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voxymoxyboxy · 3 years

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Scrapped Secret Santa Idea

While struggling to write for my AU drabbles, I was looking at my old writing and stumbled across this abandoned draft for the Sam and Max secret santa from last year! I read it and found that I still really liked it so I thought I would publish it on here for people to read! It’s not finished, but I do really like what I wrote. Please enjoy!

The familiar thrum of the microwave sounded through Sybil’s kitchen as she leaned against a nearby counter. Little pops began a few seconds later, the smell of butter and salt slowly, but surely, washing over her like a warm bath. Thin fingers drummed against the large plastic bowl in her hands. Rather than compose a new symphony for one- though that didn’t sound too bad for her next career-, Sybil decided to cross things off a mental list.

Comfortable pajamas pulled from the depths of a bottom drawer? Check.

Snacks? Enough to feel like utter garbage come morning.

Fluffy blanket? Spread on the couch just waiting to be wrecked by her guest.

Speaking of her guest… Sybil checked her watch. It was almost eight o’clock, the time when their little girl’s night was supposed to start. Supposed to, because Max wasn’t exactly known for his punctuality. The woman sighed. If she had to guess, the lagomorph would burst through her front door at about nine, a full hour late, wide smile on-

A knock on the door startled Sybil from her thoughts. The bowl clattered to the floor, but the women kicked it aside as she made her way through the living room. Whoever was waiting outside stopped for a second, only to be begin spamming the doorbell instead. Sybil quickened her steps.

“I’m coming!” she shouted. “Just give me a second!” The ringing continued, much to the woman’s dismay.

“Sybil!” a high-pitched voice called through the wood. “What you say in the bedroom’s none o’ my business!” Nearly banging her arm against the doorknob in her hurry, Sybil threw open the door to find Max, wide teasing smirk on his face clothed in nothing more than a flimsy scarf. His hands were clasped behind his back and he rocked back and forth on his heels.

The woman rubbed the bridge of her nose but returned the lagomorph’s smile. “Good to see you Max.” She stepped to the side to let him in. “Come on in.”

Max strutted inside, a bag the woman hadn’t noticed until then clutched in his paws. Sybil raised a brow when, instead of just dumping it on her carpet, the lagomorph gently placed the bag under the coffee table. Free from potential harm and the crumb zone, the woman noted. He jumped on the couch, already making himself at home by wrapping himself up in Sybil’s blanket like stuffing in a burrito.

“So.” The lagomorph eyed the snacks on the coffee table. The woman watched as Max snatched the largest chip bag of the bunch. Ripping it open, Max dug out a handful of salty goodness and stuffed it all in his mouth. “Where’s the kid?” he asked, crumbs spraying everywhere from talking with his mouth full.

Sybil grimaced. Tomorrow would be a clean-up day for sure. “I left Penny with a good friend of mine from work.”

“What is it this time? Graphic designer?” Max picked at his teeth. “Toy making? No!” He snapped his fingers. “Mall Santa!”

“Elf, actually.” Sybil said, making her way back towards the kitchen. “Hired me on the spot after finding out I’m a mother.”

“Must be desperate to avoid any lawsuits this year.” Max commented and dumped the rest of the bag down his gaping maw. “Probably don’t wanna lose another Santa.”

“Lose another Santa?” the woman parroted, confusion plain in her voice. “I don’t remember hearing anything about a Santa being arrested last year.” Max flattened out his blanket nest so his arms were now free to move about. He grabbed a soda and popped it open.

“Whaddaya mean?” The lagomorph took a small sip before continuing. “You were there! I kidnapped you that mornin’ to help me get a present fer Sam! Near ‘bout had a heart attack when he burst in and handcuffed the bastard.” He traced the rim of the can, ears drooping a bit before shooting right back up. “Right?”

Sybil had to tread carefully.

“The popcorn’s done. Why don’t you get it while I turn on the tv?” Max was silent for a beat. While subtle, she could see his jaw tighten, grin turning forced. The grip on his soda tightened, leaving tiny dents in the aluminum. And yet, just as quickly, Max was bouncing back. Literally, as he’d jumped to his feet.

“You actually trust me to go within six feet of yer microwave?” the lagomorph said. He brushed away an imaginary tear. “I’m touched!”

“Get going before I regret my decision.”

“You probably should.”

“Go.” The woman chuckled, playfully shoving him towards the kitchen archway. Max ‘harumphed’ and left the room. Sybil rolled her eyes. It was all just for show. The guy was a drama queen through and through. What had caught her eye were the muscles in Max’s shoulders. The habit leftover from her old job as a masseuse proved to be useful, for they were tense, almost like the lagomorph was preparing to fight.

Or flee.

Sybil reached over the side of the couch and pulled out the remote. After finding the device in Penny’s mouth one too many times, she’d decided to buy one of those stupid arm slings to hold it. Admittedly, it worked pretty well. She flicked the tv on, muting it before leaning to get comfortable. Flipping through channels, the woman looked for the right one. No, no, uggh, ah-ha! Now she could really get settled in.

Before she could really hunker down, Max slid in front of the flat screen. His back faced Sybil, pristine white fur now covered by a long-sleeved purple pajama shirt, both sleeves and matching pants rolled up. Bowl held over his head, he leaped back onto soft cushions, stray pieces flying to hit Sybil’s arm and leg. Her gaze traveled over Max and she stifled laughter with a hand as she saw what was hovering over his chest.

“Merry Christmas, Ho, Ho Hoes?” she read, giggles bursting through her fingertips. For the first time that night, Max’s smile turned genuine. The lagomorph puffed his chest out, pride radiating off his person.

“Jealous?” he nearly purred.

“Hardly.”

“Green doesn’t become you, Sybil.” Max sing-songed.

Said woman gasped. “I’ll have you know it brings out my eyes!”

“Whatever helps ya sleep at night!” Max shot back.

The two started at each other for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter. Some of the tension from before ebbed away as they clutched their quickly hurting middles. Wiping away small tears, she glanced over at her friend. A weight Sybil hadn’t known about lifted from her shoulders as the rabbit devolved into giggles, stray pieces of popcorn flying everywhere.

“You know,” Sybil scootched back to her side of the sofa, "I was wondering.”

“Bout what?” Max tossed a kernel and caught it with a loud crunch.

Sybil gestured towards the television. “Why Hallmark movies?” She tucked her legs under her. “I thought you hated those.”

Max froze, caught off-guard by the woman’s question. He recovered fast, face blank as his attention turned to the movie. The woman on the screen- the heroine, Sybil assumed- walked under a garden arch adorned with Christmas lights. A man followed close behind, a look of complete adoration gracing his features. Slowly, he plopped the dish onto the middle cushion.

“Yeah,” he brought his knees to his chest, “I do.”

“Then why…?”

Max buried himself in Sybil’s blanket. He placed his chin on his knees. “How long’ve we known each other, Sybil?”

Sybil tilted her head quizzically. “About two or three years now, I think.” She paused. “Why?”

Snow began falling in the movie. The woman laughed and pulled the man towards a tackily-decorated gazebo. He followed without fail, lips flapping as he probably spouted cheesy dialogue.

“It’s funny, ‘s all.” Max said, sad little smile on his muzzle. Sybil had a feeling he didn’t really mean it. “From what I remember, it’s been at least five. But then again,” the lagomorph tapped his head, “Never did have the best memory.”

“Don’t sell yourself short Max.” Sybil scooted closer and lightly placed a hand over Max’s. He flinched but didn’t move to rip the limb off. She took it as a good sign, welling with pride as she squeezed the paw. “You’re smarter than you think. But that’s not the real issue here, is it?”

“Dunno. You tell me Miss Psychotherapist.” The rabbit tried to crack a joke, but the woman wasn’t having it.

“Max.” she said, slightly increasing the pressure on his hand. By now the soon-to-be couple were sitting on a bench found in their temporary shelter, shoulders brushing while they talked. “You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong. But know, as your friend, I’m here for you.”

Max tossed the words around in his head. He pulled his hand from Sybil’s and grabbed a mug from the table, whipped cream already melted into the warm cocoa. Holding it with both paws, the lagomorph took a deep breath.

“It happened a few years. You n’me were just fuckin’ around at one of our movie nights.” His grip tightened around the porcelain handle. “Landed on the channel and had the crappy idea to mute it and write our own story.” Patiently the woman waited as Max took another swig.

“Was so stupid.” the rabbit mumbled, corners of his mouth pulling up just so. “But fun. Were laughin’ our asses off by the end of the night. When I was ‘bout to leave, you suggested we do it every year and-“

“You wanted to keep the tradition going.” Sybil finished, voice wrought with understanding.

Max sent his friend a look, mouth shutting with a clack. “Somethin’ like that.” The rabbit’s gaze wandered back to the film, pang in his chest at the woman and man twining their fingers together. “Guess I just wanted something familiar in m’life.” he confessed.

Sybil peered at her friend intently. “…Have you told Sam?”

“Hell no!” Max said. “He’s the last one I wanna tell!”

“Is something going on between you two?”

“No.” he lied, thumb running over the edge of Sybil’s mug.

“Did he do anything? Because I know the guy can be dense sometimes-”

The lagomorph shook his head. “Yer readin’ too much int’ it Sybil.”

The heroine and hero were staring at each now, the camera rotating around the outside of the gazebo in a way that had to make some people sick.

“…Has he been distant lately?” Sybil tried, sadness clawing at her throat when Max’s ears pinned against his skull. “Do you know why?”

Max bit the inside of his cheek. “No. But what I do know,” the rabbit hugged the mug closer, “is that he’s been weird round me. It’s like…” he tugged at his pajama sleeves, racking his brain for the right words, “guy’s always on edge. Just yesterday me and Sam were caught n’ the middle of a few mafia goons.”

“Tis the season.” Sybil chimes in, prompting a snort from her friend.

“Bullets are flyin’ everywhere, the smell of gun smoke heavy in the air. I take two of ‘em down no prob but then,” Max furrows his brows, “then Sam just freezes up. Had ta save his sorry ass and off the rest myself. When I asked what happened, he tried to play it off like it was no big deal!”

“How long’s this been going on?”

“Not too long after we started dating.” The lagomorph sighed. At that moment, the man pointed out a sprig of mistletoe hung on the ceiling. Trapped like rats, the two hesitate but for a beat before kissing. “Makes me feel like, like-”

“You’re the problem.”

Max pouted. “Stop that!”

Sybil chuckled. “Sorry. Force of habit. Still.” She placed a hand on Max’s shoulder. “You should tell him. You two may be terrible at talking about anything emotional, but Sam appreciates honesty.” The woman squeezed it and slid back to her claimed space. “He’ll listen. You’ve just gotta trap him somehow.”

#sam and max #sam & max #sam and max freelance police #my fics #post season 3 #spoilers

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echo-three-one · 3 years

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Chapter 27

Who's still reading this? Have fun!

CW : character death (This spoils a lot I'm sorry but I have to put it.)

THE ROAD SO FAR

Previous Chapter : What's behind door number two?

Staying in Shape

John Price

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow, Scotland

It has been almost three days since the culmination of the New York Attack and most of his contacts regarding Nero and Shepherd's movements were quiet. He was getting anxious to step back into the fight, but without sufficient intel, or even better weapons, they couldn't do anything.

Price scanned the room, everyone else started to pair up with each other, a dynamic he expected to happen anytime soon. With all the challenges they've been through, finding love within each other was inevitable. And Price was fine by that. Heck, when he was younger, he had his fair share of romance during missions.

With the thought of Nero and Shepherd resurfacing any moment soon, Price devised a plan, to keep his crew in shape and always prepared to deploy as soon as sufficient intel is presented.

With the help of Jack, they created a training and endurance exercise schedule, where the soldiers, including Price himself, would follow to still continue to stay in shape and prepared for battle. They asked permission from Soap who was more than willing to help, an excited grin all over his face.

"I'll help you set up." he said, gaining a nod from the old man.

"France will train at the basement gym." He added and Soap nodded.

From that moment, the team started training, improving their physical abilities and endurance. Weapons training wasn't possible at the moment as they left it all in Brazil.

Jack overlooked the team from afar, Samantha and Maxine were at the gym helping out France's version of the training. They did the regular set of training from standard 141 protocol, using everyday materials in exchange for some of the equipment Soap didn't own. Price also instructed a specific dietary plan for the soldiers instead of just eating whatever they liked.

While on break, the two girls, Samantha and Maxine approached Price with an excited look in their eyes. Priced raised an eyebrow and asked what they were up to.

"Everyone's doing their best and We both wanted to offer our help." Samantha explained as Maxine inserted.

"We'd like to apply as the team's dietician and health consultant. My resumé is that I have vast knowledge in cooking along with their nutritional information." She grinned.

"And Samantha here has little background on tending to physical wounds and pain. You could see how fast Alex's face healed!" Maxine added. Price was more than happy to accept their offer, it goes to show that they were willing to give whatever it takes for the people and cause they cared about.

"Alright. Guess you're both hired." he chuckled as the two cheered and made their way to their respective 'partners', probably out to share the good news.

Wiping his sweaty forehead with a towel, he looked around the main room where everybody was. Jack was by the office, looking up something on the laptop or probably just playing solitaire. Soap and France were at the gazebo, he could barely see them by the angle he's at but he couldn't miss that flashy mohawk.

To his left, he saw Samantha sitting on Alex's lap as she carefully cleaned Alex's bruise, Roach sat on the other end of the sofa, chugging a bottle of Gatorade while Maxine stood behind him, he could barely hear it, but it looked like the newly hired dietician was already lecturing him about the benefits of said drink, saying the word 'electrolytes' somewhere in the sentence.

He felt proud that this team stood by him ever since he made that choice. He was very grateful that he had someone whom he shared common goals with.

"Price. It's for you." Jack called from the office, causing him to immediately get up and answer the call.

"Aye, this is Price. Got anything for me?" he muttered.

"John. Looks like your friend is on the move." Kate Laswell spoke on the other end of the line, her voice was authoritative as always.

"Which one?" he chuckled, it was about time he received some news.

"Shadow Company. Looks like they're brave using the same car again. Same plate and all." she informed, giving Price the last route they went before going cold once again. It led them to an empty warehouse just by the docks.

"Just what are these bastards up to…" he muttered.

"I have no idea. Think you'll do recon? It doesn't strike as a threat to warrant an official team, this leads really calling your name, John."

Laswell hinted. Despite him being out of the force and one of Fbi's most wanted, Kate insisted to use such perk for further trapping the suspicious Shepherd.

"I worked hard forming the 141 and he easily disbands it like it's nothing…" she added, her voice sounded very bitter.

"Now now, Kate. Take it easy. We'll get him. He's bound to fuck up anytime soon. Keep in touch, mkay?" he said as they both said their goodbyes and ended the call.

"A little recon mission won't hurt, right?" he nudged to Jack who grinned proudly at the solitaire victory screen, cards bounced all around the edges of the screen.

John Price found himself unable to sleep. It was either he's actually excited to do some missions or he's too worried about what they're about to discover, what would Shadow Company be up to and what is the quiet Nero planning behind the scenes? His thoughts raced to a dozen possibilities, all calling for drastic measures and sacrifices. He knew he had allies by his side, allies that are always ready to do whatever it takes to fix this mess.

He lazily dragged his feet to get a glass of water in the kitchen, despite being huge, the house was awfully quiet. Too quiet that he could hear every soft rustling from the halls.

He wasn't one to eavesdrop but he couldn't help but hear soft murmuring near MacTavish's bedroom.

"So.. um.. same time tomorrow?" said a low Scottish voice a chuckle followed. It was obviously Soap and Price thought only enemies were doing something behind the scenes.

"You wish.." a female voice giggled.

"But seriously… Thanks for tonight John." she added.

"No problem, Francine. So.. what's stopping you from staying overnight?" he chuckled. Price knew this was wrong but his glass of water was still half full.

"You know that I'd love to… but Maxine also needs me right now. Especially that she's slowly recovering bits and pieces of the past." she reasoned and Price knew it was time to head back to his room quietly.

Maxine Winters

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow, Scotland

It felt real. She looked around and felt that this was more than just an ordinary dream. The vision was too dark with a small ray of light peeking from the slightly ajar door.

She knew where this was. She liked hiding here, her parent's closet.

She was waiting for Francine to find her, Francine always knew where she hid. But in this certain memory, she wasn't there.

She giggled quietly and hushed herself as soon as the door opened, France was going to find her. But instead, what she heard was her Dad saying words of assurance followed by heavy breathing. She was curious enough to peek through the small opening.

Her dad carried her Mom to the bed, his hands held hers tight, wiping the sweat off her forehead as her chest rose and fell quickly, her breath was labored and her eyes looked tired.

"Hang in there, love. The doctor's on the way." his father assured, making his wife comfortable as they wait for help to arrive.

"I don't think I can make it anymore…" She whispered.

"No no no. Don't do this to me Coraline, don't you want to see our angels grow up?" he sobbed, tears fell on her hands as he kissed it. Maxine remained still, she wanted to cry but she just sat inside the closet, peeking, frozen in a mix of fear and worry.

"I do , Love … but it looks like my body can't make it to that day… I'm sorry…"

"Don't! Please Coraline, stay strong, for me… for the kids…"

"I am… and I know that you know it." she exhaled, panting heavily after the last sentence. Her Dad hugged her until her breathing stabilized, while Coraline weakly raised her hand and hugged him back.

"Promise me you'll see the kids grow up…

Promise me to tell them how much I love them every single day…

And promise me that you'll never forget how much I loved you… Francis Maximus Winters." tears fell from her tired eyes. Her dad held her cheek and wiped it off, sobbing as she slowly closed them.

"I'm not sure if I could keep all of those promises… but I will try… I love you Coraline Winters, I always have and I always will, until the time we'll meet again." he muttered. Maxine witnessed it all, the way her father's face frowned when he realized he just lost his wife. It was one of her saddest memories.

Maxine gasped and opened her eyes, touching her face as soon as they opened. Tears. She was crying while asleep. She flicked the lamp and looked around her, France wasn't around. Just as she pulled the sheets so she could leave the bed, the door knob slowly turned and a soft creak was heard. It was Francine.

"France!" Maxine gasped and immediately ran to her side, hugging her tight as she began crying. France smelled different, almost masculine, but she didn't mind.

"Max! What happened? Are you okay?" France quickly hugged her, rubbing her back as she quietly bawled out her emotions.

"I saw… " She panted.

"I saw… Mom…"

"Mom died…" She exhaled as Francine escorted her downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water to calm her heart.

"You were in the closet. We were supposed to be playing hide and seek." France muttered as Maxine turned to her.

"Francis… Maximus Winters." she recalled.

"That's dad's name. It's quite long, right? Mom actually liked him because of it." France enlightened, trying to make Max calm down.

"Yeah… is he ?" Max asked.

"Yeah… but he's kinda forgot about us now. Every time we visit he just looks for Coraline."

"Mom."

"Yes."

"He kept his promise." Max said.

"Huh?" France tilted her head.

"Mom's last words. Promise me you'll see the kids grow up…

Promise me to tell them how much I love them every single day…

And promise me that you'll never forget how much I loved you…" Max recalled from her dream and as more words were added, France's sobs were louder.

"He… he did them all…" France cried as they both hugged each other. And it was the moment that Maxine remembered what France looked like when they first met, her smile… It was the smile of someone who was finally reunited with her only family, and it was painful how the only ones she could cling to couldn't remember her.

"What's that smell?" Maxine asked as she killed the mood of the sisterly hug. France's face turned red, even in the dimly lit room, Max could tell that she was blushing.

"N-Nothing… I don't smell anything." She laughed nervously.

"I swear I passed by that scent somewhere…" she looked at her suspiciously and laughed, shrugging it off which actually made France relax her shoulders.

"Let's go back to sleep." Maxine invited her sister and they both got back to their room.

Next Chapter : Docked and Loaded

Notification Squad my Beloved

@beemybee @enderio @smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @whimsywispsblog @ricinbach

#horrayfic #codmw #john soap mactavish #john price #simon ghost riley #alex echo 3 1 #gary roach sanderson #whateverittakes

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thorne93 · 4 years

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The Softest Fire (Part 19)

Prompt: Rosaline Vaughan had it all: fame, money, power, glory, a high status job. Until, one day, she woke up, and realized something was missing from her life.

Word Count: 5018

Warnings: trauma/ptsd

Notes: First Fantastic Beast fic! I could NOT have done this at all without @arrow-guy. They have created a counterpart to this fic, writing it from Nora Vaughan’s perspective (Rosaline’s cousin/adopted sister). Fic aesthetic done by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo.

Nora and I got ready together like old times. Sharing a vanity, laughing and falling all over each other as loud music played in the room. I let my hair fall down in nice finger waves over one side of my face. I wore striking makeup of a stark black liner and deep dark red lips. My dress was adorned with sparkles, colored in plum that went all the way to the floor. Matte stripes pulled upward, flattering my curves perfectly. The straps were medium sized, highlighting my delicate perfectly rounded shoulders. I had dark silver silk gloves coming all the way up to my biceps, matching my sterling silver necklaces and earrings.

By the time Nora and I were done, we looked like movie stars.

An hour before the ceremony, a knock came to Nora’s front door. I told her I would answer it while she put on her finishing touches. I raced down the stairs and pulled open the door.

“It’s about time you men got--”

When I opened the door, my eyes fell on two dashing men. Theseus stood tall in an eye catching tuxedo.

“Theseus, you look absolutely incredible,” I gushed.

“You’re looking sparkly as ever, Rosaline,” he complimented.

“Well thank you.”

Once he stepped inside, I could properly stare at Newt who wore a black tuxedo. His hair was gelled and styled to lay on the side, rather than wild as usual.

“Newt, you… A tux?” I questioned, a curious smile growing on my face.

“I know it’s not my usual style but Theseus insisted I treat myself to something.”

“I think you look wonderful. It really suits you.”

“You think so?” he asked, a bit bashful.

I took my gloved hand and lifted his chin.

“Hey, I know so. You have no reason to feel insecure.”

He nodded his head and as he did so, his gaze fell onto my body.

“Rosaline… You… The dre-dress. You’re… uh…” he stammered, unable to find the words.

“Do you like it?” I tried, hoping that would help him.

He bobbed his head eagerly. “Yes, very much. It brings out your eyes. It reminds me of the scales on an occamy.”

“But an occamy is blue,” I retorted.

“But their scales are shiny, brilliant hues and you, when I look at you…” His eyes softened on my form and I couldn’t help but blush.

“Yes?” I prompted.

“I see the beauty of nature reflected in you,” he finally finished, bringing his gaze back up to mine. Our eyes held the gaze for a long moment and I could feel myself being pulled to him before suddenly I heard Nora’s voice right behind us on the stairs.

“Well why else would I wear a dress, Theseus?” she quipped rhetorically.

I whipped around to face them and Theseus was ahead of Nora, smirking.

“Are we ready to go?” Nora questioned and all of us nodded. We linked arms and apparated to the wedding venue.

Weddings always astounded me, from their sheer beauty to the romance. This one was no exception. A dark stone mansion stood sheathed in ivy scaling its walls, even appearing to grow inside. Round balconies jutted out from all sides and levels of the building. The four of us walked up to a man checking names on a list. We handed him our invitations and he bowed his head while wishing us a good time.

We found our way to an exquisite hall that was made to look more like the outdoors than in. Moss covered the ground, flowered bloomed around chairs, pillars, and tables, ivy crawled up the walls.

“Quite the naturist isn’t she?” I wondered aloud.

“Mmm, yes,” Theseus responded, his eyes going over everything.

We had over half an hour before the ceremony so we mingled a bit with other guests. When time grew near the ceremony to start, we took our seats and began to talk amongst ourselves. Before long Jeanette made her way down the aisle in a stunning white dress. Not one I would’ve picked but for her, it seemed absolutely perfect.

As I watched them take their vows a sudden pang hit my heart. A pang that reminded me I would probably never have that, and the closest I got to it was with a lying murderer who tricked me. My eyes stole a glance at Newt who was staring forward.

What I wouldn’t give to turn back the clock, to go back even as far back as Hogwarts. I would’ve asked him out then. I would’ve talked to Leta, perhaps become her friend and convinced her to do the right thing. I would’ve helped Newt with his creatures instead of years in a cold, unwavering environment.

But I didn’t have a time turner, even if I did it wouldn’t be enough for me to right the wrongs I’d done to so many people. I thought I was protecting myself by not letting myself get close to anyone, but I was being selfish.

I should’ve been more like Nora, where no one is a stranger, and everyone loves her. But I couldn’t imagine living through the pain of losing a loved one again. I thought it would be easier if I never got close to anyone, but it turns out, it was a lot harder to stay isolated.

I guess being a frigid witch helped in that department.

I wasn’t warm because I didn’t want people to underestimate me. I wasn’t overtly kind because I didn’t want people to take advantage of me. I didn’t show or share my emotions because they could be used against me. I wasn’t friendly because I saw what friendship did to Newt and Leta and countless others growing up. It’s all heartache waiting to happen.

But as I watched these two people fall madly in love again at the altar, I couldn’t help but think that all the pain, the strife, the heartache, is worth it, just to have people in your life you can count on. People who will be there for your bad days and your good. People who will lift you up when you’ve fallen, and stand beside you proudly as you win.

People like... well people like I knew. Theseus didn’t have to let me have a room at the Ministry. Hell, they could’ve thrown me into Azkaban and threw away the key. Nora didn’t have to hunt me down. Dumbledore didn’t have to help undo the curse on me, or alert Nora, he could’ve easily gone to the Ministry and had me arrested. Newt didn’t have to forgive me or be so kind to me after all I had put him through.

Which made me realize just how truly he must love me. I knew Tina was still around, still waiting for him, and yet, he chose me, even without me saying I chose him. He didn’t choose Tina for a consolation prize or to replace me. He held out, he wasn’t with her, because he didn’t love her.

He’s a truly remarkable man, much like his brother, and I almost squandered it away. Most women would kill for a man as loyal, kind, brave, and smart as him. I only prayed that one day I could earn enough of his love to perhaps stand at an altar with him.

He must’ve caught my staring because he turned to me and squeezed my hand with a smile. I returned the gesture.

“What is it?” he whispered with a bemused look on his face.

“You’re just absolutely wonderful, that’s all,” I breathed.

His gaze dropped as a slight laugh escaped him.

The ceremony wrapped up and the bride and groom escaped to an unknown location while the guests were dismissed to the reception.

“That was lovely,” I remarked as we walked along.

“It was rather pretty. Were you tearing up, cousin?” Nora teased with an elbow nudge.

I merely laughed, dropping my head to nod.

“Shall we make our way to our seats to eat?” Theseus asked.

“Yes, please. I’m famished,” Newt all but begged, making me laugh as I put my arm around him.

We walked through the amazing building out into a garden in the back that had a gazebo. Flowers were blooming and blossoming everywhere, greenery of all kind covered the ground and flowerbeds, save for a dance floor under a tent.

The meal was served, along with watching the couple dance their first dance, then when it was done, guests were welcomed onto the dance floor.

Newt turned to me. “Rosaline, would you care to dance?”

For a split second, I wasn’t sure. I wanted to, of course, but it worried me. Finally, I said, “I would love to.”

I took his hand and right behind us Theseus and Nora followed. We joined about fifteen other couples on the dance floor. The music was soft, slow, the perfect kind to just sway to. Newt took me in his arms and we began dancing little circles as I watched my cousin.

They were awfully close. Theseus planted a soft kiss on Nora’s head just as she rested her head on his shoulder and they swayed. At another point, he kissed her cheek and she lit up like a Christmas tree.

Newt looked at me and I gestured with my chin towards the two of them. “How long has that been going on?”

“A couple months, maybe? It's hard to tell, they've been spending so much time together it's all blurred together for me.”

I nodded, falling silent. I’d missed quite a lot in my absence. Those two were dating, Newt hired a replacement for me, Tina had all but moved to London…

“Things change faster than we expect, don’t they?” he asked a bit more quietly.

“Yes, they do,” I hummed with a frown.

Newt peered at me a moment, we danced a little while longer before he said, “Rosaline?”

I glanced up at him.

“I know you hate yourself. I know you think you caused people pain and deep down that's who you are.”

My mouth screwed to the side as I chewed my lip. “Newt, I--”

“Just listen, please?” he requested softly, but earnestly.

After a moment, I nodded.

“But I know you, Rosaline, and that day at Hogwarts, you could've killed us. You know the unforgivable curses, yet you didn't use a single one. Deep inside, past all of Grindelwald’s spells and manipulations, you couldn't kill us. You're powerful enough to have killed us easily, and you didn't."

“So you think just because I could and I didn’t I’m somehow a saint?” I scoffed slightly as we still swayed.

“I think your heart, no matter what circumstances you’re in, will always guide you. You’re a lot softer than you let on, or that you believe.”

My eyes slowly slid over to meet his gaze and we held our stares for a moment, the tension suddenly thick between us. I’d wanted a moment like this for all of my life. My heart raced as my breathing halted. Before I knew it, we were slowly getting closer to each other and then--

Our lips touched. They were so soft and his were actually a little cold, but I didn’t mind one bit. As soon as he went to deepen the kiss though, a flash of stark blonde hair and heterochromia lit up behind my eyelids. The sensation reminded me greatly of Grindelwald.

Involuntarily, I put my hands against his chest and shoved him away. When I opened my eyes, I remembered it was Newt I was kissing, not Grindelwald. He looked hurt, panicked, and confused. My face was nearly a mirror image. My expression had gone from horror, to guilt, to sorrow.

Everyone on the dancefloor was looking at us and I didn’t say a word as I fled the area. Running into the building, I found a darkened corridor to try and slow my breathing. But the breathing just got worse as a sob built in my chest.

My first kiss with Newt and I ruined it by shoving him away. I slapped my gloved hand against the wall, the other one covering my face before I turned around and leaned against it.

“Hey, hey, are you okay?” Nora’s voice suddenly sounded beside me.

I shook my head, afraid to speak. She patted my shoulders.

“What’s the matter? What happened?”

“I… Newt and I kissed, but it only reminded me of Grindelwald so I shoved him away. I didn’t even know what was happening. Everything was fine but then all I could think about was Grindelwald’s hands all over me and…”

Nora peered at me, understanding in her eyes.

I took a deep breath, the tears finally stopping now that she was here. “Nora, I haven’t told anyone this but I’d like you to know.”

“What is it?”

“Grindelwald… he… was my first.”

At first, Nora was silent before I turned to see what was written on her face. I couldn’t quite tell, actually, other than some far off look. “Nora?”

She shook her head to look at me. “Rosaline, I’m so sorry.”

“Me too,” I breathed, straightening up. “I wished that was one of the memories that got washed away with the curse.” I put the heels of my hands on my forehead.

Nora seemed to be thinking before she suddenly said, “It doesn’t have to count as your first time, if you don’t want it to.”

I scoffed, wiping my face. “How is that possible? It happened. He took my…” I couldn’t even say it.

“Easy. You don’t give him that power.”

“You make it sound so easy,” I breathed.

“It is… Would you like to go home and talk about it?”

For a moment, I wanted to answer yes. But then I thought of my date, the one man I’d ever truly loved, standing on the dancefloor, having no idea what he did wong, when he did nothing wrong to begin with. That thought, made me decide against it.

“No. Not right now. Later though? I really need to go see how Newt is.”

She bobbed her head in understanding as she walked with me back to the festivities. On our way, two men walking by stopped and looked at us.

“Aren’t you that bird that was with Grindelwald?” the older looking one asked.

I stiffened at his name and Nora grabbed my hand for support.

“Why, yes, I think you are! You worked for the Ministry, even ran for Minister.” He eyed me up and down. At first I thought he might say something nice like it was good to have me back or ask how I was doing. I didn’t expect the next words out of his mouth. “You are one low-life piece of trash, you know that?” he snarled. “It’s because of you the wizarding world is in shambles. Everyone knew they couldn’t trust Grindelwald, but one of our own. Someone as upstanding as you used to be joining him is just a travesty. You are everything that is wrong in this world. Corrupt--”

“That’s just about enough from you, sir!” Nora barked, interjecting. “My sister was bewitched. She didn’t join him willingly.”

“Not the way I hear it. If she was bewitched, why did she agree to marry him? Sounds like her thirst for power never really stopped.”

“I want nothing to do with that man, nor did I ever,” I stated firmly.

“You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” he scoffed as he started to walk on.

In an instant, I reeled my hand back and slugged him in the jaw, sending him to the floor. The other man looked at me in astonishment, along with Nora.

“That might teach you to open your mouth on subjects you know nothing about!” I spat, pointing down. With my blood still boiling, I stormed off and found Newt standing to the side of the dance floor.

“Is everything alri--” Newt began.

“We’re going home,” I informed quickly, grabbing his hand. “Nora, I’m going back to your place. You don’t have to join me immediately.” Then we apparated away.

Once we were in my room in Nora’s flat, I sat on the bed, gathering my breath.

“Rosaline, what’s… Did I do something wrong? I thought…”

I looked up. “Newt, you did nothing wrong.” I stood and began to pace. “You did everything absolutely right. It’s just… when we kissed, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Grindelwald and I guess I snapped and panicked and I thought it was you and… And I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that kind of response.”

“Well are you alright?”

I shook my head, waving him off. “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Grindelwald and I were very… close,” I said, my voice cracking as my throat tightened. “It may take me some time to get over the horrible memories that I associate with romance. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it… It’ll just take time.”

“That’s fine. Rosaline, I’ll wait as long as I need to. I’ve waited years, what’s a few more weeks or months?”

A soft smile touched me as I stepped forward and took his hands in mine.

“Truly remarkable,” I whispered before I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I had a wonderful time today with you, despite everything. I even got to punch a man. That felt oddly refreshing.”

He laughed as his eyebrows shot up. “You punched a man?”

“He was saying awful things about me being from the Ministry and being with Grindelwald…” I shook my head. “That’ll teach him to speak out of turn.”

“I’d say it would, yes.”

We grinned at each other a long moment before we heard the arrival of Nora and Theseus in the hallway.

“If you don’t mind, I need to speak with Nora about something.”

“Of course.”

He backed away a step to apparate but then he stopped and asked, “would you come by my flat tomorrow? I’d like to have afternoon tea with you.”

“I’d love to.”

With this, he smiled, nodded, waved, and apparated. As soon as he was gone, I poked my head out into the hallway. I waited to see if they were talking. They were, they were actually whispering.

“Am I interrupting?”

The two of them jumped and pulled away slightly.

“Uh, no. Are you alright?” Theseus asked. I bobbed my head. “Good. Well… I’ll leave you two to the rest of your evening. Have a good night.” He leaned down and quickly kissed Nora’s cheek before apparating back to his own flat.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, looking supportive. “If you aren’t ready…”

“I’ll never be ready, but I’m not about to let it take me over.”

She nodded in agreement as I held my door open, inviting her into my room where I once again sat on the bed.

“So... how did it happen?” she asked once she got in the room and the door closed.

“I… Honestly I don’t even know. We just started… dating? He treated me like a queen, doing everything for me, before I knew it, we were going on dates and he was kissing me goodnight. Next thing I know, he’s inviting me to move my things into his room. We stayed in bed together a few nights then one day he was in a really good mood and…”

Nora nodded. “You know, the whole virginity thing… it isn’t the end all be all. If you felt it wasn’t what you wanted your first time to be, then it doesn’t have to be.”

“But I was physically with him, Nora.”

“So? You wanna know about my first time?” she asked as she plopped down next to me.

“You had a first time?” I accused, turning to her. “How did I--Wait, was it Theseus?”

A soft, amused expression took her over. “No, but I’m glad you think that.”

“If not Theseus, then who?”

“It was actually a girl at Hogwarts… She was a year ahead of me.”

“Let me guess, Slytherin?” I teased.

“Actually a Gryffindor.”

“No kidding?” I mused. “How? Why?”

“We were friends. Good friends. We actually took each other to the Winter ball, as friends, at first, but there was something there…”

“So… what happened?” I wondered, curious.

“We eventually made our way to the astronomy tower. It was disastrous, let me tell you,” she said with a laugh, putting her hand on my knee as she leaned towards me.

“It sounds kind of magical, and cute.”

“Cute would be one word for it. Neither of us had any clue what we were doing, but that’s the point when it comes to your first time. If everyone knew what they were doing, it wouldn’t be any fun.”

“I’m not so sure mine was fun,” I muttered. “I feel so… dirty. I’ve had to live with this memory every day since I ‘woke up’. I have to look at Newt and relive it. If we ever got to that point, I’d have to tell him who I gave myself to.”

“Oh, Rosaline, you give yourself who you give yourself to. The whole concept of virginity is something men made up to make them feel special.”

“Really?”

“Somewhat. If it feels special to you, then it is. But don’t let what happened to you damper what might happen with Newt.”

“Speaking of what might happen… Have you and Theseus….?” I questioned.

“Had sex?”

I blushed at her words, but nodded.

“No, I don't think we're quite ready for that yet. just being physically close is enough or us right now.”

“That’s really nice,” I mused, beaming softly. “I’m glad you two have found your way to each other.”

“Me too. It’s incredible right now.”

After a moment of chewing my lip, I asked her, “Uh, Nora?”

“Hmm?”

“During my… time… with Grindelwald… I would feel this… odd sensation.”

“Pain?”

“No, no,” I stated, shaking my head, blushing. “This is embarrassing.”

“Nothing is embarrassing. Go on and ask,” she encouraged.

“When we were together, I would feel this build up then a sudden… rush? Sometimes it would blind me when it happened and I got really tired afterward. Was I having a panic attack or what was that?” I wondered.

She threw her head back, laughing. “No, that wasn’t an attack. It’s a good thing. It’s called an orgasm.”

“Orgasm?” I frowned at her.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Did you...Have you had one of those?”

“I had one my first time, with that girl in the tower. I’ve had a few by myself. They feel good, if you know what’s going on.”

I slowly nodded. “I definitely didn’t.”

“So you want to though, one day with Newt?”

“One day? Nora, I’d like to do it right now,” I admitted. “I just can’t because society dictates that we must kiss at this time, then move to the next step. I’ve loved him for a long time and I’ve thought about him physically for years.”

She got a coy look on her face. “Well look at you. I never knew you were so scandalous,” she joked as she peered at me.

“Oh come off it. You know what I mean. With as long as I’ve loved him, of course it’s natural for me to want his touch like that immediately. I just… Between the flashbacks of Grindelwald, Newt being socially awkward, and society deeming it unfit, what choice do I have?”

She nodded her head side to side in thought. “You could always entertain the idea… yourself.”

“Myself?”

“Yes, it’s quite easy to recreate an orgasm on your own.”

I frowned. “Why would I want to do that?”

“To relieve stress, darling. You want Newt and right now you can’t have him. But on your own, you trust yourself, no one to please, no one to bother you. It’s just you and yourself, making you happy.”

My gaze narrowed on the floor as I listened.

“And that’s… okay?”

“Circe’s tits, yes, it’s okay. Why wouldn’t it be?”

I shrugged. “Don’t you have to reserve those kinds of things for your partner?”

She shook her head, scoffing. “No. You aren’t there to make someone else feel good, even if it’s Newt. I love the kid, but you aren’t just something for him to use. You have urges too, Little Rose.” She reached up and pinched my cheek, making me laugh.

“How do you even do that?”

She thought for a moment. “All I’ll say is let your hand travel south, think of Newt, and see how it goes.”

“Oh, Nora, that’s so… You aren’t serious, are you?”

“Deadly,” she said with a mischievous grin and chuckle. “What’s the worst that could happen? You think of Newt while fireworks go off in your head? Isn’t that what usually happens?” she teased.

I bobbed my head and agreed with her.

“On a more serious note,” she said after our giggles and smiles faded, “what are you going to do about Newt. Not the sex, but in general. You aren’t working with him, you can’t kiss him without repercussion, so do you want to move forward?”

My body toppled backwards.

“Of course I want to move forward. That’s all I’ve wanted for five years now.”

“But?”

“But what if he rejects me?”

“On what grounds?” she asked, laying beside me as she propped her head on her hand, staring down at me.

“Anything. I’m not… I’m not like you, Nora. You’re warm, funny, brave, smart. It’s easy to see why Theseus fell for you.”

“And Newt fell for you,” she reminded.

“But what if he fell for the assistant? The quiet girl who sat with his creatures. Not the girl who ran off with the bad guy and committed crimes.”

“You’re still the same person, you’re just a bit wiser now with a past you didn’t ask for, that’s all.”

I turned slightly more towards her. “You know, he said that he knew I had the power to kill you all, and didn’t. So that’s how he knew I was still good despite everything.”

“He isn’t wrong,” she agreed.

“No, he isn’t. Grindelwald told me to end you all that day at Hogwarts, and I didn’t. Something made me stop.”

“It’s that heart, that heart that Newt fell for.”

I sighed. “What if I’m not good enough though? He fell for Tina once, what’s not to say he won’t do it again? Perhaps with someone else.”

Her gaze dropped before she spoke. “I think I should tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“The only reason he even looked twice at Tina was because you spouted off some nonsense about not wanting to let people in. About how it would only end in heartbreak.”

“That’s because it’s true,” I snapped.

“Do you still feel that way?”

“Yes.”

“So why move forward with Newt?”

“He’s my only exception,” I whispered before looking at her. Her face was one of admonishment, making me laugh. “Don’t give me that look. I… I still worry it’ll only end with us being hurt.”

“Sounds like a wonderful way to go through life. Ignoring all possibility of happiness, for the potential to get hurt. Sound plan, Rosaline.”

“Mock me if you want, but we both know it’s true. Look at Theseus and Newt. They loved Leta and for what? So she could break Newt’s heart and die in front of Theseus.”

When she said nothing, I continued.

“Or you? How long did you watch Theseus and wish you had him? Or me and Newt, I watched him with Tina with yearning eyes.”

“Yes, but maybe if you actually opened up and thawed that heart of yours, you might be surprised at what you find.”

“What’s that?”

“Real, unconditional, true love.”

“Is that what you’ve done with Theseus? Trusted him entirely? Given yourself to him?”

“Yes,” she said confidently.

“And you aren’t worried?”

“About heartbreak?” She shook her head. “Have you ever heard the expression, ‘Tis better to have loved and lost, than to never loved at all?”

“Yes, but--”

“Then you know, that even if heartache were to swoop in, that you’d still have your memories of you and Newt. that those memories would burn brighter and better, than any dull ache that might occur.”

“You truly believe that?”

“I have to. Love is a risk, it’s a challenge, it’s fucking scary. But it’s worth it. Without Theseus I’m not sure how I would’ve gotten through this whole mess with you. Love can make you incredibly weak, but it can also make you incredibly strong and resilient.”

I let her words sink into me, and I listened, wrapping my head around them. Agreeing with her.

“Yes, but what if my sins, my demons of my past push him away?” I whispered, tears threatening.

She wrapped an arm around me. “They won’t, not if you don’t let them. You once told me to just go all in, even with Theseus engaged.”

“Well, yes that was because I wanted you to be with him. I felt you deserved him more than Leta.”

“I think you’re forgetting who you are, and who you are to Newt. Just let all of this go, and be with him. He wants you, and you want him, that’s all there really is to it.”

“You think so?”

She took her finger tip and bopped my nose ever so gently. “I know so. Who here is older and wiser?”

“You’re certainly older, I can see it in your gray hair,” I teased.

“You little demon!” she said before going in to tickle me. “Take it back!”

“Never!” I boasted, laughing.

‘I’ll tell Newt about your wild fantasies!” she threatened with laughter in her eyes.

“Okay! Okay! I take it back!” I said, surrendering.

For the rest of the evening, the two of us lied on the bed, talking mainly girl talk. She filled me in on the bookstore. I filled her in on what my thoughts were for a future job. It really felt like old times and that is exactly what the doctor ordered.

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

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thesuperpainter · 4 years

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candy-floss-crazy · 9 months

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Jacket Potato Cart Hire

Jacket Baked Potato Cart Hire. Juicy Jackets, When You Need The Food To Be Remembered. Reputed to have been introduced by Sir Walter Raleigh, if you don't like 'taters' you could always try his other offering, tabacco. but we don't think 'baccy' goes with chilli too well. Everyone remembers what the food was like, poor food can totally ruin your event. Don't offer your guests or colleagues the usual boring platter of sandwiches and a slice of cake. You need something a bit more filling, a baked potato cart is just the ticket. Everything is taken care of for you, preparing and serving the food, and the clean up after the event. Your choice of hot and cold fillings with side salad. to make a perfect late night offering for your guests at a wedding. Although it’s just as good through the day at parties or company fun days. Fancy a Tater, just ask, we don't bite! Yes PleaseThe menu lists a small selection of what you can choose for your event. If you have something specific in mind let us know and we can put a customised menu together for you. We can also offer veggie and vegan options, so everybody can be happy.You can have the baked potato services on a quirky range of carts, remember nowadays the service needs to look as good as the food tastes. Victorian style pickwick potato ovens are used to cook your juicy jackets to perfection fluffy on the inside, crunchy on the exterior. •Victorian •Alpine •Contemporary •Tikki Hut •Horse Box •Gazebo You have the option of a custom design and build service for promotional events and exhibitions. Check out our carts... Branding For sales promotions and exhibitions your baked potato carts can be branded to suit your theme. This can be as simple as adding a logo to the front, right through to a complete custom design and build, you also have the option of; Custom Branded Napkins. Custom Branded Plates. Custom Signage.The same old buffets are beginning to look a bit stale. Adding a baked potato cart serving a range of healthy options is a sure fire way to keep your guests happy. Add a touch of class your event with our delicious hot fresh spuds and range of both hot and cold toppings. Perfect for private parties, and wedding receptions. In addition to our jackets, we also offer other great savoury options, why dont you check out; Hot Dogs, Chipstix and Nachos. History Of The Potato The humble potato has become the world’s 4th largest food crop. Quite a feat for a vegetable which was first cultivated in Peru around 8000 to 5000 BC. When Peru was invaded by the Spanish Conquistadors in 1536, they discovered the taste of the potato and carried them to Europe. Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes into Ireland around 1589, planting them on 40,000 acres of land near Cork. It took around 4 decades for the potato to spread to the rest of Europe Did You Know At one point during the Alaskan Klondike gold rush, the potato was worth its weight in gold. They were valued for their vitamin C, and gold at that time was more readily available than nutritious foods! The potato was the first vegetable to be grown in space. NASA and the University of Wisconsin created the technology with the aim of feeding astronauts on long space voyages, and eventually providing a staple crop for future space colonies.DO YOU OFFER VEGGY OPTIONS; Yes, we can provide a range of veggy toppings, or a mixture of both. CAN YOU PROVIDE HALAL OR KOSHER TOPPINGS; Yes we can work up a menu to suit your precise requirements. HOW MUCH IS A JACKET POTATO CART; The price varies depending on where you require the service and how many guests you need us to serve, but expect to pay around £500 for upto 100 servings. WHERE CAN I HIRE A JACKET POTATO CART NEAR ME. We offer a service covering the full U.K. and can provide a cart for you. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JACKET POTATO AND A BAKED POTATO; In reality they are the same thing, basically the English call it a jacket, the Americans baked. U.K’s Premier Traditional jacket potato carts are available to hire throughout the FULL U.K. and Europe. Including the North East, The Midlands, London, Scotland, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and they are perfect for military balls, corporate events, college balls, weddings, parties, university balls, company fundays, barmitzvahs, bat mitzvahs and any other type of public or private event catered for. Hire Jacket Potatoes Near Me. Baked potato food trucks and carts for any event. Waffles make a perfect complement. Read the full article

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redvoid-40 · 4 years

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Chapter 7 - New Allies

Hello everyone! Hope you’re all being safe and staying indoors in these difficult times. Hope you all are coping well with the whole thing and keep yourselves healthy and happy.

To help you all pass the time I’m posting chapter 7 of my Gaara fic! Hope you all enjoy it! :D

Fanfic title: ??? Word count: 4139 Fandom: Naruto Pairing: eventual Gaara x OC, cannon pairings Genre: Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort Warnings: None

Previous chapter / Next chapter

Ko-fi

Also! I made a post before but I’ll repeat it here: as a physician, if you have any medical questions about the whole COVID-19 situation feel free to DM me! I’m here if you all need help. :D

After the three Shinobi from Suna left, Shin had asked her teammates to spare her some time. It took some heavy-handed pleading on her part to get Sasuke to wait while she and Naruto convinced Konohamaru and his posse into leaving their “playdate” for another time. But once he agreed to it, Shin knew she had them all. Sakura wouldn’t leave before Sasuke.

Finally, as the sun set down in the horizon, Team Seven found themselves on the rooftop of Shin and Naruto’s apartment building. Shin served them all some iced green tea.

"What's that over there?" Sakura asked, pointing to a make-do wooden structure at the edge of the roof.

The structure was small, with barely enough room for three people to sit underneath it, but it was well made and seemed safe.

"Oh, that's a little gazebo Naruto-chan and I build. We hang out there sometimes when the sun is too bad or when it's raining."

"Shin-chan's apartment doesn't have a veranda like mine so we build that.” Naruto continued with a big smile. “She comes over to play her guitar and she's really good, believe it!"

"It's a lute, Naruto-chan." Shin spoke with a little smile. "But thanks."

"So out with it, Shin-chan!" Naruto urged impatiently. “Tell us what you know about these Chūnin Exams!”

Shin nodded excitedly, running her brown eyes over the three pair of curious gazes on her.

“I have it from a good source that Kakashi-sensei will sign us up for the Chūnin Exams!” Shin announced with a conspiratorial smile. “And from what I heard, three others of this year’s Team Leaders are going to indicate their students for the Exams too.”

“And how would you know that?” Sakura asked. “Kakashi-sensei spent the whole day with us. There’s no way he could’ve told you that himself.”

Shin’s smile faltered for a second.

“You see… only teams of three can take the Exams. I won’t be able to take part in the exams with you.”

Shin observed her teammates and each of them had a very different reaction. Sakura stared at her with wide eyes that were a mix of sadness and surprise. Sasuke sipped his tea quietly, watching Shin attently but giving away nothing of his thoughts. And Naruto…

“THERE’S NO WAY THAT’S GONNA HAPPEN!”

Naruto wasn’t taking it well.

“Naruto-chan, please…”

“No, Shin-chan! It’s not fair that you’re gonna get cut loose like that, believe it! I don’t care if the exams were made for teams of three. We can’t just leave you! You’re part of Team Seven! Right Sakura-chan?”

Sakura was taken aback by Naruto’s outburst but quickly recovered herself and nodded in agreement. “Yes! There should be something we can do about this! After all, it was the Academy that split us in a team of four. They are responsible for this discrepancy in numbers so they must take action as to keep you from being harmed by their decision. I’m sure the Hokage wouldn’t allow it.”

“Yeah! Let’s go talk to that old man!”

Shin stared as her friends came up with a plan of action with wide eyes. She knew Naruto would protest, but didn’t expect Sakura to join him and for them to immediately come up with strategies to help her.

It made something warm spread on her chest as a blush spread on her cheeks.

“Guys, wait a minute, please.” Shin spoke, getting their attention again. “There’s more to this news.”

“You two are too hot-headed.” Sasuke commented. “She said she wasn’t going to participate with us, not that she wasn’t going to participate at all.”

Shin nodded.

“It seems Kakashi-sensei was planning on nominating us for the Chūnin Exams for a while now. He got in contact with a Jonin back in Takigakure who used to be a friend of my mom’s. She is a Team Leader back there, and it seems one of the Genin under her dropped out a few days ago. She came here today to ask me if I’d be willing to take part with her team and I said yes. Right now they must be talking it over with the Hokage.”

As Shin finished her explanation, she noticed Naruto gained an almost somber expression.

“Naruto-chan…” Shin called softly, bumping shoulders with him. “I’m sorry about this. I didn’t want to leave you guys, but it was the only way all of us could participate in the exams together.”

Naruto sighed and nodded. “I know, but…”

“Yes?”

Naruto groaned as if he carried all of the world’s suffering on his shoulders.

“Why can’t Sasuke go instead? We’d be better off without him, believe it.”

Immediately, Sakura put Naruto in a headlock. “How dare you, Naruto?! Sasuke-kun is the best in our team!”

Shin laughed nervously as she tried to pry Sakura’s arms from Naruto’s neck.

“Shin-” Sasuke called, making all three turn their attention to him. “-you used to live near Takigakure, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know these new Genin that will be part of your team?”

Shin laughed and scratched the back of her head. “Well, it’s not really my team since I’ll be the “outsider”, but yes! I do know them! We used to play together when I lived there. Also, their te-”

“Are they strong?”

“Uh?” Shin was confused for a moment, until she caught the glint in Sasuke’s eyes. When she turned to Naruto, he was staring at her in much the same way.

She giggled. “Yes, they’re pretty strong.”

This is going to be interesting, uh?

----

On the following day, Shin didn’t go with Naruto to meet with the rest of Team Seven for their usual debriefing. Instead she walked straight towards Konoha’s gates.

It was time to greet her new teammates.

---

“Shin-kun, you’re early.”

The girl startled and turned around, finding none other than her new teacher standing behind her.

“Rashu-sensei! Good morning!” Shin greeted with a big smile. Then, noticing the metal flask in her hand, she swallowed. “Isn’t it a bit too early to be drinking?”

Rashu smirked and took a long swig of her flask.

“Time is an illusion, Shin-kun.”

“...What?”

Kotagi Rashu was a young Jonin from Takigakure, barely 20 years old and she had already made a name for herself in and out of her village. With more than 100 A-rank and 10 S-rank missions she was a force to be reckoned with.

Sure, she didn’t look like it with her pixie-cut orange hair and big blue eyes. She always had a lazy smirk on her lips and wore a tight blue sports bra with a open Jonin vest over it, and on her lower half she had a pair of black, mid-thigh spandex shorts, mesh stockings and blue Shinobi sandals on her feet. Rashu also wore a pair of blue fingerless gloves on her hands and an enormous scroll tied to her lower back.

Despite her ranking, Rashu was a laid-back woman, who lived by one simple philosophy: “things aren’t a problem until they become a problem”.

Rashu used a student-turned-friend to her mother. Shin remembered the Jonin showing up at her home every once in a while to train with her mother. Sometimes she’d even watch and try to imitate them.

And when Rashu came around she used to bring-

“Oh, they’re here.”

Shin turned back to face the city gates and immediately her eyes focused on the people in question. Approaching Konoha with haughty looks on their faces were her childhood friends.

And Shin could only stare wide-eyed at them.

Meguyuta Hajii and Meguyuta Aoni, the twins born to the head of the Meguyuta clan, the richest family from Takigakure and maybe even the most powerful.

Long ago, when Takigakure’s traitor Kakuzu had escaped prison to kill the village’s Elders and steal their secret scrolls, it was the Meguyuta clan who most contributed to restore the village’s secret techniques. The clan had been know to collect many powerful and rare scrolls, keeping them in a secret location under lock and key. So, after Kakuzu’s attack, the new leaders went to them for help. And they received as much help as they wished for and more.

For a price, of course.

Since then, the Meguyutas enjoyed influence and privileges that allowed them to vastly expand their wealth. Many of the lands around Takigakure belonged to them and they enjoyed lots of benefits when it came to product taxation.

Which didn’t mean they were content to just enjoy their wealth as Feudal Lords usually did. The Meguyuta liked packing some punch, tying power that was their own to their name instead of hiring mercenaries and Shinobi for their protection. Which was why Shin wasn’t surprised to hear that the family’s heirs would take the Chūnin Exams.

Meguyuta Aoni was the oldest from the twins and the official family heir. She had grown as pretty as can be, with silky silver hair kept tied in a neat braid over her shoulder and green eyes that reminded Shin of Sakura’s. Her attire was a light pink, sleeveless dress with a zipper that ran from its high collar to the hem at the middle of her thighs. Her legs were covered by black leggings that even from far away looked extremely comfortable, and on her feet she wore black Shinobi boots. Aoni had a wide gold bracelet in each wrist and a large and a broad-headed Dao sword strapped to her back. Her forehead protector was tied loosely around her neck.

Her twin brother Hajii was somehow even prettier than her. He had the same green eyes and silver hair, which was neatly cut, only a few inches long overall, with the exception of his bangs, which were kept longer and parted on the side, tucked behind his ears. The boy wore a pure white skin-tight V-cut tank top and baggy grey pants that were tucked into black Shinobi sandals. He had a multi-layered gold necklace with his a sunflower - his clan’s symbol - hanging from the last chain. Weapon-wise Shin could only see the traditional kunai-holster all Ninja had strapped to his right thigh, just above his Takigakure protector.

They’re nothing like the children I remembered. Shin thought and couldn’t help the blush that rose on her cheeks when she looked down at herself. I should’ve had dressed better for this.

Shin swallowed her embarrassment and smiled brightly at her friends as they finally reached her. She had wanted to pull both into a long-overdue hug, but something kept her from it; as if they were in a whole level above herself.

“It’s so nice to see you two again!” She said. “Aoni-chan, Hajii-chan… I really missed you two!”

The twins gave her a deadpan stare before exchanging a look. It made Shin’s smile drop. The last thing she expected from her friends was silence. When they used to play together they were energetic and borderline needy in their demands for her time and attention.

Did I do something?

Shin’s mind was already running a wild, wondering why her friends were being like that when Hajii let out a long-suffering sigh and opened his arms wide.

“Sorry Ao-nee. I just can’t.”

Next thing Shin knew she was pulled in a hug by Hajii. The kind of hug that squeezed the air out of her lungs and didn’t let go for long moments as the one giving it rubbed his cheek against hers in an almost uncomfortable manner.

“You’re weak, Hajii!” Aoni yelled at her brother. “We were supposed to be mad at her!”

W-What?

“I am mad at her.” Hajii replied, but didn’t let go. “But I missed her… Come on, I know you want to hug her too.”

Confused as hell, Shin stared at Aoni wondering what she would do - kind of hoping she’d follow her brother’s urging and give her a hug too - but the other girl just crossed her arms and averted her eyes from the scene.

Rashu laughed-

“I see you three need some time to catch up. See you all later!”

-and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving a very disoriented Shin to deal with a clingy Hajii and a fuming Aoni.

What?

---

A few minutes later, and the trio found themselves inside a nearly empty coffee shop. Aoni and Hajii had both ordered the same thing - a matcha latte - while Shin had a cup of simple green tea. Shin was sitting in front of the twins, nursing her tea and occasionally stealing glances at them as she built up the courage to speak.

For a few minutes they sat in a silence that was only broken by the loud slurping sounds of Hajii enjoying his drink as he unashamedly stared back and forth between Shin and his sister.

Shin took a deep breath and at last fixed her brown eyes on Aoni’s.

“Aoni-chan-”

“It’s Meguyuta-san to you, Shin.”

Shin was visibly crestfallen at that response and had to physically hold back tears at the brusqueness of it. She didn’t understand what she had done to warrant such treatment.

“Alright… Meguyuta-san.” She spoke slowly, trying hard not to let her voice break. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did for you to get so angry at me-”

“I’m angry too you know.” Hajii pointed out.

“Eh… right. I don’t know what I did for you two to be angry at me, but I’m still terribly sorry. Whatever I’ve done I assure you I never meant to harm you. So please-”

“Whatever you’ve done?” Aoni echoed, slamming her paper cup on the table. “Do you really have no idea why we are angry at you?”

“I-I…”

“You left! With no warning or goodbye! You just left us and we had to hear about it from Rashu-sensei!”

Shin swallowed as tears finally fell from her wide eyes. “I-”

“How do you think we felt? Tsurugi-san and Atsuuta-san were important to us too, you know? We loved them and we loved going to play with you and then-” The words caught in Aoni’s throat as tears filled her green eyes. “-then they were murdered. We tried so hard to reach you during their funeral but you never left that strange man’s side. And on the following day we tried to visit you at the hospital but you were suddenly gone. You didn’t- you didn’t even say goodbye to us. Not even a damn note!”

“Calm down, Ao-nee.” Hajii tried, gazing at the few other customers in the coffee shop. “People are staring.”

“Let them!”

“Aoni-chan…” Shin called softly.

“It’s Meguyuta-san t-to you.”

Shin stared at her friend crying unapologetically in front of her, feeling a heavy weight settle on her heart. All Aoni said was true. After her parents were killed she had left her house and village without hesitation or looking back. At the time she had just followed that man without a second thought, him, the one who had saved her life.

Jiraya-san…

---

Shin didn’t know how much time had passed since her mom started fighting against their attacker. Maybe minutes, maybe an hour… regardless she remained still, crying silently over her father’s body. Around her the battle sounds continued loud and strong.

And suddenly they stopped.

As if awaking from a nightmare, Shin raised her wide and teary eyes to the world around her. On shaky legs she finally stood up and took some steps forward, away from her house and closer to the forest.

“Mama?” She called in a small voice. She was hopeful, so hopeful.

A shadow appeared in the darkness then. A large man with green-black eyes and a slashed forehead protector from Takigakure on his head. He wore a black cape with red clouds that had been mostly destroyed during the fight, and hanging limp over his shoulder was-

“Mama!” Shin screamed and ran towards her mother. “Let her go!”

The man’s cold eyes glanced at her, took in her disheveled, tear-stricken appearance with disgust. Once she was close enough, he didn’t hesitate: he kicked her hard in the gut and sent her flying until her little body slammed against a tree.

“Don’t go getting me dirty with your snot. Dry-cleaning is expensive.” The villain spoke in a gruff voice. “Your bitch mother might be worth her weight in gold but she already cost me my partner you know? Well, I was gonna kill him soon but still."

Shin barely could hear what he was saying as she gasped and coughed in turns, trying to get some air in her lungs. Slowly she pushed herself to her feet, feeling blood streak down her mouth and chin.

"Oh? You want some more? I wasn't going to kill you, but I can adapt."

Shin cried. "Let my Mama go."

The man laughed.

And then disappeared from her sight.

Only to materialize in front of her with a large, black fist raised in the air.

Shin wasn't sure what had happened but next thing she knew the man was flying away from her, and only stopped when his back slammed violently on a tree.

"So you're in the business of killing children now? I must admit I didn't think even the Akatsuki would go so low."

That voice was one Shin had never heard before. It was warm and full of confidence.

And it came from right behind her.

Slowly Shin turned around and found a middle-aged, white-haired man standing tall behind her. He was glaring harshly at the bad man, but when he lowered his eyes to her, they mellowed out and a full grin stretched on his face. It was a smile just for her, the kind of smile which had the sole purpose of making someone else smile back.

"Don't you worry, sweetheart. I'm here to help you." He said.

"W-Who are you?"

"Im the Great Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku, Jiraya!” He spoke flamboyantly, before softening his smile again. “I met your mother a few times before, when she was a Konoha Shinobi."

"How heartwarming."

Shin startled at the derisive voice coming from the bad guy and quickly scurried to hide behind Jiraya's legs.

"I don't think we've met before.” Jiraya growled, outting himself fully in front of Shin. “What's your name?"

"None of your business, Sannin."

"The way I see it, there's two ways things can go. You can either give Tsurugi-san to me and leave without a word. Or I'll make you. Personally, I'd rather avoid spilling any more blood in front of a child. And I think you'd rather do the same; you are in pretty bad shape."

The bad man visibly glowered. "I won't just give up on 300.000 yen."

Shin saw Jiraya clench his fists by his sides. "That's a child's mother you're talking about."

"Not anymore. Now she's just another dead body."

The words hit Shin like a sledgehammer on the chest, knocking all the air out of her. Her little hands grabbed tightly on the fabric of her protector's pants as she buried her face there. But even that wasn't enough to stifle her crying. Shin's bawling was loud and full of despair as she felt her world crumble beneath her feet.

"M-Mama…"

Jiraya glared at the bad man in front of him.

"I won't forgive you for this."

There was a dry thump of a body hitting the ground and Shin flinched and buried her head further against the man's legs.

"We'll see ab-"

The bad man's words were cut short by a loud explosion. Shin opened her eyes, finding a cloud of dust surrounding the area where he had been. Then out of somewhere in the darkness a frog tongue shot towards the smoke and pulled back with her Mama in its grasp.

Next thing Shin knew there was a person-sized frog next to her. It stared at her with kindness in its eyes as it lowered her Mama gently to the ground in front of her.

Shin stared at it with tears in her eyes before throwing her little body over her Mama.

"Thank you." She said, over and over.

Shin wasn't sure what happened next. The two men exchanged words that had a deeper meaning that she was capable of understanding, especially overwhelmed by despair as she was.

Then more people showed up. Jonin upon Jonin joined them. Rashu was there. And Aoni and Hajii's uncle and aunt too. And some other Ninjas whose faces she knew but whose names she didn't remember.

It didn't matter who came. The ending was the same.

Her parents were dead and their killer ran away.

----

There were talks after that. Between Rashu and Jiraya, and them and Takigakure's leader and elders, and Aoni and Hajii's parents too. They all talked amongst themselves and with people Shin had never ever seen before, and despite not understanding what exactly they were arguing about Shin had known it was about her.

People showed up to talk to her too, but her default response had been hiding behind Jiraya as she cried softly.

Thinking back Shin wasn't able to explain why she had become so dependent on the Sannin when there were other people around her she knew and liked. Maybe it was because he had been the first to appear and help her. Or maybe it was because he had been the one to give her Mama back to her.

The why didn't matter. The result was the same.

She had hung to Jiraya’s every word and when he said she would be safe in Konohagakure, her Mama's old village, she went with him without hesitation. Like a mouse being lulled by a flute she followed Jiraya to Konoha and didn't look back.

Until today.

---

Shin couldn’t keep the tears from streaking down her face at watching Aoni cry in front of her, because of her. Hajii too; despite not showing, Shin knew the boy had been hurt just as much.

And knowing she was the one that made them sad was killing her.

Back then, Shin didn’t have many friends. Her parents home-schooled her, and the kids at the nearer village had either been a few years older or many younger than her, so it was hard to hang out with them. So when Rashu introduced her to Aoni and Hajii it had honestly reduced Shin to tears of happiness. When their parents allowed any free time, they would often come to her house to play and listen to her Papa play his lute and sing for them. Sometimes they’d invite her over to their clan’s compound for parties and events, or even just watching they train to become strong Shinobi.

Shin had loved them dearly. She still did, despite the years apart.

I was so stupid… thinking it would all be the same after so much happened.

“Aoni-chan… Hajii-chan…” Shin whispered in a trembling voice before standing from her seat.

With tears in her eyes, Shin dropped to her knees in front of her friends and touched her forehead to the floor. Both siblings stared at her with wide eyes, as well as the other few people in the coffee shop.

“I’m so sorry! I was stupid and selfish and a terrible friend to you, b-but… please believe I never wanted to hurt either of you! Please tell me what I can do to apologize to you! I-I’ll do anything you tell me to so please… Be my friends again!”

Afterwards, Shin didn’t raise her face from the floor. She remained there, eyes tightly shut, waiting for what they’d say next, dreading and hoping in equal parts.

Then the air was knocked out of her as Aoni pulled harshly on her wrist, pulling her onto her feet and into a bone-crushing hug.

“You were stupid and selfish!” Aoni screamed and cried in her ear. “But I missed you so much!”

Hajji, never one to be left out of public displays of affection, quickly adhered himself to them. “You know Shin chan… I hadn’t wanted to team up with you to this Exam. It was Ao-nee that dragged me here. She really wanted to see you again.”

“I-I’m happy she did.”

Aoni and Hajii let go and smiled at her. “Us too.”

Suddenly, in a puff of smoke, Rashu appeared with a big smile on her face, pulling all three Genin in a bear-hug.

“So happy my adorable students settled their differences! Now, onwards we go!”

“Where to, Rashu-sensei?”

“Why, training of course.” Rashu answered, letting go of them. “You guys need to practice your teamwork for this thing, and we only have five days. So get ready, because I will work you three to the bone.”

The three Genin exchanged excited glances and as one they nodded.

Rashu’s smile grew larger, almost mischievous.

“That’s the way I like it. So, Team Rashu, with me!”

#Gaara #Sabaku No Gaara #gaara x oc #osasu shin #naruto #fanfic #chapter 7 #be safe you all #take care and stay home #much love

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lovemesomerafael · 4 years

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Destroying The Planet To Save It Chapter 32: Fuckin’ Hell, Steve

Chapters 1 - 30 Chapter 31 Read It On AO3

“The doctors say you’ll make a full recovery, but it’s going to take a while.”

“You don’t sound too happy about that,” Tony replied carefully. He knew when Pepper was pissed.

And Pepper was pissed right now.

“I’m not. That’s a long time to have to wait before I can kill you.”

“Now, see-“

“You know what, Tony? Don’t talk. Nothing you can say will make what you did any less insanely reckless. And if you tell me you love me, I can and will throw you out that window. If you loved me, you would think about what it would do to me to learn you’ve been shot three times in the chest.”

“Getting shot wasn’t in the plan-“

“In the chest, Tony.” She skewered him with her scowl.

“Sorry, Pep,” he murmured quietly.

Something in Tony’s voice made Pepper look a little closer at his face.

“I’m sorry, Pepper. Truly.”

The moist sincerity in his deep brown eyes struck her. He still looked scared. Had since he’d been shot, she imagined. Certainly since he’d been stable enough to be flown back to New York and the medical floor of his Tower. He also looked sorry, and exhausted, and vulnerable. She knew that she was the only person in the world he ever let see that side of him, and it tore at her heart. There wasn’t any thought or volition, only movement as she flew to his side to throw herself into the arms he held open.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

She took a moment to choke down her sob before whispering back, “I love you. I love you so much. Please don’t leave me…”

“I won’t. I’m not. Shhhhhhhhh.” Tony stroked her hair as she cried. He didn’t bother about his own tears.

He’d really cut it too close this time.

In the room next door, Steve was cradling Sharon in his good arm as she snuggled next to him in his hospital bed. She wasn’t defending him, though. She was just letting Bucky shout at him and call him a dumbass about ninety-seven different ways as he paced back and forth at the end of Steve’s bed. She was even laughing sometimes, which Steve didn’t think was necessary.

Of course, he’d known this was coming, and he knew Bucky wasn’t actually angry. This was just the way Bucky needed to bleed all the residual fear out of his system. After the way Steve had acted following the quinjet crash, Steve supposed, it was also Bucky’s turn.

But he was kinda outdoing himself at the moment.

“So you fucking tell the guy to shoot you? What in the jumped-up hell is the matter with you, Steve? I gotta be with you every fucking minute to keep you from doin’ this kinda shit?”

“Sorry, Buck, I didn’t-“

“I’m a hundred years old, punk, my heart can’t take this anymore. Hell, you’re a hundred, too, which means you shoulda grown out of your idiot phase a few decades ago now!”

“Look, Tony was-“

“You know how close that bullet was to your heart? Major blood vessels? I got news for you, pal, the serum didn’t make you bulletproof. You can still bleed out. You been to war, you’ve seen how fast that can happen. Fuckin’ hell, Steve!”

“Bucky, stop.”

“No! I’m gonna bust your chops, and you’re gonna lay there and take it, because you do this every time! Every fuckin’ time, you gotta go wadin’ into trouble until you’re in it up to your eyeballs, you dumb knucklehead. You go barrelin’ into a room and take on a coupla gorillas with guns, and you tell one of ‘em to shoot you? I’m gonna fuckin’ shoot you just so I don’t gotta deal with this crap anymore!”

Steve couldn’t help it. He started to smile. He knew that was just gonna make Bucky madder, but he simply couldn’t keep it in. It was so good to have Bucky back. So good. It ached, how warm and familiar and right this felt.

“If that’s a smile… Sharon, you’re gonna hafta move, because I’m gonna slug him.”

Sharon believed him. So much so, that she got up from the bed.

“No, Sharon, we were comfortable-“ Steve complained, but Bucky was already by his side, fist cocked and eyes full of fire.

He wasn’t really going to hit Steve. Probably.

What Bucky did instead was bend down and gather Steve’s massive shoulders in his arms, pulling him up from his pillow until Bucky was crushing Steve to his chest. Which hurt like a bitch.

“Bucky, ouch! Watch it!”

“Shut up, you big baby. You did it to me and I had broken ribs, which hurts way worse and you know it,” Bucky’s voice rumbled in his chest against Steve’s ear.

For a minute, Bucky just squeezed Steve, while Steve tried to breathe through the pain.

“Fuckin’ hell, Stevie,” Bucky grumbled, and Steve knew the mandatory ass-chewing was about over. Bucky had finally yelled himself out.

*************

Tony Stark knew how to throw a party. Everyone knew that. What everyone didn’t know is that, closet romantic that he was, he also knew how to throw a wedding. Which was to say, let Pepper do it. Tony knew his limitations.

Okay, he didn’t, but he knew this one.

The Avengers’ upstate Compound was set amidst a few acres of lush land, beautifully maintained. There was an outdoor area that got used frequently when the weather was nice, like today, which featured a brand-new gazebo of rustic-looking local wood. It was decked out in tulle and flowers, lit softly and well by a thousand twinkle lights and additional, indirect lights. Pepper said the lighting for the event had been designed by the best team she could hire. She also said it cost Tony dearly, but she thought it was worth it.

Tony didn’t know anything about any of that, he just knew that he could see and hear the minister just fine, and he’d never seen Banner… glow like that. Tony smirked. Poor fuck’s got it bad. But then he looked at Catherine, and he couldn’t really blame Bruce. She was stunning. And she sure seemed to be head over heels for Banner.

He pulled his right arm in its fashionable black sling closer to his side and twisted to look around. Damn, when did the Avengers all get so paired off? He supposed he shouldn’t feel the slight sense of superiority he did, because Pepper was sitting right next to him, and he was clinging pretty tightly to her hand at the moment.

Natasha surprised him. There was something about her lately. She was no less dry and supercilious, no softer or more emotional, just… different. Tony couldn’t have explained how her public interaction with Clint had changed, but it had. In some indefinable way, although they weren’t given to public displays of affection, it was obvious they were a couple. They hadn’t denied it when Tony had finally asked about it during a team dinner, but they also hadn’t volunteered any information. Tony knew Clint, though. He was no doubt dying to talk about it. He was just forbidden to, at least in public. Tony made a promise to himself that he would corner Clint later on tonight and get him drunk. Make him spill. Meanwhile, Clint sat looking damn handsome, Tony had to admit, in his suit, next to Natasha, who was somehow managing to radiate both deep satisfaction and hair-trigger ferocity at the same time. Neat trick, that.

There were fewer than fifty people sitting in the chairs set up in front of the gazebo, with their silk covers in the soft light green Catherine had insisted on including in the wedding color scheme. She swore it wasn’t a joke, just an acknowledgement that she meant it when she vowed “For better or worse.” Pepper had mixed it with a delicate pink and cream, and the setting was truly spectacular, but in a quiet way that fit the couple. It was definitely overwhelmingly romantic.

The combination of such a small number of guests, with the overall taste and beauty of the event, somehow made it more sumptuous. Bruce and Catherine didn’t care about that, they just wanted their wedding to be intimate. They wanted to share it with those they loved and cared for, while keeping their privacy from the merely curious. Neither of them denied the additional fact that keeping the event small meant it could happen more quickly. They’d waited long enough for the marriage that had been inevitable since their mutual friend Andris, who was here tonight, had goaded a grad student into pitting them against one another in a seminar in Munich.

Sam had trouble appreciating the decor, however, because all he could see was Anita. Her floor-length, halter-topped gown was entirely appropriate even as it showed a lot of skin, the flowy fabric a light shade of teal that made all that skin glow. She had complimented the fit of his suit more than once, but he felt invisible next to her, as beautiful as she looked. That was fine by Sam. All he wanted to do was be near her, focusing on her long, toned arms and watching her appreciate the romance of the evening, waiting for the next time she would smile at him.

The ceremony was fairly brief, and beautiful, and to no one’s surprise, Steve cried the most. Bucky was merciless about it, but he was the only one who could get away with that. Sharon found it adorable.

Sharon found pretty much everything about Steve adorable. She hadn’t yelled at him – much – for getting shot. She’d just said about a thousand prayers of thanks that it wasn’t life-threatening, and that the serum allowed him to heal so quickly. This was Steve. This was the man she loved completely and forever, and he also happened to be Captain America, which was a dangerous job. So be it. She would just pray a lot and make sure he knew, every moment, how much she loved him.

When the sunset ceremony was over, there was nothing left to do but make sure to say a few polite words to the few guests – close friends and family members – who weren’t either Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. That done, Steve took Sharon by the hand and leaned over to whisper, “You wanna go for a walk?”

Like Sharon would say no to a man who looked like that in a blue suit.

Steve grabbed two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter and handed one to Sharon as they meandered along a flagstone path. Sharon hadn’t spent any time here at the Compound, so she was happily surprised when the path led past the ornamental shrubbery into a small, unexpected outdoor seating area. It was surrounded by fairly tall flowering shrubs that Sharon didn’t know the name of, which made it a private little oasis. For Bruce and Catherine’s wedding, burning torches had been set at each corner, giving the space a warm, magical glow. They sat down close together on a stone bench and took a few sips of their champagne.

“You know, I was born in 1918,” Steve noted.

Sharon blinked and shook her head in wonder. “I know. Crazy.”

“Yeah. It was a different time then, in a lot of ways.”

Sharon nodded, her eyebrows bunching just a little. Where was he going with this?

“I’ve tried to catch up.”

“You’ve done an amazing job. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for you.”

“But there’s something I got wrong.”

“Oh?”

Steve took another sip and leaned his head a little closer to Sharon’s so he could look in her eyes. “Some things are fashion. Some things are… I don’t know… progress, let’s say. And I get that people have different beliefs and values. I also get that some of the beliefs and values we used to have when I was a kid were wrong. Unfair. Hurtful, even.”

Sharon nodded, just waiting for him to get to the point.

“But some weren’t. And I think I made a mistake, trying to be modern. In fact, I know I did. And I know you won’t see it this way, but I disrespected you, and I’m sorry.”

“Steve, what are you…?”

“I love you, Sharon. I’m always gonna love you, and I know that. You’re so much smarter than me, and wiser, and you’re completely successful in your own right. I’m so proud to be with you. Plus, you’re beautiful and sexy, and…”

Steve set down his champagne and pulled something from his pocket as he knelt on the lush grass before Sharon.

“Steve-“ she gulped.

“I love you,” he repeated, taking Sharon’s left hand in his. He lifted it in his right and, with his left, showed her a simple gold ring with a single diamond that sparkled in the light of the torches. He lowered it until he held it just off the end of her left ring finger. “I love you, Sharon, and I don’t just want to live with you, like being together is just convenient, or temporary. I want to marry you. I want us to be a family. I want to make you my wife so that you, and everyone else, will know how much you mean to me. How much I value you. Sharon Carter, will you be my wife?”

Sharon’s breathy, “Yes!” was barely audible against the soft backdrop of music and voices coming from the wedding reception.

Steve took his time, carefully setting the ring on Sharon’s finger. She noticed that it fit perfectly, and wondered how many professional spies had been involved in making that happen. Then Steve looked up again, the tears welling in his eyes a match for the few spilling down her cheeks. When he kissed her, he cradled her face in his hands, like something precious and infinitely delicate.

It was a long time before she’d finished telling him how much she loved him, and how happy she planned to make him.

Pepper had arranged for a small dance floor to be set up in front of the gazebo, where the chairs had been for the ceremony. While a state-of-the-art soundsystem had played appropriate music through the ceremony and wove a quiet, elegant spell throughout the sit-down dinner that followed, now a live band was set up in the gazebo. Sam and Anita had been on the dance floor since the moment Bruce and Catherine invited everyone to join them while they had their first dance.

Although he had no illusions that anyone would be watching them raptly, the way everyone was watching Sam and Anita, Clint didn’t want them to. He wanted to dance with Natasha, close and slow, and maybe whisper some sweet nothings to her from time to time.

They’d danced together before, of course, but not since they’d declared themselves a couple, officially and permanently. Clint found himself fighting his emotions, lest he outdo Steve’s display during the ceremony. The woman he held in his arms felt entirely different from the Natasha he’d danced with a hundred other times in the presence of the Avengers. This Natasha held him close. She smiled into his eyes and nuzzled his jaw. She leaned into him, melting her body to his and closing her eyes. There was nothing vulgar or conspicuous about it, although he was sure that they held each other and interacted like lovers, whereas before they had danced as close friends. But the subtle change, for Clint Barton, was everything.

“Stick a fork in me,” he murmured into Natasha’s ear as he guided her gracefully through a turn.

“Such a strange expression.”

“Mmmmm. But it fits. Me. Now. I can’t think of a single thing I want. I am completely content in this moment.”

“You have a low bar for contentment, Barton.”

“No,” he corrected her. “I don’t.”

He heard and felt, rather than saw, Natasha smile. When he felt her pull him just a little bit closer, Clint realized that he could, in fact, be happier than he’d been a second before.

“I can think of some things I want,” Natasha said during the next song, tipping up her head to whisper some of them in his ear.

“I don’t think I should do that to you in front of Catherine’s mom. She’s gotta be at least eighty.”

“I agree. But I want it now.”

“It’s Bruce and Catherine’s wedding, Tasha. We can’t leave this early.”

“We’ll come back. After. And if you can’t disappear without anyone noticing, Barton, I’m going to start questioning your spy skills.”

“Ooh. Gauntlet thrown.”

“Yes.” She backed a step or two away from him and, with a smolder, said, “Don’t keep me waiting.”

With that, somehow, she disappeared into a very small crowd.

Sam and Anita hadn’t spoken much about the future. They hadn’t had much time. But since returning from Argentina, they’d learned of Steve’s plan to create a second Avengers base on the grounds of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in D.C. Their future seemed to have sort of taken care of itself.

“Barnes has a place in D.C. already, says there’s plenty of room if I want to live there, too. I might take him up on that, at least for a while. It’s been a while since I lived in D.C.”

Anita wasn’t able to respond right away, because this was the part of the dance where Sam held her hand over her head while she did a series of complicated twirls around him. When she snapped back into his arms, their chests colliding solidly, she was smiling.

“Well, maybe now’s the time to tell you what Coulson said to me while we were talking earlier.”

“Yeah? Something happen?”

“He’s promoting me. I’ll still be in the field on special assignments, but I’ll be training more.” She looked flirtatiously up at him through her eyelashes. “And part of my job will be ‘liaising’ with the Avengers.”

“Oh, you know how I like to ‘liaise’,” Sam grinned.

“And you’re very, very good at it.”

Anita watched appreciatively as Sam executed some intricate steps that took them across the whole dance floor. Which was tiny, but it was still an impressive display of his grace and his fine physique. “Damn, Master Sergeant,” she breathed.

“You like that, huh? Plenty more where that came from.”

“Good. Because you and me, we’re gonna be doing a lot of dancing.”

Sam’s face was alight as he replied, “I can’t tell you how much I like the sound of that.”

With that, he tightened his arm around her waist and led her through smart, brisk turns that caused her gown to billow out around their legs, to the delight of several onlookers.

Bucky had been covering for Steve for a while now. He knew, of course, what was happening. Hell, he’d helped Steve plan what he was gonna say. So every time someone asked where Steve was, Bucky made sure to tell them he had something he needed to do, and would be back soon. He wasn’t sure why he felt relieved when he saw Steve and Sharon, arm in arm and looking like they were walking a few feet off the ground. He’d told Steve a hundred times how stupid it was to even consider that she’d say no. But it was nice to know he’d been right. Huh. Little Stevie, marryin’ a bombshell like Sharon. How about that?

He gave them both a smile big enough to convey his congratulations, then decided to go seek his own bombshell. He knew that Steve and Sharon wouldn’t announce their engagement tonight. Tonight was about Bruce and Catherine.

Which, incidentally, was who Joss was talking to when he stepped up next to her and handed her a glass of champagne. He himself had switched to beer after the toasts were over. He moved the bottle to his metal hand and interlaced his flesh fingers with Joss’s.

“It was perfect. It’s all perfect. I think this might be my favorite wedding I’ve ever been to,” Joss was saying.

“It’s definitely mine,” Bruce agreed, mooning at his new wife who, Bucky noticed with a grin, mooned right back.

“Ugh. If I wanted that much sweetness, I’d have another piece of cake.”

Neither Bruce nor Catherine bothered to respond to Bucky’s gentle gibe other than to laugh happily. At that moment, a table full of Catherine’s relatives called them over. “Bride and Groom duties,” Catherine apologized, and led a starry-eyed Bruce over to the table.

Joss turned to Bucky, standing very close in the soft glow from the thousands of twinkle lights woven through every tree and plant big enough to support the weight.

“Have I told you how gorgeous you look in that suit?” She asked, smiling up at him.

“Three times now. But it’s nice to hear, especially coming from you, when you look like that.”

Bucky tilted his face toward hers and kissed Joss softly, and for a long time.

“Will you dance with me?” He asked.

“Every time you ask,” she responded, and given the look on her face, he believed her. She looked as moony as the newly-married couple. It suddenly occurred to him to wonder whether he looked like that, too. Truth to tell, he kinda hoped he did, so Joss would know how he felt.

Modern music wasn’t the same, and people didn’t learn to dance anymore, but Bucky could make the music work, and he was so good at leading that Joss was becoming a pretty good partner. Bucky had also spent a few very romantic evenings giving her dance lessons. Not a few of the wedding guests watched the two of them on the tiny dance floor, oblivious of anything beyond the music and each other. Steve smiled as he caught sight of them. People watching Bucky own a dance floor was nothing new for Steve.

Joss eventually decided it was time for a break, although Bucky could have gone on forever. He wasn’t sure whether that was a dancing thing or a supersoldier thing, though, so he didn’t mention it. He simply squired Joss to a table as far from other people as he could, and went to get them drinks. When he returned, she had a thoughtful look on her face.

“Uh-oh. What’d I do?” He asked, purposely using that grin he’d been told was irresistible enough to get him out of anything.

“It’s nothing bad. I don’t think. I’m not really sure, actually, because I don’t really know what it means. I’ve been wondering whether now is the time to talk about it.”

“Ah. That.”

Joss nodded as she sipped from her beer bottle. “Bucky, you bought the row house I live in.”

“Uh-huh. I did.”

“But why?”

“Because I love it. You know how much I like that house. I also happen to have a stupid amount of money, which I never spend. I’m gonna have to spend a lot of time in D.C. now that the Avengers are gonna have a permanent base there, so I need a place to stay. So that’s that. Oh, and by the way? You don’t have to pay rent anymore.”

Joss frowned. “I don’t know how I feel about being a kept woman.”

“Personally, I feel great about it, but if you object, then fine, pay rent. But I’m not letting you get rid of the historical aspects of the building.” Bucky suddenly sat up a little straighter and scrunched his eyebrows together. “Wait. That building’s not much older than me. Did I just call myself historical?”

“Sweetie, you’re practically an artifact. It’s part of what makes you, you.”

Bucky took Joss’s hand and they knitted their fingers together on the table. “Once you go centenarian, you never go back.”

“Pretty sure that’s true. At least for me.”

“Do I need to keep you away from nursing homes?”

Joss almost choked on a swallow of beer laughing at that. “Well, I like a pretty specific type of centenarian.”

“Just need to keep you away from Steve, then, huh?”

“Never been much for blonds,” she answered, leaning toward Bucky with a significant look. “I have a thing for guys with dark hair.”

“Wow. That is specific.”

“Mmmmm. Probably explains my sparse dating history.”

“Yeah, not a lot of hundred-year-old guys with dark hair and guns running around,” Bucky agreed thoughtfully, not entirely successful in smothering his grin.

“Don’t forget knives.”

“Those, too. You better stick with me, Joss. Your dating pool is… wow. Small.”

She cocked her eyebrow at him. “Are you asking me to go steady?”

“I think that was the fifties,” he answered, and brought her hand to his lips. Bucky kept his face serious as he said, “Me, I’m askin’ you to be my best girl. Whaddaya say? Will you?”

“Yes. Oh, hell, yes!” Joss cried, and Bucky let out a little yelp when she threw herself into his lap.

Tony had been putting off this moment all night. It didn’t actually have to happen tonight, but Tony was feeling like tonight was a night of getting things resolved. Bruce and Catherine were finally married, and he was pretty sure Cap and Sharon were engaged. Steve had sought Tony’s advice about diamonds earlier in the week, and Tony sincerely doubted Cap was thinking of getting his ear pierced. Besides, Tony had seen the ring on Sharon’s finger and the way she and Steve were both beaming joy all over the place like wifi. It felt like the right time. And Tony was just buzzed enough.

He strolled around the outdoor area, checking out Sam and Anita showing some seriously impressive moves on the dance floor and saying hello to everyone who caught his eye as he walked among the tables. He purposely avoided catching Bruce’s eye, because he really didn’t want to be thanked again for giving them this wedding. It made him uncomfortable, for one thing. And for another, Tony was just as happy about Bruce getting married as Bruce was, because it meant he wouldn’t be haunting the tower, moping around like Eeyore off his meds anymore. When he finally reached Steve, standing at the edge of the lit area watching Sharon dance with Bucky, Tony just stood next to him, sipping excellent whiskey and trying to find his voice.

“How’s the chest?” Steve finally asked.

“Eh,” Tony shrugged. “Got another week in the sling, but I’m doing physical therapy now. In a pool, which I kind of don’t think is a real thing, but it’s nice.”

“It’s a real thing, Tony.”

“Maybe. Anyway, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, you know. Everything.”

Steve made a questioning hum.

“You, um, took a bullet for me.”

“Always said I would.”

“Yeah, well, I always say I’d have Barton’s back no matter what, but if we were bein’ chased by zombies, I’d trip him in a heartbeat. People say stuff.”

Steve’s look was so sincere, he was so honestly trying to figure out whether Tony was joking, that it was really quite challenging to maintain a straight face.

“Look, I’m trying to thank you here, Cap. I’m trying to say that I… I got in trouble, and every one of you came to my rescue. And then you, you let that asshole shoot you to keep him off me, and you fall on me like a fucking human shield – you seriously weigh a ton, by the way, don’t ever do that again – and it… changed things. They were changing anyway, but…”

“What things?”

“I told you that I’d never get over seeing my teammates, my friends, at that airport. That whenever I look at you, I see… Well, you know what I said. But even with my verbal gifts, I’m never gonna be able to tell you how good Barton and Natasha looked when they ran into that room at the dam like the fuckin’ cavalry. Except, you know, in tight leather. And then you…”

Tony turned to face Steve fully. “Thank you. You called everyone back, and they came. The same people from the airport, and they dropped everything. For me.”

“Well, Sam had already started his mission, so…”

“Even Sam. The minute his mission was done, he commandeered that Air Force jet to get back here, even though it got him in all kinds of hot water. That mess is still not sorted out.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah,” he mumbled, frowning as he looked for words. “Yeah. Because we’re a team. All of us. You and me, Tony.” Steve peered deeply into Tony’s eyes as he said that, willing him to understand. “I almost cost us that. And it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I know that now, and I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I understand now. I understand why you did what you did, and that it was the right thing for you to do. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too. I told you I understand now why you had to go after Barnes, and I do. And it’s not just about the Winter Soldier stuff, what they did to him. Now that I’ve met him, seen you together… I didn’t give you any choice. That was something you had to do, and you couldn’t do it alone. I understand that getting the others to help you, that was something I made you do. I made them do. And I’m sorry.”

For a moment, the two stood looking into one another’s faces, nodding almost imperceptibly because, finally, they each understood what had driven the other to do what had seemed, at the time, unforgiveable. But then the moment stretched, and Tony began to shift his eyes around Steve’s face, and then to things behind him, and Steve began to fidget, until, mercifully, they both realized the ridiculousness of the moment and began to laugh. They embraced, once again as brothers, and it felt like, at long last, a huge chunk of the world shifted back into place.

As they made to go their separate ways, Steve said over his shoulder, “You understand I’ve always said I’d take ‘a bullet.’ One. So, you know, now that I have, you might wanna be more careful.”

“Okay, one: I’ve already had that lecture from Pepper. And two: you’re still an asshole.”

They turned and walked away from one another, both smiling and dabbing at their eyes.

Bruce and Catherine called it a night when it was still fairly early. They were exhausted from the demands of trying to make sure they spent enough time with each of their guests, and they were leaving early the next morning to fly back to London. One of Tony Stark’s wedding gifts had been to fly Catherine’s mother and the other members of her family who had attended the wedding to and from England on one of his jets. Bruce and Catherine were going to accompany them, then go on to honeymoon on Sardinia.

He insisted on carrying her over the threshold of their apartment in the Compound, although they were planning to live in the Tower so that they could continue their respective work. She laughed, entirely unable to be anything but ecstatic in this moment.

“I insist that, from now on, you call me nothing but Mrs. Banner. I’m going to make everyone call me that. I might even change my name to Mrs. Banner.”

“I think you just did that. Mrs. Banner.”

“Oh. You’re right! How clever of me!”

Bruce laughed as he laid her on the bed. “Are you drunk?”

“Yes. Drunk on love. Drunk on happiness. And, yes, perhaps, just a wee bit drunk on champagne. Are you going to take advantage of me?”

“Well, I-“

“Before you answer, you should know that I’m going to take advantage of you. In case that’s relevant.”

Bruce flopped down on the bed next to her, so that both of them were collapsed on top of the bed covers, still in their wedding clothes, including shoes. He gave a long groan that was a mixture of about a hundred things.

“I guess I’m a little drunk, too. I don’t think it’s taking advantage if we’re both drunk.” He turned his head to look at his wife, smiling like a dork when she turned her head to look at him.

“I love you. I love that you’re my husband.”

“Me, too. Are you really going to be Mrs. Banner?”

“No.”

Bruce hummed a bit in disappointment, but kept smiling.

“Doctor Banner,” Catherine corrected.

“Wait, really?”

“Really. You don’t object?”

“No,” Bruce said, sitting up. “I don’t- I mean, it might get a little confusing sometimes. But I think that would be… Am I a troglodyte because I really love the idea of you sharing my name?”

“Maybe. But you’re my troglodyte now. So come over here and snog me, Dr. Banner.”

“Aye aye, Dr. Banner,” Bruce practically giggled, as he eased himself down over Catherine.

“Gads, we’re sappy. Glad no one can hear us.”

“Friday can hear us.”

“Yes, Sir, Dr. Banner, but I’m not listening,” came Friday’s voice from wherever it was Friday’s voice came from.

Bruce and Catherine were already kissing too deeply to devote much attention to laughing.

The lights in the outdoor area where the wedding and reception had taken place had been off for a while now. The mess was still there; Pepper no doubt had a crew coming bright and early to deal with that, but they’d all suspected the party would last into the wee hours, and it had.

Steve had known, somehow, that he’d find Bucky out here, standing looking up at the stars, the glowing tip of his cigarette going bright occasionally as he inhaled. Steve took a step onto the dew-wet grass, wanting to see how close he could get to the silhouette he could barely make out in the gloom before Bucky noticed him. As expected, that one step had been it. Without turning around, Bucky grunted, “Can’t sleep?”

Steve grunted and shrugged a little. “Too keyed up still. Sharon’s asleep, didn’t want to disturb her.”

Bucky grunted back, then handed Steve the pack of cigarettes. This was the only time Bucky ever smoked after the war; late nights when he couldn’t sleep. Steve never smoked, but as he had with Director Coulson that afternoon on the roof of Stark Tower, he pulled one out of the pack and accepted a light from Bucky’s war-era Zippo.

“Told ya’ she’d say yes, lamebrain.”

Steve almost coughed as he snickered. “The polite thing to say is congratulations.”

“Ain’t ever been accused of bein’ polite,” Bucky smirked. “Still, I do congratulate you. You got way luckier than you deserve, pal. Sharon is a helluva girl.”

“Yeah.”

“No way you deserve her.”

“Absolutely not. Gonna try, though.”

“You do that. ‘Cause you fuck it up, I’m on her side.”

“Don’t blame you.”

They smoked for a while, looking up at the stars and across the Compound grounds, where an early-morning mist was beginning to form.

“You’re gonna be my best man, right?”

“’Course.”

A few minutes later, Steve asked, “Joss OK with you buying her house?”

Bucky shrugged. “Seems to be. Insists on payin’ rent, though. Wants a lease so I can’t throw her out on her ear if I get mad at her.”

“She doesn’t really think you’d do that?”

“’Course not. But she’s smart. It’s a good idea.”

“You really like her, huh?”

“I do. Ain’t ready to ask her to marry me, but…”

“You just met. Anyway, you don’t have to get married just ‘cause I am. Everyone already knows I’m twice the man you’ll ever be.”

Bucky’s low chuckle felt like a thousand other times they’d stood together, smoking in the darkness. Another deeply companionable silence descended that lasted until Bucky lit up another cigarette, and Steve accepted a second. That, too, was familiar. Steve didn’t want another cigarette. He doubted Bucky did, either. But they both wanted a few more minutes of this quiet, unquestioned bond and the complete understanding between them that had never needed many words.

“How the hell’d we get here, huh, pal?” Bucky asked halfway into their new smokes.

Steve shook his head. “Damnedest thing, ain’t it? Glad you’re here with me, Buck. Real glad.”

“Well, someone’s gotta keep your dumb ass outta trouble.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE END ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#The Avengers #Captain America #The Winter Soldier #Bucky Barnes #Steve Rogers #Natasha Romanoff #Black Widow #Sam WIlson #Falcon #Tony Stark

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atlantisking · 5 years

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@snowbrn | JUST A LITTLE VALENTINE’S SURPRISE

He’s ringing the bell to his apartment and his smile is near smug as he’s waiting for Jon to open the door, but he had a few things lined up for them for the day. First of all, he did not shy away from the idea of having a massive cuddly dolphin toy in his hand, ready to hand it over to his boyfriend the moment the door opened.

Arthur faintly smells of cologne, his hair in a bun, wearing a light blue shirt with jeans and a grey suit jacket, not to mention practically glowing the moment he sees Jon opening the door. “ So I may have put in a good word for you with your professors and at work so YOU CAN HAVE THE DAY OFF AND SPEND IT WITH ME. I hope that’s okay, I just wanted to surprise you. “ And there are many surprises in store, a trip to an arcade to have fun, a drive to the beach and a nice walk along it hand in hand, a carefully picked restaurant with Jon’s favourites for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although the dinner will be the most special, set up in an enclosed gazebo he hired out for the night, the canopy filled with cherry blossoms and fairy lights with a single table for them in the middle to enjoy each other’s company and admire the stars through the glass ceiling not having to worry about the cold.

#snowbrn #[ you can treat it as a starter ]#[ but i thought this just gives me more space than an ask c: ]

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wftc141 · 5 years

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Blackwatch Chapter 3: DedPersons

9:11 AM, Local Time

Rome, Italy

June, 2018

"Grazie." Amélie said as she took the hot cup of coffee from the young cashier.

She simply returned a warm smile before turning back to the long queue. Amélie turned away and headed for the door where Gabriel was waiting for her, leaning against the door frame with a cup of coffee as well. The cafe was quite bustling and full, especially during the morning. A lot of customers were either doing errands or getting themselves the newest arrival on the board. Once Amélie walked past Gabriel, he turned away and followed her out onto the crowded plaza.

"As I was saying," Gabriel started, continuing his earlier conversation. "I think we might be going back to Zambia."

"What makes you think that?" Amélie asked.

"The fact that the NSA scooped up some footage of a new leader taking over the Macaba militia camp. They don't know who it is but they believe it's someone from the Macaba family."

"How many relatives do you think he has?"

"Probably enough to run an army."

No words were spoken between them afterwards. Gabriel stared out at the glint of the scorching sun from a distance with his sunglasses reflecting the blinding light off. His frown, surrounded by the goatee, remained plastered on his face and he tugged the collar of his shirt sticking to his skin.

"What's with the long face?" Amélie asked, grabbing Gabriel's attention.

"What'd you mean?" He replied as he sipped his coffee.

"You look like somebody slapped you really hard."

"Isn't this how I normally look?"

"Gabe, you and I have been together since the first day Blackwatch was activated. I already know what you look like by now."

Gabriel sighed while tapping the cup with his fingers. He stared at what's in front of him without glancing at Amélie. His other hand slid into his pocket.

"I just found out my kids are about to graduate yesterday and when I asked Jackie if I could come, she wouldn't let me. Doesn't want me involved in their lives anymore. Guess that's what happens when I'm a dedicated soldier with no time for family."

"You two still haven't worked things out?" She asked.

"Sadly, no."

"C'est une honte. What about your kids?"

"We're still on good terms but my daughter still doesn't approve of the war and she probably hates my guts for it."

"Would you really blame them? Not everybody is into killing." Amélie said, adjusting her sunglasses.

Gabriel scoffed. "Says the woman who once murdered rich people and performed ballet as if nothing ever happened."

Amélie ignored him and took a sip of the coffee as they walked out of the plaza and into the street. As they stopped by a crossing light, Gabriel took out his phone from his pockets which buzzed in his hand. He answered it and lifted it to his ear.

"Hello?"

There was a brief pause, attracting Amélie's curiosity despite voices around them drowning each other out. Gabriel nodded shortly with his eyes flicking downwards.

"Alright. We'll be there."

The call finished and Gabriel lowered his phone. Amélie stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"Well, this is a surprise." He said, slipping the phone back into his pockets.

"Mission?" Amélie asked.

"Maybe. Sombra's in Virginia with the CIA and she needs us there tomorrow afternoon sharp."

Next Day

3:21 PM, Local Time

McLean, USA

George Bush Center for Intelligence

The team arrived at the headquarters after a long flight to McLean. As they entered inside, they were immediately greeted by the sight of Sombra reclining on one of the couches nearby. Several other people at the very back filed in back and forth across the reception area where the large CIA seal was plastered on. Once her eyes locked onto the team, she got off the couch and approached them.

"About time, amigos. You guys are really slow, ya know?" She said.

"Get straight to the point, Sombra. What's going on?" Gabriel replied.

"Blackwatch." A voice called out, attracting the team's attention.

They turned towards the source of the voice and noticed Salvatore approaching them. He wasn't alone however as there was a woman walking beside him. Blonde Hispanic with hair tied into a bun and a grey suit. Possibly in her forties.

"Glad you were able to make it, Reyes," he said before gesturing towards the woman. "Allow me to introduce you all to Mrs Alexis Morales, Director of the National Clandestine Service. Mrs Morales, this is the Blackwatch unit I was telling you about."

"I see," the director hummed as she glanced across the team. "Pleasure to meet you all. If you would just follow me to the debriefing."

She turned away and walked off towards the corridor on the right. Salvatore nodded towards them, prompting the team to follow her. Once they arrived at the conference room, they sat down facing the projector in front of them. Morales and Sombra stood beside it while Salvatore watched from the side.

"I would like all of you to open up the folders placed in front of you and read all of the contents thoroughly." Morales ordered.

The team picked up the folders and read through the documents in silence. Morales then started up the projector, presenting a PowerPoint on their mission.

"Last week, the CIA was hit by a DDoS attack for two hours and by the time the servers were back online, the data inside vanished. Thanks to the efforts of Sombra, we have discovered that the attack came from a group of hackers via a digital trail they left behind."

"You know, I actually found it funny that you guys were able to miss that one tiny detail. I mean, come on! Was that so hard to find? I thought your analysts were meant to be the brains of the agency." Sombra said.

"As Mrs. Morales was saying," Salvatore continued, ignoring the red-haired hacker. "Based on the emails Sombra intercepted, the hackers were hired by a communist mafia who call themselves the People's Republic of Romania."

"So, a communist mafia. That's new." Marvel commented.

"These men are loyal to the ideas of communism. Formed during the Cold War, they were known for many crimes of the states, mainly in countries that don't support their views. Money laundering, arms trafficking, murder, counterfeiting, anything that falls under the category of organized crime."

"What'd they steal?" Ray asked.

"Oh, you know. Just a buncha names and secret stuff that could be used against the government, the same old." Sombra answered.

"And it's best that we retrieve the data back and if possible, eliminate the mafia by all means. We cannot risk retaliation or worse, a conflict. The digital trail Sombra found led us to a ranch in Bennington, Vermont where satellite footage has reported sightings of what appeared to be the mafia taking over the ranch along with the hackers. We are safe to assume this is where the data would be at."

"Me, McCree and Sombra can take this one." Gabriel said.

"What do we do about the hackers?" Sombra glanced at the leader.

"Unless they try to shoot back, they aren't our main priority."

5:47 PM, Local Time

Bennington, USA

After touching down at the William H. Morse Airport, Gabriel and his group got off the plane where several agents were posted nearby. They made their way to a black Tahoe parked near the entrance gate where a pair of agents were. McCree took the driver's seat while the rest took the passenger seats. Starting the engine, McCree drove themselves past the gate and out to the narrow road.

As the drive progressed to the highway, Gabriel looked at the rear mirror and caught sight of Sombra at the back with purple headphones on and a phone on her right hand resting on her lap. God knows what she's listening to but it wasn't much of his concern and interest. He looked away and stared out of the window. The drab autumn trees tossed lightly, obscuring the sky while dark, ragged clouds close in. There was a report of wet weather on its way so the group brought in some jackets to keep them dry.

Few minutes later and they arrived at the road leading to the ranch. The entrance's gate was completely loose with its support wedged out of the terrain. Parking the Tahoe by the gate, the group hopped out with their weapons and backpacks and delved into the bushy forest next to the gate. Gabriel put on his ski mask partially like a beanie.

As they navigated through the forest, the leaves began to rustle and the shadows closed in completely. The sky by now was completely concealed by the clouds. The team stopped once they got close to the end of the forest where a fence was placed, leaving out the forest.

"Sombra, get your drone up."

Without a word, she went with it and took out her recon drone with an installed camera. After getting it airborne, she used her tablet to control the drone. Gabriel pulled out his binoculars from his backpack and scouted the ranch. There were fewer gangsters around the ranch than he had anticipated. The main entrance of the ranch was guarded by two armed men under a portable gazebo along with a white car parked near them.

"How many inside the house?" Gabriel asked.

"That's strange," Sombra muttered. "There's only like five guys and that's not including the hackers. Thought there was gonna be more."

"Maybe we're just overestimating 'em." McCree said.

"My guess as well." Gabriel replied.

Sombra glanced at the team leader while controlling the drone. "So how do you wanna pull this off?"

"If it follows the term 'stealth', then that's how we'll do it," Gabriel tossed his binoculars into his bag and pulled his mask on. "Lets go."

Once Sombra retrieved her drone, she held the custom MP7 slung around her shoulder and followed Gabriel and McCree out of the forest and over the fence. The lawn outside the ranch was overgrown with its grass rustling and waving to the breeze; It was long enough for the team to hide behind the foliage undetected. As Gabriel led the team towards the ranch, McCree and Sombra were at his rear checking back at the two men at the entrance.

The team reached the curved walkway, closing in on the house that stood in front of them. The dark brown paint and some of the wooden aspects of the two-floor house definitely stood out with the autumn forest around it. They can see the calm river behind the house as well.

As Gabriel approached the side of the house while crouching, he noticed a drip of water bounce off the rail of the rifle before continuous drips of water skimmed upon his body in a stable rhythm. Gabriel did his best to ignore it and pulled the hood over his head. By the time they reached the side, the rain was pouring on like wildfire. McCree and Sombra both pulled on their hoods from the oncoming rain.

Gabriel advanced towards the porch, walking up the stairs while aiming his rifle with the others following him and covering their rear. There, the team were shielded from the downpour with water dripping off the edges of the roof. They can hear the fierceness of the rain from the noisy impact from the roof.

"So, five hostiles inside, Sombra?" Gabriel whispered as he approached the door.

"Yep," She nodded. "Three upstairs and two downstairs."

Gabriel clasped his free hand over the doorknob. Turning it over, the lock clicked and the door slowly moved. Gabriel slowly pushed the door open with his right shoulder without bumping it hard and peeked through the narrow gap. Through the gap, he could see a defect washing machine stacked against the wall. There was no sign of anybody from what he could see. Gabriel pushed the door further and made his first step onto the wooden floor.

Once the door swung open, Gabriel made his move first while scanning the area with his rifle. Sombra was the last to enter and closed the door softly, shutting out the hailing rain outside. Gabriel glanced around as he headed out of the room and into the corridor, leading to what appeared to be a dining room.

He stopped once he reached the end and peered to his right where he noticed a stout man sporting a work shirt in the kitchen, grabbing something from the fridge. Gabriel stepped back and held out his right hand curled into a fist while holding the foregrip tightly. Sombra and McCree stopped but still held their weapons. The man called out to someone in Romanian with whoever it was responding back.

Gabriel checked up on the man who closed the fridge door and walked back towards the living room with a beer can. Gabriel moved forward in a fast pace and aimed his rifle for the head, flicking the safety pin off. He had no reason to doubt whether that guy was one of the mobsters or not. Pulling the trigger, the suppressor flashed and the man fell in an instant with two bloody holes on the back of his head, tumbling over a chair. A loud hiss coming from the fallen can rang across the room.

"One down." Gabriel muttered, flicking the safety back on.

As he went around the table to check on the body, he heard the voice from the other room call out in concern. Gabriel jumped over to the right side of the arch and aimed his rifle at the corridor next to the living room, safety off again. Shortly, a slightly skinnier man in a worn sweater emerged from the corridor with a pistol in hand. Just as he noticed the body, Gabriel fired several rounds to the gangster's chest before he fell back.

"That's the second one down."

Sombra and McCree walked past him as he checked the fat mobster he meant to look at. After making sure both of them were dead, Gabriel caught up with Sombra and McCree where they were by the stairs. Patting McCree's shoulder, he advanced up the stairwell with McCree taking the lead. Once they reached the upper floor, they found themselves facing a door with a narrow corridor to their left, leading elsewhere. The lights were off, leaving nothing but shuttered shadows with drips sliding down.

Gabriel approached the door, closed and silent. A room with a closed door is more likely to be occupied by hostiles, which was something Jack Morrison taught back in the day. He still remembered how much he tried to one-up the Sergeant during their early years when he was still a Private searching for the thrills.

Gabriel stood next to the door and waved at Sombra and McCree, prompting them to stack up next to it. Once they were ready, Gabriel stepped in front of the door and kicked it open, boot making contact near the doorknob. As the door flung open, Gabriel stormed into the room. He noticed several people facing the computer monitors spin around, startled. His left eye caught sight of a gangster reaching for his gun on the table. Gabriel aimed and fired several rounds to his body. He fell onto the table forcibly before sliding off. Several suppressed shots were fired and more bodies landed on the floor.

"Room clear!" McCree barked.

Gabriel aimed his rifle at the hackers, still stuck to their seats. All of them had their hands up, keeping their backs towards them. They looked young and dressed in clothes young people would wear.

"Stay right where you are." Gabriel ordered.

The hackers remained frozen, probably already got the message. As his breathing kept a steady pace, Gabriel began to step away from them while keeping his aim at them.

"Sombra, get the data and everything they stole into this drive." Gabriel took out a hard drive from his pocket for Sombra.

"Got it, jefe." She replied, taking the hard drive and approaching one of the server racks nearby with a laptop on it.

"McCree, go outside and keep watch."

"Yessir."

McCree quickly left the room but left the door open. Sombra plugged in the hard drive into the laptop and began to make that computer magic. As she tapped into the network, one of the hackers began to turn around while still keeping his hands up. His hair was light blonde and a necklace hung in front of his maroon hoodie. Gabriel didn't bother to order him to turn back, unless he was armed.

"Wait a minute," he muttered with a Polish accent. "Y-you're Sombra? The actual Sombra?"

She turned around and pulled the hood off, letting her hair loose. "Who's asking?"

The hacker and the others exchanged glances of surprise, gasping and chatting amongst each other. Gabriel still kept his aim at them.

"Niesamowite! I can't believe it! You're a legend in the hacking industry!" The Polish hacker exclaimed.

"Aww, it's nice to know I have some fans," Sombra replied, turning away. "I heard about you guys too and how you managed to break into the servers with a DDoS attack. Took some bolas for you boys to rob the CIA."

"Wait, wait? The CIA?" The Polish hacker repeated.

Sombra wasn't too surprised since one of the emails she retrieved indicated that none of them knew who they were actually robbing.

"Oh? They didn't tell you?"

"N-No," he replied. "We were just told to steal some stuff from a rival mob and that was it."

"They were gonna pay us half the money we stole from the mob once we finished." Another hacker with a Finnish accent added.

Sombra hummed in a doubtful manner. "Take it from me, guys. Gangbangers nowadays don't play ball when it comes to money."

Gabriel wasn't into the conversation of any way. This was a mission, not a get-along group.

"How's the progress, Sombra?" He growled, glancing at her.

She tapped a key, displaying a loading bar on the screen and turned to Gabriel. "Gonna take a while, jefe."

"Reaper, you might wanna see this." McCree called out from outside.

Gabriel went out of the room and noticed McCree watching the window at the corridor. He was staring outside with his free hand holding the curtains aside.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Some of our Romanian buddies are back." McCree said, moving away for the leader.

Gabriel pushed the curtains away and glanced out the window overlooking the front yard. Two SUVs and the white car from the entrance were closing in on the house. Gabriel had a gut feeling that these guys now knew they weren't expecting visitors.

"Shit, they must've discovered our car." He muttered as the vehicles stopped and the doors opened.

"What do we do, boss?" McCree asked.

The front door opened and voices filled the floor from below. They heard footsteps advancing up the stairs. Gabriel got his rifle ready and aimed at the stairs while approaching it. McCree followed suit. Just as he reached the start of the stairs, Gabriel immediately caught contact of a large, bald man with a pistol in his right hand heading towards their direction. Gabriel opened fire first with three rounds to his chest. The pistol went off, hitting the ceiling as the gangster tumbled back down and slammed against a rail.

As voices began to escalate over the sounds of the hailing rain, Gabriel and McCree went down the stairs and got a glimpse of another gangster appearing from a room near the front door. Gabriel quickly put him down before he could raise his own gun. He approached the living room to his right, only for two gangsters to come into his way.

They both opened fire while backing up. Gabriel ducked below oncoming bullets while still aiming his rifle. The skinny gangster he was aiming for was really bad at aiming or even holding it properly, therefore allowing several rounds hit his body while the rest penetrated the slider doors. The other one was out of sight. Gabriel heard several suppressed shots from the other side as he entered the living room.

He turned to the kitchen where he found the rest of the gangsters holed up together. Gabriel counted three gangsters before taking cover from suppressive fire. He switched the rifle to his left hand and fired back without peeking over. The gunfire slightly ceased, prompting Gabriel to grab a stun grenade under his jacket. With a hard toss, he listened to the grenade bounce and slide on the wood before a deafening bang erupted.

When the groans and shrieks followed up, Gabriel moved out of cover and raised his rifle, taking out the two gangsters who moved away from the kitchen before approaching the last one. As he moved towards the counter, Gabriel noticed a gangster hiding behind the table too late before he made his attack.

They both shuffled and struggled as the gangster's hands gripped over Gabriel's rifle with the discharge hitting elsewhere being unhelpful. Gabriel kicked his leg with little effect. The gangster pushed Gabriel against the wall, knocking off something hanging on the wall. Just as Gabriel felt a fist slam across his face, his rifle was yanked off his grip. His left hand balled into a fist and it felt as if he had no control of the hand.

As soon as let his hand loose, it flung at the gangster's side and Gabriel let it continue until his muscles gave up. He lifted his fist and sent it flying to the gangster's face, hitting his jaw. With the gangster dazed, Gabriel punched the arms holding him, breaking himself free. He noticed the gangster's pistol tucked in front of his pants and pulled it out before he could. Without hesitation, Gabriel fired two shots to the chest and a final blow to the head.

As the gangster fell onto the chair, tumbling down with it, Gabriel scanned the rest of the room with the pistol. After making one last sweep and confirming the house was empty, Gabriel lowered the gun to take a look. A Mauser C96. Very old fashioned. Dropping the gun, Gabriel reached for his rifle and patched in.

"Main house is clear. Shadow 3, what's your status?" He said, holding his fingers on the earpiece.

"Clear on my position!" McCree huffed, sounding like he had a massive firefight outside.

Gabriel then ordered him to head back inside and went upstairs. He walked up to the door which was shut. Sombra would be at her defensive position at this point.

"This is Shadow 1, hold your fire." He called out.

The door suddenly opened and Sombra appeared in his view, holding her MP7. Gabriel walked inside where the hackers were still there. Shaken but fine overall.

"Is it done?" Gabriel asked.

"Yep," Sombra replied, holding up the hard drive. "Everything they stole is in here."

Gabriel nodded, ignoring the hackers. "Alright, lets go."

"What about them?"

He stopped and turned around where Sombra was facing. The hackers were still there. They may be tricked into stealing from the world's well known agency but their crimes can't go unpunished. Unless they were willing to accept. The CIA or Salvatore could give zero shits if he puts them down or not but they were lucky he wasn't given that order. Gabriel approached them and aimed his rifle at them, startling the hackers and prompting them to raise their hands.

"Jefe, what the hell are you doing?" Sombra called out.

He ignored her and remained fixated at those young men, aiming across them with a sight focused on each of them. For the next few seconds, it was silent except with the frantic breathing.

"You do know the rifle's safety is on?" Gabriel said, still aiming his rifle. "That means I can't shoot anything out of it unless I flick it off. And you know what happens when it's off?"

No response.

"R-Reaper, we got what we came for. You don't have to-" Sombra tried to say.

"I can kill all of you right here, right now. In fact, I wouldn't be here to waste my time talking to you kids. I can just pull the trigger and get this over with...but you're lucky I don't have the order."

Gabriel moved slowly towards the Polish hacker and held his glare at him.

"What you've done and how you did it can't be left ignored. And I don't give two shits if you were hired by the mafia or whoever that was. You pay for the price, no matter the circumstance. But I'm not in the mood of taking a life of another man so I can tell you this and you better listen closely cause I won't repeat myself."

The Polish hacker was on the verge of breaking down, trembling non-stop. Gabriel glanced at the rest of the hackers. He already had their names way back at Virginia from the leaked trail.

"Daniel. Antero. Miles. Noah. Roman. You leave this house and you don't speak of this ever again. I don't care how, just as long as you're outta here. And don't try anything stupid on the way out cause we will be watching you. But if I hear another mention of any of your names, we will hunt you down and once I find you...this safety won't be on. Do I make myself clear?"

The whole room was dead silent with fear. Roman was already petrified with the barrel of the rifle pressed against his chest as well as the others. Everybody nodded frantically.

"SAY IT." Gabriel barked.

The hackers all said 'yes' hastily and between squeaks and mumbling. Gabriel sighed and lifted his rifle away from Roman.

"Good," he began to dig into his pockets and took out the keys to their car. "The car's at the front entrance down the forest. Black Chevrolet. Take this and get outta here. No smart moves, got it?"

All of them nodded beyond normal and Gabriel handed the keys to Roman. As soon as the keys were off his hand, the hackers began to gather their things with the backpacks and they dashed out of the room. He turned around where Sombra was standing outside, bewildered and surprised. Gabriel got out the SAT phone and dialed the number.

"Jesus, Reaper," She muttered. "Was this part of your Scaring Kids to Death initiative or something?"

"It's done," Gabriel said, ignoring Sombra. "The data is in the drive."

There was a pause before Gabriel nodded and finished up the call. He slipped the phone into his pockets and went down the stairs.

"We're leaving. The cops are already on their way," he tapped the earpiece. "McCree, find a car that is still running because we'll be using it."

"Got it."

As Gabriel and Sombra left the house, they walked off the porch to the sight of bodies scattered and sprawled around the field with bullet-ridden cars left behind, smoke rising from the front. A white SUV backed up to where Gabriel and Sombra was and turned to the side with McCree driving. The two stored their equipment and backpacks in the boot and got in, staining the seats with soaked clothed. Just as they did so, the car sped off and drove around the dumped cars before reaching the front gate, hearing nothing but the raging downpour.

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