#Ch.9 Fire and Fury

[kyndredravenstories]

Eyes of Infinity: Chapter 17

Hello, I have been posting my work on AO3 and recently decided to venture here to Tumblr. Please note: This story is 18+. No minors. Please read tags carefully. Link to AO3 below but I will also be posting the chapters here.

Pairing: Sylus/Female MC with some elements of Xavier/Female MC

Genre: Romance, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Angst, Adventure, Smut, Porn with Big Plot and Big Feelings

Content Warning (For the entire fic): Explicit sexual content, spoilers and alterations to existing lore and cards/memories/tender moments/secret times, size kink, size difference, vaginal sex, cunnilingus, anal sex, fingering, all kinds of fingering, elements of consensual somno, dom!Sylus, jealousy, possessive!Sylus, Mephisto stalking, typical game violence, battle and combat

Summary: To love him meant stepping over the threshold and crossing into darkness. To be with him meant accepting the lure of the shadows. And to protect him from betrayal meant sacrifice. I knew not how, only that I would not let time sever our paths ever again.

Previous Chapters: Ch 1 / Ch 2 / Ch 3 / Ch 4 / Ch 5 / Ch 6 / Ch 7 / Ch 8 / Ch 9 / Ch 10 / Ch 11 / Ch 12 / Ch 13 / Ch 14 / Ch 15 / Ch16

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In response to the White Wolf's request, a tidal wave of protests washes over the ring. Chaos, shouting, and furious gestures break out among the Chieftains and the entire crowd. The audience leaps to their feet, protesting with a fury I've never seen before. The weight of over one hundred eyes falls upon me, and I stare at the sand in the ring, afraid to look up. I don't need to see them to know what they're thinking.

Did the Kismet have something to do with this? Surely, I am going to protest this development. I have that right, after all. No man can take a bride without her consent. It's my duty to stand up right now; to chastise this Outsider. The Kismet is the symbol of salvation and renewal for these people, and the White Wolf has betrayed their trust by declaring her as his own.

But, my body does not move. Not a muscle.

I focus on the White Wolf instead of the Tribe's venomous glares. This peculiar and foolhardy warrior. Is he not afraid of divine retribution? A curse? The animosity of so many warriors? No matter how strong he is, he cannot overcome all of these people. Yet, judging by the way he stands still as stone, he fears nothing.

Beside me, Sorocan's hand flies to my wrist and tightens on it like the death grip of an adder. Sweat breaks out on the nape of my neck as I watch her eyes catch fire with fury. She looks at me, her upper lip rising up over her front teeth in an expression of disgust.

"Don't you dare move, girl," she hisses. "Look at the ground. He has no right..."

I tune out the rest of what she says, for despite my shock at the sudden turn of events, my eyes can't help but stray back to the man in the center of the ring. All the other faces melt into a kaleidoscope of blurred colors as my vision snaps to the White Wolf's beautiful red eyes. His hawk-like piercing gaze quickens the blood in my veins, and with each pulse of my heart, the mark around my wrist bites deeper into my skin. My hand comes up to clutch at my shirt right over my heart. I dare not hope this is my savior, but if this is my chance, I dare not waste it either. Could this man be an answer to my prayers? Is this the turn of fate that will finally free me from this prison?

No. Impossible. The Chieftains won't permit it.

Sorocan will not.

I dig my nails into the arms of the chair beneath me, hoping this foreign warrior can withstand the numerous obstacles before him. I can't possibly fathom what he wants with a woman he's never met before, but his determination to have his way is written in the proud tilt of his chiseled jaw. My gaze roves over his lean warrior's body. He's strong, and his eyes blaze with a calculating gleam. Surely he knew the opposition he would face in demanding the hand of the Kismet. Surely, he came prepared to fight and take what he sees as rightfully his.

I have no doubt he can take me by force.

The other warriors protest and clamor at his demand, but they do not approach him. Even Tögöldör and Batu seem wary of him, their fists tight at their sides and their shoulders squared as they face him. One leans back on his spear, a predator prepared to strike. The other stands stiff and coiled like a snake, prepared to lash out should the White Wolf take a step in his direction. The Arataan is the size of an onyx mountain bear, and the warriors' demeanor suggests they view him as something equally dangerous.

The Chieftains' faces are pale as they clamor with the crowd. But, they haven't refused the request outright. If they could have, they would have immediately. No questions asked. For the thousandth time, I wonder – just who is this mysterious stranger? Who is he to stir such fear and awe in the strongest of warriors and Chieftains? Who is he to think he can ask for – and take – that which cannot be given? He said I am his. Brazenly so, like a man claiming his life mate. The last thing I want is to be stolen away to be someone's possession, but at this point even that is better than being chained to a rock and sacrificed in the name of something I have no faith in.

My earlier question bounces back like a boomerang. Indeed, it seems this man is my only hope. The mark on his wrist marks him as the one I've been searching for. Gritting my teeth, I yank my wrist out of Sorocan's grasp, ignoring the sting of her nails clawing at me. I rush to stand, and a cold pressure reminds me of the chain strapping my ankle to the chair. Sorocan glares daggers at me, pulling on my arm to get me to sit back down. But, I won't. I refuse. Something stirs deep inside me; bubbling to the surface like boiling water. I hate this woman. What right does she have to enslave me? What right does she have to take my life?

My hands tremble, and something faint as the first snowflakes of winter gathers at my fingertips. A golden glowing light. An ethereal warmth. Power. Magic. I've never been able to feel it before, but now –

Devour...

I gasp at the sudden voice in my ear, so loud it seems to rumble through my very bones.

Devour...

The mark on my wrist aches. At first, I don't understand. Devour what? Or...whom?

This woman before me? Sorocan? What use is she –

Devour him...

Unbidden, my eyes shift back to the ring.

I meet a knowing blood red gaze.

Devour him...he's already yours...

As though he can hear the voice, too, the White Wolf smirks. An expression of arrogance; of confidence. All around him, people continue to yell and shout. Yet, he is unaffected. In this moment, there's no one around us or between us. The mirth at the corner of his lips tugs them into a gentle smile. He raises an arm as though reaching out to me, bending his fingers into his palm. His lips move, and I recognize the command on them. The invitation.

All of the anger and pain I've been bottling up for months hits me all at once. Tears sting my eyes, and my lip trembles. I step forward, but the chain on my foot holds me back. I lift my skirt when I feel something warm and alive snaking around my leg. Hot enough to alarm me, but not hot enough to burn. It's a fine black and red mist. My breath catches as the chain dissolves into thin air.

Snap.

It's more than one kind of freedom.

Not just my body, but my mind as well.

As soon as I'm free, I barrel through the crowd in front of me. I push people out of the way with every ounce of strength I can muster. Some warriors jump in front me to stop me. My body moves on instinct. I dip and dodge. Sorocan is shouting for them to bring me back immediately. But, all I can see is the White Wolf and his outstretched hand. I run to him, the wind biting at the places where tears stream down my face.

As I step closer and closer to him, his image blurs and shifts. For a split second, I see shining onyx horns adorning the top of his head. Black scales and armor wrap around his skin. A large reptilian tail sways behind him. As soon as the image comes together, it vanishes. As I jump over the barrier to the ring and sprint through the sand of the arena, it's just him standing there...

Just him.

Elation swells through me until my heart nearly bursts.

A gasp of relief and I'm flying into his arms.

Another breath and his powerful arms lift me into the air. He spins me around, and his scent wraps around me. Warmth. Safety. As it melds with my senses, I look up at him. He holds me up as though I weigh nothing. My lips part to call his name.

And I stop.

Nothing comes from memory.

He senses it immediately. Catches my hesitation. The crimson in his eyes darkens like a churning storm. He looks at me with expectation.

"I'm sorry...I..."

He realizes, then, that I don't remember who he is, and the result of that knowledge transforms his features. His eyes grow wide then narrow again, arching brows furrowing his beautiful face into a look of raw, unchecked hurt. His pain rips into me like the claws of a beast; it's like I've been thrown into a frozen pond.

He lowers me to the ground, sliding his hand up my forearm. Our fingers twine together like saplings seeking warmth in winter. He stares at our palms as though expecting something. His hand is huge over mine. Instantly, I know that I've held this hand before. Many times. Again following my instinct, I cover his calloused knuckles with my fingers. I've missed this hand, this strength, these impossibly warm arms. Pulling him towards me, I close my eyes and press my cheek against his chest.

People are still staring at us. Angry faces. Bewildered. Outraged.

But, I'm the one unaffected now.

The White Wolf's heartbeat murmurs against my ear. I close my eyes.

One beat.

Then two.

And then it all makes sense.

When I look at the White Wolf again, he is no longer nameless.

"Sylus," I smile. "Sylus, you found me."

I can't describe the expression on his face now. It's too profound for words. Relief is too weak a term. Happiness is too vague an emotion. He leans forward, nearly staggering, as though a terrible weight has been lifted from his shoulders. Only I can hear his shaky breath as he reaches out and ruffles my hair. Schooling his face back into a merciless mask, he looks back towards the crowd. I press close to him, squeezing his hand in mine.

"Can we go home?" I ask, my voice hoarse. "This isn't quite what I had in mind when you described a getaway. Next time, maybe run it by me first."

"Where's the fun in that, kitten?" he asks, his face stone cold yet his words soft and tender.

Our Chieftain's voice bellows out across the ring. "Silence!"

After a moment, the crowd quiets. I squeeze Sylus's hand tighter.

"Arataan," our Chieftain's deep voice booms out. "This is one wish we cannot grant you."

Sylus smiles, but the expression doesn't quite reach his eyes. His fiery red orbs remain cold and aloof as he speaks in turn, "This is not a negotiation. Either you release her, or I will take her."

He shifts his weight between his feet, and the warriors around us start. Some even take a step back. Tögöldör stabs his spear forward defensively while Batu's eyes narrow. The Chieftain signals for them to stand down.

"You have won a place among our people with your strength and might. You have saved one of our sister Tribes from destruction. Have you done all of this planning to doom us all to death and ruin?"

Sylus raises an elegant brow, unamused at the accusation. "Interesting that you mention ruin when it is your Speaker playing games."

"Hold your tongue, you insolent whelp," Sorocan hisses, completely out of character.

Sylus blinks back at her, unimpressed. "Find another Kismet. You still have time before the ritual. Isn't that so?"

The Chieftains look crestfallen, and I've never seen Sorocan so pale. Her blue eyes sear into me from across the arena, her knuckles white as she clutches her staff.

"Fight, then," our Chieftain rasps. Then again, louder - "Fight, then! If you are declared Champion, we will speak again. Until then, you are to keep your distance from the Kismet. She belongs to our deity. No mortal man may covet her."

A chuckle rumbles in Sylus's chest. His thumb traces the back of my hand. "I do not need to covet what is already mine," he smirks.

More clamoring from the warriors and the audience. I suppose I can understand their apprehension. Losing me as a sacrifice means inciting the anger of their God. Sorocan's eyes have me immobilized. For months, she's been the warden on the other side of my chains. But, I've always been able to empathize with her at least somewhat. After all, she was only trying to protect her people. Now, though, I don't know how to feel when I witness the desperation in her gaze. Is she even real? Where has the gem taken us? What is this world? Is all of this a dream? A hallucination? If so, then why can't we just sweep through here and get out?

If that was an option, something tells me Sylus would have already done it.

"Speaker, what say you?" The Chieftain lays a hand on Sorocan's shoulder. She finally breaks eye contact with me and bites her lip. She steps up to stand closer to the Chieftain, raising her staff in the air as she addresses the crowd.

"The rules of the Conclave are absolute and binding. Should this White Wolf claim the title of Champion, his wish will be granted."

Deathly silence follows this proclamation. I can't believe she's agreed to it.

"However," she pauses, as though for dramatic effect. "Young warrior, what you have asked for is not for this Speaker to give. The Champion is one chosen by the Gods, blessed with their strength to aid the Tribes. The price of the wish you ask for is steep. You will fight with a handicap, and if you persevere, you may take the gem and the Kismet as your own. Are you in agreement?"

Sylus rubs his long graceful fingers across his bottom lip thoughtfully. "I'll agree to these terms," he says. "So long as you agree to mine. The Kismet is not to be harmed or removed from this village for the duration of the Conclave. She is to remain here. Lastly, the only Kismet I will accept is the woman I hold now. Should these terms be violated," his voice drops to an icy baritone. "You will not be fond of the consequences."

From there, everything is a blur. Sylus stays by my side as the Chieftains and the Speaker say prayers for the coming year ahead. Flowers are scattered throughout the ring to give blessings to the Champion candidates. At last, the horn blows one last time to signal the end of the first day. The opening ceremony of the Conclave is concluded, but the celebrations are half hearted. Sorocan comes to take me away with a group of warriors after the processions are complete. As I turn to follow her back to my tents, Sylus tugs me against him one last time. I thrill as his hand strokes my cheek.

"Wait for me," he says softly then pushes me gently back to my jailer.

I stumble towards her, my knees weak and my heart racing. As I follow her to my quarters, I wrap my arms around myself. My mind reels, thoughts muddled and hazy as I struggle to process the memories of my actual life with everything I've experienced in the last several months here. Now that I remember the truth, I'm more helpless than ever before. I don't have my weapons, my Hunter watch, or any of the gadgets I've grown used to. I can't call for backup, and I have no idea where I am. Did the gem transport us into a Protofield? I've never seen one so extensive, especially not one with other people in it. Were they real? Was it possible to be trapped in a Protofield for this long and survive? And, if this was a Protofield, where was the Wanderer responsible for generating it?

Too many unanswered questions. I wish Tara was here, and remembering her only sharpens my longing for home. I dig my fingers into my arms, pressing my lips together. Whatever the situation may be, moping isn't going to help anything. Besides, I trust Sylus. He'd brought us here for a reason. He told me to wait for him. Sure, but that didn't mean I was going to twiddle my thumbs while I waited at the top of the tower like a princess in a storybook.

If we could simply walk out of this delusion, Sylus wouldn't have agreed to Sorocan's deal. Now that I've seen a part of her true self, I can only imagine what sort of cruel handicap she'll set to ensure Sylus doesn't claim the title of Champion. I can't let my impulses drive any of my decisions. I have to act carefully, no matter how much I want to punch the old woman in front of me well into next week. I grit my teeth when she chains my leg to the post in my yurt and leaves without a word.

Determination realigned, I stand up and start exploring the room. I've made so many rounds in this yurt over the last few months, pacing in circles like a caged tiger. But, I'm different now. I'm no longer a wandering outsider with no memories, but a fully trained Deepspace Hunter. My eyes see more than most, and my mind responds to situations with a strategic outlook.

The chain on my leg is a lost cause. Sylus managed to break it in the arena only thanks to his Evol. I don't have the kind of the strength that requires, nor does my exploration of the yurt leave me with any tools that would be up to the task. I examine the mark on my wrist. If I had to guess, I'd say it reminds me of the Linkage that's trapped Sylus and I together in the past. More than ever, it resembles a coiling serpent.

That thought triggers something, a memory of Sylus standing in the ring.

For a moment, I could have sworn he looked...strange. The image is fuzzy no matter how hard I try to remember it, but I can't forget the horns and tail I saw.

My heart squeezes tightly in my chest. The mark on my wrist throbs. Something catches my attention in the corner of my vision, and I turn my head to see one of the many lavish decorations placed in my quarters as "tribute" to my status. It's a large round and flat piece of reflective metal that's about as tall as I am. I approach and kneel before it, my hands trembling as they reach up to touch my hair.

My long onyx hair that is turning starlight white right before my very eyes.

Eyes that should be green.

I blink, and when I open them again they are crimson red just like Sylus's.

Deeply disturbed, I gasp and back away from the mirror-like object. I bring my hair in front of my face, confirming the change in hue.

What's going on here? How is this possible? I've never experienced effects like this in a Protofield. I squash down a wave of panic, especially when an even bigger fear manifests.

Sylus – the one I held today and the one that asked me to wait for him. Is he a part of this illusion? Is he even real? Am I still lost in this world all alone? Or has he really come to help me escape it?

We will find the truth together – his voice lilts across my memories. It was the last thing he said to me before we were brought to this place.

The truth? What truth?

I take a deep breath and steady myself, but balance remains out of my reach. Minutes drag on like hours, and with each moment's passing I struggle to keep my composure.

That's how Sylus finds me that night.

Unsteady. Uncertain. Full to the brim with trepidation and doubt.

His Evol mist materializes from thin air, first appearing as a ghostly cloud of falling black feathers then swelling into a spinning portal. He steps out of it with his hands in his pockets, the sight so familiar that I can't help but let out a shaky breath of relief. His massive height dwarfs the yurt around me. If possible, he looks even bigger than I recall. The fighter's gear isn't helping. It accents his muscular shoulders, lean powerful waist, and long legs.

Goosebumps break out all across my arms. A pleasant weakness wraps around my knees. I stand up to greet him, and in the span of another breath, he's enveloped me in his reassuring heat and scent. We stay like this for an unknown span of time. I'm not ready to let go yet. I hope he isn't planning on leaving anytime soon because I don't want to be separated from him again. I take another deep breath. Then another. Finally, I pull back to look at his face. His sharp eyes roam over my features. Subconsciously, I flick my hair away from my shoulders. His fingers reach up and tease a white lock between them. For a moment, he looks to be deep in thought.

"Interesting," his eyes snap back up to me, and there's a playful glint in them again.  

"It just...happened...I looked in the mirror and suddenly," I wave my hands in a vague gesture of frustration, struggling for the right words as his thumb softly brushes over my cheekbone. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore. Nothing that's happened here is normal." I stop rambling and worry my bottom lip, acutely aware of his unblinking gaze. "Does it...look weird?"

I peek up at him through my lashes. He looks quite amused, the fiend.

"Didn't I tell you before?" he asks. "No matter what you look like or what title you hold, no matter if you're a Hunter or a Sorceress," the pad of his finger slides down my cheek to tuck some hair behind my ear, "you are Ellara."

"A sorceress," I frown, trying to mask my embarrassment. "Where did that come from?"

The pain from the moment of our reunion slips across his face as quickly as a glare of light across a pool of water. It's a split second. So fast that I doubt my own vision. It's dark in here, after all. Maybe I imagined it. I've seen this man get shot, get sliced with a knife, and suffer other wounds. Yet, I've never seen him really express pain unless it was to tease me and my anxiety.

"You like to read those kinds of novels, don't you? Fantasy stories," he jokes, but the humor is hollow behind his words. "Luke brought one home the other day."

So that's where my favorite book had disappeared to. I pout at Sylus, always amazed at how readily he accepts whatever comes his way. "So, are you going to tell me where we are?"

The tension relaxes from the line of his mouth. His eyes soften from ruby stone into mellow aged wine. He thumbs my earlobe between his fingers. Gently. Teasingly. I squirm back, heat flushing my cheeks.

"If I do, it will ruin the point of the exercise," he smirks.

Folding my arms across my chest, I vent a hot breath of frustration and disbelief. Honestly, this man is quite insufferable when he wants to be. "This isn't funny, Sylus. Do you have any idea what I've been through the last few months in this hell?"

His expression grows somber, though his hand continues to stroke my hair. "I do." His words are full of sincerity, and I wait for him to elaborate.

And wait.

My patience snaps, but somehow I can't be angry with him. Not when I've missed him so much. I reach out and place my hand on the center of his chest. Immediately, he covers it with his own.

"Didn't you tell me we would find the truth together? How does keeping secrets help anything?"

Sylus says nothing, just pulls me against him again. I hate it when he leaves me out of things; when he tries to keep me at a distance to "protect me". I want to prove that I'm strong enough to walk in his world right beside him, not behind him. But, right now, this embrace feels too good; he feels too good. I abandon my questioning for now. The tension that's been building inside me for months has snapped like a rubber band. I can't help feeling that everything will be alright now that he's here.

He lifts me into his arms, glaring down at the chain on my foot. Black and red mist gathers around us, making his silver hair sway with the breeze. With a snap of his fingers, the chain around me evaporates into black ash. My heartbeat quickens. I have to admit I find that threatening irked expression of his insanely hot. And his power, too. It should scare me, but instead it just...

I swallow past a sudden lump in my throat.

"Sylus..."

"Shush, kitten," he rumbles down at me. "Let me hold you. These months haven't been a walk in the park for me, either."

Oblivious to the direction of my fanciful thoughts, he walks to an arrangement of luxurious furs, handwoven red and gold blankets, and plume-stuffed cotton pillows decorating a wide sofa. It's an area that acts like a lounge for eating and receiving company. Of course, my company has been nonexistent these months. It's all for show, just like my fancy jewelry and clothes. I've grown to hate this spot, sitting on my own, curled in a ball, only able to see sunlight through a slit in the tent.

I want to protest his choice of destination and wrap my arms tighter around him. But, I don't get a chance. In moments, Sylus settles us comfortably among the silks, wool, and fur. He positions me in his lap and wraps me in a white fox-fur blanket while he leans against the wooden spine of the seat. The four-seater looks like it will barely fit one more now that he's sprawled in it.

He reaches down and slips off my shoes one by one, tossing them carelessly in some random direction. My toes curl. Despite the blanket, I shiver in the chill of the coming night. The maids haven't come to do their evening rounds yet. Usually they would have come by now to stoke the fire and set up a hot bath.

The thought startles me.

"Sylus, if someone sees you here–"

"They won't," he says, matter of fact. I frown at his fighter's gear.

"Aren't you cold wearing this?"

Not that I mind the view.

Not in the least.

The expanse of his abdomen has me mesmerized for a moment before I force myself to look away. I don't dare look at him; he always seems to know when I ogle his body and can be quite smug about it. Hopefully he missed it just this one time in the darkness. Despite my criticism, I'm already reaching up to toy with a few of the multi-colored braids tethered to his chest piece. They're softer than they look. Each one is an enemy defeated. Each one is its own challenge overcome.

"Worried about me?" Sylus huffs. As if he doesn't know that I really do worry. Too much.

Ignoring him, I snag another nearby blanket with my toes and awkwardly pull it up. It takes some shuffling – Sylus looking far too amused all the while – but I manage to wrap it around his shoulders.

"You're fighting tomorrow," I fuss at him. "What's going to happen if you get sick?"

"It's not that cold," he chuckles.

It is though; it's just that he radiates more heat than any normal human being.

"Honestly speaking," his eyes captivate me as his voice drops to a low drawl, "I prefer your warmth to this covering."

"Well, I'm too small to cover all of you, so..."

I work hard to keep my thoughts in line as I wrap the fur around him. As I do, I notice something off about the leather of his gear. It's quite worn in some spots, and there's stains. Dark ones. I rub at them with my finger until I have no doubt as to their origin. Old blood. I've seen it often enough to know.

Uncomfortable, I bite the inside of my lip, thinking back to what he said about the hardships he's had to face here. What did he have to overcome to find me? What deals did he have to make?

He urges me to look at him. "It's not my blood," he says as though reading my mind.

"You always tell me that lie," I frown and wrap my arms around him. "When are you going to realize that it does the opposite of what you intend?"

His sensual mouth curves into a bitter smile. We lapse into silence for a while. One of his hands strokes my hair, and I let myself relax into him, giving in to the waves of pleasure. Who knows how long we have left to be together tonight? Who knows when I'll be able to see him again? Here we are, worlds away from Linkon and N-109, and nothing has really changed except the color of my eyes and hair.

Is there a reality where we don't have to part at the end of every meeting? Is there a place where we could be...more?

Maybe it's not a place. Maybe it's a choice. But, it's not one I can easily make. At least, not without giving up other things I love.

"Mmm...It's warmer now," Sylus breathes, resting his chin on top of my head. He shifts, and I instinctively tighten my grip on him.

"Don't go," I whisper.

"I'm just moving you to the bed. You should rest."

"Don't want to..."

A sound of amusement tickles the ear that's not pressed against his chest. "If you don't want to lie down, I can hold you until I leave."

"What if I don't want you to leave?" I throw out the challenge but chicken out of making eye contact.

"Then, I suppose..." he caresses a confident trail up my spine, "we'd better make the most of our time before dawn." I nearly give a very unladylike moan when his hand settles on the nape of my neck and starts to massage my tense muscles.

"Sounds...promising..."

"Are you sure?" he murmurs, a thrilling teasing edge to his tone. "Weren't you worried about me being seen?"

"Maybe Sorocan's way of getting back at me is...ugh...denying me dinner and a bath..."

"Hmm...seems rather petty of her."

"Stars, that feels amazing..."

"She's always been a small-minded one."

I can't muster up two fractals to give about Sorocan and her retribution right now. As Sylus's hand travels down from my neck to my shoulders, I go limp as a ragdoll in his arms. Closing my eyes, I float in the darkness and nuzzle into his neck. His lips press against my forehead and linger before pulling away. After a few minutes, he does it again. My temple this time.

Gentle, doting, and sensual kisses.

It's relaxing...until it's not.

Suddenly I'm aware of how soft those lips feel; hot, pliant, and just moist enough to leave a cool sensation in their wake. Their slight drag against my skin makes me shiver in anticipation. Meanwhile, his other hand starts moving, too, stroking ever so softly over the ridges of my thigh. I love how his huge palm dwarfs me; love the feeling of him completely and utterly trapping me against him. I'm reminded of that steamy night in my tiny shower cabinet; of his sinful mouth and tongue between my legs.

I shift around restlessly. The next time he leans in, I open my eyes and tilt my face up. Without pausing, I slide my hand along his cheek and twine my fingers into his silky hair. Pulling gently, I coax him into a kiss. Once. Twice. Our lips mold together gently at first, our eyes open and devouring each other. Both of us a little hesitant as though each one of us is afraid the other will vanish at any moment. I grow bolder with each touch, however, and soon I'm shifting my position to straddle him on the seat.

With our fronts pressed against each other and my legs on either side of him, I can no longer deny my need. Maybe I should feel bad about that. After all, we're trapped in some kind of mutant Protofield and we have no idea what it's going to throw at us next. But, maybe that's even more reason to act on feelings like this now. As a Hunter and as the leader of Onychinus, we are both all too aware of how short life can be.

As we drown in each other's red eyes, his right one begins to glow.

Devour him...comes the voice again.

He's yours...always been yours to claim...

I reach up and brush the pads of my fingers along his cheekbone right under his glowing eye. His sharp gaze traces my movement, and he shifts back just enough for me to notice. But, he doesn't stop me. His brows are relaxed, his pupils dilated. Even in the darkness, I can see a faint tinge of pink flushing his cheeks.

"Are you looking into my heart?" I ask him, feathering across his cheek to his ear.

"You wear it on your sleeve, kitten," he tilts his head and nuzzles into my touch. "I don't need to use this eye to know what you desire."

"Then...am I being too greedy...if I ask you to keep these eyes only on me?"

He catches my hand with his and joins them in a way I've grown to long for. A faint light pulses between our palms as my Evol yearns to Resonate with his. To join with him. Be one. Our bodies, too. And our hearts.

"You've always had that right," he answers huskily, kissing each of my knuckles in turn. "Perhaps it's been said before," he kisses down to my wrist, "somewhere in another time and place, but..." I gasp when he bites me gently right in the crease of my palm. "Only you can touch me like this. There is no other." My face flushes, my belly tensing and aching as his tongue wraps around one of my fingers and draws it into his mouth. I pull back, frightened of how good it feels.

"Don't run from me," he whispers, and I balk at a new expression I've never seen him show me before. Need. Raw need. His eyebrows are furrowed, his eyes consuming me, undressing me. Beneath my other hand, his heart is pounding just as fast as mine.

Devour him...

"Sylus, I'm hearing something...a voice. It's telling me to...devour you."

"Then why don't you?" he asks, unafraid. "I'm more than happy to be your prey." His long-fingered hands and broad palms whisper down my sides, encircling my waist, lifting me up. "And...to experience everything you have to offer in return."

He leans forward, locking our lips together again. My eyes drift closed, body thrumming with a growing primal hunger. As his wicked tongue enters my mouth, those same hands grasp my hips and grind me down against his hardening length. The thick cotton trews leave nothing to the imagination. Just anticipating him entering me - stretching me, filling me until I can't think or move or –

"Tell me again, sweetie, do you want it?"

"Yes," I manage to gasp out before I'm entirely submerged the flames of his desire. His kisses are more fiery than usual. We come together then break apart in short bursts of passion. Soon, every breath he takes steals mine away. I float in dizziness and euphoria until I push against him to come up for air.

"Sylus...I can't breathe..." White strands of my hair fall across my face, and he gently brushes them aside. It's so dark now that I can hardly make out his features. I gasp as his lips slide down to my breasts. He yanks the ties out of my blouse in a single motion, peeling away the fabric. Our hands join again – as if he can't stand for them to be apart – and he gently guides them behind my back to support me, allowing me to relax. I cry out as his scorching kisses counter winter's chill against my skin, sighing as he suckles first one nipple then the other.

I'm squirming now, frustrated at being able to feel him at my core yet missing the pressure that will drive me higher.

"We should...hnn...light the fire...hey, no biting there," I mumble incoherently, complaining yet not truly displeased. Sylus ghosts his lips over the bite on the swell of my breast, easing the ache. He releases my hand so he can grind my hips harder against him, and I arch back, needing more and more. My fingers tangle further in his hair.

"It's OK. I don't need to see," he sighs against my skin. "I can feel every inch of you, and darkness..." his hands slip beneath my skirts, running fiery trails up my legs to my hips, "... makes a person more sensitive."

The initial contact of his talented fingers with my dripping folds is so intense it has me clawing at him. Pleasure knifes through me as he slides those same fingers against my core, touching my clit just enough to make my whole body shudder. My thoughts melt away, leaving nothing but sensation. I can't help the greedy whine that leaves my mouth as he worships my breasts with his mouth and makes teasing passes against my entrance down below.

"Your body is hotter than your lips," he declares between long sweet kisses. "I missed this taste." He nuzzles his chin against my chest. "Missed your scent." In response to the excitement in his voice, more wetness rushes down my thighs. "So wet and soft," he groans, "mmm...kitten..."

I'm so hungry for him now I can hardly think straight. My hands trace the delicious expanse of his smooth chest, running down the valley of his abs down to the hem of his pants. I fumble, clumsy and shaky as I seek to undo unfamiliar ties and drawstrings. He seems to shift away, and I make some kind of noise in protest.

"Now, now...focus, sweetie," he growls into my ear.

"T-Trying...you keep moving..." I mumble.

"No, not on that." He presses his thumb against my clit, forcing me to stop my assault on his pants and to dig my nails into his arm. "Focus here."

I can't stop moaning and whimpering as he inserts first one finger then another inside me, pumping them both in a torturous steady rhythm. Slow enough to make me see stars; slow enough to make me bite into his skin. His hands don't stop for a moment, giving me no quarter, the pace never changing even as I start to buck and moan against him. My orgasm is just out of reach. I recognize this brand of play, but this time it feels like I might cry if he drags this out anymore than he already is.

"No more," I beg him. "I want to...want to..."

Still maintaining the same pace inside me, he gives me a wicked smile. "Just a little more, sweetie. A little higher. You can endure it, can't you?"

His tone is mischievous and sly. Even in this state, I can't resist his challenge. Biting my lip, I squeeze my eyes shut and try to ride out the euphoria of his teasing. Time loses meaning. Again, I come close to the peak; again, he navigates me back down and away from it. Another few seconds, and I'm begging again.

"Sy...lus...please...let me...let me..."

"I think you can go higher," he drawls. "If you can hold on a little longer, I'll do as you like." His words drip honeyed promises. "I'll flip you over right under me and let you take as much of me as you can handle." I stop breathing momentarily as his fingers move in time with each of his words. "Just...like...this..."

The sounds of him moving inside my gushing center is lewd and mortifying. I try to shy away from it, but Sylus isn't having any of that.

"A little more," he croons, his own voice breathy and husky with yearning. "I want you to show me how much you missed me these long months apart."

Tears sting at my eyes and stream down my face. My whole body is shaking and trembling. Nothing makes sense anymore. I'm talking, but nothing that I'm saying is registering. The pad of his thumb brushes against my cheeks.

"Are you alright?" he asks, his fingers slowing even more. I might scream. Genuinely.

I shake my head, insistent. "No, Sylus. Just take me. Please."

His smooth chuckle makes my walls clench tight around him. He kisses up along my neck, nibbling on my ear. "Alright, since you asked me so nicely."

Whatever he does next with his fingers nearly renders me unconscious. My climax slams into me so hard that my soul leaves my body. I float in and out of awareness until a pair of hands lifts me up again and spreads me open in the most intimate of ways. I hold my breath.

"You did so well for me, kitten. Let me reward you." Even as his sultry voice echoes in my ears, I see stars again as he slides into me. Slowly, carefully, gently. When he's all the way inside, he churns his hips and settles in. Just a little too big; a little too much. Sylus curses now against my jaw; his big body is shaking, too. He's losing his composure swiftly. If he doesn't move now, I'm going to lose my mind.

"Take me, Sylus...I can't wait anymore..."

With a sexy groan, he pulls partially out of me then thrusts back in. He's still moving slowly, as though he's afraid of breaking me. It's not an unreasonable concern. Our bodies are so different, one might think they'd never be compatible. But, just a few thrusts in, discomfort melts into sweet ambrosia. My whimpers turn into moans and cries and more nonsensical begging until slow sweet love-making transforms into a desperate animalistic rut. He rolls me onto the furs on the floor and looms over me as he thrusts his cock as deep as it will go. The yurt is filled with the sounds of slapping flesh and throaty moans, neither one of us concerned about someone overhearing our exertions now. We're too lost in each other, too deeply joined and blissful to care about such things. 

Pressure builds and builds in my belly until I really do explode. When I nearly fall over, Sylus holds me up. As I struggle to get my bearings, he keeps pounding into me, leaning over to whisper darker things into my ear.

"Look at you taking me to the hilt...you are a greedy one..."

I mumble something in response, but I'm too delirious to comprehend it. The second time I climax, it happens in sync with his own orgasm. Sylus moans in pleasure, and as I bask in the incredible sound of his voice lilting like that, he fills me with his hot cum. It leaks out of me and drips down my thighs as my legs and arms shake and tremble.

"Looks like we can't use this blanket anymore," he teases, breathing hard. "Should I get a new one?"

I shake my head and lose all strength in my limbs. Sylus catches me against him and stands, walking us to the bed. Everything is spinning, and I can't reconcile the way I feel like I'm about to pass out. Sylus whispers my name, but even when I open my eyes I can't see anything in the darkness.

"I'm sorry, Sylus...so tired..."

"There's a hot bath set up in the White Wolf's tent," he says. "Can I take you there to get cleaned up?"

I nod weakly.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," he kisses my forehead, though his voice is entirely unrepentant. "Perhaps I was too mean tonight."

"Next time," I promise. "I'll make sure to return the favor."

Next time, I'll make him beg.

His chest rumbles with a laugh. "Do you have to be competitive right now?" When I don't immediately answer him, he sets me on the bed and readjusts his clothes.

I prop myself up on my elbow. "It's late, maybe you should–"

He stops me with a finger to my lips. "Let me take care of you."

"But, the fight tomorrow..."

"A guaranteed victory." Wrapping another large blanket around me, he takes me into his arms in preparation for a Jump.

"You can't be arrogant about it. You don't even know your handicap."

"You're overthinking it. We need to win in order to get out of here, right? So, that's what I'll do. There's no more to it than that."

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, December 24th

Holland with a forced laugh: "No one's going to die here. This is just a friendly get-together amongst colleagues. We're all on the same - side."

~~Reunion~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Frenemies by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Upon a Wishing Star by TheAcidQueen (Buffy/Spike, Dawn, E)

Swan Song by HollyDB (Buffy/Spike, E)

Online and Offline by RavenclawSlayer (Buffy/Faith, E)

A Cozy Little Christmas by Maxineeden (Buffy/Spike, R)

Tears of Faith by Willow25 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Seeing Black by VoronaFiernan (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Party Clothes by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Dessert by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Hooker by Rea (Buffy/Spike, PG)

True Love finds a Kiss beneath Fresh Mistletoe by Tessa (Buffy/Spike, R)

Call Me Ace! by JoshuAB (crossover with Space Ace!, Xander/Willow, oneshot not rated (T?), collection rated FR21)

[Chaptered Fiction]

The Return of Lost Love - Chapter 1 by fandom_lover_101 (Buffy/Riley, T)

In Case You Haven't Noticed... - Chapter 1 by Sdhuskerfan (Buffy/Giles, E)

Buffy...4.0?ish? Ch. 9 by Sweetbutnutty (Buffy/Spike, G)

Bound, Ch. 56-59 by RavenLove12 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Destiny or Choices Made? Ch. 37 by charmed4lifekaren (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Hell Hath No Fury, Ch. 5 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

A Vampire and a Slayer Walk Into a Park... Ch. 8 by holetoledo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Hello, Darling, Ch. 3 by Spikelover4ever (Buffy/Spike, R)

Let Me Count the Ways, Ch. 1-3 (COMPLETE!) by though_you_try (Buffy/Spike, R)

Fate Plans and We Laugh, Ch. 19 by Hermionetobe (Buffy, Dawn, Faith, FR15)

Out For A Walk... Bitch, Ch. 5 by MaggieLaFey (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

The Plunge, Ch. 20 by Harlow Turner (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

A Very Summers Winter, Ch. 24 by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Last Hurrah, Ch. 9 to 11 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, R)

You Kiss Me, Ch. 9 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, R)

Closer, Ch. 7 by all_choseny (Buffy/Spike, R)

Friends of a Friend's Cousin, Ch. 2 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Other, Ch. 1 by Grief Counseling (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Vid: soldier poet king by raisedbythetv89 (Spike/Buffy, Spike & Dawn)

Digital drawing: Those Who Hold With Fire by Dirtyaim (Buffy/Spike, R)

BtVS sleeve tattoo by Nikita from MyStory studio via RichPatience4292 (Faith, Willow, Spike, Buffy, worksafe)

A Saint Willow candle by Elle___driver (worksafe)

Kali and Buffy by LobbyRinth (RWBY crossover, Kali Belladonna & Buffy, probably worksafe - skimpy outfits)

[Reviews & Recaps]

Just finished Buffy and here's what I think by FeatheredDrake

i just watched once more, with feeling for the first time by likeshinythings

[Recs & In Search Of]

Spotlight Saturday: Spangel fic recs and vid recs by februaryfangfest

Roleplay: 21+ female anon looking for RPs from different fandoms (including BtVS) that are mostly nsfw

[Community Announcements]

Delay/Outstanding Pinch Hit at buffyversesecretsantaex

Just a few ships that count as rarepairs at otherwordlychemistry a.k.a. btvscrackships (join on AO3, LJ or Discord)

[Fandom Discussions]

the running bit of chao-ahn pisses me off so much by iateabunchofsmartiesandnowimdumb

Spike is a wet cat in every sense of the word. He is hissing at me... by just-browsing1222

Mayor Wilkins... would NEVER have left his murder daughter to struggle alone with debts and a sister by the-crooked-library

If Wesley had returned to Sunnydale in season 7 who would he get along with...? by LightBlueSky55

Is there an episode of Angel… [where we can see it's Christmas time or just December]? by JellyfishDry9464

I hate the fact that Fred was villainised and judged for wanting revenge... by GoblinQueenForever

Would Adam have known that Dawn was fake? by DifficultRice7075

Isn't 'big spoon little spoon' with a sexy vampire sort of like snuggling with a corpse? No body heat... by chrisabraham

You wake up and find yourself in Sunnydale. What's the first thing you do? hosted by shukii89

Which episode from Season 1-4 would have changed the most if Dawn existed? by DifficultRice7075

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Join the editor team :)

[muses-darling]

Fire & Fury - A Star Wars AU - Ch.9 Rescue?

There wasn’t any chains not for those enslaved by the Hutt. Instead a terrible implant on the side of one’s neck that would detonate if one left the planet. She had watched it happen sometimes the Hutt sent people shooting up just to watch them explode. Still there was some joy to be found as she worked on the project that he had allowed her, categorizing the various treasures and wealth he had amassed. She was lovely her hair flowed behind her with some breeze that seemed to follow her. Eyes that shined out like stars and a smile that made the heart sing when it was directed at you. A ray of light in such a dark and dingy place shone much brighter, but deserved to be free.

“No wonder this Grimm loves her.” Alucard was heard whispering before a sharp snap of fingers reminded him that Honey was listening. “What?” Alucard looked at her. “She is clearly his light, you saw how he was without her. I’d be the same way except I’d bring down whoever kept you like this or die trying.”

“Clever save.” Honey told him. 

“Or?” Layla looked at him before chuckling.

“What happened to being silent?” Arthur asked looking at all of them.

“I haven’t said anything.” Nikki said before sighing tiredly. 

Entering into the treasure room was to court death, taking one of the slaves there for one of the treasures was suicide. 

Alucard saw Annalise about to scream hurrying to her he pressed a hand over her mouth yanking it back as she bit him. “Hey,” He waved his hand to shake the pain away. “We are here to rescue you. Your uh, husband? Grimm? sent us.” 

Annalise stopped and frowned. “Grimm?” She felt her face brighten. “He’s, he’s not forgotten all about me?”

“No he hired us to come get you, now come on, we need to get out of here before the Hutt discovers our deception.” 

“I can’t just leave,” Annalise said taking steps back. “If I do, I’ll...” Her hand reached up to her neck. “I’ll die.”

“We won’t let him kill you.” Layla said.

“It isn’t about letting. I will die.” Annalise shook her head. “They have these devices implanted in us that if we leave the planet will make us.” Her lip trembled. “Just tell Grim I love him. Go before you can’t leave too.”

“I’m good at biometrics and implants.” Nikki said her left hand was a synthetic. “Let me have a look.”

“If improperly removed I’ll die too.” Annalise told her.

“Then allow me a look.” Nikki peered over the head of the implant. “If I can get to a proper medic station I can get it out of her. it will be painful but you won’t die and you will be free.”

Annalise nodded then left with them making their ways through the halls of the Hutt’s palace. “So my Grimm sent you here to rescue me?”

“Along with your brother,” Alucard informed her.

“August?”

“Yeah that was his name.” Nikki nodded. 

The medic bay wasn’t far but it was now becoming more aware that the prisoners were not in their cells as the klaxons started baying. 

“Well if we don’t get in the medical bay, we won’t have any time!” Alucard nodded holding the door open. “Nikki you have two minutes is that enough time?”

“Not really.”

Arthur stood outside as he looked like a guard keeping eye for any who might disturb his friends at work. After a minute Arthur knocked on the door the signal. 

“I’ve almost got it out, just a minute!” Nikki said as she disconnected the device from Annalise removing the rods that further connected her was the next hardest part. 

Arthur swallowed, “There is a surgery going on in there, I have been given orders to see that it is not interrupted.” 

“There was no authorized surgery today.” 

“Not that you were notified of, then perhaps it has nothing to do with you?” Arthur told him. “You aren’t a doctor are you?”

The other guard backed up and pulled out his blaster. “You are going to be-”

Alucard opened the door firing upon the man, “Alright let’s go before more head this way.”

Annalise held to Layla for support as they made their way to the ship. 

________________________________________________________________

Ignis sat upon the throne staring at the ginger haired engineer before him, the sallowness of the man’s skin told him that he rarely if ever saw the outdoors. “So he will be able to do what we need of him?”

“He will or we will kill him and find whoever else will.” Darth Ceres told him.

A new sith stood beside Darth Lykaios, masked a hood up, one would never have known that it was Kit standing there with no memory of this place, no memory of Hades, just flashes that had no way of being pieced together easily 

Ignis was too distracted otherwise he would have read the force energy and known his husband to be there before him. 

Darth Ceres walked up to Casper seizing his shoulder, “Now then let’s get you to work, the Republic isn’t going to defeat itself at this rate.” 

Casper shuddered, “Just don’t leave me alone with that one.” He pointed to the new masked Sith. “Please I don’t think he will let me live.”

“Oh sweet boy, you were dead the moment you came into our employ. Now do what a good little engineer does best and get to work!” She let go of Casper with a vicious manner.

Ignis glared at her though she couldn’t see him behind his own mask. Her mistreatment of him was beyond unnecessary. He would make a point of visiting him and making sure he was treated well and if he could seeing him safely sent away once he had been useful. No sense in killing him once all that was needed had passed. 

“You’ve added a new member to your ranks,” Ignis looked at the other Sith now feeling an odd familiarity.

“Oh him?” Ceres smiled. “Yes, a new apprentice, Darth Kore,” 

“Welcome to the Sith Empire Darth Kore.” Ignis nodded in his direction.

Darth Kore knelt for a moment before standing up and walking out with them.

Hades watched him go a certain uneasiness gripping him.

________________________________________________________________

Grimm paced back and forth across the bay of his ship awaiting the news of his beloved’s return or the failure of her return. He was about to turn around when August grabbed him pulling him from the bay at a break-neck-pace. He understood as the ship that the rag-tag crew of criminals came screeching into the bay stopping just inches from Grimm. Grimm looked up at them ready to admonish when he saw her standing there in the cockpit. He started running around the ship to where they would disembark seeing her made him run all the faster till they ran into each other spinning pressing kisses to each other. “Annalise!” He sobbed her name cradling her to him. “My sweet Annalise! My love!”

“Grimm!” She hugged him sobbing as she rested her head on his shoulder needing to just be close to him as they stood there.

August looked to Alucard and his crew before walking up to Grimm and Annalise being pulled into the hug. Happily reunited with his sister and all being well he let the crew stay there for a moment let them wait he had, had too.

Alucard smiled and looked aboard the pleasure vessel, “Well someone’s got to tell them.”

Arthur looked at him, “You go I’ll tell.”

Alucard and his sisters hurried to the bridge of the vessel Honey staying behind with Arthur to see to it that they were made to understand.

“We have exactly one minute until they get here and we should perhaps plot a course to elsewhere from here!” Arthur said only to be ignored. “I said-”

Honey pulled out her blaster and fired it at a set of keys hanging off of Grimm’s belt getting the man’s attention.

Arthur interrupted him. “Sorry but we don’t have much time unless you want this to be all for nothing we have a very angry Hutt on our tail.”

Grimm nodded, “Right we should make sure we get out of here.” He looked to Annalise before they felt the ship make a jump. “Who?”

Alucard called over the intercom from where he stood in the cockpit of the research vessel the pilot and co-pilot unconscious on the ground next to his seat. “This is Captain Alucard of the Cerberus currently standing in, we have a bit of a bumpy ride ahead of us so find a safe place to be until we finish making our escape thank you.”

“Did he just commandeer?” August began.

“He’s done a lot of that today that wasn’t the first ship we attempted to use nor will it likely be the last one today.” Arthur said. “Given his history.”

This earned a glare from Honey before she nodded, “Yeah, he does have a habit. Now you heard the Captain move. Unless you want to be thrown around in our escape?”

The vessel was not meant for high speeds when not moving through hyperspace and Alucard was pushing it’s limits. Watching each time they exited the jump to make sure that they weren’t followed before making another calculated jump. After a moment there was truly peace again. “This is your temporary Captain speaking, if you will look behind us you will see that we have now at last lost them and may resume as we were before. Thank you for flying with us and have an uneventful day.” 

________________________________________________________________

“We can’t just go to Korriban!” Ben said. “There’s Sith there, and other darksided things.” 

It had been weeks now a month since Eadu. Trying to track down Kit who’s path had become erratic and left dead in it’s wake; during which HK-47 had in a way become family, even Jules had warmed up to the odd droid. Making flower crowns so he could kill people but while looking pretty as she put it. They were getting desperate now, Kit had been in the dark side for longer than they had meant to leave him languishing in. The longer one was steeped the harder the pull to the light.

“I agree,” Aziraphale said. “We would be annihilated and if Kit truly is turned to the dark side then there is little hope of bringing him back when surrounded by so much darkness.”

“Then what should we do?” Harper suggested. “We can’t go there but we need to save Master Kit.”

“Perhaps Hades will be able to get through to him, can’t imagine that he would sit well with seeing his beloved so twisted. Even if Hades is a Sith Lord. Kit is his light.” Crowley reminded them.

“Idea: Perhaps sending me?” Hk-47 added. “There are other HK units down there I will blend in well.”

“But how to get you down there close enough without us being spotted? Then getting you out?”

“Easy I’ll use the escape pod crash down then use a ship to bring us back.”

“Leaving us without an escape pod.” Crowley said. “But I’m out of ideas.”

“As am I,” Azirphale admitted.

“So that is the plan?” Ben asked receiving nods. “Well I like it, as long as I don’t have to go back down there the better.” The whole place was eerie, He’d already had enough of that for the rest of the cycle; his time on Dagobah was a testimony of that.

HK-47 went to the escape pod, “Statement: I’ll see you meatbags later.”

“Wait!” Tiny Jules ran up to him, “It’s scary to go alone, take dis with you.” She used the force to send his blaster to him. “Be safe!” She waved before scampering off to Uncle Crowley and hugging him.

HK-47 would have smiled if his mechanics allowed it. “Statement: You are the only meatbag who gets me on this ship.”

Aziraphale’s jaw dropped, here he thought the droid was having a marvelous time!

Crowley grinned at it all before going and flipping the switch on HK-47 back to a mode that allowed killing. “No sense in sending him down without the ability to defend himself.” He sealed the doors. 

Harper rolled her eyes and jettisoned the escape pod out of the ship. “Right one homicidal droid down, one homicidal dark jedi to-go.” 

Ben wanted to point out that she had made a pun but said nothing. Now they waited. 

[the-last-kenobi]

I love your writing so much!! If you’re still taking requests, could you do 9 with Obi-Wan and Anakin?

Thank you!! <3 And of course! I hope you enjoy.

From this various prompts list.

Set after The Wrong Jedi arc. And it’s way... way longer than I meant it to be. Whoops. I told myself, make this one short. Actually a prompt fill. And then I laughed at myself and wrote a fic and I don’t know exactly how long it is because I was too scared to look at the word count.

I tagged it as long post so I hope those of you who aren’t in the mood for my rambling bs are as to skip it!

I will add a reading cut when I get my hands on a laptop.

_

When Skywalker stormed into the training bay, his fists clenched by his sides, troopers scattered out of his way like silver-fish before a Bloodfin.

Even without Force-sensitivity, it was impossible to miss the potent fury rolling off the young General in waves, almost visible on the air, scalding anyone who got too near. His eyes glided right over the Clones, however, and fixed on a single figure standing alone on a mat, performing a slow exercise.

Anakin strode over to the edge of the mat and stamped his foot on the edge, twisting it a few inches just as the other man’s foot came back down from a stretch. He slipped. At the last second he caught himself, turning on the spot to regain his balance.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan spoke calmly, as if nothing had just happened. As if his friend wasn’t glaring at him with rage and disdain.

“A duel,” said Anakin, in a tone that brokered no argument.

General Kenobi’s face tightened slightly. But he nodded graciously and summoned his lightsaber to his hands, drawing backwards towards the opposite wall and raising his blue blade in a low Soresu opening.

Skywalker waited only half a second before launching himself at the other man in a blur of blue light and red-hot anger.

Cody, watching from the wall, clasped his hands behind his back as he watched the two Jedi spar at bewildering speeds.

Dizzying swirls of colliding blue light. Last-moment maneuvers, a blade hot as a sun missing moving limbs by inches. Skywalker always on the offensive. Kenobi always giving ground.

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened slightly as his entire body trembled under the weight of a blow that could have removed his head from his shoulders had he not blocked it; his own serenity seemed to shrink in the face of Anakin’s fire and desperation.

There was a blur of motion, and Skywalker stood triumphant as Kenobi crashed to the floor with the younger man’s saber an inch from his chest.

Obi-Wan stared up at his friend. “Solah,” he whispered.

For a moment more, the scene hung suspended. The lightsaber burning close, too close, to Obi-Wan’s vulnerable body, Anakin looming over him with anger in his eyes.

Then Anakin turned and stalked out of the room, leaving his former Master on the floor with a faint scorch mark on his pale tunics.

“Sir.” Cody strode over to his General immediately and helped him to his feet, watching him wince, feeling a surge of helpless anger at the nagging realization that he had never anticipated a time when his General would be hurting because of Skywalker. “Sir.”

“Cody,” the Jedi said wearily. “I need to get up to the bridge.”

“You need to see Hoop,” said Cody, referring to the 212th’s medic.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “No. We’re still two days out through hyperspace and we need to find a way to make contact with the ground troops on Ryloth before we go barging in.”

Cody clenched his jaw but assented, knowing that there was no dissuading his General, not now. He had just one more thing to say.

“General.” He waited until Kenobi looked at him. “You threw that fight.”

Obi-Wan inhaled slowly, a look of what his Commander recognized as pain — grief — flickering behind his blue eyes. “Anakin needed the win,” he said quietly.

=

The second time Anakin Skywalker stormed into the training bay, everyone moved aside to watch even before Obi-Wan had turned around to greet his former apprentice.

Men from the 501st and the 212th, thrown together on this joint mission as if to both aggravate and soothe the hurt of Ahsoka’s departure, stood side by side and watched as their Generals flung themselves into the fight as if lives depended on it.

As Kenobi let Skywalker take the offensive. As he let Skywalker come to the edge of victory again and again and then held him off at the last second.

As Anakin’s rage grew, as he began to resent Obi-Wan for dragging the battle out and denying Anakin the victory he craved and deserved. Holding him back as always.

As for the second time Kenobi threw the fight in a way that Anakin didn’t notice.

Letting him walk off with his rage dispersed for awhile, the relieved and triumphant victor, while the bruised and shaken loser climbed to his feet and went back to work with an air of gravity around him. As if Obi-Wan had absorbed the weight of his friend’s anger and carried it like a shroud.

Maybe he did.

=

The third time Anakin confronted Obi-Wan, he won by punching Obi-Wan in the face.

The fourth time Anakin confronted Obi-Wan, he won by burning his leg from hip to ankle.

The sixth time Anakin confronted Obi-Wan, he won by pressing his foot down on the other man’s throat almost to the point of unconsciousness.

The eighth time, he won by knocking Obi-Wan’s lightsaber from his hands and driving him back against a wall with his own saber at Obi-Wan’s neck.

=

“You have to stop,” Hoop said.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “He... needs this.” A hiss escaped his lips as the medic dabbed bacta along the abrasion above his eye, the bacta he had tried to say he didn’t need.

“He needs a therapist and an ass kicking,” retorted Hoop, disregarding standard respect. He didn’t care about protocol in general, and certainly not when his General turned up every other day — usually dragged in by Cody — with bruises and cuts and strained muscles.

Obi-Wan only shook his head again.

=

Cody, Rex, Hoop, and many of the others had hoped that the battles on Ryloth would serve as a good outlet for General Skywalker.

They did.

But it wasn’t enough.

Fighting what felt like a futile war for the planet’s freedom, being back on Ryloth yet again, and the gaping hole in the 501st where Ahsoka had once stood only seemed to drive Skywalker’s pain upwards. And for Anakin, all emotions led to rage, eventually.

He could not stand the depths of his emotions, the dark days, the low times. If he was not happy, he chose rage over sorrow.

And there was so much sorrow.

=

There was a two-day reprieve after the campaign on Ryloth. Temporary victory had been purchased yet again with the blood of the natives and the GAR, and the 501st and 212th departed for another campaign halfway across the galaxy at once.

And for two days there was time to rest and think.

And then Anakin stalked into the training bay again. Not finding Obi-Wan, he waited for him, and as soon as the older Jedi entered the room, raised his lightsaber in an Ataru salute.

=

The thirteenth time Anakin challenged Obi-Wan, they dueled for over three hours, and both fell exhausted to the ground.

The nineteenth time, Anakin left Obi-Wan with a leg broken in two places. Cody had to physically restrain Hoop — and himself, frankly — from jumping General Skywalker and throttling him.

The twenty-eighth time, Obi-Wan’s guard slipped, and Anakin’s saber drove straight through Obi-Wan’s thigh. A mirror image of the wound Dooku had inflicted on his other leg, a lifetime ago it seemed, back when they had been on the same side.

Were they still?

Anakin’s face had dropped with shock at the injury, and before any of the men could react, he had picked Obi-Wan up in his arms and rushed him to the med bay.

And then the Council called to speak with Kenobi privately, and Anakin’s rage and hurt against them for their role in handing his Padawan over to the authorities rose up again like a serpent reading to strike.

The thirtieth time Anakin challenged Obi-Wan, he fought with his left hand, as if taunting his Master that he was still superior.

The thirty-sixth time Anakin challenged Obi-Wan, the older Jedi fought back, taking the offensive just long enough that it seemed he would be victorious — and then something in Anakin’s face broke. Grief and dismay were revealed in the cracks of his wrath, and Obi-Wan retreated again, and then fell.

The fortieth time Anakin challenged Obi-Wan, he was met with silence.

Anakin stared, his saber already lit in his hands, as Obi-Wan stood up slowly from where he had been meditating.

He dragged himself to his feet like a man on the verge of collapse, but he was as irritatingly graceful as ever, composed, serene. Anakin’s hands tightened on his weapon.

“Well?” he prompted.

Obi-Wan said nothing.

He looked down at the floor, and some of his burnished, ruddy hair fell over his eyes, concealing his face from view. Anakin waited impatiently. A strange feeling rose inside him, something nauseous and uncertain, and he did not want to know what it was.

“Well?” he demanded more aggressively.

Obi-Wan swallowed hard and looked up at him.

And Anakin was struck by how small his Master looked.

Shorter than him by a few inches, yes, but somehow that larger-than-life quality that hung about the man had fallen away. He looked tired. Beaten, humbled, hurt — like a child, like a man driven to the edge and then over it without anyone pausing to take notice of his fall.

His blue eyes were shattered by unshed tears.

Anakin recoiled.

“I can’t,” Obi-Wan croaked. His voice was tight as a wire, strained with the effort of holding back tears. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Anakin. I... I’m too tired to be your emotional punching bag today.”

“Obi-Wan—” said Anakin, not even knowing what he was going to say, and stopped there.

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan repeated. And he sounded it. Looked it. Was dripping remorse into the air like a sky about to storm. “Please. If this is what you need, I can keep doing it, but I just need today. I need a day to breathe. And — and if you’re —”

A tear trickled down over one cheek and into his beard. Then another.

Anakin was watching with his expression frozen between anger and shock.

Cody leaned forward as if about to spring. Rex’s hand settled on his shoulder.

“If you just need more time, I’ll give it to you,” Obi-Wan whispered. “But if you’re angry enough to strike me down unarmed... do it. I don’t — I don’t want — I can’t —”

Cody jolted under Rex’s grip.

And still, Anakin’s saber blazed in his hands, casting Obi-Wan in blue light, reflected in his shining eyes.

“I can’t,” Obi-Wan said helplessly.

Anakin hesitated.

Conflicting emotions ran across his face one after the other, grief chasing pain chasing anger chasing despair chasing rage, like shadows passing over deeper waters.

He raised his saber a little higher.

=

[coffeeman777]

I have a question about a section of Hebrews which is in chapter 10. Its bout the willfully sin part and the concept of no more salvation of sins , I remember reading it initially and panicking about it. I internalized it and tired to not to commit a willful sin but I'm afraid that I might have since I then heard 'salvation of sins no more' i dont know what to do and I've been mulling over it extensively. I still have the desire to be with God and study the Bible properly. I'm very confused ;-;

Yeah, that bit in Hebrews 10, as well as a bit in Hebrews 6, has caused no small amount of difficulty for lots of Christians. It did for me as well, until an old teacher of mine straightened it out for me.

So, let's start by quoting the passage in question:

Hebrews 10:26-31

"26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Now, by itself, it seems very scary. Who among us hasn't deliberately sinned even a single time since we came to Christ? All of us have. But thankfully, this passage isn't saying that you can't be forgiven for sins committed after coming to Christ. If we compare Scripture with Scripture, this becomes clear. Here's a passage on the same subject from 1 John:

1 John 3: 4-10

"4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."

So, the writer of Hebrews, then, isn't saying that any sin committed after coming to Christ can't be forgiven; he's saying that a person who makes a profession of faith in Jesus but then continues to live a life characterized by sin, who practice sin as a lifestyle, can't expect to have their sins covered by Jesus' sacrifice, and that they have nothing to look forward to but judgement. This is exactly what John is saying: regardless of what a person claims to believe, if a person is deliberately practicing sin, living a life characterized by unrepentant sin, that person is of the devil, and hasn't been born of God. Everyone who experiences the new birth repents from sins, abandons the sinful practices of their life before Jesus, and begins to worship God sincerely from the heart by obeying Him.

In other words, the writer of Hebrews, like John, is condemning false converts who refuse to repent of sins. Consider Jesus' warning in Matthew 7:15-23, or Paul's many warnings in his letters, like Romans 6, 1 Corinthians 6:9-13, and Galatians 6:7.

This is an ancient heresy called "antinomianism," literally the practice of lawlessness. This heresy is alive and well in the church today; any time you hear a supposed Christian say that sin isn't real, or that repentance is unnecessary, or that Jesus pays for our sins so we can keep sinning and God is cool with it, etc, that is this heresy. And it is damnable. Flee from it.

In Christ Jesus, Christians are saved completely. We are saved by grace, through faith, and not by works. Our good works can't save us, and they can't keep us saved. Once saved, a person is saved for good. This is absolutely true. The lie is that a person can pray a prayer for Jesus to save them once, and then they can run off into the world and live like the devil himself and still go to heaven. The truth is that real, genuine salvation necessarily changes you. When the Holy Spirit indwells you, your passions and desires are different. You don't want to sin; you want to please God. You don't want to be wicked; you want to be righteous, so that you can honor God with your whole life. You want to be clean, selfless, upright, and good, because you have been clothed in Christ's righteousness and justified by faith. Anyone who doesn't want to repent, who doesn't want to flee from sins and begin obeying God hasn't been saved, and they don't have the Holy Spirit. The people who think they're saved without repentance have been tricked, and unless they turn to Jesus for real, they aren't going to make it.

As for those who are genuinely in Christ, we do still struggle with the flesh. Sometimes we screw up. Sometimes we fail. But we hate it. We hate our sin, we mourn over it, and we really want to be free of it, and that desire is proved by our actions. We take real, grace-enabled steps to excise the sin from our lives. If we discover more sin, we repent. We live a lifestyle of repentance, confessing sins and abandoning them, striving every day for greater Christlikeness. This is proof we have the Holy Spirit in us, that we're saved: not that we're perfect, but that we have changed and are changing from darkness to light. And we have God's promise of mercy and grace along the way:

1 John 1:5-10, 2:1-6

"5 This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us... My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know Him” but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps His word, in Him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him: 6 whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked."

Make sense?

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 10: You’re My Mission

Summary: The Asgardian Staff case is wrapped up but before Katie and Steve can be re-united, the Super Soldier has a mission of his own to complete. Their reunion doesn’t disappoint, and as she weighs up the events of the past few months, Katie reaches a conclusion about her future with SHIELD

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Smut (NSFW)  over 18s only thanks. Bit of bad language….

A/N: Another lovely edit from @angrybirdcr​ of Katie in action.

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

Chapter 9

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 Tarim. Yemen. The hottest place Steve had ever been. Ever. And a place he had no desire to go back to. Ever. 

As far as he was concerned, this whole mission had been a cluster fuck of epic proportions. The Mercs they had been sent in to deal with were slightly more ruthless than they had anticipated, taking a group of school kids from the square hostage. Evans and Rollins (in Katie’s absence) managed to contain most of them, taking them down with non-fatal injuries, as was the agreement with the Government, but one of them wasn’t going quietly and had snatched up a kid as he made a break for it.

The Yemeni Special Forces were on their way, and Steve knew that if they arrived permission to execute a kill shot would be given. But even that was dangerous, as the guy had the kid held in such a position, his back to a wall, her held across his chest, that the angle would have been impossible. Steve ordered the team to lower their weapons, and stepped forward, hoping to talk the man down. And then Rumlow had taken a shot, off-loading a bullet straight between the Merc’s eyes.

And Steve was mad, mad as a wasp.

“I gave you a direct order…” He stood, hands on his belt in the jet as he looked at Rumlow, the nerve in his jaw twitching.

“I made a call.” Rumlow shrugged “If I hadn’t they would have gotten away…”

“You put those civilians lives in danger.”

“That’s a little dramatic…”

“Yeah, come on Cap.” Rollins spoke.“The kid was fine, we got the weapons Government were ok…no harm done.”

Steve rounded on him, his blasé tone set his teeth on edge.

“That isn’t the point.” he blazed “I wouldn’t have asked Barton to take a shot like that. I wasn’t, and never will be, willing to risk anyone’s life like that, not to mention that of a child, for collateral damage, just to get what we need. It makes us no better than the people we’re trying to stop.”

“It worked didn’t it?” Rumlow shrugged

“Sheer luck.” Steve retorted.

“Well sometimes you just get lucky.” The STRIKE leader shrugged. 

Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn’t need this shit.

“Look Cap, with all due respect, I’ve been running this team for years. You don’t get to do our job without taking a bit of risk.” Rumlow looked at him. “Now I’m sorry if you feel I was challenging your authority…”

“It has nothing to do with my authority.” Steve blazed at him.

“Really? Because that’s what it looks like from my position.” Rumlow shook his head “I’m sorry you feel this way. But it isn’t as simple as that. Life isn’t split into good guys and bad guys, it ain’t black and white… more shades of grey.”

Steve didn’t reply, he simply stared at Rumlow, his eyes raging before he moved away to a seat for take-off next to Natasha.

“Let it go Rogers.” She drawled softly to him. “You’ve chewed him out…you want my advice, leave it there.”

Steve didn’t reply. He was pissed and didn’t trust himself to say anything. He hadn’t heard from Katie so far today, but he wasn’t expecting to as he’d fired her a message last night, or this morning (he had no idea what time-zone he was in anymore) to tell her he was off on an urgent mission.

It was pathetic, he knew, but being away from her was really setting him on edge. Not just because he found jerking off in the shower was far less satisfactory now than before he’d actually started sleeping with her, but more so he was missing the stupid things, like her draping her legs over his on the couch whilst she was reading, her singing when she was cooking, the way she laughed till she cried at Brooklyn Nine-Nine, even demanding he make her a grilled cheese at 02:50 am…

Steve watched with amusement as the girls walked out of the bar, a little shaky, Katie leaning on Natasha laughing at something. He’d dropped them both off earlier in the evening and said he would pick her up later, even though they said they would get a cab. He had insisted, he loved looking after her and that was what boyfriends did right? Picked their dames up. However, as they teetered over to Katie’s car, it looked like he was about to inherit a pair of drunken, giggling idiots to look after, and the thought made him smile with fondness.

“Hi baby!” Katie greeted him as she climbed into the seat. She leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek and he smiled.

“You had fun? You look like you have.”

“Fun is my middle name Rogers.” Nat winked and Katie sniggered in the seat next to him as he pulled the car off from the curb.

“Nat’s gonna stay at mine.” Katie turned to look at him, her cheeks tinged pink with the alcohol “Afterparty!”

“Don’t you think you’ve both had enough?” He teased and. Katie put her fingers to her lips and told him to shush whilst Nat leaned forward.

“Just because you can’t get drunk.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Whatever, your funeral Romanoff.” He smirked, eyes on the road.

“God he’s so sensible, how do you cope?” Nat looked at Katie. Through the corner of his eye he saw a wicked smile cross his girls face.

“He has hidden talents” She quipped, before the two women descended into fits of giggles.

Steve let out an exasperated noise through his nose, but secretly he didn’t mind. He loved that she’d had a good time, even if he had the sneaking suspicion he’d been the butt of a few jokes, probably even a few risqué girl chats too.

“Hey, yoooo wanted to come get us..” Katie picked up on the noise he had made and looked at him. “Can’t stand the heat stay the fuck out the…” she paused “erm…”

“Kitchen?” Steve supplied, looking at her, left hand on the wheel, amused grin on his face

“Yeah, that.” She pointed.

“Kitchen is very much your domain sweetheart”

“Not what I heard” Nat chipped in. “She says you make a mean grilled cheese….”

“Oh my god.” Katie said suddenly “can you make us one?”

“What, now?” he frowned.

“Well obviously not right now as this is a carrrr” She rolled her eyes, gesturing around her “But when we get home. I’m hungry.”

He looked at her “Doll, it’s almost three in the morning.”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeese Stevie.” She pouted, batting her eyelashes at him in a ridiculously over the top manner, which he couldn’t do anything but laugh at.

“Alright I’ll make you both a grilled cheese” He nodded, unable to stop the smile creeping across his face, even when he heard Natasha burp the word “bitchwhipped” from the back seat.

Emerging from his memories, Steve lay his head back against his seat, shooting a glance over at Rumlow. The man was still being deliberately obtuse about the fact he was going out with Katie and he knew full well that the disobeying of order was a direct ‘fuck you’ aimed at him. But, as he thought about it whilst they flew home, he knew Natasha was right. The more he kept going on about it, the more likely it was to cause a bigger rift. With that in mind, during the debrief with Fury, Steve remained calm and when the time came he nodded at the STRIKE leader, giving him the floor when needed, both sticking to the facts- the operation had worked (Steve didn’t go as far as to use the word success), they had managed to seize the weapons and capture the main cartel leader who was now in custody of the Yemeni Services.

“What I wanna know is why are there so many of these weapons turning up?” Evans asked. “The DODC ran an extensive clean-up operation.”

“They were littered all over the New York, spreading the entire Manhatten area.” Steve said, answering as he looked at the Texan. “The DODC did as much as it could as fast as it could but people were already out there taking bits for themselves before the Chitauri had even been stopped. Katie says they’re still tracking through any leads, sifting out those who took them for souvenirs and those who took them for less scrupulous reasons…it could take years.”

“It was always going to happen.” Natasha shrugged “Terrorists are always looking for the next big thing.”

“Which is why we will always be looking for them.” Fury drew the meeting to an end as he stood up. “Alright, written reports to me no later than forty-eight hours. Other than that, you can head home.”

“Sir” Steve nodded as everyone started to file out. Steve noticed Natasha was hanging back.

“You ok?” She asked.

“Tired, fed up…” he sighed.

“Missing your girl?”

“A little” He admitted, before deciding to ask Nat what was on his mind because he could trust her honesty “Am I being old fashioned here, you know, with not wanting people to die?”

“No.” Natasha shook her head after a pause and he could tell she was picking her words carefully “I just think sometimes…well, we have to accept that we have to take risks.”

“You think Rumlow was right?” He sighed.

“Not as such.” she shrugged, “But I understand why he did it. I don’t necessarily agree with his methods shall we say but…”

Steve ran his hands over his face and couldn’t help thinking to himself how much simpler it had been in the war. They shot at them, they shot back. He let out a deep breath.

“You still taking some time off?“ She looked at him.

Steve shrugged and then looked at his fit bit for a second, thinking to himself the stats would make interesting reading. It was 5 in the morning. He hadn’t slept now for almost twenty-two hours bar the quick nap he had gotten on the jet. At that point his phone sounded with a message from Katie. A photo taken of Galway Bay in Ireland. Smiling at the simple message “Wish you were here.” he looked back at Natasha and nodded.

 “Yeah. I think I am.”

****

“Are you sure he’s okay to go out into the field?” Katie asked Coulson, one eye on Ward’s back. The man had just slammed a case shut, making everyone jump in the hanger and he was growing increasingly broody. Despite herself, she was feeling a pang of sympathy for him. She knew how hard it had been for him to open up about his past, and holding part of the staff had really shaken him. “He’s not exactly acting like himself.” she concluded.

“But he knows it. He’ll be fine.” Coulson replied as they walked to the SUVs. It was a short ride to the Monastary which was located just outside of Galway and Katie spent the time watching the scenery. She loved Ireland, she’d been a few times when at University in the UK. Her mind wandered to her soldier, who himself had Irish roots, his mother and father hailing from Limerick. Smiling, she pulled out her phone. She knew it would be late back in the US, it was barely touching ten am where the where and the time difference would make it the middle of the night. That is if he was back from the mission yet. Still, she took a photo of the coast road they were on skirting the edge of Galway Bay which in the November sun looked stunning, the light bouncing off the calm blue sea reminding her of those deep ocean pools she loved to look into. She sent it to Steve with a simple message ‘wish you were here’ and then shoved it back into her jacket pocket. 

The monastery itself was a beautiful gothic building set into the side of a green hill. They all climbed out and checked their weapons, Coulson once more going over the plan of action before they headed to the large front door.

 “Well, it’s been a while.” Elliot said quietly as they walked into the building, Katie taking a moment to appreciate the architecture, another thing Steve would love. “I wonder – ah, yes. There it is. Still here”.

He walked to the front of the room where a book lay set up on a stand.

“Well, the nose isn’t quite right, but…”

 Katie and Coulson walked up behind him, followed by the rest of the group to see that he was looking at a drawing of a man wearing long robes and holding the staff.

“That’s you?” Katie asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, they venerated me a bit as a saint.”

“They’re idiots” Ward spat viciously. They all spun round to look at him, where he was stood a few feet behind them all.  “Where’s the staff?”

“It’s upstairs.”

Elliot led the way, the team following up a set of spiralled staircase. Katie and Coulson were directly behind him, taking the lead with May and Ward shortly behind them as deputies.

 “It’s quiet.” May said softly

“ Why do you think I trusted them with my secret?” Elliot shrugged, still walking on ahead. He Elliot stopped in front of some sort of cabinet and ran his hand down the side before he reached for the handle. “They take a vow of silence.”

“But when you get them talking, they squeal.” A low male voice said, it’s owner appearing from behind one of the walls to the left of the cabinet, holding two pieces of the staff, one in each hand.  It was the man whose mugshot Katie had seen on the tablet earlier that day, Jakob. Suddenly he held one piece up high and stabbed Elliot in the chest with it, he fell to the floor.

 He turned and advanced on the rest of them, and Katie reached for her gun, readying herself. To her left she felt someone bend down to Elliot, presumably to try and treat him.

 “No one else wants to get hurt.” Coulson spoke to Jakob, his gun raised. Jakob cocked his head to one side, looking at it before he stared back at Coulson.

 “If you want to defeat a God, you must become one”

 Suddenly there was a loud yell and a scream. Katie spun round to see Ward had bent to Elliot, only it wasn’t to treat him, it was to retrieve the piece of the staff stuck in the Asgardian man’s chest. He held it in his hand and then suddenly threw himself at Jakob, knocking Katie and May out of the way as he went. The two men fell over the banister railing to the floor below.

Katie scrambled to her feet and looked down to see Jakob recovering from the fall first. She aimed with her gun but couldn’t get a clear shot in, as he picked Ward up like he weighed nothing and slammed him back down to the ground.

 “We need to help him!” Skye said, looking at Ward before she ran off.

“Skye!” Coulson called, he was now bent over Elliot and speaking furiously into his coms for Jemma Simmons to come help. “She can’t fight, she’s not trained…”

May nodded, “We’ll get her. Stark, with me.”

Katie nodded and ran after May, the pair of them practically jumping down the stair. Ward was now on his feet and as Jakob lunged at him, he flung himself to the right out of the way.

“Skye.” May instructed as they caught up with the dark hared girl who was watching Ward now ducking and diving the swipes from Jakob “Stay outta this…”

Both Katie and May stepped forward, but as they did so, Ward paused what he was doing and bent to grasp the part of the staff that was on the floor next to him. His face contorted in rage and when Jakob came at him again, Ward punched him hard in the face, enough to cause him to fly back against the wall where he slumped to the ground before Ward rammed him straight in the chest with the staff in a fit of rage like nothing anyone could comprehend. Ward’s chest was heaving and he spun round to see the other three agents watching him cautiously. His eyes were blazing with a fire Katie had never seen before.

“Ward.” May approached, tentatively stopping when Ward held his hand up.

“Get away from me.” His face was contorted in rage.

“Grant.”  Katie tried gently, stepping forward so she was level with May. “They’re right, that thing, this isn’t you.”

 Something clearly registered in his brain and his face softened slightly but then suddenly the door was kicked open and they whirled round to see the rest of Jakob’s group enter the monastery.  The three agents regrouped and Katie took her fighting stance, weighing up their opponents. It had been a while since she had been in a full force hand to hand combat, but she was pleased to find that her training with Natasha and Steve had kept her prepared. She dodged, ducked, punched, kicked, flipped up and over people, taking them down with her using her legs as the room filled with rowdy men and women, all yelling. May was working through them almost 2 at a time and Ward, now holding two of the staff pieces from somewhere, was easily fighting off a group of them, the power he was gaining from the staff clearly visible.

Katie grabbed one man in a choke hold just as he was trying to get up, and as he stopped struggling she threw him to the ground, and looked round at the now quiet room. May nodded at her, taking a deep breath and Katie turned to see Ward who was shaking drop both pieces of the staff he was holding and collapse to his knees. Skye hurried over and knelt in front of him.

 “Are you alright?” May looked round Katie. She nodded looking giving her a small grin, reaching up to tenderly brush at her cheekbone. One of them had landed a good shot.

“Been a long time since I had a full on fight like that, not using my guns.” she said, and May’s mouth curled up at one side before she made her way over to help Skye get Ward to his feet. Just as Katie was about to join them, the door opened again. She spun round to see another face she recognised from the photos, Jakob’s girlfriend, Petra stood there, the third piece of Staff in her hand.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me” Skye said from behind Katie.

Katie looked around glanced at May who also turned her attention to Petra as she was now circling the room. Which a quick flick of her gun, Katie aimed a shot at her, but she simply whipped the piece of staff out in front of her and it tinged the bullet off to one side.

 “We’re no match for her whilst she has that” May said and instinctively Katie glanced down at the two pieces of staff on the floor near them. Grant wearily sighed and went to pick it up but Katie dropped down on one knee and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

“You’re not in any state to do that.” she said not unkindly as she looked at him, “Let me help.”

“Kay…” he started to argue, the use of his nickname for her registered but now wasn’t the time to chastise him, nor did she really find she cared enough to do so. It was then that May cut in.

“She’s right. We can’t beat them unless we’re on a level playing field.” She shot him a look and he nodded.

“Okay.”

Skye helped Ward away as May and Katie watched Petra as two men from the group they had taken down earlier got to their feet. Petra looked round the room and let out an audible gasp as she saw Jakob’s body for the first time. Katie slowly and apprehensively reached out for a piece of the staff, hesitating for a moment as she had no idea what was going to happen when she did pick it up. May looked at her nodding and then the pair of them reached out, each gripping a piece.  Katie gasped as a warm sensation flooded up through her arm and then her head was like it was somewhere else. Which it was, she was back in what, according to Professor Randall, should be the worst moment of her life, only it wasn’t the moment she had initially thought of when he’d told them that…

Rhodey was on the doorstep of her Chelsea apartment at three am local time. She knew instantly that something was wrong. Without a word he entered, and told her that Tony’s ARV had been attacked and they had no idea where he was. She almost collapsed and he helped her over to the sofa where she sat still, tears falling as she listened. The room fell silent, and with a shaking hand she reached for the remote and turned the TV on to the News Channel, to see her Brother’s face plastered all over the screen.

“I’m sorry Kiddo…” Rhodey’s voice was choked and she turned to look at him “I should have been with him but he insisted on riding in the other ARV, the FunVee…” he shook his head, snorting angrily.

“Who’s taken him?” She asked, swallowing.

“We’re think it was an Ambush by the Ten Rings.” Rhodey swallowed. “We’ve not had a ransom note yet but we expect it’s a matter of time. We’ll find him.”

“It’s finding him alive that’s the issue, Rhodey” She wiped away the tears from her face, the sick feeling in her stomach threatening to overwhelm her and it felt like someone had a band over her chest that they were constricting, hard…and then it was to much, and she bolted to the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet…

Gasping Katie took a deep breath and looked up sharply as one of the men flew at her. Letting out a yell of rage, pent up anger and hurt she launched forward as Petra did the same. Their pieces of staff blew against one another and soon they were battling, fiercely. Katie was fighting to kill, and she instantly understand what had made Ward run Jakob through with the staff. 

It felt good. 

She could hear and see in the corner of her eye that May was also tackling a few more members of the group, easily keeping them at bay but Katie was focussed on one thing, the woman in front of her. She was good, matching Katie blow for blow but eventually Katie’s tenacity and training started to win out and she began to get the edge. She swung forward with a huge swipe and knocked Petra to the ground causing the woman to drop her part of the staff. Automatically it joined with the piece Katie was holding in her right hand, glowing orange again.

“It’s been a month, Katie…” Obediah said “A month…I hate to say this but the chances of him coming back…”

“I don’t wanna hear it, Obi!” Katie wheeled round “Tony is alive, and until someone shows me any kind of evidence to the contrary…then things stay as they are, I don’t give a shit what the board say.”

She watched him out of the room before she dropped her head to the desk and began to cry. She didn’t stop, even when Pepper walked into the room and dropped an arm round her shoulder, the pair of them lost…

A crash caught Katie’s attention and she saw May had dispatched the remaining fighters. She glanced up, and saw what Katie was doing and instinctively threw her piece of staff over to her. Katie grabbed it, joining it with the other combined pieces completing the staff.

Katie gave a yell as once more that warm feeling spread up her arm to her chest and her memories swallowed her.

“Your government has for far too long sold weapons, manufactured by Mr Tony Stark, to our oppressors, to our enemies. This is blood in exchange for blood, death in exchange for death, meet our demands or within 48 hours the great Tony Stark is no more…”

The room came back into a bleary focus, just as Petra staggered to her feet, swaying slightly.

“I am not afraid of you.” She spoke, her accent thick.

“You should be…” Katie snarled, as she advanced towards her. Quick as a flash she let out a loud cry and struck Petra with the staff, hard in the face. She fell backwards to the floor, deadly still. 

And then a different voice spoke in Katie’s mind a clear voice. Her own voice.

“He escaped, though. And he was fine, well as fine as Tony ever is. So there’s really no need to fear this memory because that’s all it is, a memory. It all worked out in the end…”

Katie dropped the staff and fell to her knees, her entire body shaking with the exertion of wielding the Asgardian weapon. Her head was pounding with those memories, the voices, everything. Her hands flew into her hair as she bent over, trying to focus on anything but her thoughts.

“Hey…” Two hands were on either side of her face, and Katie looked up into May’s eyes. “Focus on me, Stark.” Katie took a deep breath as May’s hands slid gently down to the side of her shoulders. “Can you stand?” She asked. Katie nodded and then looked over at Petra.

“Is she…” She managed to croak out. Had she killed someone? In blind rage?

“Don’t worry about her” May shook her head, “I’ll take care of it.”

Katie got to her feet with May’s help, glancing over at Ward and Skye. Ward gave her a small nod of his head, which she acknowledged with a small incline of her own as May helped her out of the smaller Vestibule room they’d been fighting in and through to the entrance hall of the Monastery, the sun streaming through the stained glass windows.

“That thing…” Katie took a deep breath “Ward wasn’t wrong…it…”

“Tell me about it.” May’s voice was quiet, and Katie realised the normally stoic woman was shaking, although not quite as violently as her. The two of them settled on a large slab of stone. They were shortly joined by Ward as he sat besides them, the three of them didn’t talk for a while, merely lost in their own thoughts, Katie wanting nothing more than to get home to see Steve.

“When you held it…” Ward said eventually, breaking the silence. “Did you see anything?”

May nodded, and so did Katie.

“Then how, Kay? How did you hold all three?” Ward looked at her

She paused, thinking about it for a moment.

No need to fear this memory

“Because it’s a memory that I don’t need to be afraid of.” she shrugged eventually. “And I see the reason why every time I look at Tony.”

*****

Steve packed a bag. There was, sadly, one last mission standing between him and his girl. And he no idea how long this particular mission was going to take. It was completely rogue, way off SHIELD’s official radar anyway, only Fury and Natasha knew what he was doing.

Oh, and Tony. He’d enlisted the Billionaire’s help because had a somewhat personal interest in this case. So much so he’d leant him the Stark Jet, because he couldn’t use the Quinjet, and the fact that like everything Tony owned, his jet was faster and better than anything else, it had shaved a good 2 hours off what the journey would have taken had he flown full commercial, not to mention saved him a load of messing about in the meantime with bookings and check ins.

The jet was comfortable, he had flown on it a few times with Katie before back to NYC when they didn’t drive that was. As soon as he was airborne he face timed Katie using the connection on the plane and had hissed at the bruise on her cheek. She had batted off his concern and instead went on a rant about how cheap Fury was. He had to laugh at her indignant tone, apparently they had arrived at a Premier Inn a few hours ago and she had refused point blank to get out of the SUV and after a battle of wills with Coulson had upgraded the entire team to the Sheraton just outside of Galway within ten minutes. Apparently overnighters weren’t standard for the team she was working in as they had the Bus but Coulson had decided they all needed some down time after what sounded like a gruelling mission.

“And what better way to do that in a 5 star hotel with a spa, right?”

They talked for the longest time they had in the three, almost four days she had been gone and Steve loved it. She didn’t go into much detail about the mission itself, bar to say it had ended in a pretty ruthless fight and that she was mentally and physically exhausted, promising to tell him all about it when she saw him. He told her in no uncertain terms that they were both going to take some time out, Fury had cleared it and her face had lit up, but then fallen when he sadly told her he had one last mission to sort. After assuring her it wouldn’t take long, and it really wouldn’t, she had smiled and told him she couldn’t wait to see him.

“Me either Doll, me either.”

He took the opportunity to get some sleep, and was awoken by one of the stewardesses a few hours later who informed him they were an hour out. Thanking her he headed off to change out of his comfy sweats and into his specially selected outfit, one that would make him blend in a lot more than the stealth suit. Once he had arrived, cleared customs at the private airfield they had landed at, he climbed straight into the arranged official looking blacked out SUV and the driver set off, not a word spoken. The driver already knew their destination, Fury had already patched that information through before he had taken off.

It was easy to blag his way in to the building he needed to be in. Dressed in a black suit, all he had to do was quickly flash his SHIELD ID badge and the woman at the desk was only too happy to provide him the information about where he could find his target, and access to the required area. He didn’t take the elevator, it was too easy to be spotted. Instead he snuck round and found the service stairs and bolted up them two at a time to the seventh floor, his kit bag containing his shield slung over his shoulder.

****

After they had checked in to the decent hotel, not that Premier Inn (which she was sure was clean and perfectly comfortable, but she wanted fucking luxury after three nights of being in that pokey room) and she’d spoken to Steve for at least an hour, Katie showered, changed and headed off out to explore the area with Skye. The two had chatted, Katie really did like the girl, and they’d done a bit of shopping, had a late lunch, before they had headed back to the hotel and made use of the Spa. Then, she’d sat and eaten with the team, before bidding them all goodnight and retiring to her room with a bottle of Krug (because, why not?) and a long assed hot bath.

She tried to face time Steve again, but this time he didn’t answer. Probably elbow deep in whatever mission he was on this time, he’d been very vague about this one, saying it was hush hush but he would explain all in person, including what had gone down in Yemen which sounded like an utter shit-storm.

Changing for bed, Katie dropped onto the comfortable couch of the suite (ok, so she’d upgraded herself a teensy bit more than everyone else), poured herself another glass of Krug, slightly disgruntled to see the bottle was empty. So she rang down for another, fuck it.

Just as she had put the phone down, her cell called.

“Hey baby.” Steve spoke and Katie could hear the smile in his voice. “Sorry, the phone won’t let me face time for some reason.”

“Well that’s a shame because I’m naked.”

Steve groaned and Katie felt herself grin. “Don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry.” She giggled “I’m not really, just wish you were here.”

“I know.” He sighed “Me too”

“I’m taking it that seeing as you can talk your super-secret spy shit mission is done.”

“It was surprisingly easy” He mused, “Target didn’t suspect a thing and thanks to a very helpful lady I met, I got in with no fuss.”

“Helpful lady?” Katie narrowed her eyes. “How helpful?”

Steve let out a chuckle “All I had to do was flash my ID and smile”

“Coz you’re a regular charmer, aint you?” Katie laughed, and then there was a knock on the door. “Oh hang on… room service.”

She got up off the couch, made her way to the door, phone still in her hand and she pulled it open.

“Hey Doll.” Steve grinned at her and her mouth dropped open, the phone slipping out of her hand to the floor. “Surprise.”

She was a sight for sore eyes. Silk cami top and shorts, her hair falling in damp waves around her face. God he’d missed her.

“What…you…” She stammered, taking him in, the black fitted suit and tie he was wearing looked far better than it would have on anyone else and he laughed at the look of utter shock on her face “The mission, I thought…”

“You’re my mission, Sweetheart” He grinned, stepping into the room, dropping his kit bag, picking his phone up as he did so. And, no sooner had he straightened up, Katie gave a little shriek and threw herself into his arms.

“I can’t believe it.” She whispered, her hands straying to his face “You are here right? This isn’t just some weird trick my mind is playing?”

“I’m here, promise.” He placed a soft kiss to her lips. There was a clearing of a throat and Katie peeked over Steve’s shoulder to see a rather embarrassed looking hotel worker clutching the bottle of Krug she had ordered along with a fresh glass and an ice bucket. She tapped Steve’s arms and he reluctantly set her down so she could sign the receipt with a flourish. Steve smiled at the man, taking the ice bucket before closing the door. He followed Katie into the large hotel suite, and dropped the ice bucket and her phone onto the coffee table before sinking onto the couch and Katie climbed onto his lap, winding his tie around her hand.

“For the record,” she murmured as she looked him up and down, “this is a good look.”

“Glad you approve, Darlin’” He grinned as she tugged on his tie, pulling him closer to her, and she pressed her lips to his in a deep kiss.

He responded eagerly, hands creeping into her hair to hold her head in place as his tongue slid against hers, his hips rocking up before his lips dropped to her collarbone

“I missed you.” He purred as she let out a small groan, her hand sliding into his hair.

“I missed you too” She muttered, his hands gently fell to her hips, giving them a squeeze. “Take me to bed.”

Steve didn’t need asking twice. Standing easily, drawing a giggle from her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, he paused and looked around.

“Trust you to get a suite that’s bigger then my apartment.”

“I have very high standards.” She shot back. “Door to the right.”

He gave a quick laugh and strode over to the door, pulling it open and stepping into the plush bedroom which was softly illuminated by the bedside lamp. Dropping her onto the huge bed he crawled over her as she once more grabbed his tie and pulled him down.

“You really do like this huh?” He arched his eyebrow,  ooking down at her as she gently slipped his jacket down his shoulders and he shrugged it off, tossing it to the floor.

“What can I say, I’m a sucker for a suit. Although I still think the Stealth one is better.”

“Maybe I should bring that home one night.” He muttered as his lips slid against her neck and she groaned.

“Please do. Your ass looks great in it.” She moved, pushing on his shoulders. Steve sat back on his heels and she locked her eyes on his, undoing his tie gently, a move she managed to make incredibly arousing and Steve let out a groan and he kissed her.

“Fuck, I missed you.” He whispered into her mouth

“Save it, you’re wearing too many clothes.” She replied, undoing the button on his collar and then her soft fingers made their way down his chest, her eyes following as it fell open. He shrugged it down before he fell back down on top of her and moved to pull her vest top over her head. As he tossed it aside somewhere he let out a gentle moan at the sight of her in front of him, and he wrapped his arm around her back and tugged her up slightly as his head bent to take a nipple into his mouth. He used both his hands and his mouth in a nearly coordinated attack that left her all but dying, and completely desperate for his touch elsewhere. He could read her body signals like a book and happy to oblige, one of his hands slid down, dipping into her bed shorts, finding him hot and wet for him. He groaned into her chest his fingers playing with her.

“Baby you’re soaked.”

She managed to moan in response, and then it was a race for the pair of them to get out of their remaining clothes as fast as they could. Once there was no barrier between them he kissed her hard, Katie shifting so that her legs went around his waist, pulling him flush against her, wanting to touch every inch of him possible. Steve repositioned himself slightly, gently working into her, the pair of them letting out a satisfied sigh as he bottomed out, stilling slightly just to savour the moment.

“Stevie…” Katie whispered into his ears “Please…” At her plea, he began to thrust, slowly, deeply, running his hand down Katie’s leg until his hand stopped at her knee. Katie looked at him as he seemed to hesitate for a split second before he directed her leg up, casually resting it over his shoulder so that he could go even deeper. She moaned loudly, he’d never done that before and it felt so unbelievably good, like nothing ever had before. Her fingers dug into his arm as he starting pushing a little harder, a little faster, then faster, until he had reached a relentless pace. Katie could do nothing but reach up, bracing herself on the headboard of the large bed as he continued, making her curse and leaving her short of breath, eyes closed in utter pleasure.

He slowed for a moment, making her look at him, letting out a noise of protest. “Don’t stop.” she begged, “Fuck, Stevie…”

He grinned, and it was a wicked grin, coupled with the mischievous flash in his eyes and it made her gulp slightly. She’d never seen him like this before, it was as if something had snapped and he was finally letting himself go fully, realising that after almost six months of sleeping together he didn’t have to be a gentleman all the time as she wasn’t going to break. As she stared into those baby blues, his pupils blown with desire he slowly pushed himself up so he could put her other leg over his other shoulder. 

“Oh, holy fuck-”  Her voice cut off and turned into a loud wail as he picked up the pace once again, pounding into her over and over and it wasn’t long before his name and another plethora of curses tumbled from her lips as her orgasm ripped through her like nothing she’d felt before. Her back arched, fingers dug into his back as he coaxed her through it before dropping her legs from his shoulders, laying atop her and chasing after his own end furiously. Katie held him close as she came down, gently encouraging him into his ear, his rhythm eventually stuttering and changing as he came with a frantic gasp of her name.

The pair of them were slick with sweat and absolutely spent as they laid still, no sounds coming bar the ragged gasps for air from them both. Steve buried his head in the crook of his girl’s neck and she ran her fingers through his hair, his forehead still clammy and he let out a loud hmmm of contentment.

A moment or so later, Katie broke the silence.

“Baby.” She said softly, a playful thought rising in her mind. His response was simply another hmmm because he was still utterly blissed out. This caused Katie to smile a little as she spoke again. “Did Cap just come out to play?”

She felt him grin into her neck, “I think he may have done, yeah.”

“Well you can tell him from me that was amazing?”

“I’ll be sure to let him know…” Steve mumbled, still not moving.

“In fact, I’d go so far as to say that’s probably the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Just probably?” Steve lazily raised his head to look at her and she made a show of looking upwards as if she was thinking about it.

“Ok definitely” She grinned, kissing him gently.

*****

Katie bid goodbye to Coulson’s team the next morning, Steve remained in the hotel room as he’d been under instructions from Fury not to speak to Coulson or draw attention to him in any way. Then they’d taken 3 glorious days break in Ireland, hiring a car and driving to Limerick.

As they drove, Katie told him all about the mission, what the staff had made her see, and how it had surprised her slightly what her worst memory was.

“I always thought it would be the time Tony told me mom and dad were dead” she said, softly a Steve cruised their hired Audi Q3 down the motorway. “Guess I fear losing Tony more.”

“It kinda makes sense.” Steve said, his hand straying to her knee “you were very young when the crash happened. Tony’s been your dad for, what, 22 years now? Far longer than Howard was I suppose.”

“Yeah.” she said gently, looking out of the window “I mean, I don’t remember a lot about my parents to be fair. I have memories, but sometimes I wonder how many of them are mine and how many of them are what people told me.”

Reminiscing seemed to be the theme of their brief trip away. They spent a day visiting the places Steve’s Ma had told him all about, then the next day, after a lazy morning they drove up to Dublin where they had both drunk a fair amount of Guinness after Katie dragged Steve to Temple Bar, showing him the places she had spent a fair few weekends in on trips over from the UK. They forgot all about SHIELD, all about Fury, all about missions. They were just a normal couple enjoying a break, and Steve had frankly never had as much fun in his life.

It was on their last night, just after they were curled up in post coital bliss after their 3rd round that evening when Steve mentioned about how it was back to reality the day after that Katie propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him, biting her lip.

“What if I don’t want to?” She asked quietly.

“Don’t want to what, Honey?” Steve asked, kissing her head.

“Go back. To SHIELD I mean.”

Steve’s hand paused its journey up and down her spine as he turned his head to look at her, frowning. “You want to leave?” 

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot over the last 3 days.” she said, her fingers gently tracing over the dark blonde hair on his chest. “I can’t do it anymore Steve, I’m tired.”

“What’s brought this on?” he asked, turning so he was on his side facing her, pushing her hair back off her face.

“I can’t pin point one thing.” she said, looking down. “But…”

Steve paused, waiting for her to continue, and after a deep breath she did, her words coming almost as a jumble as she poured her heart out to him in the darkness of their hotel room.

“If I’m honest I’ve been thinking about it since we found out that they hadn’t been destroying the Chitauri weapons. Look what happened when Fury started fucking about with the Tesseract… I mean how do we know they’re not making more weapons just like they were before New York?”

Steve remained silent, that had been bubbling away in his mind too. He wasn’t best pleased about the situation but knew that Katie, who had headed up the DODC clean- up had taken it personally. She’d flipped out when Tony had told her what his latest hack into SHIELD had discovered and Steve had had to stop her marching into Fury’s office and calling him a liar there and then. He understood completely, she felt betrayed after having being told she was heading up a clean-up operation when in actual fact it turns out to be a goddamed technology harvesting operation.

“You now when Coulson died, I blamed myself. I made a decision to try to free Thor not help Coulson and I know I’d probably do it all over again because it was the right call, but the point is I blamed myself, for the past what, 18 months or so and Fury…he let me do that, he let me think he was dead…”

She was getting worked up, Steve could hear it and sense it, even if he couldn’t see her properly.

“Hey…” he said, his hand gently moving to her arm, rubbing softly as she continued her ramblings.

“And then there I get to The Bus and there’s more secrets there, not being told Ward was on the team, which to be fair wasn’t as bad as I thought but still, it’s more lies…”  

She was crying now and Steve sighed, wrapping his arms round her and pulling her to him. She pressed her face into his chest “This isn’t me Steve, it’s not who I am.”

He held her close, hand wandering up into her hair as he chewed over what she was saying. From a selfish point of view the thought of her leaving SHIELD worried him. She’d been his linchpin, his rock at the agency, and he relied on her more than she would know. He loved working with her, seeing every day and he was scared if that changed, so would their relationship. But there was a small part of him that also worried when she was on missions, and there was no doubt if she did quit she’d be a hell of a lot safer. And not all couples worked together, right?

He pulled back slightly, his large hand cupping her cheek “Hey, you know I got your 6 right? I’ll support you no matter what you decide.”

“I know.” She sniffed softly. I just feel like if I do quit, then I’m taking the easy way out, you know, I mean SHIELD is dad’s legacy.”

“Maybe once.” Steve popped his shoulder. “Times have moved on, SHIELD has changed. I doubt your dad, Peggy or Colonel Phillips would have ever imagined in a million years how it would evolve.”

“You’re telling me times have changed?” She quipped and he chuckled.

“Guess I am, but I learned pretty fast when I got that serum that you can’t live your life being who people want you to be or think you should be. You need to be true to yourself”

She nodded and stifled a yawn.

“Sleep on it.” He urged, his thumb stroking her cheek. “And then if it’s still what you want tomorrow, ’ll even write your resignation letter.”

“I got it planned” She yawned. “Dear Fury. Fuck you. Love Nova.”

Steve laughed and pulled her to him, kissing her head. “Maybe drop the Love Nova.”

****

“You sure you wanna do this?” Steve asked as they stopped outside Fury’s office. Katie nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Okay, I’ll be right here.” He said, both his hands on her face. She gave him a smile and then turned and opened the door.

“Agent Stark.” Fury swivelled in his chair “Take a seat.”

“It’s okay Sir, this won’t take long.” She declined his offer, taking a deep breath.

“Do I need to borrow Captain Rogers SHIELD?” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I’m assuming this is the bit where you’ve come to tell me exactly how pissed at me you are.”

“I’m not pissed” She shook her head, “I was, but not now. I’m just disappointed.”

He eyed her, and gestured for her to continue.

“I expected better from you Sir. You lied to me. You let me believe Coulson was dead. You know I blamed myself for that for months, and then if that wasn’t bad enough you sent me to a team containing my ex boyfriend…and don’t even get me started on the fact you’re secretly hiding Chitauri technology instead of destroying it.”

At that Fury’s face slipped and his face grew dark. “How do you…”

She arched an eyebrow and Fury gave a groan.

“Son of a…your brother is a liability.”

“Maybe, but at least he isn’t a liar.”  She shot back. “And neither am I. I pride myself on being honest, doing the best I can and I don’t like being used or manipulated.”

 “Agent Stark…”

“I can’t do it anymore.” She hook her head. “I’m tired of it all, the lies, the secrecy. This isn’t…it isn’t me.” she finished, shrugging.

“So what are you saying Nova?”

“That you can consider this my formal resignation.” She looked at him, eyes not moving from his and for a moment she was sure she saw a flicker of something that looked like regret flash across the Director’s face. But it disappeared as fast as it had arrived and she took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders back. “I will, of course, work any formal notice period.”

“I don’t suppose there’s any point in me trying to change your mind?”

“No, don’t suppose there is.” She shook her head.

“In that case, there’s no notice period necessary.” Fury spoke calmly, his posture returning to normal. He took a deep breath and strode round his desk, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. You’re one of the best agents I’ve had. Coulson said you worked wonders on the Staff case.”

“Thank you, Sir.” She swalloed, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. “This hasn’t been an easy decision. For the most part, it’s been an honour to serve.”

She gently reached into her pocket, pulling out her official ID and ran her fingers over the silver badge before she handed it to him. Fury took it from her, and with one last smile she took a deep breath and turned, to leave, the tears brewing in her eyes.

This had to be one of the hardest decisions she’d ever made in her life but she wasn’t backing down. She’d talked it over with Steve extensively over the last two days and Tony too for that matter, her brother telling her that he, and their father would be proud of her no matter what. Undeniably her role at SHIELD had given her everything. A purpose, a new outlook on life, Steve. But now it was time to channel that energy in a new way.

“I would like you to remain on our books, in an advisory role.” Fury’s voice stopped her in her tracks and she grinned to herself, suddenly transported back to when he had said the same thing to Tony a few years ago.

She turned back and winked. “You can’t afford me.” 

**** Chapter 11

**Original Posting**

[inkribbon796]

My Favorite Human Ch. 1: Blood and Fears

Summary: When Henrik gets in trouble someone unexpected comes to his rescue.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3

It’s rare that Henrik is ever grateful for Anti presence, or even his mere existence. These days he had resigned himself to Anti’s almost unceasing stalking and nothing coming from it.

Half of the time, Henrik wondered if this was some long von to pull him into a false sense of security. It had been going on for so long, however Henrik seriously doubted he wanted anything that dangerous because Anti had done anything more than startle him for months now.

Today, Henrik was very grateful, but Anti had pissed off a lot of the wrong people this week, and because the universe hated him four thugs ambushed him outside the hospital instead of Anti. Usually Henrik had his lunch in the hospital cafe, but today he wanted a change of pace and paid for it. He was heading through the parking lot to grab something from one of the nearby food trucks.

A man in a hood walked up to Henrik as he was heading out, double checking his pager. He noticed how suspicious the man was, right before he decked Henrik right across the face. The hit broke his nose and almost knocked his glasses off his face.

In anger, Henrik started cursing at him before the man tried to punch him again. Henrik was quicker to dodge. Both Henrik and Iplier had been taught self defense, so Henrik was able to defend himself until three other people walked up and one of them pulled out a gun.

Henrik pulled up his arms in surrender as he was punched again. The German doctor braced to get shot but before he could Anti came out of nowhere and slashed his claws across the gunman’s arm. He was glitching and screaming in fury.

The gun fired, slicing through only the empty air before the gunman screamed and dropped it. It caused the doctor and another thug to scramble for the gun but eventually Henrik had punched him and kicked the gun away.

After the gunman went down, the glitch jumped to another assailant and began slashing out another one while Henrik was just trying to disarm and knock out opponent.

By the end the four men were on the ground and Henrik was gasping to calm his racing heart and pull air back into his lungs. Adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Unfortunately for the doctor, Anti was still pent up from the fight and turned to the only other thing still standing: Henrik.

Henrik was starting to get his breathing back to normal before he was thrown again the side of a nearby car and a pair of clawed hands gripped around his throat.

It wasn’t enough to cut open his throat . . . yet! But Henrik could feel all ten points of Anti’s claws on his delicate human throat.

“HGHKKK!” Henrik choked out in alarm as Anti’s eyes locked with his and Henrik felt a shiver of paralysis start to come over him. Like some primitive vestige of his brain was trying to compel him to play dead.

There was a low, almost inaudible growl coming from Anti. Henrik felt it, instead of hearing it.

“Fook yeh,”[1] Anti told Henrik, Henrik’s neck starting to tilt at an awkward angle. “I could snap yer[2] neck. It’d be easy. Yah’d[3] be dead. Just . . . like . . . that.” At the last bit of his threat, his hand gripped onto his neck just a little tighter.

Henrik waited, for the snapping of bone and slicing of flesh.

But after a beat, Anti let go and air returned to Henrik’s lungs all at once. Henrik gasped and coughed as his brain and lungs fought for air again. His body sagging slightly against the car.

As Henrik coughed, Anti was just glaring at the wall next to the doctor in frustration.

“Vhy[4] did you do zat[5]?” Henrik coughed, his voice ragged.

“It should be fookin’[6] easy ta kill yah[7],” Anti told him instead. “I almost did it before. Yer[8] as human as they come.”

“Ja,”[9] Henrik agreed, massaging his neck. He dug around in his pockets for something to help the blood coming from his nose. “Zank you fer ze reminders. But vhy let me go?”[10]

“I like the idea ‘a yeh bein’ alive,”[11] Anti admitted, naturally getting back in Henrik’s personal space. He was looking for fear or for the doctor to flinch. He didn’t. “The others are so fookin’ borin’, but yer not.”[12]

“Me?” Henrik pointed to himself, confused.

“Yeah,” Anti scowled. “Yer[8] not afraid ‘a[13] me anymore.”

Henrik wasn’t sure if Anti wanted reassurance that he was someone that Henrik thought was absolutely terrifying, or if he should try and show the least amount of fear possible. “Vell, if you vere going to do some’zing to me, you vould have done it by now.”[14]

“Watch it, still got time ta[15] make yah[7] scared ‘a[13] me,” Anti threatened.

“Vell, it better be some’zing drastic zen, mine glitch,”[16] Henrik boasted, adjusting his glasses. The lack of attacks making Henrik brave and careless.

Anti had a plan, to really bring fear back into his eyes, but at the personalized nickname, his brain short circuited. He was just staring at Henrik’s smug face and he froze, forgetting what he was doing for a second it . . . needed to be drastic . . .

The glitch demon leaned in, and Henrik’s confidence wavered for a bit, sure that Anti was going to bite him. But instead, impulse crossed with some distant memory.

And for the second time that day, Anti stole Henrik’s breath away when their lips met.

Henrik froze and Anti quickly realized what he’d done, pulling away first. Henrik and the glitch just staring at each other.

“Uhhh,” Anti stalled.

“Scheiße,”[17] Henrik hissed, mostly to himself, before yanking Anti back in for a proper kiss before the glitch could think to disappear and not have to face Henrik directly after kissing him.

Anti glitched in surprise, causing a funny feeling along Henrik’s lips.

At first, Anti didn’t know how he felt about what was going on around him. This was sparking something in him. Some distant, time destroyed memory. Of lips against his and trouble on his heels.

While that memory was tickling his brain, it made Anti feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. A feeling that was slowly building until Anti couldn’t take it anymore.

“. . . Someone’s gonna[18] see . . .” There was phantom breath against his neck. Henrik’s lips were still against his, and the dual sensations were confusing his brain.

“. . . No one’s gonna[18] see if we’re quick, pretty boy . . .”

It was too much!

Anti grabbed Henrik by the front of his coat, pulling away and breathing heavily. His form glitched erratically.

“Anti?” Henrik asked in concern, noticing the wild and almost scared look in the demon’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

The demon met Henrik’s eyes before he shoved the doctor away. His form finally broke apart into pixels and disappeared into the night, Henrik left standing next to the unconscious, probably dead, thugs. Henrik quickly sent a text to Abe and waited long enough for a couple officers to show up.

Then Henrik went back into the hospital, mostly because he expected someone else to get hurt from one of the city’s many literal demons again.

He was right, but the day wasn’t nearly as busy as he feared it would be. Henrik even got to go back to the base on time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Post A/N: I might have just lost a bet with the Host. Anti made the first move, did not expect that. (No Host! That does not mean we’re canceling next week’s short! That’s not what we agreed on!)

Accessibility Translations:

1. Fuck you

2. your

3. You’d

4. Why

5. that

6. fucking

7. you

8. You’re

9. Yes

10. Thank you for the reminders. But why let me go?

11. I like the idea of you being alive

12. The others are so fucking boring, but you’re not.

13. of

14. Well, if you were going to do something to me, you would have done it by now.

15. to

16. Well, it better be something drastic then, my glitch

17. Shit

18. going to

[prurientpuddlejumper]

A Deep and Rapid River, Ch. 9

<- Chapter 8 | Chapter 10 ->

@sexy-opium-ravioli​ asked me to write a comfort Frankenstein fic so instead I did this [stares at the camera] 

cw: suicidal ideation 

Heavy raindrops pound on the wood-shingle roof, each impact combining into a chorus that roars in your ears in the pitch-black darkness. It’s like you’re being swallowed by a great beast. The entire building creaks, straining against the wind, making your heart race with the fear that it might all come crashing down on top of you as you lay clutching the covers in bed.

A deafening crack and blinding surge of light is followed shortly by a second, earthier crack and a dull thud on grass. Lightning hit one of the trees in the pasture.

In the middle of this raging tempest through which no living being could survive, there comes a scratch at your shutter. The curtains flutter as wind suddenly swirls inside, and the roar of rain grows louder. Something is coming into your bedroom.

Another flash of lightning reveals the silhouette of a massive figure, drenched and dripping, standing in front of the window. The blast of thunder that shortly follows makes the enormous figure jump, and rush, trembling like a kitten, to your bedside.

You take his deformed and scarred hand in yours, and squeeze it.

“I do not like thunder,” his grave voice whispers through gasping, timid breaths. Your beautiful, sweet creature. You never want anything to hurt him. An aching sadness washes over you anew, quivering your lower lip.

He notices you are shaking, frantic, frazzled, and puffy-eyed. He doesn’t look much better.

“When you did not come, I feared for you.” He licks his lips nervously. “I ascertained that you were within the house, but were under guard, and I could not reach you. Please tell me you are unharmed—if anything has happened to you, I shall not forgive my cowardice.”

Without warning, a sob chokes you, and hot tears roll down your face. The monster, filling up half your small cottage bedroom, doffs his wet cloak and pulls your crying form against his warm, broad chest like an extension of the furniture and holds you, rubbing your back and cooing soft words of comfort. You hide your face against him, trying to disappear as muffled sobs wrack your shoulders.

“What is wrong?” he asks with a voice so fragile from your silence that the answer might break him.

“Just let me hold you for awhile. Please.”

You feel him shudder against you, and surround you in his warm arms like a cocoon. It’s a long time before you can collect yourself enough to tell him what happened.

*****

“Like hell we are!” you snapped impulsively as soon as Ferdinand announced your “engagement.” Your fists clenched into tight balls of righteous fury. He was delusional. You were leaving.

Then your father stared at you—that dark, severe stare that threatened violence if you did not behave. “Mind your tongue, child!” he snapped, and your tongue stopped moving, and all of the smart words that had been on the tip of it just disappeared. It was so strange. You had been frightened to run, terrified, but you were ready. Just like that, all the oxygen seemed to drain from the room as Ferdinand, your father, and your mother surrounded you, reminding you of your place in the world and how helpless you were in it.

Your fiery ember dropped into a bucket of water.

You sat in the living room, trapped like a rabbit in a snare, crawling inside your own skin as reality washed over you. They laid out the situation. There were rumors around town—serious ones—that you’ve been consorting with the devil. Half the village thought you were a witch. It wouldn’t be long before something terrible came of it, but Ferdinand had graciously offered to make you his wife, and in doing so, put the rumors to bed. So you would marry him. He was well-liked among the superstitious factions, and could get them to leave you alone if he made you an honest woman. (You growled at the implications of that particular phrase.)

Ferdinand sneered with self-satisfaction, his voice dripping with honey as he said how much he worried for you.

They were pressing you into the marriage and would hear no arguments, no back-talk. They suspected you might run, and wouldn’t let you out of their sight—your mother, your father, and Ferdinand.

You were prey. There was nothing you could do to fight.

The sky grew ever darker and more ominous with each passing minute you spent ensnared, until you knew you had missed the rendezvous time. Your heart twisted—if your daemon were wise, he had left already without you. Thinking of the alternative—that he had stayed, and would be discovered—your chest twisted even tighter. Marrying Ferdinand was a get-out-of-jail-free card for you, but the creature’s life was in irrevocable mortal jeopardy.

“You can’t force me to marry him!” you whimpered to your mother, praying for a sympathetic ear when you were left alone with her for a moment. She was horrible, but she was a woman. She must understand, at least a little, what they were doing to you.

She patted you softly on the shoulder, but her eyes stayed hard. “Your grandmother remembered when they burned a witch right in the center of town. Believe me, this gossip is not something to take lightly. Making you a proper wife is the only way to make people see that you are a normal girl. If you do not, then you shall no longer be our daughter, and we cannot protect you from whatever shall happen next.”

You tried to speak, but your tongue was dry. You kept trying to swallow the dryness away, but it stuck in your throat. You wanted to rage, to scream against them, to be on fire, but your blood had all turned to ice.

This was happening, and there was nothing you could do but accept it.

*****

The creature strokes your cheek gently, his sympathetic and sorrowful yellow eyes glistening in the erratic flashes of light from the storm. “I am sorry I could not protect you. I am here now; let us depart under the cloak of night.”

Your head shakes in tense arcs before you decide to make them, your throat closing up. “You don’t understand—I can’t.”

The dark shadow shaped like his body becomes a tense, rigid statue. “What do you mean?” he says, cautiously.

“I can’t!” you repeat, as if he’s the one not making sense and your feelings should need no explanation, but you explain anyway, the words gushing out like a flooded river. “Maybe I wanted to, I thought I could, but it isn’t realistic. Look at the storm outside! I can’t run away in the middle of this—it frightens even you, doesn’t it? You couldn’t protect me should a thunderbolt strike me on the head! What will we do during weather such as this without any shelter? With my family monitoring me like a prisoner, I could not even finish packing—I haven’t the food and water to survive a week away from home! Where could we go, anyway? You cannot guarantee Victor Frankenstein will take us in! He may just as likely kill us! They think me a witch here, where everyone has known me since I was a baby. I will be a witch in the next town. We will be pariahs wherever we go.”

You wished he would yell, that he would argue, or be consumed in a fit of emotion—that would be better somehow—instead, he listens to your fearful list of excuses silently, with no reaction but his shoulders slowly falling and a soft, pained growl deep in his throat.

“D-don’t you see?” you explain frantically as if he had been arguing back. “We don’t need to run. They never spoke of you as more than rumor—those hunters, and Bess, they must not have been believed as any more than superstition. Every town has its ghost stories. There is no bloodthirsty mob, so long as I marry him. We can stay here and keep you hidden. We’ll be safe.”

“Safe?” he growls, but only softly and without malice. He can no longer bear to listen quietly. “You wish to marry him?” You hoped he would be angry, but his voice is a wavering medley of betrayal and confusion, and the pang it leaves in your heart is almost too much to bear.

“Of course not, but I have no choice.”

“Yes, you do. Run away with me tonight.” An angry bolt of lightning splintered another tree out in the pasture, making you both jump, and providing the counterpoint to his argument for you. “Tell me you want to marry him,” he reaches out with a large hand that could cover your entire head, and delicately strokes your cheek. His eyes glisten with longing. “Tell me you want this and I will go. I shall live the rest of my life a miserable wretch, but I shall bear it, knowing you are happy.”

“Y-you once told me you wouldn’t care if I was with other men, so long as I came back to you. Maybe we could…”

That finally gets a rise out of him. “We could what?” he snaps, cutting you off. “You desire to marry another, and keep me hidden away in a barn—a filthy secret for you to visit at your leisure—to make love to when you are not sharing a bed with your husband? Is that… what you want?” The energy and indignation he had begun with fades away to a lame sort of helplessness by the end.

You know how pathetic you sound. How weak. It was the last thing you expected of yourself, too. You had always walked to your own beat, never fit in, and never cared what anyone thought of you—at least not enough to change for their benefit. You always dreamed of running away one day.

But you hadn’t.

No matter how much you had dreamed it—and even one exhilarating day had packed a bag and chased an eight-foot monster into the forest, convinced that you might run away with him—you never actually did. So many years waiting in misery, and all of that time you could have run.

But you wouldn’t. The moment the fantasy began to crystallize into reality, you froze with terror. You never would.

You only wish you had realized this before hurting him. Your precious daemon stares back at you expectantly, fiercely blinking his watery yellow eyes to fight off tears he won’t let fall in front of you. He’s waiting for you to assure him that this is a mistake—that he’s more to you than a sexual pet—and your heart twists with shame.

“Here is bad, but here is safe. It’s that kind of bad that’s all I’ve ever known. That sharp, snow-covered peak you can see from the barn has stood there, unchanging since I was born. It was there watching over our valley before my parents were born. The alpine winds have shaped it for thousands of years, since before the great pyramids of Egypt. Maybe I am like that mountain. Maybe I can never change, no matter how much I want to.”

It’s not the answer he hoped for. His jaw clenches. He had come here thinking you were running away together at last, and finally, finally, the weight of what is happening sinks in. You watch as the hope goes out of his eyes. Lightning flashes behind him, a little more distantly now. His throat bobs as he swallows.

“Please don’t look away,” you sob, begging. Something inside you is breaking with him.

Footsteps creak on the stairs and the faint orange glow of a candle filters under the door. “Are you talking to someone in there?” demands your mother’s shrill voice just as the door to your bedroom swings open. Your mother gasps in horror.

“You’ve left the window open, you fool child!” She clucks disapprovingly and rushes to shut it, closing the drenched curtains over it once it is latched tight. The shadow of the creature is gone. “What were you thinking? Of running away?” she snaps.

Yes, you want to scream. You hate her. Pinpricks of tears sting your eyes, and you wish you had disappeared into the night, too, for a vengeful bolt of lightning to release you from your misery.

Then she does something that surprises you. She sighs, and sits at the edge of your bed, her weight making a sinkhole on the straw-filled mattress. “My baby girl, you’re crying. They say it isn’t right for a bride to cry on her wedding night, but we know better.” She smiles sadly and wipes a tear from your cheek. “I wanted to run away, too,” she says quietly. Her gaze drifts over the window thoughtfully, like she was imagining a different life. In the flickering candlelight, you wonder if she could almost see it, that other life. You wonder what it was. “But if I had, where would you be?!” Her voice is back to an accusing, judgment-laden shrill. “I’ve tried so hard with you, to get you to grow up. You finally came to your senses—you’re not a child anymore, you can’t just do whatever you want. Life isn't a fairy tale. Life isn’t about being happy… it’s about doing what you have to do. Don’t disappoint me.”

When she leaves and returns downstairs, you give a cursory but hopeful search under the bed and in the corners and shadows for the creature, but he is gone. You had seen him disappear into the loft at the slightest sound of footsteps dozens of times, and you know he had fled out the window and is miles away by now. You wonder if he had returned to the barn, but you know in your heart that he’s gone. It’s already too late. You saw the way he had looked at you before your mother interrupted. Betrayed. Wounded. Finished.

He must hate you.

You throw open the shutters again and look out on the dark, windswept landscape. Heavy, cold rain pummels your face, soaking your night dress instantly and making your squint and shiver against it. There is no sign of him, though above the howling of the wind, you imagine that you hear him howling, desperate and anguished. You could jump from here, you think. You could lash together your bed sheets and climb down undetected, and—

A bolt of lightning strikes a tree in front of the house and it explodes to splinters as a cataclysm of thunder bursts open your ears. The blinding-white flash fills your room and your senses, sets all your hairs standing on end, and for several moments after you can’t see or hear a thing. Am I alive? you wonder first. Is he scared? you worry a second later. When your eyes finally adjust to the dark again, you can see the smoldering embers of the destroyed trunk, its crown lying in pieces on the ground. One branch had scarcely missed the roof, and had you jumped from your window a moment before, you certainly would have been hit.

If only you had been, a part of you screams against your skull. It’s the only way out, now. Jump from the window! it insisted, its voice weaving harsh fingers of smoke through your mind. Run, slipping in the wet grass with your ankle broken into the night and find him, or be eaten by a bear. Let a branch fall and crush your pathetic body. Let the lightning take you to Hell.

You close the shutter, and latch it.

Shaking, you return to your bed and lay on top of the covers. The depression in the mattress from your mother is still flattening out. Wet spots on the blanket are the only memento of the creature’s visit. You remember what it felt like to be held, warm and safe in his arms just moments ago, and try to tuck the memory away somewhere it will never be lost. Somewhere you can look back at it in the years to come. You’ll never feel that way again.

It would be a mistake to run.

You're making the right choice.

You don’t want to die. Surviving means doing what you have to do.

You're making the right choice.

You're making the right choice.

You repeat it to yourself over and over, shivering alone on top of your bed until the black sky turns to grey, and the birds start to sing a summer chorus—first one melodic song, then a jarring metallic buzz, a repetitive whistle, and more and more add their voices until it swells into a cacophony in the purple dawn. The storm must have passed some time in the night without your noticing. It doesn’t matter. You made your choice and broke your own wings.

You made the right choice.

[wesenschau]

Sharp Arrows of the Mighty, with Coals of Juniper

Psalm 18 (17 LXX) (same prayer as found in 2 Samuel 22) is a beautiful synthesis of many biblical symbols and narratives, drawing and connecting them into the grand arc of God’s sustenance of the world through man. I am going to particularly focus on verses 7-16, but even just focusing on 9 verses there are countless concepts that go over my head, and I would love to hear what others learn from this poetic prayer. In Ps. 18:7-16 (2 Sam. 22:8-17) we find a synthesis of the 120th Psalm (119 LXX), Noah, the story of Jonah (particularly ch. 4), 1 Kg. 19, Is. 6, etc. Before we can establish the connecting point in this array of passages, we need to establish the sacramentality of the symbols present.

In the 120th Psalm we hear the cry of a mourning precant: 

In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

The calling of Isaiah in Isaiah 6 uses language very reminiscent of this Psalm --  “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lip” (Is. 6:5). In both the Psalm and in verse 6 of the Prophet’s account we are given a solution to this false tongue / unclean lip: 

Sharp arrows of the mighty with coals of Juniper / Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 

To the Orthodox Christian these passages are evidently eucharistic -- the passage in Isaiah is referenced by the priest in the liturgy in reference to the eucharist, saying “Behold, this has touched our lips! This has washed away our iniquities!”. Further evidence for a eucharistic reading here can be seen in a holistic structure of Isaiah, with the calling of the prophet being a foreshadowing of what will happen to Israel/the world as a whole. What happens to Israel/the world as a whole? We see God’s holy mountain established in Isaiah 25:6 for all people. It is on this holy Mount that the LORD establishes a feast of wines, and He destroys the veil that is spread over all people. It is this mountain that draws the nations in, causing them to beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks (Is. 2:4) (note the eucharistic aspect of ploughshares [grain/bread] and pruning-hooks [grape/wine]). We are also told in Isaiah 66:20 that gentiles will bring a offering (minchah) unto the LORD. Minchah is the name of the tribute offering in Lev. 2 and Num. 15 and involves bread/wine (Note how in the old covenant nobody drinks the wine in the offering, but in the new covenant we must partake in the bread and wine / the body and blood of Christ). 

In Is. 6:4 we read of door posts moving/shaking at the voice of God and smoke filling the atmosphere. We find very similar language in Ps. 18:7-8.                  Sg. 5 (v. 2) describes something similar to Is. 6 (v. 4) where the bridegroom knocks on the door, and the bride reaches out to answer with her fingers dripping in myrrh (myrrh as a symbol of death/burial). The love between the Bride and the Bridegroom is what draws the bride out of her chamber to seek for her bridegroom, resulting in her unveiling by the watchmen. What is this attractive love which draws the bride out other than the flame of YAH /  שַׁלְהֶ֥בֶתְיָֽה /  šal·he·ḇeṯ·yāh (sg. 8:6) -- the same flame of the eucharist. This same flame burned the coal that purged Isaiah’s iniquities -- the same flame that fans the rough wind in the day of the east wind by which the iniquity of Jacob be purged in Isaiah 27:8-9. 

The same phrase for east wind is used in Jonah 4, describing a fierce, hot climate and is also used in Exodus 14 describing the baptism/passage of Israel from the old world into the new through the red sea. This reveals a deeper connection between the sacrament of baptism, wind, coals, fire and the eucharist. Jonah, having served in the courts of Jeroboam II knew of the wicked state of Israel -- and given Jonah’s obvious knowledge of the song of Moses he would have known idolatry and wickedness would lead God to make Israel jealous with the gentiles (Deuteronomy 32:21). This explains the mourning of the righteous and Holy Prophet under the (gourd?) plant in Jonah 4, which is reminiscent of the mourning of Moses over Israel in Exodus 32:30-34 and Numbers 11:12-15. The plant withered and the fiery wind of God raged, revealing the foundations of the world (Ps 18:15), the same wind which the Lord flies upon, bringing coals of fire and thick clouds of dark water (Ps. 18:8-11). The hebrew name Jonah, means dove and calls us back to the waters of Noah and the wind (Gen. 8:1) that caused the waters of the flood to subside, bringing Noah and the ark out of the deulge and exalting them to the Holy Mount with the help of the dove. All of these connections go to bring these different symbols and stories together sacramentally, ultimately culminating in the life and work of Christ. 

[Note that Holy baptism is the ecclesial and personal recapitulation/participation in the sign of Jonah (Mt. 12:38-41), which is, on one hand the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; but is also the procession of the divine presence to the gentiles and the whole earth with it’s ultimate reversion to the Holy Mount Zion in Is. 66.]

 The special plant under which the Prophet prayed calls us back to the Juniper tree in 1 Kg. 19.

There are few times that Juniper trees are mentioned in scripture. Only one of these times (other than Psalm 120) are coals mentioned in the same context. 1 Kings 19, where right after speaking judgement upon Israel and demonstrating the power of God over false prophets (note connection to prophecies in Is. 1-5 and the story of Jonah) Elijah, declaring himself the only one left is called by the Angel of the LORD to anoint a threefold sword (Hazael, Jehu and Elisha) to whittle Israel down -- just as Isaiah’s prophetic calling was to make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, whittling Israel down to the one truly righteous intercessor: Christ (Note connection between Isaiah 6:8-13 and 1 Kg. 22:19-23) (also note the threefold whittling of Israel in Ezekiel 5 and the sacramental language of fire/famine/eating sword/arrow and wind/fury). Before Isaiah could participate in this calling he had to partake of the divine coal given to him by the seraph. In a similar manner: before Elijah could continue in his prophetic calling he had to eat of the Holy bread (which was cooked on coals -- interesting detail to include in the passage if there is no real significance to it) and drink the Holy water which sustained him for 40 days and nights. In Matthew 4:4, after Christ’s 40 days and nights in the wilderness, He refused demonic temptation, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, saying: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. As we know from John 1, Christ is *THE* Word of God and as such it is only through Christ and through our assimilation into the divine Word that we can live, as anything outside of God’s mind is an infinite step towards non-existence (interesting to note the theme of 40 days and food throughout the scripture. See how Moses lived purely by the Word of God for 40 days [Exodus 34:28] and how after 40 days of wandering the scout of Numbers 13 returned to the camp bearing ripe fruits [vv. 21-25] as a symbol of Israel entering the promised land after 40 years of wandering). This means that, just like the manna which fed Israel for 40 years (exodus 16:35), what Elijah was given was not just bread and water but a divine foreshadowing of the true bread and the true drink, which is the body and blood of Christ (John 6). 

We can see in Isaiah 27:1 the mighty sword that slays the leviathan; and we have the sharp arrows of the mighty (Ps. 120:4) which are used alongside the coals of juniper to deal with false tongues (note how the Hebrew root for “arrow”/ “archer” / “ חָצַץ” [Strong’s 2686] literally means “to divide”. It is related phonetically to the words qatsir [harvest] and qatsar [to reap, cut down]). What are arrows of the mighty other than children of the youth (Ps. 127:4) who have been born into the spirit in baptism (John 3, 1 Peter 1, Romans 6), who have become as little children (Mt. 18:3) desiring the sincere milk of the word (1 Pt. 2:3). Just as Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father is *the* chosen arrow of God (Is. 49:2), we are made sons and arrows of God by grace (1 Jn. 3:1). These arrows are scattered (Ps. 18:14) and fill everything (Eph. 1:23) for we, the Church, are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life, (2 Cor. 2:15-17). 

[Side Note: Seraphim Hamilton, in his video on Michael Gorman’s Inhabiting The Cruciform God, explains that Christ was sent by the Father as the Word that shall not return void (Is. 55:11). I find Seraphim’s use of the language of arrows particularly interesting, as he explains that Christ’s work in the incarnation was to descend to and assume every aspect of creation into himself, in order that every arrow within every aspect of creation may point towards God through participation in the Logos. Contrast this to the wicked woman in Sirach 26 who will open her mouth as a thirsty traveller when he hath found a fountain, and drink of every water near her, by every hedge will she sit down, and open her quiver against every arrow. (v. 12). This calls back to the serpent in Genesis 3 who is cursed to eat dust (dust meaning dead men [think: ...to dust ye shall return... ]). Similar to Sir. 26:12 is the description of the whore of Babylon in Rev. 17 who is drunken with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus Christ. Eating/drinking something is the most basic means of assimilating something into your being -- this is why the eucharist is the heart of the divine liturgy, it is how we are assimilated into Christ’s very being. This also explains the texts about Ezekiel and John eating the scrolls, and why Christ spits the lukewarm church in Laodicea out of His mouth in Rev. 3:16.]

Sword and flame are the two sacrificial items/tools throughout all of scripture. This starts in Genesis 3:24 where, in order to regain access to Paradise, man must ascend through the fiery sword of the Cherubim. This explains the Levitical dividing and burning of the sacrifices. This is ultimately fulfilled universally in Christ’s total sacrifice on the cross and our sacramental recapitulation/participation in that, through the sword and fire of Holy Baptism + Chrismation and the Holy Eucharist. Christ came to bring a sword, (Mt. 10:34) that he may set fire on the earth (Lk. 12:49) and once and for all fulfill the passing through sword and flame for Man. In giving your enemy bread to eat and water to drink you heap coals of fire upon his head and the LORD shall reward thee (Prov. 25:21-22).

Let us recall the establishment of the marriage supper of Mount Zion in Isaiah 66. How is this eucharistic table on Mount Zion established? Isaiah 66:16 has the answer:

For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

The solution, therefore, to the Davidic cry of Psalm 120 is the sacramental and ecclesial participation in the victory of Christ over death, who sent from above, draws us out of many waters (Ps. 18:16).

We see in the story of Noah God rained upon the earth and this acted both as a curse to the wicked and a blessing to those in the ark. The possibility to reject the Christ is always present and is something we must always guard ourselves against -- lest we be divided and slain like the leviathan or burned like Nadab and Abihu in Lev. 10 -- lest the coals of fire hail (Ps. 18:13) upon us like Sodom and Gomorrah. There is huge significance that can be drawn between this, 1 Cor. 11:23-30; Hebrews 9 and Lev. 16, but that is for another time and is a much broader, and more important, topic.

[azzy-the-christian-furry]

((Revelation, Part 2.))

Ch.9:

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10 They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. 11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

12 The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.

13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. 18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. 19 The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

20 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Ch.10:

The Angel and the Little Scroll

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. 2 He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a]” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

Ch.11:

The Two Witnesses

I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”[a] 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

11 But after the three and a half days the breath[b] of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.

The Seventh Trumpet

15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become

the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,

and he will reign for ever and ever.”

16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

the One who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

and have begun to reign.

18 The nations were angry,

and your wrath has come.

The time has come for judging the dead,

and for rewarding your servants the prophets

and your people who revere your name,

both great and small—

and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

Ch.12:

The Woman and the Dragon

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

who accuses them before our God day and night,

has been hurled down.

11 They triumphed over him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

as to shrink from death.

12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens

and you who dwell in them!

But woe to the earth and the sea,

because the devil has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury,

because he knows that his time is short.”

13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

Ch.13:

The Beast out of the Sea

The dragon[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.[b]

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,

into captivity they will go.

If anyone is to be killed[c] with the sword,

with the sword they will be killed.”[d]

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

The Beast out of the Earth

11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[e] That number is 666.

Ch14:

The Lamb and the 144,000

14 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

The Three Angels

6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Harvesting the Earth and Trampling the Winepress

14 I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man[b] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Ch.15:

Seven Angels With Seven Plagues

15 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,

Lord God Almighty.

Just and true are your ways,

King of the nations.[a]

4 Who will not fear you, Lord,

and bring glory to your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come

and worship before you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.”[b]

5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

Ch.16:

The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”

2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:

“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,

you who are and who were;

6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,

and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

7 And I heard the altar respond:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,

true and just are your judgments.”

8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[a] fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

Ch.17:

Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery:

babylon the great

the mother of prostitutes

and of the abominations of the earth.

6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

[whathappenedtomyweekend]

It’s Just A Spark Ch. 9 - Night Shifts

Gobber couldn't believe his eyes. What had originally started as a casual glance out the window had spiralled and now consisted of him staring down at the sight on the street in front of the fire department in parts fascination and parts complete and utter disbelief.

There he was, his colleague who might as well be his own son, the boy with the gapped front teeth and the scraped knees, the young man who was so busy reading that he forgot to eat sometimes, and the man who had told him, only a few months ago, that if his fate was to become an old cat lady it would be fine with him - beaming at the young woman facing him. She had blonde hair, tied up to a ponytail and was dressed, similarily to him, in sports clothes. They were still talking as they came to a halt in front of the building, both smiling at each other.

And of course, Gobber knew that this was Astrid Hofferson.

He watched Hiccup - Hiccup - grin down at her and gently press his lips to her cheeck (Gobber almost had a heart attack), then shortly hug her and turn around to walk up to the building, still grinning from ear to ear.

Well. Gobber remembered the first time the young woman had set her stove on fire. He remembered the exact expression Hiccup had had on his face and the way his eyes were flickering to the side when he'd mumbled something about his ears only being "this red, Gobber, because we were just near a fire, it was hot in there" after they had already been outside again for at least five minutes.

Gobber tried to act normal as the door opened and closed with a click.

"Morning!"

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up to work!"

Hiccup placed his phone and headphones onto his desk, ducking away from Gobber's prosthetic arm.

"Sorry, I got held up."

"Yeah, I could see you getting held up alright - in the arms of a certain young blonde, I believe?"

He watched Hiccup's cheek flush and laughed, giving him an enthusiastic pat on the back.

"Was about time, boy! You were one arm and three cats away from becoming me."

Hiccup snorted, "Yeah, right. Don't think having a girlfried will deter me from adapting that lifestyle."

There were not many things you could get past Gobber without noticing. And words, no matter how fast- or low-spoken were definitely not on that list.

"Girlfriend now, eh?"

"I, uh - I mean - oh, man."

Hiccup looked at him, a bewildered expression on his face as if he'd only realised this for himself just now, his hands already flying up to his hair.

"Ooh my God, Gobber, she's my girlfriend. She's my girlfriend," he repeated as if this alone had been something he had never thought to actually be possible.

"Oh, boy," the older man chuckled upon seeing Hiccup's disbelief change to surprise to complete and utter joy.

"Astrid. Hofferson. Is. My girlfriend."

"Yeah, how'd you do that? I'm surprised you're able to hold up a conversation with that vocabulary you've got yourself, boy."

Hiccup had not really thought about this earlier when Astrid had accompanied him back to work instead of his apartment, but now, standing in front of his locker next to the bathroom, his only options for the monthly meeting with the mayor and comissioners a crumpled-up old shirt with Toothless' handiwork at the hem and gym shorts, he regretted not having stopped by at his apartment prior to this.

The young man uttered a curse on his breath but knew he didn't really have time to explore any further options.

So he quickly grabbed the shirt, returned to the bathroom and pulled it over his head, stepped out of his towel and put the remaining clothes on.

He couldn't wait until this day was over. The morning run had energised him, but a nine-hour response-shift ahead and a two-hour meeting were already pretty high on the list of things that would use up that energy.

Thinking about said run - or rather, its aftermath- , however, sent his heart spiralling and made him grin at his reflection in the department's bathroom mirror.

She'd said yes. To being his girlfriend, essentially. Or had she? Had she misunderstood him and had only agreed to an extended status of "just dating"?

Oh, God. Suddenly Hiccup didn't feel all that confident anymore.

"Okay," He leaned on the edges on the sink and stared at his ruffled, still wet-haired reflection. "Stop it. Get it together. Just ask her tomorrow, just to clarify."

Yes. Just to make sure they were on the same page.

His thoughts went - in an effort to take his mind off the question of their 'status' - over the preparations left to be made for their date. He'd have to sweep the flat over before 15:30, and clean the bathroom thoroughly. Also maybe dust off the shelves. Get something to wear - oh, no. He remembered his last confrontationnwith his wardrobe situatuon.

This was their fifth date.

He was out of shirts.

Shit.

"Hey, Gobber, you ready to-" Hiccup broke off when he saw Snotlout at his desk, waving at him.

"Yo."

Hiccup stepped in further, furrowung his brows in confusion.

"Where's Gobber?"

"Went to get lunch."

"What? The meeting's in five minutes, and we're already running late! When did he leave? Did he say anything about when-"

"Woah, take it easy, cuz," his cousin interrupted him lightly and spun his chair around. "Gobber's been late to these meetings since they exist."

Hiccup exhaled and chuckled, sitting down next to the dark-haired man.

"Okay, true. How's your morning been?"

"It was okay. Pretty chill. I took Hooky out for our morning walk - did you know Fish is out of town?"

Hiccup's head perked up. "He is?"

"Yeah, the café's all closed up."

"Huh. No, he didn't mention," Hiccup leaned on his desk and squinted his eyes at his cousin. "He usually always lets us know."

"Maybe something urgent came up and he's not ready to talk about it yet?" Snotlout wondered aloud and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. "I hope he comes back soon, I could kill for a plate of his waffles."

Hiccup smirked. "He'd kiss you again if you told him that in person."

He knew his cousin would never admit it if he asked, but it was quite obvious, even to Hiccup. Snotlout himself blushed, grumbling,

"It happened once, okay? And it obviously didn't mean anything to him, since he never brought it up again. SO," he pushed himself back and reached for his water bottle, fiddling with the lid with some degree of suppressed fury. "I'm not going to either."

"Alright, sorry."

His cousin sighed, his mood lightening up again. "It's okay. Just don't … tell him."

"You have my word."

"Speaking of which, you finished up those reports from last night?"

Hiccup chuckled. "Yup. I'm back on track." His cousin smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Despite being 'busy'?"

"Shut up."

He laughed. "Come on, nobody ever tells me anything anymore."

"Good," Hiccup shot back indignantly but grinned. "I'm not really keen on all of Berk knowing about it."

"So what's 'it'?"

"Honestly? You think I'm that unattentive?"

"When you're drawing, yeah."

Something about the smirk that was plastered on his cousin's lips seemed fishy to Hiccup. He did not like this grin.

"Scott," he drawled. "What did you do?"

His cousin's grin widened. "Oh, I did nothing. I just *sat* there. Listen, all I'm sayin' is, that maybe you should pay more attention to who else is in the room in the evening."

Hiccup blushed immediately as he remembered being in the common room in the evening, reading until he had absentmindedly started sketching - a pair of eyes, grey on paper but blue in memory, lips, just slightly parted, outlines of a face - "Oh, God," he spluttered. "I - it wasn't - I mean."

Snotlout laughed and nudged his cousin's shoulder. "Hey, I'm not judging."

He offered Hiccup an amicable smile and grinned when his cousin slumped his shoulders and returned the smile.

Who'd have thought? Seven years ago he'd have never even dreamed of sharing the same job with Hiccup and spending most of their shifts together, let alone having normal, amiable conversations and sharing jokes.

Gobber's voice from outside interrupted the dark-haired man's thoughts.

"Come on, Hiccup, we're gonna be late!" Gobber suddenly shouted from the hall, making Snotlout laugh and offer Hiccup a fistbump.

"Alright, I'm coming, just - stay where you are!" Hiccup shouted back rolled his eyes at his cousin, who only grinned and shrugged.

"Alright, I think we're done here, everyone. Dismissed," Stoick Haddock concluded and closed his folder, nodding at the men seated around him.

Hiccup sighed inwardly. The monthly check-in was something that had to be done, he knew that, but these meetings could be both lengthy and boring.

He'd tried to excuse his attire and had only got a few amused looks and some raised eyebrows; 'Could've been worse,' Hiccup thought and got up. At the sight of his father gathering up his files he remembered his post-meeting-agenda and quickly tapped his father's shoulder, lowly asking, "Dad, can I … talk to you for a sec?"

"Of course," Stoick nodded at the other men and led his son off to the side. "Excuse us."

His eyes met Hiccup's expression. The young man leaned in and murmured, "Hey, Dad, listen, um. I need you to do me a favour, please."

His father raised his eyebrows but Hiccup didn't fail to notice the faint smile playing on his lips. He sighed and inhaled deeply, shortly raking a hand through his hair.

"Oh man, I can't believe I'm actually saying this - Dad, I need a shirt."

"You need a … a what?"

His father looked at him, speechless. Hiccup nodded sharply and elaborated, "Yes, a shirt. Any colour, I just need - listen, Dad, Astrid is coming over tomorrow and I've run out of shirts, and I can't just wear the same over and over again, so - please. I just need a shirt or two, button up or down, you decide, I'm desperate."

To his suprise and utter mortification, his father let out a whoop of laughter, starting him and the other men in the room.

"She's really got you bedazzled, aye, son?"

"I - what?"

"I thought I'd never see the day you'd ask me to help you with your shopping!" his father bellowed, still laughing. "Oh, this is great, son, I've been waiting for this my whole life-"

"Dad, don't you think you're … overreacting, a bit-"

"-and I will not waste this opportunity. Consider your wardrobe situation saved."

With this he strode past him, muttering something about "my boy's finally getting his life together" and "wrapped around his finger, completely head over heels", leaving an abashed Hiccup and chuckling collegues behind.

"Well, you did it," Gobber laughed and patted his back, making Hiccup stumble forward involuntarily. "he will not rest until he's got you a month's worth of clothing."

Hiccup groaned. "What have I done, Gobber?"

"Made him the most excited I've seen him in years, you did," Gobber smiled, his expression gentle now. "Come on, let's get back to the department, lover-boy."

"Please don't call me that."

"Romeo?"

"Tragic death and stupid as fuck."

"That a yes?"

"No."

It hit Hiccup like a bolt of lightning. He'd forgotten to fill up Toothless' bowl when he'd left the house this afternoon.

"Shit. Shitshitshitshit," he spat through gritted teeth as he frantically searched for options. He couldn't leave the department now, he was the only one in.

Okay. What else? Call someone. It was at times like these Hiccup wished his entire support system wasn't built on people working in the administrative departments.

And Fishlegs was out of the city.

Then it dawned on him. The only person he could hope to be home.

His hands had already picked up his phone and clicked on the number.

"Hiccup?"

He exhaled. "Oh, thank God. Astrid, do you - do you have time? Are you at home?"

Her answer was hard to make out over the background-voices and music.

"I'm on my shift, why?"

His heart sunk.

"Okay, nevermind then-"

"Hiccup? Hello - hang on, I'll go outside, just give me one sec."

The noise faded.

Her voice got clearer as she grumbled, "You'd think people'd wait for a Friday 'til they hit the bar."

He chuckled. "I'd honestly love to be somewhere else right now, so I can't blame them."

Astrid snorted and finally there was nothing blocking out her voice anymore. "Trust me, you don't wanna be here. Anyways, what's up? Something wrong? You never call this late."

"Oh - yeah, I actually … Astrid, can you do me a favour?"

She didn't even hesitate and her answer let a wave of warmth and affection wash over him.

"What do you need and where should I be?"

"At my apartment. Or rather, first here and then my apartment."

Astrid furrowed her brow, for a second asking herself if this was some kind of disguise for something else but quickly discarded that thought as Hiccup continued quickly, "I forgot to feed Toothless when I left today and I locked everything, so he can't go out to hunt. Could you pick up my keys and feed him, please?"

She hummed. "Yeah, of course."

Hiccup sighed and smiled. "Thanks, I really owe you one."

Astrid laughed breezily and was apparently making her way back inside. From what he could hear, Pink's 'Raise your glass' was playing and people were screaming.

"No problem," he heard her say over them. "I'll think of something."

He chuckled and leaned on his desk.

"You have until tomorrow."

"Oh, so now there's a deadline for favours?"

"Only for that one."

She laughed again. "Well, maybe it's a project that can't be done overnight."

"Am I still talking to Astrid or Ms Hofferson who just pulled the ultimate teacher-joke on me?"

"Both. Hang on a second."

The sound was muffled since she seemed to be pressing the microphone against herself to block out the sound, but he still heard her distinct voice shout, "Heath, can you tell Al I'm taking my break? Be back in 45."

Another voice answered, loud but friendly, "Sure, don't worry. Gotcha, Stellar!"

Stellar?

The sound was back in its full intensity and so was her voice.

"Alright, I'm heading out. Be there in ten."

"Okay. See you."

Astrid smiled up at the sky. "You know, this isn't even a favour I'm doing you. You're doing me one."

Although she had called it multiple times, Astrid had never been inside the fire department of Berk before.

It looked a bit intimidating in the dark, and she only saw one big window with lights on inside. She squinted her eyes up and into the darkness and registered movement.

A slim figure approached the window, waving at her, chasing a smile across her lips as she waved back. Hiccup's sillhouette disappeared.

Astrid herself made her way into the building and up the staircase to the second floor, where she was greeted by a dark hallway.

A door was pried open, a small ray of light emitting from the crack.

"Astrid?" His face was stuck out of the open door.

"Hiccup? Why's it so dark in here?"

"We're saving up energy."

He was leaning out of the door, supporting his weight by the frame.

Astrid smirked and came to a halt in front of him. He didn't move, just stayed with his eyes fixed on her.

The young woman felt a weird sensation rushing through her stomach as she remembered her dream from a couple of nights ago, which had started just like this, opening a door and -

"You wanna come in for a sec?" he asked and interrupted her thoughts.

Astrid nodded, smiling. "Let's make the workplace situation even."

He laughed and led her inside. The building itself wasn't that big, but the headquarters seemed pretty spacious. There were only three desks inside with multiple screens, and by the wall stood an unsafe-looking plank bed.

"Welcome to my job where we get Sicca Syndrome and a bad back trying to sleep on these," he joked and ran a hand through his hair.

Astrid sat down on the plank bed, wincing as it squeaked and bent violently, making him laugh as he sat down next to her.

Without giving herself much time to hesitate, Astrid leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Do we have enough time for me to ask you what your day looks like?"

He chuckled and gently wrapped his arm around her, trying not to let on that he was shaking slightly, thankful she still had her eyes closed so she wasn't able to see his blush.

"Maybe. We could save that conversation up for tomorrow, though."

She opened her eyes and moved to get up, but Hiccup tightened his grip around her shoulders and grinned lopsidedly.

"That wasn't me trying to tell you to immediately get up. It's …" he hesitated, his blush deepening. "It's, um, really nice sitting like this. With you."

Astrid chuckled lightly and leaned back into him, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck.

"You're really trying to outdo yourself today, huh?"

Her voice was muffled against his skin, her breath sending sparks down it.

"Is it working?"

Astrid grinned against him. "Yeah."

The young man laughed and tried to calm his heart yet again. To think that only sitting with her head on his shoulder, her lips making direct contact with his skin when she spoke was enough to turn him into a flustered mess. And they hadn't even KISSED yet.

"I'm beginning to regret this."

He froze, his heart dropping immediately. Regret what? This? Her decision from earlier? Being alone with him? Out of a sudden? Somehow?

Of course, his logical side knew better than that and patiently waited for Astrid to continue - his worry got the better of him.

"Why?"

"Because now going back to my shift is going to be really fucking hard."

'Oh. Oh, thank God.' He exhaled and relaxed again.

"Why?" he repeated, feeling stupid.

Astrid closed her eyes again. "Because I'd much rather be here and spend the night with you than going back."

Aaaand there it was. His pulse was sky-rocketing. And she was so close she might actually hear. His blush had deepened even more.

Astrid continued after a pause, "Or you know, I could just crash at your apartment and cuddle with Toothless."

He rasped out a laugh. "If you let me in tomorrow."

Astrid opened her eyes and pursed her lips to hide her smile.

"We'll see."

Hiccup really wanted to kiss her. He wanted to so bad it almost hurt.

Yet, there was something holding him back - the question from earlier. But he didn't want to bring this up now. Especially not since-

"Speaking of Toothless, I should probably get going now."

"Oh, y-yeah! Uh," he uncurled his arm from around her and jumped up, stumbling towards his desk. "Let me just … find the key … uh. Should've probably done that earlier."

"Let me help. I've got a knack for finding things."

She joined him at the desk and grinned when he shot her a short, amused glance.

"You do?"

"Oh, yeah. I found you, so that's one."

Hiccup chuckled and watched her pull out his keys from underneath the printed draft of the day's report and hold it up in front of him, grinning smugly.

"And you say I'm trying to outdo myself?" he muttered, making her laugh.

"Well, now we're even."

He shrugged and grinned. "True. You remember the direction?"

Astrid nodded, leaning against the desk.

"Good. Ah, and uh, mind the door, it always gets stuck, so it's a bit hard to open. Just, uh, throw your entire body weight againt it. At least that's what I do."

She nodded again and smiled up at him. "Jot that down. Anything else? Where's the food?"

"Second left cupboard by the window on the floor. You know, the one with the scratches?"

She snorted as she remembered which one Hiccup was talking about - and it seemed like he was either very forgetful or had a cat that loved to eat.

"Alright, got it."

"Thanks again, Astrid."

Somehow they had ended up facing each other, his hands on her arms.

Hiccup's gaze fell down on his hands and his first instinct was to let go, but Astrid smiled and put her own hands on his arms, squeezing lightly.

"You're welcome. But - by the way, where's everyone else?"

"Oh, Gobber's already home and Scott went for a quick nap down in the living area. He complained that my typing was too loud for him to sleep."

She snorted. "Well, at least you've got the place to yourself, right?"

His hands subconscuiously had wandered to her waist.

"I'd rather not. But I'm a bit picky about the company."

"That so?"

He hummed, his eyes dropping to her lips ever so shortly. He looked like he was almost going to lean down and kiss her - but there was something in his eyes Astrid knew well by now.

Hesitation. Something was holding him back.

Astrid smiled and pulled back slightly.

She'd give him time.

Until then … she stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

"I'm gonna get going now. Don't wanna keep Toothless waiting."

She grinned up at him and was relieved when he returned it.

"Yeah."

She turned to leave but was held back by his voice softly calling out her name.

"Oh, and … Astrid?"

She hummed, turning around, already halways out the door.

With a few steps he had closed the distance between them. His eyes were warm as he gently wrapped his fingers around her left wrist, tugged her closer and pressed a lingering kiss on her forehead.

Astrid's eyes fluttered closed at the contact.

"Stay safe tonight," he whispered, his lips barely grazing her skin before he pulled back.

Astrid opened her eyes again and was met with his open expression and small smile.

She returned it tenfolds and whispered back, "You too."

Then she turned around and took the stairs downstairs.

Fires and people had a lot in common, but most people could be either reasoned with or at least punched (which was her own interpretation). Then again, her boyfriend was not the type to underestimate a thing like a fire.

Astrid stopped, her hand on the doorhandle. Boyfriend. She'd thought 'boyfriend'.

The air was a tinge colder when she stepped outside, but still had the distinct warmth of a summer night.

Well, he was, wasn't he? It was what he'd asked her this morning, wasn't it?

Astrid smiled to herself and maybe the sky, Hiccup's keys clinking in her pocket.

This was a very girlfriend-thing to do, after all.

[apoguecalledjj]

Fixation ( Chapter 9)

Sorry for my absence! I just started my first year of uni. But anyways, here it is, the last chapter of Fixation! (Theres an epilogue coming!) Definitely shorter than I originally planned, but I’m proud of it and I’m just happy to get it published. Hope you loved this series as much as I loved writing it!

Series summary: Eleanor is new to the outer banks, and the pogues are quick to take her in. But so are the kooks, and as she grows closer with Rafe, trouble emerges. Trying to balance her relationship with the pogues and the kooks, as well as dealing with her own personal problems, Eleanor falls into a hole she may not be able to dig herself out of.

Chapter Word Count: 2111

Chapter Warnings: None

Previous Parts: Ch. 1 Series masterlist

Taglist: @prejudic3 @maragritatimebaybee @drewxxrudy @outerbankslove @bricksatanakinswindow @alexa-playafricabytoto @gigi-june

JJ hardly left Ellie’s side. For the entirety of the two weeks, she was in the hospital, he was there, sat by her bed. He left to shower and sleep, and that was only because the nurses told him he had to. Of course, Ellie’s family and the pogues visited quite often as well, and Topper and Kelce. But the dedication JJ showed to Ellie melted her heart, and every day, thoughts of Rafe drifted away and were replaced with more and more of the beautiful blond-haired boy next to her. He stayed even when withdrawal and recovery got bad, held her hand through every needle and test she had done, and told her stories from his life when she got bored. John B and Pope teased him, wondering what had happened to the JJ they knew, but it was obvious to everyone what had happened: He had fallen in love. Now, just a few days after Ellie’s discharge from the hospital, the pair sat in her bed, the door opened just a crack from the rules her uncle laid, her head resting gently on his chest as he scrolled through her Netflix looking for a movie. Travis had grown to like JJ, something that shocked everyone. Even if Travis didn’t already have a bias against pogues, JJ had a reputation that everyone on the island knew about, and adults didn’t usually take kindly to him. But Travis couldn’t help but notice the way JJ changed around his niece, how he was much more gentle and quiet, and Travis respected that. “JJ, just turn on friends or something. I think I wanna have a nap,” Ellie muttered, snuggling in further onto JJ’s chest. The two weren’t official yet, Ellie still wanted to take things slow and they hadn’t gone any further than kissing, but everyone still considered her JJ’s girl. “El, you slept for 12 hours last night, and 13 the night before! How do you sleep so much?” “I got up to pee a couple of times,” Ellie muttered in defense, and JJ chuckled. “And it’s not my fault you’re so comfy. You make it so easy to fall asleep.” JJ didn’t respond, instead, he just switched-on friends and rested his head lightly against Ellie’s. He reached down, grabbing her hand in his, and she slowly rubbed her fingers over his calloused palms. He too found himself growing tired, the tiny action relaxing him as he focused on the feeling of her small hands against his. Ellie was barely drifting off when her phone rang, waking her. She groaned, barely opening her eyes to glance up at JJ. “Can you grab that?” JJ leaned over, reaching across her body to pick up her phone which was sitting on the nightstand. “Uh, Ellie,” He exclaimed as he turned it over, looking at the caller ID. “It’s your mom.” Ellie shot up, all traces of tiredness lost from her body. She had been here for a couple of months already, and her mother hadn’t reached out to her once. So why now? JJ stayed quiet as she answered the phone, not really knowing what to do. He had heard lots about Ellie’s mom, but he wasn’t sure if her calling was a good or bad thing. “What do you want?” Ellie snapped into the phone. It was definitely a bad thing. Ellie couldn’t help but roll her eyes as her mother’s voice echoed through the phone, slurred, just like always. “Eleanor. Travis told me what happened and I just wanted to check on my baby girl.” “Please don’t call me your baby girl.” The words stung Ellie. She understood addiction, especially after having gone through it, but that didn’t make the neglect from her mom hurt any less. “I love you, Eleanor. I’m sober now. I’m trying to get better, just for you. I’ve been going to meetings and-” Ellie cut her mom off. “You’re slurring. God only knows what you’re high on right now.” JJ shifted over, moving closer to Ellie so he could wrap his arms around her gently. Her eyes were filled with tears, threatening to overflow. Hearing from her mom unexpectedly shook her to her core, and a knot had worked its way into her stomach and showed no sign of leaving. “Don’t reach out to me until you’re sober, mom.” Ellie hung up the phone, not bothering to listen to anything else the woman had to say. She was tired, her whole life she had been dealing with her mother's addiction all while learning to take care of herself and her sister, and it seemed to be following her no matter where she went. “You okay?” JJ asked quietly, brushing away a stray tear that had leaked from her eye. He tugged on her body lightly, laying her down on the bed next to him and pulling her closer to his chest. The question seemed to ake things worst though, and JJ internally swore as Ellie began to shake and sob. He knew what it was like to have a shitty parent, but seeing someone else go through the pain was so heartbreaking, especially when it was someone he loved so much. He wanted more than anything to take all the pain away from her, but that was something he couldn’t do, so instead, he held her close and prayed that one day she could be fully happy. --- It was Ellie’s first time back at the chateau since she had been discharged from the hospital. Even though it had already been a couple of weeks, the pogues had all been quite busy and there wasn’t a great time for them all to get together. Today though, everyone was free, so they planned a little celebration for Ellie. Even with just the six of them, a few balloons and a small store-bought cake, the ‘party’ still bought a huge smile to Ellie’s face that stuck around even after the cake had been devoured and the balloons had been popped (The first was an accident by John B, the rest by JJ after he saw how much the loud pop scared everyone else). It was beginning to get dark out, and they had made their way from John B’s tiny, and now messy, kitchen out to the small firepit he had outside. It took a while to light the fire, but once it was ablaze the laughter and chats continued. Ellie couldn’t help but notice that for the entire day, not a drop of alcohol was involved. Even though alcohol wasn’t involved in her recent addiction and overdose, the pogues were still cautious with her recovery and she appreciated that. As the air began to get chilly, Ellie leaned into JJ’s side, and he wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her even closer. Sarah smirked, there had been no talks of a relationship between the two since Ellie had been released from the hospital but everyone could tell something was going on. Sarah opened her mouth, ready to question the pair cuddled up together, but footsteps approaching from the driveway interrupted her. John B and Kiara heard it too, their faces contorted in confusion as they weren’t expecting anyone else to show up. “What the fuck are you doing here?” John B noticed who it was first, and he stood up hastily, clearly trying to block Ellie’s view of who it was. But as soon as John B spoke, Ellie pulled away from the warmth of the boy beside her, standing up so she could see over John B’s shoulder. She moved forward quickly, ready to jump in to help the pogues with their unwanted guest, but quickly froze as she made eye contact with Rafe Cameron. JJ was beside her in an instant, his hand lightly resting on her lower back. She could hear him breathing heavily, could feel the anger radiating from him. “You got a lot of nerve showing up here,” He sneered, ready to jump into a fight. “I just want to see Ellie,” Rafe said defensively, his hands raised in the air. “I have no interest in seeing you.” Ellie found her voice, the words coming out way harsher than intended, not that she minded. “Ellie, I-” Rafe started to speak, moving to get closer to her, but he was blocked as John B quickly stepped to the side. “Could you shut the fuck up?” It was clear how angry Ellie was, all the fear and uneasiness she had displaced just minutes ago nowhere to be seen. She pulled away from JJ and brushed past John B so that she was stood directly in front of her ex. “Ellie, wha-” JJ questioned her but was cut off by a wave of her hand, and all the pogues were quiet. None of them doubted Ellie, she could handle this herself and they all knew it. “Why are you being so fucking rude?” The softness that had coated Rafe’s face when he first arrived was gone, replaced with fury and hatred. Ellie rolled her eyes. “You almost killed me, Rafe. You left me to die from an overdose on a drug that I never even would have taken if it wasn’t for you. Not to mention, the entirety of our relationship, you were a complete ass. So yes, I’m being rude. I have no idea why you would even think it would be okay to come here to see me.” “Whatever. You’re a massive fucking bitch anyways,” Rafe muttered. At this, JJ’s hand balled into a fist, enraged that the kook had the audacity to talk about Ellie that way. He wanted to rush forward, to pound his fist into his face. But he didn’t need to, because as Rafe turned to leave, Ellie reached out and grabbed his hand, turning him back towards her. Hope flashed in his eyes, Rafe’s immediate thought being that she changed her mind and was going to ask him not to leave. That thought was short-lived though because Ellie proceeded to smack him across the face. John B gasped, shocked at the sudden physical outburst from Ellie he hadn’t seen before. Sarah snorted, glad to see her brother finally getting what he deserved. Pope blinked slowly, trying to figure out what had happened to the sweet Ellie he had got to know, not that he blamed her for hitting Rafe. JJ stared in awe, amazed at the girl he loved standing up for herself. Rafe opened his mouth to speak, his eyes narrow as he glared at Ellie. “Don’t,” She said, shaking her head. “I think it’s time for you to leave.” Luckily, Rafe turned to leave, no longer interested in putting up a fight. Ellie stuck up her middle finger to him as he left, and even though his back was to her and he couldn’t see it, the gesture still made her feel good. “Woah, Ellie!” John B shouted once Rafe’s truck had sped off. “Didn’t know you had it in you!” “That’s my girl!” JJ whooped, rushing forward and wrapping his arms around her. He lifted her in the air, spinning her around with excitement, but quickly noticed how stiff she was, her arms didn’t reciprocate the hug, her smile didn’t match his, instead, she nibbled at her lip nervously, her eyes wide. JJ quickly backtracked and realized the mistake he made. “Oh, shit, El,” He muttered, putting her down and stepping back to look at her better. “I’m sorry, that just slipped out.” Ellie blinked a couple of times, gathering her thoughts together before slowly smiling. “No, I- I liked the sound of it. I think I’d like to be your girl.” JJ could hear his friends cheering around them, but at that moment, all he could focus on was her. The words took him by surprise, she had been so set on taking things slow, he didn’t expect it. Ellie could tell he was flustered, the slight pink tinge to his cheeks giving him away. She stepped forward with a smirk, grabbing his hand to pull him closer as well. They were basically touching, she glanced up at him innocently and JJ swore he fell in love even more. “You gonna kiss your girl?” Ellie whispered. JJ bent his head down slightly so his lips could meet hers, and even though they had kissed before, this felt different. She was finally his. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer, both of them forgetting about everyone around them. JJ was absolutely and utterly in love with her, and he didn’t know it, but she was in love with him too.

[coyotesongwriting]

Home - Ch. 1

Chapter 1 - Mistakes

Story Summary:  When a mission goes horribly wrong and Bucky dies in front of your eyes, how are you supposed to just pick up the pieces and move on? One step at a time. 9 years later, you’ve moved on with your life and everything seems to be going just fine, until one of the Avengers shows up in the small town you fled to years ago. Will everything come crashing down around you?

Word Count: 2712

Author’s Note: I’m playing a new - to me - style of writing so this is all being written past tense, let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters so don’t sue me please. I just really like them haha

Series Masterlist

The quinjet flew over the cold forest in Northern Russia as the team prepared to disembark. Fury had received intel that Hydra was still working out of a small concrete bunker in the middle of the remote forest, and after a few weeks of recon, you’d confirmed the reports. Now, it was time to do what you did best, kick ass.

Steve was running over the plan with everyone for the third time today while everyone geared up, and you had basically tuned him out. You’d been the one to help him come up with the plan back at headquarters, so you weren’t really concerned. You may not be a super soldier like Bucky or Steve or have powers like Wanda, but you were one of the naturally gifted members of the team.

You’d always known you wanted to do good, be good, so when you’d been offered a position in Shield right out of college you hadn’t hesitated. When you quickly proved your abilities undercover, it wasn’t long before Fury was sending you on longer solo assignments. With no family to call your own and your uncanny ability to weasel yourself out of trouble, you were soon his preferred agent to send out on long trips.

It was on one of the long trips that you’d first run into Bucky. You’d been working the case for over a year, undercover working at the restaurant that was a front for the local gang that Fury suspected had ties with Hydra. Fury had sent him in to call you back, your handler had lost contact with you months ago, and you were so set on finishing the case you didn’t let that stop you. You’d refused to leave when Bucky showed up, not wanting to abandon your case. Luckily, he’d seemed to understand that drive in you, and with Fury’s permission, he’d stayed on to help you. It wasn’t long before the case was all wrapped up neatly, and you were able to return to your life.

After that mission, Fury began sending you on missions with different members of the Avengers, but he always seemed to favor having you work with Bucky. When you’d first met the former winter soldier he’d been quiet and withdrawn but hard - you’d even jokingly called him granite to his face one drunken night. Over time, he’d thawed towards you and you’d struck up a warm friendship. Even when you weren’t working a case, you two were always in contact with one another.

One thing led to another, and before long you and Bucky were going out on dates in the small town near the Avengers compound. Your favorite spot was the small diner, they had the best apple pie in the whole state, and the two of you could spend hours there in the bustling restaurant. It was always full of locals and everyone knew each other's names. When you’d started going there you were pleasantly surprised to find that no one treated you or Bucky differently because of what you’d done. It had quickly become your weekly date night destination. None of the other avengers ventured to the diner, so it eventually became your little secret.

At first, you’d kept your relationship secret from the others, not wanting to make a big deal out of it until you were sure it was going to last. When you’d been together for six months, you’d had to admit it was time to tell the team. You’d waited until the weekly team dinner, and instead of saying anything you’d merely been openly affectionate with each other. Throughout dinner, no one called you out on your new touchy behavior with Bucky, not until you leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Bucky always blushed at the public displays of affection, and drawing that out in him was one of your favorite things to do.

When you’d glanced back at the table, you saw Tony staring at you with a raised eyebrow. With a shrug, you’d returned to dinner as usual until Clint had huffed, pulling out his wallet and shoving a $5 bill into Natasha’s waiting hand. Of course, Fury and Steve refused to send you two on any missions together for the next year, worried it would compromise your ability to do your jobs, but eventually, they’d come around.

You and Bucky had been together for three years now, and things were going well. You’d moved into his suite at the Avengers compound, and you were both happy. Whenever you were both at the compound, you made your weekly jaunt to the diner but even when you were away on missions you found little ways to keep in touch - from having Nat drop off a slice of pie for him while you were away, to Bucky asking Steve to take you on adventures while he was away.

“You ready, [Y/N]?” Bucky’s voice brought you back to the present and you turned, shooting him a grin.

“When aren’t I?” you laughed, tightening the straps on your armor.

While you’d been daydreaming, you’d reached the bunker. Steve and Bucky stood near the open back of the jet. Like always, they’d be the first out followed by Sam and Tony. After they were out, you’d head out with Clint and Natasha and get to work. The team had worked together so many times over the years that by now you each knew exactly where the others would be, and you were a well-oiled machine. At least, you were most of the time.

Bucky’s warm hand found it’s way to your waist as he pulled you in, pressing a quick kiss to your forehead, “See you later, alligator.”

You rolled your eyes, he’d started making those stupid jokes in the last two weeks for the sole purpose of annoying you. Before you even had a chance to respond though, Bucky jumped out of the hovering quinjet, his smirk the last thing you saw as he dropped.

Steve quickly followed him, and the mission was on. Bickering like usual, Sam and Tony took to the skies. Once they were clear, you dropped your rope down from the jet and slid down alongside Nat and Clint. By the time your feet touched the ground, Tony had already blown open the door of the bunker and like angered ants pouring out of an anthill, Hydra soldiers had begun to erupt. Clint found his way to a nearby tree and began to fire down on them while Steve and Bucky made their way into the bunker. Working together with Sam, Tony, and Nat, while Clint covered your group you’d made quick work of the soldiers who’d willingly come out to face you.

Clint, Sam, and Tony took up their patrols outside the bunker, watching for the reinforcements you were sure would arrive while Nat led the way for the two of you into the bunker. While Steve and Bucky were dealing with enemy soldiers, it was your job to collect as much information and evidence as you could.

Three floors down you found the jackpot, a room full of computers and files. Neither of you spoke as you quickly fell into your usual roles, the chattering of your teammates over the comms was enough to keep track of.

“Come on Sam, I bet you couldn’t catch this arrow.” Clint’s voice was full of laughter as he goaded him.

“I’m not going to let you shoot at me again, bird brain” you could almost hear the eye roll from Sam as they continued the argument they’d been having for the last month.

Nat had finally managed to get one of the computers working, and while she plugged in the drive to start downloading information, you were scanning documents as fast as you could. Your eyes skimmed the paperwork as you went, trying to get a better idea of what they were studying here.

The warm timbre of Bucky’s voice over the comm drew your attention “Doll, you want to try and catch a movie this weekend? I think - DUCK - that new one you wanted to see is out, right?” You could hear fighting in the background, apparently he and Steve were still working on clearing the lower floors.

“Yeah Buck, I’d like that. It’s out today actually so that works” your eyes never left the papers in front of you, but a small grin slipped onto your face.

“Come on guys, heads in the game please” Steve sighed and you laughed, apologizing.

“Yeah kids, that’s not very professional of you.” Tony’s voice chimed in.

“Fuck off, Stark” Bucky’s voice was playful. While their relationship had been strained at first, the two had eventually formed a friendship based on sarcasm and insults.

“Language.” The team spoke all at once. In the years since his slip up, it had become an ingrained response to anyone cussing on comms, so much so that no one even thought about it anymore before responding.  

A heavy groan came from Steve’s comm before he muttered a simple, “Get back to work.”

Near the bottom of the stack of papers, you found a small note about the test subjects being kept in the lowest level, northwest corner. They were testing on them to see if they could get any of them to develop powers, but apparently, they’d been having no success yet. They’d recently gotten a group of teens that they hoped might be more successful than the last group.

“Steve, sounds like there might be potential hostages below, looks like they’re in room 6C - Northwest corner, bottom floor. They’re testing on teens down there.” you scanned the paperwork as you spoke, searching for any other information they might need.

“We’re on our way. Let’s keep the comms clear in case something comes up.” Steve responded.

Among the echoes of “comm clear”, Bucky’s voice stood out with a simple “Thanks doll, comm clear.”

Time seemed to creep by until you heard Steve’s voice over the radio, “On our way out with the hostages. Clint, bring the quinjet down, let’s get out of here.”

When Steve and the hostages reached the door to the room where you and Nat were working, your eyes scanned the group, subconsciously searching for Bucky. Raising one eyebrow, you shot Steve a questioning glance as Nat began to lead the teens up and out.

“One of the teens says someone’s missing. Bucky’s looking for him.” Steve explained, and you nodded, moving through the crowd to help Nat in the front in case any trouble popped up.

As you exited the bunker with the first of the hostages, Tony’s voice came over the comms.

“We need to go. NOW. ” the urgency in his voice was clear as the sky above you.

Nat began to run, leading the teens towards the quinjet quickly while you stopped, turning back to the bunker. The staircase down was empty and dark, a black hole waiting to swallow everything whole.

“What’s going on?” You asked, your voice hard as you prepared for a fight.”

“Missiles incoming, and according to Friday, they’ve started their self destruct sequence. We need to go. I can handle one or two but I don’t recognize these and there’s more than we can handle.”

“Understood. Bucky? Let’s go.” you jogged over to the jet, joining Steve on the ramp as the rest of the teens got seatbelted in. Your eyes didn’t leave the entrance to the bunker, waiting for the familiar mop of brown hair to peak into the sunlight.

The comms were silent, no hint of Bucky’s warm voice, no trace of static, no way to know he’d even heard you. As the seconds ticked past, your anxiety began to grow. He should have been here by now.

“Clint, get the jet in the air. We have to move, now. We have less than a minute.” Tony’s voice was firm, solid in his decision.

“Bucky isn’t back yet.” you heard the slight tremble in your voice, but you couldn’t find it in you to care. It wasn’t like him to not answer a comm call, particularly not one from you.

“Clint, we don’t have time. Get in the air. I can grab him when he comes out” Tony ordered again.

Clint paused, looking at Steve for an order. After what seemed like an hour but was only a millisecond, Steve nodded. The jet began to rise and you prepared to step off, back onto the pad to go find Bucky when Steve’s hand wrapped around your arm, stopping you in your tracks.

“Tony won’t be able to carry you both, plus if Bucky found that hostage that’s too many. Wait here, you know he’s coming” the hint of unsureness in his tone did nothing to calm the worry.

Seconds ticked by quickly, your eyes locked onto the bunker door as the jet pulled higher into the sky, moving out of the path of the oncoming missiles. You didn’t even flinch at the roar of the missiles, your hand tightening on the handle of the jet as Tony detonated the first two rockets.

Finally, Bucky emerged from the bunker, an unconscious teen slung over his shoulder as he stepped back into the sunshine. Your eyes locked onto him at the same time the missile struck the building behind him, swallowing him up in a thick cloud of dust and debris.

You could hear the chaos erupt around you, Steve barking orders as Clint began to navigate the quinjet out of the path of the missiles still incoming. Tony and Sam shouting back and forth, still out in the air as they searched. You heard it all, but it didn’t seem to register. No, your mind was still stuck on that last image, on Bucky running out, looking exhausted but relieved, searching for the quinjet that had left him behind.

“Does anyone have eyes on Bucky?” you could hear the full-blown panic in your voice but couldn’t find it in you to care, not when Bucky was down there.

“We’re looking.” Sam’s voice was warm, too warm. He was using what Bucky had always jokingly referred to as his therapy voice. While you usually found it calming, it seemed to be grating now, harsh and unwelcome.

“Get me down there.” your voice was soft, firm.

Before anyone could respond, Clint’s voice came over the comms, “We have to get out of here. There’s more missiles incoming and this time they’re locked onto us.”

Without waiting for approval or anyone’s answer, Clint and Nat put the quinjet into motion, speeding away from the smoking pile of rubble below. The jerk of the sudden departure almost sent you tumbling out, Steve’s hand on your arm the only thing anchoring you. It took a second for the shock to leave your system, and it wasn’t until the bunker was out of sight that you yanked your arm from his grasp.

“Steve, let me out. I’ll go find him. You guys keep moving.” your voice was steady now, sure of what would happen next. They’d drop you off, you’d go back and find him, and the two of you would have to trek out to a safehouse with the teen where you’d find your way back to the compound.

“We can’t stop, [y/n]. There’s no time to stop and let you down.” Nat spoke calmly, the way you’d talk to a wild animal.

“Fine. Tony, grab me?” your idea pivoted on its head, knowing he could just grab you and drop you on the ground quickly.

“I have to keep on top of the rockets” Tony’s voice was strained, and you could hear the alarms going off in the suit as he fought to defend the jet.

“We’ll come back for him, I swear.” Steve swallowed heavily, his eyes not leaving the scene behind you for a long moment before he turned, pressing the button to close the back of the jet. Without another word, he headed up to the front to talk to Clint and Nat.

You watched the smoke in the distance as it rose, mocking you and just out of reach. You didn’t move, even as the door slid shut, locking into place as your thoughts raced.

~~~~~

Next Chapter -> 

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What a Beautiful Wedding Ch. 6: The Wings of the Antarctic Empire

Summary: Tommy is desperate to convince Phil and Techno they’re in some kind of trap and he’d like to be taken seriously just once.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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Channel 6

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Tommy found himself at the foot of the long, tall black stone staircase. Philza was looking down at him.

When he set his foot on the first step, Techno drew his sword and stepped in front of Phil. “I don’t think so.”

“Phil!” Tommy yelled up. “Yer[1] both in some kinda[2] illusion. Wake up.”

About five guards appeared from almost nowhere and aimed their arrows at him, Tommy recognized the pink of Niki’s hair among them. Techno took two steps down from the altar.

“Take ‘em ta the holdin’ room,”[3] Phil ordered, spreading his wings and he held the baby close to him as he flew off.

“Let’s go,” Techno ordered as he walked down the steps, Tommy found himself at the dangerous end of Techno’s sword. “Come on.”

Tommy held his hands up and turned, which resulted in Techno pushing Tommy forward.

“Don’t fuckin’[4] shove me!” Tommy shouted, but Techno and Niki lead them to the palace.

Tommy sat down in some uncomfortable chair as Techno and Niki stared at him. Ghostbur looked at Niki nervously.

“H-Hey,” Ghostbur smiled at Niki.

“Stay back,” Niki told him, bow and arrow pointed down, but not notched or ready to fire yet.

“The two of you are waiting until the old man gets back,” Techno told him.

“Techno, come on, man, you have ta[5] know this is Dream’s doin’[6],” Tommy groaned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you’re not careful you will get yourself shot,” Techno warned.

The heavy doors of the room were pushed open and Phil walked in. The lack of snow or distance gave Tommy a good look at the man. Little things about Philza were different. His eye color for one. The Phil that Tommy had always known had blue eyes but now he had more of blue-green color. He was maybe an inch or two taller. Not any taller than the other people in the room but it was noticeable enough to Tommy. His blond hair had a slightly dustier tint to it.

Phil paused when he looked at Tommy. “Stand down.”

Niki took her arrow away from her bow, “If you’re sure.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had a visitor like this,” Phil told them. “You two are from the future aren’tcha[7]?”

“Uh, yeah?” Tommy said. “We’re in an illusion. It’s Dream, he’s done somethin’[8].”

Philza just started staring at Ghostbur as a look of realization dawned on him. “I . . . Wilbur?”

“My name is Ghostbur,” Ghostbur corrected nervously, ducking behind Tommy a bit.

Niki seemed to recoil and Techno began slowly coming back to himself, clutching his head as he began grunting in pain and his knees crashed to the ground.

“Techno!” Phil rushed over.

“They’re too loud,” Techno grunted.

Tommy began stomping over, “What’s that green bastard doin’ ta yeh?”[9]

Phil used a wing to knock Tommy away before Techno was able to stab Tommy with a sword, his eyes a blood red and a frenzied look in his eyes.

“Tech, Tech, follow my voice, yeh[10] don’t need ta[5] fight here,” Phil told Techno as the warrior thrashed his head back and forth.

Niki inched closer and passed Phil a vial, he placed it under Techno’s nose and he began calming down.

“Thanks,” Phil said and inched closer. “Techno, yeh[10] need me ta[5] clear the room?”

“No, I,” Techno paused, swallowing. “I’ve got it.”

“What did that fucker do ta[5] you?” Tommy demanded. “It’s bad enough he’s got us trapped in here.”

“Dream’s not powerful enough for that,” Techno had a slight chuckle to his voice as he stood up.

“We still need ta[5] get out,” Tommy reminded him. “Tubbo an’[11] Ranboo are still trapped.”

Philza sighed, rather dramatically before he held his hand up and magic covered his hand before there was what felt like an earthquake and then a crash of some kind. Tommy, Shroud, and Ghostbur’s outfits changed into something that matched Phil and Techno’s. Tommy realized he was wearing a circlet, perched on his head and when he went to take it off to look at it he saw that it was studded with green and blue stones, and etched with perfect craftsmanship.

Tommy immediately rushed to the nearest window and saw at the foot of the palace, right outside the ground, an inn. And Tubbo stumbled out of it, looking around wildly. He was in an outfit that almost matched Tommy’s, but without the circlet and he was wearing thick gloves.

Ranboo followed after him, he was wearing a long purple cloak. But behind him, Michael was peeking his head out from behind Ranboo’s cloak.

Tommy immediately raced out of the palace, shoulding past guards and palace servants as he tried to get to Tubbo.

“Tubbo!” Tommy raced over but Tubbo glared at him, his false eye’s iris glowed with its radioactive symbol right before he punched Tommy in the gut.

“The fuck!” Tommy shouted angrily.

“I was safe!” Tubbo shouted in a fury. “Me an’[11] Ranboo an’[11] Michael were safe. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I didn’t do anythin’[12],” Tommy shouted back in anger.

“T-Tubbo,” Ranboo warned, and tried to hide Michael in his cloak.

Tubbo stopped and looked past Tommy to see, to his horror, that Techno was watching them as Michael peeked his head around Ranboo’s cape, holding his larger hand in his much smaller one.

Techno’s eyes narrowed and Tubbo moved, scooping Michael up and glaring at Techno.

“Stay back!” Tubbo ordered Techno with an angry snarl. “Get away!”

Techno looked between the three of them, Michael just staring at Techno with huge, wide dark eyes, the gears clearly starting to turn in his head.

The warrior took a step forward and Ranboo took a step forward. “Techno! Techno! Wait please, don’t hurt them.”

“Are you with them?” Techno demanded.

“I, uh,” Ranboo clearly had a look of panic on his face. “Yeah, but look I just want you to know—”

“I don’t care what you spend your time with but did it have to be with the government?” Techno spat at Ranboo.

“He’s my husband, of course I spend time with him,” Ranboo told him.

“Ehhh!” Techno sputtered. “When did you get married?!”

“Almost a year ago?” Ranboo asked.

“A year? Why am I just learning now?” Techno told him. “I’m like your mentor, I should have been the first person you told.”

“You don’t like Tubbo,” Ranboo reminded.

“Because he and Quackity tried to kill me with axes, why would I like the guy?” Techno snapped.

“Well, yeah, that makes sense,” Ranboo admitted.

“Take the kid, we’ll go inside to Phil,” Techno jabbed his thumb at the palace. “And don’t worry, not killin’[13] the kid. He’s Ranboo’s too after all, right?”

“Yeah,” Ranboo answered.

“Good,” Techno told him but Tubbo still glared at Techno suspiciously. He followed at the back of the group, always braced to dump Michael into Tommy’s arms and pull out the first weapon he could get his hands on.

He only marginally calmed down when he saw Phil and Techno started complaining to Phil about Ranboo, and then balked when he found out Philza was already aware of the boy.

The little meet-up was interrupted when Jack Manifold raced in, in uniform after getting pulled in from the bubble Tubbo and Ranboo had been trapped in.

“Emperor! Enemy soldiers were spotted at the gate!” Jack yelled, the trio of teens and Niki stared at Phil in surprise.

“Where from?” Phil called out.

“From the Errin Empire,” Jack reported. “They were dressed like they were in the royal guard. We were able to apprehend them.”

“Shit,” Phil spat. “I want three guards in front ‘a[14] the nursery. Ranboo, take Michael an’[11] go with them. Niki, make sure no one gets in.”

“O-Okay,” Ranboo stammered nervously, grabbing Michael, and standing in front of Tommy expectantly. It took Tommy a bit to realize he was quietly asking Tommy to take Shroud. Tommy nodded and passed him over, Shroud became very upset to leave Tommy’s arms.

“On it!” Niki pushed Ranboo after the soldiers the instant he had both young boys in his arms.

“Tommy, Tubbo, behind me,” Philza ordered.

“Hold up, why are you the Emperor, yer[1] an anarchist?” Tubbo asked.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Techno interrupted as Puffy, Jack, and a couple soldiers dragged Chase and Jackie in.

“That’s new,” Techno hummed.

“We spotted an enemy force, we think it’s Lord Phantom,” Puffy announced.

Jackie turned to look out the window, seeing a wall of darkness in the sky, coming for them. “Storm’s comin’[15] in,” Jackie commented.

“That’s the Entity,” Phil corrected.

“What? Dark?” Chase perked up, starting to try and twist himself out of the rope tying his wrists behind his back.

Puffy kicked him down, so that he was face-down on the ground and placed a foot on his wrists. “Not so fast, buddy.”

“Puffy, let him up,” Phil ordered, “cut ‘em[16] both from their bonds.”

“You sure?” Puffy asked, taking her foot off.

“Yes,” Phil ruffled out his wings. “Battle stations! Average, can you talk Ent down?”

“I think so?” Chase said, rubbing at his wrists as he wisely kept his distance from Phil. “I just need ta[5] reach him, I didn’t forget so I imagine he’s still good too.”

The storm reached them and Phil started to hear the screams.

“How’d they sneak up that quickly?!” Jack yelled.

“Because none ‘a[14] this is real,” Phil told him.

The door was thrown open and Phantom was standing there in royal purple. “Phil, Techno, long time no see. It’s just like old times.”

“So yer[1] awake, then,” Phil sighed.

“Where’s Dark?” Chase demanded.

Phantom motioned with his head back, “Dealing with the town.”

“Then move outta[17] the fookin’[4] way,” Chase snarled.

“Aww, he’s having fun out there,” Phantom smiled.

“Here I’d hoped he wouldn’t work with yeh[10] again, yeh[10] always have been a shite[18] friend,” Phil glared at him.

“Ehh, we were both standing on the cliff, and he wanted to blow off some steam,” Phantom shrugged. “You know empaths, they get a little needy when they’re emotional so I just let him go off.”

“Fook[19] off,” Chase spat at him. “Jackie!”

Jackie grabbed Chase and they blitzed past Phantom, who rolled his eyes.

“Don’t blame me when he starts getting snippy,” Phantom scoffed, bracing as he smiled at Phil and Techno. “Let’s tango, boys.”

As Phantom braced for a fight, Chase raced out into the storm.

“Dark!” Chase screamed over the whirlwind of snow. Chase was racing towards the darkest part of the storm. “Dark!”

The darkness seemed to evaporate and Dark had some soldier by the throat, when he looked at Chase he paused. “Chase?”

“There yeh[10] are,” Chase felt relief, walking over, a rumbling passing through the bubble as it began weakening from outside attacks. “We’re goin’ home. Yer okay. I’m takin’ yeh home an’ yeh can relax.”[20]

Dark blinked in disorientation, he felt drained. Phantom must have snagged some of his aura when he wasn’t looking, or the anomaly was taking more from him than he realized. “Yeah, I think that’s for the best.”

Chase was almost within arms reach and Dark realized his body needed a nap because it was getting harder to focus on things.

“Hey, yeh[10] look tired,” Chase smiled as Jackie noticed something shooting towards them, but because of the coloration of the smoke he thought it a part of Dark’s aura.

At least until it hit Chase.

Something stabbed Chase right through the heart and the marksman knew he should be dead. But he felt something in his very soul snap. Dark flinched, his eyes widening in horror.

Chase knew should be dead, the human heart was a fragile organ, but as he was tossed to the side, he felt weak and was losing blood but his heart was too stubborn to stop beating and blood was still coming from somewhere. As his soul cracked in two before snapping back together, good as new.

“Hey, Dames,” Marc spat as he grabbed Dark and pulled him closer. “Let’s try this again.”

“How dare you? What did you do?” Dark spat at Marc as he looked at Chase in horror. He was only slightly calmed when he saw Chase starting to try and pick himself up, glaring murderously at Marc. But the Actor burst into smoke and ripped a portal open, dragging Dark with him.

When the portal snapped closed, it destroyed the bubble with it. Barely a second’s warning as it shattered and violently dropped all its inhabitants onto the floor.

The bubble the Actor disappeared into snagged the Sanders bubble and seemed to violently tear it in half as it pulled it inside.

Phil screamed in agony as his bad wing returned and reminded the avian demon that he’d been grounded for years now.

“Phil!” Techno rushed over to him in concern.

Chase looked around, becoming furious when he couldn’t see Dark. “Fooker! That fooker! I’m gonna kill him.”[21]

“Average stop movin’[22]!” Jackie yelled and raced over. “Henrik! Chase needs attention, now!”

“Let me go!” Chase snapped at Jackie who was looking at him like Chase had flesh hanging off his bones. “I’m fine.”

“Yeh[10] were stabbed in the fookin’[4] heart! Stop movin’[22]!” Jackie yelled and that made people stare at Chase and Henrik who was at a brisk walk was now suddenly racing over as fast as he could. Marvin followed suit.

“Average! Lay down now!” Henrik yelled, forcing the marksman to a halt.

While the chaos of trying to get medical care and everyone just tried to figure out what was going on, Techno took a look around as Phil seemed to regain his strength and stood up.

“You okay?” Techno looked around as Ranboo was starting to get frantic.

“Where’s Tubbo?” Ranboo asked, an acute sense of panic growing within him. He scooped Michael and Shroud into his arms.

“He was right next ta[5] me, did that fucker grab him?” Tommy yelled as he looked around, his eyes locking onto Quackity who was just staring at Ranboo. Or more importantly, at Michael and Shroud, who were both crying. The screams only made Tommy even more agitated.

“What do you mean he’s just gone!” Ranboo yeled.

“Okay, give ‘em[16] here,” Philza swept in and just scooped the two toddlers into his arms, his aura soothing them and they stopped crying.

Techno took out his axe and walked closer to the remaining bubble that hadn’t been consumed by the Actor’s. His other hand summoned something that looked like a fishing pole with a small hand-sized grappling hook on the end of it and reeled it back before aiming it at the bubble and dragging it closer to him.

“Hey, let’s think about this,” Quackity urged.

But Techno slammed his axe into the bubble the instant he could and it cracked before shattering. Antfrost, George, Skeppy, and Bad all dropped to the ground but Dream rolled into a kneeling position and looked around. He almost stabbed Techno but the warrior easily used his weapons to deflect the blow.

“Hey man, chill out for five seconds, okay?” Techno chuckled.

Dream got up and looked around. He helped pull George up to his feet.

“Thanks, Techno,” Dream told him.

“That clear the books?” Techno smiled.

“Fuck no,” Dream chuckled. “You did that on your own, I didn’t ask you to do anything.”

“Ehh, it was worth a shot,” Techno shrugged, a smile still on his face.

Skeppy looked up from where he’d been laying on the ground next to Bad and when he looked up at Ponk he surged up.

“Give it,” Skeppy took the tome from Ponk, and checked it over. His eyes began to glow blue as parts of his skin began to crystallize. Magic fluttered around him. “Thank you, Ponk.”

“I was doing my best,” Ponk told him, emphatically throwing their arms up. “Took you long enough.”

“I was a bit busy,” Skeppy shot back.

Chase, once Henrik deemed him impossibly still alive and despite the blood he wasn’t dying, he looked up at the final bubble. Illinois gave Eric a kiss before he walked over to Chase.

“Actor’s up there?” Illinois glared at it.

“Yeah,” Chase said. “Fooker’s[23] a demon so snappin’[24] his neck’s so isn’t a crime.”

“Not a punishable one, and he’d only come back to life in a week,” Illinois agreed.

“Hey, the two of you are not going alone,” Silver said, in the middle of orchestrating ways to get people home. Dream ordering most of the Server group back home. Silver and Jackie quickly agreed to go with Chase and Illinois.

Philza was staring at Shroud before smiling at him. “I’ll take these two back home.”

“Deal,” Ranboo said without thinking, racing over to Chase. “Is Bomble okay in there?”

“We don’t know, but we’ll get him back home, the Sides seem to be in there as well,” Silver told him.

“No, I’m coming with,” Ranboo insisted. “I can open up a portal right into the bubble.”

“Count me in too,” Tommy rushed over.

“Absolutely not,” Silver told him.

“Let me rephrase that,” Tommy told Silver in his usual loud volume. “I am goin’[25] in there. With or without yer[26] fuckin’[4] permission.”

Silver sighed in frustration. “You two don’t take chances, and if you see Bomble, you two need to bail immediately.”

“Deal,” Ranboo spoke over Tommy and his eyes turned purple as he opened up a portal right over the group and took them right into the bubble.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. You’re

2. kind of

3. Take them to the holding room

4. fucking

5. to

6. doing

7. aren’t you

8. something

9. What’s that green bastard doing to you?

10. you

11. and

12. anything

13. killing

14. of

15. coming

16. them

17. out of

18. shit

19. Fuck

20. We’re going home. You’re okay. I’m taking you home and you can relax.

21. Fucker! That fucker! I’m going to kill him.

22. moving

23. Fucker’s

24. snapping

25. going

26. your

[lokikingofasgardslover713]

Loki Laufeyson Masterlist

Masterlist

Series

The Ulfhednar {Finished}

Ch.1    Ch.2   Ch.3   Ch.4   Ch.5   Ch.6   Ch.7   Ch.8

Description: This was my first fic I posted on Tumblr. Robbing from the Avengers was a walk in the park. Or until the god of mischief ruins any plans of escape. A fight ensues leading to the discovery of who and what the thief is and it isn't a discovery she ever wanted known. Especially by the very gods she was meant to obey.

Warnings: Blood, angst, stubbornness (M/F)

Forgotten Gods {Finished}***

1  2   3   4   5   6   7   8

Description: What if the one in a million shots at stopping Thanos was Loki had to fall from the Bifrost into the titans hands? And, what if the reason had to be the kidnapping of said gods true love? Can Strange and the others pull this off, and keep the reader safe to return to Loki once it is all over or do they fail miserably and cause more damage?

Warnings: Smut, Inferred Non-con, Angst, Blood (M/F)

Sparkling Topaz & Mead {Finished}***

One   Two  Three   Four   Five   Six  Seven

Description: After learning her powers don't work on either god, the reader reluctantly surrenders and returns with the Avengers. Very reluctant to help, what she is intrigues the god of mischief who takes interest in her in more ways than one.

Warnings: Smut (M/F)

The Wolves Den    {Epilogue}

Description: Werewolf AU. The god of mischief finds himself entering Midgardian bar searching for the wolf he has tracked after a nights run. Not to keen on how he finds her, he begrudgingly gets the Avengers involved.

Warnings: Blood, violence (M/F)

Loki’s Gilded Pet {Finished}***

Description: What happens when Loki is brought a prisoner to play with when he is in the dungeons? Reader is a mortal, some how she is brought through a passage between Midgard & Asgard to be apprehended & treated poorly before being taken to proper authorities. To cover there tracks the guards that found her throw her to Loki in hopes he will kill her.

Warnings: Mentions of rape, Smut (M/F)

Prickly Master List {Finished}***

Description: Stemmed from and Inktober oneshot in which the god of mischief wants his own familiar that is ALSO a promised lover who is reluctant to give into the god and makes his life a living hell.

Warnings: Angst, Smut (M/F)

Havoc’s Worship   Dragon!Loki {Finished}***

Description: Loki is chaos, chaos is havoc & havoc has found a treasure, a jewel, a new being to worship other than himself!

Warnings: Non-con, dub-con, Dark Loki and Thor, Smut (M/F)

Drooling Masterlist {Finished}***

Description: A female frost giant hiding on Midgard just so happens has the god of mischief land in her living room after the events of Avengers Infinity War. Little does she know, this causes her to come into heat long before her time.

Warnings: Smut, dub-con? (M/F)

Shattered Peace {Finished}

Description: During Thanos attack on the Statesman, the titan, instead of taking Loki’s life takes something more valuable. Leaving the god and a distraught lover in his wake.

Warnings: Angst, Heartache (M/F)

Savage Spite {Finished}

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3 

Description: Loki really makes a mess & it seems it will take longer for him to right the mistake than originally thought! Reader is a young celestial whose powers have yet to be known just how strong they really are. She and Tony Stark’s daughter, Morgan were raised together as sisters.

Warnings: Smut, Angst (M/F)

Shackled Babe {Finished}***

Description: After the events of infinity war and end game, both Loki and Thor seek a new realm to rebuild Asgard. The brothers remembering Odin telling them of a kingdom in the realm of Alfheim once ruled by a generous light elf. One who fell out of favor to have the throne handed to another, but it should be a safe place to rebuild.

Warnings: Smut, Implied Non-con, Angst, war (M/F)

Bitter Bonds {Finished}***

Description: After Loki is judged on Asgard he is immediately given/sold to the new king of Jotunheim, Helblendi, as a peace offering. 5 years later, two visitors journey to Jotunheim, a woman for trade talks and the other Thor,bargaining for Loki’s freedom. What happens when she bargains for the brother of her late husband?

Warnings: Torture, Panic Attacks, Angst, Smut (M/F)

Helot {Finished}***

Gore  Cryptic  Strange  Advance  Issues  Evocation  Relapse  Desperation  Home 

Description: In efforts to gather more intel, the recon goes to hell the instant a dying slave is thrown into the mix, leaving both Thor and Loki not sure what to do with her. Nothing is known of who she is or where she comes from.

Warnings: Smut, Torture (M/F)

Wolf Season {FINISHED}*** 

Description: This is the first time the readers heat is brought to her attention by none other than the god of mischief. How does she take to the discovery, but more importantly, how does Loki take it? Will Loki keep patience with her stubbornness or will he allow nature to take over? (This IS NOT ABO)

Warnings: Smut, Angst (M/F)

Sexual Healing & Godly Appetites {WIP}***

Description: Loki catches the reader looking for bad dragon toys (google it, you won’t be disappointed) Secretly he has wanted the team healer for a while and seeing her looking for a toy ignites a fire only she can extinguish.

Warning: Smut, BDSM (M/F)

The Auction House {WIP}***

Description: The team takes on a fine art auction that deal in super soldiers as the main prize. The key to the vault each individual is kept is inside the antique sold while encrypted data is scent out detailing the kill count of each soldier before hand to know who you are buying. The one up for auction tonight is top priority and Loki’s true soulmate and last love.

Warning: Angst, Smut in later chapters, Hints to a rough past (M/F)

Oneshots

Mermaids & Gods ***

Description: After the events of Infinity war are sorted out, the team takes a long overdue vacation and drags a certain “reformed” trickster with them.

Warnings: Smut, blood (M/F)

Christmas Praxis***

Description: This is sickly sweet and haven’t a clue where it came from & then it all went to smut! Reader is explaining Santa Claus to Loki who is having trouble grasping the tradition compared to what it once was.

Warnings: Fluff, Smut (M/F)

Loki’s Sacrifice - Dark!Loki***

Description: Loki is brought a gift by the Jotunn to appease the new king of the realms. A sacrifice saved just for this purpose, or so it seems until he gets his first look at what she really is to the Jotunn people.

Warnings: Non-con (M/F)

I Will Not Kneel - Dark!Loki***

Description: Loki’s newest mortal toy isn't exactly as breakable as the ones before her. This intrigues the god who decides to keep her and not pass her off to another.

Warnings: Non-con (M/F)

Mischief's Teacher ***

Description: The general of the Valkyries leaves Asgard with Brunhilde, but not before training the princes to fight. Little did she realize the impact she had on one of the princes until he shows up in Sakaar.

Warnings: Smut (M/F)

Arcane

Description: Written with @starscreamloki - The newest addition to the team isn’t thrilled to be forced into joining the fight, especially when the God of Mischief himself shows up and threatens to reveal her secret she has kept hidden ever since her capture.

Warnings: Swearing (M/F)

Judas Kiss

Description: Loki stumbled across the reader when she was traversing between Jotunheim and Asgard, the god having taking to her after learning she was nothing but a Jotun slave. The intrigue of her had Loki deciding she was to be brought to Asgard to assure she was safe.

Warnings: Angst, War (M/F)

Sea Maiden- Jotunn Loki***

Description: The team, sent by Fury to recruit the reader, haven't a clue as to what she is, just that she is strong, fast, and unrelenting in a fight. Her secret is revealed by Thor and Sam who decide it would be fun to throw her into the water during their at the beach.

Warnings: Smut, Angst (M/F)

Faithlessness

Description: Reader has crashed to the barren lands of Jotunheim after she is tossed out of a space craft and left for dead. Though you can guess who is the one who finds her, taking her back to the palace it is discovered she is just not any mortal or alien race.

Warnings: Pain, Angst (M/F)

Sakaarian Heat*** 

Description: Jotun!Loki & Jotun!Reader - Upon attending a recent party at the urging of the Grandmaster, Loki finds a very rare creature and it turns out she belongs to him.

Warnings: Smut (M/F)

Six Steamy Sentences

Description: This was a writing challenge and a teaser!

Warnings: ANGST (M/F)

Keeper of Beasts***

Description: After Ragnarök, Loki, Thor, Brunnhilde and Hulk/Bruce escape the destruction of Asgard but not onto the Statesman. Instead they board the other craft that belonged to the Grandmaster and accidentally return to Sakaar. There, as luck would have it, they are bought by a frost giantess visiting the realm, but nothing is as it seems. 

Warnings: LEMONS, Angst (M/F)

Warring Loyalties

Description: The conquest for many Romans was more than just land. Taking what and who they wanted, a troop learn of a race of creatures, the selkie whose women are loyal to the end. This was the grand scheme of things when the general waited on shore for the OFC to return. Having come to shore, she never realized they were watching her patterns.

Warnings: Angst, dark things, blood, War (M/F)

Best Laid Plans of Gods & Shield Maidens

Description: After years of chasing after the reader, Loki finally gets his chance to show her how he truly feels. Though it takes a masquerade for the reader to understand just how much he has longed after her and only her when he could have anyone in the 9 realms. 

Warnings: Smut, Angst, Bullying, self-loathing (M/F)

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Banner Ch 2: The Contest

Summary: Life at SHIELD isn’t always missions and seriousness, as a good natured shooting contest between Katie and Clint shows! The question is, as the two dead-shots face off, who will be the winner? Steve has utter faith in his best friend, but will he win the bet? Either way, both are left contemplating their feelings towards one another and realise they run much deeper than either could ever have imagined them doing.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Bad language (no smut, yet, but will be down the line) Bit of angst, two idiots struggling with feelings

March 2013

A shooting contest between two Avengers was always going to draw big attention, so it was hardly surprising, therefore, that SHIELD agents were running a book. Clint was odds on favourite to win, but Steve had so far refused to take part, that is until 10 minutes or so before the contest was supposed to start. He was stood outside the shooting range, eyes focussed on Katie and Clint as they both stood in there, checking their equipment, a crowd steadily gathering behind him.

 “I know she’s good, but she really doesn’t stand a chance.” Natasha said as she stood at his side. Her matter-of-fact tone caused something in his chest to stir, the lack of faith everyone bar Evans and Lawson from the lab seemed to be displaying in Katie riled him and he turned to Natasha.

“Twenty bucks says she does it.” he stuck his hand out.

She raised an eyebrow at him, before shaking his hand “Alright Rogers, you’re on.”

His hands returned to his belt buckle and both Katie and Clint signalled they were ready.

Evans went into the room, it was soundproof unless you pushed the button to listen in, which Rumlow did, of course.

"No pushing or shoving of your opponent because that’s just a shitty thing to do…” Evans said, his Texan drawl loud as his hand scratched at his ginger beard “No fancy arrows Hawkeye, just the normal rounds.”

“What’s normal about any of this?” Katie mumbled, earning her a smirk off Clint.

“Perfect kill shots are an extra half-point. 20 minute time limit is in force. If you’re tied on score then we’ll go to the number of kill shots made.” Evans looked at them and they both nodded, Katie licking her lips. “Now. To your starting positions…and…” he held his right hand up, 3 fingers extended “May the odds be ever in your favour…”

Steve had no idea what that was a reference too, but he heard the rest of the people around him snigger. Katie threw her head back in a laugh as Clint mimicked Evan’s hand gesture as the other Sniper left the room.

The two opponents stepped up to the line that marked off the beginning of the course, which was constructed out of crates and various other objects. Katie cracked her neck side to side as Clint tested the tension in the bow string one last time before turning his head to meet Katie’s gaze. She put her gun back into its thigh holster and turned to her old SO.

“May the best woman win…” she said with a smirk, fist bumping him with her right hand as she felt the blood pounding in her ears. Then, with a simultaneous nod, the two of them shot forward.

Steve felt a surge of pride as he watched Katie leaping from obstacle to obstacle, landing shot after shot. After she landed the 4th he heard Natasha hiss through her teeth.

“Ok, so maybe she has a little chance…”

Steve didn’t reply, simply watched, silently willing her on.

As the minutes ticked on, the two continued, both making leaps, dropping into rolls, and ducking behind corners. Katie took another shot, and paused for a split second, if she was counting correctly there were two more to go and 5 minutes left on the clock. She looked up for her next target and saw Clint was blocking her way, knelt down, aiming at his own. Katie knew the sensible thing to do would be to wait, but then she was a Stark, being sensible wasn’t one of her main attributes. With a smirk she re-holstered her gun and sprinted as fast as she could, launching herself forward into a perfect front flip, catapulting right over the top of Clint before she immediately slid onto a knee and brought the handgun back up, aiming at the target.

Outside the room there was a lot of cheering and cat calls at her display of acrobatics.

Katie moved to her final target, back against a large crate, aimed but then missed and Steve closed his eyes- that would cost her.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, doubling over to catch her breath as Clint walked over to her, pulling her into a hug.

“Sharp shooting Nova!” he grinned, ruffling at her hair. Both of them turned as the doors open and a few agents walked in, back slapping them both as Evans collected the targets and went to tally up the points.

“That was impressive!” Steve said, crossing the room smiling “both of you.”

“Not bad Stark.” Nat added, appraisingly

“Thanks.” she said, taking a drink of the bottle of water Clint handed to her. She was red faced, sweating but absolutely thrilled, pumped full of adrenaline. She placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath.

“Ok and we have the results!” Evans said and Clint threw his arm round Katie as hers slid round his waist.  “Barton hit each target, giving him 10 plus 4 kill shots, taking him to 12. Stark you missed one giving you 9 and 3 kill shots, taking you to 10.5…”

“Damned it!” Katie groaned, shaking Clint’s hand as the various cheers and complaints went up as people started to cash in their bets.

“You’re fired…” Steve heard a familiar voice say. Spinning round, he saw Fury handing over a fifty to an agent whose name escaped him and Steve bit back a smile. The Director had bet on Katie. That one mistake had been costly.

“Cough up Rogers…” Nat said, holding out her hand. He turned to her, sighing and fished in his pocket for a twenty, handing it to her.

“You bet on me?” Katie looked at him, surprised.

“Course I did, sweetheart.” he said immediately.

 “Yeah I didn’t, sorry Stark.” Nat said, taking the twenty off him “Clint’s never lost a challenge yet.”

“He nearly did.” Steve said, looking at his friend proudly before he glanced back at Natasha. “Was worth the bet to see you get so twitchy Romanoff… “

“I wasn’t twitchy…” She said, as Clit looked at her.

“Seriously?”  he frowned.

“I’ll admit at one point I thought Stark might have just shaded it…” Nat narrowed her eyes at Steve who simply shrugged, hands dropping to the front of his belt buckle.

“To be fair, there was one point where I thought that too.” Clint smiled, and Katie felt a surge of pride in her chest as he replaced the arrows into his quiver. “Did good Nova, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Clint.” she smiled at him.

“So, who fancies a drink?” Barton looked around, clapping his hands together.

“I’m game.” Katie said, emptying her magazine, already stripping down her weapon.

Natasha nodded and then Steve realised they were all looking at him. He hesitated, he really did need to train as he hadn’t had a decent run that morning and he’d be restless all evening otherwise, but after that…why not?

"I gotta work out first but if you tell me where you’re going I'll join you when I'm done.” he said.

“Take a day off!” Nat drawled, examining her nails. He was about to reply but Katie got there first.

“If he doesn’t work out he’s a right crank! And no one likes a Cranky Cap…”

“You know what Stark…” he started but she simply stuck her tongue out at him causing him to roll his eyes, fighting to keep the smile off his face.

“Why don’t we try the new sports bar on the high-street, what’s it called again?” Clint suggested.

“Home Run?” Nat asked.

“Yeah that’s it.” he nodded “Couple of doors down from the Burger joint.”

“I’ll find it.” Steve said as Clint nodded, making for the door, Natasha following.  Katie turned to Steve, smiling at him as he surveyed the room.

"You did a good job," he nodded to the obstacle course “Did it take you back to fighting Aliens?”

"Not quite the same, you know? No returning gunfire… no life-or-death stakes… no Captain America cushioning my fall when we got blown out of a bank window," she teased. He laughed, as she started to back up towards the door. "I won't take up your workout time. See you at the bar?"

“You never take up my time, doll.” He smiled back, honestly before he felt the flush rise up his neck. What a dumbass thing to say. “See you later." he nodded.

With that she took her leave, tugging her hair out the ponytail as she left, allowing the gentle waves to cascade down her back.

********

Half an hour or so, after a Katie had showered and changed, the 3 Avengers were making the 20 minute or so walk to the bar downtown.

“You know I still can’t believe I got to within a point and a half of you.” Katie nudged Clint.

“Me neither actually.” Natasha asked “I thought it was gonna be a whitewash.”

“Oh ye of little faith…” Katie said, mock hurt lacing her voice.

“Tell you who did have faith, other than Rogers… Fury.” Nat said grinning.

“Hang on…the boss bet against me?” Clint stopped “Damned.”

“Don’t take it personally…” Katie shrugged as they reached the bar. Clint opened the door to let the girls step in first and then he joined them, looking around at the new surroundings. It was low lit but piled with sports memorabilia which they paused to have a look at on their way to the bar. Drinks purchased, they headed to a plush, leather seated booth and settled down.

They fell into an easy chat, and then the inevitable teasing about Rumlow fancying Katie started up and she groaned. Clint and Nat enjoyed ribbing her about him and she had to admit, he wasn’t subtle to be fair. He’d asked her out 3 times now and she’d politely declined but it didn’t stop her friends from enjoying teasing her about it. Clint and Nat took turns in trying to highlight Rumlow’s more endearing qualities. They managed a sum total of 3 when Clint leaned back in his chair and shrugged.

“I’m out…” he grinned as Katie laughed, raising her glass to her mouth to drain the last of her beer.

“Yeah, he’s not relationship materiel…” Nat shrugged

“But you could just fuck him, get what you need and kick him out before breakfast.” Clint suggested causing Katie to choke down her mouthful of European lager and pick up the beer mat nearest her.

Steve chose that exact moment to walk into the bar. He watched as the beer mat hit Clint straight between the eyes, and Katie threw her head back in pure, unadulterated laughter. Something in his chest stirred as he watched her, that wonderful smile and laugh filling her face. He enjoyed seeing her so relaxed.

“Hey…” he greeted them as they all looked up. “You guys need another drink?”

“Cheers Cap, 3 beers…” Clint motioned round the table and Steve headed off to the bar. Katie watched him go, eye trained on his ass which looked remarkably fine in those dark denims...then, realising what she was doing and who she was with, she let out silent groan as she turned back to see Clint and Nat exchanging a glance, a glance between two people who had just discovered the best secret ever and she knew she’d been caught.  

“What?” she shrugged “Girl can look, right?”

Neither of them said anything just kept smirking to themselves in that infuriating way until Steve returned, setting down the 4 pints which he easily held in his hands and slid into the spare seat next to Katie.

“I’m in the mood for another challenge.” Clint leaned forward, his eyebrows raising up and down as he spoke.

“Like what?” Katie folded her arms

“Which one of you…” he said, waving his finger between her and Nat “…can down a pint fastest?”

“That’s not a contest…” Katie looked at Nat, smirking. “We all know it’s me.”

The red head quirked an eyebrow, “I’m game if you are.”

Katie shrugged as Clint chuckled and pounded his hand on the table. “Alright then, Ladies…on your marks…”

As soon as Clint had done counting down Katie raised the glass to her mouth and chugged, draining it in 4 seconds flat before turning it upside down on top of her head. Natasha wasn’t even half way through hers before she groaned and set her glass down, trying to supress a burp.

Steve couldn’t help but look at her, his mouth falling open.

"What?” she laughed, shrugging as the Captain exchanged a look with Clint “I spent 3 years at University, drinking with boys…”

“Yeah well I’ll stick to Vodka…” Nat said, shaking her head “Fancy that as a challenge?”

“Not a chance.” Katie said, “Although Cap could…”

“He could, but he won’t” Steve said sternly shooting her a look “Because it wouldn’t be fair…”

Katie rolled her eyes pouting.

“You do know I’m Russian, right.” Nat said, leaning back “I was practically weaned on the stuff…”

“Yes, I know that, but I can't get drunk." Steve shrugged “my metabolism burns it off too fast.”

“Cap…” Clint sighed, shaking his head “That might just be the saddest thing I have ever heard.”

“Even sadder than when you heard you were shipping off to guard Thor’s hammer?” Nat asked

Clint considered this for a moment “Hmmmm. Maybe the same level of sadness at learning I was about to head to Butt-fuck America for an undefined amount of time, yes.”

Steve choked into his beer. Besides him Katie laughed.

"That's a bit harsh," he said as Clint snorted and shook his head.

"Cap. I'm serious. It was legit in the middle of the fucking desert. Nothing for miles."

“What happened to that one eyed puppy we found?” Katie asked suddenly.

“Err, I took him to some friends.” Clint said “Their kids love him, he’s living the best life.”

Katie and Natasha shared a smile, both understood Friends to mean his family and his own kids.

“Still eating Pizza?” Katie asked.

“Pizza?” Steve asked, frowning. “Who feeds a dog pizza?”

“Well he was a bit like you in that respect. Do anything for a double pepperoni with extra cheese.” Katie nudged him with her elbow

“As long as its New York style…” Steve drained his glass, matter of factly.

“Admit it, you enjoyed it when it took you to Second City” Katie eyed him.

“You been to Seconds?” Clint asked, “Thought you swore you wouldn’t go back after that waiter said he wanted to give you a real slice of Chicago to talk about?”

Natasha snorted “Wish I’d seen that.”

“Trust me…”Clint said, “You don’t. Nova went from zero to full metal jacket in 3 seconds flat. Dragged him over the counter and everything…”

“You didn’t?” Steve glanced at her, although he knew she probably had.

“Look… we had just got back from a week’s stake out in Saudi Arabia…” Katie sighed, shrugging as Clint and Natasha laughed “I was tired and fending off the advances of some greasy, 40 something year old man politely really wasn’t top of my list…”

“Why not? You do it every day to Rumlow” Nat smirked.

At the mention of his name Steve felt his eyes narrow. He hated the way the STRIKE leader blatantly eyed Katie up at every given chance. It was disrespectful.

“Don’t start that again” Katie rolled her eyes.

“He’s not a bad looking guy.” Nat persisted “You could do worse…”

“You like him so much you fuck him!” Katie’s voice was snappy. Romanoff leaned back in her chair, eyeing her over half full glass, smirking.

“Touched a nerve, Stark?”

“No, you’re just talking crap, as usual.” she shot back, standing up. “My round…”

Steve moved so that she could get out and watched her head to the bar.

“Think we need to lay off the whole Rumlow thing…” Clint snorted, turning Nat. “She’s clearly not interested.”

“Tell that to Rumlow” Nat shrugged snorted.

“Well you can’t blame him, she’s a good looking girl.” Clint shrugged

“Yeah but she’s obviously looking for someone a little less…”

“Of an ass hat?” Clint cut in making Steve snort.

“I was gonna say a little more of a gentleman but…if the cap fits…” Nat shrugged and her eyes flashed to Steve and he knew instantly she had aimed that comment at him. Steve sighed and shook his head, shooting her a glare which she shrugged off, in her usual nonchalant way.

But he couldn’t shake it out of his mind. Did she know something he didn’t?

****

A few hours later Clint and Nat decided they’d had enough and left to grab a taxi. When Clint was in town he always stayed with Nat, prompting Steve to wonder if there was anything going on beyond the platonic friendship. He pondered it for a moment, deciding to just ask the question.

 “Is there something going on there?” he nodded to the pair as they left.

“No.” Katie said, shaking her head “Absolutely not.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Ok, I’ll tell you, but don’t be pissed I haven’t told you before…” she said, pausing “Clint…he’s married, has 2 kids.”

“What?” Steve choked on his beer.

“They have a place…somewhere, I don’t know exactly but it’s off SHIELD’s books and no one knows bar me, Nat and Fury…”

“Huh…” Steve said, pondering for a moment.

“Look, sorry I didn’t tell you but…”

“It’s ok.” He smiled. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel a little bit disappointed she hadn’t told him before, but he understood, she was loyal to a fault. “I get it, he’s your friend.”

“Yeah I know but he’s not my best friend…” she batted her eyelids at him.

“Hmmm, stop buttering me up.”

“Has it worked?”

“Yes.” He said, draining his glass and she grinned “Same again?”

They had a couple more before Katie decided she was one pint away from being drunk and Steve found himself a little bit disappointed she wanted to leave. He was enjoying spending the time with her. It felt different to their usual trips out, she’d been more relaxed than he had seen her in a long time, enjoying the gentle touches she made to his arm and leg when she was teasing him.

“You know, you shouldn’t have told Nat you can’t get drunk and whooped her ass at a vodka necking contest.” she said, linking her arm into his as they headed to the taxi rank.

“Now that would have been dishonest” he smirked. “Surely you’re not saying I should use my enhancement to my advantage in such a situation?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” she nodded.

He laughed, sticking his arm out to hail a cab.

“But then you’re a very honest kinda guy…” she said.

“I have my moments” he turned to face her

“Nah ah, you can’t lie for shit!” she grinned at him.

“No, I can’t lie to you for shit, sweetheart” He said, rolling his eyes “You know me too well.”

“Hmmm, true.” she said, nodding in agreement. The car stopped at the curb and Steve opened the door for her.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Steve asked, not particularly happy she was cabbing back alone, it was times like this he wished he had a car. “I can walk back for my bike…”

“I can handle myself…I’m a trained killer remember?” she said, raising her hands and making gun signs at him with her fingers. He shook his head, smiling.

“You’re an idiot.” He snorted a laugh.

“But you love me!” she grinned, standing on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek. “g’night soldier.”

“Call me when you’re home.” He instructed “And if I ain’t heard from you in 20…” he raised his voice so the cab driver could hear.

She shook her head, smiling as she climbed into the taxi and waved as it pulled off.

*****

It wasn’t long before she was home. She kicked off her boots, flopped down onto her bed and pulled out her phone, better do as Captain Badass said or knowing him he’d turn up and kick the door in.

“So I’m home Old timer…” she said, when he answered and from his sigh she knew he would be rolling his eyes.

“Less of the old” he said, the clinking of cutlery and plates rattling in the background.

“What you doing?” she asked.

“Making food.”

“You can’t cook.” she snorted.

“Yes I can.”

“So why have you never cooked for me?” she asked indignantly, feeling somewhat annoyed that she always did the cooking for the two of them.

“Because you’re better at it.” He said simply “And I've made you grilled cheese before. And soup. Now drink some water and go to sleep.”

“God you’re so bossy.” she grumbled. “Captain Badass…”

“Someone has to be, you’re a law unto yourself.”

“Yah but admit it, I’m awesome.”

“I know you are, I’ve told you before. But if I say it again will you do what I said?”

“Maybe, probably…definitely maybe” she said, shrugging to herself.

“Then you’re awesome. Goodnight doll.”

“Night Stevie.”

On that he cut the call, placing his phone down on the counter as he thought back over the day, waiting for his food to heat. For the first time in a long time he actually felt completely at ease. Ease with his life both in and out of work.

Up until a few weeks ago it had still felt slightly confusing, and it still did with the STRIKE team sometimes. At first he had been tentative, not trying to step on Rumlow’s toes but that had quickly subsided and the two of them had fallen into a pretty good working relationship. As much as Rumlow could rile him, he knew that the man was good at his job, and Steve was good at his. He was the tactician, Rumlow organised the troops. But sometimes, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Sometimes he feels interest, but it was often coloured by the lingering disillusionment that they were merely humouring him as the blue eyed all American hero he had been painted to be.

But never once had he felt like that with Katie.

And then his apartment seemed to blur in front of him, causing him to realise this went way beyond some daft crush. He was really falling in deep. The heat travelled up his chest into his neck and he felt his palms become sweaty. He dropped his arms to wipe them on his jeans as the fizzy feeling left his body, but stayed by him, swirling around until he could practically hear it. This really, really wouldn’t do. She was his friend, a work colleague…the daughter of one of his friends from the 40s…and then there was Peggy.

Not for the first time Steve delved into the reasons he'd been drawn to Katie, comparing her to Peggy. Both women had strong personalities, an unwavering sense of justice and ethics, a deep well of compassion, loyalty, and the air of authority that put more than one man in his place, including himself. They were both incredibly beautiful, filled with passion, devotion and ambition…

Abandoning his food, his appetite lost completely he threw the remains into the bin and headed into his bedroom, intending to do what he did best when it came to women. 

Stick his head in the sand and hope to God it all went away.

Meanwhile, Katie was going through her own bedtime routine, shedding her clothes and pulling on a pair of pyjamas before collapsing into her pillow, thinking about what a good day it had been. She hadn’t disgraced herself at the contest, had a good evening in the pub afterwards, and to top it off Fury and Steve had actually backed her in said contest.

At the thought of Steve she smiled to herself. It was kind of nice to have him looking out for her, even if he was a bossy bastard about drinking water. Which reminded her, she needed some. Heading to the kitchen she grabbed a glass, filled it, and then made her way back to bed, this time snuggling down under the covers.

And it wasn’t just the way he cared, it was the way he was so comfortable with her. The gentle touches to her arm and lower back, the fact he called her doll or sweetheart. The smile that he flashed her that could light up his entire face, and those eyes…those god damned beautiful eyes that could drown her in seconds…

Her stomach was suddenly crawling with those damned butterflies, the same ones she had been feeling on or off around him now since Thanksgiving. And they fluttered from her stomach to her chest. It was getting harder and harder to ignore them now, she had feelings for Captain fucking America. Her dad’s friend, her best friend...

Groaning, she rolled over and shoved her head into the pillows. She was utterly fucked.

Tags @the-omni-princess​