#Bruce: losing you would literally be the death of me I won’t lose you cause I’ll be joining you in death

[everwalldigan]

Bruce being a toxic boy mom when it comes to nightwing will never not be funny as fuck he is literally the biggest nightwing defender one bad word against him and the next day he’ll show up at ur house

Bonus:

[iliadicjasontodd]

Hello! 👋 I just wanted to know what your Tim Drake WIP was about if you'd like to yap. You had some thoughts on his character in general and I'd be happy to hear them! What are the issues in canon and what nuances you'd like other people to consider. Thank you!

Hi!! I've been thinking about this ask for days I'm thrilled with it tbh!!

So, from my notes on the WIP, tentatively entitled too much will cause damage:

keep the basis. the wealth, the parents, the genius intellect and the thrusting himself into the role of robin. he thinks little of it. jason in his memory is an unobtrusive, quiet, and mostly unremarkable- if disruptive due to others’ reactions to his class and race- when they crossed into each others’ vicinity in high society and in school, and jason served his purpose until he’d clearly fumbled and outlived it. because robin is a job and a role and tim simply believes he can fill it best. Bruce never entirely forgives this trespass and it weighs over their relationship and, assuming steph and cass and damian still come in in this verse, does colour his ability to trust that jason’s worth is not somehow being degraded by their presence and his ability to trust that he himself does not actually view children as somehow fulfilling a utilitarian role. anyway, tim is driven by a belief in his own self-worth and invulnerability and a fundamental desire to exercise that self-worth in order to mold what he can of the time he lives in in his own image; he has a gd complex, in other words. he wants to be robin because he desires more strength- he desires to be chosen (and so he will never truly be satisfied with having taken the role himself, even if he does get satisfaction from taking and winning things). i enjoy the idea of this cold and irritating and mostly uncompassionate child putting himself in a position that eventually does push him to gain a desire for selflessness, and a desire to not be the best but to be good, even though it never comes naturally to him. he learns from bruce, he learns from dick, and he learns from jason, who, while not literally, does haunt him throughout his robin run as tim learns about him in bits and pieces, at first on accident, and later on purpose. i would keep his mission to find bruce and his altercation with the league of assassins but just have him be absolutely bodied. just fucking destroyed, trying to fix something he doesn’t fix anyway: bruce comes back on his own, and in the course of this he learns the real manner of jason’s death, learns the fact that jason did not die from mistakes tim is simply better than him for not making, and when steph “dies” in part due to bruce and tim’s treatment of her, most of his beliefs about himself crumble under the weight of all of this, and he is forced to build himself back up, but he is never going to be the naturally nice, hopeful, altruistic Robin through his nature. so he puts in the effort to discard as much of himself to fit the role he so naïvely took, believing it was suited for him, that it was his when it wasn’t, but he made a commitment. basically, i want him to be a tragic figure. he will lose little externally- his parents won’t die, he gets the job of his dreams, friends and status- but internally he won’t be at all unscathed or unchanged. i want him striving for this very imperfect goodness, faltering, and then trying again anyway. i want a statement in inherited wealth and main character syndrome, and on the choice to be compassionate and selfless when that does not come easily and must be chosen again and again. i want him cold and egocentric and entitled enough that when he feels guilt, true guilt, it’s nearly, nearly a novel feeling, and it changes him. I want him to have come from a place of devaluing and stepping over the still-warm corpse of a dead boy and i want that to haunt his entire narrative inescapably like an original sin.

Very long. But basically the idea behind this was, for me, turning Tim into something that could be, for me, and for many of the people I know who take issue with him as he is, satisfactory. The goal is to span his Robin days through Jason's revival and Bruce's 'death'. I'm aware he will not fully or even very much resemble the canon Tim Drake because the idea is to take the groundwork and adjust. Because, tbh, the groundwork lain is something that I could find really interesting, but the way he is written and his existence in and of itself is something I find difficult to swallow.

under the cut because I got caught up in the joy of talking shit about Tim Drake:

You asked about my issues with Tim in canon and I have panels from his Robin run that I criticised him for in DMs and other panels saved here and there that I might reblog this and add later but it's almost 2 am now and I have class in like 8 hours, so for now we'll take my word. Basically, Tim was created to be the quintessential perfect unproblematic Robin after Jason was killed basically for-- existing while poor. For having poor parents, for coming from a poor area of Gotham, for having been homeless, for being traumatised by any of this. But not Tim, no. Tim can be equal to Bruce, of course, in a way Jason never could! Tim is everything Robin should be- he is wealthy, and he is white, and he has normal high school problems. Never mind that he cannot pack his own bag, that he has beef with an eleven year old, that he will eventually steal Jason's mantle- not Robin, but Red Robin. He's the best Robin! Tim is a genius and he is a disciplined hero and he goes to beat up Asian people in Paris.

I will admit, a lot of my annoyance with tim stems from his fanon interpretation, which betrays a lot of misogyny and classism, ableism and racism in the fandom, which obviously shouldn't be a surprise. But yeah, in short- in fanon, he often replaces Barbara as a coder or technological genius or genius point blank, often replaces Jason as having experienced homelessness, food insecurity, and even death or torture at the Joker's hands; the amount of fanfiction I have read in which some form of the phrase "Jason suffered, but Tim had it so much worse," has been unironically uttered- often by Jason himself!-in some fucked up trauma olympics that everyone will bend over backwards to have their favourite rich boy win somehow even though no one else was really trying to play is ludicrous. In these cases, Barbara's own Joker-related trauma is hardly ever even brought up. In every case, Jason must repent endlessly for the unforgivable sin- not of murder and desecration and attempted patricide or any of that, no, but of kind of beating up his sort-of brother that's like a year and a half younger than him at most. Tim was neglected, no one loved him, he is neurodivergent and a minor. He is a little helpless child with glass bones and paper skin.

Basically, I think Tim is a deeply flawed character who actually starts from a point in the narrative rich in potential: Bruce has just lost his son, Gotham is going darker by the issue, and the Batman symbol is more haunted than ever, and Robin is never meant to fly again- after all, it's difficult to use wings six feet under. Tim is positioned as different from Jason in every way, which canon used to turn him into some prejudiced cardboard cutout teenaged hero but could be used to make him effectively an extremely particular boy who, for all intents and purposes, is still rather singular to this moment, and could be used to examine being Robin and growing up through an entirely novel (to Batman, at this time) angle. Blood had to be spilled to make space for Tim in the story; I just want to see what happens if I take that and run with it.

[gotnofucks]

Lover’s Quarrel

Pairing: Steve x Reader

Summary: You have the powers to resurrect if you’ve been murdered, and a jealous Steve Rogers indulges heavily in your abilities. He would not let you steal his best friend, that was for sure. So what, if your rivalry regularly caused fire and harm to public property? You just couldn’t let the other win. 

Words: 4.3k

Warnings: Smut, enemies to lovers, violence, killings and murders (but reader cannot die, it’s weird. She has some sorta powers that help her revive when she’s been murdered), language, 18+ ONLY

A/N: Is this crack fic? Idk. Maybe?

The sixth time Steve killed you, you decided he needed to be dealt with in a similar way. It doesn’t matter that he cannot come back from the dead like you. He just needed to go. You were tired of him offing you every time he felt threatened by your existence. But this was the last straw. He had pushed you off the Quinjet while flying home from a mission and you’d fallen into the lake and drowned. You would NOT recommend dying that way.

Bucky had dragged out your dead body and watched over you as the blessing of the necromancer worked its magic over you and brought you back to the world of the living. The first words out of your mouth as you spewed out water were, “I am going to kill your best friend and you can’t be mad at me for that.”

Bucky, far too happy to have you back – poor guy still mourned every time you died – ignored your comment and pulled you into a hug. He’d never quiet gotten used to seeing you die. You patted his back, muttering a few there-there’s until he was calm enough to press quivering kisses on your head and temple.

“You need to stop dying.” He said into your hair, holding you close.

“I would not be dying if your best friend didn’t murder me every time! He is a menace, Buck!” You cried in exasperation. The said best friend was watching you from a few yards away, and he rolled his eyes as your words reached him. He scoffed loud enough for you to hear and you sharply turned your head to glare at him.

“You!” You shouted, quickly standing up and marching over to him. “You rascal!” And then you pried out your wet shoe from your feet and threw it at his stunned face. Unfortunately, it didn’t hit his face but smacked against his chest, leaving the wet print of your soles against his far too tight t-shirt. He gaped at you open mouthed before baring his teeth in warning.

“Oh god, every time you come alive again, you’re even more awful than before!” Steve shouted, and then just because he is fucking drama queen, he threw out his hands. You sneered before turning to look at Bucky meaningfully, the most obvious ‘see what a dick he is’ look on your face.

Bucky shuffled uneasily, caught between your quarrel once again. He came behind you and gave you his jacket to wear to shield you from the cold. And just like that, your anger melted a little. Somehow, with his steel blue eyes, Bucky Barnes could sooth every wound you’d ever had. Even those given to you by Steve Rogers.

“I am so sorry. I should have seen what he was about to do. I wouldn’t have ever let you fall had I known.” He apologized and you swore your heart physically quivered. You pulled Bucky into a hug, hiding your face in his chest, savoring his arms coming around you to hold you tighter. You could have stayed in his embrace forever, but it was an annoyed groan that ripped you both apart.

“Is there any way you can stay dead a little longer?” Steve asked, breaking your moment. “I mean, I’ve tired a bullet and knife and water and poison. What can I do that you’d be gone for just a little longer?”

He was worked up, a red flush creeping on his face and neck. Pacing, he was muttering, and you wondered for the millionth time how Bucky could be friends with him. He was just so extra! You wanted to tell him to shove a stick up his ass, along with the one already there when he turned swiftly like the wind and threw a dagger at you. A metal hand caught it before it could hit you and you were pulled into the warmth of Bucky’s body quickly.

“Steve! Cut it out.” Bucky yelled, glaring at Steve. “You will not kill her again. I don’t care if she can come back alive again. You won’t hurt her.”

With that, he dropped the dagger on the ground and walked away with you. Unable to resist, you looked over you shoulder and flipped Steve off. Fucker could kill you a hundred times and yet he would not be able to do anything. As far as you were concerned, Bucky was as much your best friend as his. And if Steve Rogers couldn’t control his jealousy without trying to behead you every time he felt you were stealing Bucky from him, you would just have to make his death look like an accident.

“I don’t think I need to tell you that you can’t kill him either?” Bucky said teasingly, his eyes soft and fond. “I need you both to survive.”

You groaned, bumping your shoulder in his and snuggling into him as a cold breeze hit your wet clothes. He could read you like an open book.

“You are no fun Barnes.”

There was rubble and fires and shrieks. Natasha was yelling in Russian as she ran about with a fire extinguisher and Clint crawled out of his vents to help Bruce out who was turning a dangerous shade of green. Tony was sitting in the ruins of his kitchen, his mouth half open as he spied on the ensuing battle in the middle of it.

Sam was using his shield to push Steve away who was shouting curses that had probably not been invented yet. Bucky was holding you back by your middle, yelling in your ear to calm the fuck down but all you could think of to do was smacking Steve’s face with that chair that was currently on fire. You suppose once everyone was calm, you’d feel guilty about your part in destroying the Avengers kitchen but right now that wasn’t important.

What was important was that Steve had tried to kill you. Again. He had actually thrown a fucking grenade at you. You barely had the time to kick it away where it exploded in the kitchen and then Steve was on you, calling you a bitch in all the 9 languages he knew.

“Calm the hell down, Steve!” Sam yelled, struggling to keep Steve at bay from you. You were glad to see that Steve’s nose was busted. That will teach the bastard to ‘look down his nose’ on you now.

“She pierced my ears! The fucking bitch pierced my goddamn ears!” Steve yelled. Even you had to admit, the golden hoops looked amazing dangling from his ears. Just perfect.

“You are lucky I didn’t stick a knitting needle in your eye Rogers!” You sassily replied, “The only reason you’re still in one piece is because I promised my best friend that I wouldn’t hurt you.”

The muscles in Steve’s arms tensed and Sam groaned, barely keeping his own footing. A dark shadow seemed to have crawled over Steve’s face, turning the blues of his eyes an angry shade and had you been a weaker person, you would have trembled. This was the face of someone who had stood against armies alone and came out victorious. But for all you cared, he could kiss your ass.

“He is MY best friend. Mine. Not yours, not anyone else’s. Bucky Barnes is mine and I will kill you a thousand times until it sinks in your thick skull!” Steve growled. You scowled, a scathy remark bubbling on the tip of your tongue when you suddenly stopped. Why say when you can show? So, looking Steve directly in the eyes, you went limp in Bucky’s arms, turned around and cupped his face. And then you kissed his cheek.

Steve let out a strangled cry behind you, but you focused on Bucky who was blinking in disbelief at your audacity. And so, just for the heck of it, you kissed his other cheek. And then his forehead.

“Bucky Barnes, you are my best friend and always will be!” You said, hugging the life out of him. You heard Steve break away from Sam, heard Bucky yell out a curse and holding you protectively as his jealous pal came rushing to claim him. And all through that and the chaos that ensued later, you just smiled broadly.

Tony was giving a lecture, and he sucked. He gesticulated too much for your liking, and you really didn’t like how he kept emphasizing things by looking pointedly at you. It wasn’t even that much of a big deal, and even if it was, it was not your fault. Like every other time, the only person who could be held responsible was the blond super soldier sitting beside you, wearing the same shade of annoyance on his face as yours.

“I repeat” said Tony, his hair askew, “we do not use Friday to settle idiotic, absolutely ridiculous personal vendettas!”

“You have Friday tell you how pretty you look every day!” You countered and Tony slammed his hand on the table.

“Because I am!” He huffed. “You, on the other hand, stopped a mission in the middle to ask Friday who had a higher score! I mean, what the actual fuck? And what score?”

Steve had the decency to look at least a little sheepish. You however didn’t put up with any of that nonsense. It was his idea anyway, and you wouldn’t take the fall for him. Not when Tony looked murderous like this.

“Rogers bet me he’d take down more enemies than me. We only asked Friday to keep a count. I had literally nothing to do with it.”

Tony turned the ire of his glare at Steve who was too busy giving you a dirty look. He was just pissed you won, and that Bucky had spent the entire ride back tending to your wounds rather than Steve’s. It wasn’t your fault his jealous ass always threw a fit whenever he saw you and Bucky together.

“You said the team could use Friday as we saw fit.” Steve said, though he did look a little guilty. It wasn’t like him to lose command and control. Even when he’d been Captain America, he had never let anything rattle him. Not until you had come prancing in his life and stealing his best friend.

“I said the team could use Friday, not stop everything in the middle of a high risk mission to see who has a bigger dick.” Tony said, and then he just collapsed in his chair. Poor guy had been working too hard to carry the team forward, and in that moment, even you felt guilty. Your rivalry with Steve shouldn’t have to affect everyone else, not when they had been so welcoming and loving to you ever since you joined.

You walked over to Tony and dropped a kiss on his head, caressing his hair. “I am sorry Tones. You won’t have more trouble from me.”

Tony looked at you as if seeing an angel. He looked at you as if you were the solution to all his troubles. Despite every furniture of his you’d broken and set fire to, he was so grateful to have one sane voice between them. Cupping your hands, he looked imploringly at you and asked, “Really? You’re gonna stop fighting with Steve?”

At that, you solemnly nodded and patted his hand gently. Poor him and the poor team going through hell because you and Steve couldn’t settle your differences. It was obvious what had to be done.

“Of course I will” You said magnanimously, because of course you were the better of the two. “Steve just needs to find another best friend and there won’t be any reason to fight anymore.”

If any of them had been drinking water, they would have spit it out. Since they didn’t, they just kind of choked on their saliva and sputtered at you in absolute disbelief. Tony actually looked betrayed and Steve seemed to have licked a lemon, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

“She” He said, voice thick with contempt, “needs to go away. We can launch her in outer space or somewhere from where she can never return. You know why? Because Bucky is my best friend. Since we were yay high!” And he raised his arms a foot off the ground to show just how high.

And just like that, the moment was gone. Rogers opened his mouth and any goodwill you had had went poof. So, you did the only reasonable thing any sane person would do right now and that was to flip him off and call him a pig. You knew he was inching to strangle you; you could see his fingers twitch. A part of you was anticipating it, for Bucky would never forgive him for killing you again. Just as he would have lunged at you, push Tony out of the way and did you away for good, Bucky burst into the room with the expression of a cantankerous 100 year old grandpa who had had enough with the world.

“For fucks sake! Just shut up you both!” He yelled and paced the room. His eyes were bloodshot and hair disheveled, a clear sign that your rivalry was taking a heavy toll on him. Steve opened his mouth to say something when Bucky raised a finger to shush him. “No no no! You listen to me you oblivious, utter moronic fucklets!”

Your mouth dropped open. Bucky never cursed at you. He had never called you a fucklet before.

“You two need to stop. You hear me? You need to STOP!” He raked a hand through his hair before kicking the ground in frustration. “I can’t eat. I can’t sleep! I can’t fucking breathe without you both arguing over who is a better friend to me. So, here’s an idea. Instead of fucking me over in the middle of your sexual tension, why don’t you find a room and fuck each other? Because I tell you now, I cannot fucking take it!”

Silence sat pregnant in the room. You blinked at Bucky. Steve blinked at Bucky. Tony blinked at Bucky. And Bucky didn’t blink at all.

“That – uh – what?” You said, eloquent as ever. “That is so stupid.” And you laughed awkwardly.

Steve glanced at you and then stammered, “What? That – I haven’t – that has nothing to do with it. She and I – what?”

You both found each other’s eye, quickly looked away and just became silent. The tension in the air was suffocating you, and a terrible heat was settling in your stomach. Without another word, you walked out of the room, muttering about how ridiculous the whole idea was. The three men watched your exit, and a moment later, Steve left too, still very much in disbelief.

Tony and Bucky sighed, sitting across from each other and just taking in the fact that the elephant in the room had finally been address. A moment later, Tony began drumming on the desk, looking up at the ceiling.

“I couldn’t have put it any better myself.”

You felt antsy, as if staying one more moment in your room would drive you mad. You kept jerking your legs and arms, a weird restlessness in every action of yours. What the hell was Bucky saying? The sheer nerve to imply that you…you and Steve had some sort of feelings for each other. You hadn’t heard that kinda crap since you nursed your nephew who’d had diarrhea.

The only reason you and Steve fought was because you wanted Bucky. He was supposed to be your best friend, and clearly it was his inability to decide who he preferred more that had led you here. And to pretend, on top of that, that it was you who was at fault was just ridiculous. As if you’d touch Steve Rogers with a ten foot pole.

But…would you? You suppose he couldn’t be that bad to touch. He did have gorgeous eyes that got all dark and dilated when he fought with you. And his breath hitched when you got him mad and he bit his lip to stop from cursing you and he flushed a very becoming shade of red that started from his cheeks and disappeared down the neckline on his tight shirts that –

Holy fuck!

The realization rocked your world. What the hell? When you thought about it again, it seemed as if you’d just described Steve being aroused. Did you really fight him and got him mad to stimulate yourself? Oh god. Bucky was right. You wanted to fuck Steve.

This wouldn’t do. This wouldn’t do at all. You quickly changed into your work out gear and rushed to the gym, intent on sweating out whatever feelings you might have for Steve. After all, nothing says fuck you like imagining someone’s face on a punching bag and just going to town on it. Thankfully, when you arrived the gym was empty.

You’d been working on your stretches for only a few minutes when your worst nightmare entered the gym. He probably had the same idea as you and froze the moment your eyes met. His blue eyes narrowed at you and you stood up straight. You hated Bucky for putting the thought in your head. Now all you could think of was tackling Steve to the ground and fucking him senseless. You still wanted to beat him, but in a very different way.

As Steve entered, his eyes fixed to your form, you decided it was time to leave. After that fiasco in front of Tony, you didn’t think yourself capable of talking to Steve. Staying alone with him was something you didn’t trust yourself with. So you picked up your bag and started for the door when his voice stopped you.

“Running away? Am I to believe that there is something that finally scares you?”

Anger, red hot anger simmered under your veins when you turned to face him again. He had a mocking smirk on his face that made you grit your teeth. His eyes, dark and challenging beckoned you to him, but they didn’t hold resentment there either. Something between you had changed today. The very air around you was different, thick with tension and apprehension that had your nerves tingling.

“Scared?” You scoffed, dropping your bag on the matted floor and walking until you stood right before him. He towered over you in height, but he’d never been able to actually look down at you. “Me, scared of you? You wish Rogers.”

One corner of his lips lifted up, and he put his hands on you. One hand hooked around your waist and pulled you closer, the other trailing a finger down the side of your face to your neck, following the path down your arm until his fingers intertwined with yours.

“Oh, I so do wish” He whispered and his lips met yours. You rose up on your toes, mashing your body against his and mapping the planes of his body with your palms. The smell of his sweat and soap surrounded you, your arms coming to hold him around the shoulders as he hitched you up so you could wrap your legs around him.

Like everything in your relationship, the kiss was explosive. You didn’t melt against each other like people do in books; you collided like two warring armies intent on conquering the other. You collided like night and day, basking your surroundings in the dawn and dusk of your lust. Steve took your bottom lip between his teeth and bit down, smiling as you shamelessly moaned.

“What do you say?” He asked, pushing you against the wall, his hardness digging between the heated center of your legs.

You pulled him closer, letting your lips trail over his jaw and neck before you branded him with a quick bite. “You’ve always been so aggressive Steve, let’s see you let loose some other way. I sure do hope you fuck better than you fight though, or I’ll just be disappointed.”

Steve growled, kissing you again as he ground his cock against you, trapping you between the wall and his hard body that prevented any escape. Your hands slipped under his t-shirt, meeting the firm muscles on his abdomen that rippled under you. He pulled back just enough to allow you to remove your clothes, his own being flung sideways without any care.

Even before, you’d never thought of Steve as anything but beautiful, but now, seeing him in all his glory, you could only look him up and down in appreciation. He was trembling slightly, as if holding himself back with effort, his eyes not leaving you for a second. You both looked at each other, naked and unashamed before frantically coming together. His hands were everywhere, squeezing your ass and thighs as his lips pulled at your breast.

Your fingers rolled his nipples softly until he moaned, and then you pinched them. He jerked under your touch, kicking the back of your knees so you collapsed down, and he covered your body with his. Anger, arousal, lust and longing, all emotions built together in a storm of incoherent desire that had you both rolling over each other, fighting for dominance and power. Steve pinned you down with effort, holding your wrists in one hand over your head as he gave a smug smile to you.

“Will you finally surrender today?” He asked, positioning his cock at your entrance that was drenched. You would have loved to taste him, to have him taste you, but as of now, all you wanted was for him to slide inside you. You hungered for him, burnt for his touch. For years you’d been left wanting, and now with the prize so near, you weren’t about to wait any longer.

“The only surrender today will be yours.” You whispered sweetly before slamming your head against his. Steve jerked hard in surprise, allowing you the opportunity to free your hands and roll over him. You sat on his pelvis proudly, his throbbing member right underneath you and as he blinked at you, stunned, you rose up over his tip and slowly sunk down.

Steve groaned as your wet channel fell like velvet heat along his shaft. You had never been so full before. He stretched your limits, as he had always done, and you decided you very much preferred rendering him speechless like this under you than your usual punches and throws. His hands dug into your waist, helping you bounce on his cock and you threw your head back at the feeling.

It was a beautiful ache, one that took your breath away. As you rolled your hips and clenched down there, Steve’s voice rose in appreciation and you grinned. You finally had the golden boy at your mercy. You fucked him, changing your pace to punish him, never letting him up. For every time he killed you, you bit on his lips and neck, marking him. It was punishment and cherishing, a culmination of feelings you didn’t understand.

“Touch me.” You brokenly said, and his fingers found your nub. The slapping of skin, the sounds of debauchery and the smell of sin filled the air. You leaned over him to meet his lips, the heat in your gut bubbling until you snapped and came atop him, falling blissfully. It was one moment of weakness and the world titled, Steve having finally pushing you on your back.

“You’ve always been strong, because I’d hate to break you when the fun has only just begun.” He said and thrust into you hard and fast. He was an animal in heat, a man possessed, and you didn’t mind one bit. You met his every thrust with a raise of your hips, you clawed at his back until he bled, your lips tasting of the salt of sweat and tears and desire. He brought you impossibly closer, looking right into your eyes as he took you.

For the life of you, you couldn’t look away. You couldn’t get enough of his grunts and moans, of the breathy whispers of your name that slipped between curses, of the way his lashes would flutter over the dark blues that kept your eyes captive. He had you completely in that moment, mind and body; and for some reason, his gaze felt infinitely more intimate than his cock that was currently spearing you open. You keened in pleasure, whimpering as he touched your overly sensitive clit and had you coming again.

A minute later, he twitched inside you, his warmth flooding your core and you sighed. You laid entangled and sweaty, both of you spent and tired and yet completely overtaken by the urge to be closer still. To think this is what you’d both missed for all these years.

“So, what do you say, still feeling aggressive?” Steve asked and you looked at him with a grin that you couldn’t have suppressed had you wanted to. Oh yes, some battles were never meant to end, but they sure could be altered to meet new demands.

“With you? Always.” You replied, kissing him deep until he couldn’t think of anything but you. “Just remember one thing.”

“Oh yeah, what?”

“I am still a better best friend to Bucky. I did fuck you to keep him happy after all.”

Steve frowned darkly and before you could blink, he was over you, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“I think this time I’d fuck some manners into you.”

“I think this time you should actually put your back into it. I did all the work before.” You taunted and he dived at you.

Meanwhile, in Tony Stark’s office

“Friday, what’s the score?” He asked smugly, offering Bucky the packet of blueberries. Bucky was sitting with his feet on the desk, a small smile on his face.

“I am afraid I am not at a liberty to say Boss.” Friday replied. If the AI could blush, she would.

“Seems like they are at an impasse.” Tony suggested, and Bucky shrugged, licking his lips.

“Well, some things never change.”

[bat-losers-inc]

Song of Cassandra: Chapter 2

Warnings: Family Drama, Family Issues, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Emotional Baggage, and Child Neglect

Summary: What is Batman without a Robin? Everyone in the family makes jokes about the ‘dead robins club’, but Dick and Jason really do have measures set in place for the day Bruce loses sight of what’s really important. They won’t let Bruce sacrifice another Robin for the cause, even if that means separating Robin from Batman for good.

Pairings: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

                            _____________________________________

Half a year later saw them performing a feat of brotherly bonding he’d never imagined possible: robbing Penguin together.

They’d left the Tricorner district behind in a streak of burnt rubber and a barrage of gunfire and ditched the getaway van in Chinatown at the first available 24-hour parking facility on the other side of the bridge. It was slower going on foot, but Chinatown’s busy night scene, combined with the heavy triad presence in this district, would make Penguin’s men hesitate before going in guns blazing. That was all the time they needed to slip away unseen.

Now, as they emerged from the darkness of the parking deck, Dick yanked the balaclava off his head. He grunted something unintelligible as he shouldered his way through the cluster of pedestrians that crowded the sidewalk.

“What?” asked Jason, pulling his own half-mask down from around his neck and jogging to catch up.

“I said, you’re a real bastard. You promised me this was would be easy!”

Jason glanced at him. He wanted to be sympathetic but he just couldn’t when Dick was glaring at him with that staticky mop of hair. He couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice when he replied, “You’re the one who said we shouldn’t leave a paper trail! This is about as easy as stealing from Penguin’s bagman gets.”

In truth, he thought they were complaining just for the sake of complaining. After six months they both knew that pulling off this heist was less a matter of choice and more a matter of necessity. Failure meant returning to the storage locker Dick had procured outside of Port Adams and staring down their measly little bat-trust-fund: six safehouses, fifteen rolls of Kevlar fabric, a small arsenal, twenty-seven contacts typed into a Word document, and $5,025 split five ways. But what use would kevlar suits be if their siblings couldn’t afford to keep a roof over their heads? No, without the cash it was worth fuck-all.

Dick looked like he wanted to argue the point further but at that moment a convoy of police vehicles shot past them, sirens wailing and horns blaring loud enough to deafen a person. No doubt by now Penguin’s men had informed their boss about the botched exchange and pinned the blame on their nearest rivals, the Ghost Dragons. If that was the case, then Chinatown was a powder keg ready to explode into a minor gang war at any moment.

A flash of light reflected off the windows of a nearby apartment building. Jason stepped in between two parked cars to get a better look and found himself staring up at the cloud-heavy night sky illuminated in the glow of the bat signal.

He gripped the heavy duffel bag full of stolen cash closer to his chest like he expected Gotham’s dark knight to swoop down at any moment and tear it from his shoulder.

“Hey,” Dick tugged at his arm. “time to go.”

Batman was on the way and like the best of Gotham’s criminals, Jason and Dick made themselves scarce.

It took nearly forty minutes and three subway lines to make their way back to the self-storage facility. By then a pale glow had crept up from the horizon and spread across the water. Around them, the street lights began to shut off one after another. In the distance, Jason could just make out a tugboat as it pushed a barge out towards the open ocean.

By the time Dick pulled the storage locker door down behind them, they were tired-eyed and footsore.

Jason threw the duffel bag onto a table and propped himself against it as he fished one-handed under his t-shirt to undo the straps of his protective vest. He sighed in relief as the weight lifted off his shoulders. “How the hell did you stand wearing these things when you were on the force? Even with the undershirt, the chaffing is god-awful.”

“You get used to it,” Dick replied, making quick work of removing his own gear.

Jason doubted it but he was too tired to argue his point further. Instead, he found the six-pack that he’d stashed under the table earlier that day and snapped off a can.

“Heads up,” he called, as he pitched a can underhand to Dick who caught it against his chest.

Dick held it up for inspection. “Warm beer. What I’ve always wanted.”

“Oh shut up and celebrate with me, you asshole.”

He extended his arm across the table. Dick knocked beer cans with him and completely failed at hiding the shy grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, though god bless him he tried. “Cheers.”

Jason watched him crack open the top and chuckled as he hurriedly slurped at the foam that erupted over the rim. He knew that this morally gray lifestyle didn’t come easy to Dick but he couldn’t deny that he was happy he had stuck around with him for this long. He didn’t dare to say it out loud, but they actually made good partners.

He took a long drink from his own beer can before putting it aside. “Ok, come on. The faster we count this cash the sooner we can go to bed.”

Jason upturned the duffel bags, sending stacks of cash sliding out onto the metal tabletop while Dick pulled the banknote counter from the corner and lugged the machine up next to the pile. Together they started slipping the currency bands loose and feeding the stacks of cash into the machine, watching eagerly as the sum continued to tick upwards.

“Soo…” Jason drummed his thumbs on the table as the numbers continued to flash on the small screen, “How are things going with you and Babs?”

“What?” Dick’s eyebrows drew together. “Why?”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m a little curious about what she thinks you do when you’re out late all the time… also, I’m bored.”

“You’re weird, is what you are.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Seriously? We’ve only spent the past six months together moonlighting as vigilante survivalists and I can’t ask one time how your love life is going.”

“No, no. Sorry, you’re right.” Dick held up a hand. “I told her I’ve been helping you out with an undercover case for a couple of months now. Said I owed you a favor.”

Jason grinned at him. “Well, that’s not a lie. Quite a few actually, but who’s counting.”

Dick punched him in the shoulder. “Actually, I should call her. Reassure her you didn’t get me killed before she calls in a search party.”

Jason chuckled and went back to the task of feeding bills into the machine as Dick rummaged through the backpack and fished out his phone.

“Hey, uhh...”

Jason glanced up and took in Dick’s furrowed expression as he stared down at his phone. He put down the stack of cash he was holding. “What’s the matter?”

“Something happened while we were out. I — shit I don’t know how to explain it but I’ve got like 15 missed messages from Barbara and Alfred. Did you bring your phone with you?”

Jason grabbed his backpack where his own phone was stashed and opened it to find a similar mass of missed calls and incoherently excited messages cluttering the screen. Some of the numbers he recognized, Steph, Barbara, and Alfred were all saved in his phone, but a few were from unknown senders. If he had to venture some guesses he’d say Cass, Duke… maybe Harper? Fuck, he never realized this many bat brats had his number. “I don’t get it… something about Tim? What about hell?”

“I’m calling Babs.”

Jason was aware of how uncomfortably loud their breathing sounded in the small storage locker as they stood around the table waiting for Dick’s call to connect.

“Dick?” Barbara’s voice asked loudly through the speaker. “Thank God! Where have you been? I’ve been calling and calling you.”

“Sorry, undercover mission, remember? What’s the big emergency? I didn’t get anything from Bruce.”

“You need to get back to the manor. Bruce found Tim!”

That didn’t make any sense. “What? You mean Bruce found Tim’s remains?”

Jason smacked his arm. “His remains? Are you fucking serious? What remains could Bruce possibly find after a death like that?”

“I don’t know, bone fragments—”

Dick’s argument sounded flimsy the moment it left his mouth and they both knew it. Jason just really hated to be the one who had to say it.

“If the heat from that explosion didn’t finish him off entirely then the pounding impact of like a hundred thousand missiles definitely did in whatever remains might have been left.”

“Guys—” called Babs.

“Oh, so you’re a forensic scientist now? You don’t know that—“

“Yes, I do!” He slammed a hand down on the table, his anger flaring. He really couldn’t do this backslide back into denial with Dick again. “There’s a reason we buried an empty box. Tim is literally dust in the wind.”

“Jesus Christ!” Barbara’s voice erupted loudly through the speakerphone. “Kill it with the broody back and forth already and actually listen to me, would you? I’m not talking about bone fragments or anything like that. I’m saying Bruce found Tim. Tim! He’s alive.”

Jason met Dick’s eyes over the phone, confusion written as starkly across Dick’s face as it must have been on his own. “What? I— What?”

“I really don’t understand it all myself. But Tim said he’s been held captive by Mr. Oz in another dimension for this whole time. Can you believe it? All this time we thought he was dead and...”

Jason didn’t catch that last bit. He was too busy bent over the table as all the blood rushed to his head.

He was gonna hurl. “That doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

They’d all given up on the hope of Tim miraculously surviving a long time ago and this sudden news felt like he was experiencing emotional whiplash. This had to be some kind of sick joke or a trick... a doppelganger sent by the newest enemy on the rise against Batman.

Dick’s thoughts were apparently spiraling in the same direction as his own for he ran a hand roughly across his mouth and asked, “You saw him yourself? You’re sure it’s him, our Tim?”

But it wasn’t a big cosmic joke. As much as Jason couldn’t believe it, it wasn’t and that was made clear with every new piece of information Babs gave them.

“Yes, he was standing right in front of me only an hour ago — crying and hugging everyone.”

Dick turned to look at Jason, but he was already rounding the table and yanking Dick into a bruising hug.

“He’s alive,” Dick cried into the shoulder of his t-shirt. His voice overflowed with the most contagiously hysterical mixture of joy. Jason laughed through his own tears. “You bet your ass he is!”

He couldn’t explain what had come over him. He and Dick had never really been close — and they definitely weren’t huggers — but the last few months had been so full of this gnawing air of anxiety — their family continuing to fracture, the resources running dry — that the full realization was starting to hit them that this plan might have been formed too late to do any real good. They could feel the clock running out and they were both expecting the other shoe to drop any day now but then out of the blue… this.

Dick pushed away from him suddenly and wiped at his eyes.

“Uh…” he tried to clear his throat. “We, uh, we should get back to the cave and go see him for ourselves. Babs, he still there, right?”

“Yeah, Bruce is debriefing him.”

And just like that, Jason’s joy seized painfully in his chest. It hurt the way a seatbelt does in a car crash, knocking the air out of your lungs and bringing you up short. He watched Dick rush around him, grabbing up his belongings in a disorganized fashion.

“Dick, I can’t come with you.”

“What?” Dick asked, breathless. He turned back from the door. “Yes, you can. C’mon, get your stuff, the money can wait till tomorrow.”

Jason shook his head. Fuck, how the hell was he supposed to explain this to him without looking like the one asshole member of this family who didn’t want to visit his little brother recently brought back from the dead.

Dick paused, his hand dropping from the door handle. “What? Because of what happened between you and Bruce?”

I was a fool for ever believing in you. Even now Bruce’s words lingered at the back of his head. An invisible brand that still held its heat.

“Jason, I know what went down between you and Bruce was… heavy, to say the least, but you’re still family. You do know that, right? You’re still my family and if you want to see Tim, Bruce can do fuck-all to stop it. I’ll make sure of it.”

Jason could only huff a sad laugh at that because God did he want to believe that too, but he knew it wasn’t that simple. Tim would always be his family, but Bruce… he’d crossed a point of no return with Bruce on the night that the fortress was destroyed. The violence of his assault had done more than break a few bones— it had finally shattered that last shred of trust he’d stupidly harbored in him that when push came to shove Bruce would value the son over the soldier. I broke his rules for the last time and now he sees me as nothing more than an unredeemable criminal that escaped Batman’s justice. One of his little soldiers gone AWOL.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just… I can’t face him yet— I—” he trailed off. He’d been laying low since his return to Gotham, but even still Jason thought the only reason he’d survived this long was because Bruce was too consumed with Tim’s death to spend a spare thought on him. He wasn’t ready to walk into that cave tonight and find out what would happen now that Tim was back in the picture and Bruce’s anger focused back on him.

It felt like a horrible selfish thing to think about saving his own skin when his little brother had come back from the dead, but as his eyes lingered at the collection of items piled around the storage locker he was reminded that no one was going to do it for him. After all, that was how this plan had all started right? Someone had to be the one to craft the safety net for the next Robin to fall of Batman’s mighty pedestal.

“You should go. Tell Tim I’m glad he inherited my cockroach-like ability to not stay dead.”

“Jason…” Dick twisted the jacket he held in his hands.

“Go.” It came out sharper than he’d intended, despite his best efforts to push his emotions down. He was quick to try to smooth it over with a tight smile that he knew fooled neither of them. “I’ll stop by his apartment tomorrow once all the hype has died down. Besides, someone needs to finish up here.”

He nodded at the banknote counter.

The one thing he’d always valued about Dick, more than his caring nature, was that he knew when to stop pushing an issue.

“Alright,” Dick shifted his grip on his jacket again. His phone was chiming once more in the back pocket of his jeans. No doubt another family member asking where he was. “I’ll call you tomorrow to check in.”

“Sure.”

After the door to the storage locker fell shut, Jason let his gaze travel around the room again. So Tim was back, alive and well as far as any of them were concerned. A nagging part of Jason’s mind wondered worriedly if gaining him back would slowly undo all the plans they had made together. Would Dick continue to worry about the next crisis to befall their little family or would Tim’s return renew his neverending faith in the impossible until he eventually forgot what it was that drove him to his breaking point?

Jason picked up another stack of banknotes and slid it into the machine. As the numbers continued to rise once more he did his best to prepare himself for the idea that he would be alone in this mission once more. Another bitter pill to swallow but he couldn’t do it. It lodged itself raw and unpleasant at the back of his throat.

[yourmcu]

Wish You Were Here (i)

Pairings: Tony Stark x daughter!reader, Avengers x Stark!reader

Summary:

an Infinity War/Endgame AU where Tony Stark’s daughter (you) is one of half the population that vanishes in the snap, Tony finds out later on when he arrives back to Earth, devastated, then you come back like the others to help fight Thanos.

Word count: 2,030

A/n: (moved to the end of the fic!)

Warnings: angst, death, swearing, a lil soft!Nat in the beginning bc I love her, mentions of anxiety/anxiety

read on ao3!

Part 2

gif not mine! credits to the owner^^

You wanted to help in whatever was happening, you weren’t quite sure still, but it had something to do with the infinity stones and how you guys needed to find them before some guy named Thanos does.

It took a lot of convincing for Steve, Natasha and Rhodey (they were the ones more protective over you) to let you come, especially with Tony not around to scold you since he was in space.

“I’m coming with you guys whether you like it or not - no, I know what you’re gonna say, I can handle myself. I’m sixteen! Did you know Peter’s in space right now with Dad? Outer freaking space. You’re not the only one who has a suit, Rhodey-”

The argument ended with, “if something happens and I-” you dragged your thumb across your neck, “then it’s on me. None of you are to blame. Can we go now?”

So they didn’t have any other choice. You went to Wakanda with them to get the mind stone out of Vision and intend to destroy it afterwards.

Things got a *bit* out of hand though, there was an army of creatures - they’re from space, you assumed, working for Thanos - trying to get the stone. You fought alongside Sam and Rhodey, sometimes even fighting with Bruce who was using the Hulkbuster. You also helped the Wakanda tribes when they got overpowered by the creatures.

Even Thor came back to fight and he brought a raccoon and a tree with him.

The battle was going really messy, until - “Everyone on my position. We got incoming.”

You fly to where Cap and the team are, and there he is coming out of what appears to be a cloudy, blue grayish portal, Thanos himself.

“Cap, that’s him.” Bruce says as he hides you behind the Hulkbuster to shield you. He slowly walks over to the purple titan before saying, “stay down, [Y/N], alright?”

Did all of them suddenly forget that you, if not more, are stubborn like your father?

Because when all of them attack, you fly behind Thanos when he's distracted and wrap both your metal covered arms around his neck in stupid attempts to strangle him. He effortlessly uses his gauntlet to throw you back to the ground, knocking you out.

He eventually got all the stones, snapped his fingers when Thor failed to kill him, and left.

“What did you do?!”

“Where did he go? Thor, where did he go?”

“What’s happening?” You get off the ground as Bucky turns to dust. You look around and saw the air filled with the same dust, just from different people.

What the hell did that snap do?

People are vanishing, disappearing, are they dying? Why are they dying? You’re pretty sure you're panicking. Your lips start to quiver and you feel your chest tighten, making it hard for you to breathe.

Natasha notices right away. She's the one who could help you with your anxiety attacks besides Tony. She comes to you and places her hands on your shoulders, looking you in the eye. “Hey, it’s going to be okay, you’re fine, just breathe with me,”

You watch Wanda, one of  your best friends, turn to dust too which did not help in the slightest. What’s worse is when Natasha holds your hands to calm you down,

They start turning into dust particles.

“No no no no no no,” you grow weak, holding onto her. “Nat, I’m scared - I don’t - I don’t know what to-”

“Y/N, just breathe like we practiced, okay?”

You try copying her breathing but it’s no use. It doesn’t change the fact that you’re still fading away. You look at her, tears threatening to fall out of your eyes, “I’m so sorry.” She has no choice but to hug you tightly until you get dusted completely.

The Avengers just lost a kid. Not just any kid, for them you were special. You always supported the team no matter what. They couldn’t even imagine what Tony’s reaction would be.

When Natasha told Pepper of course she didn’t take it well.

You were Tony’s own flesh and blood (and some one night stand chic that we won’t mention anymore starting now), but Pepper helped raised you when Tony first took you in and treated you like her own. Sometimes you even called her ‘mom’.

She was so relieved when a spaceship came by the compound to drop Tony off - he looked weak and skinny - she didn’t know how to break the awful news to him while he was in that condition.

“I lost the kid,” he meant Peter. What he doesn’t know was that he actually lost two.

“It’s been twenty-three days since Thanos came to Earth.”

Bruce and Natasha keep looking over one another as images of the people they lost in the snap took turns popping up as holograms. Rhodey feels tense and keeps tapping his foot - nervous of what his best friend’s gonna do once he sees-

Tony abruptly stands up from his wheelchair. “Stop. Stop there.” (“Tony, you need to sit down,”) “No.” He stumbles over to a particular hologram, the one with his daughter’s face.

Y/N Stark.

The room is awfully quiet. Despite you telling them that it isn’t going to be any of their faults if something happens to you, they still feel responsible for you.

“Was anyone going to tell me?” He speaks softly. Too soft and calm for all of them that they remain glued to where they're standing, avoiding eye contact. He clenches his fists and sends a look to  everyone in the room. “You better not be shitting me I already lost Parker and I - I can’t - I can’t lose her. I can’t.”

“Tony,” Natasha says. “We couldn’t do anything to stop it.”

It's like being stabbed with his own blade all over again. She tells him everything that happened, how you got dusted like Peter, and Tony just stares blankly at your photo, looking very pale.

Tony takes a deep breath and pushes his glasses further up his nose, holding in  tears. Good thing his glasses cover it up. He mutters ‘okay’ over and over as he takes a seat back in his wheelchair. Steve hesitates to continue the discussion but Tony encourages him to go on, even though he feels like he was literally dying inside.

His mood definitely went downhill from there - Tony's furious with himself. Furious with them, with Steve, that he takes it out on the super soldier. By the end of it he's on the floor, passed out.

“Dad, come in, it’s [Y/N]. Everything alright out there?”

“Oh y’know, typical day in the city - pair of aliens came to visit again.” Tony sounded breathless.

You paused briefly. “...what? W-well, do you need help? I can help, and Peter’s probably on his way there - he just made a lame excuse and hung up on me so, I figured he sensed something was wrong.”

“Yeah. Stay where you are and when things get worse, find Pepper and get to safety.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Nope. Deadass serious. Stay out of this one.”

Tony opens his eyes and takes in his surroundings. He's transferred to a bed with the same wires poking his arm. He dreamt of his last conversation with you - before and while he was dragged to space.

“Hey, I’m still here, you know,” you cut him off while he was arguing with Strange.

“[Y/N]? How is this still connected?”

“I made the earpiece set myself - I guess it has really long range, huh?”

“You’re a nerd.” Tony cracked a small smile.

“Hi [Y/N]!” Peter shouted from a distance.

“Peter? You’re in space too? I’m so jeal-”

The line completely went out, guess the range wasn’t that long.

“Tony?” Pepper says gently. “You shouldn’t be up - it’s only been an hour since you passed out.”

He looks at her for a moment then returns his attention to the wall, eyes bloodshot. “Have I been a good father to her? ‘Cause I feel like she deserved more. Way more.”

“Of course, she loved you! Tony, [Y/N] loved you as much as you love her,” Pepper reassures, running a hand through his hair. “I know you’re upset but you really should be getting bed rest right now.”

He sniffles and gave a small nod, “okay.”

He closes his eyes again when she left the room and sigh, mumbling “goddammit kid,” before letting the tears flow down. Tony rarely cries. Barely cries. He usually keeps those stupid emotions in but this - the fact that his little girl is gone, it's too much for him. He realized never fully showed how much you meant to him and he regrets it.

Can't help but think that it should've been me Either way, I still wish you were here.

Fast forward to five years later: Tony now lived at a lakeside cabin with Pepper and their daughter, Morgan.

Moving on was better than to be sad and depressed for the rest of his life. That’s what you wanted for him anyway, to be happy.

So that’s exactly what Tony did.

He spent time with his family, made new suits which he enjoyed to do, living his life peacefully. That doesn’t mean he forgot about you. Sure the last few years were hard, he missed you every single day, but he had to face and accept it.

Tony moved your stuff from the compound and into a vacant room in the cabin. Sometimes he’d look through your crazy inventions, your journals that were filled with ideas for future gadgets and he hung up framed photos of you and him (some with Pepper) on the walls.

He told Morgan all about you. How awesome you were, how you were energetic and enthusiastic in everything you do, and how the both of you would be best friends if you two met.

“I wanna meet her,” Morgan says, looking at pictures of you.

Tony smiles sadly and looks at the photo of you and him. It was at your school’s science fair and your invention won first place (he remembered laughing at all the science teachers’ shocked faces because of your advanced gadget, way advanced than the grade you were in). Both of you looked really happy.

If a picture is all that I have, I can picture the times that we won't get back If I picture it now it don't seem so bad Either way, I still wish you were here.

“Someday, maybe.” He replies, giving her a warm smile.

Steve, Natasha and a new guy Scott visited him one day. They basically told him bringing back everyone who died in the snap was possible, hinting time travel.

Tony was torn. He didn’t want to risk losing what he had now, but bringing everyone back... that was something. Everyone in the universe that vanished, the other Avengers, the guardians he met in space, Strange, Peter, you.

That same night he thought about you, and Peter when he stumbled upon a picture of both of them. That same night, he figured out time travel.

“Hey legacy,” he chuckles a bit, remembering how you always frowned or pouted whenever he called you that. He likes that nickname on you though. “I... uh, this is just a little video. For you. Sure you won’t see this but... I like to pretend I could still talk to you. I miss you, a lot.”

“It’s been five years, hun. Morgan, your sister... you have no idea how much she talks about you. She wants to meet you someday,” he looks at the camera. “I know I can’t tell her the real reason why you’re not here with us, not yet, but anyway, ‘couple of old pals came to visit me. They want to try to get everyone back, that includes you.”

Tony sighs, looking away. “As of now I don’t know if we’re ever gonna pull off something like this. I figured it out, just a couple minutes ago actually. Time travel. It’s dangerous, very risky...”

“But we’ll see. We’ll figure something out. I hope to see you soon, [Y/N]. I love you.”

----

so I’ve cut this lil idea into two parts - I’ll probs post part 2 soon right after this one - if everyone likes it of course :)

oh, and I listened to this song by Neck Deep while writing this, which is where I got the title too, you can listen here. (I also put in some lyrics from the song to the story, just because it fits well hehe)

[winter-soldier-vibes]

You saved me (Steve Rogers x reader)

You saved me

Steve Rogers x reader

Summary: Steve Rogers loses you (his girlfriend) in the battle of Wakanda (set in Infinity War) and mourns. Until he finds out he might be able to bring you back

Word count 2146

Warnings: spoilers for one, death/dust, mourning

A/N: THIS CONTAINS INFINITY WAR AND ENDGAME SPOILERS. Also, I know that this isn’t verbatim what happens, but I paraphrased. A lot of the battle is included here, so seriously, if you haven’t watched the movies, don’t read this quite yet. Sorry if I got something wrong. I DON’T OWN ANYTHING MARVEL the battle in Infinity War and Endgame are both mentioned and paraphrased but it is not my ideas.

-----------------------------

It had destroyed Steve so much. You were fighting with him inj Wakanda against Thanos, and had joined him to try and protect Vision and the Mind stone while Wanda was trying to destroy it before he got to it. You were a skilled fighter, and had learned from Natasha years ago. Fighting was your specialty.

You were fighting some of Thanos’ army when you heard a yell from Steve and turned around just in time to see him get punched by Thanos

“STEVE!” you yelled, running over to him. Thanos paid no attention to you, turning back to Vision. You crouched down beside him, checking to make sure he was just unconscious, not dead. You put your ear to his chest to feel his heart still beating. Thank God, you thought. 

You tried waking him up, slapping his face gently. “Come on, Steve. They still need us Cap…” you said. You took a breath before giving him a hard slap across the face.

His eyes opened and he made a move to defend himself. “Hey hey hey, Steve, it’s me, it’s y/n. I’m sorry babe, I just had to wake you up.”

He nodded, sighing in relief. “Where’s Thanos?” he asked.

The two of you looked around to see Thor fly out of the sky and shove his axe into Thanos’ chest and push it further. You sighed in relief. Maybe it was finally over.

You could see the two of them talking, and Thanos raised his left hand. You heard Thor yell “NO!” as he snapped.

Confused, you watched light flash out from the stones and you looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Nothing seemed to have changed, but then you started getting this weird feeling in your stomach, like you were about to pass out. 

You tried to stand, but stumbled. You looked at your hands to see them turning into dust. “Steve….” you looked up from your dissolving fingertips. “I - I don’t know what’s happening.” you said, starting to panic as your arms vanished.

The last thing you heard was Steve saying your name

Steve watched in horror as you dissolved into thin air. He knelt down in front of where you had been, running his hands through the pile of dust on the ground. He looked up when he heard his name from his friend Bucky

“Steve?”

He looked up just in time to see Bucky dissolve just as you had moments ago.

He went over to where Bucky had just been, seeing the dust fall to the ground just like it had with you.

He found out later that the same thing had happened to trillions across the universe. Thanos had done it. He had annihilated half of the population. 

When they followed Nebula to where Thanos was living to retrieve the stones, he was devastated when he learned that the stones were gone. Along with any chance of saving you.

He spent the next 5 years in despair. He tried to look on the bright side, tried to move on like he told everyone else to. But he was falling apart inside. When he woke up after being frozen for 70 years, he thought he had lost Peggy. A few years later she had really died. On Zola’s train, he thought he had lost Bucky only to find out that he was the Winter Soldier in 2014. When he found you he had finally been moving on from all of that. Starting over. But now you, and his best friend, were really gone.

He would try and replay every memory he had of you, making sure to remember every single detail. He couldn’t let himself forget. It was painful to remember, but he couldn’t bear to think of not being able to remember everything he had with you.

The love you had for each other.

Gone with the snap of the fingers

Literally dissolved into nothing.

He tried to keep it together for everyone, tried to get people to look on the bright side, but he never was able to himself. He couldn;t help but wish it had been him instead.

He didn;t know what to do with himself. There wasn;t a fight anymore, you weren;t there and neither was Bucky, he needed to do something but there wasn;t really anything to do. 

They were the longest years of his life.

Eventually he learned to move forward, but never fully. He couldn’t ever hope to find love again. He still loved you. No, he ran a group to help people cope. He figured if he couldn’t help himself he could help other people.

When Scott Lang showed up at Headquarters rambling about the quantum realm and time travel, he dared to hope again.

Maybe he could actually bring you back.

He went to Tony’s house with Scott and Nat to ask him about Scott’s idea. He tried not to show it, but he was desperate. When he said no, he tried to understand. But once again, he was crushed.

When Tony showed up a few days later having figured out a way to go back in time successfully, he tried to contain his excitement. He didn;t want to get his hopes up too high, but he couldn’t help it rising within him. He might actually be able to save you this time.

The entire time of gathering the stones and time travel, he kept you in mind. He’d do anything to get you back. Whatever it takes.

He stood there as Bruce snapped, and he looked around. Clint looked at his phone that had started ringing, and he could tell by the way he spoke that it was his family. That had died 5 years ago.

“Did we do it?” someone asked.

Steve just stood there in shock. Could it actually have worked?

A missile was shot through the ceiling, blowing everyone back. “What the hell was that?”

More missiles were shot, scattering everyone throughout the compound, and smashing the compound the smithereens. Most of the people fell down into the earth, along with the gauntlet and the stones. The missiles had come from a ship that was making its way down through the atmosphere, and it was apparent that it was Thanos.

How the hell did he get here?

Steve was one of 3 that hadn’t fallen underground, and Tony stood over him with his shield. He handed it to him, helping him up and walking to where Thor stood at the edge of the wrecked building, where he saw him

Thanos

Sitting on the edge of a rock, just waiting. But for what?

The 3 of them walked over to him. “You could not live with your own failure. And it brought you back to me. I thought that getting rid of half of you would cause those who survived to be grateful. But you’ve proved me wrong” he laughed to himself. “At least now I know what I must do.” he stood and picked up his sword. “I’ll build a new universe.”

“Out of what? S[illed blood?” Steve asked.

“At least they won’t know it.” He replied.

Tony suited up and Thor summoned lightning, helping Tony blast Thanos. He stumbled back, but grabbed Tony just in time to block Thor’s hammer from hitting him. Tony flung back and the impact knocked him out.

Thanos turned to Steve and threw him before throwing his sword at Thor. He battled with him before flinging him to a rock and standing over him with the axe Thor had been using.

Steve got up and focused his concentration, holding his hand out and praying that this would work. He saw the hammer start to move, before it flung past Thanos and into his hand.Hell yeah.

Thor shook his head. “I knew it.”

Steve walked toward Thanos and began fighting him with the hammer, summoning lightning and even surprising himself. He directed it to Thanos, and ran towards him to hit him in the head with the hammer. He missed and Thanos grabbed him and threw the hammer out of reach, before holding his shield up to block the sword. His shield began chipping away until he barely had half of it and was thrown across the battlefield, flat on his back. 

Steve pushed himself off the floor, not listening to what Thanos was saying to him. He watched as his army was beamed down from spaceship after spaceship. He kept trying to stand, trying to figure out a scenario in which this ended well. He finally stood up and heard on his earpiece,

Steve, do you read me?

He stood there, trying to believe what he was hearing. It had sounded like Sam

Steve it’s Sam, do you copy?

He felt the breath leave his lungs.

On your left

He turned around in time to see an orange portal open and T’Challa, Okoye, and Shuri standing there. After having a silent conversation through their stares, Sam flew through the portal, and more portals began opening around him, the people he mourned walking through them. Steven Strange, Peter Parker, Wanda, Bucky…

He looked around, only looking for one person in particular. And then he found them

You. 

You stood there. Suited up and ready to fight. You nodded at Steve, smiling. He wanted nothing more but to run over and hug you, but he knew there was a war to be run first. More people pooled through the portals, all of them ready to fight. An army stood beside and behind him and he held out his hand for Thor’s hammer. “Avengers!”

He caught the hammer whirling at him.

“Assemble.”

Shouts were yelled and everyone began charging, the world vs Thanos and his army. It was brutal. For you it had just been moments ago that this same battle took place, and you didn;t know what had happened in between your arms dissolving and a sorcerer showing up from the sky saying that 5 years had passed and the battle was still happening. For you, a few minutes had passed. For Steve, it was a lifetime.

You fought beside Steve for most of it, like you usually did when you were on a mission. When there was a brief moment, you looked at your boyfriend. “Since when are you able to use that thing?” referring to Thor’s hammer. He looked at it. “About 5 minutes ago.” You nodded, turning back to the incoming aliens and stabbing them.

You kept fighting them as they came, not willing to lose this time around. It happened once, it could happen again. You had never fought so fiercely in your life.  A Few times you were overwhelmed by the sheer number of aliens around you, but a bolt of lightning would save your ass and you’d go back to fighting.

You don’t know how long it lasted, and you were covered in lacerations and blood, but as you were running out of stamina, the aliens around you began turning into dust. You looked around, panting, as Thanos’ army began to disintegrate, eyes landing on Tony laying limp against a pile of buildings. You were about to go check on him, when you felt someone grab your arm.

Steve.

You turned around to meet his eyes that were bloodshot. “Y/n?”

You smiled and let out a breath, bringing your hand to his face. “It’s me Steve. I’m okay.”

He pulled you into a bone crushing hug, and you could feel him trembling. Hell, you were trembling too. The adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was setting in. 

“I missed you so much y/n.”

You hugged him a little tighter. “I know. I missed you too.”

You knew it had been a lot longer for him, but you didn’t want to seem insensitive. You couldn’t imagine living 5 years without Steve, especially if you didn’t know he was coming back.

“I’m here Steve. I’m safe.”

He spoke with a wavering voice. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

You pulled back and shook your head. “No, Steve. You did everything you could. It’s not your fault.”

He cupped your cheeks, shaking his head. “I thought I lost you.”

You smiled. “You didn’t. You saved me, Captain Rogers.”

[elatedmarvel]

Arms

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky learns to accept all parts of himself, even the vibranium parts. 

Word Count: 5,353

A/N: This is the longest one shot I’ve ever written, and it took me like a month. (I’m very slow lol). In keeping with BLM and inclusion, please let me know if you feel the reader is described a certain way that is not encompassing of all. I’ve tried my best, but I’m only human and editing is hard. Hope you enjoy!

He remembers when he first woke up with it. 

He could have sworn that he was dead, and he was in hell. All he could feel was pain everywhere, but specifically in his left arm. Pain he had never felt before and now he thinks he’ll feel forever. His parents always joked him that he would go to hell if he didn’t stop flirting with every skirt he saw, and now he wishes he could tell them they were right. 

Voices float above him, but he can’t make out what they’re saying, everything sounds garbled and distorted to his ears. 

It takes a moment for him to realize that the men are speaking in a different language. 

Blinding white lights greet him as he opens his eyes and squints against the harshness. Silhouettes of shapes is all his brain can comprehend, and he blinks a few more times before he is able to actually see.

The dingy room has seen better days. The walls are lined with tile, with mildew and mold in between them. It’s dark everywhere else, except the bright light that shines down on him. 

It’s hard for him to move his head side to side, let alone move the rest of his body, but he tries to wiggle his toes and fingers. 

A metal appendage lays at his left side.

He stares at the foreign object, trying to make sense of the fact that he can feel his left arm, but what he sees is not the limb he remembers.

His brain commands him to lift it, to see if this was real. When it not only moves where he wanted, but he can see his fingers wiggling, he realizes that this is worse than hell. 

He runs his right hand up the entire metal limb, and he can feel the dull sensation. His panic increases the higher he can feel metal. He gets to the edge of his chest before he feels flesh and bone again. 

Gasping, he claws at where the foreign object meets his chest, trying to get it off of him. The more awake he becomes, the more pain radiates from the arm, like his body was rejecting it. 

His sudden movements and noises of pain alert the men in white coats around him. He’s sure his eyes are frantic; he must look like a caged and frightened animal. 

They rush to him, trying to undo the damage he has clawed in.

When they get close enough, he grabs them both by the neck, trying to protect himself. This only causes them to start shouting and the doors burst open.

It’s hard for him to process what is happening, all he feels is adrenaline pumping through his body, and it reacts accordingly.

He can feel the pop of the bones before he hears the sickening crunch. If he was more aware of what was happening, he’s sure he would have thrown up.  

The man he grabbed with his left hand falls to the floor in a heap, unmoving.

In all his time serving with the howling commandos, he’s killed a few people, but never as intimately. He could just pull a trigger, throw a grenade, or stab someone. He’s never had to look them in the eye, and feel the life drain out of him. 

Sweat and fear pour out of his pores now, he didn’t mean to. His hand moved faster than he could react. 

Not his hand, the weapon attached to him now. 

The shouting only gets louder around him, but it’s muffled now. He stares in horror at the metal fingers, and the lifeless body on the floor. 

He can’t even feel when they prick him with a syringe filled with tranquilizer.

The image burns itself into his mind as everything grows dark.  

The next 10-15 years follow the same pattern. 

He wakes up slowly out of cryo. In his groggy state, he panics every time he sees the arm. He goes to claw at his chest where it is connected, but he’s eventually stopped when they realize he’s awake. 

They try to break him. 

Hydra does everything they can, any form of torture. But he’s strong. He resists every attempt, and finally they have had enough.

One day, they plop him in a metal chair and run currents through his skull. 

It takes 2 more years of this before finally he stops scratching at the arm. Before he fully loses himself.

~~~

When he finally escapes from Hydra’s grip, he hates the arm with everything in him. He tries anything he can think of to remove it from his body, short of just cutting into himself more. 

The arm only causes death and destruction. It is synonymous with Hydra and the evil he unwittingly committed. 

He still remembers how they thought they bestowed a great gift upon him, making him into the fist of Hydra. They think they saved him, but they chipped away at his soul until there was barely anything left in him. 

When Shuri was kind enough to erase the trigger words from his brain, she had offered him a new arm. One that was not tainted with the bloody memories of Hydra. 

It took him months of therapy, and many long, late night talks with Steve, Natasha, and Sam to accept the arm. He wanted to repent for the blood he has spilled, intentional or not, and he couldn’t do it with one arm. 

It was beautiful, gun metal grey with gold intertwining the plates. It reminded him of the exhibit that Steve had dragged him to at the Met. 

Kintsugi, Steve had told him. The art of repairing something with gold.

“It was never broken to begin with, just being made whole and better” Steve had said to them as they wandered around. He pretended the tears in his eyes were from the dust in the museum, and lightly punched Steve on the arm. 

~~~

You were in the ring with Sam. 

Someone new, and that scared Bucky. He had slowly built a relationship with the rest of the team in the last few months he had been at the compound, and trust didn’t come easy. Countless nights he would be invited to movies, or dinner and drinks. He turned them all down the first few weeks he had been there. It wasn’t until Sam and Steve literally dragged him to the bar that he started to open up.

You somehow got along with everyone on the team, and had won everyone over in a matter of weeks. You geeked out over the newest electronics with Tony, and tried to help Bruce with his research. Wanda and you had holed up in a room for days binging the newest season of some reality show you loved. Natasha and you had survived multiple Barre classes, something that even made Sam cry. You and Steve had even started painting to Bob Ross videos together. 

It was like there was a you-shaped gap waiting to be filled on the team. 

He watches from his sparring dummy as you tease Sam. You dance around him easily, and dodge out the way of yet another unsuccessful punch. 

His sensitive hearing picks up on Sam’s heavy breathing, but anyone could see the exacerbated rise and fall of his chest, and the buckets of sweat gleaming under the fluorescent lighting. 

You laugh as he tries to distract you with a kick and punch from opposite sides. 

“Nice try birdy” you call out as you evade him once more.

“Stay still!” Sam huffs, he hasn’t felt this out of shape since he was a chubby 13 year old with a love of cheetos and hate of exercise.

In his last effort to take you down, he swipes left and right, never giving up. You move further and further back, unsure how to handle the sudden change in tactics.

You don’t notice how close to the edge of the ring you are. 

Tony, being the dramatic shit he was, decided to build the sparring ring higher up then normal. Like a pedestal he once proclaimed. He wanted all to be able to watch.

Sam and you had forgone putting up the side ropes, wanting to get in as much sparing as possible. 

The fall was probably only a few feet of the ground, but definitely enough to sprain something, or even worse, get a concussion. 

He sees you near the edge, Sam still swinging a way. His lust for revenge prevented him from seeing you were about to fall.

Bucky leaps the 10 feet in between him and you right as your foot falls off the edge. He reaches up and puts most of your weight on his left arm, catching you before you fell to the floor, holding you for a few seconds before slowly bringing you to floor level.

He sets you down gently and almost laughs at the comical expression on your face. Eyes wide and jaw dropped, unable to comprehend what had just happened in the span of a few seconds. 

“I-I… thank you” you stuttered. Stilled flustered by the fall, but even more flustered that it was Bucky that caught you. You two had maybe exchanged 20 words total in the 2 months that you had been on the team. 

Bucky does a once over at you before nodding and walking back to the sparring dummy.

Sam watches this all with amusement, before coming down and offering to buy you ice cream to make up for the fall. 

~~~

Hit. Block. Punch. Duck. Repeat. 

Watching you take down your opponents was like watching a ballet. You were graceful, and lithe. Moving with your counterpart, they never even realized you were a threat until they were out.

Since your fall a month ago, you and Bucky have been growing closer. It was hard not to when you were so light and bright. It blinded him slightly, before he grew accustomed to the warmth he felt when he was near you. Now he never wanted to be parted from it. 

Naturally, when this mission had come up, Bucky had begged Steve to pair you with him. He knew he would only have peace of mind if he was with you at all times.

Not that you needed the help.

About a dozen men lay sprawled around you, and the last three were soon to join their colleagues on the floor. If they weren’t such vile men, he would almost feel bad for them. Being laid to waste by someone who didn’t look like she could hurt a fly. 

He registers the movement about a second too late, his mouth won’t connect to his brain and shout what he wants it to. One of the men you had already taken down lifts his head and arm, he just sees a flash of silver in the man’s palm before he sprints the length of the room. Your back is to him, and you still have 1 more attacker to take down, he takes all of your attention.

It happens in a second. You take your final shot at the henchman and then you see Bucky running to you. You feel the warmth of him as he embraces you, pulling you forward. The momentum causes you to stumble and brings you both down, you on top of him.

The ping of the bullet is thundering in the echoing, concrete room. He barely even registers the feeling before pulling out his gun and shooting the attacker. Watching for a moment to make sure he was actually dead, he looks down at you.

“Bucky” you stutter out, and he can feel your slight tremors. The whiplash must be settling in and the adrenaline wearing off, not a fun combination.

He looks you up and down, and even though he knows he blocked the bullet with his vibranium arm, he can’t help the anxiety that rises in his chest. He doesn’t see anything wrong besides the bruises and small scratches.

Meeting your eyes, it instantly takes the breath out of him. The look of pure awe spread on your face, but he can feel the admiration that is in your eyes,

It takes everything to not close the 5 inch gap to your lips and see if they are as soft as he’s imagined. 

“You ok?” he asks one more time, voice cracking from the dryness in his throat.

You nod up at him, keeping eye contact. 

Without a warning, you press your face into his neck and wrap your arms around him. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you” you say profusely. You move to sit on top of him in a flash and grab his left arm. He’s powerless underneath you as you examine the shiny appendage. 

“Does it hurt?” you ask, wonder in your voice as your fingers graze the sides of his arms. He’s glad for the pain he endured when they fitted him with this new arm, he can feel the softness and warmth of your hands, almost like if it were his own flesh. 

“No” he replies, eyes locked on where you hold his wrist.

Gently, so gently he can barely feel it, you press a kiss to the slight dent where the bullet impacted. Now he swears he’s died and gone to heaven. 

There’s a lingering heat where your lips touched, maybe even burning. 

If his mouth was dry before, it’s now the desert, and he clears his throat before looking away. His face is hot, and he’s thankful for the dim lighting in the basement. 

He misses the sly smirk on your face before you get up and offer your hand to him. 

~~~

After the mission, you had gone with him to get his arm repaired. He tried to tell you that it would take a few minutes at most and you didn’t need to go with him, but you just smiled and led the way. You held his flesh hand while they fixed some wiring issues and un-dented the hand. If he squeezes your hand more often than necessary, then who would know?

One month passes and he is always at your side. He goes more often to movie nights, team dinners, and outings. There’s always a spot right by your side, and it takes only a few days for everyone to know it was reserved for a certain brunette. 

The second month rolls around and it finds him as your permanent partner. Missions for two would always be assigned to you and him. You two would spar for hours on end, touches lingering for longer than needed. If you needed to run errands, he would be right there with you. 

Month three passes in a loving haze. It’s rare to see one of you without the other. Even nights were spent in your room after you had both fallen asleep while watching Star Wars. You made him come with you to your yoga classes, and he made you go with him to cooking classes.

It’s like the sun had finally come out. The permanent scowl and dark circles were replaced with grins and smile lines. He can’t remember the last time he was as carefree as he was around you. 

It was hard to ask you out. He was nervous. What if he misread the hand holding and cuddling? Could he go back to being just your friend if it didn’t work out?

But the moment he saw you across the gym, sweaty and heaving but with a giant grin on your face as you box with Steve, he knew it would be worth it.

So here he was, your favorite flowers in hand, buttoned up shirt and nice jeans adorning his body, walking to your door to pick you up for your first date. 

In the back of his mind, he mocks himself for being so scared to ask you. Your face had lit up when he had.

Knocking on the door, he steps away and gives himself a once over. He tells himself he’s not nervous, but the erratic beating of his heart tells a different tale. 

The door opens, and there you are. A vision in your favorite dress, small smile on your face. 

All he can do is stare dumbstruck at you. While you were always gorgeous to him, the fact that you had dressed up for him makes him want to cry.

“Bucky?” you ask, waving a hand in his face and giggling. 

“You’re stunning” he says back, hand coming up to rub his neck. He suddenly

remembers the flowers when he feels the water drip on the collar of his shirt.

“These are for you” and the smile on your face grows. You take a big whiff of them

before sneezing 3 times in rapid succession. 

“Guess I got carried away” you giggle, and just like that the nerves fade. 

The drive to the restaurant he had reserved was filled with would you rathers that made you laugh so hard, you couldn’t breathe. Your impression of the stuffy waiter had him choking on his water.

Everything was going so well, he let his guard down.  

The men in ski masks that came from the kitchen to round everyone up were a shock to both of you. Instantly, people scatter, some making it out of the door in time, and others being held hostage and led to the kitchen.

You can both tell when they realize they have avengers in their midsts when the guns turn to aim at you. He flips the table to its side as you move to duck behind it. Drawing a gun from your clutch, you hand it to him. Bucky was always the better shot. And you arm yourself with a widow bites and click the button on your Stark Watch 3 times in rapid succession. 

He hears the panic in their voices as they radio to each other. Obviously, they were not expecting any resistance, let alone 2 highly trained agents.

You look at him, and he knows exactly what you have in mind.

The moment you leap sideways and engage, he pops over the table and aims at anyone with a gun. You move quickly and gracefully around those that were foolish enough to actually engage you. He takes down as many as possible with the gun, and when the clip runs out, he engages the targets closest to you. 

Soon there is only 1 left, shaking and yelling at you both to back up. Bucky is pretty sure he’s new, the tremor in his voice and hands gives him away. It wouldn’t be that difficult to take him out.  

Bucky joins your side, and you both approach hesitantly, not wanting to spook him. 

“Stay back” he yells. Bucky sees the glint of green before the man fully pulls out the grenade. His heart sinks into his stomach.  

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” Bucky states, already wedging himself between you and the man. He calculates if there was anyway to get you out of the building. 

“Just stay calm, we’re not going to hurt you.” You say, laying the widow bites at your feet. Bucky does the same with his empty gun. 

His wild eyes keep glancing between you and Bucky. He slowly tries to inch his way towards the man, hoping he makes it to the grenade before he throws it. 

The stand-still comes to an end when the man pulls the pin and launches the grenade in the air.

“No!” Bucky shouts, and he pulls you both under the nearest table, his body covering yours. The deafening blast goes off right as you both get under the table.  

He feels your fast breaths against his chest, and he pulls your head into the crook of his neck. Arms in a braced stance, supporting him as he tries to keep his weight off of yours. He’s pretty sure the table above them cracked with the weight of the rubble falling on it. 

He looks down to your face and sees the fear in your eyes. It was one thing to be shot at, but another to be buried alive.  

“It’s gonna be ok” he whispers, and you nod. You know that Bucky would do everything he could to get you both out. Forcing yourself to take calming breaths, you knew it wouldn’t help to panic right now.   

Once he feels the dust settle, he braces himself against the broken table, trying to see if he could lift the ruble off of you both. There’s a groan as the concrete settles more firmly in place, but nothing lets up. 

The Stark watch on your wrist vibrates, and though he can’t see the screen, he knows it means the Avengers are coming. 

“Bucky” you say, voice trembling. It brings him back to the conversation you had about your biggest fears. Being buried alive was at the top of the list after falling into a pit when you were 7 years old. 

“It’s going to be ok” he tries to reassure, but the fear in your eyes has him trying to break you out. 

Slowly, he shifts his weight to his right arm, and braces the broken table with his left. Putting all his weight behind the vibranium arm, he pushes up. He’s not sure if the groans are from him or the concrete slabs, but he feels something pop and then shift above him. 

Suddenly, the weight feels lighter and he can hear the concrete falling. Hope bursts in his chest as more light floods into the burrow and space starts to expand.

Moving his knees and feet, he gets into a crouched position to give himself more power as the rubble starts to fall away. 

Your voice and encouragement gives him a surge of energy and he finds himself standing in the dusty opening of what used to be a restaurant. 

“Y/n!” he calls as he moves back down and cradles you in his arms, lifting you on top of the pile of rubble. 

“Bucky that was incredible!” you shout as he comes to join you and helps you down. Your arms come around his neck and before he knows it, he feels your lips against his. It takes a second for his brain to compute, and by the time he realizes that it was a kiss, you had already pulled away. 

“Thank you!” you shout again with glee as he chuckles. 

He tries to move in and capture your lips again, but the moment is ruined when a certain blonde super soldier clears his throat.

You both pull away, faces warm, to see the captain dragging to handcuffed criminals out of the wreckage. 

“Glad to see you’re both alive.” Steve states smugly, shooting Bucky a not so subtle wink.

“It’s all thanks to Bucky and his amazing arm.” you tell him brightly, pressing a kiss to the vibranium bicep before jumping into to help apprehend the rest of the men. 

Steve had never seen Bucky turn that shade of red before, and lets out a laugh as he escorted the men out of the restaurant and into the cars waiting outside. 

~~~

You’re not sure what triggers it.

One moment you're laying on the couch with your head in Bucky’s lap, content and happy while watching a movie. You’re half awake, no idea what’s going on in the movie, instead paying attention to the way Bucky’s fingers glide through your hair.

It happens suddenly, and you jump up. 

You pace for a moment, before breathing is hard, and the world starts to get blurry. A cold sweat breaks out all over your body and you swear you could throw up at any moment.

Lowering yourself onto the floor, you put your head between your legs and slowly start to rock. Blood rushes to your head, and all you can hear is the loud thumping of your erratic heart. 

Everything is reduced to the few inches in front of your face, you almost don’t notice the cool hand on your forehead, pushing away hairs and trying to soothe you.

You focus on the cold hand moving from your head to the back of your neck, and then going down to stroke and pat your back, before starting the cycle all over again. 

Bucky.

Slowly, you start to break through the surface. 

It takes a few moments, but you start to hear his voice calling to you, and you want to follow the warm sound. 

He moves your hand now to his chest, the gentle up and down continuing to bring you back, and it registers that he wants you to follow his breath pattern.

The first few are too shallow, the next few are too fast, but soon you match his calm in-and-out to a tee. 

Your name, smooth and gentle in his voice, finally reaches your ears. You listen as he tells you how great you are at matching his breathing. He switches between compliments, random, one sided small talk, and humming. 

The heat from his embrace and the coolness from his left arm creates a cocoon of warmth and safety, making you lose sense of time. The cramping from your legs is the only indicator that a significant amount of time has passed.

Sluggishly, you lift your head from Bucky’s chest and look up at his face. Intense blue eyes stare back at you, it’s not hard to tell that he’s trying to stay calm, but the slight worry in his eyes wasn’t hard to pick up on. 

Laying your head back on his chest, you feel his arms start to slide under you. Soon enough, you’re lifted up and he’s walking to what you assume would be your room. 

You close your eyes, when he doesn’t take the right to go down to your room, but continues straight into his wing. 

“Thanks Bucky” you mumble as he sets you on his bed and gets in himself.

Face to face, you use your finger to trace the slope of his nose and the edge of his jaw before bringing your finger to outline his lips.

Pressing a small kiss to the tip of your finger, he smiles before leaning in kissing your forehead. 

“I love you, doll.”

“Love you too.”

~~~

He can feel the drool on his face as he comes too. His face squished into the pillow underneath him, so hard, he’s sure he’ll have indents in his face.

One arm slung around a sleeping you, he breathes in, slowly waking up. Moving his arms, he can feel the soreness that settles in after a good night's sleep. 

A small sniffle from the nightstand catches his attention, and he realizes why he woke up. 

Gently, he crawls out of bed, and tucks in the remaining comforter around you, and grabs the device from the nightstand. He hopes you can get a little extra sleep, he’s pretty sure he fell asleep long before you got into bed. 

Bare feet meet carpet as he paddles down the hallway, a short walk to his destination. He waits outside of the door for a moment, listening for movement in the room. When he hears shuffling, and another small screech, he opens the door.

Against the adjacent lilac wall, a white crib is placed. A sleep dischevaled baby stands, clinging to the bars, blowing spit bubbles and babbling to herself.

As soon as she sees Bucky, her arms extend towards him and makes whining noises.

“Hey baby” he chuckles as he steps fully into the room, and picks her up, nervous that she’ll start screaming if he doesn’t.

“How did you sleep?” he asks, patting her back, and checking to see if she needed a diaper change.

The raspberry she blows answers the question.

Gently and efficiently, he sets about changing her diaper, talking to her all the while.

When he sets her upright to try and find a new outfit, preferably one that doesn’t have stains but the options are slim, she squeals again.

Quickly, he picks her up and sways her against his chest.

“Shh shhh shhh, don’t wake up mommy, you kept her up half the night.” Bucky implores. She tilts her head up at the sound of his voice, her eyes slightly wet and he knows she can’t help it. 

Rebecca was a good baby, usually did not fuss, ate like a champ, and slept well. But lately, she had been colickly. 

It had panicked Bucky at first, thinking she was sick or he was doing something wrong. You had quelled his fears by showing him the small bump on her gums, signalling that she was teething. 

Switching his right arm for her support, he brings a vibranium finger up to her mouth. Immediately, she latches on to the finger. 

He can feel the nubs of teeth about to break through the surface, and lets her chew on his cool finger for relief. 

It had started as a joke one day when the teething ring had melted and Becca still wouldn’t stop crying. In your half groggy state, you had stuck one of Bucky’s vibranium fingers in her mouth to let her chew on while you grabbed something else, he couldn’t quite feel the pain the same way his flesh fingers could. But, once Bucky’s finger was in her mouth, Becca happily chewed on it until she fell asleep. 

It was well known now that wherever Bucky was, Becca followed, gnawing on his fingers. 

“Does that feel better Becca?” she couldn’t even spare a second to look at her father, too busy drooling all over his hand.

With Becca in tow, he sits down in the rocking chair, hoping that he could get her to fall back asleep.

Holding her close, he hums some forget tune and rubs her back, moving them back and forth slightly.

The rigid dark grey was such a contrast to the soft baby skin around it, it startles Bucky sometimes.

The same arm that killed people and caused so much destruction was the same arm that his baby daughter used as a teething toy. She would never fear it, or see it as anything other than a part of him. 

He’s unfamiliar with the emotion that bubbles up in his chest and the tears that build up. Sniffling himself, he presses a kiss to her downy soft head, and cradles her underneath his chin.  

“You know, if it hurts that much, you can take it out of her mouth.” you say, startling him slightly. 

Padding into the room, you perch yourself on the armrest of the rocking chair and tuck your feet under his legs. You reach a head out to caress Becca’s perfect cheek, brushing away a few tears with your thumb, as her eyelids start to droop. 

“What are you doing up?” Bucky’s gravely voice cuts through the silence a few moments later. 

“I had a feeling you were getting sappy with her again” you tease. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by without Bucky marveling or crying about Becky in the short 7 months of her life. 

“I can’t help it, she’s perfect.” he whispers back, getting choked up again. 

“Oh babe” you coo at him. Dropping to sit in his lap, you place your head on his chest, just above Becca, and wrap your arms around him. 

He sits there for a while longer, slowly rocking back and forth. Every once in a while, Becca will snuffle and snore in her sleep and you both chuckle at the cute noises. 

Sitting there, arms wrapped around the loves of his life, he feels calm. 

He can feel your breathing start to even out as you follow Becca’s lead to slumber. 

It still amazes him how much you both trust him. Never looked at the thing that made him a killer with anything but love, and never treated him with any differently. 

There will always be scars, physical and emotional, but slowly falling asleep in his baby daughter's room, he knows everything will be ok. He’s not afraid anymore.

~~~

Thank you for reading! Feedback is always welcome!

[moonstone27ls]

Soooo Army of the Dead

Not gonna even put a spoiler warning cause shit I’m just venting 8B. Sat for 2 hours for that movie? So yeah spoilers but the movie ticked me off so much I’m not giving it the respect of a warning.

Now I know reviews are a mix some repel and some attract. So just gonna say it doesn’t matter to me if someone loves this movie or not. I originally wasn’t gonna even bother cause I’ll be honest Syner isn’t my favorite. I think people give the dude too much hype. I gave it a chance cause I loveee  Dave Bautista, loved him in Stuber. So I thought “heh give it a shot”. And thats not to say the movie’s total waste of space. It had some decent effects and some good characters.... ...................

Kinda too bad they all died save for one and its the one I was sick to death of. Besides the long movie, which I admit being long can put me off. But even some I give a chance like Mitchells vs the Machines. Longggg paced movie but the story and characters made up for it. Did Army of the Dead make up for it? No it didn’t.

Zombies... heh I’m an old timer I don’t like things that break Romero’s old rules of zombies or even Kirkmans (no not counting some of the shows World Beyond & Fear were not best examples). But side tracking, point is no don’t like zombie babies or zombies reproducing I see what you did there Synder 8B. Didn’t like it in the Dawn remake never like zombie baby anything. Zombie animals and babies always feel like they cross the line for me. Zombies in general felt like Synder kinda took a bit off several other movies. I would say the zombie baby was his first thing butttt it really wasn’t that would be Braindead/Dead Alive which I let slide cause that was more of a comedy 8B. The suppose plot kinda reminded me of Peninsula/Train To Busan world ... wanna know the difference the characters were a lot smarter than half these characters. And the secondary plot/or theme about the people outside of Vegas.... felt a little too obvious ref to the Border issues. Look I’m good with commentary in horror lots have done it but Synder felt as obvious when you watch a Purge movie.

I mean come on Synder we get it the Border issues suck and everyone can see that not so subtle allusion. But story wise feel that somewhat unrealisitic. I mean I can see our government do that to a point but once one of them dies and they don’t come back I’d take that as a sign of “Oh its not infection”. Send them out or have health agents or whatever watch them 8B. But then again... sorta surprise no zombie ever tried to go out the door that Lily left WIDE open. So okay.

But I could have let allll of that go if the writers/producers/director(not sure who’s in charge of what so bare with me) they had let  Bautista and some of the actual LIKEABLE characters live. And no as much as I loved  Vanderohe and I did V-V. Like Bautista one of the best characters.... the predictable ending of “oh we let a carrier get out”... just means he’s a zombie soooo still lose/lose.

What did we get for a survivor Bautista’s character ungrateful daughter Kate (Ella Purnell’s character). Thats what we got for a final girl. And before some goes “oh but she’s this/and that” look she still annoyed me. And this is no disrespect to the actress Purnell, I don’t know her work enough to go “oh its the actor’s fault”. No it just really was the character. I liked every character of Ward’s (Dave Bautista’s character) team. Everyone BUT Kate.  Because she was I’m sorry to put her in this category but this is what she felt like a Karen. So maybe a reverse of whatever a Karen is but still annoying.

She’s super pissed about her dad killing her zombie mom(she could say she wasn’t but I didn’t believe her character). Scott Ward’s character was everything you’d LOVE in a hero. He fought to stop zombies, tried his best to save those in the infected city and was clearly suffering from PTSD. He took his daughter on a dangerous mission because she was looking for a stupid friend and yes again know the ref. And also know the “oh poor thing she’s scared”.... but sorry screw that those are zombies not people with the flu:P. Her stupid friend went into a literal hornet’s nest. So yeah Ward risks his life, his team’s lives (and which to a degree I do blame her for costing some of their lives) to help her and her stupid friend and how does she treat him through almost the enterity of the movie? Like literal shit. She won’t even call him dad. 

And whats her excuse she’s mad he didn’t call. Which I’m not entirely buying, this is all through her POV and her view to me is she’s literally a moron who gets mad things don’t go her way. I was honestly pissed that no zombie noticed her during her crazy attempt to save her stupid friend. The man is trying hard to make amends and her own words “can’t stop hating you, Scott”. I’m like “Oh whoaaaa great tell him that while’s he protecting your ungrateful ass in that zombie setting”. 

So yeah seeing her live and that ending, I’m sorry Kate didn’t earn the final girl title. There were a lot of good characters a lot BETTER than her, Tig Notaro’s character was more fun to watch than her and she died.... but Kate lives. Just if you like the evolved zombies than thats your movie. But if you hate hearing a character whine so much... then I’d strongly recommend avoiding it.  Lord knows I’m avoiding the prequel anime show. Its not Dave Bautista, its literally Purnell’s character Kate. I suppose its to be “oh this is why Kate hates her dad he’s SUCH a monster”. But nopeeee I hate sitting through 2 hours of Kate complaining I wouldn’t want to sit through 6 eps of Kate’s drama/whinning.

Synder’s army isn’t my fave. Would rather rewatch Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness.

[chronicbatfictioner]

Exchanges and Compromises - Chapter 11

Details, details, details. For someone looking like a pro-wrestler, complete with the dress-up gimmick, Jason Todd - the Red Ghost - turned out to be a very good listener and paid attention to details. He listened quietly as Oracle put out the proverbial lay of the land.

"So to make it clear and recorded redundantly, Talon was an enforcer with the Court of Owls; supposedly the entity that controlled all of Gotham, consisting of the 'builders' of Gotham as well as the 'money' that built Gotham. This guy Bane just out of the blue came to Gotham and killed the members of the Court and Talon's teammates. And now he claimed to be Dr Thomas Wayne's son, and therefore Bruce Wayne's half-brother." Jason recited. "Are the Waynes a member of the Court of Owls?"

"Not according to the database Talon gave us." Oracle replied. "Evidently, the Court had... harassed them to join, but they have repeatedly refused. And by 'repeatedly' I mean over like, three generations of Waynes."

"Yeah, I didn't think so, either. Talia wouldn't have... well, associated herself with Bruce Wayne, otherwise." Jason agreed. "Ra's didn't like to share control with a random group of people who have assassins as doormen. The public disruptions would have been too overwhelming."

"So the Waynes have made an actual tangible alliance with the Al Ghuls, I presume..." Tim commented. "Corporate-wise, the Al Ghuls owned almost half of Gotham, while the other half belonged to the Waynes. Yet they were in different lines of businesses that if the two families were to unite by means of - say, marriage - it would definitely fit the description of a monopoly."

"You're a corporate goon, aren't you?" Jason remarked. Tim preened a little.

"Kind of. I run a much-smaller family business." he admitted.

"I'm... not sure if I should consider it cool or horrific." Jason commented. "What's the business line?"

"Generic meds." Tim replied, and then stopped himself. There were a mere handful of generic medication companies in Gotham, and he might have given away his own identity.

"Ah, cool, then. Generic meds for poor people? Did you leech off the prices?" Still, Jason's disarming smirk and seemingly innocent questions were too inviting to not be answered.

"Of course not! I'm a hero, aren't I?" Tim replied coyly. Jason seemed satisfied with the answer.

"Cool, then. Anyway, to answer your question, yes, there were business deals between the Al Ghuls with the Waynes that are limited to the form of businesses either parties would do. And yes, you're right. If or when Bruce Wayne passed without any other heirs, Damian would own both conglomerations and would have been a form of monopoly. There were... contingency plans to avoid that." Jason elaborated. "But if Bane is a son of Thomas Wayne, he would have inherited half of the Wayne Enterprises, regardless."

"I sincerely hoped that Bane was not Ra's 'contingency plan'," Oracle intoned.

"I've never heard of his name until now." Jason clarified. "And I know all of Ra's associates and agents. Visible or otherwise. And Talia's. But for the issue with the Court... you people think that the Waynes bankrolled Bane to eliminate the Court of Owls."

"We suspect. We haven't found evidence to support or deny it." Oracle said. "You're quick."

"I'm not slow just because I came from Crime Alley, thanks." Jason retorted. "And I'm starting to realize... if I - on behalf of Damian - am staying at the Wayne Manor, I might be able to look for evidence thereof."

"Really quick, I wasn't even going to suggest that yet," Oracle replied glibly.

"And if they were innocent - because of course, we all believe in the 'Innocent 'til Proven Guilty' adage - then you can ally with the Waynes to indict and/or remove Bane out of the equation." Jason continued.

Well, Tim was impressed.

"That's it, in a nutshell."

"I hope you have a contingency plan in case your plan goes sideways..." Jason sighed.

"...you technically have nothing to lose," Tim assured him. "You'll have an escape, where you can bring Damian to a place that is both reinforced and semi-publicly visible; you'll have the Birds of Prey as your backup. And if - in a scenario where Bruce Wayne did not accept Damian, you'll still be welcomed here."

"Why? Just because I'm a Gothamite or what?" Jason challenged.

"Because..." Tim sighed. "Okay, look. I see it more as for Damian's sake, right? If he's accepted, and you don't want to help us, that's fine. We'll figure out something else. But if he's... denied his father..." he shook his head, pushing out the images of himself as a 12-year-old who'd just received the news of his parents' death. "...I know what it's like to lose a parent through violent means, alright. I don't... I'd rather Damian not take the path I took."

Jason's smile looked more like a snarl. "Now that's noble, Stray. You don't want Damian to be a thief like you, but you forgot who you're talking to. I grew up here, in Crime Alley, until my mom died. My dad was gone years before. I lived on the streets, had a box for a bed for weeks. That's the kind of life you won't want a ten-year-old to have to face."

Tim chuckled uneasily. "Okay, that's fair. But considering he's the only heir of the Algol Enterprises, I doubt he'll end up on the streets, am I wrong? Not to be insensitive, but there's a reason why Talia chose you to take care of him, and that wouldn't be the muscles or the pretty face."

That was a logical explanation, so Tim thought, but he could swear that Jason was blushing - even under the tanned skin. He shook his head lightly, and said, "No, I'm also his legal guardian unless his biological father files for custody; and am in charge of the Algol Enterprises," He scowled lightly. "...in spite of the fact that I don't like the corporate world in general. Damian is actually more than smart enough to supervise the companies, but he is still a minor. His signatures should always be accompanied by mine."

"Good system," Oracle commented. "I don't see you as someone easily persuaded if you don't believe in the matter."

"I believe in fairness and assisting those in need, not feeding those in power," Jason muttered. Then sighed. "For now, though, I'll need your help to fend off the League of Shadows. There won't be any steps taken toward your goal if Damian is assassinated."

"That, I believe, I can help. It's not gonna be pretty, but..." Dick remarked, stepping out of the bedrooms. "Boy's sleeping like a log. I mean, literally like a log: on his back, straight-backed and all." He added when Jason's eyes found his.

"You know how to contact your... uh... friends?" Tim tried, cringing, knowing how Barbara felt for violence.

"You thinking about rising the other talons?" Barbara must be cringing, too.

"Unless you can think of utilizing Superman or something, I don't see any other way..." Dick argued.

"Wait," an epiphany suddenly hit Tim. "I... hold up, let me think..." he raised a hand, stopping the questions he knew would be coming out of both Jason and Dick's mouths. A half a minute later, it hit him in the full picture. "Wasn't Green Arrow trained by the League of Assassins, too?"

"Oliver Queen, you mean. Yes, he was." Jason confirmed. "Funny dude, all sass and pretending to be no-brain. Shiva trained him--" Jason suddenly stopped.

"Does he know you?" Tim asked.

"He should... he got in just about a while after I did. I'd trained with him before Talia sent me training elsewhere..." Jason replied, and then his face brightened. "You scary-scheming little shit..."

"Green Arrow opted to use his skills as a hero, protecting those who can't protect himself. I know he's good - a little unfocused in a hand-to-hand and more reliant on his bow and arrows, but he's good." Tim pointed out. "And he has his own group of 'family' - all fighters for good. I'm sure he'll be happy to help us." he hinted to Oracle, deliberately pointing to Oracle as the decision-maker of the 'group'. With the way Dick was glaring at him, Tim knew that he was following Tim's hints - and not mentioning that Tim could have asked aunt Dinah for Oliver Queen's help. Dinah has been dating him for a good long while, after all.

"I'll put out feelers," Barbara stated. "Jason, do you have inklings or list on who we might want to chase after? You mentioned they're covert, and about half of the identity of people rounded up by the GCPD earlier were locals."

Jason shrugged helplessly. "They don't usually trust digital stuff for this... membership thingy. Not especially for foot soldiers."

"I think I can figure out how to sift them out..." Tim commented, ideas after ideas churning through his mind. "Want me to come over and powwow, O?"

"Yes, sure. That'll be great." Oracle replied, even with the metallic voice modulator, Tim could sense the relief.

"Okay, you wanna come with?" he asked Dick.

Dick shook his head. "Not that I'm guarding you or anything, 'cause I'm sure you can figure out how to get out without me noticing, anyway. But I'm... I'd prefer if the boy wakes up, he'll still see me, you know? So he's convinced that he's not... being abandoned or anything."

"That's sweet, but I agree. Do you mind, Jason?"

"Having another body to stand guard? Not at all. I'll need to shut my eyes for a few, anyway." Jason replied with a small smirk. "Would've been nice to shut-eye with a warm body next to me, but hey, beggars can't be choosers," he added blithely just as Tim got up and walked away.

Tim paused, turned, and blew him a kiss. Because that's what mama Selina said you should do when someone openly flirted with you if you also want to flirt with said someone. Jason's smirk just got bigger but didn't give any more reaction.

Tim continued his exit, his mind partially mapping out his plan to clean out the League of Assassins from Gotham; the other part mapping out his plan on to figure out if Jason was as compatible as he suspected.

[sweetwriting]

TimKon Week 2020 Day 6: Au Temps des Cerises

Category: Gen or Pre-slash

Genre: Angst/Fluff, 

Fandoms: DC Comics, Red Robin, Teamverse

Continuity: Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint Future AU

Summary:   I mixed both prompts, you get canon era Bakery and Coffeeshop AU. I'm proud of what I did in just 2 hours

Word Count: 1840

AN: Hey everyone! hope you enjoy this. Warning, the beginning might be a bit hard.

PS: I know lots of this could be solved by going to the authorities but I didn’t want to

PPS: I might actually go in more depth later.

Prompt: Canon AU – Coffeeshop/Bakery

Can be read on AO3

Conner had been living in California for 2 weeks now. He was going to start his classes there next week and had mostly used that time to settle in his apartment, his neighborhood and his job.

He was working at a small bakery near his apartment and thanks to everything Ma had taught him he could do something other than just staying near the register.

Truthfully he didn’t need it, Bruce Wayne and later on Dick Grayson made sure every young hero who wanted to study got a scholarship so they wouldn’t be burdened by having to work in addition to studying and heroing.

But Conner needed it. He needed to keep busy.

Because when he had been brought back to life, it was to the news that Tim Drake had died while looking for a flimsy hope that Bruce Wayne was still alive.

That had been about 5 months ago.

At first he had tried to follow his trail and find his voice but his powers were nowhere near Clark’s and after three months he finally gave in.

Tim was dead.

But he couldn’t accept that and move on. He tried to bury himself in heroing, in catching up on homework, on helping Ma. But in order to really bury everything he had to use his powers and that meant he was done very quickly with high school and he needed something new and time consuming.

He chose to study both Law and Psychology. Tim had told him once that he was too emotional to take a step back when he needed it but that he also had the uncanny ability to perceive parts of people no one else noticed. Tim would talk to him about it sometimes. Or about how he and Batman dealt with the law in Gotham. About a lot of things really, but he had once told him it could be useful in their line of work, in knowing how to deal with victims and criminal.

So Conner was pursuing it.

Partly because Tim’s advice had been sound, partly because it was one of the last talks he had had with Tim.

He didn’t really hang out with the Teen Titans. He was there when he wasn’t busy but…he had tried for a bit. Got back together with Cassie, hung out with Bart. But he couldn’t do that in hero form and as Titans…Well even if they called themselves family they didn’t hang out together the way they had done in Young Justice. When they’d just play ping-pong and other dumb things. Now him and Bart still tried but Conner wouldn’t be able to actually do that until he at least managed to accept Tim’s death.

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

It was his third week at Au Temps des Cerises, the little bakery and he would start his classes in two days. His boss, a sweet middle aged woman called Samantha had just asked him to go deliver some of their baked goods to a coffee shop and a restaurant for a taste test. If they liked it well enough then they sign a contract to sell them.

He was just finished with the restaurant manager and their chef and was heading toward the Café Culturel et Solidaire, a small café not far from Conner’s campus. Not that he’d ever gotten anywhere near close to it before. He liked coffee but not more than any other drink. Apparently that coffee shop was not very well known but pretty cheap and with quite a few regulars.

As he was nearing it however, he started losing his focus which meant he lost control of his super hearing. And he heard him.

His voice was coming from the coffee shop.

Before he knew what was happening, Conner was running toward it and opened the doors with a bang yelling Tim’s name.

Which obviously meant that he scared more than half of the people in the shop, including the staff. Including the boy at the register, who looked so much like Tim. Probably the source of the voice. He walked toward him.

“Have we met?”

- - - - - - - - - -

Conner was waiting in the Café Culturel et Solidaire’s kitchen. After being shocked silent by Tim’s -he knew he was Tim…he didn’t know how he knew it but he did- answer he screamed again.

“Of course! How dare you say that to your best friend!”

Tim startled. “Wha- No! I meant that literally I… Look…Are you part of the Bakery that was supposed to drop by?”

Conner stopped for a second, reminded that he had a big bag with the name and logo of his workplace in his arms. He nodded and Tim sighed.

“Ok, go wait in the kitchen, I’m gonna get the manager and I’ll be off soon just…Stop making a scene.”

So Conner had followed the instructions and was now waiting for the manager to taste test the bakeries.

He didn’t have to wait more than five minutes before a man who seemed to be in his early 60’s came in and after a good 20 minutes, the Au Temps des Cerises bakery had a new deal. The old man did look at him in a slightly distrustful way though.

When he got out, most of the clients that had been there when he had entered were gone and he let out a relieved sigh. Especially when he saw Tim waiting for him.

The young man looked up at that moment and it allowed Conner to see how nervous he was. He sighed. He didn’t like the idea of Tim being nervous because of him. And he knew there was something wrong. Or at least he hoped. It was a horrible thing to say but he hoped that there was a good reason for Tim just leaving like that.

They got out of the shop and started walking. From what Conner could guess, they were going toward the big parc near the campus.

They spent the first couple of minutes in silence. It seemed longer. Then Tim breathed in and said:

“I meant what I said when I asked if we had met before. It wasn’t to be mean or anything but I was comatose for 5 months when I was in Paris and when I woke up I had lost all my memories. I only knew my first name and that I was from the US. Granted that was deduced from my accent and the fact that I didn’t speak a work of French. I worked there for two months in a small toy shop because the owner was the brother of my doctor and took pity on me.

When they found me I only had a book and some money on me. Turns out my passport was hidden in it so after two months I took the first flight I could afford. Now I’m working in that café because I needed the money to go to the address on the passport and coffee shop will accept pretty much anyone who asks and can handle the rhythm.

You…You knew my name. You just saw me through the window and you recognized me so I just…I was surprised.”

Conner was relieved. Of course it was awful for Tim and that meant his best friend had forgotten him but he hadn’t avoided him on purpose. Now how would he be able to manage that was a different question entirely.

But he didn’t care. It was Tim. Tim was alive and there was a chance he could get his best friend back.

So he hugged him. Also he cried on his shoulder but that was just a detail.

 AN: As always, Tim will never be a coffee addict in my fics. For one thing he drank like 3 cups of coffee in canon overall. So while he can enjoy it, that's pretty much all there's to it, so, when compared to Dick and Barbara who are often, often often seen with a mug of coffee in hand, it's even more laughable to me. Also the guy loves to sleep. He's not gonna force himself to stay awake if he doesn't absolutely have to. That's why he falls asleep on a roller coaster, he just changed his sleep schedule.

Anyway, the idea is that Tim will remember things after a while in Gotham. Dick's been crying for months and now that his baby brother is back he won't leave him alone. They don't bring up the reason why Tim left. Things explode, which help Tim get the last of his memories back, they get Bruce back. Tim and Dick are mending things. Meanwhile Conner is happily baking for Tim and he's learning how to be around people again after shutting everybody out. Bart also gets lots of Cake. Ma's happy Conner's feeling better. Did I say Conner baked for Tim? 'Cause it's important.

[bellismaperry]

Idiot { Loki Fanfiction }

This my first Fanfic that I post here on tumblr. I literally just wrote this so theres a lot of grammer mistakes. I’ll promise I’ll get better haha. Hope you like it. It has a main Character but if you want like y/n you can do it. its how ever you want to read it! as long the message of the story is there I don’t care!. Please if you do like tell me to continue!! cause I will. I don’t know when I’ll post because I work and study. but I promise I will post. If want to be tagged pls dm. and will be tagged until its closed!. Hope you guys like this story I have had this idea for so long! hope you really like it like it like I do and lets see what the future holds! I present to you Idiot ( ps the cover is on its way ;) )

Warnings: None

Tara Jones

Loki Odinson

——————————————————————-🦋

Everybody was wearing black attire, with sad expressions. Losing a member of a team is one the hardest things ever. Its like losing a family member. After pushing away Tony’s reacter in the lake, I sat at the wooden porch with my legs in the lake.

God I am such an idiot . How could be so dumb?. I look around the people around me. There were new faces along with old ones. Tony had a lot of people who cared for him.

Strange looks at me looking around and walks over where I am sitting. “ I know its a funural and being happy is not an option, but why in particular you look like you killed some one”

I look up to him and shake my head. “ I messed up Stephen, big time and now its ony hitting me” I say as I move my feet around the water.

he takes a breath “ we all do that all the time Tara”

I shake my head and take my feet off the water and put them on the wooden porch. “ no but i seriously messed up. Theres a solution but it only make it hundred times more worst then it already is. And the worst part is I’m completely alone with it and just still a kid”

Strange Lowers down to my level as tears starts to fall off my face. “ You’re not alone, you have me and the rest of all the people here”

I wipe my tears with the sleeve of my shirt. and look down at my hands. “ Nobody can help because,

I’m pregnant with Loki’s baby” ..

Chapter one

My mother used to tell me that everything was for a reason and that god has set up for me for a good reason in my life. But what my mother didn’t tell me was that getting knocked up by a god at the age of 23 was the plan that a “god” had for me.

This was a whole new game for me and whats left of the avengers team but for overall for me mostly. Since I’m the one pushing the damn thing out of me in 9 months or so.

When I told Stephen that I was pregnant with Loki’s baby hell broke loose. Well let me rephrase that.

Fury wanted me to be locked up because I was connected with a war criminal. Carol wanted to blast me off for being so stupid. Bruce was scratching his head like fifty times at once because how in the hell I was going to give birth to a semi-god. Thor was the only one happy because he had at least some family left couldn’t wait to be a uncle and wanted me to give birth in New Asgard but soon that idea went away when he left with the guardians. And well lastly Stephen was in a screaming match with me for over an hour of how stupid moron idiotic person I am , of letting myself getting pregnant of a super galactic international war criminal. And honestly I couldn’t agree more with everything that happened.

It is stupid of me getting prego of a criminal, and even more when he’s like dead dead and probs never coming back. But at the same time who could blame? I was horny he was too, we both good looking people, we took the chance and honestly to what ever god I don’t regret what happened in that ship, one of the best nights of my life...

Sakarian Refugees Ship..

“Did that just-“ I get cut of by loki

“ Happen?, yes” he says as he sits up the against the bed head board.

I look up at him and smile. “ This was the most Idiot thing I ever done ” I say as I take a breath.

“really?” he asks as he pushes his hair away from his face.

I nod “ yea, but I don’t regret one bit of it” I say with a small smile.

Loki smiles at me and leans down to my face “ good because I don’t either” he leans closer and gives me a kiss. But is soon comes to an end as Thor voice enters the room.

“Loki! We need help theres a ship coming towards us and its not stopping after numerous calls of peace!”

Loki pulls away and takes a deep breath “ well I guess that the end of that” I grab one side of of his face and pass my fingers over his smooth skin. “ don’t worry theres going to be more” I say as I lean over to him for another kiss but I am stopped as the ship moves unexpectedly as like something shooting us.

I look at Loki worried and gives me the same look. “we need to get dressed now!” he says and I nod with him and as we both get off the bed and start getting dressed as fast we could...

Present

Now I’m sitting in a cold white bed in the ginecoligist office waiting to get my first ultra sound done. My case was the worlds most confusing ones. My baby was turn into dust inside of me after the bleep happend or so like Bruce likes to say, you had a dust baby for five years and when the snap was reversed your baby re appeared again. Every doctor in the country wanted to be my doctor and do it for free which man is every pregnant woman dream!. One of this things are so expensive its more expensive then a damn house.

But thanks to Pepper Recommendation I am here with her ginecologist who helped her tru her pregnancy. Which means i’m in very good hands.

“ok, i’m sorry for the wait Ms?” The Doctor aks as she sits in the chair and puts gloves on.

“Jones , Tara Jones” I say as I lift my shirt up and lean down in the bed.

“Ok Tara, My name Is Leslie Williams were going just going to check how the little baby is doing and let you on the basic stuff ok?” she says as she takes container with something jelly inside of it.

I smile and nod.

“ok perfect ,Lets see whats happening inside. I’m going to put this jelly in your stomach its going to feel cold but it will go in a few minutes” she says as she opens up the tube and pours our the cold jelly in my stomach. and starst moving the device around my stomach.

“ Is the Father coming later or”

I Swallow a bit and bite my lip “ no its just me”

“ Oh well, you’re going to be a great mother alone or not don’t let those bad anxieties take over ok. Everything is going to be ok. And in your particular case were going to do everything we can to make this process as painless and smooth as we can”. she says with a warm smile.

i give her a toothless smile. Cmo’n! I am giving birth to a semi-god. I can hear my screaming already. I had a dust baby. A DUST BABY that has to have complications somehow. I am human after all. and to make it all worst the one person who could tell me how this could go was strangled to death so thats great and awsome to start with.

“I mean its not going to be smooth it all. I am giving birth to a god. I am a simple human, the only special thing about me is my magic and this baby. Who’s Father is never going to be with me because a big purple alien with a purple ballsack of a face thought it was a good idea to get rid half of the population and stangle him to death until his eyes was crying blood and then go live in a farm like some red neck in tennessee. No its not going to be fine or smooth or happy or wonderful. So don’t be say things that won’t ever happen please.

The Doctor stares at me in shock. and proceeds to look for the baby. “ i’m sorry to hear that Ms Jones I had no idea.” she says as she keeps looking at the screen.

I take a deep breath pass my hands all over my face “ its ok, I’m used to it by now”

She nods. and when I was about to tell her that I was sorry of how I reacted she stared pointing to the screen and say “ there, theres it is. You’re baby. “

I look closer to the screen and see a tiny circle. A tiny innocent circle that was growing inisde of me. it looked like the size of a 5 peas together.

“you’re Four weeks in the pregnancy, the exams all look great, nothing looks like is altered by the bleep. It looks like you just got pregnant four weeks ago not five years ago. Which its is a medical miracle discovery. “ she says taking off her gloves.

I nod at her while still looking at the screen, I lean over and pass my fingers thru the screen. Thats my baby there. My circle god dust baby.

the Doctor looks at me and crosses her arms against her chest. “ do you want a picture of the ultra sound?”

I nod not looking way from the monitor “ yea”

the Doctor smiles and leaves the room.

I still stare at the monitor. Thats my and Loki’s baby. Who knew that a one-night stand with a god would have lead to this. It was stupid of me not using protection but what did i know? for all I thought humans couldn’t get pregnant by gods.

But I do know that is this is going to be a very bumpy ride... With my dust baby.

🦋—————————————————-

Thank you for reading the first chapter of Idiot hope you guys liked it!! remember to leave a comment, like and reblog pls! also if want to be tagged for the next chapter dm! bye love you guys! 🦋🦋

[jamesbuchananxsteviegrant]

We Lost | Bucky x Steve x Reader, Platonic!Tony x Reader (Angst, Fluff)

Category: Angst, Fluff (Suggested) Age: 15+ Trigger Warnings: N/A Ship: Bucky x Steve x Reader, (lowkey) Platonic!Tony x Reader Summary: Reader Was In Space With Tony When Thanos Snapped And Is Later Reunited With Bucky And Steve Request: “Imagine: reader was in space with Tony when the snap happened and vanished so when she reunites with stucky, she starts rambling about space and everything like Peter did and they both try to slow her down. Just a lil fluff and humor.” Contains Spoilers for: Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame Word Count: 1,588

---

“Tony…”

“No! No, no, no, not both of you. I can’t lose both of you - not you and the kid.” The billionaire breathes, arms catching the woman as her legs give out beneath her.

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” She whimpers, seeing the tears coming out of his eyes.

“No, no, no, don’t say that.”

His expression is distraught, he’s just witnessed the disappearance of Peter and now the woman who he sees as his sister. The two most important people.

“Tell them I’m sorry. I love them. I love you. Please. Please, Tony, please.” (Y/N) doesn’t even know what to say, her body is fading away and she has no idea what’s happening or why.

Obviously Thanos got his way.

Tony can’t speak. He doesn’t know what to say. His mouth is moving but no words are coming out. And then she’s gone. His hands frantically feeling the ashes on the ground as if it’d bring her back, but it won’t. His head turns back to where Peter disappeared and he flickers his gaze between the two, wondering what the hell he’s supposed to do now.

///

Tony doesn’t know how many days later it is when the woman with blonde hair flies to the God damn ship him and Nebula are stuck on, but he’s just happy to be heading back down to Earth. Space isn’t his thing. Neither is losing the two most important people in his life - alongside Pepper.

He knows he’s probably not the only one who lost people. People down on Earth probably disappeared too, but he doesn’t know if he wishes two of them include Steve and Bucky. Having to get all three of them gone would be easier than having to break it to either of the super soldiers that he failed to keep her safe.

When Bruce called Steve and explained how much he needed their help, and then proceeded to explain that (Y/N), his girlfriend, went up onto Thanos’ ship with Tony, Strange and Peter, the blond was freaked for sure, but he knew she could handle her own. She always could. And he knows that Stark would do anything to protect her.

Steve questions her safety as he stares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror of the SHIELD base. He’s lost Sam, Wanda, Vision, T’Challa, the Guardians lost their friends too and he can only imagine they were as close as the Avengers were.

The sudden shaking barely phases him until it gets progressively worse and their’s a loud noise rumbling throughout the building, that catches his attention as he runs out to meet with Buck, Nat, Pepper and the rest of the few of them there are left and head outside, seeing Carol lowering herself to the ground, ship in hands like it doesn’t weigh a thing.

Steve and Bucky instantly run to the doors as Nebula assists Tony out of the ship. He looks wrecked. Completely and utterly wrecked. Broken. The man doesn’t look like Tony Stark, no. This is just a young boy who’s lost and scared and needs somebody to hold him and remind him that it’ll be alright. The soldiers assist him down the stairs. Nobody knowing what to say or do.

“I couldn’t stop him.” Iron Man mutters, glancing at Steve as they proceed to head toward the building.

“Neither could we.” The blond responds.

That’s when Tony stops his pace and turns the man toward him, also looking at Bucky who has the question written all over his face. Showing in the depths of his blue eyes. The fear. The knowing.

The mens breathing increases and Steve’s lips tremble.

“I lost her.” He more or less whimpers, voice no louder than a whisper. “I lost her and the kid.”

An audible gasp mixed with a trembling breath escapes Steve’s mouth as Bucky’s breathing gets heavier.

“Tony…” Cap attempts, glancing around as he tries to gather his thoughts before looking back at the man. “We lost.”

Bucky’s teeth are on full display as he clenches him together, trying to hold in the sobs.

“Is um…” Tony attempts, but trails off as a figure runs towards him.

He turns his head and meets the traumatised yet relieved gaze of Pepper.

“Oh my God!” The woman gasps, Tony breathing out a sigh of relief as they embrace one another.

Steve having to take a step back and look away as his palm raises up to his face, covering his mouth as the sobs rip out. Bucky walks around the couple to his boyfriend and instantly grabs his wrists and wraps the blond’s arms around his body, his own arms going around his in a tight embrace. Both of them are crying and none of them are trying to hide it. What’s the point?

Nat watches from the side, both Tony and Pepper reuniting and yet the super soldier duo breaking down in each others arms.

“Steve, Bucky,” She calls, approaching them. “We’ll get her back. We’ll get them all back. (Y/N), Sam, Peter, T’Challa, Wanda, all of them.”

They both inhale before Steve nods.

“Yeah. Yeah, we will.”

///

The fight is immense. There’s too much going on. Strange’s portals turned up more or less all around them and suddenly all anyone can see is everyone from Wakanda back on the battlefield. But they have no time to stop this fight or they’re as good as dead.

Steve and Bucky vowed to stay as close to one another as possible during this fight, knowing any second could be their last and they weren’t risking not being with the other if it happens. The monsters Thanos has sent out are beyond their capabilities, luckily they have an entire God damn army on their side.

It’s when the pair both get knocked aside and are laying on the ground, staring up with wide eyes at the creature that’s about to send a weapon straight through the pair of them that he’s suddenly sent into shock, body convulsing with electricity before dropping backwards onto the ground, leaving the pair on the ground with wide eyes at what was about to happen.

Within seconds, their arms are being grabbed and they’re being yanked up, meeting the all too familiar face of her.

“Hey!” She calls as she yanks them up. “Holy cow, you would not believe what’s been going on!” Her voice is like she’s telling them about her crazy mission that she’s been as they’re chilling in their bedroom, interrupting their movie watching as she usually does.

They can barely acknowledge her words, simply just staring with wide eyes.

“You remember I went up to space with Tony? Well, you won’t, I kinda forgot to tell you that part - oops - but when I went up to space with Tony, I literally watched everyone get all dusty - I dunno how else to word it. Quill, Parker, Mantis, Strange, all of them! And then it happened to me! And I must’ve passed out ‘cause I woke up and Stark was gone but that Doctor Strange was there, right? And he was like: ‘it’s been five years! Come on, they need us!’ And he started doing the yellow sparkly thing that he does all the time and he-“ The girl trails off as Steve and Bucky both step forward with a limp and pull her into them, embracing her as tight as they can.

Her arms reach up and grasp at their uniforms as she raises a brow and accepts the hug.

“What’re you doing?” Her voice is genuinely confused, out of breath from her rant.

The trio never really were the most physically affectionate type. They were better with words. All of them tend to be quite iffy about physical contact, and despite how much (Y/N) did love it on occasion, she understood their fear of it.

She releases a sigh and closes her eyes into the embrace, failing to see the absolute tear-filled, relieved, smiling faces of her boyfriends as she does.

“This is nice.” She whispers, feeling the men tighten their grip.

Eventually, remembering the catatonic fight happening around them, they pull back, her gaze meeting their teary ones and realising. Realising.

It’s been five years.

“Oh my gosh…” She whispers, raising her hands to rest on either side of their faces, both of them leaning into it and raising their own hand to rest on hers.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.” Steve sobs, closing his eyes as he realises she’s alive.

Bucky repeats the sound and nods.

“God, doll, you’ve no idea what we’ve been through.” He whimpers, turning his face to press his lips to her palm.

“I thought we talked about spontaneous missions with the Transformer?” Cap asks after a few minutes, giving her a smile that says she’s forgiven anyway.

(Y/N) can’t help but chuckle, tearing up herself and shrugging.

“When duty calls, duty calls. Now, we have ass to kick.”

“Come here.” Buck comments, pulling her in for the most passionate kiss she’s ever felt, watching her dazed expression, her smile growing as Steve repeats the action.

“We talked about worrying me half to death as well.” The Winter Soldier groans playfully, cocking his gun reading to fight once more.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry.” The girl laughs, allowing her power to run through her body, preparing to continue the fight.

“Love you.” Both of them state at the same time, watching her glance back at them and wink,

“I love you too.”

[occasionalfics]

worth my while // p. 6

main masterlist | thor masterlist | ko-fi | p. 5 | p. 7

Summary: After being banished from his home, Thor Odinson has stopped at nothing to prove himself worthy of his throne, title, and power.

After losing the love of your life, you turned to a power you didn’t understand.You know you shouldn’t get involved.

But how could you not?

Pairing: Thor x Reader (Hercules au…kind of…)

A/N: This one...hits all the feels. The very last scene was one I’d had planned the ENTIRE time so it’s arguably one of my favorites.

Warnings: Violence, lots of angst, borderline abuse and definite manipulation, eventual smut, way too many feels, major character death (eventually). A little more harassment on Hades’ part this time around. This chapter has slightly NSFW content, but nothing is explicit this time. Read at your own discretion.

Words: 3,794

Hades causes disaster after disaster, week after week. He doesn’t throw you into the mess of things again, thankfully, but he keeps you close and makes you watch the Avengers closely. He quizzes you on them after, insists you spend more time with them.

You don’t give him details of your time with Thor, but he definitely knows something is going on. And he’s using it.

You knowing that drives you to Thor more and more, but it also makes you close yourself off once you’re around him. You crave being close to Thor because he’s kind, because he cares, because he treats you well. Because, clearly, being friends isn’t what he wants. It’s not really what you want, either.

But once you’re in his presence, you’re constantly aware of the things Hades can use against him. You’re constantly thinking of all the ways Hades can use you against Thor.

If you keep a good amount of distance, maybe he can come out of his unharmed. Maybe you can come out of it free. Maybe you’ll be able to make amends, once Hades is done with you.

If he’ll ever be done with you, that is.

--

You know the team pretty well now. Well enough that Sam and Thor invite you to dinner, which means sixteen pizzas in the living room where you’d waited for Thor that one afternoon.

You settle on the couch next to Thor. Right up against him. He’s so warm, and far too comfortable. You pull your legs up under you and rest your head on his shoulder, completely aware of the eyes around the room that fall on the two of you.

You don’t know what he’s told the team about you, but you’re sure they know something is up just like Hades does. Only, they’re Avengers. They’re good people. Which is something you wouldn’t have said about them before all of this started.

Steve hands you a plate with two slices of pizza, and you smile at him. “Thanks,” you say, and he nods.

Thor takes his plate, puts it in his lap, and stretches an arm across your shoulders.

“Any requests?” Stark asks. His eyes fall on you, too, but not because you’re cuddling with someone you’d verbally swear is only your friend. “You’re the guest of honor. Favorite movie?” he asks.

You pause. This is the first almost-nice thing Stark has thrown your way so far. To be fair to him, you haven’t had many personal interactions, and you wouldn’t be surprised if he’s wary of your sudden presence around his teammate. Someone in his employ.

With a shrug, you tell him, “I’m easy to please.”

“Bet you are,” he says quickly, before looking around the room.

Thor nudges you softly, but you just roll your eyes. Hades has said much worse things about you to your face, so you let Stark’s words roll off your shoulders easily.

You eat your pizza quietly while the group picks a movie. They end up going with Clint’s pick: Moonrise Kingdom. Sam questions him, but Clint just says, “I like Wes Anderson,” with a shrug.

Almost too quickly, voices are asking questions. Too loudly. You can’t hear the movie, but you’re not about to go telling The Avengers to shut the hell up. You look at Thor, and he just nods and eats his pizza.

This must be normal for them, you realize. They don’t just watch movies like normal people. They’re not normal people. Two are genetically modified (Bruce Banner is across the room, beside Stark on a two-seat couch), two are spies (Black Widow is on the floor with Clint), at least three are Veterans of some branch of the military, and the one you’re currently sitting against is a literal alien.

So who cares if they talk over a movie you’ve never seen? It’s not like the movie won’t exist outside of this building, should you want to know what actually does happen later.

Suddenly, all eyes are on you again. You blink at them - mostly Sam, because you know him better than everyone except for Thor - and he chuckles.

“Nat asked if you wanted more pizza,” he says.

“Oh,” you say, looking down at your empty plate. You shake your head. “I’m okay, thanks.”

“We’ve got way too much,” Steve says. “You sure you don’t just want one more?”

You look at the boxes still stacked, one on top of the other. There are a few that’ve been emptied, but most of them are still full. Thor’s told you he eats a lot, and you’re sure someone with an enhanced metabolism like Steve’s probably eats a lot, too. But sixteen pizzas? That is a lot.

Still, you think one extra piece might not be the worst thing.

So you sigh and say, “Fine. Just plain, thanks.” You hand your plate to Sam, who hands it to Steve, who plates another piece before sending it back.

You’ve got a single nibble in your mouth before Stark turns to you.

“So, (Y/N). What is it you do for a living?” he asks.

Thor clears his throat, but you beat him to the answer.

“I’m a maid.”

Again, not the entire truth. But you remember telling Thor that much, so you may as well stick to that story.

Stark nods, but doesn’t seem impressed. You’re not sure why he would. He’s a fucking billionaire. He’s got maids, you’re sure. Maybe that Irish lady is one of them.

“Now tell me, what’s a maid doing getting pushed off a skyscraper in the middle of a mega-monster battle?” he asks.

“Stark,” Thor warns, the vibrations of his voice tickling your side.

But you just turn to look at him, giving him a warning look because you can answer for yourself. You don’t want Thor defending your honor or anything. That only leads to the kind of mess you are actively trying to avoid.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and some jerk chased me to the roof of the building,” you say. “I was just lucky that Thor was there to catch me.”

“He wasn’t,” Stark says shortly.

You don’t miss his point. But he does look back at the television. Steve glares at him, but Stark barely seems to notice.

You bite your lip and consider leaving, but being right up against Thor makes moving so difficult. Going home to your empty apartment for the night seems so wrong.

You know that, if Stark really wanted you gone, he’d have you escorted out of the building. It is his building, after all. Maybe you should tell him that you sided with him on the Accords deal, but you’re not sure what kind of a touchy subject that is right now. It’s not part of the conversation going on around you, so you decide to hold off.

If it never comes up, that’s fine. You don’t need to win over Stark, anyway. Hades plans on tearing this team apart, so you trying to wiggle your way into their good graces is probably not the best idea.

When the movie is over, you offer to help clean up, but the team refuses. They tell you to sit back and relax, because you’re Thor’s guest. Sam grabs your empty plate, then Thor’s, then takes a stack of them to the kitchen around the corner. Steve and Tony take care of the pizza boxes. Clint and Nat handle cups and napkins. Bruce turns the television back to local news.

Thor stands. He turns and holds a hand out to you. You look toward the kitchen, wondering what’s planned next for one of these pizza-movie evenings, but Thor tells you, “They won’t miss us, I promise.”

So you take his hand, stand up, and follow him to the elevator.

The whole way to his apartment, you remind yourself that you have a rule. Two rules, actually. One: you’re keeping this casual. Just friends, no emotions. Two: you’re not allowed to stay over. You can cuddle and talk, but at some point, you need to go home and wake up in your own bed in the morning.

The last thing you need is for Hades to call you in for the day, only to have Thor pick up your phone and find everything out before you’re ready to tell him what he needs to know.

You take a look at his clock, then remember that it’s on Asgard’s time. Your phone says Midgardian time is about 10pm. It’s getting late, at least for a woman to be walking home alone. You could take a cab, Hades wouldn’t mind paying.

That sets you at ease a little.

Enough to fall into step with Thor as he goes into his bedroom. You haven’t been back here before, but you try not to make anything of it. It’s just a bedroom, though his bed is fucking huge. It has to be - his body is long and wide and he needs to fit on this mattress every night.

You take off your shoes and socks and jump onto his mattress, nearly sinking into it. The sheets are actual silk. It’s the most luxurious bed you’ve ever been in, and when you relax, you can’t help but let out a little moan.

Thor chuckles and shakes his head, but joins you anyway.

“I take it you approve?” he asks.

“Anyone who doesn’t is clearly wrong,” you reply. And then you laugh together, and your whole face heats up.

That’s all you want. Just...to have him smile like that - so happy and genuine - at you forever. He’s so handsome, and his laughter is so endearing, and if you don’t do something about it, you’re going to fall into a pit that you won’t be able to get yourself out of before he gets hurt, too.

So you reach forward and kiss him, because you know that’s the quickest way to shut him up.

But just as quickly, he pulls back. He holds you above him and gives you a confused look. “I thought we were just going to be friends,” he says.

And you nod. “We are.”

“Then why are you kissing me?”

“Friends kiss.”

He freezes. Just stares at you. Finally, he asks, “They do?”

“Sometimes,” you tell him. “Friends can have casual sex. That’s not a thing on Asgard?”

He shrugs. “Casual sex is, sure. Among friends? Not quite as often.”

You wonder if it’s because he’s a prince, like if you’d asked a member of his court or any random Asgardian the same question, would their answer be any different? Ultimately, you decided it didn’t matter.

You and Thor weren’t on Asgard. You were on Earth, where your only option was to engage casually, if you were going to engage at all.

“That’s what you want?” he asks, as if he can read your mind.

You force yourself to nod. “Is that okay?”

He lets out a heavy breath, and you know, immediately, it’s not what he wants. It’s not really okay. His eyes are a little dull, comparatively, just to match.

“It is better than nothing at all, I suppose.”

You hate that answer, and you know he does, too. It almost completely ruins the mood. You almost give in, almost apologize for doing this to him.

Almost.

But you can’t. You can’t even think of what it’ll mean if you do.

You lean in again, pause for just a second, almost whisper an apology again, but think better of it. One day. One day, when all of this is over, maybe then you’ll get to apologize for playing him like this.

At least you know what you’re doing to him. Or...maybe that makes it worse.

--

One of your only two rules is that you don’t stay over.

And yet, you let yourself fall asleep wrapped up in Thor. You can’t really help it. He’s so warm and comfortable, and he doesn’t give you much of a choice.

He’s worn you out. Shown you what kind of bliss only he can really show you, then insisted you rest because there’s no way you can walk home when your legs are like jelly.

You wake up in the middle of the night and weigh your options. You could call a cab. You could get dressed and still go home and follow your own rule on a technicality - you’d still be waking up in your own bed in the morning.

But you’re already here, in Avengers Tower. There are so many floors to go through, so many possibilities of waking someone up or running into someone between the residential floors and the lobby. And even if you don’t, that means you have to go all the way down to the lobby by yourself at...four in the morning.

Even if the Irish lady is around and watching, the idea of leaving now isn’t perfect. It’s not ideal. Doesn’t make you want to leap out of Thor’s bed.

Especially not with his arm thrown over your middle.

You know you can’t like the feeling of having Thor hold you like this. But you do. You really, really do.

And because you do, you slide out from under him. Throw your legs off the side of the bed, stand up, and grab the first article of clothing you find.

It’s huge. Thor’s shirt, you realize. It’s a plain gray t-shirt. You throw it over your head, sighing as the cool cotton settles on your shoulders. It’s too dark to find anything else without causing a ruckus, but you do anyway, only half-regretting it when Thor groans and leans over to seek you out. His fingers brush your side, find a shirt there instead of bare skin, and he groans again.

You can’t help but laugh at the exhausted sound he makes as he rolls over - literally rolls over - until his face is in your back.

“Where are you going?” he whines, mouth moving against the shirt.

The laugh turns affectionate before you can stop it. You look back at him as best as you can, both in the dark and with how close he is. “Just wanted to get some fresh air.”

“So you weren’t leaving?”

At that, you turn carefully. When you can, you put your hands on the sides of his face and gently pull until you know he’s looking at you. “Since I’m wearing your shirt, and only your shirt, and it’s four in the morning, no. I’m not leaving.”

The sigh he lets out fills you up with glee. You know you shouldn’t let it, but you do. He just...sounds so relieved that you’re not leaving him. The thought that he wants you to stay is too satisfying. It’s too tempting. It’s a lot of too much, and you can’t tell if you’re ignoring it is a subtle way of giving in or a very clear way of keeping distance.

“C’mon then,” he mutters. And then he’s pulling out of your grip, and you let him because you have to. You just barely see his silhouette stand and find clothes on his side of the room before he turns on a lamp from his bedside table. That’s when you’re able to find your underwear - you only slip your panties back on before Thor’s coming around the bed to grip your hand in his, pulling you from the room.

“Where’re we going?” you ask as he drags you out of the apartment.

He laughs lightly, you shushing him, and says, “To get some fresh air, obviously.”

The Irish lady has the common sense, apparently, to wait until the elevator doors are closed this time. She asks Thor where his destination is, and he tells her, “The roof please, Friday.”

“Her name is Friday?” you ask.

He just shrugs. “You’d have to ask Stark what it stands for.”

But that only confuses you further. “Is she not...like, a real person?”

At that, Thor laughs harder. Unabashedly. But he has the sense to not appear to be laughing at you, not in a way that makes you feel like a fool for having asked. He shakes his head and says, “She’s Artificial Intelligence.”

You nod and laugh at that, too because, of course. That makes sense. You’ve only ever heard the Irish lady - Friday - and she’s been pretty much everywhere.

But now she leaves you and Thor alone as the elevator continues to climb. You wonder how far up you’re really going, because Avengers’ Tower is actually kind of pointed at the top. It’s not like you and Thor can just go out to the spire and hang on - or could you?

The doors open to face another set of doors, but these are heavy and metal and open outwardly. Thor holds one open, lets you out first, and follows you onto a deck that reaches over the city, a glass wall the only barrier between the edge of the deck and the sky.

The only time you’ve ever been close to this high up is when...when Hades pushed you off that building.

But thinking about that will kill the serene mood you definitely feel with your hand in Thor’s. So you kick Hades to the curb, at least for now, and follow Thor out to the edge of the deck. He tells you to sit, so you do, then he backtracks, but you’re too focused on watching Manhattan in the early dawn.

He comes back a moment later with a huge blanket that he rolls out along the cement floor. You look over your shoulder and find a metal cabinet with one of the doors flung open and rows upon rows of more of those blankets - and you think hey, at least Stark prepares for everything. You doubt the intended purpose for these blankets is sex outdoors, but you’re not even sure that’s what’ll happen with you and Thor anyway.

Not now.

Thor gestures for you get comfortable on the blanket. He’s not usually this bossy, you think, but he’s also not being rude. You can see the exhaustion in his eyes - Gods can feel exhausted? - so you don’t put up a fight or even politely decline. Besides, you miss holding him. Genuinely. You know you shouldn’t, that Thor is absolutely forbidden fruit, but it’s too early - too late? - to deny yourself or him the pleasure of touch.

So after you’re settled, Thor makes himself comfortable. His head on your shoulder, legs spread out long, feet hanging off the end of the blanket. He’s quiet for some time - long enough that you think he must’ve fallen asleep.

But then you hear yourself calling out for him. You don’t know what your mouth is doing. He looks up at you, eyes a little bleary but expression generally happy, and smiles.

“Tell me about Asgard,” you say.

You immediately know it’s the wrong move. Not because he reacts badly, but because asking him about this is an emotional weight that suddenly settles. It’s not unpleasant, but that’s the scary part.

He goes into excruciating detail with very little probing. Tells you of golden suns and gleaming palace walls, of hidden hills and glorious gardens. He brings up the colosseum, but only briefly, saying that it is “the place where warriors are made” before moving on.

And you just know that’s where all of this started, to some extent.

When he comes to what you think is a close, he sighs and you ask him, “And...what is it that you did to come here?”

That, he’s more hesitant to divulge.

“You don’t have to say,” you tell him quieter, but you can feel his sigh more than hear it.

“I do not want you to think ill of me for my mistakes,” he says quietly. “I have learned from them, whether or not I’ve been readmitted into Asgard.”

There is, surprisingly, no voice in your head telling you not to place a kiss on his forehead. You do so freely. And then, what you say next explains, to yourself, why.

“There’s nothing you could say that would make me think less of you, Thor.” And you say it reassuringly, lips still against his forehead, so that he knows you’re being sincere.

You wonder what he’d do if he knew it was because of what you are doing at that very moment.

He must feel how truthful you’re being. His arms around you tighten, pull you closer to him, and you throw a leg over his to sort of tangle your body over him. It’s funny, you think, that normally he is so large and intimidating, but right now, he’s just...soft.

So soft. So soft that you almost pull away, but then he’s telling you:

“I nearly incited a war with the Frost Giants of Jötunheimr. A few snuck into my father’s weapons vault and intruded upon what was meant to be my coronation ceremony, and in a fit of childish rage, I flew off the handle. Stormed into their homeworld, threatened their king, attacked their people - I was no better than the sneaky few who went against my father’s peace treaty with their king. Laufy sought retribution. My father sought to make a man out of me.”

He falls into silence then. You think, for a bit, that he might go on, that he just needs a break, but then...nothing. The sun peeks over the horizon just a smidge, and still, he’s unmoved.

“That’s it?” you ask. You had expected much, much worse. But then again, you’re used to Hades.

He looks up at you, confusion creasing the space between his brows. “No need to make high treason and unnecessary warfare sound so trivial,” he says. And he looks genuinely upset.

You smile at him, sure, but you just sigh and push your face right up against his. It’s so...intimate and uncommon for you to do and yet, with Thor, it feels like the most natural move to make. The sirens keeping you from making these decisions have, apparently, been put to sleep.

“It’s just...I wasn’t expecting that. And, to be honest, I’m kind of glad, in a weird way, that you did it. Because now, you’re here.”

You absolutely do not let yourself say with me, but that is all that you deny yourself. And still, even without saying it, it’s like Thor just knows. Like he can sense it’s on the tip of your tongue, fighting its way out of your throat. He nods, and a few of his fingers dip low to slip under the fabric of his shirt on your body. But all they do is touch.

That’s all you need. Just touch.

[sciencelings-writes]

Endgame Fix-it Prompt

@iron-man-bingo

For once in his life, Tony didn’t want to die. He had spent so much time wishing that he could just stop existing until he found something to live for. After the first snap and seeing the kid he thought of like his own disappear in his arms, all he wanted to do was follow him in the same billion pieces. But he didn’t. He stayed on the barren planet far from his home. Even before that, there were dozens of times he wanted to give up but at the last second, the universe threw in something for him to live for into his life. 

He had just gotten everyone back. He could introduce Peter to Morgan and Harley, He could finally retire with his family. He could go home. But that wasn’t going to happen. The battle wasn’t over. In fact, they were losing. Until Tony got a hold of the infinity stones. He had the chance to save them all but he had to confront the certainty of the sacrifice.  

If Tony used the stones, there was no going back. But if Thanos got the stones back, the entire universe would be destroyed. Tony knew what he was going to do and he took a selfish moment to think about them. To think about his beautiful, wonderful wife, his best friends, his kids… and he realized that he would do anything to stay with them. He couldn’t leave them. Not just for his own sake, but for the people that loved him. 

He had spent so long trying not to let anyone get near him that it was only then, when he was about to die, that he realized who he would leave behind. If he died, Pepper would have to raise Morgan alone, Morgan would grow up without her father, Peter would’ve lost his third father figure and judging by how close he was to the scene, the second father figure who would die in front of his eyes, Rhodey and Happy would probably feel pretty bad, no matter how much Tony wished they shouldn’t. 

For some reason, he didn’t want to die. But he still needed to end it. Someone did, and it was too late to make another plan, one that would keep him alive. It was too late. All he could do was take the shot and hope that there was a chance that he could survive. For his family if not for the simple reason that he finally had hope. He had finally gotten his family whole again and he so desperately wanted to experience everything with them, he wanted to see Peter graduate and buy way too many gifts for Christmas and feel like a buttery mess after movie nights. He wanted to help Morgan with her homework and teach Harley how to fly a suit. He just wanted to live. 

So while he had the most powerful reality warping tool within his grasp, he didn’t just use them to completely decimate Thanos and his army, he added a little selfish request. He wanted to survive. He didn’t care how painful it would be, how horrible his quality of life would be, he just needed to stay. He needed to stay with them. 

He looked straight into the purple assholes eyes, with extreme power coursing through him, and he snapped. After that was a painful blur, and then darkness. His last thought was the dim hope that this wasn’t the end and the blurry sight of his wife and her muffled voice. 

“You can rest now.” 

No, he doesn’t think he will.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony died. But not for long. Only for a moment. A long moment. Long enough to be pronounced dead at the hospital. Long enough for everyone to think he was dead. Pepper was crying over his body when he took his first breath.

He expected the pain, but this was kind of annoying. His right side felt like it was submerged in lava and his arm was completely gone. But pain was nothing new. He wrapped his remaining arm around his wife and swore that he wasn’t a zombie. She still had her cool-toned iron suit on, mildly damaged from battle. His side, neck, and part of his face were heavily bandaged. He had technically felt worse in his life but this was pretty shitty. 

Tony unapologetically took several long moments just being held by his wife, trying not to think of the world around them. Just thanking every single god from every single religion he could think of that he was still alive. That he didn’t have to leave his family yet. 

“Oh my god… Tony… Do you want me to bring everyone in? We all thought you were dead, Peter was.. Jesus poor kid…” Pepper stumbled over her words like she did only when shit was really fucked up. 

“Some… only your favorites… I can’t… It’s a little fucked up but… I kind of want to stay dead. I’ve been in the public eye since Howard revealed that mom was pregnant. I just… I think I’m done…” His voice was weak and only came out in a soft grumbling whisper. 

“I think we can work that out…” Pepper said gently as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I am going to let the spider-kid in though. You know, if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have gotten you here to check if you weren’t dead. Your heart had stopped and the arc reactor shut off. Everyone thought you were gone but he convinced us to patch you up and wait. He said he knew what death felt like and that you were still there. I’m glad that we held on to that speck of hope.” Her voice wavered a bit. Looking at Tony like he was a ghost and that she still wasn’t sure that he was there. 

“Yeah… I want to see him. I really want to see the kid.” He said weakly. 

“I’ll get him then. Are you sure you want to… ‘Stay dead’?” She used her fingers for air quotes. 

“Yeah. I think… I think I’m done. Maybe the Avengers will stop bothering me if they think I’m six feet under.” He gave her a little smile. The only person that would be able to figure it out was dead too. None of the other Avengers were very bright. Except for Bruce, but he also tended to mind his own business. 

Pepper left the room after glancing at him again and was only gone for a moment. Tony took a few steady breaths and closed his eyes for a second. It turned out dying was exhausting. His eyes snapped open when he heard a timid familiar voice. 

“Mr. Stark?” 

“Hey, Kiddo. You glad to be back in the land of the living?” 

“I-I could ask you the same thing…” Peter’s eyes were red around the edges like he had been crying tears made of acid. He looked like he really wanted to see if Tony was really there and alive but didn’t want to hurt him. The look was pretty specific but Peter was usually pretty easy to read. 

“Come on.” Tony opened his remaining arm, offering a hug. It looked kind of odd with only one arm but it was still pretty obvious the intentions. 

“You’re hurt, I don’t want to-” 

“Kid I literally don’t give a shit.” This seemed to be all the permission Peter needed to practically launch himself over to Tony’s side and wrap him in an obviously much-needed hug. Tony’s heart clenched when he heard Peter’s muffled sob into his shoulder. Tony automatically combed his fingers through his kid's hair and he assumed that helping raise Morgan made his affectionate actions more natural. He blamed that when he kissed Peter’s forehead like he would his own biological kid. Thankfully if Peter didn’t feel weird about it, he didn’t say anything. 

In fact, they didn’t say anything for a while. Tony just held onto his kid with his one weak arm with Peter curled up around him on the hospital bed looking unbelievably small for someone who could throw a bus. After a minute of listening to steady breathing and comfortable silence, Tony realized that Peter had fallen asleep. 

For some strange reason, this caused Tony’s old scarred heart to swell in pure admiration for the kid. Getting the kid back had been one of the most wonderful surreal moments in his life. At first, he didn’t believe it. He had spent so much time feeling guilty and mourning that getting him back felt too good to be true. He could only hug the kid close and fondly listen to all his rambling. Now, they were both alive and Tony was overwhelmingly relieved. 

He didn’t care that he lost an arm, people like Bucky and Nebula had missing arms and he could figure out a cool prosthetic pretty easily. He didn’t care about the pain. He was alive to raise his daughter and to just… live. All he wanted to do was live. Live without the burden of knowing the next world ending event was on the horizon.  Without being the only hero to prepare for it. But now, there were plenty of heroes, a few of which he even trusted to take his place. 

They didn’t need him anymore. He had done enough. This didn’t make him feel sad, it made him feel relief. He was done. He had always strived to be done. That’s why he fought, to be done. To go home. To be with his family. But for so long he had always been pulled back in. This had been the last time. He was done. No more. Over. He could rest. Thankfully for him, his rest wasn’t death and it didn’t have to be. It seemed like stories of heroes who couldn’t stop being heroes always ended up dying and that was the only way they could rest. But not him. He was all for breaking stereotypes. 

His train of thought paused when the door squeaked open a few inches. He smiled when he caught sight of his best friends. Happy and Rhodey snuck in, after noticing Peter fast asleep in Tony’s arm. They both looked relieved to see him and Tony swore that he saw tears in his oldest friends eyes. 

“If you ever do that kind of shit again I’m gonna-” Happy whisper threatened, as not to wake the baby. 

“I know… I won’t. I’m… I’m done.” Tony promised

“Like Done done?” Rhodey raised a suspicious eyebrow.

“My beautiful, perfect, intelligent wife is making sure that I’ll be legally dead. So yeah. I’m done.” Rhodey and Happy shared a look. 

“Are you sure? I didn’t think we could take the hero out of you…” Rhodey confirmed. 

“I’m done. I mean I don’t think I can completely stop, but I can do what I did with this kid. I can help the baby superheroes. I even have an idea of who can replace me as Iron Man…” 

“What are we gonna do about the funeral?” 

“I’ve got an idea... But that’s for later. I’m happy that you’re both here.” He smiled a little. 

“I think we’re both pretty glad that you’re not dead too.” Happy shrugged. 

“Yeah, I can see that…” 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tony’s funeral might’ve been a small private affair but he could’ve never expected to be mourned as much as he was. It almost made him feel bad that it wasn’t real. There was a gigantic statue of Iron Man in New York where the old Avengers compound used to be, along with a well-funded museum of heroes dedicated to the ones lost. Including Nat and the Vision. Tony had never been there but Peter told him about it. He took pictures of everything Iron Man related and texted him a picture of his own gravestone. That was kind of weird but he ended up making a joke about it, so now they joke about leaving flowers on his tombstone and his ghost haunting the kid. 

Morgan, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey had to do quite a lot of acting at the private funeral to keep up the story that Tony was dead. But Peter didn’t have to act too much. He knew what it felt like to go to a father figures funeral. Even though he knew Tony was alive and even had an earpiece connected to him directly, it was still kind of jarring to pretend that he was dead. 

Once he had to get away from all the people and hid in the bathroom for a while with Tony asking through the earpiece if he was okay. Peter would reply that it was just weirdly familiar and he didn’t like talking about him in the past tense. He also didn’t like being around people who believed it. He desperately wanted to tell someone, but it wasn’t his place and he managed to keep his mouth closed. Even when the shreky Bruce Banner looked really sad, Peter managed not to spill. It was kind of hard. 

Morgan was surprisingly good at keeping her mouth shut. She was a drama queen just like her father. She was mostly confused at the situation and thankfully was not aware of the concept of death so she just whined about wearing a boring dress and getting hungry for cheeseburgers. 

A bunch of people that ‘were’ close to him talked about him a little, Peter was informed that if they had enough time, they would let him say a few words and evidently, there was plenty of time. So Peter was a little nervous, it wasn’t like he was talking about his dad figure to a bunch of super-people… So, Peter was a lot nervous but he ultimately decided to do this because he had things he wanted to say to Tony that he was too cowardly to say in front of him. 

So he stood up from his place at the head picnic table and looked at the darkly dressed superheroes all around him. He took a shaking breath and decided to introduce himself. 

“Hi, uh, I’m Peter Parker. Spider-Man, but don’t go blabbing about that, some of us want to keep that kind of thing a secret.” There was a small ripple of polite laughter. “Tony is… Tony was like a father to me. When no one believed in me, he did. When I was alone, I had him. When my aunt found out about my secret vigilantism, he confronted her and managed to not get slapped.” He looked at May who had a sad look on her face but still smiled a little. She still wasn’t in the light about the reality with Tony but Peter was sure that he would tell her eventually. 

“Tony was my hero before he surprised me at my apartment. He was the type of hero I wanted to be before I got powers. He didn’t need super strength or a magic hammer to be a superhero. He didn’t need a gamma radiation accident or years of training as a Russian spy. He didn’t need an infinity stone or magic or vibranium. He was a hero because of his brain. He was a hero because he made himself one. He was a hero because he was doing anything he could to fix his mistakes and the mistakes of the people around him. He was a hero because while I was a nerdy middle schooler, with nothing but my above average brain, he was someone I could see myself in.”

“He became a hero when he was broke and kidnapped with a battery in his chest. When his brain was the only thing he had left, he rose from the ashes and became Iron Man. He made me realize that no matter how broken I was and was going to end up being, I am not worthless or unfixable. Tony Stark still saved the world while the world never believed he could.” 

“There are a lot of heroes out there,” Peter looked around the dozens of superheroes around him and smiled, “but no one like Tony Stark. No one can ever be like Tony Stark.” 

‘Aw, Spider-kid, you’re making me tear up…’ Tony’s voice echoed quietly through the earpiece. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever be used to him being gone, sometimes I can still hear his voice…” Peter smiled a little, hoping that it came across as reminiscent instead of knowing. 

‘No you can’t’ 

“Anyway, sorry I ended up rambling didn’t I… I just want to finish with the fact that I think Tony was my hero. Not Iron Man. He will always be my hero.” 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Stark household was like a domestic heaven. Both Peter and Tony had never expected to have a family again, yet here they were, at the dinner table with a handful of other people laughing along to a joke one of them had made. 

Peter had been living there while May figured out the apartment situation as she had been dusted too and their apartment had someone else living there. But it was fine, apparently Tony had prepared a room for him, filled with Star Wars themed things and even a poster for a few Star Wars movies that he had missed while he was all dusty. 

Living there had been kind of weird for Peter but he welcomed it. He wasn’t used to being around a little kid but being around Morgan was a lot of fun. Apparently, Tony had told her all about him and insisted that he was her brother and Peter didn’t have the heart to tell her that wasn’t the case. Even if he did have the heart to, he wouldn’t. He always got a little smile on his face when Morgan said ‘Petey’ instead of ‘Peter’ because she couldn’t quite pronounce her ‘r’s very well yet. 

Harley was a different sort of weird but just as welcome. He was more extroverted and confident than Peter was but just as nerdy. Half of their conversations were about the logistics of sci-fi weapons and the other half were about dumb things like the memes Peter had missed. It struck an easy balance and Peter didn’t think he could become friends with someone so fast. Peter could ramble almost incoherently at the speed of light and Harley could still follow along. Peter was pretty happy to have more than one friend now. 

So, sitting at the dinner table, with a bunch of people Peter could imagine thinking about as a family, was a little bit overwhelming. He had always kind of envied people with siblings, parents and all that, with no offense to the aunt and uncle that raised him, he loved them more than he could say, but he knew from a pretty young age that his family was a little odd. It was even worse after his uncle was killed but now, he had more family than he had ever thought he’d ever have.

“You zoning out fart-face?” Harley’s voice broke Peter’s focus of staring at nothing. 

“I guess you were that boring asshole,” Peter said with no maliciousness in his voice. 

“Language! What will the good captain think!” 

“Carol wouldn’t care…”

“No, she’s the great captain, I mean Steve.” 

“Oh! I don’t care.” 

“Don’t swear in front of my kid though.” Tony interrupted before taking an unsteady bite of a cheeseburger with his nondominant hand as his dominant arm had yet to be replaced with a prosthetic. He was still working on living without his most useful limb. Usually, Pepper had to help him with simple tasks but lately, DUM-E had been happy finally being useful. He was almost competent.  

“Fine dad…” Peter rolled his eyes over dramatically. 

“Am I hearing sass from you, Spider-boy?” 

“Come on, Harley sasses you all the time!” 

“I’m not saying that it’s bad, I just never expect it to come from you…” 

“I guess when I died, the last bits of hero worship died too…” 

“Please don’t talk about dying… I’m not in the mood. It’s cheeseburger time.” 

Dinner continued like that, with casual conversation and Tony complaining about having to take breaks from eating because his body was still too annoyingly weak to do such hard tasks as chewing and holding something in his hand for several seconds. May was planning on coming down to the cabin in a couple of hours after her shift at the snaps rehabilitation center, Happy would fly her over and they were bringing back some things from the storage facility that Tony had put all the Parkers things into. 

Even though everything hurt and he could barely move, Tony was very happy to be alive. He loved being with his family and was already planning on making a joke about trading his right arm for them. Which was much truer than they knew. It had only taken several decades of absolute torture, but Tony was finally happy to be alive. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It had been a few months since the big battle, since the final snap, since Tony lost his arm. By now they had made mark one or the Iron Arm, it wasn’t too bulky and moved when Tony wanted it too but he was still getting used to it. 

Thanks to the jolly green giant, Tony knew that today was the day that the stones were being returned. It took a little while for the time machine to be rebuilt and made smaller, and more Pym particle to be made but the time had come and everything was ready. He was taking a stroll near his little pond and without his usual paranoia, didn’t notice someone behind him until they spoke up. 

“Tony?” Tony turned around without urgency to see who had caught him not being dead. He was actually kind of surprised to see who it was. 

“Hey Cap. You’re looking… a little more elderly than I last saw you…” Tony raised his graying eyebrow at the wrinkly version of his teammate. 

“You’re alive?” 

“Apparently, I knew none of you would leave me alone if I told you before.” 

“Well, I am pretty glad about that. I have about a half hour until my younger self takes the most powerful weapons in the universe back. Would you like to sit with me?” 

“I don’t have much else to do. Being dead gives me way too much free time…” Tony sat on the bench facing the pond and Steve sat down next to him. Tony noticed the strangely shaped circular bag at Steve’s side and realized what it was for pretty quick. Not many things were that size that Mr. Rogers would bring back from his timeline. “So, Barnes or Wilson. Who’s gonna be the next Cap?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Steve chuckled, “Bucky… he deserves a break. Sam is more than worthy to inherit the shield. Captain America was always more than a World War two science experiment.”

“So, is he going to be the eagle now? Uncle Sam?” Tony joked. 

“Americas Angel? Well, I’m not quite sure. He might even decide to keep being Captain America. Just younger and fewer steroids.” 

“You know, It’s kind of weird getting old. Passing the superhero mantle. I didn’t know if I could ever leave it behind.” 

“And what changed your mind?” 

“The kid. Spider-Man. There are so many heroes out there now, I remember being the only one. But now, there are plenty to go around. But the kid? I wouldn’t trust anyone with my legacy more. I mean sure, there are a few other choices that I would totally support being the next Iron Man, but Pete’s already in the game. He followed in my footsteps the moment he used being a superhero to cope with world-shattering trauma.” 

“That is very you isn’t it. I think the world is going to be in good hands.” 

“Probably better hands than before.” There was a moment of silence. “You don’t seem too surprised to see me alive…” 

“You forget that I know you, Tony, if you were to retire, you’d have no choice but to be as dramatic as possible and faking your death while saving the universe is pretty damn dramatic.” 

“Faking my death was a little last minute… I didn’t mean to be that dramatic.” 

“It’s just part of you.”

“I don’t know whether that was offensive or not…” 

“It wasn’t meant to be. You’re a showman. Life is much more fun with you around.” 

“I’m flattered but you must remember that I am married and not in my prune phase yet.” Steve laughed weakly. 

“Not in every timeline…” 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean-” 

“Maybe I’ll tell you later, you should probably get going, they’re starting to set up the device.” 

“I’ll set up an extra plate for dinner tonight, don’t skip out on me.” Tony stood up and took a moment to stretch. 

“I don’t plan on it. I had to wait several decades for people to start putting spices in food and I started to regret going back.” 

“Maybe I’ll boil some potatoes for your old man tastebuds,” Tony smirked as he walked away.

“Tony I swear to god-” 

“See you then Grandpa.” 

“I’ll look forward to it.” Steve smiled as he looked out into the shimmering water. Maybe it was cheap to call Tony dramatic when he traveled through his original timeline to give his friend a large sheet of metal. Well, if he had to learn something from the smartest avenger…

[noobmvster69-blog]

Who’s It Gonna Be?

My attempt at a Romanogers one shot. Inspired by Avengers: Endgame

——————————————————————————

“In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. A soul for a soul.”

It took a lot of convincing on Natasha’s part to get Nebula to talk. She had a feeling (call it spy instincts) that Nebula was holding back information about Vormir and the Soul stone during their team meeting.

Natasha knows what she has to do. Will she actually pull this off? She has to.

God how things have changed in the last five years. Tony became a dad to an adorable little girl; Bruce, the genius that he is, became one with “the other guy”...literally and you have Clint and Thor who went MIA up until recently.

As for Steve and Natasha, they finally gave in to the undeniable chemistry between them. Though their relationship is fairly new, it doesn’t feel that way to the both them. Thanks to more than a decade of friendship and partnership.

Which is why this is not going to be easy. Natasha knows how Steve is. Always willing to make the sacrifice. Not this time. Not if she can help it.

“So who’s it gonna be?” The stonekeeper asks.

“Steve, I think we both know who it’s gotta be” Natasha says softly looking into Steve’s eyes. “I think we do” Steve replies returning Natasha’s gaze. Steve was the first to break eye contact, turning to look at the cliff where one of them will make the ultimate sacrifice.

“I’m starting to think we don’t mean the same person here.” Natasha says which gets Steve’s attention away from the cliff and back to her. “Nat-“

“Steve, please. I need to do this. This is what I’ve been waiting for for the last five years, this exact moment. A chance to make things right. To bring everyone back.” Natasha says taking Steve’s hand in hers.

Steve takes a deep breath before breaking the silence. “Alright, you win” Steve says then gently tackles Natasha to the ground which makes the latter groan as she was not expecting that.

“They’re gonna need someone to catch them up and lead them” Steve says looking down at Natasha. Natasha manages to roll them over and stand up. “Which is why they need you” Natasha says before firing one of her bites. She takes this distraction as an opportunity to run to the edge of the cliff. Steve escapes the widow bite and runs to stop Natasha from jumping.

He tackles her to the ground again, not so gently this time, kisses her long and hard (let’s see who’s distracted now). Steve quickly gets up and runs to the edge. “Oh no you don’t, Rogers!” Natasha says getting back up on her feet and runs after Steve.

Natasha jumps after Steve and she ends up grappling him from the back. Natasha (the ever prepared spy), manages to hook a climbing rope onto Steve’s belt loop and shoots the other end onto the side of the cliff - all while airborne. When Steve realizes what she did, he grabs a hold of her wrist.

“Damn you!” Steve couldn’t help but spit out. “Let go. It’s okay.” Natasha whispers. Tears starting to fill her eyes as she realizes that this is it. This is the end for her.

Is she scared? Fuck yes! Who wouldn’t be? When you’re about to fall hundreds of feet literally to your death. But at the same time she somewhat feels at peace knowing that her sacrifice could bring back millions of people unfairly taken from their families. This is her chance to wipe clean the red on her ledger. Her life for the lives of millions.

But most importantly, she feels at peace knowing that Steve doesn’t have to make the heroic act this time. He’s already done that when he went in the ice.

She saw how hard it was for him. Waking up and finding out that you’ve missed the last 70 years of your life. Become a man out of time and having to adapt to the modern world.

She doesn’t know exactly when or how but Steve stole her heart and never returned it since. She’s okay with that though, because she knows that it’s safe with him.

“No! I won’t let go, Natasha.” Steve replies tightening his hold on her. His eyes glistening with tears. “Remember when you said you’d trust me to save your life? This is it, Steve. And not just your life but the lives of millions of people. Please!” Natasha pleads.

“I can’t, Nat. I love you” Steve said now sobbing. “I know. I love you too. I’m sorry” Natasha replies teary-eyed before pushing off the side of the cliff to get momentum. This catches Steve off guard causing him to let go of his hold on Natasha. “NOOOOOOO!” Steve cries out loud trying to reach out for Natasha but failing.

——————————————————————————

After coming back to the present and breaking the news to the team, Steve goes to his room to be alone. He finds a letter neatly placed on his bed. He slowly opens it and reads it:

Steve,

If you’re reading this, it means that everything went according to plan. You got the stone but more importantly, you’re safe and alive. Yes, I knew beforehand the consequence of going to Vormir was. Nebula told me - actually I annoyed it out of her.

Don’t be mad at her, I made her promise not to tell you. Im sorry I kept it from you. I know you would stop me if you knew.

I also know that you are blaming yourself right now...don’t. It was MY choice, Steve. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I found it, by the way - the ring. Sock drawers are not a good hiding place fyi. It’s beautiful! Who knew Captain America has good taste in jewelry?

Just so you know, I would’ve said yes. I love you, Steve. And I want you to be happy.

Now go bring everyone back, Captain!

Love,

Nat

[avengerscompound]

The Tower - Chapter 24

The Tower: An Avengers Fanfic

Chapter 24

Series Masterlist

Chapters:  one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty / twenty-one / twenty-two / twenty-three / twenty-four / twenty-five / twenty-six / twenty-seven / twenty-eight

Word Count: 1938

Warnings:  angst, sex talk

Synopsis: Elly finds a role helping with the search for Bucky, Wanda and Clint. A plan is formed to get them back, but not everyone is happy about it.

Author’s Note:  Co-written with @fanficwriter013

Chapter 24 - Working in SHIELD

Bruce had been looking at Alexa’s DNA with the help of Jemma Simmons.  There had been a lot of questions about how Vision had been tricked into thinking Wanda was in that building when she wasn’t.  What they had found when they looked at a blood sample was really shocking.

Alexa was riddled with cancer.  It was everywhere.  How she was still functioning at all let alone at the high level she was, was beyond reason.  She had also done something to herself to trigger some mutations.  Bruce had worked out she’d used my research to work out where in the DNA genes could be switched on or off to create certain abilities.  She’d turned on the rapid healing factor possessed by Steve and Bucky for example.  She had also switched on telepathy.  There was something wrong with what she had done though.  The healing factor was weaker and all it was doing was slowing the spread of the cancer, and all he could do with her telepathy was project thoughts.  Just like that, I had a purpose again.

I buried myself in the work.  Jemma was a dream to work with.  You would pose a question to her about something you were stuck on and a few hours later she would come back to you again.  There was one day where I literally just disappeared for 12 hours.  I didn’t stop until Sam came in and physically removed me from what I was doing and forced me to eat food and then go to sleep.

The other thing that was happening was that I was being taken in to question Alexa with Sam and Natasha.  Not because I was supposed to be questioning her, I was there to talk to her about the science.  She knew her science, that’s for sure.  Wher Justin Hammer was a huge blowhard who stole everything he could get his hands on, Alexa was an actual genius.  It turned out she was his daughter, but she was everything he wished he could have been.

It made me uncomfortable being in there with her.  This woman had been fundamental with my coming to terms with my new life and how to balance it.  Now I wasn’t sure if all of it had been lies just to get to my work.  She would also become obsessive with me when I was there.  I think because she saw me as the weakest link.  Which of course I was.

All this talk of what to do with her got to me really badly.  Her condition meant she was going to die, really painfully.  The way she was now, the healing factor had slowed it down, but the mess up in her DNA was causing other problems.  I could take the powers away and she’d die on the table or I could fix them and we’d have a psychopath with superpowers on our hands.  She seemed to love taunting me with it.  She knew me.  She knew I would struggle with the idea and she prodded me with it.

“You know they won’t let you cure me, don’t you?”  She taunted.

“We’ve already told you, you speak to us not her.”  Natasha snarled.

Alexa completely ignored her.  “Your choice is to do nothing and watch me die knowing you could have helped, or kill me.”

“Maybe if you told us where our friends are we could come to an arrangement,”  Sam said.

Alexa laughed.   “Oh, honey.”  She said, shaking her head.  She looked back over to me.  “What’s it going to be, Elise?”

“What do you want me to do?  Tell me what I should do here?”  I said, my very thin shell of composure finally cracking.

“Oh Elise, I want you to kill me.  But only you.  Let’s see how much your precious Avengers like you once that little bit of innocence they love so much gets taken away from them.”  She sneered.

“Alright, we’re done,”  Natasha said standing, she went to Alexa and unshackled her hustling her out of the room as Sam came and took my hand.

“Don’t let her get in your head, El,”  Sam said, leading me down to the conference room.  It was where we ate when we all ate together as it was the only place that fit us all.  After a few days, we’d started eating together every night.  We’d lost three of us, we were determined that we weren’t going to let her split the rest of us apart too.

“She’s right though,”  I said, my voice coming out monotone.  “No choice here is the right one.  If we take the one that isn’t curing her, then we’ve condemned her to death.  I will be responsible for someone’s death.  You all keep saying how pure my heart is…”

Sam stopped me and turned me to face him.  “Don’t think like that.   She’s trying to get in your head.  She knows you.  She knew Bucky too.  She knows exactly the buttons to push to get you to do exactly how she wants you to.  She’s trying to get you to do something stupid and split us all apart.”  I leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around me.  “I love you, El.  We all do.  Even the ones that can’t quite get the words out.  Don’t doubt that for one second and don’t let her use your own insecurities about what it is about you that we love, make you think for one second that you can lose us.”

“I love you too,”  I whispered.  He tilted my chin up and kissed me gently.  

“Alright, let’s go eat.  The others are probably already waiting.” He said.

We went to the conference room just as the last of the dishes were put on the table.  Everyone was there.  All of our own, all the SHIELD people, Thor, and Scott.   Even at a conference table, we were squished up.  Sam and I split up and I sat down between Tony and Scott, while Sam went and sat next to Steve and Maria.

I mostly just ate quietly while everyone talked.  Still feeling a lot like the odd one out as the conversation flowed between theories and hypothesis of what was actually going on.  Tony kept his hand on my knee and I did talk to Scott a bit.  He was almost able to keep up with Tony and Fitz spoke about engineering.  More so if he was talking to Mac.  Otherwise, the spy stuff wasn’t really his forte either.  We talked about his daughter back on the West Coast and the girl who he’d been seeing that he’d wished he’d brought along here too.  I felt bad for him getting dropped into this and getting stuck.  He could always leave of course, but he was loyal like a puppy and wanted to see it out.

I heard my name from the other side of the table and I looked up to see what was being said.

“There is no way.  No way on Earth I’d let that happen.”  Natasha snapped.

“Malleo seems to be nudging her to do it.  So why not let her?”  May said.  “We put a tracker in.  She gets taken to the others.  The game is over.”

Natasha’s gaze turned murderous.  “She isn’t trained for anything like that.  She isn’t trained at all!  What if she doesn’t even take her back to where she has them?  What if she just kills her as soon as she’s outside the door?”

“Maybe you should ask Elise?”  Steve suggested quietly.

Tony’s hand tightened on my leg.   I looked around the room.  “What are we talking about?”  I asked.

“The suggestion has been made that we have you get Alexa to believe you’ve turned so she takes you to where the others are and we trace you to them,”  Steve explains, his voice deadly calm and deadly serious.  It was the most Captain America he’d ever addressed me.

Tony looked from me to Steve.  “You can’t be serious?  They took Wanda.  You think Elly even stands a chance?”

“It would be just in and out.  We won’t lose sight of her.”  Steve said.

Tony stood, placing his hand on my shoulder.  “Absolutely not.  No.  She isn’t part of this.”

“Maybe you should let Elly have a say,”  Steve said calmly.

“Are you kidding me right now?”  Tony’s voice cracked a little like he was trying very hard not to yell.  “This is about Barnes again.  You would put her life at risk to get him back?”

Steve leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.  “So he’s Barnes again all of a sudden?”  He snarked.  “It’s not just Bucky.   It’s Wanda and Clint too.  And our home.  We can’t even go home because of them.”

Tony opened his mouth to argue but I put my hand on his.  “I’ll do it.”

“Elly, be reasonable,”  Tony said

“It’s too dangerous,”  Natasha added.

I shook my head.  “If it gets them back…”

“But it might not and then we lose you too,”  Natasha argued.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “I’ll do it.”

Tony pulled his hand away from me.  “I’m not going to have anything to do with this.  You’re all on your own.”  He snapped and stormed from the room.

Bruce got up and his eyes darted around the room.  “I - I’ll go talk to him.”  He said and followed after Tony.

“I could go with her,”  Scott suggested.  “I’ll have comms.  And - and I can fight if that chick does turn on her.”

“That’s a really good idea.  You sure you can stay hidden?”  Steve said.

“Yeah.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Of course.  That’s what I do.”  Scott answered, bouncing in his seat a little.

“Finally, we’re getting somewhere!”  Thor said, with a wide smile.

“We’ll need a tracer.  Something so small it won’t be detected.  Nanotech.”  Fitz said, pulling out a tablet and starting to tap away at it.  “I might need Stark’s help to get one up and working this quickly.”

“Let me go talk to him first.  You guys, sort out the fine details.”  I said getting up and heading out to find Tony.

He and Bruce were in the lab and both turned to me when I came through the door.  “Please don’t do this,”  Tony said, his voice right on the edge of pleading.

I approached him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.  He leaned his head against my chest and I ran my fingers through his hair.  “Scott’s going to come with me.  Does that help?”  I asked.

“A little.  No.  Not really.”  He muttered.

“I want to go home, Tony.  I want us all to be together again.  I hate how I’ve felt since this started.”  I said, resting my cheek on the top of his head.

“There are other ways,”  Tony argued.

“I don’t think Steve would have suggested this if he thought there were.  She’ll trust me because she thinks I’m weak.”  I said.  “Have some faith in me where she doesn’t.”

He swallowed and looked up at me.  “As soon as you find them we’re pulling you out.”

“Please do,”  I said with a smile.

“This is so ridiculously dangerous.”  He said shaking his head and turning back to the lab bench.

I moved up behind him and kissed his shoulder.  “You know how you said I have a little piece of all of you in me?”  I said.

He nodded his head.  “Yeah so?”

I chuckled and kissed his cheek.  “Well stupidly dangerous stunts is something you all do.”

He shook his head.  “You’re such a dork.”