limit when he noticed he wasn’t paying attention. Peter blushed, but looked up at the older boy, he was staring down at him with an amused little smile. “Am I boring you?”

“No, sorry, I’m just thinking about home. I miss May.” He shared a half truth, because that was something he was constantly thinking about lately. He hadn’t been able to go home for Christmas, so it had been almost a year since he’d last seen her. He missed Ned and MJ, too, and they’d both be in New York for the break. “Are you going home for the summer?” Peter quickly figured out that Tony hated it home. He never talked about it, never talked about his father and rarely ever talked about his mother, although when he did, it was always nice things about her, but it was easy to understand it wasn’t a subject he was comfortable with.

“I don’t have much choice.” He shrugged, looking back up at the sky. “My mom called, can’t say no to her.” The older boy closed his eyes, sighing, and Peter felt bad for bringing it up.

“You can come stay with me in Queens whenever you want. My bed is really small, though, so we’ll have to snuggle together, I hope you don’t mind,” he said, cheekily, and Tony looked down at him with a grin

“We’d make it work.” He wrapped his arms around Peter, pulling him closer, and only then did the younger boy realize he was freezing. He tucked his cold nose in Tony’s warm neck and he didn’t even flinch. “Hey, you know what, I’m driving back to New York, you should come with me, we could make a road trip out of it.”

“From Boston to New York?” Peter smiled with mirth, looking up at Tony again, and the older boy looked back at him with a frown.

“Yeah, what about it?” He huffed indignantly and Peter giggled, shaking his head.

“That’s not much of a road trip,” he argued, but Tony just shrugged.

“That’s up to us, we can make a road trip out of it.” And that’s how he knew he was right for Tony, because he heard what he didn’t say. He didn’t want to go home, he wanted to postpone his return, and he wanted Peter to keep him company as he got ready to face what waited for him in New York.

“Let’s do it,” He whispered in Tony’s neck and felt him tighten his grip on his waist.

“Cool.” Peter wanted to say something, maybe do something, but at the same time – what if Natasha was wrong? What if Tony really only thought of him as a younger brother, after all, what if all the flirting was only in Peter’s head? But it couldn’t be. Not when Tony placed a kiss on his eyelids, cold fingers gently rubbing his hipbone. Maybe he was waiting for Peter? The younger boy took a deep breath, trying to talk himself into leaning up and kissing him, when he felt the older boy move. “Come on, we should head back, it’s getting late.”

Well. Some other time, then.

*

Three weeks had passed since Tony’s fight with Pepper, and Peter was pretty sure that was the longest they had gone without talking to each other, at least since he met them. Their fights always lasted around a week, then they would make up – which usually meant Peter had to find somewhere to be while they had loud, make-up sex for hours. It was annoying and heartbreaking, specially because every single time they broke up, Peter got his hopes up.

That time was different. It was, because it had been way more than a week and Tony was acting more and more like maybe he felt the same way as Peter, and he never once mentioned Pepper, and they hung out together everyday, and they laughed together, and they even helped each other with school work, and everything was just so great, it was going somewhere, at least Peter thought so. Maybe Tony was beginning to realize he was a whole meal, after all, not just a snack, whatever the hell Natasha meant by that.

So he made a decision. There was a party at Delta Pi on Saturday, it would be the perfect opportunity to make something – anything – happen. He bought a new pair of skinny jeans he just knew Tony would love – he had seen him staring at his ass countless times not to know – and he had one nice shirt that would go perfect with it. He would drink a few shots and just – be cool. And flirty. And he’d take the final step, if Tony didn’t.  

So when Saturday rolled around, he made an excuse about a paper he had to finish and told Tony to go without him, told him that he would meet him at the party. He took a long shower, washed his hair with the sweetest-smelling shampoo he could find at the drugstore, tamed his curls with so much hair product that they actually stayed put when he brushed them to the side, then put on his cheap cologne and his best clothes.

When he looked in the mirror, he liked what he saw. He looked like someone on Tony’s league, someone who could go on a date with him and look the part, someone who could be seen kissing him, walking by his side hand in hand, someone who could make him happy. The perfect boyfriend. It made him smile, imagining all of that.

“You got this, Parker, come on. You can do this,” he talked to himself in the mirror, taking a deep breath and fixing his hair one last time. “Go get him!”

When he arrived at the party, it was already in full swing. A few drunk seniors laid on the grass outside, vomiting or giggling stupidly, and Peter could hear the noise coming from inside the house. It was really loud and really crowded when he walked in and as he made his way through the masses of people, he kept looking for a familiar face. Nat was the first one he found, and she looked at him with wide eyes and a knowing smirk.

“Someone is looking for trouble tonight,” she shouted over the music as soon as he was close enough to hear her. He grinned, accepting the plastic cup she handed him.

“Not trouble, hopefully.” He downed the contents of the cup and it tasted vile. He had no idea what he’d just drunk, but it was alcohol, and he would need to be at least a little tipsy if he wanted to go through with his plan. “Have you seen him?” He shouted back at her, looking around the living room.

“He’s out back by the pool, go get him, tiger!” She beamed, pushing him in the general direction of the backdoor. He took a little detour and stopped at the kitchen to get a beer, and then another, before he headed to the backyard.

It wasn’t as loud outside, but he could still hear the music playing in the living room. People were talking loudly and laughing, someone had jumped in the pool and was trying to convince others to join them. A few girls were taking their tops off and getting ready to jump in.

“Hey, Parker! Over here!” He heard Thor’s booming voice coming from his left and when he turned, he saw a few people sitting in a circle in pool chairs. He recognized Steve – Tony’s best frenemy, they couldn’t seem to decide if they hated or loved each other –, Bucky, Sam, Thor and Bruce, surprisingly sitting on Thor’s lap. Still, no sign of Tony.

“Hey, what’s up.” He approached them, trying to sound cool and chill, but his eyes were wandering.  

“Hey, did you just get here?” Bruce smiled, offering him yet another cup filled with something unrecognizable to Peter. He accepted it anyway.

“Yeah, I was finishing a paper, I just –“

“Pete?” Peter turned around quickly, coming face to face with Tony. The older boy looked gorgeous as always, his hair was a floppy mess and he was wearing his signature ripped jeans and a band t-shirt and he still looked like a fucking wet dream. He was gaping at Peter as if he was seeing him for the first time ever and the younger boy, feeling confident and a little tipsy, puffed his chest out and straightened his back.

“Hey, Tones,” he said somewhat shyly, looking at the older boy from under his lashes – he read somewhere online that it was a good flirting technique.

“Hi, I – are you – are you meeting someone?” Tony shook his head, a little confused, blinking a couple of times, and Peter blushed, chuckling and dropping his gaze – this was supposed to make him look charming and cute.

“Just you.” He stared at the older boy head on, and watched nervously as understanding seemed to dawn on him. A slow smile started forming on his lips, confidence growing as he approached, beer in hand. Tony was only a few inches taller than Peter, but the way he carried himself made it seem like feet.

“Well, you found me, munchkin,” he said when he was close enough that Peter could feel his breath on his face.

“Get a room, you two.” Peter vaguely registered Sam’s voice, but didn’t even acknowledge him. Tony, on the other hand, flipped him off, but his eyes never left Peter.

“Suck a dick, Wilson,” he shouted over Peter’s shoulder, before wrapping an arm around his waist, pulling him away from his circle of friends. “I thought you weren’t coming anymore.” He said as he steered Peter somewhere quieter. They walked to the far back of the house, where they could barely hear the music coming from the inside anymore. There were a few other people scattered around there, mostly drunk or too busy making out to notice them. Peter leaned against a tree trunk and Tony rested a hand on the side of his face.

“Sorry, I really needed to finish that paper.” Tony didn’t need to know that he spent almost two hours showering and shaving, then a whole other hour doing his hair and getting dressed and second guessing his outfit. “Did you miss me?” He asked, cheekily, punching his chest weakly and Tony grabbed his hand, holding it to his heart.

“Always.” He grinned, taking one step closer to the younger boy. Peter braced himself for something – anything – but Tony just stood there, way too fucking close to be casual. “I like what you did with your hair, but I miss the curls. You look really gorgeous tonight.”

“Yeah?” Peter breathed, gathering all the courage he had to whisper the next few words. “Are you gonna do something about it?” Apparently, it was all Tony needed to hear.

The older boy crashed his lips against Peter’s and he went to heaven and back in the course of 0.1 seconds. God knew how many times he’d fantasized about their first kiss – where would it be? How would Tony taste? Would it be soft and tender or rough and wild? – but his wildest fantasies couldn’t compare. It didn’t matter where they were when Tony pressed his body flush against Peter’s and he felt every inch of his chest and hips touching his. He tasted like alcohol and his hands were rough where they pulled Peter closer by the waist, but his lips were gentle as he kissed him deep and slow.

It was nothing like Peter had imagined – but then again, he’d imagined flowers, bells, rain, tuxes and an actual white horse, so maybe his dreams weren’t that realistic – but it was better. Real. Peter had kissed his fair share of boys in high school, but Tony was different, he kissed with his whole body, his hands were restless and roamed all over Peter’s heated skin, his hips moving ever so slightly and he was so out of it that he didn’t have it in him to be embarrassed for being hard – Tony was, too.

“Do you wanna go back to our room?” He whispered against his mouth, nipping his bottom lip, and Peter’s heart went wild. He knew what the other boy was suggesting, and it was another thing he couldn’t stop fantasizing about, but – was he even ready for that? He thought he was, he fucking wanted it so bad, he daydreamed about Tony every single day, all the fucking time, whenever he saw a hint of his bare skin, whenever he was close enough to touch. On the other hand, he’d never done it with anyone – he was suddenly reminded of Wade, his boyfriend from high school who broke up with him because Peter wasn’t ready for sex.

“Yeah,” he whispered, breathless, watching a slow smile forming on Tony’s face before he attacked his lips once again.

“Come on, then.”

They made it back to the dormitories in record time, Peter was so nervous he felt like throwing up – but maybe it had something to do with all the alcohol he drank. When they were finally in their room, with the door closed and locked, and Tony looked at him with dark, hungry eyes, approaching slowly, like a predator, he forgot how to breathe for one whole minute.

The room was so quiet Tony’s steps resonated and filled all the empty space, making Peter shiver in anticipation. They stood in the space between their beds, and when Tony finally reached him, his hands cupped Peter’s face, thumbs brushing his jaw as their lips met again.

“Your place or mine?” He asked playfully, indicating their beds with his chin, and Peter didn’t even hesitate.

“Yours.”

The thought of losing his virginity in Tony’s bed, lying in his sheets, smelling his scent, was everything Peter could have hoped for. Sure, he hadn’t thought his first time would happen before he even had his first official date with Tony, but then again, maybe his expectations were a bit unrealistic in the first place – it involved candlelit dinner, a ring and a string quartet with blind musicians, so.

Tony kissed him again, his fingers ventured under Peter’s shirt, touching the skin above the waistband of his jeans softly, brushing his calloused thumbs on his sensitive hipbones. Peter whimpered, wrapping his arms around his neck, and let Tony take the lead as he pushed him carefully towards the bed, until the back of his legs touched the mattress. His heart was beating loudly against his rib cage when he fell backwards and Tony carefully climbed on top of him, his weight pressing him down.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” He asked, breathless, as he placed hot, wet kisses across Peter’s jaw, then down the column of his neck, hungrily. The younger boy thought that had to be the most turned on he had ever been in his life, feeling Tony’s teeth against his jugular. “Dressing like that, getting all dolled up just for me?” Peter gasped when Tony placed a leg between his, pressing his thigh against his already rock-hard cock.

“Y-yeah, yes, just for you,” Peter whimpered, feeling dizzy just from the kissing and Tony’s leg rubbing against him. “Kept waiting for you to make a move, but –“ He gasped when Tony sucked the skin where his neck met his collarbone, surely leaving a bruise behind.

“I was trying to be good.” Tony’s quick fingers ventured under his shirt, his palms dragged up Peter’s torso, the boy’s whole body caught on fire from how warm his hands were. He arched his back, giving Tony room to pull his shirt over his head. “Trying really hard not to ruin my sweet, innocent roommate.” Peter almost cried when he felt Tony’s tongue lapping at one of his oversensitive nipples, sucking it into his mouth carefully, gently, like it was the most precious thing. “You made it really fucking hard, Pete. I’m a weak man.”

“Tony,” he moaned when the older boy licked across his chest until he reached his other nipple, and Peter spread his legs, trying to find a position in which he could get more friction from the other boy’s thigh. He was comfortable with all that, it was nothing different from what he had already done with Wade, it didn’t make him nervous or anxious, just really fucking horny. “Fuck.”

“Shhh.” Tony’s lips traveled back to his mouth as his hands slid down Peter’s sides to the waistband of his jeans. “We’ll get there.” He licked his mouth open once again in another hungry kiss, as his fingers worked on undoing his pants. “These fucking jeans, I swear to fuck.” Tony kept pulling back to whisper whatever came to his mind, which Peter found amusing and endearing. “You’re such a fucking tease.”

When Tony was finally able to undo his jeans, he started dragging them down his legs, as his lips traveled down Peter’s chest and stomach, leaving bruises and wet kisses along the way, until he was wearing nothing but his boxers, and that’s when he started feeling anxious. The older boy’s lips were kissing and sucking the skin just above the waistband of his underwear, so fucking close to Peter’s cock he could practically feel the heat of his breath. His cock was so fucking hard it must be purple, he needed something, anything –  

Tony mouthed at his left hipbone as his fingers dug into the flesh of Peter’s thighs and his hips buckled, trying to find some kind of relief. He felt the older boy smirking against his skin before he felt his boxers sliding down his legs slowly, and he only registered that he was completely naked when Tony sat back on his haunches at stared openly at him. He blushed and tried to cover himself, but the older boy grabbed his wrists, pinning them to the bed.

“Don’t you dare hide from me,” he whispered under his breath, his face inches away from Peter’s. “You look fucking gorgeous, Pete,” the younger boy whimpered again, accepting the rough, bruising kiss Tony placed on his lips, before he pulled away, taking his Black Sabath t-shirt off. Peter licked his lips, feeling his cock twitch as he admired Tony’s chest and abs; he had an amazing body, which Peter already knew from seeing him shirtless countless times before, but that was different. It was intimate now, Tony was undressing for him, which had a whole other meaning. The younger boy reached out, hands finally allowed to touch the tanned, heated skin and it felt smooth and firm under his fingertips.

Tony let him have his fun for a few seconds before he attacked his lips once again, one of his hands wrapped around Peter’s cock without warning and he honest to God had to hold himself back to avoid coming way, way too soon. Tony tightened his grasp on his shaft and started pumping at the same slow pace as he was kissing him, his other hand mussing Peter’s curls.

Peter tried to reach down to return the favor, but before he could, Tony slid back down where he was earlier and, again, without warning, licked the lip of Peter’s leaking cock and the boy yelped in surprise, eyes flying open. Wade had only ever given him head once and it wasn’t even that good, but the way Tony swallowed him whole, until he felt the head of his cock hitting the back of his throat was a whole different story.

“Oh, God, Tony, Tony, fuck!” He writhed on the tiny bed, the older boy’s fingers dug into his ass cheeks roughly as his head bobbed faster and faster. Peter’s feet were planted on the mattress, knees bent and hands gripping the sheets tightly, trying to keep still instead of thrusting up into the wet heat of Tony’s mouth.

He was half aware of the boy’s finger making its way into his crack and brushing against his hole, but he tried to relax, concentrating on what his mouth was doing. Tony quickened the pace as said finger pressed harder against his hole, testing, and Peter cursed under his breath, trying to relax his muscles to allow Tony entrance when he finally tried to push inside.

Again, he had to hold back not to come on the spot. He had fingered himself before and he couldn’t deny it was something he enjoyed very much, but just the thought that it was Tony’s finger inside him, Tony’s finger trying to get him ready for what was about to come later, fuck, it was really, really fucking hard to hold back.

“Tony, stop, stop, I can’t – gonna –“ He pushed the boy’s head away from his cock, no matter how badly he wanted him to keep going, otherwise it would all be over before Tony even took off his pants. The older boy got up from the bed, quickly undoing his jeans while he headed towards his messy desk. He searched one of his drawers and retrieved a small tube and a packet from there, before making his way back to the bed. He took off his pants, freeing his erection, and Peter stared, mouth watering.

Tony’s cock was fully hard and leaking, it was bigger than Peter’s own and than what he remembered Wade’s to be, which made him a little nervous. The boy climbed back into bed, between Peter’s spread legs, and kissed him slowly.

Again, Peter was only half aware of his hands shuffling and moving somewhere between his thighs, but soon he felt one wet, cold finger breaching him again, sliding in more easily than before. Tony’s finger was longer and thicker than Peter’s own, it reached deep inside him and curled in an angle that made him see stars.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Peter threw his head back and Tony immediately proceeded to suck bruises on his neck, as a second finger made its way to Peter’s crack. He braced himself on Tony’s shoulders as the second finger slid in, eyes shut and mouth hanging open in a silent moan. When both fingers were inside him and Tony’s knuckles brushed the curve of his ass, Peter tried to relax and open up as the older boy scissored his fingers, trying to stretch him.

“Fuck, you’re so tight,” he grunted, drawing out his fingers and then thrusting them in again, fucking him open, trying to set a pace. Peter felt the tips of his fingers brushing his prostate every now and again and it made him forget the burn of the stretch for a few seconds, at least until Tony pulled his fingers away completely, sitting back on the bed.

Peter watched, mesmerized and nervous, as Tony opened the condom packet with his teeth, then proceeded to roll it on his cock, giving it a few pumps once it was on. He spread more lube over the already slick condom and Peter almost drooled, watching such a pornographic scene. He positioned himself back between Peter’s legs and the younger man’s breath hitched. He closed his eyes and grasped Tony’s waist, it gave him a sense of control when the older boy held himself with one hand, guiding his shaft to Peter’s entrance.

Peter let out a painful cry when the tip of Tony’s cock finally breached him, after a bit of a struggle. The older boy stopped immediately, leaning down to kiss his lips apologetically.

“Sorry, I haven’t been with a guy in a while, didn’t mean to hurt you, sorry,” he peppered kisses on his cheeks and the younger boy shook his head, trying to to put on a brave face.

“It’s fine – just – just go slow, please,” he whispered back, holding Tony’s jaw in his hands, pulling him in for a kiss to distract him. Tony held his hips down as he kissed him back, slowly pushing himself more and more inside Peter. It burned like a motherfucker, but it wasn’t an unbearable pain, like he imagined he would feel.

Tony took his cock in one of his hands, the pleasure mixing with the pain, until the older boy’s hipbones were flush against the back of his thighs, cock fully sheathed in Peter’s hole, arms caging him into the tiny bed and his weight pushing him down into the mattress. Peter felt so fucking full and trapped and crushed, and it felt fucking amazing. He wanted to feel like that all the fucking time, crushed under Tony’s body, trapped by his arms and full of his cock.

The older boy stopped for a few minutes, peppering apologetic kisses on his face, and Peter really appreciated it, it gave him time to take a deep breath and get used to the intrusion. He wrapped his legs around his waist a minute later, pulling him closer, and Tony got the message.

The older boy kissed him deeply as he started thrusting into him; slowly at first, then picking up the face as Peter relaxed, his body opening up more easily. It was a weird feeling at first, it burned and hurt a little, but it felt mostly weird. Peter wasn’t sure how he felt about it until Tony brushed something inside him and it made him see fucking stars.

“Oh, my God, Tony!” His eyes widened as he gripped the other boy’s shoulders. He stopped immediately, startled, but Peter pushed against him, desperately. “No, no, keep going, don’t stop, please, right there, right there!” He was aware he was babbling and that he sounded like a slut, but he couldn’t really care, not when Tony buried himself deeper into him and started fucking him with abandon, his mouth leaving bruises on his throat, fingers digging into his ass. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Peter couldn’t even think straight, never knew sex could feel that good, he felt so fucking overwhelmed and – fuck –“I’m gonna – Tony, I’m--”

Tony swallowed his words in a bruising kiss as Peter went fucking blind with pleasure, coming so hard he was afraid he would pass out after. Tony fucked him through it, licking inside his mouth, grunting, thrusts becoming erratic and sloppy until he groaned loudly, buried deep inside Peter’s heat. He collapsed on top of the younger boy’s smaller body, but quickly rolled off, mindful of his weight. He seemed to gather the last of his energy to pull him to his chest, before essentially passing out, followed closely by a blissed out Peter.

*

When Peter woke up the next day, he was lying in Tony’s tiny bed, with his head resting on his chest and the older boy’s arms wrapped protectively around his waist. He smiled to himself, feeling silly and happy, even if a little sore. He lied awake for almost two hours, basking in the morning sunlight coming through the window before Tony started to stir. He seemed a little confused when he blinked his eyes open and saw Peter there, but then a smile spread across his lips and he placed a kiss on the younger boy’s head.

“Morning, munchkin.” His voice was raspy and rough, but his fingers rubbed his back softly.

“I think it’s afternoon, actually,” Peter replied, cheekily, and Tony just smiled, tugging his hair a little, before placing a soft, chaste kiss on his lips.

“Details.”

Peter was unsure about what was going to happen from then on, but in the end, he didn’t have to worry, he just followed Tony’s lead. Behind the closed door of their dorm room, it felt like their own little world, where nothing could touch them. Peter rushed back everyday, eager to meet the older boy, and he was never disappointed by the reception. Tony always greeted him with a slow, deep kiss and an “I missed you” whispered into the top of his head. He was caring, attentive and so, so sweet. They never slept in separate beds, he woke Peter up with soft kisses on the back of his neck and he always made sure he was well fed and well rested.

And the sex – Peter couldn’t get over how amazing it was and how much better it got each day, specially after Tony found out he had inadvertently taken Peter’s virginity that fateful night. It was two days after the party and Peter was still feeling a bit sore when they were making out in his bed that night. He felt one of Tony’s fingers sliding towards his crack and he tensed a little, bracing himself for the burn that would follow if Tony tried to push inside.

“Hey, are you okay?” He whispered against his lips, frowning. “Don’t you wanna do this?”

“No, I do, I do, sorry, I’m just – I’m still a little sore from Saturday?” He answered sheepishly and Tony’s eyes widened a bit, as he pulled away to take a better look at Peter.

“Still? Fuck, Pete, did I hurt you?” He tried to sit up, but Peter held him by the shoulders, keeping him in bed.

“It’s okay, I looked it up, it’s normal.” He tried to calm the older boy, but he still looked alarmed.

“It’s not normal, it’s been two days, you shouldn’t still be feeling sore.” He retorted, trying to sit up again, so Peter let him, then sat by his side.

“I’m just not used to it, I –“ He took a deep breath, watching the confusion growing on the older boy’s face. “It was my first time.” He finally admitted, feeling his cheeks burning hot as he tried to avoid the Tony’s gaze.

“First time? First time doing what?” He asked, confused, and Peter just remained silent until he heard him gasp in surprise. “Your first time bottoming?”

“Uhm. Yeah. Just first time in general, I guess?” Peter turned to look at him and he would have laughed at Tony’s stunned face if he wasn’t so nervous he could cry.

“Peter, what the fuck!” He threw his arms up in exasperation and the younger boy dropped his gaze, embarrassment, shame and regret mixing in the pit of his stomach.

“It’s not a big deal,” he mumbled, pulling the sheets to cover his naked body. He felt way too vulnerable and exposed as it was.

“It’s kind of a big deal to me!”

“Please, don’t be mad, I didn’t want to say anything because I thought –“ He shut up when he felt Tony’s hand under his chin, forcing him to face him. He still looked a little agitated, but he took a deep breath and cupped Peter’s face with his hands.

“Babe, sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, I’m not mad, I just – I wish you had told me. I wouldn’t have been so forward if I knew, I just assumed – you always talked about your ex, Wade? Weren’t you together for like, two years or something?” Tony frowned, genuinely confused, and Peter licked his lips nervously, nodding his head.

“Yeah, almost.” He looked into Tony’s brown eyes and the older boy narrowed them.  

“And you never…?”

“Uhm, we just fooled around, you know. Hand jobs and blow jobs in his car. I was really young, like, I was sixteen when he left for college. And I don’t know, it just never felt right.” Peter shrugged and Tony kept looking at him as if he had given birth to a three headed spider.

“And it felt right with me? God, Pete, did you feel pressured or something? I swear, I never woul –”

“Tony, relax, it felt right, more than right, ok? It was perfect.” It was his time to hold the older boy by his jaw, forcing him to face him. He smiled sweetly at him. “I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t feel it was right. Ok?” Tony looked like he was about to argue, but he swallowed his words and sighed, staring back at Peter intently, before covering his hands with his own. He closed the distance between them and kissed him gently.

“I really wish you would have told me,” he whispered against Peter’s lips, pulling away just enough for their eyes to meet.  

“Yeah? What would you have done differently?” Peter smirked, arching one brow, and Tony gave him his trademark, lopsided grin.

“I created a monster.”

It all happened inside their room. Outside, it was as if nothing had changed. They still went to classes and met their friends whenever they could, everybody still seemed to think they were just friends, only Natasha gave him a knowing look when they met for the first time after the party. Peter figured it was sensible, not to tell people yet. Tony had just broken up with Pepper and they were just starting to see each other romantically, they didn’t need other people meddling in their business and making it more complicated.

They had two quiet, peaceful weeks together. Like Peter imagined, they didn’t fight, they respected each other’s time and space, he could sense when Tony needed to be alone and when he needed to cuddle. They spent a lot of time together, but there were no hard feelings if either of them wanted some time apart.

They were having a lazy Sunday morning in bed, kissing slowly as they got down from the high of good morning sex, making plans about their road trip back home in just a couple of weeks. Tony planned all these detours that would get them to New York in three days instead of four hours and Peter really wanted to see May as soon as possible, but he also wanted to be there for Tony, so he just agreed to the crazy itinerary.

Things started heating up again when lazy kisses turned into heated ones, and hands roamed freely underneath the sheets. Peter rolled on top of Tony, straddling his hips, he was still loose from their lovemaking earlier, so he took Tony’s cock in his hand and guided it directly towards his entrance without any prep.

And then, there was a loud knock on the door.

“Tony, open up.” Tony practically threw Peter to the floor when he heard Pepper’s voice. The younger boy was able to avoid falling on his butt by cushioning the fall with his hands, but it sent a sharp pain up his left wrist. “What’s all this noise? Is anyone there with you?”

“Uhm, hold on! It’s just Peter – he’s, uh, changing. Wait a second!” Tony stared at Peter with pleading eyes as he helped him to his feet, but the younger boy was having none of it, he shoved Tony away with one hand, cradling the other close to his chest.

“I can’t fucking believe you,” he whispered, as he looked around for his underwear, feeling hurt by how frantic Tony looked just from hearing Pepper’s voice. He opened the window, probably hoping the smell of sex wouldn’t be too strong, and quickly started to get dressed. Once they were both presentable, Peter sat at his desk and Tony yanked the door open.

“Hey, Pep,” he greeted, leaning against the doorway and Peter scoffed behind him. “What are you doing here?”

“I just, I was – I need to talk to you. Can I come in?” She asked, peeking inside the room, acknowledging Peter’s presence for the first time then. “Hey, Pete. Could you give us a minute, please?”

The younger man looked from Tony to Pepper to Tony again. He expected the older boy to tell him to stay, to say they should all have that conversation together, because he was with Peter now, but Tony just shot him a pleading look and the boy sighed, nodding at Pepper.

“Yeah, sure, I gotta – I’m going,” he gave her a strained smile, as he got up from the chair and brushed past Tony without looking at his face.

As soon as he walked out, Pepper closed the door behind him, and he really, really meant to go somewhere, he even walked a few feet towards the exit, but then went back. What if Tony called him? What if he was gonna tell Pepper, and then he needed him for that conversation? For whatever reason, he sat with his back to the wall, across from their room.

He couldn’t hear them, they weren’t shouting, he wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad sign, but he preferred not to guess. He just sat there for almost two hours until Pepper emerged, Tony right behind her. Peter got to his feet, getting ready to apologize to Pepper and maybe try to explain things, like how nothing happened while she was still with Tony, so she wasn’t cheated on or anything.

He froze on the spot, though, when she turned around and pecked Tony on the lips and left with a casual wave in his direction, leaving the older boy staring at him from across the hall. Peter remained silent, confused by what he had just seen – maybe he had misunderstood what happened, maybe it was just a friendly goodbye?

“Pete.” Tony drew in a breath, like he was about to say something, but then just fell silent.

“What?” He asked, aware that he sounded a little desperate, a little breathless, but he couldn’t help it, his mind was running wild. “What, Tony?” He insisted when the older boy didn’t say anything. He leaned on the doorway, rubbing his face, looking for words – looking for the right words to let him down easy, Peter realized. “Say it. Just say it.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to–“ he started, but Peter cut him off.

“Don’t be a fucking coward, don’t you dare make excuses, just fucking say it!” He took the few steps that separated them to stand right before Tony and the older boy couldn’t avoid looking at him. He looked devastated and lost, like he didn’t want to say the words that came next, but he did it anyway.

“I’m back with Pepper.” Peter felt like he had been punched in the stomach, he felt breathless and like he was about to throw up. He crossed his arms over his chest, like he could hold himself together to prevent falling apart, but couldn’t help the fat tears that rolled down his cheeks.

“And you’re done with me,” he whispered, taking a few steps back. Tony didn’t follow.

“It’s not like that.” He dropped his gaze, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“What is it like, then, Tony?” He insisted, and he knew he was making a scene, he knew he was drawing it out way longer than Tony probably wanted, but if nothing else, he deserved that. Closure. Answers. “What, nothing? Not even a ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech?’ I’ll take anything, come on.” Predictably, Tony remained silent, eyes cast down. “Did you even tell her about us? Or was I not worth mentioning?”

“I never meant to get you in the middle of this, Pete, which is why I tried so hard not to do anything about – about this uncontrollable pull you have over me, I never meant to hurt you.” He pleaded and there was honesty in his face, in his voice, but still Peter couldn’t believe a word he said.

“Then why are you?”

There was no answer for several minutes, no chase as he walked away.

***

Pepper said sorry, which was new. Usually, whenever they fought, it was always Tony going after her making promises and asking for forgiveness, not the other way around – which was why he honestly, sincerely, genuinely thought they were done for good that time around, because he really had no intention of calling her. He did not count on her coming after him, crying and saying she was in the wrong.

He looked at her that day and he still thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He still thought she was the most brilliant person he had ever met, the best friend he had ever had, but – something was off. Different. He listened to her talk about how they could change together, how they could be better for each other, and he wanted that for them – for years, and years, and years, he was so sure they would be together forever, Pepper was it for him, but as he heard her speak about the future, his mind wandered.

He tuned her out as he thought about Peter’s eyes. Not sharp, blue eyes – soft, honey-like brown eyes, paired with an equally soft, boyish smile; pretty, pink lips; blushing, freckled cheeks. He thought about his hair. Not straight, impeccable hair – crazy, wild curls that touched the tip of his ears and the nape of his neck when they were tamed, and pointed in every direction on any given  morning. As Pepper made plans about their future, he thought about the past few weeks. Getting used to the smell of Peter’s skin on his sheets, to the sight of him walking around in his clothes, to the sound of his giggles when Tony said something stupid.

And then he looked at Pepper. The love of his life. Right? The woman he was supposed be with, the girl who stood by his side through all of his teenage years, through thick and thin, who opened her window for him and let him find refuge in her arms when everywhere else felt suffocating. He remembered what being completely and utterly in love with her felt like. All-consuming and blinding  – wasn’t that how love was supposed to be? He wasn’t sure anymore, it wasn’t how he felt about her in a long time, but Peter –

Peter, with his annoyingly cute nose and chirpy, high pitched voice. Tony remembered meeting him for the first time and thinking about all the things he’d do to him if wasn’t with Pepper. He remembered feeling tempted all the fucking time, tempted to reach out and touch him, feel him, fucking smother him with kisses and then pound him into the mattress. But he couldn’t do anything.  He saw the way the boy looked at him, it wasn’t just lust for him, he could tell. He knew that look and he couldn’t give him what he wanted.

Until he did. And it felt good and right, but –

But there was Pepper, looking expectantly at him with tears in her eyes, waiting for an answer. And what else could he say to her?

“Of course, love. I’m sorry for what I said, too. I love you.”

Coming out of that room and facing Peter was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. He saw the exact moment when it dawned on him that Tony was leaving him, and it broke his heart. He wanted to reach out and hold him, console him, but he knew he wouldn’t be welcome, so he just stood there, kept his distance, not knowing what to say to make it better.

Peter was avoiding him. Had been for a week. He left the room early in the morning and only came back late at night, never saying a word to him. Their friends noticed, but they stopped asking when Tony snapped at Bruce, telling him it was none of his goddamned business. Natasha kicked him in the balls two days after he broke up with Peter – was it weird that he was relieved to feel pain? He felt like he finally got what he deserved, even though he couldn’t walk for hours after that.

They were only a week away from the summer break and Tony had hope that maybe a few months apart would be enough to heal some of the wounds. But he just couldn’t help thinking about the summer they wouldn’t have, the road trip they wouldn’t take, the snuggles he wouldn’t get in Peter’s tiny bed in Queens.

Now, more than ever, he dreaded going home.

*

“Holy fuck, is that Parker?” Someone shouted over the music, the person sounded drunk and amused, the mention of Peter’s name had Tony turning away from the beer-pong match to search the crowd for the familiar face. The party was in full swing, loud and annoying pop music was playing in the background, the lights were off and the only thing illuminating the rooms were the street lights coming in through the open windows and the red lights scattered around the frat house. Tony looked in the general direction of the living room and almost fell on his butt in surprise when he saw that scene.

World class asshole Quentin Beck sat on the couch with a lap full of a clearly drunk Peter, the boy was kissing him sloppily and grinding against him like there was no tomorrow, and Beck kept smirking and running his filthy paws all over his thighs and hips, until finally they grabbed Peter’s ass cheeks and squeezed, pulling him closer.

People were howling and cat-calling, at least two assholes – Flash and Osborne – were filming the whole thing with their phones, Peter seemed completely unaware of what was going on all around him – he’d be mortified if he was sober, he was so shy, he hated drawing attention to himself, he’d never do any of that in front of so many people. So of course Tony had to intervene, no matter how mad the younger boy was at him.

“Get your hands off of him!” He shouted, grabbing Peter by the arm and yanking him away from Beck. For at least ten seconds, everything went silent except for the music, everyone went quiet, watching the scene, as Beck’s face went from confused to pissed off. Before he could say anything, though, Peter beat him to the punch.

“Get your hands off of me, Tony! What do you think you’re doing!?” He yelled, trying to free his thin wrist from his strong grip, but the older boy didn’t let him go. He couldn’t. He couldn’t let Peter go back to that – that disgusting excuse of a man’s arms. He deserved better.

“Shut up, you’re drunk, you’ll thank me tomorrow.” He barely spared him a glance, still holding his  wrist tight, then he turned to Beck. “And you stay away from him, you piece of shit.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are, Stark? You’re not his dad, if he wants to ride my dick right here in front of everybody, what is it to you?” He got up from the couch and got all up in Tony’s face, which would be more than enough to make him lose his shit on any given day, but the way he talked about Peter only served to fuel his rage.

He didn’t even think, he pulled his arm back the punched his nose with all of his weight, sending him right back to the couch, blood gushing down his face.

“Motherfucker!” Then all hell broke loose.

Tony wasn’t sure about the particulars of what happened, it happened so fucking fast, one minute he was staring at Beck’s bloody face, the next he was being punched in the gut by one of his friends – Osborne, maybe – as someone held him from behind. Rodhey came to his rescue, pushing the guy who was punching him, then Steve and Bucky showed up to help, Beck got up from the couch and they all started throwing punches and kicks and he was pretty sure he ended up kicking Rogers in the face at some point, but –

“Stop! Fucking stop! What the fuck are you doing!?” Peter got in between him and Beck, pushing both of their chests, and Tony stopped immediately, afraid to hurt him, but Beck didn’t even care, landing a blow on his eye and Peter fell backwards right into Bucky’s arms. Tony was sure he was unconscious, the force of the impact mixed with his drunken state were enough to make him lose conscience. He turned back to Beck even more pissed.

“You’re a dead man, you motherfucker!”

Again, he had no idea how long the whole thing lasted, he was way too pissed and way too drunk to keep track, but at some point they were all kicked out of the house. Beck and his goons scurried away, and Tony kept shouting that next time he saw them he’d fucking murder them.

“Tony, stop, Peter is hurt, we have to take him back to the dorms.” Steve looked worried and Tony quickly turned to look at Bucky, who still had Peter in his arms. He was out could, his damp curls covered his forehead and part of his eyebrows, but he could see a purple bruise forming and swelling on his right eye.

“Fuck, is he okay? Should he be sleeping? Should we take him to the hospital?” He was sure he sounded frantic and desperate, but Rhodey just rolled his eyes.

“He’s fine, Tony, it was just a punch, despite what you believe, Peter is not a delicate flower, he will survive. Come on, he just needs to sleep it off. He’s gonna feel like shit in the morning, though.” Rhodey gestured towards Tony’s sports car and Bucky and Steve headed in that direction with Peter. Before Tony could follow, though, Rhodey held him back. “Tony, what the fuck was that, man?”

“What do you mean? Did you not see what that idiot was doing to Peter?” He looked at his best friend as if he had grown a second head.

“He seemed to be enjoying it just fine, Tony, why the hell did you get in the middle of that?” He was trying to keep it down, but he was clearly agitated.

“He wasn’t enjoying it! He wasn’t – he wouldn’t – he was too fucking drunk to consent! And – and they were mocking him! Filming him, making jokes, and – and –” Tony wasn’t unreasonable, he did the right thing, he would have done it again, no matter what Rhodey said.

“Okay, okay, you don’t need to convince me what you did was completely okay, I’m surprisingly used to your shit, but you will have to convince Pepper and Peter that this shit you pulled wasn’t absolutely ridiculous and uncalled for.” He stabbed a finger in his chest and walked away towards Tony’s car, as the other teen ran his hands through his hair, huffing.  

“Fuck me.”

*

It was way past noon when Peter woke up the next day and Tony winced just to watch him try to open his eyes. He had made sure that the drapes were closed so the room was mostly dark, but Peter’s left eye was swollen shut, his head was most certainly killing him. Tony got up from his bed, grabbed the Advil and the glass of water he’d set aside for the younger man and rushed to his side.

“Hey, Pete, how’s the head?” He whispered, sitting beside him on his bed. The night before, by the time they managed to get back to the dorms, Peter was awake again. He reluctantly let Tony give him a shower to sober up some, but refused vehemently when the offered to sleep in his bed in case he needed anything during the night. They didn’t have a chance to talk, though. They hadn’t talked in over a week, actually.

“I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck,” he muttered, deciding not to open his eyes after all.

“Here, take some Advil.” Tony helped him raise his head a little and placed the pill on his tongue, washing it down with a little of water. Peter rested back against the pillow and fell silent again, the older boy wasn’t sure if he’d fallen back asleep. He watched the angelic face for a minute, the same rage that filled him the day before burned inside him again as he observed the horrible bruise marring his face. He was gonna kill Beck, sure, but he couldn’t help feeling guilty. “How much do you remember about yesterday?” He whispered, in case Peter was sleeping, but the younger man opened his good eye and stared at Tony.

“Everything,” he answered, just as quietly as Tony had spoken. The older boy dropped his gaze, gulping, thinking about new ways to apologize to Peter, it seemed these days he was always trying to apologize and trying to make things better between them. “Why did you do that, Tony?”

“Didn’t you hear the way he talked about you?” Tony frowned, Peter couldn’t be serious.

“I did, and I’m a big boy, I can handle myself, I don’t need you to throw punches to protect my honor,” he whispered, rubbing at his forehead, and Tony was reminded not to raise his voice.

“He was taking advantage of you,” he argued, watching Peter narrow his good eye.

“He wasn’t,”

“Did you want to sleep with him?” His voice came out higher and louder than he meant, which made Peter wince.

“Yes, I did,” he answered, staring straight at Tony.

“Okay, fine, then, do what you will.” He got up from Peter’s bed and started pacing the floor, Peter couldn’t be fucking serious, he couldn’t – he was a virgin just a few weeks earlier, now, what, he was willing to fuck any brainless dick who came on to him?

“Yeah, I fucking will, I don’t need your permission, asshole,” he actually raised his voice a little and, fuck, Tony had no fucking right to fucking – Peter wasn’t his.

“Fine, whatever, see if I care.” He stalked to the door, slamming it loudly on his way out.

*

Pepper didn’t want to drive home, let alone make a road trip out of it, she wanted to be in New York as soon as possible, so she bought a plane ticked for an early fight on the first day of summer break and Tony woke at ass o’clock in the morning to drive her to the airport.

As he got dressed, he watched Peter sleep. He didn’t hear him come in the night before, he hadn’t seen him in a few days, but somehow he was all packed up to go home. Tony begged Natasha to tell him his plans and she reluctantly told him that he would take the 11AM bus back to New York.

He felt like an asshole, couldn’t stop thinking about their last conversation, how he managed to hurt the younger boy even more, he didn’t even think it was possible. He wanted to apologize, but every time he approached him, he walked away, pretended he didn’t even see him. His eye had healed some, it was still blue-ish, but at least it wasn’t swollen anymore.

That morning, the first day of summer break, the day they were supposed to leave for their road trip, he slept peacefully and Tony envied him. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks.

He finished getting dressed then went to pick Pepper up. He helped her put her bags in the truck and started driving, as she talked about all she had planned for the summer. Family dinners with the Potts, family dinners with the Starks, galas – for networking purposes, according to her –, a weekend at her parents’ house in the Hamptons and few parties with their old friends from school – Rhodey was coming, too.

Somehow, he wasn’t looking forward to any of that, not even a little bit. He kept thinking how he’d rather spend his days in a tiny bed in Queens, cuddling, eating pizza, building Legos and laughing at nothing in particular.

“Tony, are you listening to me?” When he turned to look at Pepper, he realized they had arrived at the airport, his car was parked and he had been staring into nothing for a few seconds. “I said give me a call when you get home, okay?” She was looking at him a little worriedly, a frown on her forehead, and he didn’t want to call her when he arrived, he didn’t even want to go home, not without Peter.

“I think I don’t love you anymore.” He told her, bluntly, then felt like an asshole when she pulled back like she’d been punched in the face. “I’m so sorry.”

“You think so or you know so?” She asked, and she didn’t look surprised, just – disappointed. Exhausted.

“I know so,” he whispered, watching her sigh as she stared out the windshield. He hated that lately he seemed to be breaking the hearts of everyone he loved. His life was a mess, he was a mess, and no matter how hard he tried to do the right thing, he always seemed to get it wrong.

“I guess I’ve known that for a while. Just didn’t want to believe it was true.” Her face was dry and her voice was steady, but he’d known her for way too long to be be fooled.

“Me neither.” He whispered, gripping the wheel and looking at his lap. It was silent for several minutes, he didn’t know what to say to her, everything sounded wrong and patronizing in his head.  

“I have a plane to catch,” she finally said, opening the door, and without thinking, Tony’s hand flew to hold her arm.

“Can we talk? Later?” He pleaded, fucking terrified that her answer would be no. They were friends for so long, he couldn’t bear the thought of not having her in his life. She gave him a sweet, small smile, though.

“Yeah, sure.” Pepper made to get out of the car again, but the older boy stopped her one more time.  

“Hey.”

“Yeah?” She turned to look at him and he took a deep breath.

“I do love you, you know that right? Just –“

“Yeah, I know. Me too.”

*

Tony drove back like a madman, heart pounding, thinking of the things he needed to say to Peter, the right words to mend the things that were broken. When he got to their room, though, at around 9AM, it was empty, Peter was nowhere to be found. In his panic, he didn’t even notice that his bags were still by the bed, he thought he’d left already, left without him. He ran his hands through his hair and turned around, ready rush outside and look for Natasha and beg her to tell him where Peter had gone, maybe could still reach him, but when he did, he saw the younger boy standing in the doorway.

“Pete,” he cried in relief, but the brunette was still giving him the cold shoulder, so he didn’t say anything, just headed towards his desk and started gathering some books. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.”

“You’ve said that already.” He didn’t even turn to look at Tony, so the older boy walked closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I fucked up.” His hand slid down Peter’s lean, toned bicep, tugging it softly to turn him around. He did, albeit reluctantly.

“Tell me something new.” When he finally looked at Tony, he pretended to be bored, but the older boy could see in his eyes that he was curious.

“I shouldn’t have left you. I made a mistake, I thought –“ Before Tony could go on, Peter started laughing incredulously, eyes wide.

“What, has Pepper dumped you already?! I thought you guys had three months long cycles, at least, this is a new record.” He shook his head, turning back to his desk. “I’m not playing your game anymore, go find somebody else to string along.”

“I don’t want anybody else.” Tony grabbed him again, trying to get him to turn, but Peter yanked his arm away.

“Tough luck, then. I gotta go.” He ignored the rest of the things on the desk and hurried to his bags by the bed.

“Peter, please. I made a mistake.” Tony placed himself in front of the bags with his hands up, trying to buy some more time, and Peter huffed impatiently.

“What happens when you wake up tomorrow and realize I’m the mistake?” He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the older boy. “I trusted you, I gave you everything and you took it for granted, you just fucking up and left when Pepper snapped her fingers. Seriously, Tony, do you even know what you’re asking me?”

“That’s not – I’m – Pete, come on. I’m only asking for a second chance. That’s all.” He begged, trying to hold the younger boy’s hands, but he stepped away. Peter was fucking right and if he had any sense of self respect, he would not get back together with Tony, but fuck, he had to try. He had to try, because Peter was right, he was fucking right for him.

“And I’m saying no, Tony. I don’t trust you not to hurt me again.” He shook his head, arms firmly crossed over his chest.

“That’s not what I’m asking.” Tony insisted, trying to get closer to the younger boy, but every step he took forward, Peter took a step back.

“Then what are you asking?” He tilted his head to the side, mouth set in a straight line, and Tony sighed, running his hands through his hair almost desperately. What the fuck was he asking?

“I’m asking you to let me drive you home.” He blurted out, still trying to approach Peter, and he was finally successful when he got trapped between Tony and his desk.

“And then what?” He raised his chin, defiantly, and Tony dared to touch the side of his face gently. Peter didn’t pull away, but he didn’t lean into the touch either.

“And then let me show you that I’m serious about you, that despite the fact that I’m a fucking mess and nothing in my life makes sense or feels right, you do. You do, you fall into place and fit all the empty spaces and you make me feel whole and less of a train wreck. I know I fucked up and I hurt you and I broke the trust you placed in me, and I’m not asking for you to forget what I did and go right back to where we were, I’m just asking for a second chance to start over. I promise I’m not gonna need a third, I fucking swear. Please. Please. Let me drive you home.”

Tony knew he sounded desperate, and that was because he was. That was the most open he had even been about his feelings and he suddenly remembered Pepper’s words from their last fight. “You’re gonna end up alone, Tony, I mean it. If you don’t learn how to let others in, you’ll be lonely and bitter, and it’s gonna be all your own damn fault!” Tony didn’t want to be alone. And he didn’t want to swallow his feelings anymore. He just needed Peter to see that he was willing to try, that he wanted to change.

The younger man looked at him with wide eyes, apparently surprised by Tony’s honesty and the amount of words he had vomited. He bit his bottom lip and averted his gaze. Tony dropped his hand from his face and took a few steps back, sensing his answer, and maybe Peter was doing the right thing for himself, nobody deserved to be caught in the middle of Tony’s fucking mess, no one should have to deal with –

“I get to drive your car at least two hours a day.” The boy muttered, raising his eyes to meet his gaze again, and Tony’s heart raced.

“Yes, of course, as many hours as you want.” He nodded several times, not sure what exactly he was agreeing to.

“We’ll get separate beds at each motel we stop. No funny business until I say so.” Tony thought he might throw up from excitement, he kept nodding like a moron, as he stepped closer, but Peter kept a straight face, although there was a slight, barely there tilt to his lips.

“Obviously, yeah. Sure.” Tony stopped right before the younger boy and he leaned his head back a little to look him in the eyes.

“If you’re staying over with me back home, you’ll have to sleep on the floor, no snuggling in my bed.” He poked his chest with a finger and Tony’s face fell.

“But I –“

“Tony!”

“Yes, sir, whatever you want, yes. I’ll sleep on the floor.” He quickly agreed, trying not to push his luck, and that seemed to appease the younger boy, who gave him a satisfied nod. Tony just stood there, right in front of him, and so fucking close he could almost taste his sweet skin on his lips. “Is that all?”

“If you break my heart again, I’m sicking Nat on you.” Again, he poked a finger in his chest and Tony readily grabbed his skinny hand, holding it to his heart.

“Deal, I promise you won’t have to do that, I won’t disappoint you.” He stared right into Peter’s eyes and tried to make him see how much he meant every word. “Can I kiss you now?”

Peter looked at him for a few seconds, before leaning up to kiss him. Tony eagerly closed his eyes, hands falling to his waist to hold him close, when he felt those soft, thin lips touching his cheek, just to the side of his anxious mouth.

“Ask me again in a couple of days.” When Tony opened his eyes again, Peter was grinning as he pulled away and, yeah, Tony could wait his whole fucking life to kiss him again. “C’mon, let’s go, you did promise to take me home.”

As he watched the younger boy gathering his stuff to leave, his heart was filled with a weird feeling, something he wasn’t used too. It took him a while to realize he was happy and fucking excited to go  with him. For the first time ever, he didn’t dread going home.

“It’s not over tonight

Just give me one more chance to make it right

I may not make it through the night

I won't go home without you"

(Maroon 5 – Won’t go home without you)

[mushyjellybeans]

Endings, Misunderstandings (Sebastian Stan)

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader

Summary: Seb kept that sneaky scene from you. But his fans tagged you and shocked would be an understatement.

Warnings: Swearing, angst, fluff

A/N: LOL couldn’t help it I’m sorry. Thank you MEGS

Masterlist

With your feet up on the couch, hot chocolate in one hand you relished the peace and quiet of the apartment you shared with your boyfriend Sebastian.

He was home and taking his Christmas break from filming falcon and the winter soldier and currently singing some Bruce Springsteen in the shower.

Okay so maybe you didn't have full peace and quiet but you were happy he was home. It's been so long since you've spent time together and soon he would need to return to Atlanta to continue filming.

You were scrolling through your private Instagram account when you suddenly noticed the abundance of notifications on the bottom of your app. It really wasn't unusual to be tagged consistently, being the girlfriend of an actor came with the package.

You didn't mind and it was one of the reasons Seb loved you so much. You interacted with his fans as much as you could. But he always told you to be careful.

Your eyes bulged out of your head looking at the picture you were tagged in.

What the fuck is this???

It was a still from a movie he had completed with Shailene Woodley, cuddled up in the back of a car, NAKED?. He didn't invite you to the premiere and now you fucking knew why. He didn't mention any sex scenes to you like he normally does, at least he gave you a heads up about his erotic scene in The Bronze, on the day of the premiere.

Why the sudden secrecy? Was there more sex in this film?

You were going out of your mind with questions. Your good and relaxing mood now gone, you sat up and slammed the mug of hot chocolate down harder than you intended to. Harder. Is that what she says in the movie?

You were seeing red.

You frustratingly took your temper out on your phone, accidentally cracking the screen when you threw it on the wooden table.

"Fuck!" You gritted through your teeth. Your hands were in your hair and you pulled harshly on the innocent tendrils, rocking back and forth trying to calm down.

You had nothing to worry about, the movie was wrapped up a long time ago and he was here with you right now.

True but why did he keep it from me? He said there was nothing bad in it.

In your state of despair you didn't hear Seb call you, and you didn't hear him exit the steamy bathroom with a towel hanging lowly on his hips and dripping wet hair standing behind the couch looking confused, he thought you might have been having a panic attack.

"Babe?" He called out, stepping closer and gently putting his hand on your shoulder. You flinched at his touch and immediately stood up to shake him off.

"What's going on?" He asked, so much concern in his voice. You locked eyes with his and you could tell he was trying to figure out what happened.

"Why didn't you tell me?" You asked above a whisper. Your voice cracking from keeping your emotions in check.

His eyebrows furrowed.

"Tell you what?" His hands go to his hips and you try your best to keep eye contact with him.

"About the fucking sex scene Seb! You LIED to me!" You yelled louder than intended.

Seb kept quite, shocked by the outburst then his crease between his eyebrows straightened out as he realized.

"Come sit." He ordered motioning to the couch.

"Dont you tell me what to do. I'm an independent woman who does what she wan-"

"Y/N!" He grabs you by the wrist and sits you down and raises an eyebrow to challenge your next move.

You decide to give him the silent treatment. Crossing your arms over your chest and pouting like a child.

Seb sits on the table in front of you and holds both hands in his as he searches your eyes chuckling at your behavior.

"Baby you need to understand something. Yes there is a sex scene but it wasn't real. We were both clothed from the waist down, I'd never do that to you baby." He caresses your cheek with his warm hand.

Your features soften under his touch.

"I would NEVER do that to you. You are all I need." He reassured "I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner. I've just been so busy with filming and the cons." He sighs, rubbing his face and sighing.

"Oh....I understand." You whispered caressing his stubble cheek, he leans into your touch.

"You know baby... I was thinking about you the whole time I was in that scene." He smirked.

You rolled your eyes, "I wouldn't know. You didn't invite me to your premiere. But I'm not gonna watch it." Your pout returned.

He pinched your cheek playfully. "Well, come to bed with me. I'll reenact it for ya." He chuckled pulling you up by your arm and dragging you to the bedroom.

Permanent Taglist: @morsmordrethings​ @stuckonjbbarnes​ @sebbbystaaan​ @valkyriesryde​ @veganfangirl5​ @livylou3333​ @lovvliies​ @honeyvbarnes​ @infj-slytherclaw​ @iheartsebastianstan​ @zeilenkrieg​ @photography-to-all​ @tuesdays-are-for-bobby​

The FAM: @captain-kelli​ @mypassionsarenysins​ @stateoflovinged​ @chloerinebarnes​ @darlingtholland​ @babblingbonky

[kahlanmars]

Best friends

Yes I decided to write again! I though it was too much for me, because I'm not english and Italian is my mother tongue, but then today I was tired of studying and I said "well, why not"! I'm not tagging anyone, and I kinda don't know if it's a one shot or no, I like the best friends-but I wanna kiss you thing.

Tony Stark’s flirty behaviour was notorious. There was no woman who could say he wasn’t charming, in and out the Avengers team. He wasn’t rude or inappropriate, just smooth with every girl in the room. Natasha, the redhead assassin who glared at everyone who talked to her, coudn’t be nothing but flattered at his talking. His assistant was married to his chauffeur but she always bubbled when he talked to her.

You were no exception. You were in your twentys and he was on his forties, but you coudn’t help but smile and blush every time he entered in a room. He knew that, and he loved to play with you. It involved a lot of touching but he kinda considered you as his best friend.

You were considered the little girl of the Avengers, you were known as innocent, Steve liked being protective with you and you didn’t mind, it was a way to feel loved, Bruce was your teacher, he adored to teach you anything you wanted about scienze, Natasha was your “mom”, the older friend you could always talk to, Wanda was kind of a friend, she was nineteen, the only one who was younger than you.

Tony was different. He didn’t treat you like the others, you weren’t “the adorable one” for him in a childish way. He though you were an adult: you were twentyfour, for heaven’s sakes, you were not a child. He dated girls your age. He was an absolute hurricane when he was your age. You liked his approach, and when you were feeling down he was always cheering you up.

“Hey gorgeous” He entered in the room and it felt like the light was attracted to him. Although he wasn’t young, he was handsome. His eyes were unique, like a cherubin and devilish at the same time, his lips were so kissable, his arms and chest muscolar in a strong way, he seemed like a man who could make you scream all night and the morning after.

Although you were going to bed you suddenly completely woke up.

“Gorgeous?” Oh, you were so focused on him you forgot where you were. Relax, y/n. Don’t jump his bones, DON’T look pathetic.

“Ehi Tones”. You replied casually. Tony sat next to you, he began to run his fingers through your hair. You knew you were his favorite.

"What a nice pajama you have." Tony smirked and touched your naked legs. You were in a pair of shorts and a sushi t-shirt, ready to sleep.

"Don't mock me"

“But you are so sexy with that! How you doin’ pet?” He mumbled while he hugged you. You felt Steve’s eyes burning on you two. He didn’t like your cuddles.

“Better now” You smiled.

“Really? Am I that important?” He grinned. He was aware of how much affection you had for him. You were just friends, friends who cuddled. It wasn’t weird at all.

“The most important” You confirmed, making him happy.

“More than Steve?”

“Oh yes. He has a nice butt tho.” He pouted and you laughted.

“Liar”

“No, no lies. I’m a good girl.”

“Oh I bet you can be good”

He made you sit on his lap. He was always flirty, you shouldn’t read anything in that behaviour.

You weren’t going to face the fact that you had a crush on him. He was older. No, he was old. You were young. He was going through a bad break up with the girlfriend-of-the-month, who probably had the same age as you. Bad idea. But good perfume. You could sense it in his hair, he was intoxicating.

“Do you have to go on a mission?” You asked, your eyes closed. He began to kiss your neck. An usual friend thing, of course.

“No, not now. Just regular little missions on daily basis.”

“The Great IronMan out to catch thieves?”

“I feel useless if I don’t to anything” He complained. You were a little too busy gigglin’ for the neck kisses to pay attention to his words.

“You could feel useful rubbin’ my back”

“You spoiled girl”

“Your spoiled girl”

You knew exacly what to say to make him wrapped on your finger. But then again, he wasn’t serious. He was never serious.

“You shouldn’t feell useless Tony. You created all this. The Avengers are your creation. Fury’s too, of course but… you are the heart” You looked him in his eyes. He deserved this. Someone who treated him good. You could do this.

“You are too good to me, babygirl.” Tony kissed your cheek. “To me and for me.” You hugged him tight.

“Were you going to sleep y/n?”

You nodded and whined “Yes, little girl so tired.”

“Oh, little girl so tired? She wants to be cuddled in bed?” He was mocking you but yes, you wanted it.

“YES.”

“Yes? Do you think you deserve it?”

“Yes!”

He lifted you up, making you scream. “Now you called for it.”

“You are kidnapping me!”

“Oh you have no idea babygirl.”

[redstarwriting]

Always

Clint Barton x Reader

Request: “Do you think you could write a Clint x Reader where they have a private relationship away from everything Clint does at SHEILD and the reader loves singing so they always go to open mics together. But one evening when she had a show Clint can't be there because he's on a mission. On the way home the reader gets kidnapped by HYDRA to try to get a ransom from SHEILD and they don't get it so they take what the reader loves most about herself: her voice. Anyway she gets rescued and Clint helps her learn ASL and always takes out his hearing aids because he wants her to understand that while he loved her voice he is more happy that she's safe and with him?”

Word Count: 3,083

Genre: Angst | Some Fluff

Warnings: Kidnapping, Loss of ability to speak, Emotional distress

A/N: Wow! My longest one to date! I hope I did this request justice, because it’s a very cool concept I think. I hope you all enjoy this one!

───────────────────────────────────

“I can’t believe tonight is the start of my solo career,” you joke to yourself, checking your outfit in the mirror. You were about to go to the bar you and Clint frequented as it’s open mic night. Unknown to the rest of the Avengers, except Nat, Clint had a girlfriend. In fact, the two of you literally met at an open mic night, so it was crazy for you to be going without him now. Not necessarily unknown to the rest of the Avengers, Clint has an amazing voice. However, what they don’t know about his angelic voice, is that he sings with his girlfriend at open mic nights every week. When he disappears for the night, they just assume he’s somewhere in the vents, all snuggled and probably eavesdropping. Everyone gets unusually quiet on these nights. He is in fact at the bar you two frequent, O’Caroll’s, not trying to get gossip on all the Avengers. That’s what he does when everyone thinks he’s getting lunch or taking a nap. He tells you all of the gossip too, so you know more about the Avengers than some of the other Avengers know about each other. If you ever met them, you’d really have to be careful with what you’d say. You could ruin lives.

Sadly though, this Saturday night you’re going to the bar alone. Clint is out on a mission, trying to get information from HYDRA with the rest of the team. He keeps telling you how worried he is that they’re planning something big. You always have to assure him that he and the rest of his team will put a stop to it and that everything would be okay. In a way, you were the only thing that could make him feel like everything would end up okay. You love having that power, because although the man is happy-go-lucky literally all the time, he has secrets and doubts in his mind. You put him at ease, and he loves it. You’re one of the main reasons he was able to go into this mission with a clear head. The Avengers finally found where HYDRA was hiding, and they decided to go after them. Although it left you alone, you were proud of him. He was busy saving the world, one open mic night wouldn’t hurt much.

Since O’Caroll’s was one block from your apartment, you always walk there as opposed to getting a ride. Usually, you have your boyfriend with you and that’s all the protection you need, but this time you were alone. A good thing for you is that on your way there, a good amount of people were still walking around the streets since it was nine in the evening. Although you felt a tiny bit sketched out, you still didn’t feel like certain doom was awaiting you because you were walking alone. When you arrive at O’Caroll’s, you’re greeted by the bartender, Cait. “Clint’s not with you?” she asks, surprise literally written all over her face. “No, not tonight. He has some work stuff to deal with,” you give her a look, indicating that it was Secret Agent Barton work. Cait was a close friend to you two, so she knew about Clint’s job as Hawkeye, one of Earth’s mightiest defenders. She nods, understanding immediately before grinning at you and motioning towards the stage. “Well, I’m glad you could still come. Can’t wait to hear your voice tonight.” “Thanks, Cait. Now, give me my usual, please.”

The rest of the night was a blast. You mingled with all the other regulars and sang quite a few times. Nearly every time you would step off the stage to let someone else go, you were met with protests. All in all, your first solo performance night went very well. You couldn’t wait to tell Clint all about it when he got home from the mission. You knew he’d want to hear every detail, so you went easy on the alcohol this time. You also knew you’d be walking home alone tonight, as no one else who lived in your apartment complex came to open mic night. By two in the morning, you decided it was time to head home. You said goodbye to Cait and all of your adoring fans as you walked out into the breezy New York night. It seemed like a very calm night, and you were very at ease. Your feeling of ease quickly disappeared when you realized just how quiet and calm it was. It was unusual, some of the bars around here forced their patrons out at two in the morning, so why didn’t you see anyone coming out of any? You began walking faster, trying to get to your apartment building as soon as possible. You were about to get to your stoop, when you heard a hushed whisper from the dark alleyway you were right in front of say, “That’s her, get her!”

Before you could even start running, you felt someone grab your arms while another person shoved a rag in your face. You struggled to get out of the man’s grip and fought desperately to stay awake, but you knew the rag was doused in chloroform. And due to this, you began losing consciousness. The last thing you noticed was being shoved in a van and seeing a badge on one of your abductor’s clothes. A skull with six tentacles where the mouth should be. The last thought that went through your head was Clint, then everything went black.

While this was happening to you, the Avengers were on their way back from their mission. The information they got from the HYDRA agents at the base they just destroyed was very helpful to them. In fact, it would help them absolutely win against HYDRA completely. There was a map on the wall of the main control room in the base, and although there were no marks on it to the naked eye, there were marks on it you could only see under a black light. It was quite a textbook thing to do really. Everyone was impressed with how simple it was. Well, actually maybe not impressed. Maybe more suspicious, concerned, paranoid. Clint especially as he hadn’t heard from you for about an hour. He kept telling himself you were just performing, busy singing and that’s why you couldn’t respond. Or maybe you decided to turn in for the night early. He made excuse after excuse as to why you weren’t responding, but no matter what he told himself, he had a bad feeling. “Barton, what’s wrong?” He looks up to see Nat standing in front of him, her hushed tone heard only by him. He sighs, standing to become closer to her level. “I haven’t heard from (Y/N) since 1:30. I’m worried, Nat. I have a bad feeling about this,” he informs her, quietly and urgently. She frowns, you two are friends after all. “Well, isn’t she at home? Maybe she just fell asleep.”

“Maybe, but she could still be out. We go to a specific bar every Saturday, and she told me that even though I wouldn’t be there with her tonight, she was still going.”

“Alone?”

“Alone.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“What are you two talking so hushed about?” Thor asks, oblivious to the tension and seriousness of the conversation. The rest of the team looks at them, and Clint thinks on his feet. “Nat was just telling me about this new SHIELD agent she thinks I’d get along with. Nothing else,” he lies effortlessly, and Nat plays along. “Oh, yeah? Who?” Tony asks, turning the pilot’s seat around, becoming involved in the conversation. Nat rolls her eyes, “If you think I’m going to tell you, you’re sadly mistaken. I’m trying to get her a husband, not a hook-up.” Everyone chuckles at the remark, and Tony shrugs. “Worth a shot.”

At this point, Clint’s phone buzzes. He quickly looks at it, hoping to see your name, however he sees a message from Fury. “Call Me.”

“I gotta take this, guys,” Clint says, walking to a corner of the jet where he can be a bit more private. Emphasis on a bit. He calls immediately, and Fury picks up on the other end. “What do you need?”

“I don’t know how to tell you this nicely, so I’ll just be blunt about it. (Y/N)’s been kidnapped. By HYDRA. And to get her back, they’re requesting we give them the Tesseract. I know you know we can’t do that, but we’re working on finding out just where exactly they’re holding her. I’m sorry for the bad news, Barton.”

The call ends, and Clint freezes. Horror and anger begin flowing through his veins, and he rigidly brings his phone from his ear. “Clint? What’s wrong?” Nat immediately notices the change in his demeanor, as do the rest of the Avengers. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t even turn around. “Barton?” Steve walks over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Clint’s eyes dart to Cap’s hand, before looking at him in the face. He doesn’t say anything to him, but rather turns to Nat. “HYDRA has her.” Nat’s expression hardens, and Tony’s eyebrows furrow. “Has who?” Clint doesn’t say anything, rather he sits down, putting his head in his hands. “(Y/N),” Nat responds for him. “Not to be rude, but that doesn’t exactly clear up anything for us,” Bruce says, and Nat sighs. “It’s his girlfriend.”

From that moments forward, the rest of the team began searching to find you. Clint didn’t get any sleep, and he was the most distressed any of them had ever seen him, even Nat. It took two days to locate you, and the very moment your location was found, Clint was already on the quinjet, ready to go wherever you were. He was well aware of the risks of storming the place to find you, but quite frankly, he just didn’t care. He would do whatever it took to get you home safe, and it became very obvious to all of the HYDRA agents and the rest of the Avengers that this was the case very quickly. Arriving at the base was a wild ride, mainly due to the fact that as soon as the quinjet was over the base, Clint immediately skydived out of it. He showed absolutely no mercy to anyone who got in his way, and he showcased some of his swordsmanship abilities. Getting inside the base was easy with Clint going at the rate he was going. The Avengers fought their way to you, but when they found you, it didn’t look good.

Your arms and legs were chained to a chair, and you were looking down. You didn’t even look up when the door to the room you were located in was kicked in. Within the time it took for them to find you, you had been tortured and beaten almost every second of it. You figured the noise was just another method of mental torture they were putting you through, making you think you were being saved, only to rip your hopes apart by beating you again. You were sure you had some broken bones, and you couldn’t even imagine how many cuts and bruises were on your body at this point. You would have rather endured countless beatings than come to terms with what they did when they found out SHIELD wasn’t giving them the Tesseract. Tears start flowing from your eyes again as you think about it, and you’re only snapped out of it when you hear your name being called. You slowly lift your head, and your eyes are met with Clint’s. “(Y/N)!”

He runs over to you, grabbing your face in his hands. “(Y/N), baby, you’re alive! Thank god you’re alive,” he starts mumbling an excessive amount, getting you out of that chair and taking you into his arms. He picks you up, carrying you out to the quinjet while Tony, Nat, Thor, Bruce, and Steve handle the rest of the HYDRA agents. “You’re okay, now. It’s okay,” he says, holding you and wiping the silent tears escaping from your eyes. You only begin to cry harder, however you make no noise at all. Clint finds that odd, knowing that when someone begins sobbing there’s usually sound to it. “What did they do to you…?”

You bury your head in his chest, shaking and crying, but remaining silent the whole time. Clint holds you, stroking your hair and trying to soothe you. When the other Avengers got back to the quinjet, they were met with Clint holding you in his arms, his cheeks stained with tears. “Is she okay?” Nat asks, going over to you. You don’t move from the position you’re in, but Clint nods, telling her you were okay. Nat could see the distant look in his eyes, though, and she knew something was wrong. She didn’t want to pry, so she just nodded and walked away. The ride home was silent, even Tony wasn’t talking. The whole time, Clint just held you in his arms.

When you all arrived at Avengers Tower, Clint lead you to his room immediately. “You can take a shower if you want to. You were gone for a while and I doubt they let you practice personal hygiene, so,” he tells you, and you nod. He looks at you for a moment, he already believes he knows what happened, but he asks you again, “What did they do to you?” You look at him for a moment, opening your mouth to talk but quickly closing it when you remember what happened. You look around, tears already welling up in your eyes again when you see his desk. You walk over to it, grabbing a post-it note and a pen, scribbling down what happened through tears. You hand it to him, sitting on his bed and holding your head in your hands. “They took your voice…” he whispers, nodding while reading what you wrote and covering his mouth. His assumptions were correct, and he immediately feels awful for you.

He sits next to you, pulling you into him. He holds you as you cry even more, trying to comfort you when he gets an idea. He holds up his index finger to you signifying you to give him one second, when he suddenly reaches for his ears. You look at him with curiosity, only to see him take his hearing aids out. He sits them on the nightstand next to his bed, turning to you. He points at his ears, shrugging and writing on the post it you wrote on. “Watch my lips.” You look at him, and he signs something to you. You do as he says and watch his lips, and you quickly realize he’s signing “Hello” to you. He motions toward himself, visually telling you to do it back to him. You sign “Hello” back to him, and he smiles. He reaches for his hearing aids again, putting them in again. “I can teach you ASL, you know. I’m fluent in it and you’re smart enough to do it,” he says quietly, and you look up at him. “It would just be ultimately easier for you to communicate, you know?” He wipes a tear from your cheek and gives you a small smile. “You can get through this. I know you can. And I’ll be right here with you the entire time. Always. You’re not alone.” You slowly nod, and he kisses the top of your head. “We’ll start tomorrow, you need to get some sleep,” he tells you. You nod, changing into his clothes and laying down next to him. He pulls you into him, humming a song to you to lull you to sleep.

It was difficult adjusting to your new life, and even more difficult learning ASL. You and Clint would practice all the time, but it still took a significant amount of time for you to become fluent in it. After about a year, you were becoming decently proficient at it. You still had a lot to learn, but you could communicate and get your points across. Although getting used to your new way of communication was taking work, Clint was making it as easy as possible for you. He frequently would take out his hearing aids now to make you feel like you weren’t alone. You get to know all the other Avengers, and actually manage to talk to Nat in ASL as well. Although Nat hated seeing one of her best friend’s struggle, seeing Clint help you out by taking his hearing aids out and making you feel not alone was one of the cutest things she sees. She also loves when Tony will try to get Clint’s attention when his hearing aids are out. It’s turned into Clint just pretending his hearing aids are out at this point, so he doesn’t have to talk to him. Nat never told anyone, but she saw how you two would refer to the rest of the Avengers, since you both had personalized names for everyone. Most of them were positive. Unless Stark made either one of you mad. Then it wasn’t as positive.

Although you were becoming adjusted to all of this, it was still very difficult for you at times. At times Clint would find you crying, and when he asked what was wrong, you’d tell him you missed singing. It was your own personal fear that he loved you less because you two couldn’t go sing together anymore because it played such a large role in your relationship. Any time you would communicate this to him, he would assure you he loved you for you, not your voice. He has to make sure you know that although he does miss singing duets with you and hearing your lovely voice, he would rather have you safe with him. He loved you, not just your voice. You thought it was funny how it changed from you being able to constantly assure him and make him feel like everything was going to be okay to him doing that to you. Granted, you still did assure and help him, but you never would have been able to deal with this if he hadn’t been there. You knew you would be able to handle anything now, as long as Clint was with you. And he is always with you.

[lovelyirony]

Ironwidow fake dating and cousin Sharon matchmaking

Nat and Tony have been friends since seventh grade, when Tony made fun of her drawing and in retaliation, Nat stuck a pencil in his thigh. 

He grinned at her after sneakily getting a tissue from the front desk. 

“You’re pretty good, Nat.” 

“My name is Natasha.” 

“Not to me, it’s not.” 

So it becomes Nat and Tony. Tony and Nat. They do everything together, from attend the eighth grade pool parties and hate all of them to the freshman orientation in high school where they make fun of the senior leaders and sneak into the admissions office to make sure they have at least one class together. (And then change the schedule when they don’t.) 

Tony has been in love with Natasha Romanoff since the first eighth grade pool party, when she showed up in a full wet suit because she didn’t like the way that their classmate Ivan liked her. 

But, he hasn’t done anything about it. Why is that, everyone asks? Just ask her out! 

Well, Tony has a special talent that is medically known as “anxiety,” but he also has common sense. 

Natasha Romanoff is beautiful. She has gorgeous red hair, eyes that know everything about you before you even think they do, a wicked sense of humor, and a sense of self that is beyond anything Tony’s ever encountered. 

Tony stays up until three a.m., doesn’t give a shit about his appearance so he is frequently rushing to school with the worst bed hair imaginable, and also wears possibly the most out-of-style clothing ever. 

Like right now. A pair of jeans that’s too short and he cuffed only on one leg, a shirt that’s advertising some college Howard made him visit, and he’s pretty sure that the plaid he layered it with has a coffee stain down the back. 

He’s proven right when Sharon wrinkles her nose. 

“Dude, you seriously haven’t done laundry since two weeks ago, have you?” 

“Do I smell bad? Do I?” 

She leans in. 

“No, just like old coffee. So regular. We’ll see when Nat comes. Or you could confess your love to have her not roast your choice of apparel.” 

Tony scowls, adjusting his backpack. 

“Do you have another topic, or are you just that boring?” 

“I could also tell you about World War One,” Sharon adds. “I just read about it in one of those stupid textbooks I have to carry around. Did you know that the French are actually the worst at war?” 

“Yes, everyone knows that. I think they know that too.” 

Nat’s already at her locker. She looks gorgeous with her jean jacket, the new patches sewn on. 

“Looking cute,” Sharon says appreciatively. “Do you think you’re gonna get dress-coded for the ‘fuck men’ patch?” 

“Not if they want me to write an article on how the club fund got cut but the football team got another new field within four years,” Nat says. 

“Still a good article,” Tony says. “If you could still get into a college without a reputation ruined. You know how much schools care about sports.” 

“More than education at times!” Sharon cheers. 

Nat snorts, bringing Tony into a hug. 

“Nice to see you, dude. Ready for history?” 

“Not in the slightest. We’re probably talking about government procedure again while our teacher waxes poetic about the justice system. I think I might try to change the FDA’s home screen again.” 

“You know, they might catch on after the fourth time of you inserting random YouTube videos to different links.” 

“It’s the Federal Department of Agriculture, I highly doubt they care,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Besides, I’ve already proven that I’m probably better with technology than the government itself.” 

This was true; Tony had hacked into the official website of the White House with shitty hotel Wi-Fi and half his sanity. (It was flu season, he’d had way too much Ny-Quil.) 

School passes by with little incident, all things considered. A classic Monday, with the only real excitement being an announcement of no school the following Monday for a staff meeting. 

It isn’t until Tony gets home to find both of his parents home and in the same room, waiting for him, that he starts to panic. 

“Is this an intervention?” Tony asks. “Did I do something bad?” 

“Not yet,” Howard says. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised.” 

“Dear,” Maria reprimands. “No, there’s an event that we want you to attend.” 

“Want or need?” Tony asks. “I was supposed to hang out with my friend Bruce to work on his genetics lab.” 

“I’m sure the lab can wait,” Howard scoffs. “You’re in high school, for god’s sake.” 

“Bruce is doing lab work for Culver,” Tony says. “He got early acceptance, so he’s doing a weird deal so he gets college credit and a year off early.” 

“Impressive, dear,” mom says, smiling. “But this event is something that you can’t miss.” 

It’s a goddamn family reunion. Maria’s side, but still. At least Peggy and Sharon would come. 

Family reunions on the Carter/Carbonell side are…interesting. A lot of loud people, aunts that couldn’t stop cooking, and at least one uncle that would say something marginally horrible and cause a rift for at least six hours where everything was tense. 

Sharon had to take this advantage carefully. 

So she got her own email into the family chain of them–a mistake by all accounts, but one that should be committed sooner rather than later–and tells the family that Tony is bringing his girlfriend, Natasha. 

They both love each other, she knows that much. Tony looks at Nat like he could give her anything in the world, and Nat looks at him with so much vulnerability that she always says she doesn’t have. 

They’ve liked each other for a while now. Sharon wishes that it wasn’t at her family reunion that she was doing this, but it was either that or a dance for high school, and that’s far too much work. 

Tony, understandably, is stressed. 

“Does she even know she’s going?!” Tony yells. “Holy shit Sharon, she’s going to meet like eighty of us!” 

“Yeah,” Sharon says. “She just doesn’t know that she’s supposed to be your girlfriend.” 

“Sharon.” 

“Yes?” 

“Run.” 

Sharon squeals as she skids out of the room, Tony chasing after her. He’s not really going to do anything about it, but he still has to text Nat. 

i am. so sorry 

lmao it’s fine. sharon just said i’m going to the reunion. why? 

funny story…

fuck what’d she do 

she emailed everyone that i was bringing you as a girlfriend. and i’m not really going to spend the whole weekend correcting it. 

gotcha. operation: fake dating commence! 

thank you nat. seriously love you 

Nat reads the message, but doesn’t respond. Of course Sharon would pull something like this. She knew that Nat liked her cousin, probably since they were kids. 

And now she had to pretend to be his girlfriend, something she actually wanted very much to do. 

She gets a text from Sharon. 

Please don’t wear your jean jacket with all the patches. It’s very cool, but you will start a fight in my family and win. But then you aren’t allowed to come back :( 

Natasha sends her back the middle finger, but then promises not to bring it.

This brings up the subject; what do you wear to a family reunion? 

- 

Tony’s fidgeting in the car as he goes to pick up Nat. His mother was very surprised. 

“You got your father’s distinct habit of not shutting your mouth,” she says with a chuckle. “But I do suppose the gazes say it all. Every Carbonell man looks like he’s in love before he says it, so–” 

“Mama, not now!” Tony hisses. Natasha’s making her way to the car, backpack slung around her shoulder and an elegant handbag in the crook of her arm. 

“Hey Ms. Carbonell,” Natasha says. “How are you?” 

“Doing good, better now that I get to have you with us,” she teases. “Anthony over here never told me that he was going to have you on as a special guest.” Natasha sends a raised eyebrow over to Tony. 

“Oh?” 

“I forgot,” Tony lied smoothly. “You know how I get in the labs. Just completely forget everything I’m supposed to remember.” 

The conversation is easy after that: just a few little anecdotes that Nat and Tony have gone over last night over the phone. They had confessed that they liked each other a year ago, had kept it extremely low-key since both didn’t want to fuss with it, and that was that. 

“How come Sharon knew but I didn’t?” Mom pouts. 

“She’s an imp,” Tony answers. “An imp who doesn’t know how to keep business to herself.” 

Their family fills up a small inn out of the way, and Tony sighs as he sees three of his aunts already conspiring at the bar. 

“Be prepared for a barrage of questions.” 

“Roger that.” 

Natasha is whisked away by the ladies with a few compliments to the cute flats she’s wearing and her favorite type of perfume. Tony gets led over to Sharon, who is playing darts with Trip and their kind-of-but-not-really-cousin, Ricardo. 

“What have I missed out on?” Trip asks, grinning. “Heard some girl was crazy enough to come and date you. She’s a looker, Tony.” 

“Thanks,” Tony says. “But yes, crazy enough to date me. Sharon knows how crazy it is, I practically get the same gene from her.” 

Sharon rolls her eyes, landing another bullseye. Ricardo curses. 

“How do you always manage to do this?” 

“Practice for this exact moment,” Sharon says with a grin. “Go get me a drink. One of the good ones.” 

“You seriously get him to do your bidding every single time,” Tony says with a laugh. Trip excuses him to see Uncle Erik, leaving Sharon and Tony alone. 

“So. You liking your new status of boyfriend?” 

“You seriously need to stop meddling,” Tony scowls. “Just because I like her doesn’t mean she should be in on this.” 

“She doesn’t mind,” Sharon scoffs. “Besides, I think Aunt Angie is going to tell her about the cardboard incident.” 

“Oh my god–” 

Natasha saunters over, grinning devilishly. 

“So. Naked and a cardboard box for modesty? Why am I not surprised at the innovation, Tony?” 

“Dammit,” Tony swears. “I’m going to learn something embarrassing about you. I’ll ask Clint.” 

“Like he’ll tell.” 

The reunion goes about as well as expected. Uncle Daniel finally spills the beans and says that his son who couldn’t make it was going to bring his girlfriend that no one likes, but they canceled at the last minute. 

“They’re horrible,” Tony says. “I’m serious. They’re the kind of people that take advantage of old people.” 

“Gross.” 

They gravitate closer to each other. While Natasha doesn’t have a problem with this, it’s bittersweet. Every time Tony casually puts his arm around her and tells another story about how they snuck into the office to match schedules and his family coos and says it’s so cute, and Sharon smiles at them. 

It stings, to be this close and yet knowing that it isn’t at all real. 

Tony lies awake at night. Becuase this is nice. All of his family loves Nat, so does he, and it seems…possible almost. To have her this close, smiling at him like she has. 

So it’s not a good idea, but he goes to her room at three a.m. She’s still awake. 

“Why are you still awake?” 

“Watching funny videos. Why are you awake?” 

“That’s why I’m here. Follow me.” 

They go into the courtyard. It feels…nice outside. Tony’s wringing his hands. 

“What’s got you so nervous?” Natasha asks. “And why at three in the morning?” 

“I think this is literally the only way I could do it,” Tony says. “Only time my family shuts up.” 

“Go for it then,” Natasha says. “You have until four, when your baby cousin wakes up. Lorenzo?” 

“Got it,” Tony says, smiling. “Um, well, I–” 

“What?” 

“Oh fuck,” Tony curses. “Listen, I’m just going to say it. I’m just going to say it.” 

“You’ve said that twice.” 

“Iloveyou.” 

“What?” 

“I…I love you,” Tony says, sighing. “I’ve loved you I think since eighth grade, and I’m now telling you because I don’t think I can just go on with life without telling you. I also realize that you’re stuck at the family reunion until this is over, so now I realize I’ve put stress on you and I’m sorry, I can fake my death if you really want me to, so–” 

Natasha envelops him in a hug. She kisses his cheek, looking at him in the dim light of the lanterns. 

“You absolute fool. I love you too.” 

It’s the first of many “I love you’s.” 

Sharon takes credit for the relationship, and Tony and Nat let her. She’s also the maid of honor and meets her future wife, Maria. 

Tony and Natasha don’t go to the same college, but compete against each other in the trivia clubs that both schools have, and so they spend other time together. Natasha shows him her favorite tea shop downtown, and Tony shows her all of the hideaway spots he uses for studies. 

(And to hide her away from Rhodey, who will tell her anything and everything that’s embarrassing about Tony.) 

Right after college, Tony and Nat move into an apartment. 

About a year later, Natasha holds out a gold ring for him to put on, asks if they really have to get married in a fancy church, and watches as Tony tears up and hugs her. 

“I told you!” Sharon crows when they reveal the rings. “I told you that you would get married!” 

“Okay loser,” Natasha says. “Then you’re the maid-of-honor. Congrats on throwing my bachelorette party.” 

“I’m making us go paint-balling.” 

Tony rolls his eyes, but looks at his now-fiancee. 

Things will be good. Aren’t they always? 

[stephn-prkr]

Last Warning

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader, little bit of Bucky x Reader

Warnings: implied smut, swearing, violence, angst

Words: 2,168

A/N: This is my first ff in a long while. This is in no way showing hate towards the characters mentioned. :)

It's not a shocking scenario where Steve would be attached to Sharon the first time they've meet. Sharon's linked to Peggy, Steve's first love. You understood how Steve must've felt all those years stuck in ice, then waking up 70 years later, all your loved ones, gone. Deep down, you know that he hasn't moved on. That there's still a piece of his heart missing. He hasn't given up. He knows that sometime, someway, there's a possibility where he'd come back and continue his life in his 40s, with Peggy. Time travelling, diving into the Quantum Realm, he knows there's still a way.

You thought of yourself as a distraction. Steve's way of distracting himself of his thoughts - his Mind Palace, as Sherlock would say. Distraction from thinking about Peggy, distracting of how he still wants to be with Peggy. I mean, heck, he'd always talk about her when you two weren't dating yet. That was all in his mind. And you understood that.

But you couldn't help but feel the jealousy and loneliness lingering the moment Sharon stepped in the compound. You and Steve were barely even talking anymore, you sometimes wonder if he still remembers that you exist, his girlfriend. You'd walk in on Steve laughing at what Sharon said, waking up alone and cold and entering the common room, seeing Steve brew a coffee for Sharon in the early morning. You sigh, just the thought of it made you want to sit in a corner and cry for days.

You weren't an idiot. You knew Steve fell head over heels for Sharon. And even thought it hurt seeing them together, you didn't want to hurt Steve by threatening him to stay away from her because he's slowly drifting away from you. You kept ignoring that possibility.

"Y/N." Tony breaks the silence from you two. Both of you were in the basement, helping Tony fix his Iron Man suit as it seems to be malfunctioning. You looked up to meet his eyes, hinting that you were listening. "You and Steve...okay?" He asks. Seeming to have noticed the slight, uncomfortable breeze whenever you attempt to talk to Steve normally again. "What do you mean?" You raised your eyebrows, pretending to be unaware of the situation. "It seems like uh, Steve and Sharon are getting along just fine."

"I know." You sigh. "If he's happy, then I am too." You lied. And Tony knew damn well you're lying. He's like a father figure to you. You'd tell him your secrets, including your undying love for Steve. Tony pursed his lips, not wanting to continue the conversation, aware that deep inside, you're hurt.

It was one in the morning, You felt cold that Steve wasn't there to hold you, to wrap his arms around you as if he'd never wanted to let go. You sighed rolled over the bed to search for Steve. You'd gone to the HQ, common room, kitchen, empty. Gym was the last place you have to look.

As you were approaching the gym, it was quiet, however, you saw something shifting at the corner of the room, the sounds of heavy breathing and something wet. You flicked the lights on, only to see Steve on top of Sharon, in the midst of taking his shirt off until both turned their heads to the door.

You gasped. Tears threatening to leave your eyes. You're eyes were glowing red, rage activating your mutant powers. "I fucking knew it!" You shouted, loud enough to wake the other avengers. You stormed out of the room, Steve following suite, "I-it's not what it looks like." He stutters, putting his shirt back on. "Oh, yeah. My own boyfriend on top of a fucking bitch who needed to be reminded that he's taken. Should I point the fact that your fucking boner is showing underneath your sweatpants, not to mention I caught you two eating each others faces! What does it look like, Steve Rogers?" You screamed. Tears rapidly running down your cheeks, slowly, the rest of the now awake members were shocked, you were never the type to get mad. But it didn't matter the fact that what they were seeing is Steve humiliated and sweating, followed by a half-naked Sharon, and a very mad and glowing Y/N.

Steve had no other words left to say, neither did Sharon. "Do you have something to say, you stupid bit-" You violently threw Sharon across the hallway, rage slowly poisoning you. "Y/N!" Steve yelled. Finding his way over to Sharon, checking if she was still conscious. You didn't care that you hurt her, Steve, or every member of the avengers watching everything happen. You storm inside your room, aggressively throwing your bag on top of your bed and stuffing your clothes in. "Y/N, please," Steve entered, grasping your wrist, you slapped his arm, "Please what? Please what, Steve?" You yell at his face. "Don't make stupid excuses, I am not a blithering idiot," You stared into his eyes, those fucking puppy eyes, thinking he could do anything for you to forgive him. You laughed, "to think that this is by far our longest conversation we had ever since she stepped inside this compound, you forgot about my existence!" You sobbed. You punched his chest, over and over again. "To think you ever loved me!" "I am in love with you! I will always love you!" He shouted back. You grabbed your bag and placed it over your shoulder, "That's not what I saw back in the gym."

You stormed out of the room, staring at the rest of the members' eyes, "Why don't all of you report to Nick Fury what happened? I'm sure he'll find it understanding as to why I am leaving the avengers." You sobbed, running your way to the exit. Leaving Steve, and the rest broken.

Nearly ten months later, you found yourself working as a Teacher in an elementary school. It was the children's last day before they have their short holiday. It was your lunch break, however you fancied taking care of the children playing on the playground rather than eating, you barely ate, losing appetite every time that scene at the avengers gym replayed in your head. You looked at the children, smiling, giggling, running around, full of joy. You thought of that day you and Steve promised to one day, get married and have kids. The thought of having kids with the person  you love and knew you'd forever be by their side was breathtaking. All was thrown out the window. Ever since then, you were afraid to love again.

"Teacher Y/N! Teacher Y/N!" A young girl came running up to you. "What is it, honey?" You asked, face full of concern. "The avengers are outside of the school!" She said, tone full of enthusiasm and excitement. You choked on your own breath. What the fuck? 

You ran to the gates, it was true, You saw Tony, Clint, Natasha, Bucky, Wanda, Thor, Bruce, and Steve. That one person you never wanted to see, ever again. You activated your powers, hands glowing red, about to initiate an attack. Eyes full of rage again. "How in the hell did you find me?" You growled at Tony. "Planted a tracking device inside your bag before you left." He playfully smirked. You missed this. You missed your father figure, your best friends Natasha and Wanda, everyone. You couldn't help but hug Tony tightly, "'ve missed you so much." You whispered behind Tony's ear, fighting back the tears.

You've welcomed everyone, until your eyes reached to Steve, his eyes, indicating that he was still sorry about what happened, you could give less of a damn.

"You have to come with us," Tony insisted. "We'll talk about it at the compound." You agreed. You reported to the school's office that there was an emergency, grabbed your stuff, and headed towards the Quinjet.

It took all of your strength not to punch Steve in the face. You did miss the times where you and Steve would just lay in bed all day and just cuddle, missing the feeling your lips touched his -- but all of them gradually changed from love to anger. You were resisting the urge to cry, all the memories flashing back inside your head, like you were somehow cursed to only remember the hell you've been through.

You've only agreed to come with them because you seemed that it was urgent. Knowing that Tony planted a tracking device on you, you were curious as to why Tony only appeared now.

"Everybody, in the conference room, now." Tony ordered, you followed suite. Anxiety creeping up. Unaware of what's happening.

On the way there, you've managed to pass by Sharon, rage creeping up inside your veins again." You've met eyes with Sharon, glaring. She stopped in her tracks, "Y/N, I--I'm truly sor-"

"Save it. " You snapped.

With a sigh, Tony starts the meeting. "So, everyone's aware why they're here," He begins, and glancing at you, "Except for you." He completed his sentence. "Y/N, Please come back? We need you more than you'd ever expect," Tony practically begs, "Nick, Nick is still mad that you left, ofcourse that's not yours to blame..." Natasha added before stealing a short glance at Steve, awkward silence filling the room. "Please, Y/N. You are one of our strongest, and smartest avengers we have, and the most cheerful one, Thor wanted you! For once, it wasn't about wanting a puppy! " Natasha begs as she held my hand. You smiled, "Fine, but only if you'd finally let Thor have a puppy here." You say, "Yes! You heard her!" Thor exclaimed as he excitedly wielded his hammer. While the rest were cheering, glad that you've returned, Steve was still glued to his seat, smiling.

After Clint and Thor gladly volunteered to bring all your stuff to your new room, they left and you were left alone in your thoughts.

"Hey."

You winced. That voice. 

You carried on and begin to arrange your stuff. "You need help? I'll-" "I don't need any kind of help, especially from you." You snapped. Muscles tense as he steps forward. "Please, let's talk." Steve begged, your eyes rolling, "What's there to talk about? I am done, Steve, I'm only here to help the team." You groaned, tired from all the bullshit Steve has been pulling so far. "I still love you." He admitted. You chuckled, "And I don't give a damn, tell that to your girlfriend, that you're still a cheating bastard."

Suddenly, he aggressively grabbed your wrist, "Can't you just please accept my apology already? I'm on edge, cut a guy some slack, do you know how hard it was for me the last few months?" He yelled. That's it, that was the last straw, your whole body started glowing and with full force, you threw him all the way to the common room, where everyone still was, all eyes widening, dropping what they were doing. "You selfish prick! You're one to talk after I caught you and Barbie fucking at the gym, While we were dating, Steve! Dating!" You screamed at the top of your lungs. "And you come to me to make me understand the 'shit' you've been through? Is it my fault you chose to fucking lie and betray? You're just a cheating asswipe!" You say as you grabbed him by the collar and threw him across the wall again, leaving Steve no time to take a breather, he groaned. "No! You don't understand what pain I've been through! Seeing the person I loved with all my heart love someone else. Guess what? You're still with her!" You screamed, a sob escaping your lips. "I can't believe that you're still looking for forgiveness! Spoiler alert, you'll never get one." You spat.

"This is your last warning, if you ever lay a finger on me, or even try to 'have a talk' again, I'll shove that finger up your ass where the sun don't shine." You threatened him, and stormed out of the room.

You angrily shut the door behind you and collapsed on the bed. Hard and angry sob escaping your lips. "Fucking Fuck, fuck you Steve Rogers." You mumbled, hands resting on your head, biting your lips to stop you from crying. When you heard a soft knock on the door, "c-come in." You softly said, confident that that wasn't Steve since you knocked him out. The door opens, revealing a concerned Bucky.

You sat up from your bed, allowing him to sit next to you, he held your hand, not saying anything. Would anyone be fine, after what just happened? A soft sob escaped from your lips once again, "Shh, it's gonna be fine, okay? Just listen to my voice, it's gonna be okay." Bucky whispered, wrapping his arms around you while his metal hand was softly playing with your hair.

For once, in a long while, it felt like home.

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Winter Wolf: Part 11

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, fluff.

Word Count: 4,891

Box Filled: Gender Swap

A/N: This series was written for @marvelfluffbingo​ and it took on a life of its own. Enjoy!

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How is she?” Steve asked over the phone a few days after you were kicked out of your home. Bucky sighed and shook his head as he looked across the grungy motel room at you you had paid for with stolen cash.

“She’s not good.” He said, not even trying to keep his voice down since you could hear the maid cleaning three rooms down and a floor up anyways. “Nightmares are back, the voice won’t shut up, and she hasn’t said hardly anything but, ‘don’t leave me’ and ‘I’m sorry’ for days.” Steve sighed into the phone as Bucky ran his fingers through his hair. “How’d he even get that video anyways?”

“Bruce says someone sent it to him and cloned Fury’s email as the return. And Tony’s assistant, who was the one who put the slide show together, didn’t look at it before she added it in.”

“Well that was obviously was a stupid move.” He said as he watched you simply stare at the knife you had embedded into the bedside table in front of your face and picked up his beer. “Tony’s still pissed?”

“He’s locked himself in his shop and refuses to talk to even Pepper.”

“Jesus, this is bad.” Bucky said as he took a long pull of his drink. Steve opened his mouth to agree but before even a full syllable left it, there was a scuffle for the phone.

“Bucky?” Nat asked. “Let me talk to her.” Bucky looked over at you as you closed your eyes and covered your head with the blanket.

“She’s asleep.” He lied without missing a beat. “I gotta go.”

“Don’t you hang up this phone!” She screeched angrily. “Let me talk to my girlfriend…”

“No!” He snapped back as he set his beer down on the table. “You gave up that right when you decided to stay with Tony and not come to her rescue when she needed you. You were right there, Natasha!”

“Bucky, you have no right…” Nat said but he didn’t hear the rest as you pulled the phone out of his hand.

“No, you have no right, Natasha.” You said evenly without a shred of emotion in your voice or on your face. “Don’t call back.” Before she could protest, you hung up the phone and handed it back to Bucky. You turned back and took a step over to the bed but Bucky gently grabbed your wrist.

“Just sit.” He said softly as he pat his thigh and let go of your wrist to let you have the option. You stood there, listening to the irrational thoughts in your head before stepping back over and sitting down on his lap. He let out a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around your waist as you curled into his chest like the wounded puppy you were. He rested his chin on top of your head and turned on the TV as tears fell softly from your eyes.

“She just stood there.” You whispered as you fisted his shirt in your hand. He nodded his head and rubbed your arm with a sigh.

“I know, baby.”

“And she promised.” You sighed as you covered your face in your hand.

“I know, sweetheart.” Tears fell between your fingers as you curled up even more on his lap and held on to his shirt for dear life.

“I knew you were the only one that really loved me.” Bucky’s heart seized and his hand froze on your arm.

“Baby, Tasha loves you…”

“Don’t.” You said with a shake of your head as you sat back to look at him. “Don’t justify her actions. She made her choice.”

“OK.” He said with a nod. “Sorry, baby. I’m trying here. Not sure how to comfort my girlfriend after she gets in a fight with her girlfriend.”

“The Wolf says pizza.” You said as you laid your head back down on his chest. “And she also says to hang up the phone if that bitch ever calls back again.” He nodded his head and grabbed his phone but you reached out for his hand. “I wanna go back to Romania.” You whispered as you looked up at him. He instantly nodded and brushed his hand across your back.

“Of course, baby girl. Anything for you.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Did you know I can juggle?” Bucky asked with a smile as he grabbed a few apples from the grocery store right down the street from the half way decent apartment the pair of you had happily called home for the past three months.

“Why does that not surprise me?” You giggled as he began to juggle the three apples almost effortlessly. You smiled at him and rested your long sleeve covered arms on the handle of the basket on your arm. “Show off.”

“You love it.” He said as he caught the three apples. You clapped your hands slowly and laughed when he bowed dramatically.

“Well now you have to buy them.” You said as you grabbed a bag and held it out for him to put the apples in. “So I can get a private performance later.”

“Yeeeaaaa…. You just wanna see me naked.” He joked as he tied off the bag and added it to the basket on your arm. 

“Who wouldn’t?” He smiled as he stepped around you and wrapped his arms around your waist. “But you’re the only one lucky enough to see.”

“And damn it if I’m not the luckiest girl alive.” You said with a smile as you stopped in front of the tomatoes and picked through them for the perfect ones for a marinara sauce for dinner.

“Can you make me the luckiest man in the world?” He asked. “Marry me, (Y/N).” The tomatoes in your hands slipped through your fingers and landed on the floor with a wet splat as you turned in his arms with your eyebrows in your hairline.

“What?”

“Just say yes.” He said with a smile as he held onto your hips and pulled them against his. “Say yes, marry me, spend the rest of your life with me, and make me the luckiest man in the world.”

“God, you’re so freaking romantic, Barnes.” You laughed as you cupped his jaw in your hands. “Yes.” He smirked and crashed his lips with yours for a moment and almost just as quickly pulling back.

“Let’s go then.” He said with a laugh as he took the basket from you and went to put it down.

“Wait!” You said as you snatched it back with a laugh. “We need food in the house. Food, then marriage, Mr. Impatient. Besides, you can’t get quickie marriages in Romania. You have to go to like… Denmark, I think.”

“Then Denmark it is.” He laughed as he took the basket from you with a smile. “Or maybe… just maybe… we could call Steve… see if he could pick us up and we could go down to Wakanda? See if the King can expedite some things for us since your birth certificate is none existent and all. That way you’re little Stevie could be there, too?”

“James Barnes. How long have you had this planned?” He smirked over at you as he set the basket down on the counter for the cashier. 

“Truthfully? Since before we left New York. I was just waiting until I got my beautiful wife to smile again with my silly antics.” You blushed and pulled some cash from your jeans pocket. 

“You’re an idiot.” You giggled as you payed for your groceries.

“I’m you’re idiot. Forever and ever.” You smirked and gave him a chaste kiss as he took your change and grabbed your bags.

“Alright. Call Steve. But swear him to secrecy. I don’t want anyone hearing about this, OK?” He nodded as he laced his arm through yours and lead you out of the store.

“Secret’s safe with me.”

——

“So you got her to say yes?” Steve asked the second you got off the jet T’Challa had gladly sent up to Romania for you. “Took you long enough to ask.”

“Shut up.” Bucky chuckled. He hugged his friend and his smile instantly dropped. “Is she here?”

“Still MIA.” Steve responded as you said hello to the King and Shuri. Bucky nodded, glad that he wasn’t battling for his future wife’s attention on his wedding day. No matter how much he loved Nat as a friend, he despised her for what she did to you. “Come on.” Steve said with a pat on his shoulder. “Let’s get you hitched.”

——

“Wait, is this really happening?” You asked Steve as you stood just inside the palace, looking out at the darkened landscape as you waited for the start of the sunrise. “She… I… we…” You tried as you held up your sleeveless lace dress and took a step back.

“Hey, look at me.” Steve said as he grabbed your arm so you wouldn’t run. “Hey.” You looked up at him with wide eyes and he shook his head. “Don’t listen to her, listen to me.” You nodded your head as he cupped your jaw in his hands. “Do you love him?”

“With all my heart.”

“Do you think he loves you?” You smiled and happy tears welled in your eyes. 

“With all his heart.”

“And do you think that he will be there for you, better or worse, thick or thin, voices or not?” You barked a laugh and shook your head.

“Always.” 

“Well that’s marriage right there, sweetheart.” You smiled as he pulled you forward to kiss your forehead. “Now go get your man. Sun’s coming up.” You looked over out the window as the sky finally started to show it’s beautiful palette of colors, just like that first time he took you flying. You took a deep breath and fixed your boho chic dress that you found literally last second in a store in the city so that it laid out around you. Steve fixed the flower crown that some of the local kids made for the celebration and took your arm. You took a deep breath and nodded, letting the two people at the double doors know you were ready.

“I’d tell you this was the last chance to run but I know you’d take me up on that offer.” Steve joked as he walked you outside. You giggled and nodded as the end of the aisle came into view in the dim lit sky.

“I want this.” You said with a nod.

“I know you do.” She said as he paused at the end of the runner so that the cute little flower girl could have her moment in the spotlight. “I’ve never seen you this happy and trust me… I could consider myself an expert on you.”

“That’s not creepy.” He smirked down at you and took a deep breath as the music began to play to signal it was your turn to go. Your hands began to shake with nerves and you almost stumbled on your own feet. But as you rounded the corner and looked at the gorgeous man in front of you, everything made sense.

You thought you knew what love was when you were with John and you thought you knew what it was to be in love with Natasha. But nothing in your entire existence prepared you for the love you felt for James Buchanan Barnes as you looked down the aisle at him. Tears filled your eyes and had it not been for Steve holding you up, you were positive that your knees would have given out right there. You covered a choked laugh with your hand as he reached up and wiped a traitorous tear from his cheek and forced himself not to run to you to make the walk go faster. The people around slipped into the early morning shadows as Steve kissed your cheek and passed your hands to Bucky with a smile. 

“I get to marry you.” You whispered as you reached up and brushed a stray piece of hair from his bun behind his ear.

“I’m still the winner here.” He said with a huge smile as he laced his fingers with yours. As the officiant began the ceremony, you kept your tear filled eyes on his, wanting to remember the gorgeous blue they were in that moment forever. Needing to remember the way his eyes crinkled because of his wide smiles and the adorable dimples through the scruff on his cheeks. But you kept coming back to his eyes that told you that you would be safe for the rest of your life with him. Eyes that promised so much without even needing to say a word. Eyes that conveyed more love than you thought was even possible. His smile grew even bigger and he huffed a laugh.

“Hey… this is the part you gotta listen to, baby…”

“Oh!” You said as you shook yourself out of your stare and looked over at the officiant with a bright red blush. “Sorry.”

“I need you to repeat after me.” He repeated with a smile. You nodded and looked back at Bucky and forced yourself to pay attention and say your vows. You listened intently as Bucky repeated the same words; promising that you would be his and he would be yours until your dying breaths. Rings were exchanged; yours went on your right hand until Shuri could figure out a way to permanently affix it to your metal finger and after choked, laughed I do’s, you got to kiss the love of your life just as the sun rose above the tree line behind you. As cheers filled the air behind you, Bucky pulled back to rest his forehead against yours.

“My wife.” He whispered as he cupped your cheek in his hand.

“My husband.” You whispered back as you gave him another chaste kiss.

“Let’s hear it for Mr. and Mrs. James Barnes!”

——

You felt weightless as Bucky danced you around the make shift dance floor that had been set up on the landing pad behind the palace despite the fact it was only nine in the morning. He kept your fingers laced with his on his chest as he sang to you and did everything he could to make his new wife laugh. You were in heaven and you never wanted to leave.

“Let’s stay here.” You said as one song faded into the next for the few people that were still milling around that didn’t have to go to work that day. “Permanently. We could find a little place somewhere on the edge of town so Tony won’t know we’re here if he shows up. Get real jobs like real, upstanding citizens. We don’t really have anything to go back to in Romania and we’ll be safe…”

“Will you be here?” He asked with a smile.

“Like I’d go anywhere without my husband.” He smiled, loving the sound of his title coming from your lips and nodded.

“Then that’s all I need. If you wanna stay, we’ll stay, baby girl.” You giggled as he spun you in a circle and pulled you back into his chest with an award winning smile on his face. “Want to go on a honeymoon first? Maybe travel the world…?”

“I don’t need a honeymoon, Bucky. I’m happy right where I am.”

“Hey, are you gunna jeopardize the bride all day?” Steve teased as he put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “I’d like to dance with my…”

“Finish that sentence, Stevie.” You said as you laid your head on Bucky’s chest with a smirk. “Girl, best friend, mother…”

“Best friend works.” He chuckled as Bucky kissed the top of your head and passed you off to his friend with a smile as Queen Ramonda came over to offer her congratulations and dance with the groom. Steve spun you in a circle and smiled down at you proudly. “You look so beautiful.”

“Aww Stevie.” You cooed as he reached up to fix the flower crown on your head. “Thank you, for being here. I know I’ve put you in a bad position…”

“Sweetheart, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Nothing could have kept me from being here.” You smiled and sighed as you looked at the star spangled tie he had on.

“Does he still hate me?”

“(Y/N)…” He sighed and you looked back up at him. He looked down at you and groaned as he slowly nodded his head. “Yea, sweetheart. He’s holding a grudge.” You nodded and bit your lip as you rested your head on his chest.

“We’re gunna move here for a while.” You told him as you picked your head up and looked up at him again. “Get jobs, find a place on the outskirts of town… that way if Tony shows up he won’t know we’re here and we’ll know we’re safe. But you can’t tell anyone…”

“I would never.” He said with a nod and a cocked eyebrow. “I’ve been keeping your secrets for years, remember?”

“Yea, yea.” You giggled with a smile. “And I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life, Stevie. I really don’t.”

“You’d be lost and confused.” He joked as he pulled you in for a hug and simply swayed to the music. “I love you, sweetheart. And I’m so glad you found Bucky.”

“So am I.” You said as you looked back up at him at the same time the song ended and Bucky excused himself from the Queen mother.

“Can I have my wife back, now?” He joked as he made grabby hands for you. Steve smiled and gave you a tight hug.

“Congratulations, you two. I’m so happy for you.” You both said thanks as Bucky swept you back into his arms and dipped you in the morning Wakandan light.

“I have never been happier.” You said sweetly as you brushed your fingers across his cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, (Y/N). Forever.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you think we have enough boxes?” Bucky asked as the pair of you down the street in Bucharest to your old apartment to pack the little amount of belongings you owned to take to Wakanda. You nodded as you thumbed through the cash in the backpack you had stashed up under the floorboards of your old apartment.

“We don’t really have all that much, sweetheart.” You said as you zipped up the backpack and slung it on your back. “I think six boxes is more than enough.”

“Damn. That’s… that’s kinda sobering.” You nodded as you rounded the corner but quickly grabbed Bucky’s arm when you noticed a blonde woman standing on the stairs in front of your apartment. You pulled him back into the shadows and waited. “Think it’s a trap?”

“I don’t know.” You said with a shake of your head as you reached for the gun you had in the back of your jeans. Your fingers wrapped around the grip as the woman turned around to look down the street for someone and you exhaled sharply and let go of your gun. “Not a trap.” You said as you pulled your shirt down over your gun. “It’s Daniela.”

“Who?” Bucky asked as you continued down the street toward your apartment building.

“She had a fruit stand at the farmers market down the street from my old place. She was the closest thing I had to a friend when I lived here.” He nodded as she smiled at you sadly and leaned down to pick something up. Bucky put his hand on the small of your back above your gun until she shifted a baby carrier from her left hand to her right where you could see it.

“Breathe, Buck.” You mumbled as he slid his hand up your spine to your shoulder blades. “Daniela! How are you?”

“Hey, Sara. I knew I saw you leaving your old apartment the other day.” She sighed as her eyes filled with tears. “I need help.”

“OK.” You said with a nod as you looked around the street habitually. “Let’s go inside.” With another nod, she followed Bucky inside and up the stairs to your second floor apartment.

“Sara?” He asked you as he unlocked the door and looked over his shoulder at you.

“I read it in a book when I left DC. Didn’t know who to trust…”

“Ah.” He said with a nod as you locked the door behind the three of you and took the folded up boxes from him. “Her English is hit or miss. She’s a gypsy that didn’t have a lot of schooling so bare with me while I translate.” He nodded as he sat beside you across from Daniela. “So how can I help?” She looked between you and Bucky before looking at you.

“I have terminal cancer.” She said flatly. “Started in my lungs and spread rapidly. I found out when I got pregnant and my parents obviously didn’t want me to go to doctors.” You reached out for her hand and translated for Bucky as she continued. “But I just kept getting sicker. So I went anyways and my parents cast me out.”

“Sweetheart…” You breathed as you squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“I need…” She said as her tears poled in her eyes and started to fall. “I need you to take my baby… and run.” You opened your mouth to translate but no words came out so you simply sat there, staring. “If you don’t… she’ll die.”

“Daniela… I can’t…” You tired as you shook your head but she quickly cut you off.

“You have to.” She begged as she reached down to show you the tiny little girl in the car seat. “Her father was a tourist and my mother would never allow the fact that she was born a bastard… and if I bring her to an orphanage, she’ll never be adopted out; no one comes to Romania to adopt a baby and the orphanages are so full. She’ll fall to the side and we all know what happens to children in some of those orphanages. Please, Sara. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t know that you’d be able to help her…”

“How am I supposed to help her?” You asked as you looked at the little girl who looked more Cuban than anything else in her young age.

“Who better than to raise a little girl than an Avenger?” She asked as she pulled down the cuff of your glove covered hand to see the metal. You looked up at her in shock, not realizing she knew about your metal arm or your true identity. “Please, (Y/N).” She asked in heavily accented English using your real name for the first time, ever. “I’m begging you.” You looked between her and her little girl and she quickly dropped your hands. “Here.” She said, switching back to Romanian as she leapt to her feet. “Hold her. Please, just hold her.”

“Daniela, I can’t.” You said as you tried to scoot back on the couch. 

“Just please!” She said loudly as she moved your arms into a cradle and laid down her little girl as tears poured down her cheeks. “Please!” Tears started to fall from your own eyes as she stepped away from you before you could hand the tiny infant back. “She’s three days old… and I only have maybe two weeks left to live.” You looked up at her as she moved back behind the chair she was in to put as much distance between her and her daughter as possible. 

“Please. Help her.” You looked over at Bucky who was looking between the three girls in the room with a confused look on his face since he maybe understood a total of five words in the whole conversation. He met your tear filled eyes and sighed.

“We’re taking the baby, aren’t we?” He asked softly. You nodded slowly as he wiped your tears away for you.

“She’ll die if we don’t.” He sighed again as Daniela stepped forward again.

“I have everything she needs for you and I saved up as much money as I could.” She said as she grabbed her diaper bag and set it on the table in front of you. “She doesn’t have any papers…”

“What’s her name?” You asked as you looked at the little girl. You glanced up at Daniela’s broken smile as she stared at her daughter. “What did you name her?”

“Anastasia.” She whispered. She leaned forward, kissed the little girl’s head, and stepped toward the door. “Y-your daughter’s things are in the car.” She choked as she forced herself to turn away. You quickly passed Anastasia to Bucky.

“I’m gunna get the stuff she has from the car. Just hold her. I’ll be right back, OK?” He nodded his head slowly as he held his new daughter a little awkwardly. You turned back to your friend with a weak smile and nodded. “Alright, let me help you.”

——

“What the hell are we supposed to do here?” Bucky asked as you walked in lazy circles around the bedroom in the palace you were staying in until you found an apartment in Wakanda with a sleeping Anastasia on your chest. “I mean, seriously?”

“What other option did we have, Bucky?” You asked as you rubbed the infant’s back. “How the hell are we supposed to say no to someone who is literally begging for our help on her death bed?”

“This is a baby though, (Y/N). What’s gunna happen if we have to go on a mission or something?”

“What, because Tony’s going to walk through that door tomorrow, forgive me for murdering his parents, and invite us to go rescue the world again? Come on. Even I know how ridiculous that is.” 

“Yea but even still…”

“Then you go.” You interrupted. “The Avengers did just fine without me before. They’ll do just fine when I choose to stay home with… with…” You hesitated as you looked down at the baby in your arms and stopped walking for a moment. You took a deep breath and let it out forcefully as you mentally accepted the fate you signed up for. “They’ll do just fine when I choose to stay home with our daughter.” You looked back up at him as his jaw snapped closed. You walked around the bed and sat down in front of him with a tight lipped smile. 

“James, you know no matter how overwhelming this is for us, there is no way you would have said no if it was one of your friends asking you to save their daughter. We had to help her; you know we did. And we just agreed last week that we were going to settle down here and become regular citizens again. Sure we jumped from newlyweds to parents faster than the speed of light… but we’re doing this together, right? And if I do get in good standings with Tony again and we go back to New York, then we’ll figure something out for our family when it comes to missions. But we can’t turn our backs on someone whose life literally depends on us.” He groaned as he leaned back against the headboard behind him.

“Let me see her.” He said as he held out his hands for Anastasia. You carefully picked her up off your chest like she was about to break at any moment and passed her off to your husband. He laid her down in the crook of his arms and a small smile pulled at the corner of his lips when she let out a tiny little squeak in her dreams. “She is so adorable.” He said lowly as he fixed the blanket around her. “I can’t even stay mad, you’re just too cute.” You crawled up the bed beside him with a smile and brushed your fingertips across the top of her head.

“She’s ours, Bucky.” You said softly as you continued to try and wrap your head around that fact. “She’s our daughter.”

“I’m a daddy.” He said with a huffed laugh as his heart melted for the baby in his arms. “Holy shit, I’m a daddy. I’m gunna spoil you rotten, Anastasia. And no dating until your forty-five.” You scoffed at him and playfully hit his thigh.

“God, you’re gunna be impossible now, aren’t you?” You teased as you brushed your finger across her cheek. “Shit, what do you think Steve’s gunna say?”

“That we’re crazy.” He chuckled as she yawned and opened her gorgeous hazel eyes that absolutely screamed Daniela. “Hi beautiful. Hi. God, she’s so tiny.”

“Three days old. Not a shocker.” You huffed a laugh as you let Anastasia wrap her hand around your metal finger, already falling head over heels in love with her. “She was born the day you proposed to me.”

“Fitting.” Bucky said with a small nod. “We all get to start our family together.”

“You ready for this?” You asked as you looked up at him.

“Are you gunna be with me?” He countered as he looked up at you. You smiled and nodded as you leaned your head against his shoulder.

“Forever. The Barnes’ family will always be together.”

Part 12

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s4e22 – No Man’s Land

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Oswald strutted into Sirens.  Hugo can apparently fix Butch.  A completely-normal other-than-being-slightly-blue Butch tells Tabitha this might be their only hope.  Jim cares about Lee and always will.  Jerome is dead – long live Jeremiah.  Ed tells Jim that once the buildings collapse, the structure of the maze will be formed.  Or would have been, only Jeremiah’s switch didn’t quite work – and he has to go back to the drawing board.  Ra’s has a vision of Gotham in flames.  Selina is shot.  Alfred rugby tackles Jeremiah and punches him repeatedly in the face.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

At the hospital, Selina is wheeled into surgery.  She desperately asks Bruce if he’s going to leave her.  Bruce says he’ll be right here.  Selina’s voice cracks as she asks him to promise – which he does.  She’s wheeled away – Bruce and Selina both terrified and in tears.

 A cell in GCPD, where a bruised and battered Jeremiah sits, demure and calm, under graffiti of frowning eyes – painted by one of Jerome’s followers.  A police officer drags a baton across the bars, and others stand beside her, glaring at him.

Jim and Alfred regard from a distance.  Alfred says he should have killed him. Jim tells him he did the right thing, but Alfred replies that he didn’t see what he did to Selina.  He tells Jim he’s going to the hospital now, and Jim tells him he’ll stop by when he can.

Harvey approaches and shares Alfred’s sentiments – killing Jeremiah would do the world a favour.  He adds that they’re still clearing bombs – but the mayor wants to lift the evacuation.

Jeremiah looks directly at him.

Pardon me, Jim?

He doesn’t raise his voice – but he can still be distinctly heard.  Jim approaches.  Jeremiah tells him that he wants to press charges against Alfred, sourly adding

I mean, just look at my face

An unimpressed Jim stares back

I think you look great

Jeremiah wants to talk to Bruce – they were interrupted by his girlfriend bleeding out.  Jim tells him dismissively that all he’s interested in is proving he’s better than his brother – but he’s sill here, the city’s still here, and Jeremiah is a failure.  As a parting shot, he tells him to

Enjoy Arkham - your brother did

Jeremiah doesn’t respond to that, but as Jim walks away, quietly says if that he brings Bruce here, then he’ll tell Jim where the other bombs are.

Jim stops – and he and Harvey exchange glances.

Jeremiah reminds them that he’s an engineer – and he would always build in redundancies in case of failure

Harvey says he’s bluffing – but Jeremiah asks Jim how many lives he’d be willing to risk?  He has a new goal, and he now understands the vision he is servicing. Ummmm. I mean, you can use servicing, technically - but I’d choose another verb, maybe.

My eyes are now open as yours will be

He turns his back on them both and tells them to bring him Bruce Wayne and coffee, black, two sugars.

At what I’m assuming is still the Falcone mansion, as opposed to the Van Dahl place. Hugo Strange looks over a prone Butch – connected to many wires and machines. and remarks

No heartbeat.  Extraordinary

Hugo is a dreadful person, but BD Wong’s delivery just makes me laugh so much.

Tabitha being Tabitha is entirely unable to be anything other than unpleasant, and threateningly tells Hugo that this better work.

Hugo says that the chemicals made him a beautiful specimen – with well-preserved organs.  If they flush him with anti-toxin – give him fresh blood (we see some unhappy ‘volunteers’) give him a jolt to the heart – and the job should be done.

Tabitha smiles at Butch and asks him if he heard that – he’s going to be cured.

Oswald stands quietly in the background.  Tabitha’s phone rings – giving her the news about Selina.  She immediately makes to leave.  Butch acknowledges that she should go check on the kid – but Tabitha says she’s off to kill Jeremiah. Butch wants to join her – but the procedure can’t be interrupted.  

Oswald says he’ll stay, and make sure everything goes as planned.  He adds that he’s doing this for Butch, not Tabitha.  Tabitha eyes him sneerily, but smiles at Butch before leaving.

 Lucius and Harvey are discussing how many bombs Jeremiah might have made.  Lucius says there’s no telling – but Harvey still thinks he’s bluffing.  Harper says the mayor phoned again about the evacuation.  Jim has been quiet, but – frowning – says something has changed with Jeremiah.  Up until now he was just Jerome’s echo – but something is new.

(An aside.  Jim is at his best when he has this oddly personal relationship with the villains – first name terms – and actually tries to understand their motivations and behaviour.  That’s not to say he in anyway condones what they do – but just shouting about them being bad people makes him look dumb.  This is so much better.)

 In the mayor’s office, the mayor blusters blusterily.  An assistant informs him that there’s a hot man in a black and gold lame jacket standing on the roof of a building opposite, smouldering meaningfully at them.

We look and see that it is indeed Ra’s – projecting his hotness at them

We then see that there is a bomb in the mayor’s building – which promptly explodes.  Ra’s stands motionless as the cloud of dust sweeps over him.  Let’s hope he has a change of clothes.

 Jim slams Jeremiah against wall – who barely reacts, only reiterating that he wants to see Bruce. Jim punches him and asks who’s helping him.  No reaction. Jim tries to punch him again – but Jeremiah only tells him that more will die.

He slowly turns his head – which had snapped to the side when Jim punched him – to look him in the face.

But then, you were never good at holding on to what you care about - were you, James?

Harvey interrupts before Jim can reply.  Jim leaves, and Jeremiah slowly slides down the wall, humming – iirc – Ode to Joy.

 The army has arrived at GCPD – because the mayor (very new acting mayor?) has declared martial law. The Major who is in charge of things is the hugest man ever, and make Jim look tiny.  Jim is unhappy about the move, of course, but the Major tells him this isn’t a pissing match – he justs wants to restore order

He asks Jim if he can count on him, to which Jim replies

Yes Sir

Jim explains about the extra bombs and the request to see Bruce – adding that there’s some new element in the mix he hasn’t figured out yet.   The Major promptly tells them to bring Bruce here.

But Jim says no.  The Major turns away, reiterating his order – but Jim grabs his arm.  The Major orders that he is arrested and taken across the river.  For a man who wasn’t into engaging in a pissing match – he sort of needlessly escalated things there.

A struggling Jim is dragged away, yelling that the Major is out of his fricking mind, while the Major comments disapprovingly on his insubordination.  I somehow feel we just saw Jim’s military career, condensed.

 When we get to the carpark, Jim’s guards are shot with tranquilliser darts.  It’s Ed – who starts reciting a riddle, which Jim quickly solves.

It’s sleep

Ed pissily remarks that it’s rude to interrupt, and then shoots Jim – knocking him out.

 Oh no – a profile shot of a sleeping Jim. More fuel for the Jim crush.  The camera goes to a funny angle as Ed leans over him, which reminds me of that upside-down Spiderman kiss.

Ed yells rise and shine in Jim’s face – following it up with a good morning sweetheart at a more normal volume.

He blabbers on about history repeating itself, and then backhands an immobilised Jim in retaliation for the punch he received last week.

Jim doesn’t care.  He urgently tells Ed that Jeremiah has more bombs – he has to set him free.

Ed carries on, bored

So you can save the city?  We tried that - Lee and I are still fugitives

Well – you got caught robbing a bank.  You robbed lots of banks.  What’s that phrase?  Play bitch games….?

Jim says he offered Lee a way out - returning the money, but Lee has apparently dispersed the money throughout the Narrows.  I’m sure that will have achieved meaningful and lasting change.

Ed puts on his showman act – saying that he’s pressed for time.  He presses a button, and a huge weight descends towards Jim’s chest. Jim, panicked, asks him wait.

Ed stops only so he can show off – explaining the torture of peine forte et dure to Jim.  He lowers the weight further.  Now it’s 100lbs of force.

Jim groans why – and Ed says he wants to help Lee break free from her history – Jim anchors her, and he is a dead weight.  Without him, Lee will be free to be the person she’s meant to be  - the one he wants her to be.

He increases the weight to 150

Ed says he saw them together.  

For her sake – you’re going to die

For my sake - you're going to suffer

He adds more weight as Jim groans.

 At Sirens - Barbara is talking about the evacuation leaving undefended territory, and how it would be a shame not to capitalise on it.  The lights flicker.  Her henchwomen are taken out, and Ra’s appears.

Hello Barbara

Ra's is hoping to talk. He says he’s leaving, and wants her to accompany him.  Barbara is angry, however, not overly impressed by his talk of a vision when he took back the Demon’s Head – all about destruction and flames.  It wasn’t as clear as it could be, though, and has disappointing him since –and he wonders if some powers were perhaps left behind in Barbara.

Barbara assumes that he’s here to kill her – but he denies this.  He lied about the woman in the painting to get under her skin.  He actually loved her very much – but she turned down the offer of eternity that he made her.  He wants to make her the same offer – rule the League of Shadows with him.  

She says she’ll consider it. As he leaves – she asks again about his vision.  He says that he will make sure of it, and it will give rise to the one he foresaw, his heir.

 Alfred and Bruce are dragged reluctantly into GCPD.  The Major says Jeremiah has been prepared, and Bruce will be safe.  Bruce just wants to het back to the hospital as soon as possible.

 We reenter the interrogation room.  Jeremiah is restrained Hannibal Lecter style. Bruce is alone with him, everyone else watching on a screen in anther room.

Hello Bruce - great to see ya.

Bruce hangs back near the door, but Jeremiah’s not having that

Closer please.  Closer 

It’s an homage to two scenes from Silence of the Lambs – the dialogue from the first time Lecter meets Clarice, and the style of restraints from later scenes with Chilton and Senator Martin.  There’s quite a lot of Hannibal influence here and there in Gotham, and there’s a scene later that is closely related too.  Jeremiah’s manner here echoes it too – deliberately friendly and avuncular – asking familiar questions to needle a response.

Tell me - how is the young lady doing, hmm?

Bruce doesn’t reply. Jeremiah continues anyway.

You know why we’re destined to be best friends?  We’re very much alike.  You are as I used to be.  At war with your true nature.  You should embrace it.  I’m trying to help you

Bruce stares at him disbelievingly – and asks if torturing Alfred and shooting Selina was supposed to be help

He goes on to say that there’s darkness in them both – but he knows how to control his.

Jeremiah smiles at him

I think you could be so strong.  I see it.  He sees it too

Bruce frowns.  The Major talks to him through a headset, asking him to ask about the bombs.

A smiling Jeremiah says there was only one bomb.  There only had to be one, to bring him here.  

 A panicked Alfred says this is enough – I want my boy out of there, mate

 Bruce asks who’s he?

Jeremiah tells him he’s the one who opened his eyes – to show him the Gotham he should make should not be Jeremiah’s, but….

Yours.  The one you need

Bruce draws closer – demanding a name.  Jeremiah looks calmly at him

Tell me what the doctors said.  Will the little bitch ever walk again? What vertebrae did I sever?  I was hoping for lumbar

Bruce grabs him and demands the name again.  Jeremiah smiles

You already know his name.  You’re his heir

Bruce looks aghast

Ra’s

He steps back, starting to panic.  Jeremiah shushes him

Sh sh sh.   Calm

The lights suddenly flicker and go out.

 In the other room, everyone panics and runs out – but it’s too late.  The soldier in the interrogation room is dead, and Bruce and Jeremiah are gone.

Back with Jim and Ed. The weight is now at 350lbs, and Jim is gasping.  Ed gleefully comments that they will hear ribs cracking soon.

450

Lee walks into the room. She tells Ed that a healthy human male can take 450lbs before ribs would crack.  She seems irritated, but not panicky.  She tells Ed she’s the Queen of the Narrows – did he think he could keep this hidden?

Ed says he knows how this looks.  Lee remarks that it looks like he’s going to crush Jim to death because he thinks they still have feelings for each other.

Ed slips almost into Ed of old in demeanour, explaining to Kristen Kringle why his filing system works better.  He says he’ll tell Lee why that’s a good thing.  It’s because Jim is holding her back from being person she was meant to be – the woman he loves.

Lee sighs

Do you really think so little of me?  How weak would that person be if Jim Gordon could hold her back?  It's insulting

Ed fumbles – and says that this isn’t what he intended.  Lee says this is enough.  She approaches Jim.  She tells him that yesterday he said a part of him would always care for her – but that the woman he loved is gone.  She asks if he understands.  

Poor squished Jim does look finally resigned as he says yes.

Lee says that the Narrows is now free from landlords and gangs, and families are free to live. That’s right.  Just handing out wads of cash fixes hugely complex structural problems.

Her gap year now over, she asks Ed to come with her.  If he does, he’s not to kill Jim.  She will decide who she’s going to be, and she’s leaving tonight.  It’s Ed’s choice.  

She leaves.

Ed smirks down at Jim

She chose me, Jim.  Did you hear that?  That’s all I wanted.  You can have Gotham.

He puts the control beside Jim, and leaves.

 Sirens.  Alfred marches in looking for Bruce – wondering if they know where Ra’s is.  Barbara says Ra’s plans to leave Gotham in rubble – but she has a plan.  Tabitha gets to kill Jeremiah, Alfred gets Bruce, and she get Ra’s.  She apparently has a surprise for him

Oswald strolls in with a shotgun and one question – who does he get to kill?  He glances over at Tabitha and says that the only way to keep Butch on the table to promise help.

Barbara comments that they’re quite the gang, and they all stride out.

 Meanwhile, a gasping Jim staggers out onto the street.  

Hey

It’s Lee.  She tosses keys at him, and says her car is around the corner.  I don’t know how conscious the costuming is – but while she’s still largely in her Narrows aesthetic – sparkly gloves and all – her blue coat is a call back to a colour she used to wear – maybe suggesting that she is trying to become a more integrated version of herself.

She tells Jim to ice his ribs.  He asks if it’s true that she’s leaving.  She tells him it is.  He asks if Ed is going with her – but she tightly tells him that’s none of his concern.

Jim tells her what he was starting to say back at GCPD, when she was arrested, is that if he could go back, he would change everything.  Leave Gotham with her the first time he saw her. Had a life.

Lee smiles wryly, but tells him then he wouldn’t be him.  Jim morosely remarks that would be a good thing, but Lee tells him it wouldn’t be. She then reiterates what she said before.  She’s not going to go back to who she was – but she will always care for him.  

She gives him a brief kiss goodbye – and tells him to go save Gotham.  They turn, and head in different directions.

As Jim is leaving, his phone rings.  It’s Harvey – telling him that things are bad: Jeremiah has Bruce and bombs.

 A hooded Bruce is brought into a room with a huge window (is this the same room where the Owl guy tried to convince Bruce to destroy the city?).  Ra’s stands by the window.  

Jeremiah removes Bruce’s hood with a flourish, and goes to stand by Ra’s

Bruce asks how they found each other.  Ra’s says Bruce brought them together.  He and Jeremiah gloat a little about their smooth plan.  

Bruce tells them they’re both insane.  Ra’s says this is for his benefit, and talks about his prophecy again – referring to blood and fire.

Jeremiah tells Bruce that - to be honest-  prophecies and visions aren’t his cup of tea, but that Ra’s revealed his twin obsessions are one and the same: rebuilding Gotham, rebuilding Bruce.  Bruce is the brother he never had – the brother Jerome could never be.

He puts a hand on Bruce’s shoulder

As Gotham falls, we rise.  Together.

(An aside.  Jerome and Jeremiah both definitely considered Bruce as a brother substitute in different ways.  I’d maybe suggest, though, that the intensity of Jeremiah’s obsession wanders into somewhat less fraternal territory.)

Back at GCPD – they pore over maps.  The stolen vans with the bombs are being driven to the outskirts.  The Major asks Jim to explain – but he, Harper and Harvey ignore him.  They recall Jeremiah’s talk of turning Gotham into a dark island – and it dawns on Jim.

He says that they need to get people off the bridges,  The Major objects, because he is an obstructive authority figure.  He tries to arrest Jim again – but Harvey pulls his gun. Then all the other cops likewise point their guns at the soldiers.

Defeated – the Major can only watch as Jim grabs a radio and puts an order out: clear the bridges immediately.

 Back with Ra’s, Jeremiah and Bruce.  Ra’s comments that civilisation is so fragile – Gotham will be each man for himself, a savage place.

Barbara strolls in, commenting that this sounds like fun.  She acknowledges Bruce and ‘freak’.  Jeremiah looks put out at this.

Ra's is glad she came, but Barbara says she’s not leaving – Gotham is in her blood.  

She shows him the knife. An amused Ra’s said that she had it reforged

Well now

Barbara says that she doesn’t trust that he’ll leave, and doesn’t want to live looking over her shoulder. Ra’s remarks that she’s outnumbered. She grins – and tells him the Demon’s Head really isn’t working, as Oswald sweeps into the room – shooting at all and sundry.  The rest follow behind him, and a huge rammy ensues.

 On the streets, police cars gather at bridges.  Jim gets out of a car.  The officer tells them they’ve cleared the bridges – but the vans are already in position. They’re too late.

We hear bombs start to detonate.  Jim spots a little girl who has somehow been left at the bridge nearby, and sprints towards her.

 Back with the huge fight. Alfred and Barbara tackle Ra's. Tabitha has her whip wrapped round Jeremiah’s throat, and tells him that this is for Selina, but he manages to stab her in the leg and flip the tables – pinning her to the floor.

In that case, this must be very disappointing for you - dying like this

Before he can kill her, though, he’s shot by Oswald.  Tabitha stares at him disbelievingly

Barbara grabs Bruce. He asks what she’s doing – but she clasps their hands together, roars, and runs at Ra’s – stabbing him.  It’s a very stabby episode.

Jeremiah sits up in surprise as this happens.

Ra's gasps a well done, Barbara – but is interrupted by an explosion.  The bombs are starting to detonate, and the bridges are falling.  Oswald looks shocked, while Jeremiah grins maniacally.

 Jim grabs the little girl and shelters behind a car.  There’s a huge explosion, and the bridge falls.  At the window, Oswald, Barbara, Alfred and Tabitha all stare solemnly at the destruction.

Ra's grabs Bruce and tells him that the choice is now his – he can stay, and become Gotham’s dark knight. I… he’s not really given him a choice, though, has he?  He’s forced him down a specific path.

He then distintegrates ickily.  

Bruce stares.  The sirens stand out most amidst the other sounds, a nice touch that it’s the general humanity of the situation that will affect Bruce most.

 The Narrows.  Lee is drinking.  We heat helicopter and sirens in the distance, general chaos.  Ed approaches.  

It seems Jeremiah made good on his threat.  I guess this means you’re not leaving

Lee asks how she can, they’ll need her now more than ever.  No-one will help them but her.  

Ed asks what that means for them.  Lee looks round, and tells him that it’s the end of the road for them.  Ed flicks the knife open behind his back.

I thought the other Ed was stupid – but I'm the idiot.  You were never going to leave with me.  It was just a ploy to save Jim.

Lee looks tired, faintly wry.

You and Jim aren’t that different.  You both think know me.  You both want to change me.  But neither one of you really sees me.

Turning, she beats Ed to the punch – stabbing him in the gut before he can stab her.  With her free hand, she cups his face.

For what it's worth, I was offering something real.  But I would never be who you wanted.  Sooner or later, you would have killed me.  It’s just what you do.

She makes to walk past him. Ed replies.

That’s entirely possible

And turning, stabs Lee in the gut.

He goes on to add

You’re wrong, though.  I do see you

They lock eyes and kiss as big dramatic music swells, and they both start to fold to the ground.  

It’s very similar –ambiguous body language blurring lines between stabbing/sex, talk about leaving together, letting someone else truly see and know you – to the Hannibal season 2 finale scene here.   Give it a watch and you’ll see what I mean

(A lengthy aside:

First up, the obvious stuff.   The scene is heavily sexual. You’ve got the whole sex and death thing anyway, which seems to get them both going.  You’ve also got the fine line between pained facial expressions and sexual facial expressions.  There’s a gifset going round that really illustrates it, though.  Lee’s hand placement with the knife is pretty suggestive, Ed’s hip thrust forward as he stabs her is very suggestive. They’re standing very close. Ed grunts with the effort of stabbing Lee, given his own wound – and there’s very heavy breathing from both.   It’s maybe no coincidence that we were only shown kisses before (although sex was implied). This moment was essentially consummation - when they were finally fully intimate.

That aside.  I’m…. confused.  I think the take home from this scene is that Ed and Lee do apparently see each other, and want what they see.  I get that.  I’m not entirely sure why they had to stab each other, or how/when/why their mindsets flipped so dramatically from one scene to the next.

Last we saw Ed, he was gloating triumphantly over Jim that Lee had chosen him.  But now – about an hour or so later – he’s consumed by insecurity again? Just because Lee is now likely to stay in town due to Jeremiah’s destruction?   Meantime, Lee was apparently genuinely offering him the chance to leave town with her – but now that the move is off, everything’s over for some reason – and apparently he’d have murdered her anyway?

Maybe some of what’s confusing me is to do with the assertion that Ed would definitely have killed Lee.  Because while I think it’s a real risk – because Ed is Ed- I don’t think it’s inevitable.  I don’t think it’s a compulsion.  I didn’t with Isabella either, to be honest.  I think if it has been decided that this is something Ed will always do –  murder his girlfriends - then that’s a pretty fundamental change in that character. Need for attention and praise, compulsion to solve puzzles, to set puzzles, to demonstrate his cleverness – yes. Killer with a tendency towards sadism, yes.  If you’re adding this new element, then we’re implying some very specific serial killer type stuff.

I dunno.  I don’t have a problem with this pairing.  I think there’s a good chemistry and a lot to explore. But I feel like, at some point, some decisions had to be made about motivations and characterisation.  As it stands, it feels like there’s lots of idea strands – but no definitive line.)

 Back at the manor, Tabitha pulls a knife on Hugo – who tells her to calm down. She demands to know where Butch is

Right here

His complexion is now normal.

You're you

I’m me again

Oswald smiles

Tabitha gazes up at Butch

I love you

Butch stares back at her

I love you too

He turns to oswald

I'll never forget this.  Anything you need. I'm there.  Thank-you.

Oswald smiles at him – slightly teared up.  

I want you to know, Butch, I consider you a friend.  And I’m truly sorry

Butch is confused.

Oswald raises his gun and shoots Butch dead.  Tabitha kneels next to his body.

Oswald walks closer

Did you think I forgot you murdered my mother?  Do you think I just got over it? I’ve lived with that pain every day for two years.  I could have killed you anytime – but I believe in an eye for eye.  You took away the one person I loved, so I took away the one person you loved.  And you get to live with that.

Tabitha tries to run at him – but Oswald shoots her in the shoulder.  She stares up at him

All this – was just so you could kill him in front of me?

Oswald smiles

Exactly.  But don't worry.  When I think you’ve suffered enough, I’ll kill you too

She snarls not if she kills him first.

Oswald grins and tells her she’s welcome to try

Tabitha is taken away screaming that she’ll kill him.  Oswald looks regretfully down at Butch’s corpse.

(Another lengthy aside:

Oswald’s revenge was a long time coming.  I’m not sure if I’m supposed to believe this was his plan from the moment he said he could help Butch find a cure – or if it formed later and he couldn’t pass up the chance – but it’s believable that he planned to get revenge somehow.  Tabitha laughed as she and Theo showed Oswald footage of his weeping mother.  She told him she enjoyed listening to her pleading.  She murdered her in front of him, and enjoyed doing it.  She’s never expressed even a scrap of remorse.   Oswald adored his mother and lost her in the most traumatic way possible.  I have no sympathy for Tabitha.

As for the notion that we’re supposed to consider Oswald’s actions monstrous because she’s heartbroken, I... don't really care much about this?  Apart from the fact that Oswald has my sympathies in virtually everything - it's not much of a deep, meaningful love on Tabitha's side - is it?  Specifically not when it's considered in the light of one of the key tenets of the value system that the show has built for us and repeatedly shown us - the importance of acceptance.

Acceptance, especially in a town full of outsiders and 'freaks', is everything.  I see you - I see all of you - and I still want you/forgive you/care about you/value you/love you.  

Oswald knows how powerful this is.  That’s why, when he twists the knife in Sofia, he does it by telling her that his parents loved him unconditionally - while Carmine did not see her, did not accept her. It's why the moment where she asked to see his leg was so cruel in retrospect: because she wheedled the intimacy out of him – he let himself be seen -  and then she faked that acceptance.  In Gotham, that recognition and acceptance is everything.  

We see it all over the place, in different relationships.  Harvey knows every last one of Jim's failings and sins, but will always wind up looking out for him anyway.  He doesn't magically stop being his friend because he knows he can be a self-righteous ass at times.

Bruce and Selina are equally aware and accepting of each other's weaknesses – even if they infuriate them.  Jeremiah believes that he truly sees Bruce, and is possessed with the need to have Bruce acknowledge that, and accept himself.

This is paramount in Lee and Ed’s big scene.  Lee is completely frustrated by the notion that Ed doesn’t see her for who she truly is. When they finally fully see each other for what they are – having knifed each other in the gut - and Ed tells her that he does see her, the moment is acknowledged in their kiss before bleeding out.

It's even glimpsed in smaller relationships.  It's what makes Jonathan and Jervis talking to each other in rhyme oddly sweet.  A willingness not only to see someone else, but accept and indulge them in their differences, which just so happen to be dressing as a scarecrow and talking in rhyme.

So when that acceptance isn't there - its absence is glaring.  Butch is the love of Tabitha's life - for whom she was willing to lose a hand - who not only came back from the dead, but regained his mind and memories....and Tabitha hesitated about getting back together because he was a slightly funny colour.  In the context of the value system that the show has offered us, this is about as pathetic as it gets.

As such, this isn’t exactly a moment worth weeping over.)

 Selina is being taken from the hospital.  Bruce runs over – asking for an update. The nurse tells him that she has a severed spinal cord and the damage is likely permanent – and also that there’s room on the ambulance for him

Alfred heads immediately to the ambulance – but Bruce hangs back.  He says he can’t leave.  Ra’s is right – this is what he’s meant to do.

Alfred tells him the city's abandoned – and there’s nothing more to be done.  He adds that Jeremiah is not his responsibility, and nor is Gotham.

Bruce says he’s making it his.  Alfred says sod it, and makes to join him – but Bruce tells him he needs to stay with Selina – Bruce has to know that she’ll be OK.

Alfred looks tearfully at him – and tells him that he will come back and find him.  He turns and gets into the ambulance, leaving Bruce behind.

 At GCPD – Jim looks out over an empty precinct.  Harvey approaches.  The mayor essentially wants to evacuate – give up on the city, but Jim refuses. They’ll have to arrest him.  He and Harvey comment that the government has abandoned the place, and gangs are dividing the turf.  The city is a battleground. 

We get a montage of the battlelines that are being drawn.

 Oswald enters a beautiful-looking abandoned building – his weird jangly theme tune playing.  Some thugs try to tell him this is their turf, but he gestures to his henchmen – one of whom is faithful eyepatch guy! – to kill them, which they do.  He nods

Yes.  this will do nicely

Look at my boy.  I’m so proud.

 In a tunnel somewhere – another thug indignantly tells a newcomer that this is their territory. The newcomer turns out to be Victor Fries, who tells him,

And now it’s mine.

 Meantime, Bridget wants a ring of fire ten blocks wide around her lair.  If anyone objects, burn them!

 In a presumably abandoned home somewhere, a thief creeps into a room with a makeshift lab – and stares round incredulously

The hell?

Not hell

It’s Jonathan – who gasses him, then decapitates him.

Hell is what's coming

I assume Jervis is just having afternoon tea in another room.

Back in the manor, a random thug tells Hugo

Penguin says fix ‘em

And leaves

We see Ed and Lee’s bodies on makeshift stretchers

Hugo smiles

What should I do with you?

There is no italicisation strong enough to convey Hugo’s voice.  He’s another level of italicisation.  Something needs to be invented.

 Sirens.  Two of Ra’s acolytes stand before Barbara

Ra's is gone.  You defeated him.  We have spoken and agreed.  We will follow you.

They kneel.

A bored Barbara remarks that, wow she is honoured.

A bleeding Tabitha is dragged in.  Barbara exclaims.  Tabitha tells her that Oswald killed Butch and shot her.

Barbara pulls a sulky face and begins to speak in a trembly voice.

Everything wrong with Gotham: greed pain corruption destruction….

Is apparently all down to men.  Yup.  All men’s fault.  

(An aside.  Barbara.  Oswald took revenge on Tabitha because Tabitha murdered his mother. You know about this, because you were living with the Galavans at the time.  You know Tabitha got her jollies listening to Gertrud cry and beg to see her son.  You know she all too willingly and gleefully put a knife in her back.  Where, pray tell, does tormenting and murdering old women fit into your big girl power agenda?  

As for corruption and destruction – you plotted with Ed way back when to bring the city to its knees. Greed?  Your first thought on hearing about the evacuation of the city was carving up turf.  Pain?  Remember when you helped to kidnap a child who could easily have wound up dead?

This whole idea and direction is execrable.   I hate it. Everything about it.  Is anyone honestly supposed to be cheering this moment on?  It’s flat-out nonsense, and hearing Barbara earnestly espousing it is going to garner more dislike for her – which is irritating, because she could be better than this.)

She goes on to say that it’s time they had a men-free zone.  She sits back and sips her drink while her lackeys murder the two men.  Their corpses are displayed outside with a big sign that says ‘Sirens turf.  No boyz allowed’.

 Really, Barbara?  Really?  This is asinine.  Whatever. I don't think I can fully articulate how little I care about this or want to see time spent on it next season. If, like, some loose bridge debris somehow landed on Sirens right now and flattened it, I don’t think I would give a stuff.

 GCPD.  Jim wanders the darkened station alone – but only momentarily, as we hear Lucius arriving cheerily – along with the power coming back on. Jim smiles at him as Lucius remarks that Jeremiah’s generators are quite ingenious when put to their original use.

Harvey walks in behind him, commenting that he figured they’d need help with…. science stuff

Lucius turns and smiles at him.  He turns back to Jim and says that there’s others on the way, this is their city, and it needs help.  Jim says that there is something he needs him to do.

 In an alley somewhere, Bruce beats the bejesus out of a random guy before grabbing him and adking where Jeremiah is.  The guy doesn’t know – but Bruce tells him when he sees him to tell him that Bruce is looking for him.  That should take approximately 30 seconds, then, since Jeremiah seems completely obsessed with Bruce – and I can’t honestly imagine him managing to stay away for too long.

As Bruce strides down the alley, he looks up into the night sky and sees a light – what will become the bat signal.

 Up on the roof of GCPD, Jim stands next to the batsignal, staring out over the city. 

Bruce approaches.  Jim tells him that he’s not supposed to be here. Bruce retorts that he isn’t either, but he stayed to fight for the city.  Jim says they’ll have to go block by block, with no idea what they’re going to find.  This darkness will bring out whatever’s lurking in the shadows.

 We see homeless people shuffling into church, where some weird ass thing drops down from the ceiling. What in the name of fuck was that?

 Elsewhere a creepy masked woman walks through a dormitory type room containing creepy dolls, to where a creepy masked child is beating a corpse.

 Bruce comments that the light is daring what's out there to come after him.  Jim says let them come.  There are still good people out there, and they need to know that they’re here – and willing to fight.  Bruce smiles and says he remembers the night they met, when Jim told him that the world may seem dark…Jim finishes his recollection.

.....but there is light.

(An aside.  Aw.  Bruce and Jim’s relationship is nice – when they let us see it. I’m guessing Alfred’s absence will allow them to develop it a bit more.)

 Thoughts?

[wildflowerfiction77]

Burning Bridges 1

Burning Bridges

By Daniel Vera

8/23/2019 8:41pm

 A Story

A story of revelation.  A story of Heaven and Hell.  A story of love and fate.  A story of truth and fame.  A story of lies and pain.  A story of real and fake.  A story of lose and gain.  A story of friends and music.  A story of betrayal and death.  A story of the entire world and one mind.  A story of Hollywood and a story of forgotten people.  A story of rolled dice.  A story of lost love or never real.  A story of family decimated.  A story of a hidden treasure at the bottom of the sea.  A story of pyramids.  A story of ancient myth.  A story of future visions.  A story of spirits and man.  A story of warring armies.  A story of blank checks with no pen.  A story of a burning buildings in New York.  A story of gangs and government.  A story of black holes in Hollywood.  A story of hidden cameras and naked actors.  A story of Atlantis.  A story of superheroes.  A story of vampires and zombies.  A story of Bruce Lee and Nazi America.  A story of dead poets.  A story of songs sung by Mozart and Taylor Swift.  A story of the Military, CIA and MK Ultra.  A story of cartoons and rap music.  A story from a galaxy far far away.  A story of approaching comets.  A story of 33.  A story of black and white.  A story of Red Skins.  A story of nuclear war.  A story of blue water in the sky.  A story of James Bond and Gilbert Grape.  A story of TV commercials.  A story of fat kids.  A story of ninjas and samurai.  A story of rebellion and anarchy.  A story of dragons and phoenix.  A never ending story.  White tigers and black turtles.  Buffalo women and tobacco.  Hummingbirds and Butterflies.  Flowers and Hearts.  Stars and Sky.  Earth and Moon.  Dreams and walking...

 Dreams

I awoke in my pajamas.  It was a normal day like any other day.  I had 15 days to make $500 to pay the rent.  I had an ex girlfriend that butt dialed me while she was partying.  I listened for around ten minutes to see if I could hear if she was with a guy or having sex.  I couldn’t tell and so I hung up the phone.  I hated her because my heart felt pain every time I though of her with someone else and I knew she didn’t deserve it.  I guess it might have been the times that there was a genuine love that was being created, like the countless hours of laying in bed and staring at each others eyes while sharing kisses and caressing fingertips.  Or the unexpected gifts to encourage me to become a stronger man.  The late night fights where I sat at the locked bedroom door pleading to be let in, while she wept in bed because she got jealous of another woman she thought I was staring at when we went shopping.  Or the years of waking up next to her as the sunlight broke through the curtains and staring at her sleeping with a golden light shinning on her brown skin. red lips and black messy hair.  Or the times my arm fell asleep underneath her head as we cuddled for as long as possible until we had to readjust to find a diagonal leg and arm pattern, still crossing touch.  Then I thought about all the times she destroyed my heart and continued my day. 

I began walking on the air to meet with God.  We had scheduled a few meetings.  The great creator always knew I would be late.  I guess God knew me pretty well and adjusted time itself to add the twenty minutes for me to catch the 9:14 cloud.  On this day we talked about the meaning of struggle.  I had been having this reoccurring dream about being crushed by wave after wave in the ocean, and not being able to catch my breath.  God reassured me that the waves were meant to strengthen me and that I wouldn’t drown.  Although it was somewhat comforting to hear, I rebutted that the dream felt real and it was causing me stress.  I had felt that the waves were unneeded and they were keeping me from being able to recover from previous ailments that I was still healing from.  God just smiled and looked at me with grace.  When I left the office I was thinking of some toast and jam, since I had forgotten to eat before I left.  I did thank the Great Spirit that gives life and did say some prayers before scheduling a meeting a few months later and commenting on the beautiful flowers to the secretary.  It was a good meeting.

I then proceeded to fighting monsters and saving damsels.  I thought I was doing pretty good.  It was almost like living in a movie, where you get to be Conan.  But I didn’t realize it was all the parts where he was being held captive, being tricked or stuck in a room full of mirrors.  So I turned the channel to see if I could find out another version of the same story that was a little more modern.  That's when the television went static and I started howling with the old mystics from the Dark Crystal.  I had fallen asleep to that movie, and somehow I was joining in the call to gather the ones that were left to make the journey.  I thought it was just a happenstance, until the small town started to share a video that someone had recorded, until it became the new thing.  They made a dance, a soft drink, a Netflix show, chicken and pizza commercials, the next 5 years of billion dollars movies, including Star Wars, was about it.  They even started bombing countries and making new religions.  It was crazy.  There wasn’t a TV or movie screen that it wasn’t on every five minutes for years.  I even saw it on Facebook.

Then they the military started burning the forest to sell lemonade and electric cars that still used oil and nuclear power.  This is when I knew something was going on.  Then a bunch of ex presidents started appearing in Kanye West videos and Quentin Tarantino movies with “kiss me, I am Jewish” stickers on their foreheads.  This is when I knew things were getting out of control of even the CIA.  The girl scouts started selling machine guns to the homeless.  The TV news people were smoking joints, eating hot dogs and advertising “Shamoo”.  The comedians began making signs to love one another and became civil rights politicians and activists.  They didn’t say any good jokes though.  I’m not sure why, but the politicians began making everyone laugh.  It was a circus that was only topped by Silicon Valley taking Ubers to Outer Space.  They said they were going to mars, but they took too much LSD and ended up going too far, and circled back to China, not knowing it was a parallel universe and they were lost.  Meanwhile on earth, the Patriots won another Superbowl which made ten in a row.  Everyone dressed in Captain America costumes during a white rappers reunion, singing country songs with the Spice Girls paying tribute to all the musicians that were killed in the last seven years.  It was a really long half time show.  Its still going on.  Kapernick has Snoop Dogg braiding his hair while they start a venture capital business with Donald Trump and Kevin Spacey for a Martha Stuart line of hemp products at Walmart.  The hemp is really Monsanto bio engineered, but they figure they’re burning down the Amazon in Brazil, no one will notice.  

So I turned off the TV and ate some waffles.  My ex girlfriend left some blueberries in the freezer, so I used those with some peanut butter and jam and butter.  As I started eating the five stack, I saw something moving out my window.  I saw Miley Cyrus twerking on the front lawn.  I looked at the waffles and thought maybe there was something weird in the ingredients.  Then George Bush, the CIA guy, was dancing with her and I knew the waffles had some weird shit going on, so I threw them in the garbage.  Fucken ruined my breakfast.  Every five minutes I looked out the front window to see if they had left, and sure enough, they were still there, except they would change faces.  Next was the Rock and Scarlette Johanson, then Bill Gates and the Queen of England, then the White Stripes.  I thought it might have been the blueberries.  She said she ordered them from Ashton Kusheten, and that dush liked to play jokes on people, and started doing Bruce Willies wife, so I figured that was it.  They must have been laced with something.  I took a nap till they wore off.  

The next day I was able to make it to the car without anything super weird happening.  Someone did steal my Bruce Lee movies and my kids toys from the car.  I must have left the window open.  I knocked door to door around the neighborhood to ask if anyone had seen anything weird, other than Miley Cyris.  It dawned on me that I never spoke to any of my neighbors for the five years I had lived in the house.  The first house was a bunch of cats sitting around a living room.  They were doing yoga and smoking huka, so everything they said sounded like cats fighting underwater.  I didn’t get any answers.  The next house was three little pigs and a wolf.  They were watching the news and eating cereal.  They said they had just moved in and didn’t see anything.  It was peculiar that they had a giant poster of me in their kitchen.  I figured they must be fans.  They smelled like weed.  Every house had some fairytale vibe to it, or a Disney cartoon.  Squirrels, Vikings, Revenge of the Nerds, even a Steven King house.  The last one was a Dukes of Hazard reunion.  They were cooking burgers on the bar b que, and they were nice enough to have the girl in Daisy Dukes make me a quarter pounder with cheese.  We started seeing each other.  I called her when I got horny and she would come over.  I still didn’t find my stolen stuff.  I figured Karma would make the rounds.  

When I drove away, I started seeing smoke.  I wasn’t sure where it was coming from.  It didn’t seem to be originating from the car, so I started looking around.  Planes were flying past me and leaving these trails of smoke, but that wasn’t it.  I looked in my rear view mirror and saw burning bridges across the whole country.  That's when I knew who stole my Bruce Lee movies.  

  Meat and Cattle

 In a long dark cavern, I saw a few faces staring in front of sunlight, casting shadows like dancing puppets.  They had orders to submerge me into submission, by who, I wasn’t sure.  During that time, there was a lot of turmoil happening in the world and in the small town in which I was living.  It seemed that the local white power groups were stock pilling machine guns and ammunition.  They would have weekly fight club gatherings in the mountains and practice military drills to kill “niggers, Jews and spics”, and now the Chinese and Russians.  I guess they were Irish and Scottish, but probably a mixed breed of good ol’ boys.  

I’m not sure how “the gays” became part of the picture, but they arrived in droves.  They all gathered at Duff Tavern, a place in the Simpsons cartoon.  It was absolutely insane.  Along with the Trans community, there were hipsters, hopsters, fibsters, and mobsters.  Not to mention, some pretty hot women in the form of pixies and catholic nuns.  On the jukebox was Rage Against the Machine, because sometimes I would hack the airwaves, just to annoy the patrons.  The Clamsters would stand watch outside while the Bob Dylan look a likes would secretly grow weed and sell it to Colorado, Texas and New York.  They had a good set up going.  They would smuggle pounds of grass in their beards.  When asked why their beard was green by the police or FBI, all they would have to say is it was an Irish thing.  It seemed to work.  

But after a few years, the government went in and started replacing some of the farms with robots.  The robots would answer to the Matrix and all was well for a while.  I noticed this because I lived in the small town and would often have art shows and play music with the other monkeys.  Sometimes on the news they would televise a social order black ops operation.  In the war of the weeds, all the multi-armed gangs would hide in the mountains behind trees and rocks.  They would shoot at each other just to make sure no one was stealing their crops.  The cops didn’t mind, since they would get a part of the profit, and sometimes the whole thing, depending on orders from the FBI, and ultimately the CIA and Homeland Security.  

They would cut up a cow and leave it hanging upside down to attract the wolves.  They caught a lot of wolves that way and turned them into guard dogs.  The cats had to be more careful since they were house cats, and not the Lions they wanted to be.  Some of them thought they were Tigers, but that was just something on TV.  It was a long summer.  Everyone was waiting for 2012 and aliens.  They would give palm readings and read the cards on your forehead to make sure you were a monkey.  God forbid you might be Godzilla.  That would mean you were Japanese and those nips tried to bomb Pearl Harbor in a movie made by Steven Spielberg in the 80’s.  

The new threat in Los Angels was the threat of the Mexicans and particularly, the Zapatistas.  So the U. S. planted a tariff on marijuana distribution.  Although they needed the plant to help with cancer and injured vets brains, they had to make sure they could use that extra money for more robots.  They started pumping all that money into Silicon Valley and I Phones.  They needed to make sure Facebook would convince people that everyday is business as usual.  No one can have a new thought, it would counter balance the already shaky control system that sat upon fake money.  So to go with the fake money, they created fake news, fake wars, fake presidents, fake jobs, fake laws, fake food, fake causes, fake movies, fake soap operas, fake drugs, fake toilets, fake videos, fake people on the internet, fake names to go with those people, fake gang wars, fake drug busts, fake homeless people, fake housing crisis, fake TMZ news, fake Kanye, fake cake, fake husbands and wives, fake kids, fake Wall Street, and fake music.  Along with those fakory items, they made fake laws and juried trials.  I saw a documentary on Netflix.  It could have been fake.  

  The Cafe

 I would go to the cafe daily.  It was like a meditation.  Sometimes I would play music there, sometimes I would draw.  I always noticed the same faces.  Once in a while, a gorgeous red head or brunette would come sit at my table and flirt with me over a mocha.  At this time I was through with blonds, kinda like Arnolds’ “Total Recall” movie.  It was a good five years.  I never had so many Red Sparrows fly to my window at once.  I was a greedy kid at the ice cream shop, so I tried all the flavors.  This town was a small concentrated town, so I didn’t know they were connected to all the gangs in the world.  I didn’t know that they have been hunting savages for generations, and they had marked me as soon as I grew some pubic hairs.  They already had submitted my parents and were working on the rest of the Wu Tang Clan.  So when I found out, I tried to warn everyone, but it was too late, they had already turned or were captured.  The Cladavors had used Aliens to possess each other and play role playing games to kill the time.  

They did pay well, from all that weed and coke money.  They gave my ex boat rides and free soda.  They even gave all of the Clan free weed fields and free cars and houses.  But really, they had to do a lot of favors in return, like video tape me having sex with gorgeous women and then they would make fake porn and put it on the fake dark web.  The pink clampers liked to watch those between football games and CSI.  They made a lot of money from those as well.  Meanwhile, I was figuring out what kind of mocha I wanted.  I wrote a lot of letters during that time and finished a lot of paintings.  I learned how to sing, and practiced on my mating skills.  Every time I would walk outside, I saw five clams and three turtle doves.  My stomach hurt a few times, but the Doctor reassured me that I was fine and had nothing to worry about.  So I kept eating ice cream, since it was free.  I got good at it, I could have won a contest or the Olympics.

But then my arch rival appeared in the form of my ex.  She got even better looking and I got fat from all the ice cream.  I was still practiced up, but she had some Kriptonite on me.  I didn’t realize she had been zombified as well.  I wasn’t sure if it was the same quirks or new ninja moves she was using on me.  One thing that was sure, was that she always won.  It frustrated me to the point of no return.  She kept coming back to me for more ice cream, but I refused to share.  I threw it in the freezer along with my heart.  When she stopped calling, I pulled my heart out, but it stayed cold for too long, and I had thought it died.  I put it in a vase and watered it every now and again.  Mostly just wrote poems about it.  

Eventually I stopped going to the cafe, since that was the place that I had met her.  I started making instant coffee, then started brewing my own from a used coffee machine that had a timer and automatic alarm clock built in.  Every time I would drink a special brew, I would remember the mocha’s we shared.  I would see pictures of her on Facebook once in awhile drinking mocha's with Asheton Klamster.  That really pissed me off.  Then she got the role as Wonder Woman.  It was like, “what the fuck?”  Fuckn Taylor Swift and Kanye, Miley and Mickey, Goons and Goblins, Jews and Gentiles, Obama and Trump, Star Wars and Dumpsters, Guns and Weed.  All I needed now was my family to turn on me and the Government to MK Ultra me.  I saw Bluebirds in the midst of Project Damn Daniel.  It was astounding.  It was almost like they had watched the Dark Crystal too.  

They got me on the run, and then I saw Kapernick with an Afro.  I had thought he was Middle Eastern.  Then all of a sudden, blond people started showing up.  They were dancing naked everywhere I went.  I would go to the grocery store, and there they were.  I would go to the bank, and there they were.  I would go to the book store, and there they were.  At first I thought they were some kind of religious group, then I concluded that they were a rock band in a video game.  I had saw it advertised on a commercial a few years prior.  It was a game from MK Tupac.  I had read it in a New World Order book from the early 1900’s.  Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud co-wrote it.  That’s when my brother called me to ask me how I was doing.

The only answer I had was “How the fuck do you think I’m doing?”  Then my first ex called to tell me she’s having another baby and if I wanted to co-sign for a new car.  I was like, “Bitch, I haven’t seen you since the 1800’s, how the fuck does your ghetto ass want a co-signer after you stole my sperm in 97 and then stole my life in 99?”  Needless to say, I co-signed.  I thought it was for the kid, but I think she got her nails did.  

  The Science

 It was a virtual video game and everyone wanted to play.  It was one of those soldier games where everyone is a shooter.  I had thought I had seen my brother in a bunker with a gunshot wound to his side.  He was bleeding.  He was drinking with his Clamster buddies, and they had asked if I wanted to play some football that weekend.  Since we were in a video game, I figured sure, why not.  While drinking a Natty Ice and smoking a cigarette, he asked how to defeat all the white men.  I looked at him, and wondered why he was drinking and smoking while bleeding on the rented floor.  I figured he had marital problems, he was in a slump and the locals must have been fucking with him.  I contemplated the question, and from the years of slavery and genocide, I didn’t really see a scenario that they would recede control of the area, America or stop their plans for world domination.  So I told him I don’t know.  It was a confounding question since his wife and his kids and his friends were white.

So his buddies were usually missing some teeth from some Oroville days.  I had known them for some time, so when playing football, I didn’t think much of it.  It did piss me off that they didn’t throw me the ball and kept me on defense.  I still disrupted most of the plays.  They just liked to throw interceptions.  They asked me if I wanted to be a bad guy in one of their movie projects that they were conjuring up.  Since I knew these guys had almost zero talent for movie making, I kindly agreed, if they did all the work.  They proposed some Star Trek and I proposed some Twilight Zone.  They proposed a Batman spin where the bad guys would be sitting at the table.  I figured I was Batman, so I’m not sure that would work out for me, unless I beat their face in at the end of the card game.  I guess my brother played the Joker.  

So I drove away, and then the game turned into Mad Max, Fury Road.  I guess Northern California wanted to keep the water, and Southern California didn’t like the country people and they wanted the water.  Everyone started throwing fire bombs at each other, it got crazy.  So the South paid off some ”official” people with the Damn money, and they shared the water with the weed growers and Mothers Milk.  All the gangs lived happily ever after, including the military and Hollywood, which we all know, are the most important gangs in California.  They eventually brought Donald Trump to rake and threw fake Rambo in military prison for trying to start a rebellion, which was actually a sting to begin with.  It was a complicated video game on story mode.  Most people just like to play on vs. Mode.  

I only rented the game, so I didn’t really play it, everyone I knew loved it and bought it.  I guess the marijuana dispensaries were selling it along with cookies.  I would rather spend my time watching Netflix and watch some Daredevil or Breaking Bad.  Those were some epic shows.  I used to just watch the Documentaries, but ever since I bought a subscription, I like the dramas.  It always begs the question, does art reflect real life, or does real life reflect art.  Sometimes I think to myself, when I notice the panic attack people have in the world around me, how could everyone not notice how much we believe other people to be better than us.  How much we fear other people to be better than us.  How groups of people feel threatened by others greatness, and that they don’t take the time to nurture their own greatness.  In a hysteria to feel loved and be seen in a crowded world, we try and find the flaws of the others around us to lift ourselves up.  Flowers fighting for sunlight.  Animals fighting for food and water.  Instead we are water and lightning.  We are the light.  

It makes me reminisce on the struggle of the waves crashing.  I find the breath I need in the moments between the struggle.  If I panic, I miss those moments while fighting against the ocean.  If I don’t panic, I am able to breath steadily and find the least resistance without drowning.  And if I live to tell the story, what else would a story need but you to tell it.  How many stories have saved your life?  How many stories gave you strength to carry on?  How many stories have let you share in the tragedies and triumphs of another?  Stories that made you laugh and cry, ones that you have learned from and ones that didn’t make sense till years later.  To play the video game in story mode or just in versus?  I personally like to write my own story.