#I MENTIONED THE BLENDER INCIDENT BEFORE???

[avixthecat]

gods i wish i knew how to blender properly i have this hat i made that i really wish i could put in the sims 4 but i couldnt figure out anything other than forming the hat and ultimately gave up

[cherienymphe]

Amnesiac XII (Rafe Cameron x Reader x JJ Maybank)

WARNINGS: NON-CON, violence, mentions of past assault, underage drinking, drug use, non canon ages, kook!reader

➥ banner by @maysdigitalarts​​​ | divider by @firefly-graphics​

➥ series masterlist

summary: “There’s something wrong with your love story, baby…”

After a surfing accident leaves you with little to no memory of everything that happened before that day, you start to wonder if the blond in what little memories you do have is the same one who claims to be your boyfriend.

~

“Sarah, it’s fine,” you told her. “Really.”

The blonde girl didn’t look so convinced, grimacing at the dark coloring on your neck that you were desperately trying to cover up. The incident had happened a week ago, but she still looked rightfully horrified. You knew that it wasn’t just the bruises or what had happened but more importantly who had done it.

“I understand why you never told me,” she had murmured later that night.

JJ had been searching your bathroom for some cream while she sat with you on your bed, holding some ice to your skin.

“I mean…Rafe’s always been Rafe, you know? But…”

She had looked down, eyes troubled.

“I still love-loved him. He’s my brother, and no one wants to think someone they know is capable of something like that.”

There had been a beat of silence.

“How do you even begin to tell me something like that?”

She had shrugged just as JJ stepped out of your bathroom, worriedly brushing his fingers over your skin. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be in attendance tonight, Sarah helping you with your hair as you applied makeup to your neck. With all of your memories back, you recalled how often your mother threw senseless dinner parties. It always was nothing more than an excuse to show off to the other wives of Figure 8, and tonight would be no different.

In truth, you wanted to be anywhere but here. Of course, now, with all of your memories back, you remembered perfectly well what she was like, so you weren’t surprised at her lack of reaction with the return of your memories. A simple hum had been good enough for her, and you could only assume she had at least mentioned it to your father in passing seeing as he never acknowledged it, at all.

“She was very adamant about my being present, tonight, and we both know why.”

Sarah softly exhaled at that.

“I’ll always be just something to make them look good,” you murmured, putting your beauty blender down.

You would’ve skipped out on this farce entirely, but your mother had had one of her scarily strict moments where she’d made it clear under no uncertain terms that you were to be here. When you asked if Sarah could at least be present, her enthusiasm should’ve been your first clue that the night was going to go horribly wrong.

“What-what do you mean?”

You watched your mother put the finishing touches on the table, setting out charcuterie boards and champagne glasses. She was oblivious to your distress.

“I’ve been friends with Rose for years as you now well remember, so I don’t understand this attitude.”

You resisted the urge to huff, your stomach churning.

“…but why does Rafe have to come too?”

She turned to look at you with a deep frown.

“He is your boyfriend,” she pointedly said. “Why would I not make it clear to Rose that I want him in attendance?”

This time you did huff, blinking back tears and swallowing down any negative emotions that came up at the mention of Rafe.

“Rafe and I broke up,” you lied, ignoring the look on her face. “…and let’s just say it ended really bad.”

You watched as your mother rolled her eyes, waving you off.

“You kids are so young,” she chuckled. “You only just started dating. You’ll be back together in another month or so.”

You clenched your jaw, glaring at her.

“You’re not hearing me, another annoying habit of yours that I unfortunately remember.”

At this, she stopped to turn and frown at you, a hand on her hip.

“Rafe is not a good guy. He’s not, and I can guarantee you that I will not be getting back together with him. Ever.”

“Now, you’re just being ridiculous. You and him have been the best of friends forever. Whatever happened, I’m sure you’ll get through it-.”

“We won’t,” you interrupted.

You were so tempted to scream in her face that Rafe was a psychotic rapist who snorted coke more than she snorted Xanax.

“You’ve always been so dramatic,” you heard her mumble as she turned away, hands raised. “Whatever…whatever. All I know is that he is coming tonight, and I do expect you to at least be cordial. I mean, he looked after you so well with your accident and all, for God’s sake.”

Her words made your chest tighten, and you had to physically fight to keep from vomiting. Rafe had not ‘taken care’ of you. He had taken advantage of you, and your lost memories, playing out the fantasy he’d been dreaming about for years. He had violated both your mind and body in ways that your mother wouldn’t even be able to comprehend, and that was why you gave a bitter chuckle.

“Fuck you,” you breathed.

She spun around to stare you down with wide eyes, shocked.

“Excuse me?”

“I am your daughter, and I am telling you that Rafe is not good. Not just for me, but for anyone, but me especially,” you choked out. “I’m telling you that he hurt me, and your response to that is how dramatic I’m being? Your response is to tell me to be cordial?”

She opened her mouth, but you wouldn’t let her speak.

“You have no idea what Rafe is like,” you whispered. “You don’t know what he put me through.”

“Y/N-.”

“You’ve always kissed his ass,” you spat. “I remember that above all else, and since you think he’s so great, why don’t you date him instead?”

She didn’t have a response, simply snapping her mouth shut in shock. You brushed past her, taking the stairs two at a time and running into Sarah at the top. Her eyes were wide, clearly having heard everything, and she didn’t seem shocked to see you putting on some shoes.

“I take it we’re not staying,” she said, putting on her shoes too.

You looked around, quickly grabbing your old backpack.

“I knew that coming back for even a night or two was a bad idea,” you quietly said, grabbing some clothes from your closet. “I can’t stay here.”

It went unsaid, but it was clear that you planning to leave for good. You noticed that Sarah was on her phone, no doubt texting Kie, and you grabbed everything you thought you’d need. She eventually helped you, and it was only when you noticed her own necklace dangling from her neck did you pause.

“What? What is it?”

“JJ said he was going to make me another one, but… I left the necklace he gave me at your house.”

Sarah worried her lip, nodding.

“I mean, Rafe won’t be home…”

That reminder made your shoulders ease, and you nodded. You didn’t bother sneaking out, casually walking out of your house through the front door. You could hear your mother in the kitchen, and you didn’t care if she heard you leaving or not. Kie shook her head as you approached her car.

“Why you even bother coming back, I’ll never know,” she said. “You never stay on this side of the island for more than a few days.”

“Blame Mrs. Y/L/N,” Sarah grumbled as she slid into the backseat. “You know her and her dinner parties.”

“She was really mad when she thought I wouldn’t be coming,” you told Kie. “…but then I realized why.”

Kie glanced at you, pulling onto the road.

“She invited Rafe.”

Kie looked appropriately horrified at that.

“You should’ve seen Y/N. She told her to fuck off and everything. It was great.”

Sarah laughed to herself.

“Well, that kind of explains why we’re going to Sarah’s house, I guess,” Kie mused.

“I left JJ’s necklace there,” you told her. “…and the house will be empty, so I won’t have to make JJ go through the trouble of making another one.”

Kie didn’t respond to that, and when you glanced over, she was smiling at you.

“What? What…?” you repeated when she didn’t say anything.

She just shook her head.

“You guys are just so cute,” she said. “I know you had your reasons, but I wish you had told us sooner. I would’ve loved teasing JJ so much about it.”

You rolled your eyes.

Now that you and JJ were out and in the open with your relationship, you felt like something akin to a newborn baby being brought home. If Pope wasn’t looking at you two with a dopey smile then it was Sarah. Or it was Kie asking if you two wanted anything from the fridge, continuously glancing over her shoulder as she walked away. Or even John B. asking if you wanted to spend the night in the van when JJ’s dad was around and you didn’t want to be anywhere near Figure 8.

“Trying to get him to even talk to you was like pulling teeth,” Sarah chimed in. “…and now he’s going out of his way to fight my brother over your honor.”

The car grew quiet at the mention of Rafe, and Kie’s voice was low when she spoke.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna…go to the police? At least for your neck,” she gestured. “The bruises are still there, and we all saw him.”

“Yeah, I don’t care if he’s my brother, Y/N. I’ll happily tell them how awful he is.”

You had thought about it a lot, especially when JJ was begging you in the darkness of his room. Your head had been resting on his chest as his fingers danced over your arms, his heartbeat hadn’t been as steady as you would’ve liked.

“I don’t think I’ll be okay until I know he can’t get to you anymore,” he had whispered. “A restraining order…jail…”

He had trailed off, not saying what he had said earlier in the night. The words had shocked you for more reasons than one because while JJ was impulsive and a little rough around the edges, he wasn’t a killer. You could never imagine him killing anyone, and even if he could surprise you, even if he did have it in him, you wouldn’t want him to.

Both the memory of JJ’s words and the feel of Rafe’s hands around your neck had kept you up that night.

“Part of me wants to just to keep JJ from doing anymore stupid shit…”

You all hopped out of Kie’s car, a sigh of relief escaping you at the sight of an empty yard and clearly empty house.

“…but another part of me just wants to avoid Rafe for the rest of my life without a fuss. You know he’ll put up a fight, and-.”

You cut yourself off, biting your lip.

“Ward and he might fight, but that’s still his son. He’d absolutely try to protect him against me.”

You leaned against the house as Sarah opened the door. Neither she or Kie said anything to that because they knew you were right. You visibly shuddered when Sarah flipped the light on, and you took in the house. You hadn’t been back since that night, another night in which Rafe had his hands around your throat.

Sometimes you wondered what might’ve happened if you hadn’t spoken to JJ at Midsummers. You wondered if your memories would’ve come back much later…or if they even would’ve come back, at all. JJ was connected to a lot of lifechanging moments, so you supposed it made sense that being around him more would make you remember so much more, or in this case, everything.

“It’s in the guest room,” you told Kie as you both walked up the stairs. “I had brought this little jewelry box from my room with random stuff in it, and it was there.”

Upon stepping inside, she helped you search for it. Considering that you didn’t want to be in this house any longer than you had to be, you wanted to get this over with. After several minutes of searching, you realized that it wasn’t in here.

“What?” Kie asked as you paused, a frown on your face.

“It’s not here.”

“Where-.”

“It’s in Rafe’s room,” you sighed in realization, more to yourself than her.

Kie’s silence was loud, and she looked like she wanted to speak up in worry for you when you shook your head.

“It’s fine, I… Let’s just find it and go,” you hurried out, rushing down the hall.

Your stomach twisted the moment you set a foot into his room, memories of his lips on yours and his hands on you bombarding your mind. It was times like this where you were grateful for Rafe’s cleanliness because it made it easier to find what you were looking for. There, on his nightstand was the box, but when you opened it…the necklace was gone.

“Asshole,” you whispered to yourself.

“What? It’s not there?”

Before you could answer, you both heard the door slamming shut downstairs. Your heart skipped a beat, and you were just about to tell yourself to calm down when Sarah spoke…loudly.

“What are you doing here?”

“I live here, in case you forgot.”

Rafe’s voice traveling from downstairs made you shudder, and you and Kie froze, looking to each other with wide eyes. You grabbed the box, prepared to run out and into another room when you heard him coming up the stairs. You could hear Sarah trying to stop him, distract him.

“I’m not in the mood, okay?”

The irritation in his voice was evident.

“I thought…I thought Mrs. Y/L/N was throwing some dinner thing. I thought you were going…”

There was a brief pause, and you could almost imagine Rafe looking her over.

“I thought you were too…then I get there and neither you or Y/N is there,” he replied.

The knowledge that he had only gone to see you terrified you, and you slowly cracked his door open, looking down the hall and seeing both him and Sarah right at the top of the stairs. Your eyes briefly met hers over his shoulder, and you closed the door back, feeling like you were going to be sick. You turned to see Kie trying to get his window open, but she was having a hard time, and your panic grew.

“Where’s Kie?” you heard Rafe ask.

Sarah hesitated before replying.

“What?”

“That’s her car outside…so where is she?”

The girl in question quietly cursed when the window wouldn’t budge, and you looked around.

“She’s in my bathroom.”

Rafe didn’t respond to that, and impulsively, Kie pushed you down towards his bed as she ran for his closet. You struggled to crawl under, pulling your feet under just before his door opened. Your eyes were wide, never having thought you’d not only be in here again, but also be this close to him again.

You could hear him walking around, angrily ripping off his nice shirt, tossing it to the floor in front of you. You turned your head, watching his every move and feeling like your heart was about to leap out of your throat. You flinched when he momentarily sat on his bed, the mattress dipping a bit, and you pressed your hand to your mouth.

You only felt relief when he stood and made his way to the bathroom, starting the shower. Even when the door closed, you didn’t completely relax, not until Kie was hurrying out of the closet and helping you out from under his bed. The necklace wasn’t even on your mind as you both ran out of his room.

Sarah exhaled in relief when she spotted you both. None of you said a word as you hurried down the stairs, desperate to get as far away from this house as possible. You made it to the yard when Sarah finally spoke.

“I swear to God, he has the worst timing,” she complained, making it to Kie’s car.

She turned to say something else but cut herself off with a startled shriek. You barely had time to turn around before a hand was grasping your arm and yanking you towards the last person you wanted to see. He didn’t look damp, at all, and you had to wonder when he figured out that it wasn’t just Kie who was also in his house.

“Rafe,” Kie screamed as he pulled you towards his truck.

It was three against one, Sarah and Kie fighting to get him to let you go while you pulled against him, but you didn’t know if it was the testosterone or the kind of strength that only cokeheads possessed as he dragged you along the grass with ease. Your feet dug into the ground to no avail, and you gasped when he slammed you against his truck.

“Y/N and I are just going to go for a little drive,” he bit out, opening the passenger door.

“Rafe-.”

You swallowed your words when his hand gripped your throat, and Kie and Sarah only paused when he shook you.

“Touch me…and I’ll break her neck. I promise you, I will,” he sneered, glaring over his shoulder at his sister.

She looked like she wanted to say something, probably something in protest, but considering that she’d witnessed him trying to kill you before, you could see the doubt in her tearful eyes.

“Rafe,” she eventually whispered. “Let her go…and we can all just talk right here.”

“I don’t want to talk to either of you,” he said. “I want to talk to her.”

He was looking at you, now, and you swallowed under the icy chill of his stare. His pupils were blown, and you guessed that he’d snorted something before driving over here. The silence was loud and thick with tension, all of you trying to gage his next move…but it was Rafe.

He was never predictable.

You slowly reached up to touch the hand on your throat, surprised that Rafe let you peel it away.

“Call the police,” you forced out, and Rafe chuckled.

He found that amusing for some reason as he forced you inside. You looked between Sarah and Kie, trying to reassure them that you were going to be okay.

“Just call the police,” you repeated.

You watched Sarah take out her phone to do just that, and you and Kie shared a look as she took out her phone too. You didn’t agree with it, but you couldn’t expect her to just not call JJ. Smarter than you gave him credit for, Rafe climbed across you to get into the driver’s seat, a hand still on your wrist as he closed your door and locked the vehicle.

You didn’t know if you just felt that there was nothing else Rafe could do to scare you, or if you were just numb for the time being. His hand was tight on your wrist, and you worriedly looked out of the window as he recklessly pulled out of the yard.

“I didn’t want to believe it before, but I definitely do now…”

He chuckled to himself.

“You think I’m stupid.”

“I-.”

“Come on. Neither you or Sarah are at your house where you’re supposed to be, and I’m expected to believe it’s just her and Kie in the house?”

You didn’t say anything to that.

“Let me guess…you were looking for this?”

He let you go to reach into his glove compartment, pulling out a familiar necklace. You bristled at the sight of it, hurriedly catching it when he literally smacked you in the face with it.

“Here,” he spat. “At least you can say your trip wasn’t in vain.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, glaring at your former best friend.

“What do you want?”

He glanced at you as he flew down the road, and you thought to yourself how you’d probably die almost instantly if you tried to jump out.

“You know what I want,” he mumbled, blue eyes looking out the windshield now. “What I’ve always wanted.”

“…and you got what you wanted,” you said through clenched teeth. “Several times over.”

Rafe looked at you with wide eyes, and you noticed that he was watching the road less and less. You didn’t even know where he was taking you.

“You think…you think I just wanted sex from you?”

He let out a dry laugh, rubbing his nose as he looked between you and the road.

“If I just wanted sex from you, I could’ve drugged you years ago,” he said, making your heart sink. “I could’ve gotten you so drunk, you wouldn’t have been able to walk.”

You swallowed.

“You know how easy it would’ve been to just fuck you? Huh?”

You watched the way his fingers tapped against his steering wheel.

“God knows I’ve had ample opportunity!”

“Rafe-.”

“I love you.”

You didn’t have a response to that, and he frantically blinked, glassy eyes focused on the road.

“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember…”

“That’s not love.”

“…and JJ…JJ didn’t even like you.”

You glanced away.

“He thought you were some spoiled privileged rich bitch that didn’t belong on his side of the island!”

He laughed, and it lacked humor. It was wracked with bitterness.

“…and he is who you want?”

His eyes were wide as he said this, face incredulous.

“Maybe I should’ve treated you like something on the bottom of my shoe, and you would’ve fallen for me too.”

“That is not-.”

“Maybe spoiling you and taking care of you and treating you like you meant something to me was the wrong thing to do.”

“You didn’t do any of that to be genuine, Rafe! I was never your friend,” you told him. “You never saw me as a friend, and you know it.”

“What does it matter? I would’ve given you anything you wanted.”

“Except a genuine friendship, right? I wanted to be just friends…and you denied me that, so at least be honest, Rafe.”

His skin strained over his knuckles as he gripped the wheel.

“You weren’t content with just being my friend,” you whispered. “…and you tried to rape me, tried to claim me as yours anyway. That’s not love.”

You watched his jaw clenched.

“You took advantage of my accident…you violated my mind and body. You lied to me and manipulated me.”

Now, it was your turn to let out a sour chuckle.

“You tried to kill me.”

You were looking directly at him, now, a bitter smile on your lips.

“That’s not love, Rafe.”

“You don’t get to tell me how I feel,” he snarled, his booming voice filling the car as his fingers brushed his chest.

“Your actions tell me, Rafe! Nothing about what you’ve done to me screams ‘love’. I would lay off the coke and weed if I were you,” you threw at him, glancing around. “Where are you even taking me? You have to be stupid if you think Kie wasn’t going to follow you.”

He genuinely laughed this time, and the look he gave you made you grow cold.

“I wonder how far she could really get without a stupid spark plug.”

You face fell, and you glanced behind you to see nothing but a dark road. There were no lights, not even a hint of a car without them on. What little confidence you had was now gone. It was getting late, and you didn’t know what Sarah had told the police, if they would even take her seriously. You knew that Kie had called JJ, but what did any of that even mean when no one knew where Rafe was taking you?

You reached for the wheel, stomach lurching when the truck swerved. Rafe yelled at you, but you knew that Rafe either had to stop the truck or risk killing you both.

“Fuck,” he cursed as the truck swerved again, hitting the wheel as it ran off the road.

You jerked when he slammed on breaks, and the strap of your dress ripped when he reached for you. He screamed your name as you practically fell out of the truck, taking off into the night. It wasn’t long before you heard him running after you, and you almost fell when you ran out of your heels.

You didn’t realize how close you were to the beach, stumbling when the soles of your feet met sand. Your vision was blurring with tears, and you could hear Rafe getting closer. You yelped when you felt him grab your dress, your other strap snapping, and you fell into the dirt under his weight. It was a struggle, but Rafe flipped you onto your back, and you retaliated by spitting in his face. Rafe grabbed your shoulders, jerking you and slamming you against the sand, and stars danced in your vision.

Your fight was frantic, heart racing in your chest. You were reminded of that night outside of his house, how helpless you felt while pinned between him and the wall. It was much like how you felt now, pinned between him and the ground. It was obvious to you what Rafe was trying to do, again, and this wouldn’t be like your ‘relationship’.

There wouldn’t be feigned romance or gentleness. You weren’t manipulated into thinking this was your loving boyfriend who only wanted to be with you. There was no wool over your eyes about who was on top of you. This was Rafe Cameron, your former best friend, your tormenter, the guy who’d proven that he didn’t care who he had to hurt to get what he wanted.

Rafe let out a pained huff when your knee came up between his legs, but even though his hold loosened, he didn’t let you go entirely. You struggled to turn over and crawl away, hissing in pain as Rafe’s nails dug into your legs, literally clawing at you to drag you back. Your fingers left lines in the sand as he did, and the sob you’d been trying to hold in finally escaped.

His hand slid under your neck, holding you to him and choking you. His other fumbled between you, and every time you tried to move away, his fingers pressed into your throat, making you wince. Your feet kicked and strained, desperately trying to get out from underneath him.

“Stop,” he hissed at you. “Stop fighting-.”

“Get…off,” you gasped out. “Rafe, get off-.”

You swallowed the rest of your words, squeezing your eyes shut when he pushed his way into you. You both gasped for different reasons, and your nails dug into the sand as he pressed a hand into your back, holding you in place while he thrust into you. Your forehead grazed the sand, and you clenched your jaw when Rafe’s face fell into the crook of your neck.

“See how perfectly we fit together?”

You swallowed, tears spilling over.

“She’s clinging to me,” he whispered, grinding against you. “She doesn’t want to let go.”

The sting of his thrusts eased, your body involuntarily warming up to his ministrations. You could barely see a foot in front of you you were crying so much, but Rafe didn’t seem to care. His hand remained on your neck, keeping you in place while he fucked you.

“I know JJ doesn’t fuck you like this,” he breathed, pressing open mouth kisses to your neck. “I know he doesn’t.”

Rafe rolled onto his side, taking you with him, and the hand at your throat slid down to your waist, fingers pressing into it. His other pulled your dress down, fondling you and massaging you while pushing his cock into you at an agonizingly slow pace. Your nails dug into his skin, and your tears ran past your ear and into the sand.

He groped you, teeth biting into your shoulder and neck. Every attempt to get away was unsuccessful, and your stomach clenched with every thrust. Rafe’s forehead pressed to your back, and you shuddered.

“I’m not wrong,” he panted, pushing his cock up into you. “I’m not wrong to take what’s mine.”

[hiroshotreplica]

About Agent 3's Sanitation Scars

aka, agent oc lore post

this is a bit long, sorry about that! ill place it all under a cut so no one has to scroll through it all if they dont want to read, note there's some colored text + some drawings

ever since alister (3) and josh (8) were rescued from the deepsea metro and tartar was defeated, callie and marie have been very worried. josh has his own host of issues, but alister's are much more... visible. doctors have no idea how to treat alister's condition, and have just been monitoring his healing process. alister doesnt remember a thing about the sanitation, despite having been only partially sanitized. all witnesses referred to it as a form of mind control.

marie had asked zara (4) about what she had seen first, she seemed much more approachable about the subject. this was under a week after the rescue:

zara: i rescued him and josh from the blender, yeah. though he got ambushed by a strange telephone as soon as we tried to follow josh through the escape route. i managed to dodge the telephone's attacks, but... yeah, alister wasn't as lucky.

marie: do you remember his appearance?

zara: that strange.. i dont even know, goop? just- that strange stuff wrapped around his head. it looked like it was digging into the back of his head. i remember... before he got completely taken over by the strange.. thing and tied me up... he looked at me with.. fear. fear ive never seen before, it had so much.. pain and certainty in it. like he was thinking "im going to die"

marie: oh... that sounds terrifying. was there anything else...?

zara: he... he said one thing. while the goopy stuff was being planted onto him. i dont remember it completely, he whispered it, but he said "so this is it. it... hurts" it... scared me. marie, you know ive been working with him on agent stuff for the past year! he's never sounded so... so... you know.

she didn't have any further comments.

when he could handle the question, marie had asked josh as well. this took place a month after the incident:

marie: so... are you sure you're ready to think about what happened again? i know it's still very recent, even if some time has passed.

josh: y.. yes. i am sure. it is the less painful parts, so i do not mind as much, i think.

marie: alright... what do you remember?

josh: alister, he... he looks like he was in pain. a lot of pain. during the battle, he missed lots of attacks due to it, im sure. his hands had shaking the whole time then.

josh: once we reach the surface and.. things were better again, he was no longer being controlled. and the sight... i dont know the word in inklish, the closest would be scary, i believe. it was... deep scar. everything around the scar had a greenish color to it. he could not see well when he woke up, and he mentioned being in so much pain...

marie: oh, oh jeez... i can see why the bandage was put on it now.

josh: it was the best we have at the time. the one he has now is... much better.

marie: yeah... do you want to stop? you look uncomfortable..

josh: ...yes. thinking of it again... i-it is making me upset more than i realize it could. i am sorry

he couldn't make any further comments.

extra visual of how alister looked at this time:

extra info: his eyesight improved over the first couple of months, though it stopped eventually. he has blurred vision. he has glasses that do slightly correct it, but he never wears them. i imagine he shows some symptoms that would correlate to right hemisphere brain damage. but i need to put more research into that first

[blackcatruse]

𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔞𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔰

«prev. ❃ next» ❃ first chapter ❃ m.list ❃ ao3 pairing: r. haitani/fem!reader ↳ she/her, fem descriptors, nickname ❃ chapter synopsis: i don't need friends, they disappoint me. but wouldn't it be nice to have someone to depend on during the chaos of now? word count: 2.5k chapter cw(s): swearing, possible ooc, implied/mentioned abuse a/n: i love writing the Four Symbols. they're all horrible people :) also sorry for the overload of OCs i'm just yeeting in there, but i guess that happens when you make up a gang.

“Hey, are you with me? Lotus?”

You felt a flick to your forehead and blinked, focusing on the person sitting across from you. You couldn’t hide that you’d been spacier than usual, your brain was a blender, swirling and liquefying all your thoughts. Between the job with Rokuhara and the announcement Suzaku had made at the division meeting and the fact that Genbu asked for you made your barely recovered head spin even more.

You lightly shook your head. “Sorry, just thinking about stuff.”

Nezumi leaned on the table with his chin in his hand. “Clearly, but honestly I don’t blame you. You’ve kind of been through a lot lately.”

“Something like that,” you laughed weakly. “I’m sorry you’re stuck babysitting me.”

“It’s not a big deal. Suzaku said runners were required to work in pairs for the foreseeable future, and honestly, I don’t mind being paired with the best.” Nezumi flashed a genuine smile and you didn’t know how to respond.

Nobody in your division liked you, or at least that’s what you figured based on the stares and whispers. You didn’t let it get to you and you played into the unlikeable persona because people would leave you alone. Unfortunately, after the incident that left you with a concussion, Suzaku declared that no runner was allowed to do a job alone. Top runners had priority, so it would be you, Nezumi, Shika, and probably-Hato. The four of you naturally gravitated towards each other and decided you’d pair up that way. It was going to be inconvenient though.

“You don’t have to lie to me,” you mumbled, pushing your food around your plate.

Nezumi sighed. “You’re weird,” he said. “But you’re not as bad as you make yourself out to be.”

“But I’m still some degree of bad,” you said, accenting your words with a jab of your fork in his direction.

“We all are,” Nezumi pointed out. “None of us are exactly doing clean work. Anyway, stop being so grumpy. You need friends.”

“And you’re offering?” You raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were just supposed to be discussing our usual jobs and how to make things work with our schedules.”

“Stop dodging the question,” Nezumi said, on the verge of whining. “But yeah, we do need to work out when our runs are happening and any other jobs Suzaku gives us.”

“I make my weekly runs to Kabukicho on Sunday,” you told him. “There’s no set time, except for the guy that owns Byakko’s space. Gotta get to him before 5pm.”

“Noted. I run Ōtemachi and Marunouchi on Wednesdays and Fridays. Both during the day, preferably in the morning.”

You nodded, mapping out the locations in your mind. “I can’t say I’m fond of any time before noon, but I’d rather not get my face beat in again. Either by Suzaku or the other guys.”

Nezumi’s face twisted into something uncomfortable. He rubbed his temples. “Can you have a normal conversation with anyone?”

“Nope!” You grinned. “It’s part of my charm.”

“Right,” Nezumi said flatly. “Charm.”

“I’m sensing sarcasm from you.”

“Hmm, I’ll try harder to mask it next time. Anyway, what’s your current burner number? It would be best if we can get into contact outside of division meetings.” Nezumi held out his own burner phone.

“Huh? Oh yeah sure.” You took it from his hand and punched in the number you had just memorized. It would be changed by the end of the month, since it made it a little harder for the cops to sniff out Wuxing’s trail.

Adding a little ‘<3’ to the end of your contact name, you finally handed the phone back to Nezumi. He looked at it, sighed, and looked at you with dull eyes. You just waved like nothing had transpired. He shook his head and stood. “I’ll get in touch soon,” he promised. He gave you a lazy wave before heading out and you put your head down on the table.

It was going to be a little harder to traipse around with the Haitanis like this, but you’d figure it out. Right now you had more pressing problems, like why the hell Genbu needed to see you. You did your part of the operation and you weren’t important enough to be part of the circle that knew. 

You couldn’t even think about why these people were so obsessed with you. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, remarkable about you. You spent the first thirteen years of your life raised in an area where nobody would care if you or your family disappeared. Your father wasn’t in the picture. You didn’t know who he was and your mother refused to talk about him. You quickly learned to stop asking about him when she threw a ceramic tea cup at your head. The memories of your mother were fairly fuzzy, thanks to the years working for Wuxing that shaved time from your lifespan. You remembered the day you found your mother dead, and it was something that you could never forget. You didn’t think you ever could.

Of course, after your mother’s death, your brother spiraled deeper and deeper into gambling. He lost his job. He spent all day most days drunk and wasted instead of sober. You were still too young to get a part-time job, but you were certain that your brother would burn any money you brought in.

You were able to keep you and your brother afloat because sometimes he would come home from gambling with cold hard cash. You’d take some from him when he finally blacked out. He never remembered how much he won, so as long as you left something, you could at least get groceries and pay rent and bills. Even when he caught you and beat you within an inch of your life, you still kept stealing from him. You weren’t going to let yourself be thrown onto the streets. Trying times made you consider learning to pickpocket, but before that could come to a head, Wuxing came knocking.

At that point, you weren’t even sure you were human anymore. You had lost weight. You were covered with bruises that could easily be hidden under school uniforms. Anyone who saw you turned a blind eye, because it wasn’t their business what happened in your home. You hated every second of it, and it all culminated when your brother sold you in an attempt to ease his debts. Your brother’s blood was still warm on your face when Genbu’s men grabbed you. They whispered terrible things in your ear, telling you in explicit detail how they planned to make you pay “your” debt.

Your first few years with Wuxing were something you wished you could scrub from your mind. Yet, you would never be clean of the things done to you and what you had done. Even now you felt like there was a disconnect between you and your body. Just a permanent state of detachment that would rear its head if you weren’t cracking jokes or making a conscious effort.

Fuck, you had to get your shit together before you went to Genbu. Throwing a wad of yen on the table, you stood and headed out. Everything around you was a blur as you made your way to the abandoned police station where Genbu did his business.

There was a specific knock you were supposed to use, but you couldn’t be bothered to remember it. You popped a stick of gum in your mouth before loudly banging on the door and yelling. It had the same effect of getting attention and before you could even strike the door a third time, a disgruntled looking Genbu had opened the door.

“You tryna make trouble?” he grunted.

Your smile was devilishly saccharine. “It’s what I do best.”

Genbu snorted before stepping back and letting you walk in. You hadn’t been to this part of Wuxing’s domain. Each of the Four Symbols had their own regions where they conducted business and very rarely did these overlap. You were one of the few that had seen Seiryu’s underground fighting ring and Byakko’s brothels. Now having visited Genbu’s hideout, you were familiar with each of the Four Symbols’ kingdoms. Probably one of the only lower status members, now that you thought about it.

Wuxing’s upper echelons may spit on you, but even they couldn’t argue that you weren’t good at what you do.

“What couldn’t wait until the big meeting that made you call for me now?” you asked as Genbu closed the door.

“Whoever we caught,” Genbu started, “they know who you are.”

You stared at Genbu. “Yeah, I’m Suzaku’s Lot—”

“No, they know your real name.”

What?

What?

“That doesn’t make sense,” you said, stumbling over your words. You couldn’t hide how shaken you were. Any mention of who you were before sent you into a horrifying spiral. “Nobody should know who I am.”

“That’s what we thought too,” Genbu said.

“We?”

“Follow me.” Genbu didn’t wait for a response before he started walking away. You jogged a little to catch up with him and he walked into a room. Stepping inside you saw Suzaku, Byakko, and Seiryu. Your eyes quickly scanned the room for any sign that you were going to be murdered, but they stopped when they landed on the one way mirror to the adjacent room.

There were four men, each handcuffed to a chair and displaying a variety of bruises and bloodied faces.

“What the hell?” you asked, voice barely a whisper.

“They haven’t given us any useful information,” Genbu said. “But they know who you are, who your mother was, and who your brother was. When we asked further, they said nothing. Just laughed. Said they’d only talk if it was to  you.”

Fuck, it was exactly like the guy you and Rindou had run into. Almost as if they could tell you were staring at them, their heads snapped up and they looked straight at you. Even the Four Symbols stiffened at the sudden movement.

“Did you bring her?” the one third from the right asked. Maybe he was the leader? He sounded familiar, like the one you had met in that warehouse.

They had been locked up here so long you doubted they were high, unless Genbu drugged them during the interrogation. But the unnerving smiles they wore... This was too much for you.

Genbu moved forward and spoke into an old microphone on the desk. “She’s here.”

“No, let her speak.”

Genbu stepped away and motioned you to come forward. You weren’t entirely sure what to say, but you knew you were close to snapping. “I’m here. What do you want?”

You prayed they didn’t hear the waver of your voice, but if they did they gave no indication. “Do you remember your mother?” the leader asked, using your real name.

You shuddered. “Not really,” you lied.

“I see,” he hummed. “Do you know anything about your family?”

Even though they couldn’t see it, you shrugged. “Just that my sperm donor was a deadbeat, Mom hated when we asked about him, and my brother was a bastard.”

That got a chuckle out of the four men in the interrogation room.

“Would you like to know?”

“What?” Your blood froze. Behind you the Four Symbols exchanged confused glances.

“Everything you need to know,” the man said. “You will learn if you—”

“I’m not interested.”

The man frowned. Was he expecting you to give a shit about the people who made your life go from worse to absolute hell? All you cared about was getting out of Wuxing, maybe even the country, and never coming back.

“Just seems like a lot of trouble,” you drawled. “I don’t particularly care about my family history.”

“Are you loyal to Wuxing? Did he convince you to join them?”

You didn’t ask for clarification because if they knew who you were, then surely they knew your brother got you into this mess. “Something like that,” you said, keeping the answer neutral. The last thing you wanted was any of the Four Symbols to think you were betraying them. Well, you supposed your record wasn’t exactly clean in that aspect, but it didn’t include these sorry bastards in front of you.

“That is unfortunate,” the man hummed. “Well, if you ever want answers, consider seeking Nirvana.”

You looked back at Suzaku and Genbu, avoiding eye contact with Byakko and ignoring Seiryu. They were blank faced and likely as confused as you were. Genbu stepped forward and pulled you away from the mic. “What do you mean?” he demanded. “Who are you people? How do you know these—”

Suzaku jerked Genbu back and the man’s words were cut off. Then, like a switch was flipped, the captives dropped their heads and refused to answer any more questions or demands. You were confused to start with, but now it was even worse. You weren’t anyone of importance. You knew you weren’t.

It seemed like the Four Symbols had an idea of what was going on, but they weren’t going to tell you. Rarely did you ever need to know what was happening, and truthfully you didn’t want to. The less you knew about the situation the better.

Ignorance was bliss and you refused to let go of that. “I don’t know what the hell they want from me,” you said. There wasn’t anything defensive about your tone, just confusion and fear.

Genbu ran a hand down his face. “Yeah, we gathered that.” He sighed. “We’re going to have to report this to Kirin.”

You could almost feel the collective groan they didn’t let out. So they hated reporting to their boss too. You would almost feel sympathy if you hadn’t been tormented by every single one of them.

“You’re not coming,” Suzaku said immediately.

“Huh?!” You were genuinely taken aback at how quickly Suzaku snapped that out. “I didn’t say anything and I don’t want to!”

“That’s a first,” Byakko snorted.

You wanted to turn around and snarl at him but you didn’t. “I don’t want to be tangled up in this shit any more than I have to. I don’t know a goddamn thing about what they were saying. I’m not important. You all know this! The only reason you haven’t killed me yet is because of my stupid brother’s debt and because I’m maybe a good runner.”

You didn’t want to break down in front of the Four Symbols, but they said nothing as tears streamed down your face. If they were kinder, they would have taken pity on your confusion and anxiety, but they didn’t care. They had seen enough that you breaking down wasn’t going to faze them.

“Seiryu, take Lotus home,” Suzaku ordered. “I’m going to get in touch with Kirin and figure out what we’re going to do next. Genbu, keep digging for information. Byakko, keep an eye out in your territory.” Suzaku looked you in your stinging, teary eyes, “And Lotus, you don’t fucking go anywhere alone.”

Please do not reupload, translate, or steal my work! If it isn't here or on my ao3, it's not me! Likes & reblogs appreciated! <3 Dividers courtesy of @/cafekitsune & @/firefly-graphics

[luckyshotwrites]

Ch. 85 // Idiocy // Day 59

Contents (Warnings): Lynette starts her training (slight angst, vore mentions, character and monster info as always). Read full chapter on A03

Wordcount: 2,138 (Sorry, I've been busy with some irl problems and new puppy!)

Song I correlate to this Chapter: Not found yet!

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

(Nov. 25th, Friday)

Lynette

We were still off for Thanksgiving 'weekend'. Work resumed tomorrow, Saturday. So, Wicks took it upon himself to stage our training today.

That's why I was a bouncy, nervous wreck. I never used a weapon to fight someone before. 

I also wasn't thrilled to see Garter coming along. Not because I disliked him, I liked Garter, but I didn't want more people to witness my incompetence.

I don't want them laughing at me later. 

Knife? Wicks hadn't mentioned what the weapon was until now. I can't imagine a stab wound would do anything against them. They could use reversal magic and then crush me into dust.

A hand gently caressed my back, rubbing it firm and reassuringly. It jostled my sweater. "It'll be fine. We are going over the basics today. You need to learn how to handle a knife."

I didn't like the idea of being made into a tub of protein powder.

Lev. My mind whirled back to the blender incident. I knew I'd be fine, physically, yet it was an experience I never wanted again.

The umber-skinned male popped up to meet us. He always wore a cheery smile, "If you do good today, we can get ice cream too."

It's a very tempting incentive. I had to act like it wasn't—Wicks remained on standby. He waited to joke with me about being excited for some ice cream. 

I held it back. "That sounds lovely."

"You're trying too hard, Lentils." Wicks whispered to me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I raised my chin and crossed my arms. 

"And if you fail today, no ice cream," Garter said. 

"What!"

Wicks pulled his arm back, "Yep. You even have to watch us eat it."

Garter pulled back when the elevator dinged for our floor. "Good idea, Boss. We get ice cream regardless. I like it."

"That's not fair," I whimpered. How can they be so cruel? 

Wicks stepped out first. The elevator itself already looked to be of a higher class with the mirrors behind us and the sheer size, capacity, and trim. However, the inside of the building itself felt eerily imposing. Everything looked to be made from wood, polished and gleaming with an invitation I didn't ask for.

The space felt so vast I imagined it'd fit at least two Naga's comfortably, plus I could see there were several halls that looked to branch in different directions as if they were at the center of a maze.

And worst of all, it was quiet. I didn't hear much coming from any direction, except a light tapping that I couldn't see the owner of.

Another subject that made little sense, despite the ornate details done to the walls and grand arches above, there are no chairs, tables or artwork. Nothing.

I barely took a few steps outside, before Garter threw his head in front of me. "Don't worry, I can sneak you some ice cream if you do badly."

He's sweet. 

"Thanks," I whispered back. 

The mystery behind the tapping was solved.

Garter and I moved out of the way for the thin, stalky male, much like Garter, to scramble forward. He went straight for the elevator. I ducked under the long rolls of papers.

They look like building schematics. Is this place new?

"Oh, sorry!" Their voice left in a timid croak. He flipped back to face us—he huffed, and his short chestnut locks spurred out as rushed as he was. 

"You okay, Zetsu?" Wicks put a hand on my arm and pulled me closer, unconsciously. 

He nodded, then heard the elevator door closing, and blocked it with his foot and body. It made his papers fall from his arms and onto the ground. "Ah!" Garter got the door for him while Wicks and I helped clean up. 

"I'm sorry my head has been spinning lately." I piled a few scrolls into his arms.

Wicks loaded the last scroll, "I also thought you were leading us to our block today?"

His loose smile dropped, "Yes! Good thing you caught me, ha, ha..." he let his head fall to the side. He muttered more apologies under his breath. "You're in block D, and the training weapons are out. I just got called upstairs." He bowed his head, "Thank you, Wicks, and..."

He stopped his bow. His vibrant violet eyes, which reminded me of Zilla and Zane's, inspected every inch of me. I felt like they picked at every detail of me. 

"I don't think we've met?"

"She's a new recruit," Wicks said. 

I was told to pretend Wicks and I didn't know each other and I was a rank, classless.

"Well, hello, I'm Zetsûboooooooo," he attempted to put his hand out to me and almost dropped them all again. I threw my hands against him to help keep them in place. He fixed his grip. "Thank you, and call me Zetsu for short."

"I'm Lynette, nice to meet you, Zetsu." I shared a smile, "No handshakes are necessary. You worry about getting to where you got to go with all of those intact."

As I said that, the elevator door Garter was holding open beeped. 

Zetsu threw himself back into it so it could close. "Okay! Thank you, and nice to meet you too, Lynette!" The door closed after.

"Is he a friend of yours too?" I asked Wicks.

"Kinda..." Wicks shifted his gaze. Garter pulled back from the elevator in toe. 

"Did something happen?" I asked, absentmindedly tugging at his hoodie. Is he dangerous? He seemed fine? I'm not the best judge of character, am I? My head scrolled back to Claudia. I would have never known...

Wicks peered down and gently put his hand on mine. "I'll tell you later." 

Garter walked ahead of us, leading. I released his hoodie. Should I be worried? Did I meet some kind of terrible beast? Why would Wicks not want to talk about it now? Were they something to him before.

My eyes widened, and I gasped, "was that the person you were dating? IT wasn't a LIE!"

Wicks stopped in his tracks. He flicked his head to me immediately, utterly confused.

Garter quickly got to us. He used my head as an armrest and encroached upon Wicks's face. "YOU WERE DATING SOMEONE?!" 

The anxious befuddlement grew on my brother's face. "What are you..." he trailed off. Put his lips together to keep his mouth shut and backed up. 

"You were lying to me!" I exclaimed. Garter was still using my head as a rest. 

He yelled out, putting his hands over his face. "I'M SORRY! I couldn't think of anything else to say that might sound plausible! I couldn't tell you the truth yet."

The fingers he tangled with his hair pulled more strands out, and it fell over his face.

His best friend finally let me move freely. "You shouldn't lie about a bond mate if you're embarrassed. I'm without one, but I carry it with pride." 

"It wasn't for that, Garter!" Wicks pushed himself ahead. "No more talking about this, especially not in the halls. Let's get your training started." 

...

Wicks

I can't hurt her. He didn't realize how hard it would be to simply grab Lynette out of things. 

He constantly hesitated and retreated from any slash she did.

Thus, he called a break so she could keep going over the feel, weight, and motions he taught her. 

"What's the matter, Boss?" Garter questioned. His friend loved getting up close and personal with people and to make himself their "height". Every time you do that, I feel smaller...

"What did I say about-" Wicks cut himself off and exhaled. He wouldn't argue about the 'boss' nickname today. He pressed his back further into the wall. "I'm so afraid I might hurt her."

Garter looked over at Lynette, who had her back to them. She was determined, to say the least, even though her form was subpar at best. Especially when she stood before Wicks or Garter with the training weapon. Her hands shook like a chihuahua outside in a thunderstorm. 

"You put a cloak on her; she'll be fine." Garter gave two thumbs up as reassurance. 

"yeah." Wicks bit the bottom of his lip. I would never go that hard on her, but I don't know why I keep imagining it. "I don't know."

Garter stood up straight. He tilted his head to stare at the high ceiling. Then, a bright grin peeled open his lips, his very subtle incisors were shown. "Let me take over. I'll gladly train her!"

What?! "Garter-"

He didn't even let Wicks rebuttal. 

The tall lad made his way across the grounds and to Lynette. "Hey Lynette, I will be your training partner today instead of Wicks!"

Wicks glanced back and forth between her and Garter. She looks tiny. 

The Oni of the mountains waved both of his hands at him when he saw Wicks's concern. "It'll be fine, boss—I'll go super easy on her! Trust me!"

Lynette peered at her big brother. He wouldn't dare... Garter had a track record of hunting smaller prey. They got most of those urges out with training, yet he still falls victim to it occasionally.

The only reason I even brought Garter was because I promised him we'd get some training in today. "Sounds good." Wicks shouted back. He said it for Lynette's nerves and gave the go ahead to Garter. I'll trust him.

Wicks thought, though he intently watched every motion Garter made. 

So far, his best friend didn't purposefully try to break the cloak; instead, Garter never gave her a chance to strike him. He'd quickly grab her out of a strike, pin her down, disarm her, or hold her arms up so she couldn't attack him.

He's just bullying her. 

Wicks sighed, he undid his ponytail entirely. He pet at his straighter hair. He gathered a few things so far. I should start training her in basic combat too. If she knows how to properly move and hit someone, she'd be more effect with a knife. She's relying on the strikes too much.

Garters tease echoed out in the empty, magic enfused steel room, "Do you like getting caught?"

"No!" Lynette whimpered with slight frustration. "I just never fought anyone before!"

Garter returned her knife after he poked her stomach with it, "Weird. Where I came from, you learn to fight as soon as you can walk." He waited for her to get back into a stance. He did the same. "How about I call you what we do to those who haven't learned to fight yet."

"An insult?"

He snickered, "a ginkoose, which translates to a child with newborn strength." 

Lynette shook her head in protest, "It's not my fault you guys are stronger than me—you guys are monsters."  

"In human cases, most monsters aren't much stronger or faster than humans." Garter laughed and pounced at Lynette, "So you're using excuses~!"

Lynette avoided him and continued to do so. Garter gave chase. It's going better than I thought it would. 

And, of course, as soon as Wicks thought that, he noticed Garter's black hair shifting white and flaring with volume.

Wicks pushed off the wall and ran at them, specifically for Garter. "HEY, GARTER, STOP, DON'T YOU DARE!" He couldn't let his friend try and eat Lynette.

Wicks got to Lynette, yanked her out of the way and took the force of Garter's hand as his case broke. He slammed back into the wall, it wasn't that hard, so at least Wicks knew Garter didn't lose all sense of, 'being gentle'.

Once the Oni realized his mistake, now standing at thirty or so feet tall, his four arms out and one pinning Wicks to the metal wall, he let out a nervous chuckle from between his giant fangs.

"I went a little overboard huh?"

"You think?" Wicks asked with an eyebrow raise.

"Are you okay?" Lynette got closer.

Wicks shot her a glare, warning her not too.

Garter didn't let his grip go, "does this technically mean I win since I trapped you?" His best friend said, "and if it does that mean I can eat you?"

A dastardly laugh broke out of Wicks vocal cords, he stared at Garter, "you're in direct contact with a magus, I'm not unconscious nor even trying to use any magic. Then, after trying to get my sister, you have the audacity to ask me if you can eat me?"

"Yes?" Garter said, plainly.

There was a long pause before Wicks noticed the seriousness on Garter's face, accompanied by the innocent puppy dog eyes. Wicks flailed his legs, "YOU AREN'T GOING TO CONVINCE ME, NOW PUT ME DOWN BEFORE I MAKE A SNACK OUT OF YOUR ENERGY!"

...

Hey, you, thank you so much for reading. I'm glad I put out a story that people can enjoy! I hope you continue to enjoy it as WE have a LOT more to go! YOU BETTER KEEP PROSPERING! (Nonnegotiable, as always~).

First Chapter Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Catch up, see some maps/art, or check the latest release dates down below  ↓ ↓ ↓ 

What I’d do for a Livable Income (Synopsis/Chapter - List)

[charkyzombicorn]

I just thought of something, what if the world government found out about Luffy's parentage but instead of killing him they trained him to use against Dragon.

Cause at the end of the day, Dragon is extremely dangerous and influential but he's still a human, he still left his son with someone else presumably so the kid had a choice in life.

Not to mention with his ties to the red hair pirates he could also be used against Shanks and even later on Ace.

Okay so the timeline ur implying is that inciting incident happened when Luffy was like 8-10, probably closer to 10 if u want the Premium Brother Angst without Luffy being independant enough to just go 'haha, no' (and have it do anything),,,

So theres very few people that know Dragon is Garp's son, just enough that Garp's gotta stay in the military so his grandson isn't hunted for sport.

So maybe what happens is Dragon pulls a particularly big stunt with the message that it's for all the mothers and children killed while hunting the pirate king's child, so the government's like 'hold my beer'

Ace, 13, with nothing but his baby brother, a tree house and a dented pipe to his name, gets Luffy RIPPED from him, the marines are polite enough to tell him Luffy's dad is why they're taking him, Ace strongly considers saying he's the son of the pirate king just to make them let Luffy go (or maybe he does and they just say 'we know' and leave him anyway because wouldn't that throw Ace's whole world view into the blender). Anyway, Ace gets even more trauma for his surfer goth aesthetic and Luffy gets his rights revoked.

Luffy fights, of course he does - they burn the WG sigil into his back like Lucci, originally put him in with a bunch of supposed child soldiers he makes friends with before they start sending him on missions by himself with the catch of 'you fail this and we'll kill one of those kids' because it's what works. He gets put in cipher pole by 15, and the news eats him up because just because hes Garp's grandson and he's one of the best marines in paradise before he can even legally drink. He doesn't care, he does his job and his friends don't get hurt - he's trying to get stronger though because once he's strong enough he's freeing them. He's already killed a few of his supervisors, but there's always someone stronger just in time. So he's obedient and he waits until his 17th birthday and the marines are none the wiser, just happy that Dragon's moves are getting more and more reckless, Red hair is too busy searching for anything else, and Garp is much more polite nowadays.

The real test, though, is making Luffy take out Dragon's right-hand man.

[shyrose57]

Afterlife AU where Jimmy is a friend-shaped baker who’s trying to help, some villainous lab-experiments with memories of every life but this one are doing their best, and everybody’s competent except for when it comes to communication.

Or, the AU that embodies ‘he’s a little confused, but he’s got the spirit’ for everyone.

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

   Jimmy Solidarity And His Accidental Takeover Of The Criminal Underworld:

                                             A drabble/ficlet.

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

It starts out, as most things do before they go sideways, fairly reasonable, Jimmy likes to think. 

“Hi,” Says Blood King, renowned villain and terror of the streets as of four months, “I need to kidnap you.” 

“Well, alright then.” Says Jimmy, local baker who not very smartly came outside without anything to defend himself with, as he is prone to do. 

Like he said, it’s a perfectly reasonable start. 

(Okay, marginally reasonable)

Some people might disagree, of course, but it was all very polite, and the villain was surprisingly accommodating. The service was quite nice, and he was back before dawn so he could open the bakery. 9/10, really. 

He’s not entirely sure what purpose the whole thing was meant to serve, but he also has have a dozen loaves of bread to start baking, so he doesn’t contemplate it too long. 

It anything’s wrong, it will make itself known very quickly-it always does.

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

(”So basically, nobody else can kidnap him if we do it first?” Shubble asks, tilting the vague shape of her head in question.

“Mmhm.” Scott confirms, and, well, okay. That seems reasonable)

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

This first kidnapping seems to be start of almost daily ones, by the various new villains who’ve been terrorizing Afterlife for the last several months. 

They’re all very polite, barring a few incidents(and really, Enigma did seem quite apologetic for attacking his blenders so he can’t blame her), and sometimes they even help him get ready, so.

Jimmy’s always been a get-and-give type of person, so it stands to see that he should help them out a bit too. And he can’t do the whole villain thing like they can, but he can offer some advice, surely?

They do seem like they need it. Just a bit. He can tell they do their best, but sometimes they just make some mistakes, and that’s fine! Villain rankings are pretty cutthroat, but he can help them out! They’ll be great villains in no time!

(And this is, of course, the part where it all spirals out of control, as all reasonable starts are wont to do in regards to him)

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

One fine morning with Shadow Stalker helping mix batter, Jimmy decides to try and get started with this whole villainous advice thing-no time like the present and all!

“You know,” He says, cracking an egg, “most villains keep their hostages in a place away from their main bases. Just to keep them from sharing where they were held and all.” 

“I didn’t know that.” She says, and look, he’s already taught her something new, this is off to a great start!

“Yeah! I was kidnapped by Crimson Corruption once! Got stashed in this old warehouse! Maybe you guys should try to get something like that?” 

A pause. He worries for a moment, did it come across wrong?

Then she nods, and offers him a smile(and Hm... Is it just him or does it seem a bit weird? ...Nah)

“Got it.” 

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

(”He wants Crimson taken out?” Scott squinted. That didn’t sound quite like Jimmy, but this was a different life, so maybe he was wrong.

“Yep! Well, maybe just stashed somewhere, he did mention a warehouse-I think we wants us to get one for prisoners-but that seemed like the gist of it!” She nods, and Sausage grins.

“Hey, we can do that!”)

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

The next time they decide to kidnap him, they still take him back to base, which Jimmy’s a bit confused about. Shadow Stalker seemed pretty set about the warehouse idea, and Witherbranch had talked about it the entire time last time he dropped in. He thought they’d had one by now?

...Maybe they couldn’t find one? They’ll probably be pretty down about it, they seemed so excited about it! He frowned.

He’ll see if he can’t find any for them to take over. He might have better luck than they did. But for now, hopefully he can distract them from it-maybe they’ll help him make some cookies.

----------

(”This guy must’ve really made him angry, huh?” Lauren whistled, watching the small time villain boss his goons around the warehouse-coincidentally, the lingering remains of Crimson’s gang that’d scattered in the wind.

“It’s Jimmy. If you make him angry, you probably deserve what’s coming to you.” Scott replied, before pausing. “Give me those.” 

He snatched the binoculars from her hands, ignoring her complaints, and trained them on one of the goons.

“What? What is it?” The purple-haired villain demanded as he gasped.

“It’s Xornoth! Jimmy must’ve known he’d be here!”

“Woah. What now?”

“Call Oli, we’re stealing my brother back!”)

----------

Witherbranch proudly showed him around the new secondary base, the next time he asked about it. Jimmy was glad to see his suggestion had worked out for them.

And they’d even gotten a new member out of it! The Demon Prince was a bit odd, but he was nice enough. He also really seemed to like red velvet cookies, since he kept thanking him for them when he first dropped by. He made sure to bring some with him whenever they brought him over.

Since it went so well, he decides to try some more. This time in the form of Afterlife’s Next Top Villain magazine, which he probably shouldn’t have, but hey! Starjumper was totally looking for one of these, and any hesitation Jimmy has dies when he sees the villain light up at the sight of it.

“Is that-” He asks, and the baker smiles.

“Yeah! I thought you might like this edition especially, it’s got some pretty good tips in it too.” A nervous finger taps the cover twice, and the other’s eyes follow the motion closely.

“I will.” Starjumper nods, seeming determined, and that’s good? Right?

“Great! Now this stays between us, but as for where you can find more-”

-----------

(”Quite the pillars to take out.” Calem noted, crossing out the former villains names. 

“They didn’t seem that strong.” Sausage replied, laying his head on his hands. They’d hardly put up a fight.

“They had quite the reputation though. Having them out of the picture is sure to shake people up. There’s gonna be a power vaccum.” From the counter where she was hazardly trying to piece back another mangled blender, Lizzie perked up.

“Oh! He must be going for a sudden takeover! Always best to strike when they’re weak, after all! Who do you think he’ll have as his proxy?”

“I volunteer!” Scott sang as he came into the kitchen, smirking in response to her scowl. 

“I’m his sister!”

“Well, I’m his husband! And I don’t kill everyone I try to stare down intimidatingly, so-”)

----------

“Jimmy?” Blood King-sorry, Scott called out from where he was watching him make use of the expansive kitchen in their lair, flopped upside down on the couch.

“Hm?” He replied, somewhat distracted by the new appliances he was poking at-he was pretty sure some of these weren’t even on the market yet-and was that that super expensive brand of vanilla he loved?! 

Oh, this could only be heaven.

“Are you planning on revealing yourself as the new ruler of the underworld eventually, or?”

“Yeah, eventually, sure.” He promised...something. Admittedly he wasn’t entirely paying attention to whatever Scott was saying, but he was sure it wasn’t that important. Not more important than seeing how fast he could make some good quality whipped cream, surely.  Probably.

Maybe he should tune in.

“Cool. What are you making?” Oh good, it wasn’t anything crazy!

“Strawberry shortcake! Want to try some?”

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

(To probably not be continued)

Thoughts on this little drabble? Not sure how well my characterization is, and I haven’t written in awhile.

Anyway, about this AU:

The villain gang consists of Scott, Shubble, Sausage, Lizzie, Lauren, Oli, and Calem. +Xornoth when they snatch him back.

All of them remember one of their previous lives, which has resulted in them not remembering who they were in this one. 

Jimmy is a friendly baker who may or may not have had a brief stint of vigilantism that he survived through the sheer power of friendship and also terrible fates befalling all those who meant him harm, but he will neither confirm or deny this thing that is very much in the past. 

The villain gang is under the impression that Jimmy has been subtly asking them to take out certain people. They also think he knows that they know about..,.kinda everything.

He does not. 

Anyway, this all results in him basically accidentally taking over the criminal underworld through them via misunderstandings.

[lunar-wandering]

good morning, Fruit Smoothie AU time, details that i didn’t mention before + new details, lets GO

Mei and Wukong share dating tips

except it’s mainly Mei giving Wukong advice because you cannot convince me this monkey knows how to relationship

surprisingly enough. Macaque is the one with the most relationship knowledge here. he just constantly ends up too flustered to remember any of it

he tries to apply some of his Flirting Knowledge but then Wukong smiles at him and his brain just shuts down

Only time Macaque ever manages to flirt with Wukong is when Wukong isn't looking at him/has his back turned to him, so usually it's when he's about to leave. After saying it Macaque will just. Dip out into the shadows so he never gets to see Wukong trip while trying to summon his cloud and the following confused + flustered actions from Wukong

Mei, after becoming friends with and starting to date Red Son, now tries to redeem whatever villain she finds possible to redeem

yes, this very much includes Jin and Yin

so she’s kinda like. in this process of redeeming them while they also just kinda. hang around???

anyways, when she introduces them to Macaque, it’s prior to her knowing that it’s actually Macaque, so she’s like “hey guys, this is the new dude we hired, Amaranthine.”

Jin and Yin take one look at “Amaranthine” and INSTANTLY know who he is.

initially they threaten him, like “if you hurt our little sister and her partners we will not hesitate to use you as a test subject for our inventions”

....and then they witness the whole “Macaque gets so flustered over Wukong’s presence that he breaks a blender” incident and go “oh. oh okay yeah, this guy’s a disaster but i guess he’s chill”

they subsequently adopt him as a father figure. it starts out as a joke but quickly becomes kinda genuine

they jokingly called him dad ONCE and he dropped the smoothie he was holding so they immediately decided to run with it

Macaque: Don't break anything Yin: Whatever you say dad Macaque: *(drops the smoothie)* Jin and Yin: .... Macaque: WAIT- Jin: TOO LATE YOU DIDN'T SAY NO

after Wukong finds out he’s like- Wukong: so they called you dad Macaque: yeah Wukong: and you dropped the smoothie Macaque: a waste of a good smoothie Wukong: so you're a dad now Macaque: no- Wukong that's not how that works- Wukong: uh, i think it IS how that works-

Macaque: just because you have a kid doesn't mean- Wukong: what are you talking about? i dont have a kid Macaque: Wukong: Macaque: Wukong. Wukong: listen i legally adopted MK but that was just to get him off the streets-

MK, interrupting the conversation: dads, dads, you're both fathers. accept it and move on both Macaque and Wukong, mentally shutting down over being called dad: H MK: also Shadow Dad its time for your shift at the smoothie truck-

deciding just because i think its fun: Macaque’s ears glow when he’s flustered in this AU 

Mei uses this to mess with him at every chance she gets. like she pulls a “i told Macaque his ears also glow when he lies” kinda stick on him dhkfjsdfkdjfl

Macaque: *(talking with Wukong)* Mei, talking to MK: so. when do you think Macaque and Monkey King will get together? Macaque, overhearing her: *(breaks another blender)* Wukong: are- are you okay? Macaque, ignoring how his hand got cut by the glass of the blender, trying to pretend he isn't flustered out of his mind, his ears glowing brightly: yep! fine! totally fine! Red Son: Macaque if you keep breaking blenders we're gonna have to start calling you MK-

MK throws a piece of blender at Red Son over that comment

speaking of Mei and MK, they also fluster Red Son all the time too

Red Son saw Mei carrying a stack of boxes once and got so flustered over it he set what he was holding on fire

Red Son: you're faster than me so when we need to get to a crime scene or demon attack really fast you should jut carry me to it Mei: you can teleport Red Son: i- uh- its- carrying would be the better- Mei, lifting him up: yeah yeah, let's just go

moving away from all the couples and stuff though

....before MK was found by Wukong and was chosen to be the Monkey King’s successor.

he used to work for Spider Queen.

the reason MK knew Mei and Red Son’s secret identities when he first met them, was that shortly before he quit, Spider Queen (who, by the way, at this point, already had LBD working with her), had ordered him to find out the heroes identities.....and poison them.

he chickened out of it at the last second, running away, which was how he ended up bumping into Wukong in an alley way

but MK is determined to never let Mei and Red Son find out about, well, any of that.

so, when he gets pinned to a wall during a fight, his visor partially broken, and Spider Queen leans down, using one of her legs to tilt his chin up while she analyzes her face, and softly goes “wait a second.... I know you...”

well, needless to say, he panics.

Mei and Red Son, who were busy in their own fights with their own demons, hear a ground shaking scream

and suddenly they’ve got a kaiju MK on their hands.

Kaiju MK ends up knocking Spider Queen as far away as possible, scooping up Red Son and Mei, and practically bolting to Flower Fruit Mountain, where he drops the two of them in a pile in front of a surprised Wukong, and then proceeds to shrink down just enough to hide within one of the mountains many caves.

and he proceeds to not come out.

not even when Wukong calls him. he tries his best, but he’s not exactly good at this, he goes into the cave and tries cracking a joke to cheer MK up, but only ends up getting “go away Monkey King” in response, which-

considering MK had recently taken to calling him “dad”, the sudden swap back to “Monkey King” definitely hurt

so. not really able to think of a better option, Wukong calls Macaque Wukong: im panicking, i dont know what to do- Macaque: bitch you expect ME to know???

Macaque still shows up at the mountain anyways, under the guise of “emotional support”

Mei: i just don't understand what upset him so badly Macaque, had to run away from LBD, was on the villains side for a while, knows the EXACT reason why this is happening: who knows really. could've been anything

eventually Wukong just kinda shoves Macaque into the cave MK is hiding out in and-

Macaque: hey kid, you should remember, i royally fucked up a LOT and y'all still accepted me MK: i tried to poison them Macaque: yeah and i tried to murder Wukong at least 12 times whats the big deal MK: its just. it's different Macaque: how so?? y'know honestly i think it's kinda funny you tried to poison them, considering you now work in a smoothie truck and all, must be a health hazard- MK: *(frustrated scream)* Macaque, covering his ears: okay alright there's no need to bust my eardrums- MK: get out Macaque: okay okay im going- you should just tell them y'know MK: GET OUT

Macaque is no good at this kinda thing either obviously hdfjksflsdfjdkfs

because MK yelled at him, when Macaque come out of the cave he’s still partially deafened enough that he’s yelling too

he basically walks out of the cave and literally yells “never ask me to try and comfort someone ever again”

Red Son and Mei eventually gather their wits and go in, and like, sit down, leaning up against MK’s side.

and then, eventually, after a while, MK sighs, and finally shrinks back down to his normal form, his back turned to them.

MK: ....i wasn't always the Monkey King's successor Red Son: well duh- Mei: shhhh MK: i used to. i used to work for Spider Queen Red Son, under his breath: i fucking knew he had some criminal history- Mei: shhhhhhh

MK tells them everything, including how he almost poisoned them, and they all just sit there in silence for a while.

  Mei: ......you do know Red Son actually poisoned me before right MK, finally turning around with pure shock: he what Red Son: I KEEP TELLING YOU THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT Mei: he panicked over it for days despite the fact i'd already taken an antidote and was fine

basically, Red Son drinks this Special Mix that’s good for him because of his Fire Powers. one day, after one of their “hey i don’t really wanna be a villain anymore but idk how to be a hero yet so lets just keep pretending to fight each other for a bit” battles, he offered Mei his water bottle, and it was only after she drank out of it that Red Son went “OH WAIT FUCK SHIT HOLD ON-”

Red Son actually for a little while after that thought that maybe it would be best if he didn’t hang around Mei, since obviously he was too dangerous for her. Mei, still a bit loopy from the antidote, over heard him mumbled that to himself, and immediately judo flipped him onto the bed and then layed down on top of him so he couldn’t leave and well. that was that.

now. you may be thinking. “Red Son is gonna outlive both Mei and MK”

you’d be incorrect

personally i headcanon that Mei, as a dragon, became effectively immortal once she reached a certain age (22) and doesn’t really grow older anymore (physically)

MK on the other hand

well. you may also be wondering, “what’s with MK and breaking blenders?”

well i have the answer to both the immortality and the blender question

its simple really: MK drank an immortality peach in a fruit smoothie.

Spider Queen and the others had been searching for it, and when they found out MK had drunk it, they basically “kidnapped” him (he was already living on the street anyway, wasn’t much difference to him)

the demon who’d initially had the peach (not the one who’d given it to MK in smoothie form) was so mad that MK had consumed it that he. cursed him to constantly break blenders so he could “never create a smoothie ever”

...the demon was very petty.

the way that the others find out about this though-

they’re all just sitting around one day

Wukong: man, i'm really craving an immortality peach right now...... sucks that i can't get them anymore... MK: yeah, they taste like the perfect mixture of honey and oranges, which is weird considering its a peach- Wukong, sitting straight up: how do you know what they taste like MK: ...ah Wukong: MK. how do you know what they taste like

Wukong kinda has a bit of a panic attack because he’s worried that MK stole a peach from heaven and that, because he’s the Monkey King’s successor, people will come to burn down the mountain again

MK: woah- woah hey calm down- Wukong: they're gonna set it on fire again- MK: woah hey hey. i didn't steal shit from heaven- or well. there was that one time for the Queen but- Wukong: they're gonna set it on fire again- MK: I DRANK IT IN A SMOOTHIE OKAY Wukong: MK: Wukong: you fucking what MK: wow can't believe the first time i hear you swear is over this- Wukong: a smoothie???????????

it shocks him right out of his panic due to the sheer absurdity of it all

.....this AU is really starting to become “how many smoothie related incidents can i fit into one plot” and y’know what?? good for me. good for me.

[artaefact]

a letter in roses.

—wordcount: 8k+

—genre: FLUFF, romance, CEO au, valentine’s day au, husband!taehyung

—pairing: kim taehyung x f reader ft. florist!hobi, baker!jimin & ???!jk

—rating: 18+

—warnings: cheesy fluff, taehyung wants the tea, taehyung is kinda a hazard in the kitchen, yeontan being a little rascal, suggestive themes, swearings

—summary: Since it’s the first time celebrating Valentine’s Day with you as his wife, Taehyung goes the extra mile of preparing something special for you. After all, he has managed to run a billion-dollar worth company. So, preparing handmade delicacies should be simple enough, right?

author’s note: this is part of the bangtan pastries collab hosted by @suhdays !! AND ALSO ____ and [Name] are two different ocs so hopefully it’s not confusing !! happy reading everyone 💖

© artaefact 2021. All rights reserved. Copying, reposting, translating, and modifying in any platform or by any means is NOT permitted.

Valentine's Day. The day where people spend time with their loved ones, either going out to celebrate or spending quality time together at home. Just anything to bring a smile to their loved ones' faces.

Taehyung used to question this annual occasion—a lot. What is truly the purpose of this day? Don't you have to make your loved ones happy all the time? What difference does it make to celebrate it on this "special" day and on a typical day? Or, in other words, it was a complete waste of time and energy—is what he used to say.

For many years, Taehyung's only companions on this day are paperwork, meetings, and... more paperwork. So, it's not surprising how disinterested he is at the thought of celebrating Valentine's Day.

But today, he barely can stifle his smile and contain his excitement throughout the morning conference. The minute when the meeting ends, he strides out of the room and heads straight back home.

His employees had stared at him in awe after he announced that everyone can leave work early today. Everyone wonders what has gotten Kim Taehyung so excited on Valentine's Day until they remember that he is, now, officially a husband. Taehyung no longer frequently locks himself in his office until past midnight dealing with documents and phone calls. Not when you're waiting for him at home. Sometimes he'd even cut his work hours short if he deems himself deserving just to see you faster.

Everyone can see how utterly in love the boss is with his wife. Just the mention of your name is enough to grace his usual stern expression with a soft smile.

So, it's not surprising that an annoyed sigh emits from Taehyung's lips when his work phone dings just as he steps out of the elevator on his penthouse floor. Taking out his phone, he reads an urgent message that some part of the meeting's presentation details have not been mentioned to him earlier. For once, Taehyung wishes work can give him a break. Today is supposed to be a special day, after all.

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Taehyung walks into his home. Soft jazzy music plays from the living room, along with the tinge of coffee fragrance wafting in the air, ebbing his growing annoyance away. He takes off his dress shoes before entering even further, knowing full well how his wife would make him clean up if he stains the Persian rug you received as a wedding gift. With a pair of home slippers covering his feet, he emerges from the front hallway to the living room as he shrugs off his navy pinstripe suit jacket and loosens his tie.

Taehyung hears the rapid padding of pawsteps first as a fluffy friend appears out of the kitchen, greeting Taehyung with a woof and an excited wag of his tail, scampering to his owner. Smiling, Taehyung crouches to give Yeontan a backrub as the pomeranian revels at the affection.

After a few moments, he walks to the kitchen—Yeontan still excitedly following—where the smell of coffee grows stronger. He finds you sipping on your morning coffee and scrolling through your tablet—perhaps, reading the latest news—as you sit on the bar table of the kitchen.

Sensing his presence, your head turns to the doorway. “Hey, you're back.”

“Mhmm… Finished my meetings earlier today.” He closes the distance, giving you a kiss on the cheek. “You ate breakfast already?”

You nod. “Have you?” He shakes his head. “You go change, I'll whip up something for you.” You place your tablet down on the counter. “Are toasts and eggs, okay?”

He nods in response.

Standing up from the barstool, you are about to make your way to the counter when your husband stops you. “You haven't given me a kiss ever since I've arrived back home.” He pouts, arms circling your waist to keep you still.

You chuckle at his antics. Cupping his face between your hands, you place a chaste kiss on his lips. “There.”

“More please.” And you comply, placing another, and another…

You move your hands down, placing it on his chest when he releases his hold on your waist, cupping your face, finally giving you a deep kiss. Your heart is on the verge of bursting at the touch of his lips. Granted, you both shared kisses so many times, but each and every single one never fails to spread warmth in your chest. And you love to see his dazed expression or his bright smile afterwards.

After a few moments, you pull away, grinning. “Okay, go change.” Your smile so bright Taehyung just can't get enough as he still clings to you. “I have an appointment today before our dinner date.”

Taehyung raises a brow, now realising that you're dressed up. “Where might you be going?”

You simply poke his nose with a secretive grin. He pouts at your lack of response, watching you move behind the counter. You take out two slices of bread—putting them in the toaster—and eggs from the fridge.

With a soft smile on his face, Taehyung goes to the bedroom and freshens up, quickly changing to his usual home attire. He comes back to the kitchen donning a white shirt and a pair of shorts, finding you already setting up the plate on the counter.

He stops at your side, watching you place the scrambled eggs near the toast. Then the moment you're done, he wraps his arms around your shoulders.

“What's gotten into you today?”

“Can't I shower my wife with love?” He nuzzles his nose to the crook of your neck.

You laugh softly. “Alright, alright. Now, let me just—” You place the plate on the counter, Taehyung still embracing you. “—put this. And… Do you want strawberry juice?”

He nods eagerly. You open the fridge (yes, with Taehyung is still clinging to you) and take out the cut-up frozen strawberries before placing them in the blender and pouring some water.

“Go eat, baby.” You face him after turning the blender on. “I'll be with you in a minute.”

Taehyung gives you a kiss on the cheek then moves to sit on the bar table where you have placed his breakfast. After you place a glass of strawberry juice near him, you sit next to him.

“What are your plans for today?” You ask, resting your chin on one hand.

“Hmm…” He sits straighter, swallowing the food in his mouth. With a teasing smirk, he faces you. “Well, I was planning to spend the whole day with my lovely wife. But unfortunately, I can't do that until our dinner date.”

“Should I cancel my appointments today…?” You actually look worried, and Taehyung blinks.

“No!” He says almost too quickly. “I mean— It's okay, really. We'll have our dinner date. Plus, I have another meeting to attend to soon.”

“Thought you said you were done with work today?”

“Something else came up,” Taehyung sighs in annoyance, remembering the text he received earlier from one of his employees. “I have to make a few calls. But I wouldn't miss our first Valentine dinner date after our marriage.”

You chuckle. “Alright, I should call taxi—”

Taehyung stops you. “Y/N, you know you can use my chauffeur, right?”

“The taxi's fine—” You yelp as Taehyung tugs you close to him, causing you to nearly sliding off from your seat. Placing your hands on your husband's broad shoulders, you steady yourself.

“Love, call my chauffeur, hmm?” His voice turns low, and you fight back a shiver. “I know you're still getting used to this—” He motions towards the whole penthouse. “—but at least, let me make it easier for you today, yeah?”

Inhaling a sharp breath, you nod. “O-Okay.”

A sly grin decorates his pretty lips at your agreement. “Good.” Straightening yourself, you climb down the stool. Taehyung places a chaste kiss on your lips, and you are still in a daze at the sudden change of his demeanour. You walk out of the kitchen and reach the end of the hallway. While putting on your shoes, his face peeking from the living room, and he pipes, “Don't be late for dinner!”

When the front door closes, you place a hand on your chest — on top of your still pounding heart. You let out a breath, and a smile curls up on the corner of your lips.

I swear he's going to be the death of me.

After you leave, Taehyung is left alone to his own devices. He goes to his office space with Yeontan following on his trail. Turning his laptop on, he glares at the screen. Work seems to follow him wherever and whenever despite having worked his ass off. But he’ll ensure that nothing will ruin your date night today.

Taking a deep breath, he turns on his camera, not even bothering to change out of his home attire. Taehyung’s expressions have said it all as one of his company’s branch managers who messaged him fidgets on the screen under his stare.

“What else are we missing?” His voice like the calm before the storm. “I thought the meeting earlier today has been concluded.”

“I forgot that there are some things that…” The manager rambles on, and Taehyung can sense a headache looming.

Taehyung rubs his temple as the manager finishes prattling. Sitting up straighter, he advises, “I’m going to say this only once, you work in this position to oversee the marketing branch of my company. It is your job to ensure that all the little details for today’s meeting have been presented. So, this type of incident will not happen again. Do I make myself clear?”

The manager nods rapidly.

“Good,” Taehyung leans back on his leather chair. “Now, is that all?”

Again, the manager nods.

Finally.

After ending the call and answering a few more emails, Taehyung emerges out of the office room and plops down the couch with Yeontan in his arms. He stretches his neck to the right and left, ear to his shoulder. The pomeranian rests comfortably against his chest until the doorbell rings, surprising the poor dog.

Ah, Taehyung almost forgot. He coos at the stunned dog, a light giggle escaping his lips before putting Yeontan on the dog bed, right beside the living room’s couch. “Stay, I’ll be back.” Then he walks to the door, peeking through the peephole as a grin appears on his face. Opening the door, Jimin and Jungkook pop in with smiles on their faces.

“Hey man, long time no see.” Jimin wraps his arms around Taehyung, patting his back. “How’s it going?”

“It’s rare for you to call us nowadays,” Jungkook comments after giving Tae a hug as well.

“Yeah, I’ve been working my ass off.” Taehyung sighs and locks the door.

“Where’s Y/N?” Jimin emerges out of the hallway, and he crouches as Yeontan approaches him in the living room. “Hey, buddy. Long time no see.”

“What the hell? He’s grown so much, hyung.” Jungkook follows suit, petting the pomeranian and letting out the giggle when Yeontan playfully licks him.

Taehyung clears his throat. “Y/N is out for an appointment, and you guys need to help me.”

“Right,” Jimin stands up, recalling the text Taehyung sent him a few days ago. “So, I think we can finish in around three hours? It’s only six pastries—”

“One hundred forty three,” Taehyung corrects.

Silence.

Jimin blinks rapidly, processing his friend’s words. “Are you insane? We’ll need so much ingredients for that, and I’m guessing not even your gigantic kitchen can store—”

As if on cue, the doorbell rings again.

“Ah, it has arrived,” Taehyung muses, opening the door once more to reveal a delivery man with a cart full of packed grocery ingredients.

“Delivery for Mr Kim.”

“That would be me.” Taehyung signs the tablet before letting the delivery man unload the boxes. After a few minutes, the boxes are stacked near the hallway. Taehyung turns to his friends, “So, should we start?”

“Wait, are you seriously planning on baking a hundred forty three pastries?” Jimin’s expression still shows none other than horror. “That’s impossible.”

“But…”

“Nope,” Jimin shakes his head. “That won’t work. Not even if we have more people to help.” Taehyung’s shoulders noticeably droop. Jimin puts a comforting hand on Taehyung’s shoulder and adds, “Look, we can opt for a lesser number of pastries and arrange them. It’ll look great! Plus, knowing your extra ass, I bet you still have something else planned.”

Pursing his lips, Taehyung mumbles, “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“So, we’re settled,” Jimin lets out a relieved sigh.

There’s a funny look on Jungkook’s face as he watches the whole scene unfold. Taehyung raises a brow at the younger one, who responds with a shake of his head. “I thought you lost your mind, hyung. As someone who runs a billionaire company, I thought the stress is finally getting to you.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes before he realises, “Wait, aren’t you working somewhere else now?”

“Today’s an off day for me,” Jungkook shrugs, walking alongside Taehyung to the kitchen. “So, I figured after knowing Jimin hyung is coming here, I’d tag along.”

“I see.” Taehyung sets the sack of apples on the floor beside the main kitchen counter. Jimin is already rummaging through the kitchen for empty bowls to place the necessary ingredients for the pastries. Meanwhile, Yeontan sniffs the sack of apples curiously, nudging it when the apples tumble down, scattering on the floor.

Putting the bags of cinnamon and sugar on the marble counter, Jungkook mutters, “...And now, I’m already regretting.”

✧༺♡༻∞     ∞༺♡༻✧

You watch the snow-covered trees and sidewalks in a passing blur as Taehyung’s chauffeur drives you to the town’s famous flower shop. After turning to the familiar corner of the street, a few minutes later, you arrive.

Tightening your coat tighter to yourself, you climb out of the car, taking your handbag along with you. As soon as you go through the glass door, the owner greets you. “Y/N! You’re finally here!”

“Hobi!” You greet him in a friendly hug. “How have you been? You look great!”

“I’ve been good!” He motions for you to sit on the chair at the front counter. “Just finished arranging all the bouquets for today, and finally have some peace and quiet until the truck returns, then I have to load the second batch of bouquets.”

“You sure having a busy day.” You sit on the wooden chair. “Is ____ here already?”

He shakes his head, but his eyes are filled with mirth. “She’ll come visit later, she has something to do now. So, let’s start on your thing first.”

“Oh! Did you get it?”

Hoseok nods at your question, moving back behind the cashier counter, and crouches down as he rummages through his things. “Here,” he hands you a miniature of a cherry blossom tree inside a small sealed plastic.

Your eyes light up. “Hobi, it’s perfect!”

He smiles at your reaction. “What are you going to use it for?”

“For this.” You take out an empty snow globe from your bag. “It fits perfectly.”

“Well, you did insist for me to get the right measurements.” He chuckles, watching curiously as you unseal the plastic to take out the cherry blossom tree. “If it wasn’t for my fiancé, I would’ve gotten it wrong. She literally measured it down to precision.”

You laugh, placing the tree on the uncapped snow globe. “That’s what I love about her.”

“Me too,” he giggles before clearing his throat, still smiling. “And what bouquet would you like?”

“It’s for Tae. So...”

“Hmm…” Hoseok purses his lips. “Usually, people would go for roses, tulips, and carnations for Valentine’s Day.”

You ponder for a moment, weighing your options for the perfect bouquet for your husband. “I’ll go with carnations, roses, and baby’s breath.” Hoseok nods, eyes calculating as if picturing the bouquet you’d like.

“Is it okay if I use your counter for a while to assemble this?” You point at the snow globe and miniature on the counter.

“Sure~” Hoseok chirps, striding to the buckets of flowers a few steps away.

Then as if on cue, the front door opens. “I hope I’m not late…” ____ smiles at the sight of you, then her gaze shifts to her fiancé briefly, whose eyes are already on her. “I bring the supplies,” she places a bag of arts and craft supplies you requested in front of you.

“Thank you!” You beam, excitedly giving her a hug before rummaging through the bag. “You really brought everything.”

“No problem.” She ruffles your hair affectionately. “I understand that you had to keep this a secret from Tae for the time being.” Then she turns to Hoseok.

“Hey, baby,” Hoseok grins, opening his arms, his glove-covered hands full of picked flowers. She responds with a smile of her own, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Missed you,” Hoseok mumbles into her hair.

She rolls her eyes, “We just saw each other this morning.”

“Missed you every moment,” Hoseok replies cheekily.

You smile to yourself, hearing their exchange as you work on the snow globe. Taking the glue from the bag, you gingerly apply it to the bottom of the miniature cherry blossom and then stick it to the flat surface of the snow globe. You hold it in that position for a few moments before letting it go to dry.

____ once again stands beside you as Hoseok continues to work on the bouquet. She curiously observes what you’re doing and comments, “Did you come up with this idea?”

You nod. “Yeah, I thought of creating something special for him. After all, it’s our first Valentine’s together as newlyweds.”

Not a minute later, Hoseok already calls for his fiancé from the wrapping table on the other side of the room. “Babe, can you please help me with these?”

____ gives him a glance. “You’re just making excuses to be near me. You usually have everything under control.”

Hoseok wails in vain. “Pleaseee. Usually, I’d have Jungkook helping me. But ever since he’s gotten so busy with his new job, I haven’t been able to find another part-timer. So, I thought you’re helping me today.”

Failing to stifle a smile, ____ mutters a quiet ‘he’s so needy’ and then moves to help whatever Hoseok requires.

You chuckle hearing their banter. Just listening or watching them has always strangely brought warmth inside you. They treat you as their younger sibling, or even their child at times, but you can’t bring yourself to be annoyed at the treatment. Not when you know how they genuinely care about you.

Despite not tying the knot yet, they are the ones who made you believe that soulmates (or at least something really close to it) exist. And you hoped it’ll be the same for you and Taehyung.

Taehyung prides himself in many things—running his billion-dollar worth corporation, doing art, and gaming. He’d like to say that there are still many hidden capabilities that he has yet to discover. However, in the recent light of events, he is close to admitting that talent in the kitchen is a definite no.

“No! What are you doing?!” Jungkook gapes at the smashed apple in Taehyung’s hold, its juices dripping down onto the counter. “You’re making a mess, hyung! And you aren’t supposed to cut like that! Are you trying to commit a murder?”

“I thought this is how you cut it open...” The man in question mumbles, staring glumly at his work.

“No,” Jungkook groans. “You do it like this.” He slices the apple in half easily.

Right. Another aspect that Taehyung seems to lack is the ability to follow or listen to instructions. His primary instinct is either to go with the flow or dive right into whatever he’s facing. Hence, it’s still a work-in-progress since following others is just not his forte—

—except you. Your lilting accent whenever you speak, or even subtle actions, Taehyung follows you easily. One of your little habits—taking deep breaths whenever your emotions are getting the best of you—Taehyung has picked up that so effortlessly.

Like how currently, he’s taking a deep breath to not let his rising frustration get the best of him.

“Like this?” Taehyung attempts the way Jungkook cuts the apple—cutting it in half, aligning with the stem and core, then trying to slice it thinly.

Jungkook nods, observing Taehyung. Jimin, on the other hand, stifles his laughter as he assembles the apple slices on the pastry sheets. The blatant impatience in Jungkook’s face grows more and more apparent at Taehyung’s skill—or, rather lack thereof—in dealing with a knife. “Okay, I think it’s better if I do the rest of it,” Jungkook takes the cutting board, and the apples left. “You can help Jimin hyung do the pastries—shit!”

One of the apple pieces—a chunk, to be precise—rolls off the plate and falls onto the ground. Jungkook’s eyes widen in horror as a fluff of black and brown fur zooms past his legs and picks up the fallen apple as quick as lightning.

“Yeontan, no!”

So, while Yeontan munches happily on his newly-attained snack and a string of curses escapes Jungkook’s lips, Taehyung snatches the cutting board back. He resumes slicing the apples slowly. He’s a man with determination, after all. He’d like to be the reason his wife’s eyes light up with glee as she tastes the apple roses pastries he put his heart into.

Jungkook fusses in the background, “Can dogs eat apples?”

Jimin, now, can barely contain his laughter at the unfurling of the whole scene. “Well… I think so.”

“You think so?” Jungkook groans, quickly fetching his phone from the living room. He furiously types on his phone and googles: can dogs eat apples. “I will not be responsible if Yeontan falls ill and— Oh, thank goodness.” He lets out a relieved sigh. “It makes healthy snacks for them instead.”

“Yeah, it does,” Taehyung replies nonchalantly. “I usually let him have a piece or two without the seeds.”

Jungkook grumbles. “Why didn’t you answer me in the first place then? I panicked—”

“Cuz it’s fun to watch your reaction,” Taehyung and Jimin said in unison.

“And it serves you right...” Taehyung adds, mumbling.

“Screw you guys. I’m not helping with this anymore.” Jungkook crosses his arms, pouting.

“This is for my wife, you know,” Taehyung reminds him, “And remember how my wife is close to Hoseok’s fiance—”

Jungkook picks up the knife in record time.

✧༺♡༻∞     ∞༺♡༻✧

You stare at the finished snow globe in satisfaction, capping back the glycerin and distilled water bottle tightly. Then after you’re confident that everything’s all settled and cleaned up, you tilt the globe a few times to make sure the content is all set and doesn’t spill.

The cherry blossom tree stands tall as tiny leaf-like cutouts of pastel pink cascade through the liquid in slow motion, like real falling cherry blossoms.

“Wow, it’s so pretty,” ____ comments after she helped Hoseok with the bouquet.

You grin at her compliment before placing the snow globe in an empty black gift box. “I hope Tae will love this.”

“He sure will,” ____ muses, watching you tie the gift box. “You know he’ll love anything you give him. And—”

“Babe, can you help me get some ribbons?” Hoseok asks from the wrapping table across the room.

“Sure,” ____ chuckles, grabbing a basket of colourful ribbons under the counter and handing it to Hoseok.

“Can you help me tape around the edges?” Hoseok lifts the bouquet of flowers, gaze pointing at the bulk of stems. ____ complies, following his instructions before wrapping it with cotton paper.

You stand up from your seat and move closer to the couple. At the sight of the assembled flowers, you gape, “Now, that’s pretty.”

“I’m glad you like it,” He chuckles, tying the wrapped bouquet with a ribbon. “And we’re done!” He hands you the bouquet.

Taking a closer look at the vibrant hues of red, pink, and white, you stare in awe. “I love it!”

After bidding Hoseok and ____ goodbye, you step out of the shop with the bouquet and gift box in hand. Taehyung’s chauffeur opens the door to the car, and you climb in quickly to avoid the cold weather.

“Where would you like to go, Mrs. Kim?” The chauffeur asks as he drives.

“The bakery please. It’s a few blocks away from here.”

You hum to yourself a soft, happy tune. Just imagining how your husband would react has your heart fluttering and giddy. Wondering what he’s up to, you take out your phone from your coat and press on his number.

The familiar ring buzzes a few times until he answers. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey,” you smile. “What are you up to?”

“Hmm? Uh, nothing?” He answers, then you hear the sound of clanking and familiar whispers in the background.

“Tae… What are you doing?”

He hums. “Well, I thought I should clean up the penthouse before our dinner tonight.”

“Oh,” you giggle. “Did you really call Jimin and Jungkook to help clean up our place?”

Taehyung mutters a curse under his breath. “W-Well, they are willing to help. So, why not?”

“Usually, you’d call the usual cleaning services. Plus, isn’t Jimin’s bakery busy today?”

“Unfortunately, not this time, sweetheart. I’ve prepared some things tonight and I don’t want people nosing around.” Taehyung explains. “And Jimin says his girlfriend got it under control.”

You let out an amused chuckle. “Alright then.” Glancing out the car window, the pastel pink store is nearing. “I need to go now. See you tonight, baby.”

“See you soon, my love.”

The smile never leaves Taehyung’s face as he puts his phone back into his pocket and walks back to the kitchen. Jungkook is still cutting apples while Jimin cracks some eggs into a bowl.

“Was that Y/N?” Jimin spares a brief glance as he whisks the eggs.

Taehyung nods. “She asked what I was doing.”

“Nothing at all…” Jungkook mutters under his breath, arranging the sliced apples on a plate and putting them in the microwave.

“I heard that,” Taehyung narrows his stare at the younger one. “So… How are things between you and her, Kookie?”

Jungkook falters. “Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ah, yes, do you know I just met her in my meeting a few days ago?” A teasing smirk curls up on Taehyung’s lips as Jungkook pouts, still arranging the second batch of apples.

“Don’t fight you guys.” Jimin groans. “We’re not even halfway done with this!”

Taehyung opens his mouth to complain, and Jimin cuts him off. “So, you’re going to prepare the muffin tray—” Jimin instructs Taehyung. “Then Jungkook is going to help me with the pastries.”

“Can I help with the pastries instead?” Taehyung watches Jimin pouring cinnamon and sugar into another bowl. “Jungkook can prep the muffin trays.”

“Are you up for it?” Jimin raises a brow. Taehyung nods enthusiastically.

“Alright. But make sure to follow how I do it.”

Taehyung smiles giddily and stands beside his friend. He follows every action Jimin does: brushing egg wash on the pastry, sprinkling cinnamon and sugar on the dough, arranging the apples, and rolling it into a tart.

“So, how’s things so far with Goldilocks?” Taehyung questions once he gets the hang of arranging the pastries.

Jimin lets out a sheepish chuckle. “That’s her pet goldfish’s name, you know.”

Jungkook places the muffin tray after he preps it. “And she made me carry the whole tank back home…” Jungkook grumbles, recalling the past event.

Taehyung shrugs. “Then Ms. Shooting Star.”

Jimin fights back a blush on his cheeks at the mention of that. “I’m beginning to regret telling you all that.”

Taehyung wiggles his eyebrows with a teasing smirk.

“We’re both really busy these days, and we said to take things slow since her parents are a bit complicated, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Jungkook chuckles, “Says the one who had a mental breakdown right before Christmas dinner.

Jimin glares at the younger one. “Look who’s talking. I wonder if you’d ever grow the balls to admit your feelings for She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.”

“I don’t have feelings for her.” Jungkook mutters, looking away.

Taehyung nods. “Well, then. That’s good to know. One of my business partners was asking about her the other day. I thought I’d introduce them. “

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “Great, now you’re playing cupid?”

“Not yet. But I got one in mind who’s very interested in her…”

“Please, don’t.” Jungkook whispers, gritting his teeth.

“What was that?” Taehyung asks with an open hand behind his ear.

“Don’t…”

“What?”

“Please, for fuck’s sake. Don’t introduce any of your friends to her beyond business interest.”

Silence.

Jungkook blinks before he rambles, “I mean it’s going to be creepy if someone that’s fifty years older hits on her—”

“Oh, no. I can guarantee he’s not that old. In fact, he’s still a bachelor. Maybe a few years older than us. And—” Taehyung recalls, rolling the last apple rose pastry and placing it on the muffin tray. “—come to think of it, she did ask me about him once...” Taehyung trails, noticing Jungkook’s blank expression at the information. “Oops, I think I wasn’t supposed to say that.”

✧༺♡༻∞ ∞༺♡༻✧

“They all look so good,” you mutter, scouring through the vast chocolate choices under the display glass.

[Name] shoots you a smile. “Take all the time you need. The cafe isn’t open today, so it’s not that busy here.”

You glance around the bakery briefly. “I can tell… No wonder Jimin is with Taehyung right now.”

“Mhmm…” [Name] nods; she leans forward on the glass display, chin resting against one palm.

“Are you okay spending time here alone…?”

She shrugs. “I was promised a date in the winter market tonight. So, I don’t mind—” The sudden ringtone of her phone cuts her off. “Wait, gimme a sec—” You nod as she picks up her phone. “Mochi?”

A chuckle escapes your lips at the cute nickname.

“No, I can’t go there right now. It’s still too early to close up.” She glances at the wall clock. “Huh? What do you mean Jungkook left?” Your gaze shifts up from the sweet displays to her worried expression. “Oh, okay.” She drums her fingers on the counter. “I’ll talk to him if he goes here. Bye— yes, love you too.” She presses the disconnect button.

“Is everything okay?” You ask curiously.

She responds with a nod. “You know the usual, Taehyung and Jimin teases Jungkook too much and now, he’s gone off to blow some steam.”

“To where—” The door to the bakery slams open, and there a huffy Jungkook appears.

“That was fast,” [Name] sniggers at her best friend.

“Not in the mood,” Jungkook pouts, sitting on the closest table to the cashier counter.

“They giving you a hard time?” [Name] places a steaming mug of hot chocolate on his table and tilts her head slightly.

Jungkook huffs once more, sipping the drink carefully. Honestly, he doesn’t even know what got him so worked up. He’s used to all his hyungs’ teasing, but...

“Tell me about it,” [Name] places a steaming mug of hot chocolate on his table. “After I helped Y/N with her chocolate.”

Jungkook blinks, now realising that you’re standing awkwardly in front of the glass displays. “Hey, Y/N.”

“Hi, Jungkook,” you greet him back and turn to look at the desserts again. “And uh, I’ll take this and this…” You point out all the chocolate you’d like, earning a nod from [Name].

As soon as she’s done packing the chocolate box, you bid them farewell and exit the bakery with your heart fluttering in anticipation and excitement.

The peaceful atmosphere in the kitchen ceases the moment Taehyung’s phone dings when a text notification appears. Taehyung—who was busy admiring his final work on the muffin tray—takes a glimpse of his phone’s screen on the counter. “Oh no.”

Jimin takes the muffin tray off the counter and sets it in the oven. “What?”

“Jungkook just texted me that Y/N is coming back now.”

“Huh?” Jimin’s eyes widen. “But the pastries aren’t done yet!”

Another ding resounds through Taehyung’s phone.

Jungkook: Good luck tryna hide the pastries :P

“He can be annoying if he wants to...” Taehyung mutters under this breath at Jungkook’s retaliation.

“Well, we did hit a nerve by talking about her...” Jimin sighs, crossing his arms.

Taehyung snorts. “The kid needs to get it sorted out as quickly as possible. He sometimes just needs a push.”

“He still needs time,” Jimin counters, shaking his head. “Not all people have it easy in admitting their feelings.”

Taehyung mulls for a minute and nods in understanding. “I guess I shouldn’t push him too hard. But for now, I should find a way to distract Y/N,” Taehyung searches for your contact. “How long do you think we need?”

Jimin mentally calculates the time. “Like forty minutes to an hour?”

“Okay,” Taehyung clicks on your number. He clears his throat once you pick up the phone, “Y/N? Hey, baby, I might need help picking up something...”

“Oh, sure. What is it?”

“I need your help to pick up a cooking book I’ve been searching for…”

“...Cooking? Since when you’re interested in—”

“Look, I’ve been trying to find a new hobby and I thought why not cooking? Jimin recommended me to try it.” Taehyung blabbers, his heart beating fast. “And it’ll be fun if we do it together, right?”

“Okay.” The amusement in your tone lights up his face into a shy smile. “Send me which book you’re looking for and I’ll check with ____ if she has it. Just hope she and Hobi haven’t gone out for their date yet.”

“Thanks, love. I owe you one.”

He can hear the smile on your voice as you respond, “I only accept payment in kisses and cuddles.”

Taehyung chuckles fondly. “Consider it done.” Once you end the call, Taehyung checks the pastries in the oven, mumbling, “I hope that would keep her busy for a while.”

Jimin nods. “The first batch is almost done. But the second one—an hour should be enough...” He trails, voice filled with uncertainty.

“It has to be enough.” Taehyung picks up the dirty bowls and dumps it in the kitchen sink. “It should be...”

Jimin helps clean up the counter, even ensuring that there isn’t a trace of flour on the floor before he checks his phone briefly and pockets it back in his jeans. He moves near the oven—hands covered by the oven mitts—and tentatively takes out the first batch of apple roses pastries from the top rack and puts it on the counter.

“Let it cool off for a while and then you can hide it in the fridge or a container. Oh, and how will you plan to arrange the—”

Taehyung rinses off the remaining utensils—taking his washing gloves off—and rummages through the cabinets, taking out a heart-shaped platter.

With an unamused expression, Jimin blinks a few times. “You just have all kinds of things in your kitchen, do you?”

Taehyung shrugs. “Y/N came across it the other day and thought it was pretty. She didn’t buy it, so I bought it instead.”

A flabbergasted laugh escapes Jimin’s lips as he shakes his head. “Well, I better get going now. I don’t want to be late for my date tonight.”

“Thanks for your help, man. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“That’s what friends are for, yeah?” Jimin walks out to the front door and wears his coat before giving Taehyung a farewell hug. “And you should apologise to Jungkook too. He’s probably still having his pity-party in my bakery.”

Taehyung nods, opening the door. “I will.”

After Jimin left, Taehyung goes back to the kitchen. He puts one leg and the other over the pet barrier he set to prevent Yeontan from stealing any more fallen ingredients. Said dog is whimpering in front of the kitchen doorway until the front door clicks. Then he hears the familiar footsteps of his wife.

So, of course, things aren’t going according to Taehyung’s plan today.

✧༺♡༻∞     ∞༺♡༻✧

After retrieving Taehyung’s desired cookbook, you arrive in the lobby. You stop by the receptionist desk to hide the gifts and tell them to bring it up to the penthouse at your call around seven in the evening.

The moment you step through the door, the sweet smell of cinnamon fills the air. Taking off your boots and coat, you call out for your husband. “Tae? You in here?” You head towards the kitchen to find it barricaded by Yeontan’s fence barrier. “What the—” You lift one leg over the barricade, and your other leg follows. You stride to the refrigerator to get a drink, only to find it blocked.

When you glance down, there your husband lays—his long legs blocking the fridge—with a strained smile on his face, looking absolutely winded. “You’re back.”

“My goodness, what happened here?” You crouch, helping him sit up. “Did the cleaning go wrong?”

Taehyung shakes his head, leaning against the refrigerator. “Everything’s well. Just… Resting… For a while.”

“Are you okay?” You tilt your head. “I’m gonna get you some water—”

Your husband stops you, leaning in to give you a peck on the lips. “Hi.”

An involuntary shy smile appears on your face. “Hi there, do you mind scooting? I want to get a drink.”

He shakes his head again, winding his arms around you. “It’s okay... I’m— I’ll take it for you.”

“Hmm? But you can barely even move, Tae…” You reach out, moving a stray hair from his handsome face.

“I can…” he pouts, grasping your hand on his hair to kiss your palm. “Just give me a minute.”

With a teasing smile on your face, you reach for the refrigerator handle again and attempt to open it when your husband stands up.

He’s definitely hiding something, but luckily he’s cute. “Alright…” You muse, watching his attempt to keep you from opening the fridge. But you suppose you’ll comply with his conspicuous actions. “I’ll wait in the living room.”

After you head out of the kitchen, Taehyung opens the fridge—releases a breath as he takes out a water bottle—and closes it again. He goes out to the living room, finding you giggling as Yeontan playfully licks your face on the couch. The sight brings warmth inside Taehyung’s heart as he strides closer and sits beside you, handing you your water.

“Thanks.” You let Yeontan down from the couch before taking the water bottle. While you drink your fill, Taehyung lays his head on your lap, letting out a contented sigh as you weave your fingers through his dark locks. “What time is dinner again?”

“Seven.”

Capping the water bottle, you glance at the wall clock in front of you. “So… Two more hours. I gotta get ready.”

“Hmm…?” Taehyung opens his eyes. “But we’re celebrating here...”

You let out a quiet laugh. “You said you want to reenact our first date.”

Your husband blinks once, then realisation falls upon him as he groans in embarrassment, sitting up. “You’re actually considering it?”

“Why not? It’s a cute idea,” you giggle. “It’s only between us both.”

Facing you, he questions, “It’s not too cheesy or anything?” Uncertainty is evident in his gaze.

“Of course not.” You grin, encircling your arms around him. “I love that idea actually.”

He lets out a sheepish chuckle. “Then I’ll see you in two hours?” Taehyung bites his bottom lip—a habit when he’s nervous—but he still holds your stare. “I’ll use the guest bathroom to freshen up. So, you get the bathroom all to yourself.”

“Oh? We can share as usual—”

“But that won’t fully reenact our first date, you know, before we’re living together—” He rambles, eyes darting everywhere, but you. You, on the other hand, fail to stifle a smile at his flustered state. Nodding in understanding, you stand up. Taehyung grasps your wrist, causing you to turn to him. “No kisses for me?”

You lean down, levelling your face with his, with a teasing smirk. “I don’t kiss on the first date, handsome.”

“You know what, on second thought—”

“See you later, baby.” Escaping his clutches, you go straight to your bedroom for your “first” date with your husband.

Taehyung has never been this nervous before, well, ever since your wedding day—the moment you walked down the aisle with a beautiful smile on your face that he needed to pull himself together before he turns into a sobbing mess and—

Okay, the point is, Taehyung has presented business plans, his company’s valuation, and other significant matters in front of hundreds or even thousands of people. He managed to stay calm and collected in every presentation—full of confidence as he moved across the stage with ease.

But when it comes to you? He wonders where did all that confidence go. And you’re just one person. The one person who he had promised to cherish and love, and—

He lets out a deep breath, staring at himself in the guest bathroom mirror. In a deep burgundy suit, he does a once-over at his appearance before the sound of the doorbell rings. He rushes out and ushers the staff, who brings a decorated table in along with the surprises he prepared.

A few minutes later, when all is set, he knocks on your bedroom door, straightening his suit jacket in nervousness.

The moment the door swings open, Taehyung’s throat goes dry as he gapes at you, adorning the same black dress you wore on your first date. Your eyes momentarily grow wide as well at his choice of outfit—the same one he used on the first date—before bursting into a giggle. “Wow, we do think alike…”

Snapping out of his trance, he nods. “And you still look breathtaking as ever.”

“Stop stroking my ego.” You move closer to him, looping your arm through his as he leads you to the living room.

“You know I can’t help myself,” Taehyung chuckles.

A gasp escapes your lips as soon as you see what has been prepared. The whole room is lit up by candles—some real, some fake—yet, there are no other words than to describe it as beautiful. The couch and coffee table has been set aside, and in the middle of the living room, a candlelit table stands with meals for two prepared on it. Your gaze falls on the bouquet of roses Taehyung has in hand.

“It’s beautiful,” you mutter in awe.

Taehyung grins. “A hundred and forty-three roses for the love of my life.”

You gape, taking the bouquet into your arms. “A hundred forty-three?”

“It means ‘I love you’.” His gaze is full of emotions. “I don’t know if I’ll ever live up to be the man of your dreams. But I can continue—” He takes your hand in his. “—to love you even more as we spend our lives together.”

Silence.

Your gaze is glassy and unreadable. Then you blink your eyes rapidly, looking up at the ceiling. “Damn it, Tae. I’m using makeup.”

“Huh?”

Placing down the bouquet on the coffee table, you reach out for the tissue, dabbing your eyes carefully before fanning your hands.

“Oh no, don’t cry—”

“It’s your fault for making such a speech. You know how emotional I get when you do that.” You dab your eyes more as Taehyung wraps his arms around your waist from behind.

“Oh sweetheart,” Taehyung coos as you face him. You stare into his loving gaze for a few moments before you clear your throat. However, as if on cue, the doorbell rings. Taehyung furrowed his brows. “Expecting someone?”

“Wait here.” Pulling away from his hold, you rush to the door. The moment you return to the living room with presents in hand, Taehyung gapes as you hand him the bouquet and gift box.

“What is this?” He observes the gift box curiously, then admires the flowers. “It’s beautiful.”

You sit on the couch, patting the space beside you. Taehyung follows suit, placing the bouquet on the coffee table before untying the gift box’s black ribbon before his breath hitches in his throat.

With trembling hands, he lifts up the snow globe carefully. “It’s… Isn’t this where we met?”

You nod. “Just so you know, I couldn’t wish for a better person to be with,” you start. “I think some part of me has always known that you’d be the man of my dreams. Ever since you spilled strawberry juice on my shirt.”

It takes him a few moments to process your words as his eyes shift from the snow globe to you; a chuckle passes his lips. “First, that was an accident. And do you… really mean that?”

Taking his free hand on yours, you lace your fingers together. “I married you, didn’t I?” Your wedding rings gleam softly, reflecting the light of the burning candles in the room.

“Made me the happiest man alive.” He recalls the memories of falling cherry blossoms, spilled strawberry juice and frantic apologies-turned-laughter. A soft smile appears on your face after putting the snow globe back on its box. He turns to you. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

You raise a brow at him. “What’s stopping you?”

“You don’t kiss on first dates.”

“Well…” You lean closer to him. “I think I can make an exception for the man of my dreams.”

Taehyung exhales, “Thank heavens.” He cups your face gently, clearing the remaining distance between the both of you. No matter how many times you kiss, it never fails to send his heart beating a tad faster or put a smile on his face. In other words, Taehyung is head over heels in love with you.

After a few moments, you pull away, and he chases after you, but you place a pointer finger on his lips. “Dinner first,” you remind him.

He sighs in defeat, lips turning into a pout and nodded. Once you both finish dinner, you lean back on your chair, patting your stomach. “That was a nice meal.”

“I have one more surprise for you.”

Your eyes widen in surprise, “What is it?” With a secretive grin, Taehyung stands from his seat and makes a beeline to the kitchen. You can hear the fridge opening and closing before your husband walks out of the kitchen with a—

“Isn’t that the platter I saw a few days ago?”

Excitement is written on his face at your realisation, placing the platter in front of you. You let out a gasp at the sight of the neatly-arranged apple rose pastries.

“I made it myself,” Taehyung beams. “Jimin and Jungkook came to help a bit.”

“A bit?” You tease, shooting him a glance before setting your gaze back on the pastries. “These look almost too pretty to eat.”

Taehyung drags his seat to your side and plops down. Anticipation is apparent in his eyes as he watches you pick up a pastry and bites into it. Another gasp escapes your throat at the burst of sweetness spreading across your tastebuds. You stare at him in shock as you chew.

“So?” He waits for your response. “How does it taste?”

“It’s...” You swallow the remaining pastry in your mouth down. “Really good.” Taehyung’s eyes twinkle at your compliment. “I’m… Wow,” you breathe out, utterly speechless. “So, this is why you wanted to start cooking?”

He blinks, with realisation dawning upon him, then he scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Actually… That was to keep you distracted for a while. I wasn’t done baking the pastries yet.”

Snorting, you lift another pastry in front of your husband’s mouth; he bites and chews for a few seconds. And stops.

You furrow your brows at his odd reaction. “What’s wrong?”

“Shit—” Taehyung rushes to the guest bathroom without another word. Placing the half-bitten pastry on the empty plate, you follow suit and find your husband retching on the toilet bowl. Once he’s done, he reaches for a mouthwash. “I think—” He gargles the mouthwash then spit into the sink. “—that one is still undercooked.”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry. I didn’t know—” you ramble, watching Taehyung wipe his mouth with a paper towel, then washes his hands.

He cradles your face with his dried hands. “It’s my fault. I didn’t check if all the pastries are fully baked. I’m sorry.”

“You okay, now?” Your voice sounds uncertain, hands covering his bigger ones.

He nods reassuringly. “It’s not that bad. Maybe I was over-exaggerating— oof.” You poke his stomach in retaliation as he giggles.

“You had me worried.”

“And you’re still a worrywart.” He rubs his nose on yours affectionately. “My adorable worrywart.”

Your gaze falls on his drenched shirt (and luckily, he already discarded his burgundy suit). “Your shirt is ruined now.”

“Hmm...? Oh, dear,” he feigns worry, leaning on the marble sink—his palms on your hips. “Now, what do we do? Do you wanna—” You roll your eyes at the teasing glint in his eyes. Knowing what he’s up to, your fingers unbutton his shirt, leaving him flustered at your sudden movement. “W-Wait—!”

You pull the collar of his half-unbuttoned shirt, leaning forward to have his face so close to yours. Both your lips just millimetres away from each other. Voice dropping into a lilting whisper, you purr, “Let me make it easier for you today, yeah?”

Shivers run down Taehyung’s spine at your familiar words. “Is this payback because of this morning?” You shrug and finish unbuttoning his shirt. His lean chest on display to your eyes now. “Or is this just an excuse to get me naked?”

A teasing smirk curls up on your lips. “A bit of both.” Then you wrap your arms around his neck, closing the distance between you—lips claiming his own.

Humming in approval, Taehyung winds his arms around your waist. Fire ignites inside you as you pull away briefly. Your husband turns you around, settling you on the marble counter of the sink while he stands between your legs.

Your dress hikes up to your thighs, but you can’t bring yourself to care. Not when the man of your dreams drags his luscious lips across your jaw and trails down your neck. Your breath hitches when he kisses your sweet spot; fisting his opened shirt by the shoulder as he rains kisses on your collar bones, nipping on it.

“Tae—” You breathe out as he hums in response, tugging the zipper on the back of your dress down. “—kiss me, please.”

And he complies, claiming your lips.

Tangling your fingers through his hair, you let out a sigh as he trails downward once more, scraping the skin of your throat with his teeth. Tugging the straps of your dress off your shoulders and letting them pool on your waist, he lets out, “You’re gorgeous.” He places a kiss on the juncture between your neck and shoulder. A soft whimper emits from your throat. “So damn gorgeous. And all mine.”

Tracing his jaw—half-lidded gaze staring at him—you whisper, “Why don’t we take this somewhere else more comfortable?”

Almost instantly, he lifts you up in his arms—your legs winding around his waist, arms around his neck—heads out of the bathroom and lays you gently on the bed. You discard your dress as it falls in a heap of silk on the rug. Then you tug off Taehyung’s shirt as he climbs on top of you.

“You’re spoiling me so much today. Thank you,” You mutter, holding your husband’s face in your hands.

“Thank you, my love. What I did today, it’s the least I can do,” He stares back at you with so much love, leaning down to kiss you softly. “After all, I’d do anything to make you smile.”

You chuckle at that, poking his nose. “I love you.”

He holds one hand of yours and kisses your palm. “And I love you.”

The remaining articles of clothing find themselves in a heap on the floor as your husband reminds you of your wedding night—making love to you into the late hours of the night.

EPILOGUE

“Don’t go…” he mumbles sleepily, keeping his arms around your naked waist.

“Tae, let me go, I just need a drink—” you wriggle in his hold to break free. “—my throat is really dry—” And your husband has the nerve to chuckle at your words. He lets out a pained groan as you poke his stomach (maybe a bit too hard), and finally, he lets you loose.

Climbing off the bed, you pick up his shirt and don it quickly. However, the moment you step out of the bedroom, an unpleasant smell wafts through your nostrils, and when you reach the living room, you gape in horror.

“Yeontan!” You shriek at the sight as the said perpetrator waddles towards you with his round innocent eyes.

Your husband emerges—bare-chested and in his boxers—out of the bedroom at your alarming shriek. Once he sees the scattered dog waste across the marble floor, he mutters, “I think we ignored him for too long.”

author’s note: i’ve decided to add another character (YAYYY CEO!taehyung) in the same universe as baker!jimin, florist!hobi and ???!jungkook (feel free to guess what he’d be 😙)!! thank you for reading and as always feedbacks are appreciated !!

[hyunjilicious]

what is and what should never be [bucky barnes]

A/n: ok, so. Im really fucking insecure about this. I literally poured my heart into this fic. I'm genuinely unhappy with the beginning, but I promise you, it gets better!! I don't have it in me to rewrite it for the 4th time. I really hope you'll still like it though. If you ask me, this is the best fic idea I even had. Please, please, if you enjoyed it, let me know!!!

Summary: It was you and Bucky. An unlikely couple that shared equally disturbed pasts. When you get a day off, your paradise turns into hell as Bucky's nightmares return, leaving you alone to deal with The Winter Soldier. (FLUFF, SMUT, ANGST) 12k

Warnings: 2 smut scenes - they're graphic but not extreme, fluff, angst, violence, mentions of death and suicide, blood, a fight scene - also quite graphic but it was written to serve the angst. I don't want to spoil the ending, but if you really connect with the characters, you will not hate me!!

This day had been long awaited. After months of back to back missions and endless efforts to climb up the greasy pole of US social standards, words failed to describe how ecstatic you were to know, that for the next 24 hours, your whole schedule would fully be in your hands.

You had the freedom to do just about anything you wanted, and the simple fact that the rest of the avengers left to deal with some paperwork excited you to no end. You woke up when it was time for them to take off, and made a snarky remark about heading to the gym - something along the lines of having a productive day centered on self development.

Just about 20 minutes later, you and Bucky, now also alone in the Stark Tower, decided to start off your day on the right foot. He offered to make protein smoothies as you changed into something comfortable and fitting for a workout, but neither of you got their job done.

You had no idea how that happened, but before you knew it you were wearing your sports bra and still had your pajama pants on, moaning on the counter of Tony's kitchen as Bucky had lodged himself between your legs, hungrily exploring the heated skin of your neck, peppering you with bruise marks that represented his adoration for you. "You heal fast anyway" he shrugged, pulling you closer and digging his teeth into your flesh, sucking profusely and eliciting an erotic moan from your lips. 

With every new hickey he left, another one would disappear, which in turn would make him even more frustrated, “The hell should I do? Tattoo hickeys on you!?” he groaned, moving up your neck. You caught his cheeks into your palms and kissed him back, smiling as he kept getting more and more aggravated. 

It didn't come as a surprise when the blender went berserk, splattering fruit pulp, almond milk and protein powder all over the pristine walls of the room - both of you have long forgotten about it. 

The way Bucky cleaned the mess was the epitome of not giving a shit, and you couldn't find it more endearing. He bitched and whined his way through the whole process, and tears formed at the corners of your eyes at the ridiculousness of the half assed job he just did. 

You eventually reached the gym - of course, against all your pouting and begging to put off this session. "Doll, you're the only avenger who can't fight. A punk on the street could snap your purse and there would be nothing you can do"

Wrong, he was not. You couldn't fight - but at the same time that didn't mean you were defenceless. It was your immense power that for months on end made your teammates consider you a liability. The energy that surged through your veins had been too great for you to handle, and in fact, it still was, but now, thanks to the joined efforts of Tony and Bruce, there was a way for that power to be contained. Their solution came in the form of two massive shackles wrapped around the length of your forearms. They were made of dimeritium and kept all kinds of energy from leaving your body. But, even so, that energy was in full form, buzzing inside every fiber of your being. And so, while wearing them you couldn't attack anyone, but there wasn't a way for them to harm you either. That field of energy protected you from every kind of damage and wounds you had ever encountered, ranging from fist fights to automatic rifles to guided grenades.

"I'm the only one that doesn't need to know" you huffed and puffed, annoyed but still determined to get this first training session done with.

But that never happened. Halfway through your warm up rounds, your teasing side awoke and it took you about ten minutes to go from batting your eyelashes and flaunting your ass, to nonchalantly cupping his cock into your hand.

No one could blame Bucky for not even trying to stop you. Bless him, he did everything he could, but he was never able to resist you. And probably never will be.

By the time you were done at the gym, both your bodies were coated in lecherous layers of sweat, no of them being from actually working out. It was only a matter of time until you managed to break his self control and he had you sprawled on all fours in the middle of the boxing ring, moaning your soul out as he pounded your pussy. 

The momentum made your whole frame rock back and forth, your hair falling around your face, "Holy fuck-" 

The room vibrated with the vulgar slaps he afflicted on your bare ass. You arched your back and cried his name out loud, "Come on, Bucky- I- harder please-"

"How are you already so needy?" he chuckled, caging your waist between his strong arms and pulling you up until your back reached his chest. "I ate this pussy this morning before we got out of bed"

"You know I love your tongue-" you giggled out of breath as you tried to look at him over your shoulder. "But it doesn't compare to your cock"

"What does?" Bucky rhetorically questioned before picking up his pace. He kept slamming his hips into yours, fucking you at full force as with each thrust, his cock rammed against your walls hard enough to make you see stars.

"I'm really fucking close, Buck" you whined, feeling your knees start to refuse to maintain your weight any longer. 

"Don't cum yet" he panted, "Wait for me"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck-" you cried out loud, liquid pleasure seeping out of you in the form of fresh tears streaming down your cheeks. "Please-" you whined, "I can't hold it anymore, I'm-"

"Not yet, baby" Bucky groaned, easily stopping you from wiggling around in his hold. His thrusts became sloppy and the orgasm got the best of him. He buried his face deep in your shoulder as his high forced guttural moans to rip from his throat. 

As he filled you up with his cum, as much as you wanted to comment about him making you wait and then not even bothering to tell you you could cum, you couldn't. Your eyes rolled back in pleasure and your chest heaved as the spiral of bliss seemed to go on and on, tons of ecstasy propagating in long painful waves across your body.

"Fuck-" Bucky panted as helped you up, "I could get used to days like this. We should retire"

"I'm not retiring-" you teasingly shook your head, "not until you find a way to give me a baby"

"I'd give you all the babies" he retorted, tugging your hand.

It caused you to lose your balance and stumble into his chest, "I love you"

"Love you" Bucky kissed the top of your head and spun you around. With his palms on your hips, he started guiding you towards the door, "Let's get you cleaned up"

And then, another wave of unproductivity followed. You showered, ordered pizza, whined about how there was still some smoothie left on the floor, and after you warned him about it, your face fell as Bucky stepped directly in the middle of the puddle of almond milk. He was fuming, the incident wiped any traces of happiness off his face. He mumbled something about that being the last pair of comfy socks he had left and something about Tony's devices being a constant pain in the ass. 

He went on and on until you ambushed him with kisses up his neck and shoved your hands under his shirt. In an instant his bickering turned into soft giggles as he innocently relaxed under your touch. You eventually cleaned up the mess and tried to make yourself busy. Nothing worked, you weren't in the mood for anything and at the same time, even though you did absolutely nothing all day, you felt a wave of tiredness envelop you.

At about 4pm, and you Bucky had already been lazily laying in bed, a mess of tangled limbs under the fluffy duvet. Your conversation started from the tactical gear he swore would look better on you than on him and then wondered how you didn't know how to sow.

"I'll hit you" you threatened.

"I'm sorry" he laughed, holding onto your forearm as it was resting on his chest, "But you know how much I love it when you get angry at my misogynistic jokes"

"It's rude" you scoffed - you didn't mean his jokes, but the fact that when he grew up, women were not anywhere near where they are today. 

"You know I don't mean it"

"I know you don't" you laughed, "Otherwise I'd have actually hit you"

"Don’t worry" Bucky said, "I'd hit myself if I was that stupid"

"Cute" you smiled, kissing his shoulder. Looking up at him, you promoted your chin against his chest, "Do you miss it? The 40s i mean"

He thought about it for a second. "Nah" there was a bit of nostalgia in his tone, but you believed him. "I've kinda made my peace with the fact that everyone from my old life is gone. I wouldn't want to go back now. I got you. I got all of you guys. I'm good now, really good"

"I'm glad" you beamed, feeling yourself warm up from the inside just thinking of the progress he made. After a few seconds, you spoke up again, "But what about the society? Like the day to day life? How do you like the 2010s?"

"I can't lie" Bucky laughed, "I liked Romania better. Much simpler."

"You lived in a dead beat apartment, hiding everyday" you scoffed, "How was that better?"

"I don't know… maybe it was the simple life. Apparently I'm all about that"

"You'd move back there?"

"If you came with me?" he questioned, looking down at you. There was genuine sincerity in his eyes and a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. "Wouldn’t even think twice"

"Maybe one day" you sighed with content. You snuggled back against his side, and closed your eyes. "We're not done avenging yet" you mumbled.

He didn't say anything to that. You didn't know whether he was getting lost in thoughts or if he was starting to drift off, but you would have been fine with either. When he spoke up again, you didn't expect the conversation to take this route.

"About Romania…" he sighed, "What made you come with Steve back in 2016?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean-" he muttered, rubbing his light stubble, "I know why Steve came-" Bucky chuckled, "And Sam's all up his ass, so there's that. But what about you?"

"I-"

"I'm aware of the rift I caused between you guys back then. So that's why I'm asking. What made you stand by Steve from the beginning?"

"I knew how much you meant to him. And I know how this is going to sound, but I felt sorry for you, Buck. I know what it's like to be alone, to have everyone turn against you. You deserved better"

"Love-?" he called softly, his voice nearly breaking. "What do you mean you know what it's like to have everyone turn against you?"

As you maintained the eye contact, you felt tears prickle, "I know it wasn't fair of me to keep my past a secret, but-"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to-" he said softly, his eyes warm. The pain was readable on his features, he hated how your whole demeanour changed.

"It's not that I don't want you to know, it's just that I hate talking about it. Gives me nightmares."

"Then we can just drop it" Bucky murmured, gathering you closer.

"I wish you could know without me telling you" you laughed, "You make everything better and easier. I should've told you, I know. It isn't fair to you. We've been together for almost two years but as far as you're concerned I didn't exist until I joined the avengers. I don't even know how much they know. We never talked about it"

"Love, listen to me. I'm here whenever you want to talk about it. You didn't do anything wrong. There are a lot of things about me that you don't know either. We're not those people anymore. No one can blame us for trying to escape out past"

"Yeah, you're right" you sighed.

Gathering your power, you pushed yourself up and settled beside him, with your legs crossed. You grabbed his hand pulling it into your lap, and intertwined your fingers with his as you spoke.

"Forget the official story, there's no truth to it anyway"

"I really didn't believe your mum was a criminal and that you were in a mental asylum" he joked.

"Good-" you smiled, his words lifting the atmosphere a bit. "Truth is, I don't know anything about my parents. But I have my assumptions. I grew up in that soviet facility so I never met them. I was told it was owned by a group of socialite scientists who wanted our help"

"Our? Who's we?"

"There were 7 of us"

"Did they have the same power as you?"

"Approximately. When we were younger, we used to comply and do everything we were told but as we grew up, things started to change. We weren't happy. Who could be? Considering we were being held in cells and studied like lab rats. We started to act differently and some might even say we tried to rebel, but that didn't work obviously, and that's when the restrictions began. For the last 3 years I spent there, there hadn't been a day where the temperature passed 0°C." 

Your skin crawled as you recaled the endless nights you spent shivering your way to sleep. Everything around you was ice cold. But it wasn't for the sole purpose of torturing you. It was your only weakness. As the temperature dropped, so did the movement of the atoms that made up your body - eliminating your powers to the point where you were barely alive. 

"One day, as spring came, we wanted to break out. We made a plan, and figured that as soon as we were out, we'd be fine. We were wrong. We were off about the weather and they got us before we even exited the perimeter. That's when the avengers heard about us."

By now, Bucky's eyes were wide with genuine curiosity, his mouth agape as he took in the information you provided. With every word you spoke his grip tightened around your fingers and his eyebrows gathered even further. There was discomfort and anger in his features, but he didn't interrupt you once.

"After that, the restrictions got tougher. We realised there was no way out. A lot of things came together in that small time frame. I realised what that place actually was days after we tried to escape. My friends - or that's what I thought they were, figured out another plan. Why fight when you can just eliminate the premise?"

Bucky moved his lips but no words came out. He cleaned his throat and sat up a bit, "What- what do you mean?"

"They tried to kill me" you said, plastering a sympathetic smile on your lips, hoping it would make it easier for him to hear.

"What the fuck. Why?"

"I think my dad used to be part of that team. And I think he made me the way I am. Now I don't know why he wasn't around anymore, but that team wasn't trying to get us to do anything. They were trying to make more of me. So if I was dead-"

"There would be no reason to keep the other kids…" Bucky finished the sentence for you.

You nodded.

"And what happened?"

You bowed your head trying to find a way to put your words together. Bucky didn't rush you, just reassuringly rubbed his thumb across your knuckles, waiting. When a tear from your cheek slipped and landed on the back of his hand, you looked up and took a deep breath. "I killed them. All of them."

He didn't say anything. Didn’t move a muscle, as he waited for you to continue. 

"I didn't even want to do that, Buck" you sobbed, breaking down. "I killed over 20 people because I was afraid. I didn't even move. I was in the corner of my room the whole time, but everyone who approached me was fried to death. I don't even know how I did that. I was just scared"

"Oh, baby" Bucky cooed, pushing himself up to wrap his arms around you. You fell against his chest, crumbling in his embrace. "I hope you know that was not your fault, ok?" he asked, rubbing your back. "You were just a kid, alone and afraid. It breaks my fucking heart, those bastards. Please don't feel sorry for them"

"I feel sorry for the other kids"

"They tried to kill you, Y/n" Bucky countered, "If you hadn't killed them, I would've gone after them. All of them"

"They were desperate..."

"So were you!"

"I can't help but feel like a monster sometimes, you know? Like I'm reckless and out of control. There are times when I'm all happy and excited about what tomorrow would bring, and then i remember what I did, and I have a hard time fighting away the thoughts that try to tell me I don't deserve that"

"What you deserve is the fucking world ok?" Bucky said, tilting your chin so you could see just how serious he was. "This past couple of years, you saved hundreds of lives and I know for a fact you did it out of the pure kindness of your heart, not because you wanted to make up for anything in the past. You're a fucking angel. You're the embodiment of good, you hear me? I know you. You'll never understand how much respect I have for you, and how in awe I am with the kind of person you are. Please, don't ever think less of yourself. Ever, ok?"

Tears rolled down your cheeks as his words proved to be much more than you were able to hear at that moment. "Thanks, Buck. That's sweet of you to say-"

"It's not sweet of me to say, it's the fucking truth" he scoffed, but he somehow managed to make it sound loving. "You didn't even fucking try, but just being around you made me feel like a person again. You're amazing, Y/n. We're all lucky to have you. I'm lucky to have you."

"You're gonna make me cry" you sniffled, curling yourself into a ball against his chest, "I know you were in a dark place when we met. I'm glad I managed to help you through it"

"You pulled me through it" he sighed, tightening his hold around you. "I went from wanting to die, to thinking that I didn't even deserve the easy way out. Look at me now."

"Buck, stop"

"I love you so fucking much" Bucky laughed. 

His whole frame shook as he pulled you back down, safely holding you between his arms, "You're amazing" he added, kissing the top of your head, "Perfect"

"I said, stop" you chuckled, slapping his side, "I get it, you like me, can we-"

"I adore you" Bucky cut you off after grabbing the sides of your face between his palms. "And thanks for trusting me. I know it wasn't easy for you to talk about your past, so thank you. I'm always here for you. If there's anything ever, I got you, ok? Forever"

"I got you too" you added, kissing his cheek and then moving along his jawline, "No matter what happens, you'll always have me on your side. I'm all yours, Bucky"

"Yeah, you are, doll. All mine"

After that talk, how you managed to fall into a deep sleep will always remain a mystery. Nightmares didn't make their way into your mind, and you settled for a dreamless slumber, actually fully content for the first time in a long while.

But not everybody processed grief the same way. And if Bucky mentioned earlier that he was lucky to have you, as you were pulled out of your sleep, you realised that he wasn't as lucky as you were when it came to the mysteries that creep up on you when you least expect them.

-

"Wake up sunshine"

The sound reached your ears, but it wasn't Bucky's voice, so you just groaned in response and rolled over to the other side, completely pressing your face into the pillow.

"Buttercup, it's time to wake up"

The voice seemed uneasy, as if the person speaking was actually terrified. You opened your eyes wearily, and were met with the usual, complete darkness of your room. 

"Come on, Y/n" they spoke again. You turned to see one of Tony's maintenance robots hovering above your body, one small screen lit up on its front. Blinking a few times to rid yourself of the sleep still lingering in your eyes, you managed to make out the faces of Tony and Steve, both staring at you.

"What's going on?" you mumbled.

"You've got incoming," Tony announced, and then shook his head at whatever someone next to him had said. The microphone wasn't performant enough for you to hear what the other person said, but it was not like you cared.

"Incoming what?" you questioned, still confused out of your mind.

He turned his attention back to you, "The asshole"

You frowned and Steve scoffed, "Y/n, it's Bucky. He's not well"

"Wh-" you mumbled, your head snapping to the side, only then realising his side of the bed was empty. You shuffled your arm around the sheets, still warm. "What- what happened?"

"He's gone rogue, Y/n" Steve announced, genuine worry and guilt audible in his voice, "You need to make sure he doesn't leave. You need to stop him"

Tony's workstation. You needed to get the shackles off your arms if you wanted to stand a chance, "Tony? How do I take these off?" you asked, pointing to your cuffs.

"Already taken care off" he nodded, "Get to my desk, it's unlocked. All you need to do is actually get there. If you can"

"If I can-?" you began asking, but a loud explosion sound cut you off, causing the bed to shake as a wind blew through your room. "What the fuck!?"

"He may have found the grenade launchers" Tony smiled bitterly.

"Y/n," Steve called for you, "Please, be careful. And call us. Me and Nat will take the jet but I don't know-"

"Don't worry" you shook your head, jumping off the bed and rushing to your closet. You chose the first clothes you saw laying before your eyes and put them on, ready to go look for Bucky. "I got this, I promise"

"Oh, and Y/n?" Tony said, making you turn to him at the last minute, "Try not to fry my tower"

You nodded and refrained from making any promises you didn't know you could keep. 

As soon as you walked out the door, the sound of automatic rifles going off became deafening. Stepping over piles of broken glass, you made your way to the emergency staircase, heading to Tony's lab. You did so with maximal caution, knowing that if you were spotted, there would be no going back.

Descending the last remaining flight of stairs until his work station, a rush of adrenaline surged through you, knowing just how close you were. Silently rounding the corner, your eyes landed on Bucky's frame, easily holding one of the remaining SHIELD agents up by the neck.

He turned to look at you, eyes cold and empty. Not even rage. There was nothing there. No expression, no empathy, no feeling. It was as if he was dead. This wasn't him. 

"Buck-" you panted, raising your hands up in the air, signaling surrender. You eyed Tony's desk, determined to stall him until you managed to free yourself of the cuffs.

You took a cautious step to the side, hands still up in the air. Bucky watched you as the man struggled against his hold, legs spasming uncontrollably as he kicked and squirmed, even though it was so clearly in vain.

"Don’t mind me-" you smiled, sweat flooding your pores as you slowly approached your destination. "I'll just-"

"You'll just what-?" Bucky groaned, flinging his victim with impeccable ease. The agent's body flew across the room, crushing into the only device that had the power to help you get through this. As the work station crumpled under his weight, so did your hopes of getting out of this. 

"Bucky, hey-" you mumbled, afraid of pissing him off, "I-"

"Who the hell is Bucky?" he frowned, starting to march towards you. Your blood ran cold, knowing you didn't have what it took to keep up with him. You were never able to dodge anyone's blows, let alone his. When he reached you, his hand instantly reached around your neck, lifting you off the floor, "SHIELD?" he asked after taking a look at your attire. Although not carrying the emblem, it was probably the only explanation that made sense to him.

"Well, um-" you huffed, holding onto his wrist in hopes of not running out air, "No, not SHIELD"

"Then who are you?" he growled, tightening his hold on your windpipe.

"Fuck-" you gasped, kicking your legs, even through he didn't even flinch when you hit him. "You're not gonna believe this but, um-"

"Try me"

You looked into his eyes, hoping it would serve as some kind of a memento, that maybe he'd remember you. "You know me, Buck. It's Y/n, I'm- your girlfriend?"

Even saying it made you feel weird. This killing machine, apparently hell bent on wrecking havoc, was not the man you loved, and you cringed just imagining his reaction to hearing your words.

And it did turn out to be worse than expected, as he spun around, doing a complete 180° with your body before slamming you down on the floor. The wood cracked under your bones, knocking the wind out of you. The pain of the impact was excruciating, propagating along your body in waves of some physical agony you had never felt before. The sound of your bones cracking made you sick to your stomach. Your ears caught the sound of your arteries being torn as your organs collapsed.

And if you felt every inch of your body being shattered and destroyed, it was God's way of making you pay for your parent's mistakes, as when your wounds healed mere seconds later, the pain did not go away. Your nerve receptors still registered damage to the tissues, and no matter whether you were actually as good as new, your brain couldn't process that.

What consumed you the most was the fact that as you struggled to stand up, the pain of broken limbs lingered on. But you fought through it, gathered yourself and stood up, facing him again.

You winced with every muscle contraction, but eventually your eyes met his. He showed curiosity, along with something else. Something else which you wished wasn't determination to finish you.

"Can we-" you whimpered, extending a hand, "Can we talk?"

"Talk!?" Bucky raged, grabbing your wrist and twisting your arm to the point where he spun you around, your back pressing against his chest. "Not here to talk" he growled into your ear.

The hairs on your body stood as you heard his voice. Even though it was technically the same voice you loved more than anything in the world, it made you now shiver with a fear you've never experienced before. 

You didn't get a chance to sink too deep in your thoughts before Bucky raised your arm, dislocating your shoulder and busting your humerus into pieces. The pain cut your legs at the knees and you screamed in agony, falling to the floor at his feet.

"Stand up" he commanded, slamming his foot into your side. The momentum made your body roll away, until you settled back on the ground, face deep in the rubble. Your muscles pulled you to your feet with ease, but the pain coursing through you was immense, nowhere near close to what you thought bearable. You felt the skin being ripped from your body and when you looked down, your clothes were torn, soaked in blood, but your skin was intact. It was what you needed to keep going - to get inside your head the fact that you were fine, because at this point, the pain was one bruise away from making you faint.

"Bucky, please-" you cried.

"Stop calling me Bucky!" he yelled, starting to approach you again.

With every step he took, you slowly backed away. "Please, listen to me, just a second, please!"

He shook his head no, a demented smile on his lips as he closed in on you.

"Bucky-"

As a reply to your question, his fist flew up, slamming into your jaw, hard enough to throw you to the ground, "Why do you keep calling me-"

"What else do you want me to call you, huh?" you yelled at him, vision blurred under too many layers of tears. "Tell me, and I'll do it if it'll get you to listen to me."

"I don't want you to call me anything-" he cocked his head to the side, unstrapping a handgun from his thigh. He loaded it as you barely managed to crawl away, "You can take the pain. I respect that. Let's see how well you do with these lead bullets"

You saw them in slow motion, barely managing to duck your head behind the remains of what once was a heavy wooden bookshelf. The bullets missed your chest and face, but you saw them, felt them penetrate your skin, ripping through your muscles. 

The sound of your tissues being pulled to shreds made you feel sick to your stomach. As the bullets left your body, your wounds closed back up, leaving you a crying mess on the floor. Your throat constricted due to the wave of shock that hit your body, and your lungs started hyperventilating. Lightheaded and gasping for air, you struggled to crawl away from him, tears marching down your face and ending up on the floor, nothing but diluting the droplets of blood that had fallen from your body mere minutes before. Your heart was in overdrive and your vision blurred as every fiber of your being threatened to let you down. "Please-" you screamed, your voice breaking as you raised your hand for him, "Let's talk, please. That's all I want. Give me a minute"

But he didn't. He didn't even consider it. Instead, the force that controlled the body of the only man that ever managed to make you feel safe, tortured, destroyed and consumed your body for what felt like the better part of an eternity.

You had been thrown through walls, shattered windows, had glass shards lodged into your body from all angles. He unloaded cannon after cannon on you, used up all the ammo he had on him, only growing more and more annoyed when you refused to give up.

There was no way to know how much time had passed. Now you were standing by the window, inches away from the spot where two nights ago, you and Bucky clicked your glasses, smiling at how far you both had come. He laughed, saying he wouldn't have made it without you. And then he kissed you, confessing that the thought that maybe you couldn't have made it without him either, was what kept him going. 

And then there you were. 48 hours later, again, just the two of you. But now there weren't any champagne glasses between you, just his metal arm, wrapped around your neck, this time, as he said, for the last time.

"I don't get it-" he scowled, teeth gritted and frustration in his voice, "Why don't you fight me?"

"I can't fight you" you whimpered as your tears poured down against his cold hand, "And even if I could, I wouldn't."

"WHY?" Bucky screamed, and for a second, you thought you saw a crack there, a glister of emotion hidden deep in his otherwise beautiful eyes.

"Because I love you" you cried.

But there was none. He rolled his eyes and pushed you back, your body slamming into the window. You should've thought faster, been more witty and considerate, but terror washed over you and in the heat of the moment, you grabbed onto him for dear life, pulling him down with you, plummeting to the ground from what looked like the 70th floor of the Stark Tower. 

If until now you had been afraid of what you'd have to endure, it was now that you met true terror. You'd survive the fall, but he wouldn't. 

Even in the air, approaching the ground at a dangerous speed, he kept fighting you. Even in this state, you admired his determination - he had a job and wanted to get it done - even if that job was killing you. A man of his word.

By now, the pain was unnoticeable. If you wanted to keep him alive you had to act fast. Clinging to his body despite his vicious protests and ruthless blows, you used your momentum to turn the two of you around. And you did so at the last second, as before you knew it, your bodies crashed into the boulevard below, sinking down into the asphalt as it crumpled under your weight. 

The impact cut your breath away and there was a gnawing feeling all over your body, as if you had blades under your skin, pulling your body apart fiber by fiber. But you snapped out of it.

"Bucky!" you yelled, slapping his cheek.

He had fallen completely on top of you, his head pressed against your chest. He didn't move and the continuous buzz in your ears made it physically impossible for you to tell whether he was breathing for not.

"Bucky, please-" you cried, trying to move him so you could see his face. 

Nothing.

"No, no, no!!" you screamed, "You can't die, baby, please! Not like this, love. Please come back to me, Buck, I'm begging you!!"

You remained there and wailed, with him glued to your chest. Your arms had wrapped around his motionless frame, keeping him as close as you could. Nothing could have gotten you to stop. Tens of people gathered around the crater your fall created around your bodies, police showed up, cameras were pointed at your faces, but you didn't care. If he died, so would you. 

"You're all I have, baby-" you muttered, voice hoarse and dry from all the wailing and crying, "Please, you can't leave me. This can't be the end of us. Please, I don't know what to do, Bucky, please!"

You were soaked. In blood, and you didn't even know whether it was his or yours. God, how you hoped it all belonged to you, how the pool of blood you laid in was all yours. Tears soaked your face, pouring down your temples as your whole frame shook with your sobs, that was the true agony. You'd rather spend the rest of your days fighting for your life if it meant he got to see the sun again. You wished he'd hate you, rather than not feel anything at all ever again.

"Please-" you said again but this time your voice didn't even reach your own ears, you didn't hold that power anymore, "Please, you need to come back! You deserve so much better than this. You're the best man I have even known, you can't die like this, not today, Bucky. Not today!"

By now, the people around you had scattered. They knew your identities and for all the wrong reasons, feared you both. You were grateful for that now, you were alone with him again, as the sun began to set and a chilly New York night began to settle. 

Still, you didn't move. You still had faith. Or you were just stubborn. There was no way you'd pull away until someone either pried him off of you against your will, or someone that you trusted showed up promising they'd help.

None of them came, and you remained there, cradling his frame to your chest begging whatever God was listening, to bring him back. You didn't know if one of them heard you, or if it was just blind luck or fate, but you only realised his metal arm was lodged under your body when he moved it.

"Buck!" you cried, cupping his cheeks in your bloodied palms as literal life cursed through your veins. "Oh god, you're ok, you're alive!! You came back to me!"

You managed to hug him close one more time, before he pushed himself off of you. In the process of standing up, his eyes met yours for the briefest second. Again, nothing.

He gathered himself to his feet, wordlessly bending down to grab your hair. He forced you up and you instantly obliged, following him back into the building.

Once inside, he knocked you through a glass door, your body once again absorbing his fury. The pain had dissipated into a dull ache, and this time, you stood up faster. "I can do this all day" you sighed, the lie slipping past your lips with such ease, as if the energy inside your core wasn't running dangerously low.

"What did you just say?" he questioned.

He seemed taken aback, "I said that I can do this all day"

"Who are you?" Bucky yelled, marching towards you, determined to get answers out of you through nothing else but brute force. He slammed you back onto the floor, only to straddle your thighs and pick you up by the collar of your shit. "Why won't you just fucking die!?"

Circling your fingers around his wrists, you searched for his eyes, "Wanna know what keeps me alive?"

"Are you stupid enough to tell me?"

"I might be" you shook your head, "but I'll still tell you"

"Why?"

"Because I know you won't kill me" you cried, "I know you know me. I know you're in there somewhere. The man I love. I know you don't have it in you to kill me"

"Try me" he laughed, drunk with the power you were so willing to give him.

"These-" you panted, raising your arms in the air to show him your cuffs, "These are what's been keeping me alive but I know you won't-"

But you never finished the sentence. He didn't even think twice before ripping them off your arms and throwing them onto the floor, along with all the other mess you two had made.

You never thought he'd actually spare you. So it wasn't a surprise when the first thing he did after freeing you, was reach for his knife with the sole purpose of driving it through your chest.

But you were faster. You framed his face into your palms, releasing the energy from your body and allowing it to flow through his. It felt weird, wrong and chaotic, and the power surge wiggled itself out of your control, until a blast between your bodies sent you both flying back across the room, falling down onto the floor.

And this time none of you stood up.

-

"I leave them alone for what, a day?" Tony sighed, walking out of his Iron Man suit. 

"Holy shit!" Steve cried out, his knees betraying him as he tried to rush to you.

"No, wait!" Nat stopped him, "You can't wake them up until we get them somewhere safe. We need to make new cuffs for Y/n, and find a way to keep Bucky contained in case, you know… he's still not Bucky"

Steve was fuming with anger, nostrils flaring, "These are my friends you're talking about!" he exclaimed, pointing to your bodies on the floor, "Your friends too, Nat. You see them like this and the first thing you think about is restraining them!?"

"We need to make sure we're all safe" she sighed with sympathy, grabbing his hand for a comforting rub.

"You make sure you're safe-" Steve scoffed, "I'll make sure they're alive"

"Hey-" Nat stopped him, "If you touch her and startle her in any way, you die!"

Her words hurt him but he knew you never would. Steve felt his heart shutter just imaging what you must have gone through. He was ablaze with pure determination to prove Nat wrong, and to do right by you and Buck. "I carried her in my arms while she was passed out when we rescued her from that facility-" he fummed, pointing at you, "She never knew a man that didn't try to hurt her before. And when she woke up, she was afraid. Scared for her life. She cried in my arms and begged me to not let them take her again! She was never anywhere close to hurting me! She's good. So good. There's only good inside of her, I trust her to not hurt me more than I trust myself, ok? If I'm wrong, so be it. I die. I don't care. She deserves someone to look after her. If I had to chose, saving her would be the way I'd want to go"

His rant left Nat speechless. She just gave him a simple nod and stepped back. 

Carefully, he picked you up and carried you upstairs, as Tony put his suit back on and carried Bucky.

-

Never in your life had you woken up this fast. Your eyes snapped open and you sprung to your feet. 3 pairs of anxious eyes watched you, all of them ready to jump into action in case the situation called for an intervention.

"What-" you gawked, scanning the room, "Where is Bucky? Is he- is-"

"He's fine, Y/n" Steve assured you. He stood up and slowly approached you, arms outstretched. Your first instinct was to go for it, but when you reached him, you placed both your hands in his, and looked up at him with teary eyes.

"Are you sure?" you whimpered, "Can I see him?"

Sympathy took over his features, but Tony jumped in, "Absolutely not"

"What-" you turned to him, "Why? Did I-?"

"You didn't do anything wrong" Steve hummed, engulfing you in a hug even though you remained stiff in your spot. He rubbed your back, eager to soothe your worried mind, but you were too out of it.

“Can I just go?” you whispered, pulling back just enough so that he could see how serious you were, “I need to see him, please”

“Are you mad at him?” Nat asked with caution and your face fell.

“No!” you gasped, stepping away from Steve’s embrace, “No, not even one bit. I know that was not him, I know it’s not his fault. But when Bucky wakes up-”

“If he wakes up-” Tony sneered, roaming around the room. He nursed a glass of whiskey, as a mixture of disgust and exhaustion was readable on his features. 

“When he wakes up!” you spoke through gritted teeth. Determination coated your words and the hairs on your body stood as you refused to even think of the alternative. “He will wake up. And I have to be there”

“What if the Winter Soldier wakes up?” Nat asked.

“That didn’t stop me last time”

“Oh, no!” Tony butted in, stepping in between you and Nat, arms outstretched, “You know I’m not one to cry after money, but you and your pal left me with $37 million worth of damage. You two are one broken cup away from getting thrown into the streets”

The sum he mentioned made the skin on your back crawl. You didn’t even have $37 dollars to your name, but it made sense. Your body alone crashed through three TV’s, one gamma ray projector and if you thought about it, you remembered Bucky pulling apart one of the Iron Legion robots, and only the thought made you flinch. 

“So-” Tony said, “You two? Never in the same room again!”

“Take these off then” you suggested, pointing at the cuff on your wrists.

“Ha” Tony exclaimed, “A big chunk of that money comes from you frying all my electronics up until the 12th floor. Absolutely not”

“Tony, I’m serious” you whined, “He will hate himself. I need to be there! I need to make sure he doesn’t take all the blame on his shoulders”

He frowned, and sighed. He wasn’t an unreasonable man, and you hoped that core deep inside his chest really made up for a heart. And… it did. None of them were happy about it, but they finally accepted. Nat and Tony would have never probably given up if it wasn’t for Steve - right now, like so many times before, he really did seem like your guardian angel.

They ended up monitoring the room, and Tony waited for your signal, one hand on his cigarette, the other on the Iron Man suit. He was all talk - if anything was to go down and you would actually be in danger again, he wouldn’t even think twice before tearing his towers into pieces if it meant he could get you out alive.

And so you left, thanked them in the form of a simple nod, and headed down the dark hallways.

Oh, how you hated this.

What consumed you now had nothing to do with the pain you had endured in the past 24 hours. Its source was not physical, yet your whole body ached. You felt the weight of the world on your shoulders - and in some way, it was - Bucky was your whole world, and the fear of losing him breathed down your neck.

It had been about 20 minutes since you stopped in front of the door that led to the room he'd been confined in. When FRIDAY announced that Bucky woke up, you rushed over, only for a hazardous sense of anguish to stop you dead in your tracks. Judging by the way he sat in the corner of the room, his fingers aimlessly tracing every indentation in the handcuffs Tony had restrained him with, you had no problem telling which one of him woke up. He broke your heart. His room was equipped with 5 different cameras and 2 microphones. Completely unaware of them, he sat inches away from one, and your heart shattered, sinking 3 stories below when you heard him whimper.

It was soft and quiet. His whole frame shook as he wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve. He was hunched down, brown hair covering his perfect face, but still, his sadness brought you to tears. 

You heard him again. He sniffled as he laid back against the wall. His eyes were bloodshot, lips almost white and dry as his chest raced up and down. His muscles clenched and his feet bounced against the metal floor, it was a sight you never wished you see ever again. 

Softly, you raised a hand, and thought twice before finally knocking.

"Go away," Bucky called, voice all hoarse and dry as it broke halfway through.

You were able to see him on the small screen next to the door, but he had no idea who came to visit.

Out of instinct, you knocked again before typing in the password and ever so slowly walking inside.

Instantly, he looked up. He was surrounded by an air of darkness and despair, ever so obviously tormented to the peak of his capability.

He stared at you for a few seconds as his eyes watered, and then he gathered his lips into a straight line, shaking his head. "Please, go"

"Bucky, I-"

"Please" he cried, head falling forward as he toyed with the metal edges of his prosthetic arm. He shook his head, "Please, don't do this. Just, go"

You took a deep breath, only then entering the room far enough to actually be able to close the door behind you. Slowly turning back to him, your palms sweated as you had no idea what to say to him. 

"Can you talk to me, Buck? Please?"

He chuckled, "About what?" 

"About whatever it is you think you did wrong, I-"

As he heard your words, his hands instantly flew up to cover his face. He was, however, stopped, as the cuffs on his left wrist kept him from moving too much. While a new row of tears flooded his cheeks, his eyes met yours, "Look at me.. I need to be restrained while you're alone with me"

"Those cuffs would literally do nothing to stop you from escaping, and you know it"

"Maybe it's just a sense of reassurance"

"To who?" you scoffed.

"To them" Bucky responded, nodding his head towards one of the cameras. "I'm a monster" he added, wiggling his cuff restrained hand, "I'm a danger to everyone"

"Oh for fucks sake" you rolled your eyes, marching up to him. With absolutely no remorse, you grabbed his hand and harshly pulled apart the metal that had him restrained to the bed. Before he got a chance to say anything, you bent down, unclipped the microphone from the foot of the bed, threw it on the floor, and stepped on it, until it was nothing but a small pile of shattered plastic.

And you kept going, destroying the second microphone along with the 5 cameras on the walls as Bucky watched you with surprise. You finished by going for the door and locking it from the inside. "You think I'm afraid of you?" you asked softly, "For 6 hours you did your best to kill me and failed miserably. Look at me, I'm unscathed"

"Did you hear yourself?" he cringed, shaking his head, "I tried to kill you"

"Ok, I know I said that you did your best-" you said, mentally scolding yourself for the error in communication. "We both know that wasn't you. That wasn't you, Buck. It was Hydra. It was the winter soldier, not you. My Bucky would never-"

"Y/n-" he stopped you, "I know you don't see things the way I do-"

"But I see them the right way"

"Listen-" Bucky sighed, driving his hands through his hair. For the first time that night you actually saw his full face, his cheek and signature scowl, his blue eyes and the tilt of the corner of his mouth - your soul melted when you associated the picture with the words that came out of his mouth. "I can't blame you for being here. I can't. If the roles were reversed, I'd be doing the exact same thing. But, holy fuck-" he sighed, pausing to gather his thoughts. Bucky looked you up and down. His lips quivered and his head fell to the side as a sad smile appeared on his lips. "Remember this morning? How we talked about our hypothetical child?" he laughed and shook his head, "Even if I know we could never have a kid because we're both sterile, it was still the most beautiful thought that ever crossed my mind, Y/n''

"Mine too, Buck-"

"And what did I do?" he dismissed your empathy, "Two hours later I was unloading an AK-47 into your stomach, like the brainwashed maniac that I am!"

"Don’t say that!" you exclaimed, "Don't you dare think about things like this!"

"Why wouldn't I?" he threw his hands up in the air, "What does it matter whose fault it is? I get to live with the consequences."

"But-" you breathed out, "We can work through this. You did it before. You can't let something that hydra did dictate your life, Bucky. You deserve so much better. You deserve to be happy!"

"I tried to kill you!" he screamed, for the first time losing his calm and standing up to be at the same level as you.

"That was not you!"

"So what?" he huffed, "I was there, Y/n! I will never, NEVER get the feeling of crushing your bones out of my head! I felt your neck snap! I choked you with my arms! That is not something I can live with! I can't live a life by your side if every time I look at you I'm reminded of those horrible things I did to you!"

"Buck-" you cried, looking at him from behind too many layers of unshed tears, "Please, don't say that"

"I'm sorry" he responded in the same fashion, his pain coating every word he said. "When I close my eyes I see you laying in a puddle of blood. I can't stop hearing your screams of agony. Agony that no matter how you put it, was caused by my hands. That's not something we can live with, Y/n. You were not made for this. You really do fucking deserve someone that won't wake up one day and try to murder you in cold blood"

"And what do you deserve, Buck?" you quietly asked, searching for his eyes, "To live your life alone? Forever? If you had been with anyone else, this would have turned out so much worse. That cute barista three blocks down that always scribbles a heart on your coffee cup? She's cute, yeah. You deserve to be loved by someone, but if that someone was her, you wouldn't be drowning in guilt right now, Bucky, you'd be mourning her. Yes, you got troubles. Yes, you've got a past more fucked up than anyone else I have ever heard about. That's the kind of shit you can't change. But whatever you do from now on, is in your fucking hands and yours alone. Don't try to tell me you're not worthy of having someone, because that's the fattest load of crap I've ever heard. You're a good man! With a fucked up past! And a dark side that you need to fight! And you have me! I don't care you dropped Tony's piano on my legs, apparently I can take it! I'm here for you no matter what! You don't want to be with me anymore? Fine. But don't you dare push me away, thinking that a ruined future makes up for a ruined past"

"Who's to say I won't try it again?" he asked, "I don't know what triggered the transition. But what if once a week I end up trying to kill you-"

"Apparently you can't!" you laughed bitterly.

"Ok, so I can't" he nodded in approval, "Is that what you want? I should be your rock, your best friend, I should always be there for you. Do you want to have your whole world turned upside down whenever my brain decides to go berserk?"

"See, Buck" you sighed, "Of course I don't want that. I can't fucking stand here and tell you that I do. What kind of credibility would I have then? But you know what I want? You. You and whatever nazi shit that comes along. I want you. To help you. To have you with me. To see you everyday. If every Saturday at 10am you decide you want to kill me, you best believe I'm sacrificing my morning coffee just so we can kung fu around the living room"

He looked at you for a long second, the corners of his lips fighting a hard battle against the hint of a smile that started to show on his features. Eventually he caved and chuckled, shaking his head, "That was a bit funny"

"And fucking true," you cried, going for his hands and bringing them up to your chest. He winced, but you spoke up again, determined to not let his mind torture him.

"I love you, Bucky"

"How do you not hate me?" he choked, shaking his head in disbelief. "Can you seriously look at me and not get even the slightest instinct to run away?"

"Bucky..." you breathed out, cupping his cheek. "How could I run away when I've never seen you in more pain than right now?"

"You're an angel, you know that?" 

"I've been called a lot of things" you giggled, "Angel isn't one of them, but if that's what you want, I'll take it"

"Come here" he whispered, wrapping his arms around your frame. He had you nuzzle against his chest, his hold keeping you tight and secure. His heart beat against your cheek and your eyes watered again. There wasn't one thing in the world you wouldn't do for that heart - to make sure it keeps beating, and that it keeps the man you love alive. And content, above all. All you wanted right now was for him to accept the things that happened. You wanted to take whatever weight he was carrying on his shoulders, and put it upon yourself. "I love you so much, Bucky" you cried against his chest as your hold tightened around him, "I hate to see you torn like this. I don't want anything to ever happen to you. It terrifies me. I love you with all that I am. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. You deserve the world, baby"

"So do you" he whispered, kissing the top of your head.

You felt his chest shake, a deep rumble echoed from the depths of his lungs. You looked up to see him fight back a sob, his eyes wide open, glossy and red, trained down on you, "I love you too much to do this, Y/n. I'm sorry, I don't think I can"

"No!" you gasped, pressing your face back against his shoulder, "Don't do that. You can't do that. No"

"We won't work, Y/n" Bucky said as he brought you even closer, "I can't look at you anymore. I can't look at you without dying inside. You don't want to live with me like that"

"Yes, I do!" you sobbed. "I'll work with anything you give me, I swear there is nothing more I want. Just you. Just you and me. Bucky, please don't do this"

He held you close for what felt like half a second, but rationally speaking, your legs were getting numb. You just stood there, clinging to his body, taking in his scent and listening to his breathing even out until he pushed you away. Oh, how you didn't want to let go. Ever. But you did, and choked back a sob as soon as you felt the cold air of the room brush against the part of your body that had been pressed to his.

"We should get some sleep, Y/n"

"Are you coming with me?" you whimpered, afraid of the answer he might give you.

Bucky shook his head, "I think I'll just sleep here tonight"

That broke you. The shock and terror cut your breath away. It felt impossible - the feeling of losing him. The amount of pain that surged through you. At that particular moment, you felt like cracking your chest open to grip your heart into your hand and pick apart the broken parts. But not even that felt good enough, you were fairly sure you'd be left with nothing. It felt like a slap across your cheek, like a cloth had been placed over your mouth and your legs cut at the knees. It felt like the end. 

Optimistic by nature, not even you could deny the reason he wanted to sleep alone. It was clear as day.

"If-" you mumbled, tears coating your face at their own free will, voice shaking as you barely managed to articulate the words over the violent sobs that ripped their way out of your throat. "If I promise to not do anything to try and convince you to stay… can you promise me that in case you decide to leave, you'll come and tell me first?"

"Oh, doll" Bucky broke down all over again, throwing himself at you again. He collapsed on top of you, molding his body around yours. "I promise, angel"

You just nodded. That was all you could do. It took another few moments for you to gather yourself and stop wailing, but you did, and then, with nothing else other than a sad smile, you left. 

Your feet carried you to your room, and you were ready to collapse on top of your bed. Eager to cuddle into his pillows. They smelled like that shower gel you got him and you hated it. You wanted his scent. Not even caring how ridiculous it sounded, you padded over to the chair in the corner of your bedroom, the one Bucky uses to discard all his worn clothes. 

You wanted to find a shirt he wore, one that smelled exactly like you knew him, but before you reached the clothes pile, your attention was drawn to the window.

Steve was standing there, facing the busy streets outside, hands in his pocket and his head turned in your direction.

"I didn't see you, sorry" you gasped, as your eyes accommodated to the darkness.

"It's fine" he shook his head, "I just figured you'd turn on the lights, you know, like the normal people. Didn't think I'd scare you"

"Yeah, sorry" you sighed, plopping down on the edge of the bed. "I did even think about turning the lights on"

He didn't say anything, but you saw him nod. He knew your pain. He lost enough in his life, and seeing his best friend sink back into his darkness was surely not easy for him either.

"Is he ok?" Steve eventually asked.

You shook your head, "He's too good of a man to be ok"

"That is Bucky" he laughed, and you couldn't help but do the same. The irony.

Steve's curiosity was palpable in the room. Words could not describe the appreciation you had for him for respecting your boundaries and not pushing you in a moment like this. But he deserved to know.

You opened your mouth to explain to him what happened, but as your mind processed everything all over again, you broke down. "I think he's gonna leave-" you cried.

Steve was quick to gather you in his arms, engulfing you in a bear hug, helping you stand on your own two feet. "What do you mean?" he asked, concern tracing his tone.

"I understand him, I do. And I promised I won't try to get him to stay if he doesn't want to. But- but I should've done more, Steve. I should've shown him somehow how much I love him. But I'm afraid he'll leave, and I don't want to live-"

"Hey, hey, hey" Steve hurried to stop you, petting your head softly before urging you to look up at him. "Bucky loves you more than I ever thought possible, ok? There's no question about it. I'm sorry I'm doing this, but I think he'll postpone it anyway"

"What?"

"The man wants to marry you, ok?" Steve smiled, "He asked Tony if he had any work for him so he could raise money. Can you imagine how that went down? He was red like a tomato, but he didn't think twice. James Barnes used the computer to look for rings for you. The Bucky I know? Never would've done this. You brought to life a part of him that no one else has seen before. He loves you. With all that he is. And trust me when I tell you, he won't stand to be away from you. You're his whole world, Y/n. He's my best friend, trust me when I tell you this is something you'll work through. I'll help, we'll all help. You're not gonna lose him, Y/n. He's so beat up about all of this because he loves you this much. He's all yours. If he decides to leave, I need you to be strong because he will be back. I got him back 70 years later. You just need to trust him. Trust his heart, ok?"

"Oh my god" you cried, "I don't know what to say"

"Don’t say anything" he chuckled, "We've been through so much together. All of us. Even if we try, nothing pulls us apart, ok? How many times has Loki died, hm?"

"God, Steve!" you scoffed somewhat amused and pulled back just to hit him, "Did you seriously compare Bucky to Loki!?"

"It got you to smile, didn't it?" he laughed. "But I'm serious. You've both been through so much worse than this. You'll get through this one too. And in case you ever feel like you won't, I'm here, ok?"

"Ok…"

Funny as it all was, it worked. He calmed you down - to some extent. Gave you hope you didn't know existed. If it wasn't for Steve, you probably would have not been able to fall asleep. And even though dreams didn't visit you, and you never relaxed enough to actually get some rest, you just dozed off. All clothed and curled diagonally on the bed, you cuddled Bucky's pillow to your chest as your eyes slowly fell closed.

When you opened them again, it was still dark out. You had no idea what pulled you awake as you struggled to sit up on the bed, but then you heard Bucky's voice again, from the doorway.

"Y/n?"

“Buck?” you gasped, turning around. Only his silhouette was visible, head hung low and hands deep in his pockets. He was leaning against the doorway, silently awaiting your response.

Right then and there, you felt your world collapse. Steve’s monologue made you actually fucking believe things would be fine, but here he was, keeping his promise. In the buttcrack of night, he kept his word, bidding you a much feared farewell.

“Is-” you sobbed, jumping out of bed and rushing towards him. You almost knocked him off of his feet when you flung yourself at him, but he was quick to reciprocate, caging you between his arms. “Is this it? You’re leaving?”

He didn’t say anything which frankly made everything worse. You broke down even further, clinging to his shirt as if it was the only source of oxygen keeping you alive - it sure felt like it.

“Look at me” Bucky urged you, tilting your chin up, “Please?”

You slowly lifted your head, your eyes meeting his.

“I’m sorry, I will make it up to you” he whispered, a frown settling above his tired eyes, “You’ll see”

“What does that even mean?" you questioned, tired and sick of this ongoing conflict that should not even have been an issue to begin with. "You don't have to make up for anything"

"I know you see things like that" he cooed, rubbing his thumb along your cheekbone. He spoke softly, his breath fanning against your skin, somehow, even in this situation, managing to calm you down. "But you can understand me too, right?"

"I don't want to" you shrugged, "I don't care. Why does it matter if I understand you or not if you're gonna leave anyway?"

"I'm not leaving, doll"

"What!?" you beamed, pulling away from his hold and grabbing his face in your palms, "You're not- but you're-"

His whole frame softened, "I'm not here to say goodbye, Y/n. I'm not going anywhere"

"Oh god" you gasped.

"Come on, come here" Bucky chuckled softly, bringing you back into his hold, "I'm staying here. I'm sorry for everything I put you through. You're the most badass woman I know and I managed to break you"

"I love you, Buck" 

"I love you more, Y/n" he sighed, "I'll make everything right, I promise"

"Oh, fuck" you breathed out relieved, "Just do whatever you want, I don't care. You're here. That's all that matters."

"And we also need to teach you to fight-" he added, "For real. And find a way for you to take those goddamn shackles off in case this happens again"

"Tony won't be too happy about it" you laughed.

"Fuck if I care-" Bucky said strenly, pointing at you, "Next time, you need to be able to stop me. And fast"

"Maybe it won't happen again"

"Maybe not" Bucky nodded, "But if it does, we need to be ready"

"Thank you" you said, "I know I didn't play this right. I know I literally dismissed everything that you must have gone through today. I'm sorry"

"You don't get to be sorry" Bucky stopped you, "Not after-"

"Then you don't get to, either!"

"Meh" he shrugged, "We'll see"

"Bucky!"

"I love you" he laughed, bending down to pick you up. He planted his hands on the back of your thighs, picking you up with ease and walking you over to the bed. You plopped back against the fluffy mattress with a huff, and giggled as he crawled his way on top of you. Instantly, his lips met yours. It was exhilarating, the kind that made your chest ache. You moaned against his lips as love transpired through his touch. It was overwhelming and the first happy tears of the day streamed down your temples as you arched yourself against him.

"I'm so weak for you, fuck" Bucky groaned, his right arm reaching around your back and pressing you against his chest. "You're everything" he added as he kissed his way along your neck, "I'm all yours forever, Y/n. I love you too much"

"I'm here, baby" you moaned, hiding your face into his shoulder, "You're mine, Bucky. All mine."

His lips didn't leave your body as he pushed himself up just enough to be able to reach the buckle of his jeans. The sound made your core ache, and your mouth watered.

There was no patience in his movements. He barely pulled his jeans down to his knees before ridding you of your pajama pants. He lodged himself between your thighs, his mouth instantly back on yours again.

"Come on" you panted, steading your arms against his strong back. Your legs found their way around his frame, ready to pull him closer.

When Bucky guided his hands between your bodies to align the tip of his cock with your opening, you whimpered in anticipation. Agonisingly slow, he trailed his tip along your folds before reaching your clit. With a blissful moan, he reached further up, tapping his cock against your bare cunt a couple of times before returning his attention back to you. 

"I got you, baby" he hummed, pecking your lips. "You ready? Is this ok?"

With eagerness, you nodded and wiggled under his weight, your pussy aching for him. "Yes, yes"

When you felt his cock push past your folds, you moaned out loud, your voice cracking with the pure pleasure that took over your being.

He eased himself in, going all the way until he all but knocked the breath out of you, and he stopped. Bucky reached down to kiss you again, his cock motionless, balls deep inside of you.

He bit down on your lip and you giggled.

"Felt your pussy clench around me, doll" he laughed, "You're good to me"

"You may be all mine, Buck, but I'm all yours too"

"Holy shit" he panted, shaking his head in disbelief. It was as if you weren't real. He'd have pinched himself, but if this was a dream, he really did not want to wake up. So he kept going.

Nibbling at the skin of your neck, he started to pull himself out of you. The slow pace was driving you insane. Your need grew so strong you felt everything. His breath, the way his hair tickled your chin, his strong around around your shoulders, his massive thighs rubbing against yours, every small vein along his cock that drove you closer and closer to the sweetest bliss you had ever known. 

He got you all worked up at an agonisingly slow pace, before his thrusts became more and more aggravated. You moaned with each thrust despite your struggles to keep quiet.

"You know how much I love hearing you, doll" Bucky shook his head as he drove himself back inside of you all the way, "Moan for me"

"Fuck, ok" you gasped, and closed your eyes as you started to fall apart. You gripped the bed sheets into your hands and pulled as he kept fucking you, deep and hard.

"You're so good, baby" he groaned, "So, so good for me"

He sunk his teeth into your shoulder, fervently sucking deep, maroon marks all ice your skin. Gutural grounds betrayed his air of self control as a plethora of curse words escaped his lips. "Taking me so fucking well. I can't keep going like this, you're too fucking tight-"

"Cum, baby" you encouraged, voice low and tender as you spoke against his ear, "Cum for me"

"Don’t have to tell me twice" he chuckled.

His thrusts started to become sloppy and irregular, as his eyes flew closed. You missed the blue of his eyes, but his mouth was slightly agape as he panted his way to an orgasm.

His chest heaved against yours, "How do you feel so fucking good?" Bucky cursed, eyes still closed as he barely managed to mumble his words between the numerous grunts of pleasure that forced their way out of his throat.

You gave him no answer, instead just clung to him tighter, "Fuck, Bucky, I'm close-"

"Come on" he encouraged, hurrying to rub your clit. His fingers found your bud in an instant, working experienced, familiar circles that almost drove you over the edge. "Cum with me, ok?"

You nodded, gathering your lips between your teeth. He kept fucking you, harder and faster until he had turn limp under his weight. You came as his name rolled off your lips, and he followed seconds after, pumping his juices deep inside your pussy. 

You felt his absolute pleasure as he breathed heavily against your shoulder. He kept going until you were both spent, and then fell down beside you. 

"Bucky-" you whined, turning over and curling into his side, the lack of contact making you more needy than ever.

"Yes, darling?" he panted, tapping your chin.

"Nothing. I just love you"

"Love you too, doll" he huffed, spinning you around so you laid on your back.

He effortlessly helped you out of your shirt and plopped down on top of you, his head resting on your bare chest. His warm, right hand cupped your breast as he closed his eyes. He wrapped himself around you, "Hold me" he muttered, "please"

"Always, Bucky" you said, engulfing him in the tightest hold you could muster. Only then did you feel him calm down completely, and there was nothing in the world you could ever ask for.

-

If you liked it, please reblog and tell me what you thought? :)

[seldomscilence16]

Whumptober day 29: What Doesn't Kill Me

Fandom: Avengers

Prompts;

Sleep Deprivation

Defiance

"Better me than you."

Me: I should branch out and use someone other than my comfort character.

Also me: lol look at this nerd

If you asked Tony, Coffee- or maybe caffeine- was the most important thing. In the sense that, if he had to do anything ever, he was gonna need coffee to do it. JARVIS would remind him that sleep could be a good substitute, but Tony would point out the fact Coffee is far easier than Sleep. Thus proving Coffee to be superior. And really he was right, what else could keep you going for days on end? (Besides spite, of course… or anxiety… insomnia…) Nothing, that's what. (Denial)

He's almost positive there's some creepy early century study about not sleeping, and he's sure if they just gave the people coffee it would have turned out just fine. Probably. Maybe…

Anyway, the fact of the matter was, he had completed his list of to dos. So no one could be mad at him for anything to do with this week, and since he was getting a head start on next week, he'd say he's doing pretty dang good. Now the problem is, he ran out of coffee, an incident with a blender and some questionable substance of some kind that shall not be mentioned. He really needed a locked room to put anything his poor child could think of feeding him into.

And see, Tony could just go to the common floor and get some more, it's just a quick elevator trip really. But he's learned that getting coffee in front of the team is a sure fire way to get at least three scoldings and a lecture. And honestly, he's tired of it, he's proud of himself for what he's accomplished, and he would like to keep that feeling thank you. So some fresh(ish) air and a quick walk would suffice instead.

He'd much rather face a bunch of strangers and coffee shop enthusiasts instead a bunch of meanie super hero freeloaders. Besides, once they never complained about the results. And never dialed down on how much they asked for. So they could deal with caffeinated Tony.

Of course its just his luck that someone chose today to rob the bank next door- by using the wall of the coffee shop- and really, who decided this was a good idea!? You dont connect walls to banks and shit. Its just asking for trouble, case in point.

Thankfully theres only a few people in this afternoon, two employees and 4 other patrons in addition to himself. They're out numbered, and the robbers are no newbs, they shoot one hostage- in the arm thankfully- to keep the rest at bay as they set explosives in the back room. Tonys eyes however are fixed on the man before him, who clutches his arm, hoodie falling from his head to expose his face.

Something niggles in his mind at the dark skinned face, but his brain seems drawn in three other- useless- directions instead of recognition. He scoots forward instead, eyes focused on the slowly spreading spot of blood on the hoodie sleeve.

"Dont move!" Assuming the one who shot first is the leader, this guy is not the leader, but he is waving a gun around like a drunk.

"Hes bleeding." Tony states simply, moving forward still.

"And you will be too if you dont stop moving!"

"And then you'd loose too hostages and be a loosy goosy." Hes next to the guy now, completely ignoring the robber like the sane person he is.

"I'll buy you a new hoodie if we make it out of this." He says quietly, tearing the ruined sleeve off for a makeshift bandage.

"And I'll, buy you dinner." A heavily accented voice replies just as soft.

The accent niggles that same part, but his attention is drawn to the gun as it comes into view. Apparently this guy doesnt care about loosy goosy,

"Get him up, youre so worried about him he'll be my meat shield." The guy growls.

"Now come on. Youre gonna pass up Tony Stark as a meat shield? Geez kids these days."

Another head pops out of the back room, the leader maybe? They're all starting to look the same.

"Get your ass over here and bring Stark. We just got us a get out of jail card!"

If Pepper or Rhodey or JARVIS had any say, it'd be a "youre lucky youre in jail." Card.

The bleeding guy grabs at his arm, a stricken look on his face,

"Don't worry, better me than you." Tony offers a small smile, as his arm is grabbed and he's pulled up.

He could really use some coffee, his head is getting all foggy like he hates, and his body seems to groan with every step like a teenager at 7am. His 72 hour work binge is gonna end badly if he doesn't get his sweet bean elixor.

He's dragged through the hole in the wall, only stumbling a little, as the group does their little speech and shooting at the ceiling, making their way through and gathering money. He can't help but wonder why they went through the trouble of messing with the coffee shop, since this place was obviously already prepared for them. No guests, and only a few tellers left, already hiding. He's surprised it's not completely empty…

Oh! Because they decided to rob a bank down the road from Avengers tower! How he forgot about the darn Avengers when they lived in his building, he'll blame it on the lack of coffee, because that's the real victim here.

"Drop the guns, let him go, and we can do this the easy way." Cap says, all authority and shit.

He's moved further in front of the 'leader', a gun to his temple, and Tony sighs.

"Well this has been a very annoying end to my otherwise good evening. So I'll let you take it from here Cap."

His arm shoots up, the gun shooting the ceiling instead, then slams his head backwards and a nice elbow to the guy's gut for good measure. Side stepping as the Team takes over. He makes his way back through the bank, through the hole, and towards the counter.

"Any chance I can get a coffee. I'll give you both like 200 dollars right now, in addition to the $5.18." Tony rubs at his temples, eyes closed so the world won't spin. He's mostly irritated at this point, interrupting his good afternoon for this shit.

"I think perhaps, you should get checked over instead." That smooth voice pipes up.

Tony looks over to find him being tended to by a paramedic, two beautifully scary women behind them.

"I'll get right on that. After coffee. You guys want anything? My treat."

"I'll get your usual Mr. Stark." One of the employees says, getting an okay from the para.

"You are an Angel." He slaps $420 on the counter right as the Avengers walk through the hole.

"Tony! You've just been a hostage, can you stay in one place for 2 seconds?" Bruce complains.

"I am literally right next door, Brucey bear."

"The last thing you need is Coffee Stark." Cap says sternly.

"If one more person suggests that, there will be a murder today." Tony grumbles darkly, leveling a glare on Rogers that actually has the man taking a step back.

The look falls away as the wonderful Angel hands him his coffee,

"You ever need a job, you find me you hear?" Tony says seriously.

The girl blinks in surprise before smiling,

"Thank you Mr. Stark. I don't know what we would have done if you weren't here today."

"You would have been fine, this is my favorite coffee shop, I'd have been here in 2 seconds tops."

His hands shake as he tries to bring the cup to his lips, his vision going blurry as a wave of nausea hits him. He's gone too long without the bean water of life it seems, as the next thing he knows Bruce is cradling his head and he's definitely not standing anymore.

"I'm donating Dum-e. This could have been avoided." Tony grumbles, glaring through squinted eyes at the ceiling.

"How long have you been awake Tony?" Bruce asks with a resigned tone.

"Your pants are finished. And the arrows. And the widow bites. And the helicarrier updates. And SI crap. And the tupperware for Point Break. And the whole list is green, I need to water the plants… and that pretty guy got shot and I made sure he didn't bleed out. But I owe him a hoodie. A purple one. With a cat pouch." He's staring at the back of his eyelids for some reason, forcing them open again to see Bruce's face looking concerned with a touch of guilt now.

"Your pants are gonna be great I promise…" he trails off again, eyelids trying to close against his will.

"I know they will Tony."

"I'll get the other stuff done too. I just need a minute." Tony continues, eyes drifting towards Cap, "just a minute promise. Then I'll get the stuff done. And be ready, promise… just a minute."

"It's okay Tony. You get some rest, that stuff can wait."

"Just a minute."

"Close your eyes, kotenok, we got you now.'

"'Ust a minu'..."

[going-dead]

Phasmophobia

Danny was very sick of tourists coming to explore Amity park. Like very sick of them, especially the ‘ghost hunter’ ones. In the end they just caused more problems than the actual ghosts, getting in the way of the fights causing Danny more stress and injuries than normal. Not to mention they sucked at their so called jobs. He was pretty sure even a single elementary schooler of Amity was a better ghost fighter than all of the tourists combined.

But at the moment it was the dead of winter and probably one of the coldest weeks of the year. So only the stupidest of self proclaimed ghost hunters would venture out to hunt ghosts in weather like this. While it was nice not having to worry about danger prone tourists Danny still was miserable, he could deal with the cold just fine in fact he preferred the cold. The problem was that It was the holiday season, the worst time of the year. At least the ghost attacks were less frequent as they all prepared for the Christmas truce party.

Still he supposed it could be worse. His parents weren’t fighting as much this year, though that was probably due to the fact they were still treating him like he was made of glass half of the time after he told them about the whole half dead thing. Danny figured that was due to the fact they blamed themselves for the portal incident, causing them to coddle him to an almost tortuous degree. It was as if they expected him to disappear if he was so much as bumped in the wrong way. It had gotten a bit better at this point at least, if things continued as it did at the beginning Danny was pretty sure he’d rather have them still be shooting at him. Now they only tensed up when he left the house instead of not so subtly stalking him all day.

At the moment Danny was sitting on the counter in the kitchen with his mom while she was cooking dinner. “Danny dear get off the counter that’s where the food goes not you.” Maddie said shooing him off the counter with a spatula.

Danny floated off in a huff, “This is ghostphobic mom. The counter is a perfect seat.”

Maddie rolled her eyes, “The term would be phasmophobic, and no it’s not it’s; I don’t want your butt all over where I’m making our dinner-phobic.”

“Fine transphobic then.”

“How about asking you to set the table? What would that be?”

Danny mulled it over for a few seconds. “A reasonable request I suppose.” He phased his hands though the cabinets grabbing the plates. Honestly he could have just as easily grabbed them normally but he was still trying to get his parents used to him having powers. “Oh by the way Sam, Tucker, and I are hanging out tomorrow to celebrate winter break starting and school being out for two whole weeks.” “Alright sweetie, but be safe okay?”

“Of course I will be mom.”

“I mean it Danny, please.”

Danny sighed “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to text you regularly to let you know I’m safe. I’ll be fine and stay out of trouble, I promise” Maddie nodded seemingly plated at least for the time being.

The next day Danny was really regretting making that promise. The day started out so well too. Danny, Sam, and Tucker were walking along the park trail. Danny was walking a few steps in front of the other two, subtly making the path easier with his powers. The only people out insane enough to bear the cold were people who had to go to work and teens who were bored out of their minds.

“All I’m saying Danny is that if you want to choose that class you should choose a race other than human for once. Hellspawn would be the best option in your case.” Tucker argued.

“Says the dude playing the race for furries.” Danny shot back turning his head to look back at his friend.

“Hey! The beastmen race is a perfect fit for my class, they have an exp boost for trickery and magic skills  it’s the best for playing a character who mains in ambushing with traps.

“Boys boys stop arguing. Danny will be fine playing as a human he’s just gonna have to spend more time grinding. Also he’s right, beastmen are so the furry option.” Sam cut in.

“Whatever, I just don’t understand why he always plays the most boring race in every game he plays. I mean why would you want to play as a human when you could be a fantasy race like an elf or something.”

“Well that’s easy for you and Sam to say you both are still hum-,” Danny was cut off mid sentence by his ghost sense and a glowing red circle surrounding the group. He hardly had a chance to go ghost before being fully enveloped by the light.

When Danny was finally oriented enough to open his eyes he vowed to never complain about getting motion sick while his dad was driving again if it meant he would never have to go through that awful experience again. It felt like getting sucked into the Fenton Thermos if it was the size of a straw and being spun in a blender all at the same time. He looked around seeing if his friends were brought along with him. And just his luck, of course they got pulled through whatever the hell that was too.

“Ugh, you guys okay?” He closed his eyes again and focused on stabilizing his core and getting the last of the nausea to leave.

“Bleh I think I’m gonna hurl.” Sam groaned from beside him.

Danny heard Tucker shift beside him. “Yeah I’m good, I guess all that time staying up late playing VR games kinda helped against motion sickness. Landed on my arm though so definitely going to bruise later. Where are we anyway?”

That actually was a good question, Danny lifted himself off the ground literally, using legs to stand was lame anyway. The sight he was met with was both confusing and surprising. Looking down he saw that the three of them were in some sort of red magic circle or something, with candles lit around it. Looking past that was the part that was surprising. He was expecting this to be the work of a ghost but standing in a circle around the three of them were six  humans in different colored robes. He couldn’t recognize any of them though, they must have been from out of town or just total shut ins. He was pretty sure he recognized where they were though, it was the basement of an abandoned building next to the mall, Sam was super into urban exploring the year before and it was one of the first places she dragged the two boys to.

“Haha uhh hey didn’t know there was a costume party going on, I would have dressed up, looks like you got all the colored robe thing going on though. Would my hazmat suit work instead of a robe?” Danny looked at the group around him and cracked an uneasy smile. Maybe it was some sort of accidental ghost summoning or something, it wouldn’t be the first time. Though the fact it brought his friends along pointed to it either being on purpose or something much more powerful, or both.

The man in the black robe turned to a woman in a white one. “Why did the spell bring two kids along with it .”

Danny tried to ignore being called an ‘it’ not like his parents didn’t do it before they knew about his identity. “I’m not the murder clown and I do have a name you know.” But his words seemed to fall onto deaf ears.

“I did the calculations right if that’s what you’re trying to imply, as you can see the subject did appear in the circle as planned. We probably just underestimated how much power the sacrifice would provide with the addition of the solstice.” White robe snapped. Great, this was totally just what Danny needed at the start of his winter break. Not only did they seem like ghost hunters they were the crazy obsessed culty ones.

“Either way the goal was achieved in the end, we have the ghost boy.” Black robe pointed to two men, one in yellow and one in blue robes. “Take care of the two bystanders, but don’t kill them. After all we shouldn’t kill our soon to be followers.” Yeah that wasn’t concerning at all Danny thought.

The one in the yellow grabbed Sam and the one in the blue grabbed Tucker at the black robed man's command. Danny assumed that probably meant the black robed one was the one in charge here. “Hey! Get your hands off me you freaks!” Sam yelled, struggling against the man’s grip.

But Danny’s friends didn’t have a chance against people twice their size. Before either of them could struggle more the two men slammed their heads to the ground in almost unison, knocking them out almost instantly. It happened so fast all Danny would do is watch on in horror. He felt like he watched their now limp bodies for ages, their chests shallowly rising at least giving him the relief of knowing they were still alive. But the sight of small puddles of blood forming around their heads snapped him out of his horror and into a rage.

Danny placed his feet to the ground turning to look at the two in the black and white robes. “Why?” He seethed, “You said they were accidentally brought along when you were trying to get me here. Technically in a way this falls onto me. So tell me, why?”

The man in the black robe seemed taken aback from being confronted so suddenly. The woman in white didn’t seem to have the same problem, maybe they both were in charge? Honestly though Danny didn’t care at this point. “We will take over the little town you haunt. After we do that we will find out where all the ghosts are originating from and then make them into our soldiers so we can take over the country and then the world. To do that we obviously needed you out of the way since you seem to be the only one capable of combating the other ghosts that come into this world. Or you would just defeat our pawns before they could take true action. So we found a way to summon and trap ghosts, then brought you here so we could get you out of our way.”

Honestly Danny was disappointed hearing that more than anything, his rage almost completely disappeared after hearing the plan. “Hold up that is the stupidest plan I have ever heard.” And that was saying something seeing as he dealt with Vlad's plans on a weekly basis. “First off you do realize it would be very hard to get or even force ghosts into your service if you don’t offer them, anything in return. Not to mention how some ghosts have almost godlike powers and you expect to overpower them? Also I am not even close to the only one who can fight ghosts. Everyone in Amity Park has at least some know how when it comes to ghost fighting. They sell basic ghost protection equipment at the supermarket. I just happen to be better suited than everyone else because I y’know can like fly and go intangible when chasing them. Using ghosts to take over the world is so stupid do you even know how to properly catch a ghost? Seriously this is like next level dumb, not to mention how did you even know the summoning would work if it didn't you’d just all be standing in a darkly lit room looking dumber than you already do.”

That seemed to anger the white one a lot. Apparently she didn’t like her intelligence questioned. “Why you little-.” She stomped her foot. “This plan was thought through down to the smallest detail. You want to know how it worked huh? How about asking your friend over there. I wonder what happens when the dead are killed? You will find out soon enough.”

Danny looked over to where we gestured and his refound taunting attitude vanished. Laying over in the corner inside a smaller less complex looking circle was a ghost or the ectoplasmic remains of one at least, the core was completely destroyed. Judging by the fact that the ectoplasm was red it probably had a fire core before it was destroyed. From the lingering ecto signature Danny doubted the ghost was even sapient. It was most likely the remains of something like a blob ghost or the ghost of an animal or even a weaker ectopus. Still all he could do was stare at the remains in horror.

“Of course summoning you was harder so we used that thing for its ghost energy to help power the circle. Instead of chalk we used it’s ectoplasm to ensure the strength and longevity of the seal to hold you in the circle.” The woman smiled as if she achieved something great. Achieve something she did indeed, but it certainly was not what she intended.

The rage Danny felt before came back in full force. Before with his friends he at least knew they would recover, all three of them got injured fighting ghosts more often than they should. But to injure a ghost to the point where not even their core remained was something so taboo that only the most despicable ghosts would do. Even Skulker kept the cores of his prey stable enough not to fade away completely. A ghost's form could be completely destroyed but as long as their core remained they would reform back where they first formed in the Ghost Zone. The only ghosts Danny could think of who would go out of their way to destroy a core were some of the ancients like Pariah Dark or Nocturne.

Danny finally managed to tear his eyes away from the ghost's remains to lock eyes with the woman. She and the black robed man took a step back out of instinct. Looking into his eyes they felt the feeling every animal of prey felt when it knew it was being watched, being hunted. The temperature in the room dropped and frost started to crawl across the walls. Danny took a step towards the two leaders before pausing to reconsider and turning and starting towards the two men standing above his friends.

Then men in yellow and blue robes looked to the man in black for guidance, unsure of what action to take. He looked uncertain as well but shook his head. “There’s no way it can pass through the seal, we tested it.”

Danny's eyes flicked over to the man then back to the two who hurt his friends and gave them a predatory grin, his teeth now looking slightly sharper than usual. He made no sound as he stepped over the circle with ease closer and closer to the two men. They both reached for their weapons, small bats, apparently they were the muscle of the group, and swung at the approaching ghost. Danny simply went intangible causing the two to overswing and hit each other instead, knocking the wind out of them both and causing them to drop their bats. While they were catching their breath Danny grabbed them by their hair and knocked their heads together. Their bodies crumbled to the floor just a few inches from the teens they did the same to just minutes before.

The one who had yet to say or do anything, dressed in red, made her way towards Danny while his back was towards her. Just as she got within arms reach of him she slipped and fell. The temperature had dropped even more at this point causing the ground surrounding Danny to ice over. Danny hardly acknowledged the large thud behind him simply trapping the fallen woman up to her neck in ice as he walked past and headed towards his final two targets.

When first summoned by the group Danny could, within reason, probably be passed off as a weirdish looking human excluding the glow around him. But now as he stalked towards his prey that was no longer the case. His chest no longer moved like it was breathing. His feet made no sound as they made contact with the ground. His eyes, non-blinking, no longer had pupils or even whites to them just a void of endless ectoplasmic green. His ears were pointed almost bat like. The tips of which, along with his lips, were tinted blue. His hair, normally white like snow, now was just the white that came from complete absence of any color. The hair was defying gravity almost as if it was underwater while smoke like wisps trailed off from his hair as he moved. His mouth was twisted into an emotionless smile splitting through his cheeks showing needle like teeth all the way back to where his molars would have been, there was no tongue or throat behind them, just another endless green void. The skin of his neck that was showing past the hazmat suit was marked with lightning like scars. The glow around him seemed to absorb all the light in the room.

The man in the black robe looked between the approaching horror and his partner before running towards the exit. Danny moved so fast it was almost as if he materialized right in front of the man. The man stumbled back falling down in shock but still tried to scramble away from him crossing his chest as he did so. Just as Danny started to raise his arm towards the man he paused and lurched back.

He looked down at his chest where an ornate knife was now lodged. Holding onto the hilt was the woman, she gave the knife a final twist before letting go and herding her partner into the corner farthest away from Danny. Danny showed no pain as he grabbed the knife and pulled it out, the blade was dripping with ectoplasm, and dropped it on the ground. The wound in his chest already healing, filling with more ectoplasm to replace what was lost.

The smile that was marring Danny’s face was replaced with a scowl as he made his way towards the corner where the two were cowering. Placing a hand on their necks he lifted them both up against the wall and started slowly burning their skin with an ectoblast. He let them go, letting them fall to the ground only when their screams of pain turned silent as crushed vocal cords and burnt throat muscles took their toll. Both cult leaders looked up at him in horror faces pale. "What's wrong?" Danny smiled, "It looks like you've seen a ghost."

The woman looked at him in fear as she grasped at the raw skin of her throat, which now was covered in blisters and charred in some of the worst places. “Wha-, what, what are you?” She managed to rasp out before coughing up some blood.

Danny let out a dark chuckle, his voice echoed over itself. “I-,” he snarled, “am a Phantom .”

After Danny sent an anonymous tip to the police about the cult, he brought his friends back to his house. Of course his mom freaked out after he stopped responding to her texts and even more when he phased into the living room with an unconscious Sam and Tucker. He was pretty sure she was about to break out the BOOmerang if she didn’t hear from him for much longer. She was more than willing to take the two of them to the hospital to get them checked out.

Danny made a quick stop into the ghost zone to tell Clockwork to spread the word to other ghosts to be on alert and that there were humans that were trying to summon and capture ghosts. After telling Clockwork what happened, in much more detail than the briefest summary he gave his mom, including how he probably went a bit overboard with dealing with the cultists. He also admitted he didn't regret it even if he did go overboard. They hurt his friends and caused a ghost to completely fade, and in Danny’s opinion they deserve whatever came to them. The whole story caused Clockwork to also start fretting over him making sure to let Danny know that his reaction was a completely normal response to someone threatening something that falls within his obsession especially since it happened in his haunt of all places. Danny swore that his ghostly mentor could be worse than his own parents sometimes especially when it came to reassuring him about his more ghostly tendencies.  

Luckily after being released from the hospital it turned out the worst Sam and Tucker suffered were concussions that would heal in a decently short amount of time. That didn’t mean they weren’t complaining about it though.

“Stop laughing about my suffering Danny! I won’t be able to start playing Fantasy War Online VII until my two week tech restriction is lifted by my doctor. It was bad enough I had to go to a hospital but to be taken away from my lovely devices as well is just too much.” Tucker lamented.  

“Quit complaining and suck it up. I’m on the restriction too Tucker.” Sam pointed out.

Tucker huffed. “Yeah well you’ll probably manage to catch up to all the people who are getting it on release day easily, since you’re scarily good at MMO’s.” He flopped back onto Danny’s bed. “Hey at least this gives us more time to convince Danny to play something other than a human for once in his life. Like I said before the hellspawn is the perfect race for the build you’re going for.”

Danny just rolled his eyes. “And like I said before, I like being a human.” “Whatever dude just don’t complain when I utterly beat you if we end up fighting because you wanted to be the lamest most boring race ever.”

Danny shrugged. “Somehow I’ll cope, I just think it’s nice to be seen as normal and not scary.”

Sam laughed. “Danny you are the least scary person like to ever exist. The only things scary about you are your grades and your wacky parents. I doubt you could be scary if you tried.”

Danny looked out the window watching the stars as they started to appear in the sky. “...Yeah I guess you’re right.”

[wintervvidow]

apricity pt. three

apricity - the warmth of the sun in winter

warnings: angst, vomit mention, violence

pairing: bucky barnes x female oc

word count: 4,200

A/N: this is a bit of a filler chapter yet still very important! I did have to use google translate for the Russian, so if it is incorrect, please let me know and I'm very sorry if it is! Thank you 💕

MASTERLIST

“Я готов отвечить.” ( Ready to comply.)

The December air was cold as it blew through Florence’s hair, her arms circling Bucky’s waist as they rode down the dark road on Bucky’s motorcycle. The soldier steered with one arm, free hand coming down to rub circles on the redhead’s calf as they pulled behind a cluster of trees, hiding them from onlookers as they waited. The pair of assassins were unthawed and reset only hours ago, immediately given their latest mission.

A car came into view, red tail lights illuminating the air around them. Bucky flipped the bike’s headlight on and pulled onto the road again. The soldier revved the bike, catching up to the side of the vehicle as Florence sunk her butterfly knife into the tire, causing the car to swerve off the road and crash into a building.

Bucky parked the bike ahead of the crash, Florence stepping off the bike, Bucky behind her, and approaching the car. She flipped open the trunk to reveal a large silver briefcase, opening it to see five bags of blue liquid; exactly what they were looking for.

This was the last mission the Winter Soldier and the Winter Widow would ever go on.

Florence bolted up in the cheap hotel bed, Bucky’s screams reverbing in her brain. HYDRA always made her watch when Bucky was reprogrammed, a way to keep Florence in line and remind her who she was; just a puppet.

The last mission was always a common nightmare in the rotation of dreams Florence had, continuously taunting her. She disappeared only two weeks after it, abandoning everything she had grown accustomed to and the only person she had ever loved.

Florence couldn't go back to sleep, instead deciding on making herself coffee, the microwave clock mocking her, 4:34 a.m. She sipped her coffee slowly at the small kitchenette table, patiently waiting to start her day as she watched the clock tick away until it became 6:30 a.m., a reasonable enough hour to be awake for Steve to not worry.

~

The team was in Lagos, following a lead on Brock Rumlow, who had been causing quite the headache in the past few months, this time his target was deadly weapons from the Institute For Infectious Diseases.

Florence and Natasha sat across from each other listening to Steve and Wanda Maximoff converse about their surroundings through their earpieces, doing their best to remain anonymous and still get the intel under the hot noon sun.

“You see that Range Rover halfway up the block?” Steve asked Wanda as she fiddled with the sugar packet in her hand.

“Yeah, the red one? It’s cute.”

“It’s also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns...which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us.” Florence smirked at Natasha’s response as she took a sip of her coffee, savoring the caffeine.

Wanda chirped back through her radio, ‘You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?”

Florence glanced at Wanda across the cafe, “Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature.”

Sam’s voice floated through their earpieces from the rooftop above, “Anybody ever told you two you’re a little paranoid?”

The two redheads shared a knowing look with small smirks adorning their faces, “Not to either of our faces. Why? Did you hear something?” Florence’s tone was light, but both she and Natasha knew the darkness behind it; the Red Room made them that way.

Steve, ever the serious man, refocused the small group, “Eyes on target, folks. This is the best lead we’ve had on Rumlow in six months. I don’t want to lose him.”

Sam scoffed in the mic, “If he sees us coming, that won’t be a problem. He kind of hates us.”

There was a pause in time before Steve spoke, “Sam, see that garbage truck? Tag it.” Sam deployed Redwing, giving Sam and the team the information they needed, “That truck’s loaded for max weight. And the driver’s armed.”

Natasha glanced at Florence, the pair not too thrilled to be dealing with this particular situation, “It’s a battering ram.”

“Go now.”

Wanda questioned Steve into her mic, the tension had just risen significantly.

“He’s not hitting the police.”

The team scattered, Steve, Wanda, and Sam going after Rumlow while Florence and Natasha were both on motorcycles racing down the street.

“Rumlow has a biological weapon.”

Natasha revved her bike, “I’m on it.” The redhead purposely crashed her bike, flinging it into an armed guard. Florence ditched her bike, joining Natasha in the fight.

A guard swung at Florence, missing his target as she ducked and swept his feet from underneath the attacker. Natasha took down two more guards while Florence took down three more, tossing the last guard on the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Florence and Natasha were attacked by Rumlow, neither of the two women able to effectively take him down. The two were shoved into a tank, Rumlow dropping a bomb in before latching the door closed. They surveyed their surroundings quickly; two guards with guns aiming at them. Florence kicked one unconscious while Natasha grabbed the other guard and used him as a human shield when the grenade exploded, grabbing Florence on the way down.

Black smoke filled the air, the smell of fire making it hard to breathe, sending the pair of assassins into a coughing fit on the ground. Looking up, they could see Steve being blown back into the building by an explosion, their ears ringing from the volume. Steve sent Sam after Rumlow, who was in an AFV heading north.

Natasha relocated the ditched bike and got on, pulling Florence behind her. The younger assassin revved the bike as they entered the street, Florence holding onto her.

Sam called out the offenders, clocking four of them splitting up.

Natasha stopped the bike and looked at Florence before splitting up, “I got the two on the left, you take the right.”

Florence sprinted down the busy street, dodging and weaving the crowd. Her targets came into view ahead of her, the girl sent a throwing star their way, effectively knocking him to the ground with no way to run. The girl grabbed the man, searching the bag furiously, trying to locate the weapon, “It’s not here!” Sam replied back, not having the weapon either.

Natasha called over the mic, “I have it.” Florence sighed in relief, moving to meet back up with the team.

She came upon Steve, who had Rumlow on the ground in front of him. She approached the scene cautiously, listening to the exchange.

“You know, he knew you and that redhead, Florence. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky.” Rumlow whispered tauntingly at Steve.

Florence approached from behind, grabbing Rumlow’s hair and yanking him back, putting a knife to his throat, “What did you say?” The flip switched in Florence’s brain at the mention of Bucky, nothing else mattering anymore. She didn’t care that people were probably filming her with a knife to someone’s throat, and Steve made no move to stop her.

The disfigured man laughed as the knife dug deeper against his neck, staring up at Florence, “He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Always screaming about you.” He then looked at Steve, “Till they put his brain back in a blender. He wanted you to know something. He said to me, ‘Please tell Rogers. When you gotta go, you gotta go.’ And you’re coming with me.” Rumlow’s thumb pressed a detonation device, Florence and Steve noticing it at the same time.

Wanda was behind them, containing the explosion of fire with her powers, keeping Steve and Florence from becoming red mist. The newest member sent Rumlow up and into the building in front of them. The building went up in flames, the leftover gasses from Rumlow’s bombs reacting to the fire and exploding. The bystanders screamed and ran as Wanda looked on in horror at what she had just done, hand clamping over her face.

Florence gently guided the girl away from the scene, “Hey, come one. We have to go, this isn’t on you, okay?”

Behind them, Steve called for Sam to request Fire & Rescue before he took off to go save people from the building, leaving Florence to console the distraught brunette.

A month later, the team was back at the Avengers Compound, Florence sitting with Steve as they watched the news.

“Eleven Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos, when the attack occurred.”

The TV switched to show King T’Chacka of Wakanda’s speech:

“Our people’s blood is spilled on foreign soil, not only because of the actions of criminals, ut by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all.”

Steve turned the TV off, the only other sound in the compound coming from Wanda’s TV in her room. Florence got up to go speak to the girl before Steve stopped her, “I’ll go.” Steve and Wanda were taking the Lagos incident the hardest, both blaming themselves. The mention of Bucky had made both Florence and Steve freeze until it was too late, leaving Wanda to deal with the bomb that now plagues her consciousness. Florence watched as Steve walked off until he wasn’t visible anymore for her to turn on her heel to head to the kitchen.

The redhead was in dire need of coffee, the cup she had that morning had worn off. The nightmares amplified after Rumlow’s supposed confession about Bucky, the girl had hardly slept more than two hours a night. When she did sleep it was restless, nightmares of Bucky haunting every corner of her mind. She managed to make it through half her mug before she was called downstairs for a meeting with Tony and the Secretary of State.

Secretary Ross sighed heavily as he stood at the head of the table of Avengers as he mimicked his golf swing, “Five years ago, I had a heart attack and dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me. Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives, but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word ‘vigilantes’.”

Next to Florence, Natasha spoke with a smirk adorning her face, “What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?”

Secretary Ross looked up from the table, “How about ‘dangerous’? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”

Ross stepped aside from the table, allowing the full view to be on the screen in front of the table, showing various clips of incidents the Avengers were involved in. Everyone at the table grimaced at the screen, not proud of what it was showing. Ross flipped through events of New York, Washington D.C., Sokavia and Lagos before Steve had enough, noting Wanda’s demeanor change and telling Ross to turn it off.

“For the past four years, you’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That’s an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.” Ross paused, placing a large file on the table in front of Wanda who passed it on to Rhodey, “The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they’ll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary.”

Steve spoke from the end of the table, “The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we’ve done that.”

Ross looked down at Steve, “Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now? If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes, you can bet there’d be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That’s how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.”

Rhodey gestured to the accords “So, there are contingencies.”

Ross shrugged, “Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords. Talk it over.”

Ross began to leave until Natasha stopped him, “And if we come to a decision you don’t like?”

“Then you retire.” Ross left after that, leaving the team to discuss.

The team was arguing amongst themselves as Florence stared at the ceiling with her feet on the table, listening to various points being made while Rhodey and Sam debated behind Steve while Tony rolled his eyes.

“Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honor, which is one more than you have.”

Sam crossed his arms over his chest, “So let’s say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?”

“117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you’re just like, ‘No, that’s cool. We got it.’”

Sam cut Rhodey off, “How long are you going to play both sides?”

Vision interrupted from his spot on the couch next to Wanda, “I have an equation.”

Sam moved to stand behind Florence, his voice dripping in sarcasm, “Oh, this will clear it up.”

Vision continued, “In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. During the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.”

“Are you saying it’s our fault?” Steve spoke with the Accords in hand.

“I’m saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invited challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict,” Vision paused, “breeds catastrophe. Oversight, oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.”

Rhodey looked to Sam, “Boom.”

Natasha spoke from her spot at the table, “Tony, you are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal.” Tony rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

“It’s because he’s already made up his mind.”

Tony grumbled at Steve’s statement, “Boy, you know me so well.” Tony rose from the couch, cradling his head as he walked over to the kitchen, “Actually, I’m nursing an electromagnetic headache. That’s what’s going on, Cap. It’s just pain. It’s discomfort.” Tony grabbed a coffee mug, looking into the sink, “Who’s putting coffee grounds in the disposal?”

Natasha looked at Florence with a knowing look about her coffee-sleep- problem while Tony continued complaining behind them, “Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?”

Tony placed his phone in the fruit basket, a small hologram emitting from it of a young man, “Oh, that’s Charles Spencer, by the way. He’s a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul, before he parked it behind a desk, See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn’t want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn’t go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where. Sokovia.” Tony paused, allowing the words to sink in painfully, “He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. We won’t know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass. There’s no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I’m game. If we can’t accept limitations, if we’re boundary-less, we’re no better than the bad guys.”

Steve began speaking, “Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don’t give up.”

“Who said we’re giving up?”

“We are if we’re not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame.”

Rhodey speaks up, pointing at Steve, “I’m sorry, Steve. This is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we’re talking about. It’s not the World Security Council, it’s not S.H.I.E.L.D., it’s not HYDRA.”

Florence practically flinched at Rhodey’s mention of HYDRA as Steve cut him off, “No, but it’s run by people with agendas, and agendas change.”

Tony walked towards the group, “That’s good. That’s why I’m here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing.”

Steve interrupted, “Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don’t think we should go? What if there’s somewhere we need to go and they don’t let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.” The team all shared looks, silently gauging their stances.

Tony looked down at Steve, “If we don’t do this now, it’s gonna be done to us later. That’s the fact. That won’t be pretty.”

Wanda, who had been silent the entire meeting, spoke from her seat next to Vision, “You’re saying they’ll come for me.”

Vision spoke beside her, “We would protect you.”

“Maybe Tony’s right,” All eyes darted to Natasha, “If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off-”

Sam cut her off, “Aren’t you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?”

“I’m just reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.” Florence was slightly shocked at Natasha’s statement. She had assumed that she wouldn’t be signing, not wanting to walk back into a potential puppet situation.

Tony leaned against his chair, looking at Natasha baffled, “Focus up. I’m sorry. Did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?”

Natasha shook her head, “I want to take it back now.”

“No, no, no, you can’t retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay. Case closed. I win.”

Florence noticed Steve’s phone buzzing, watching his face fall as he read the notification, “I have to go.” The team watched as Steve bolted out of the room.

Days later, Florence was seated between Steve and Sam as they attended Peggy Carter’s funeral in London. The girl was never close to Peggy in the ’40s, she only spoke to her briefly, but Florence knew Steve would need support. The trio watched from the pew as Sharon Carter, Peggy’s niece and an ex S.H.I.E.L.D agent, spoke about her aunt. Sharon had grown to be a friend and an ally to the team, helping them out during the Battle of Triskelion.

The funeral ended quickly, Florence standing outside with Sam while Steve remained in the chapel. A familiar redhead passed by, Florence grabbing Natasha’s arm gently, “Nat? What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Steve, then I’m off to Vienna to sign the Accords.”

Florence furrowed her brows, “You’re signing it? Who else signed?”

Natasha shrugged, “Yeah, it’s what seems right. Tony, Rhodey and Vision have signed. Clint says he’s retired and Wanda is TBD. You?”

“I can’t.” Florence wanted to but was immensely torn. She didn’t see a way to function properly under the Accords, and her best bet was to not sign, much to Natasha’s dismay. Florence remained paranoid after the Red Room and HYDRA, even more so than the redhead in front of her. She wanted it to be easy, to sign the Accords without any second thoughts, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Natasha smiled softly at her friend, “I figured. But there’s room on the jet if you change your mind.”

“Thanks, Nat, but I’ll pass. Go see Steve.” The two girls hugged briefly, Natasha pulling away and entering the chapel.

Hours later, both Sam and Florence’s phone vibrated, alerting a notification, the pair taking out their devices and reading ‘UNITED NATIONS COMPLEX BOMBED’

The two looked up from their phones in fear, immediately on the hunt to find Steve.

They found him in the lobby of Sharon’s hotel, having walked her back after Natasha left hours ago. Sam stopped in front of him, “Steve, there’s something you need to see.”

The trio stood in front of the TV of their shared hotel room as the news anchor spoke, “A bomb hidden in news van ripped through the UN building in Vienna.”

Sharon paced behind them while she was on the phone.

“More than 70 people have been injured. At least 12 are dead, including Wakanda’s King T’Chaka. Officials have released a video of a suspect, who they have identified as James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier. The infamous HYDRA agent linked to numerous acts of terrorism and political assassinations.”

The screen played a clip of the alleged suspect, Bucky, and Florence felt like she was going to be sick. Her stomach dropped and she could feel Sam’s gaze on her. It couldn’t be him. It couldn’t be him. It couldn’t be him.

Sharon interrupted Steve and Florence’s internal spiral, “I have to go to work.”

Florence remained in front of the TV, trying to talk herself out of believing that Bucky would do this. He would have been acting alone. He wouldn’t have done this, this wasn’t the man she knew. She knew he was out of HYDRA’s clutches and was on his own, it couldn’t be him.

Steve grabbed her wrist gently, turning her away from the TV, “We have to go to Vienna, come on.”

Florence and Steve made it to Vienna along with Sam, both leaning against a tree with hats and sunglasses in an attempt to remain unknown. Steve pulled out his phone, dialing Natasha’s number. Florence ignored their conversation as she stared emotionless at the ground. The air was still heavy with smoke from the bombing as Steve spotted Natasha a few yards away, her ignorant to the fact that Steve and Florence were here.

After Steve hung up, Florence’s phone began to ring, Natasha’s contact lighting up the screen. She shared a look with Steve before answering, “Hey.”

Natasha wasted no time getting to the point, “Look, I know how much Barnes means to you, trust me I get it, but don’t do anything stupid. You need to stay home and regroup.”

Florence sighed into the phone, “Nat, you know I can’t do that.” Florence ended the call before Natasha could respond, quickly pocketing the phone in her black jacket and walking away.

Florence and Steve entered a restaurant, quickly spotting Sam at the bar.

Sam placed his food down, “She tell you to stay out of it?” Steve and Florence’s silence was answer enough for Sam, “Might have a point.”

Steve pursed his lips, “He’d do it for me.”

“1945, maybe.” Florence glared at Sam through her glasses as he continued speaking, “I just want to make sure we consider all our options. The people that shoot at you two usually end up shooting at me.”

Sam didn’t know him. Steve didn’t know the ‘new’ him. Out of the two, she had known Bucky the longest, loving him through the good and the bad. Even when he was the darkest parts of the Winter Soldier, Florence still held love for him in her heart because she knew what HYDRA made him into. And when Florence’s reflection was unfamiliar to herself, whether she was covered in someone else’s blood or she had been reprogrammed, Bucky kept her from falling apart in the Red Room. It couldn’t be him.

Sharon made her way up the bar, standing next to Steve as she updated the group, “Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter Soldier goes to their gym. Most of its noise.” Sharon slid a file over to Steve, “Except for this. My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now, so that’s all the head start you’re gonna get.”

Florence thanked Sharon as she left to leave, “You’re all gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight.” Again, the feeling of bile worked its way up Florence’s throat, forcing herself to choke it down. Her hands shook at her sides as she took in Sharon’s words. She wouldn’t let that happen, even if it ended up killing her. She was going to save him.

Steve read over the file quickly, Sam and Florence looking at him expectantly, ”He’s in Romania.”

The location shouldn’t have shocked Florence as much as it did. A lot happened in Romania between herself and Bucky, she shouldn’t be surprised he went there. He probably didn’t even realize why he went to Bucharest, the action must have felt familiar. She should have began their search there two years ago, Florence was angry with herself for missing such an important place to them both. And God, did Romania have painful roots in the soldiers’ and widows’ lives.

FEEDBACK IS WELCOMED. IF YOU ENJOYED, PLEASE REBLOG!

taglist: @tanyaherondale   @lilyviolets   @jckie94 @g-mayunot

[bondsmagii]

Please do info dump about tornados

tornados have been my jam since I was about 4 years old no joke, I would just watch documentary after documentary about them and even now I love bingewatching footage of them on YouTube like yes... that’s the good shit. before I get into the bulk of it thought I want to share my all time favourite footage of a tornado, like. it’s genuinely one of the scariest videos I’ve ever seen.

this footage was filmed by Clem Schultz, showing the approach of the F4 tornado that destroyed his home. how he managed to hold his nerve as that bore down on him I have no idea, but in managing it he got some of the most incredible footage of a tornado in existence. the sound of that storm, the way all you can hear is the wind growing louder and his breathing, those incredible seconds of footage from inside the tornado... we really owe him a lot for this video. headphones are good for really getting an idea of the magnitude of this thing, but beware that it is beyond loud. (Schultz survived; unfortunately his wife Geri, who was downstairs, did not. in the face of a tornado this powerful, who survives and who doesn’t is simply down to luck.) 

anyway I’ll skip straight to the more interesting stuff because the basics re: how they’re formed is pretty common knowledge and we’re here for the juicy stuff.

something I will talk about briefly just while I’m on a tangent is common knowledge to anyone who knows anything about tornados and also anyone who lives with them as a danger, but it’s something I see a lot of other people simply not knowing: the most powerful tornados (known as F5s) are deadass just. unsurvivable outside of pure luck. I’ve seen people get really bitchy about the damage done by these tornados (see what happened in Moore, OK, in 2013), going on about how people should be building things better and stronger and all that stuff, but like. F5 tornados are the strongest winds on earth. they’re stronger than a hurricane and they’re much more concentrated onto a small area. a concrete or brick building with solid foundations will be obliterated by an F5 tornado. the only way to stand a chance of surviving is if you’re in the centre of the building in a windowless room (the survivors of a school hit directly by an F5 tornado were sheltering in the windowless bathrooms in the middle of the school; even then the roof was still ripped off above them) or you’re in a deep basement with a very sturdy hatch (a door leading into the house will simply be ripped off and probably the floor with it, so it’s still very likely you will literally just be sucked out of the basement). F5s are absolutely terrifying, and no amount of structural integrity will stand up to them. build a little house out of whipped cream and then push a hand blender through it. that’s a building in an F5.

ALSO air pressure changes drastically in a tornado. as it passes over you things get really crazy, and it can and will suck you out of places you’re sheltering if it’s powerful enough. the pressure will make it feel like you’re being pressed tightly against the ground, almost like you’re being crushed; then it will make you feel weightless, and that’s when it’s trying to suck you out. if you’re in the path of a strong tornado, try to hold on to something sturdy, like a pipe that goes deep into the ground. it might not help if it’s sustained exposure, but don’t let yourself be caught out by what’s essentially a giant vacuum cleaner!! I know I’m speaking like this is an impending problem but you can never be too safe!!

and dear god never shelter under one of those road overpasses. I know it looks better than being out in the open but those things are wind tunnels. the force of the tornado will be squeezed down into a much smaller space and the windspeed will increase exponentially, so it’s all around a bad time. if you’re stuck in the path of a tornado and there’s nothing around but an overpass and your car, take your chances in any dip in the ground -- a ditch, something like that. cars and overpasses are absolute death traps. here’s footage of the aftermath of an overpass hit, showing extensive damage to cars which could have easily been thrown through the air like missiles if the tornado had been strong enough:

(timestamped, footage is at 2:52 if for some reason it doesn’t work.)

here’s a video of what happens to the windspeeds of a much smaller tornado in an overpass:

this video is probably responsible for a lot of people making this mistake. the film crew got away with it because the tornado did not pass directly overhead like they claimed. it went just behind them (to the left of the camera when they’re under the bridge) and the wind coming through was the outer funnel. had it been a direct hit, and certainly if it had been a bigger tornado, these guys would have been thrown around like stuffed toys in a washing machine.

speaking of which: did you know tornados can have arms? this is actually a relatively new piece of information, and it unfortunately came at a terrible cost. I’m sure everyone is aware of the fact that stormchasers exist, but contrary to popular belief they’re not actually a bunch of reckless adrenaline junkies. proper stormchasers are usually trained meteorologists, and until the incident I’m referring to, no stormchasers had ever lost their lives while stormchasing. not bad, when you remember that these guys are driving towards the tornado when everyone else is running away. stormchasers are equipped with a lot of high-tech radar equipment, though, so they can trace the tornado’s exact movements even in heavy rain, so they’re able to stay out of the way. this is obviously not something you should try and do as an amateur. 

anyway, this is to establish the fact that stormchasing is surprisingly safe, and tornados were believed to be pretty well understood when this incident went down. we know how they’re formed, we know their general behaviour, we can track them easily and tell people to get out of the way with decent warning. they’re still dangerous and they can still occur suddenly, but up until this incident nobody thought they had any new tricks up their sleeves. and then one tornado in particular did something that nobody had ever seen before, and it cost several stormchasers their lives.

tornados can change size and speed pretty rapidly, and the 2013 El Reno tornado was doing this a fair bit. however, it also had what’s known as subvortexes, which is basically like smaller vortexes coming off of the main vortex (what we would call the “funnel”). the vortex that you can see with the naked eye is actually only a small part of the whole thing -- we only see it because it’s sucking up dust and dirt, making it visible. all around it, though, is a wider rotating vortex of air, and we can see this by the effect it as on structures, rain, etc. out in the open, though, like with the El Reno tornado? it’s much more difficult to see. it can also get really, really big. within this area, subvortexes were forming, which are essentially like mini tornados that you might not necessarily be able to see. the stormchasers in question -- Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and his colleague Carl Young -- should have been far enough away from the main vortex to be able to make a successful escape, but one of these subvortexes just... reached out and threw the car off the road, essentially. I mean, the odds of this were astronomical, and this had never happened before. and like, look at this:

that’s the path of the tornado’s “arm”. TWISTEX is the name of the stormchaser team -- as you can see, they should have been safely out of the way. the subvortex literally just flicked itself out and landed a direct hit, and then carried on its way in less than a minute. this is just... unprecedented. this is one of those tragic situations where there was nothing these people could have done, at all. it’s such a terrible loss, particularly to the field of stormchasing -- Tim Samaras was an accomplished engineer who pioneered many different tactics and pieces of tech for stormchasing, and he was a genius in the field. his work on the Discovery Channel’s show Storm Chasers got countless people interested in the field, and in fact during a eulogy to him somebody even mentioned the fact that most of the young people in the room at that moment were probably there because of him. it was just awful, but there was absolutely no way they could have predicted this. a tornado changing size, speed, and direction all in one go, and then whipping out subvortexes? this is like, the absolute worst case scenario here.

finally, to lighten things up a little: absolutely obsessed with the team of stormchasers who keep trying to modify their vehicle so it can withstand a direct hit, and then driving it around on the job to test out the mods with often disastrous consequences. yes, I said that stormchasers are all professionals, and they are, but they are also all scientists, which means they’re approximately as stupid as they are smart. this is one of their inventions:

like? I’m losing my mind here. the car is called Tiv. on the way to the storm in question they stopped at a gas station to weld more iron to it. as they drove it out they referred to it as “letting loose the dogs of war”. it has hooks that can be deployed to dig into the ground. when the tornado passed close to them one of them yelled “DEPLOY CLAWS!! DEPLOY CLAWS!!” claws were deployed and the tornado absolutely annihilated them. yote them right off the road and rolled the car. everyone was fine and they brought the car in for repairs and then out to try again. God Bless Our Troops.

anyway if you’re still here congratulations I am honestly impressed.

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch29. The Sokovia Accords Part 1: When You Gotta Go...You Gotta Go.

Summary: Things didn’t go according to plan in Lagos and as a result The Avengers are faced with a set of regulations which the Government are seeking to impose on them. But, when Steve gets a phone call with some devastating news, it all pales into insignificance.

Warnings: Bad language, Smut! (NSFW, Under 18s) Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Elements of this have been reworked/rewritten…for reasons which will become apparent at some point! Once again HUGE thanks to @angrybirdcr​

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

Chapter 28

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chaos. That was the only way to describe what went down when The Avengers mobilised. The Institute was compromised and, after a violent chase Natasha secured the biological weapon which had been stolen, whilst Katie and Sam provided support from the air, Wanda dealing with a huge cloud of poisonous gas which had been released.

And then Steve and Rumlow ended up exchanging blows, which was where it all went completely to shit.

Neither of them seemed to have the upper hand, although it felt like Rumlow did for a while, as he slammed Steve into a building and extended a blade from one of his gauntlets.

“This is for dropping a building on my face.” He snarled. Steve, however, was quick to respond and pulled the gauntlet off, only for Rumlow to reveal another knife. After a violent struggle, Steve finally got the better of the man, forcing him to his knees, both of them heaving from the exertion of the fight. As Steve glared down at him, Rumlow reached up to remove his mask and Steve’s mouth fell slightly open at the sight of the man’s scarred face.

“I think I look pretty good, all things considered.” Rumlow chuckled.

“Who’s your buyer?” Steve asked, grabbing him by the collar.

“You know, he knew you. Your pal, your buddy, your Bucky.”

Steve froze, his stomach twisting slightly at the mention of his friend. He remembered him? Really? His jaw clenched in anger slightly as he looked down at Rumlow who was smirking.

“What did you say?” He demanded.

“He remembered you. I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in a blender.” Rumlow wheezed with a laugh. “He wanted you to know something. He said to me, ‘Please tell Rogers. When you gotta go, you gotta go…’ And you’re coming with me.”

It was whilst this was going on that Katie, who had been flying over, saw exactly what was happening. FRIDAY scanned Rumlow and told her about he was wired to explode, but even as she yelled a warning to Steve on the coms, the bomb vest exploded. Steve staggered back slightly, but the blast was encapsulated by a ball of red energy. Katie landed besides Wanda who was concentrating on keeping the explosion contained around Rumlow and she lifted him into the air before she lost control. The explosion finally blossomed, devastating entire floors of a nearby office building. Wanda’s hand flew to her mouth in shock as Katie stood by her side, looking up in disbelief.

“Oh my…” Steve approached the girls, looking up open mouthed. This was bad. Really bad. “Sam … we need fire and Rescue … on the South side of the building.” He stuttered between breaths, before he looked at Katie “We gotta get up there.”

She nodded and took off.

The Avengers did all they could to help the rescue efforts, but after twelve long hours Katie suggested they leave, as just like in Sokovia, the locals were baying for blood. They didn’t know the exact death toll. Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to either. When they landed back at base Wanda was first down the ramp, she hadn’t spoken a word since the incident, and she sped straight past Rhodey who was waiting at the bottom. He watched her go and then looked at Steve.

“Secretary Ross has already been on.”

“Ross can kiss my ass.” Katie mumbled, wiping at her face which was dirty from the clear up efforts.

Rhodey smiled a little as she stepped off the ramp.

“What does he want?” Steve asked, ignoring Katie’s grumblings. .

“A report.”

The Captain sighed. “Okay, we’ll get right on it.”

“No we won’t” Katie spun round to face him, her face stern. “It’s gone four am and we have been awake for over twenty-four hours. The team are tired, you’re tired. Ross can wait.” Steve opened his mouth to tell her that he really thought it was best they deal with it now but she wasn’t having any of it. “Don’t argue with me Steven.” She cut him off before he could start, her eyes flashing dangerously. “We’ve been away for almost a week, and it’s been a long day. We’re all tired, we need rest, and that means you too.”

Rhodey and Sam exchanged a grin, they loved it when Katie put her foot down with Steve. She was the only one who could make him see sense when he was like this and the only one of them that the Captain was secretly, just a tiny bit scared of. With good reason the men thought, because, let’s face it, she had the keys to his sex life after all.

Steve looked at her, half of him was exasperated at her calling him out like this, but the other half knew she was right. Eventually, to avoid an argument he sighed and nodded.  

“Fine. Rhodey, tell Ross I’ll call him tomorrow. Go get some sleep everyone, we’ll debrief in the morning.”

“Somebody should probably check on Wanda.” Sam pointed out and Katie nodded.

“I’ll go.” She volunteered, heading out of the room.

After a brief search Katie found her in the communal kitchen, slumped down against a counter with her knees pulled up to her chest. She made her way over and slid down to sit next to her. The two sat in silence until Wanda eventually sniffed.

“It’s all my fault. I thought I could contain it. I should have thrown the bomb somewhere else.”

“Wanda, you did your best.”  Katie sighed, putting her arm around her. “That’s all anyone can do.”

And then the younger woman broke down. She sobbed, dropping her head onto Katie’s shoulder and there was nothing to do but let her cry and soothe her, telling her it would be okay.

Once she had settled Wanda back in her room, Katie made her way back to their apartment, running her hands over her face. She was exhausted, but she also knew Steve was brooding over the events as well. She walked into the bedroom and looked into the en-suite through the open door watching as Steve was drying his hair and his face after having showered, dressed in nothing but his grey sweat pants, which hung off his hips in a way that usually made his wife combust. As he finished he glanced in the mirror and caught sight of Katie who was leaning up against the door-frame.

“How is she?” He asked.

“Upset.” Katie said honestly “She’s taking things really hard.”

“This is all my fault.” Steve sighed heavily, shaking his head as he turned to face her.

“Steve, what happened is no one’s fault…” She began, but he cut her off.

“You were there.” Steve looked at his wife. “You saw what happened, Doll.” His shoulders dropped as he tried to brush past Katie to exit the bathroom, but she stepped to the side to block his path.

“Yes, I saw what happened.”  She looked up at him. “But I still don’t understand why you’re blaming yourself.”

"Because I lost focus!” Steve yelled, his frustrations bubbling over and he ran a hand through his damp hair as Katie blinked, the only reaction she gave to his angry change in demeanour. “All Rumlow had to do was mention Bucky and it was like I was a little kid in Brooklyn again.”

“Bucky?” she frowned. “He mentioned Bucky? I don’t-“

“He told me that Bucky remembered me, well he did, until they, and I quote, ‘put his brain back in a blender.” Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and Katie looked up at him, his face was contorted with a mixture of grief and tiredness. She sighed and wrapped her arm around him and he buried his face into her neck. Always so stoic and unmovable to the outside world, but with her it was a different story.

“Sorry for shouting at you.” He nuzzled closer, sniffing slightly, his voice slightly muffled when he spoke.

“It’s okay.” She soothed and he took a deep breath.

“All he had to do was say his name and I lost it. He was wearing that fucking vest from the start, I should’ve gotten rid of it right away but-”

“It is not your fault.”  Katie shook her head, her hand gently stroking his hair. “Stevie, I challenge anyone to be in that position and not react the same.”

"I’m supposed to be the leader,” He pulled away with a shake of his head as he straightened up slightly. And it was true. As far as he was concerned this started and ended with him. “I’m supposed to stay professional no matter what, but when it comes to Bucky and you for that matter…”

“Baby, you’re only human.” Katie assured him, her voice gentle as she took his face in her hands “Super-strength, enhanced yes, but still a wonderfully flawed, dumbass human being, just like the rest of us.”She leaned up to give him a gentle kiss. “We can only do our best, Love. Nothing more.” He sighed and then pulled her in for another hug, burying his face into her hair, which smelt of ash and gunpowder and her, giving him something to anchor himself to. As her face pressed into his bare chest he felt her smile softly before she pulled back to look at him.

“Wanna be little spoon tonight?”

His face split into a childish grin because the thought of her holding him was so damned comforting and appealing right now. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

**** The relative feel-good factor that had been present at the base for months was completely decimated. None of them had ever been under the illusion that life as an Avenger would be easy, but now it seemed to be getting harder by the day. In the weeks that passed by following the Lagos incident, various Diplomatic Heads of States waded into the debate, demanding some kind of regulations were put in place to police The Avengers, something Steve, Sam and Katie felt drastically opposed to, the three of them often getting into protracted discussions between themselves about what it could mean for the Avengers were it to happen, discussions which Natasha, Rhodey, Vision and Wanda avoided.

The most troubling thing for Katie though, was the silence on the issue emanating from Tony. He’d called by, of course, to make sure everyone was alright, but she had assumed he would be anti-government control considering his stance on all things official previously. But he hadn’t commented to any of them about it, which worried his sister immensely. Katie tried several times to get him to open up whilst they were out touring with the Foundations but each time he shut her down and changed the subject. This wasn’t helped by the fact that one day they were accosted by a woman who had lost her son in Sokovia. She blamed him, blamed her, blamed all of The Avengers, and had grown even angrier when Katie had tied to placate her. Their flight home that day was a silent one, Tony speaking only when they landed home to state that everyone needed to get round the table to talk things over, specifically how they go forward as a team and that they should face facts, The Avengers needed to be accountable for their actions and if that meant they were put under sanction, then so be it.

Steve had reacted exactly how Katie had assumed he would, out and out refusal to even contemplate listening to what Tony was going to say. Katie had sensibly pointed out that the issue of Government control wasn’t going to go away and they had to confront it, and to do that they needed a joint position, of which Tony was a big part. Steve had simply shook his head, insisting that it was out of the question at which point Katie’s temper had bubbled over and she had yelled at him, calling him an stubborn prick, before telling him to take his head out of his ass and look around at his team. His team, which at the moment, was struggling a little. She’d continued to blaze at him about how things couldn’t continue the way there were, and something was going to have to give, and then she called him a moron for not being able to see what was staring him in the face, before slamming the door to their quarters as she stormed out.

In the wake of her spectacular exit, Steve angrily headed to the gym to pound his frustrations out on a punching bag. And whilst there, with each blow he landed, he thought about what Katie had said, and as the angry fog cleared from his brain he realised she was right. Wanda had been withdrawn for the past few weeks, rarely emerging from her room, talking to no one really but Vision. Natasha was currently taking some time out at Clint’s which was almost unheard of, unless it was over a holiday period. Sam and Rhodey had continued their training with Evans and the new recruits but even there Steve could see things were subdued, neither of them socialising much. His team were suffering and he’d been so wrapped up in his own, stubborn little world to realise. And, as their Captain and leader, he had to rectify this and do something about it. So, he swallowed his pride and apologised to his wife and told her to call Tony.

They arranged to meet the day after next, and in preparation, Steve gathered his team they day beforehand and told them what was going to happen. He asked them to think about their positions and feelings carefully, but made it perfectly clear that whatever they decided it wasn’t going to be a problem, and they would reach a conclusion jointly, because that’s what they did.

As it was a sunny day, Katie suggested an early evening BBQ to try and coax them to spend some time together. And Steve was happy to see it working, as for the first time since Lagos, everyone seemed to be relaxed. But then that was his girl all over. Full of great ideas because she understood people and could empathise with how they felt in a way Steve could only wish of doing.

“Well, I gotta say.” Sam dropped his cutlery onto his plate with a clang. “For an old man, you sure can grill a steak pretty well.”

“I’ll take that as a back handed compliment.” Steve rolled his eyes and picked up his glass which contained a decent measure of the Asgardian Liquor Thor had left for him. He was secretly pleased though, whilst Katie was the cook, the grill was most certainly his domain.

“That potato salad was fantastic!” Wanda looked at Katie “Where did you learn to cook?”

“Sure as hell wasn’t Tony!” Rhodey quipped .

Katie laughed and shrugged “I dunno, I picked various pieces up from Pepper, and I watched a lot of cooking shows as a student in England but, well, I just tried and found I could I suppose. Has everyone had enough or…”

There were murmurs of a general stuffed nature from around the table, and she stood up to clear the plates until Steve gently grabbed her arm. She’d been fussing like a mother hen around everyone all evening and he wanted her to sit down and relax.

“Leave that, we can do it later.” He insisted gently, shooting her a look.

“Mr Neat-Freak telling me to leave the dishes?” She grinned, as he pulled her onto his lap. “That Asgardian stuff going to your head already?”

He shot her a look but at that point they were both distracted by a loud “Shit!” from round the table where Sam had spilt his beer.

“Now, just hold on a minute.” Rhodey said, his eyes flashing as Sam hastily began to mop at the river of Peroni that was cascading across the red and white gingham table cloth. “Cap doesn’t like that kind of talk.”

Everyone laughed, except Steve whose brow creased into a serious look.

“You heard Rhodey, Sam” He arched an eyebrow. “Watch your fucking language.”

The table descended into fits of laughter and Steve took the opportunity as he looked around his team to raise Katie’s hand to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to her wrist, a gesture she took and understood to be a thank you and another apology. She’d been right, agreeing to talk about what was coming had lifted a weight off everyone’s shoulders.

Well almost everyone’s.

Steve still had that sick feeling in his stomach, that sick feeling that told him there was something big and bad looming on the horizon.

*****

“11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission when the attack occurred.”

The next afternoon Steve was sat watching a news report on the screen above his desk, turning his compass over in his right hand. He felt exhausted. As he ran his hands over his face he felt himself tense up when King T’Chaka of Wakanda came on the screen

“Our people’s blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all.”

The King had waded straight into the debate immediately after the incident as a group of his people had been killed in the blast. He was one of the main campaigners about the need for some form of sanctions to be put in place. Steve was on edge enough about Tony coming, and deciding he didn’t want to hear or watch anymore, he turned the TV off. But, his sharp ears caught the continuation of the news broadcast being continued elsewhere, and he inclined his head a little to the left as he took in which direction it was coming from. He glanced up and saw that the window to his office was open, and standing up he walked over to it, the sound growing louder.

It was coming from the residential floor above. Directly above, unless he was mistaken. Which meant the person watching was in Wanda’s room. He turned and made his way out of his office and up the flight of stairs at the end of the corridor, figuring out he could make it up one floor faster than he could call the elevator. He pressed his palm to the door which would allow him access to the floor which contained Wanda, Evans’ and Natasha’s rooms, and it slid open with a little hiss.

“They are operating outside and above the international law. Because that’s the reality, if we don’t respond to acts like these” came the voice which grew louder as he approached her room. He stopped at the door, which was open, and paused as he saw Wanda was sitting on her bed, watching a TV which stood on a dresser in the corner.

“What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeri – “

With a deep breath Steve picked up the TV remote from the nightstand and turned the set off before placing the remote down, leaning on the doorframe

Wanda looked round. She spotted him but she didn’t get up.

“It’s my fault” she swallowed gently shaking her head.

“That’s not true” Steve replied gently.

“Turn the TV back on. They’re being very specific.” She said sarcastically.

“I should’ve clocked that bomb vest long before you had to deal with it.” Steve pushed off the frame and walked over to the bed where she was sat.  “Rumlow said Bucky and all of a suddenly I was a 16-year-old kid again, in Brooklyn” He sat on her bed next to her, “And people died. It’s on me.”

“It’s on both of us” Wanda looked at him.

“You know,” Steve smiled gently as he recalled the words Katie had said to him years ago, “this job, we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn’t mean everybody. But if we can’t find a way to live with that, next time maybe nobody gets saved.”

Before Wanda could reply, Vision materialized through the wall making them both jump. It made Steve slightly uneasy how the android was the only person who seemingly could get the drop on him like that.

“Viz! We talked about this.” Wanda chastised him.

“Yes, but the door was open so I assumed that…” He gestured at the door and stopped. “Captain Rogers you wished to know when Mr. Stark was arriving.”

“Thank you. We’ll be right down.” Steve nodded.

“I’ll use the door. Oh, and apparently, he’s brought a guest.”

“Who?” Steve frowned, that hadn’t been part of the plan as far as he was aware.

“The Secretary of State.” Vision said, turning to go.

Steve’s frown deepened and he turned to Wanda. She was sat looking at her hands. He knew instantly why Tony hadn’t mentioned he was bringing him, because he would have been met with a resounding no. Giving Wanda’s shoulder a squeeze he stood up and left the room telling her to follow him down when she felt ready to.

“Why is he here?” Katie was blazing at her brother when Steve arrived at the conference room.

“Oh hi, Tony.” The billionaire snarked, rolling his eyes. Katie glared at him, her arms folded and chin jutted out defiantly, a look Steve had seen many times before. Tony sighed. “Look, I suggested he come. He can explain the thinking behind the proposed sanctions better than I can.”

“What do you mean, proposed?” Steve looked at Tony. “I thought this was supposed to be a discussion on the idea?”

“They already have a set drafted.” Tony informed him after a moment’s hesitation and Steve scoffed, turning away as Katie rounded on her brother.

“Are you for real?” She hissed through her teeth. “So not only do you spring him on us, now you’re saying the very thing we thought we were going to be discussing, as a team, is already fucking decided?”

“Kiddo, just hear us out, please?” Tony sighed

“Us?” she spat, as she looked over at General Ross who was stood talking to an aide at the other end of the room, in front of the large TV screen. “That asshole is not part of us, Tony. This is bullshit.”

Steve had to fight the snort at the utter look of disgust on his wife’s face. She despised the man, for no other reason than she thought he was an arrogant prick. That said, he knew if he didn’t calm her down, that infamous temper was going to really boil over and that wouldn’t be helpful to anyone.

“Come on.” He stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to placate her. “He’s here now so let’s listen and see what he has to say.” She pulled a face which was a cross between annoyance and disappointment aimed directly at Tony as she shot him one last glare and allowed Steve to guide her towards a chair, his large hand in the small of her back. She flopped down, angrily, her nostrils flaring as she looked away from everyone, out of the glass walls of the room. This was a shitty stunt for Tony to pull. Whilst she knew Tony wasn’t opposed to some form of sanctions, the fact that he was seemingly already involved in drafting them without discussing it with any of them, didn’t sit well with her at all, but what worried her more was the fact that he and Steve were undoubtedly now going to be majorly at odds over all this, which in itself was going to test team loyalties.

And make her life a bigger pain in the ass than it already was.

Wanda and Vision arrived shortly after and once they were all seated Steve’s hand slid onto Katie’s thigh under the table. She squeezed his fingers gently as Ross cleared his throat and looked at the assembled team, before beginning to speak.

“Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my backswing.”

Shame you got up, Katie thought to herself.

“Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass I found something forty years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective.” Ross continued.

I wonder how many Post Its I can staple to his head...Katie considered the question for a moment, deciding that eight, one for each of the original Avengers and an extra for good luck, should do it.

“The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives… but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some… who would prefer the word “vigilantes”.

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?”  Katie asked, unable to contain herself anymore. Steve’s hand gave her knee a gentle squeeze in an attempt to calm her down.

“How about “dangerous”?” Ross responded, not flinching at her question.

Fuck the staples, let’s use nine inch nails.  

“What would you call a group of US-based Enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?”

Ok, so now Steve was starting to get slightly uncomfortable. He stared at Ross, his chin resting on his left hand, jaw set. Ross then activated the screen behind him. News footage from past missions and SHIELD matters began to flash as he spoke.

“New York. Washington DC. Sokovia.”

Katie swallowed and her hand tightened around Steve’s. He knew Ultron and Sokovia had affected her more than she tried to let on. She took a deep breath and then the footage stopped and flicked to the latest incident in…

“Lagos.”

As footage of the burning building morphed into a shot of a dead girl, Steve glanced up at Wanda and saw her bottom lip began to wobble. The Captain took a deep breath, his face dark as thunder as he looked at Ross, gently bringing his fist down to rest on the table.

“Okay. That’s enough.”  He spoke firmly.

Ross nodded to the aide, and the images disappeared.

“For the past four years, you’ve operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That’s an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.”  Ross spoke as the aide handed him a thick book. He slid it across the table to Wanda. She picked it up, then slid it to Rhodey.

“The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries. It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they’ll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.” Ross explained.

It was worse than they had imagined. They’d expected to be subject to some kind of regulations, rules, a code of conduct. Not overt Governmental Control. This would essentially make the Avengers another branch to an army, and Steve wanted no part of that. Keeping his voice level he looked up at Ross. “The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we’ve done that”.

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?”

Why use nine-inch nails when you could use a javelin? Katie glared at Ross a Steve took a deep breath, glancing down at the table.

“If I misplaced a couple of thirty megaton nukes you can bet there’d be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That’s how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.”

“So, there are contingencies?” Rhodey asked.

His question was left hanging.

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords.” Ross carried on. “Talk it over.”

Katie glanced over her shoulder at Tony, at the same time as Steve did too. He was behind them, in the corner of the room. His brown eyes locked onto Katie’s as she shook her head at him. He looked away and then Natasha turned to Ross.

“And if we come to a decision you don’t like?” She asked the question that no one else had dared to.

“Then you retire.” Ross smirked at her before he made his exit, flanked by his aide.

“Glad that clears things up.” Katie muttered, standing up. “Oh no you stay right there!” She pointed at Tony as he also made to leave. “What the fuck, Tony?”

“So much for coming to discuss potential ways forward.” Steve stood behind his wife, eyeing his brother in law, his nostrils flaring in anger. “Instead you help issue us with an ultimatum”

“Can I suggest you take time to read them first?” Tony sighed. “You know, before you hang, draw and quarter me.”

“I’m assuming from your use of the word, you, that you have already read them?” Katie looked at him. Tony stayed silent for a moment, before he groaned.

“I need a drink.”

With that he left the room and Steve looked round at his team, all eyes on him, waiting for direction. He took a deep breath. “Take ten guys, and we’ll meet in the communal lounge.”

**** Chapter 29 Part 2

[ceo-of-daichi]

Characters - Sawamura Daichi x Fem!Reader

Summary - Lockdown had really affected your social life and daily routine, luckily a certain someone was willing to help you get your life back to somewhat normal. What will happen when you start catching feelings?

Genre - Fluff

Warnings - Slight mentions of anxiety 

Word Count - 2.3k

A/N - Back again with another Daichi fic! Are you surprised, probably not i got a one man mind lmao. This one isn’t as long as the last but still as fluffy, hopefully you enjoy reading it :) p.s. this was almost called Toothpaste I blame Jas👀

Covid-19 had really flipped your year in a completely different direction to what you were expecting. You started the year hoping to finish your last year of high-school on a high, helping the volleyball team get to nationals and getting into university. However, the world clearly had a different plan for you, when the virus first started you didn’t think much of it. Why would you? It was only when the announcement came that the country was going into lockdown that your brain finally registered what was actually happening. Being the slightly more extroverted individual you thrived off seeing your friends, plus both your parents worked as nurses. You were going to be alone.

The first few weeks went by pretty fast, managing to keep up a routine by going out for runs and making yourself eat at certain times. Even keeping in touch with your friends from the boys volleyball team as well as Kiyoko, one of your closest friends. However, after this fairly stable period you had a really bad day. Nothing went your way, blender… broken, guess you weren't having a smoothie this morning. After that frustrating incident Tanaka and Noya decided to start poking fun at you in the group chat, which you were NOT in the mood for. Group chat… Muted. It was also raining extremely heavy so you decided maybe a well deserved rest day was in order, throwing on the TV you flopped down on the couch to start your film marathon.

5am. That was the time it was when you finally passed out on the couch. How did you end up staying up that late, Harry Potter. Why you thought it was a good idea to start watching the films you don’t know, but you managed to watch them all, all 19 hours of them. That was all it took to mess your routine up for the next month, not waking up till 2-3pm everyday just to lounge around. Barely keeping in touch with anyone, you hadn’t talked in the groupchat for close to 3 weeks, hardly even thinking about eating anything but snacks. 

Luckily you had a saving grace, Daichi. After going MIA , the third year’s started to get worried about you, especially Kiyoko. She had dmed you multiple times and got nothing in return, mainly because you saw the messages but forgot to reply. You were a whole ass mess to put it plainly. 

~ 3rd Years Group Chat ~

Kiyoko - I’m worried about [y/n]...

Suga - Tell me about it, she hasn’t been in the chat for weeks

Daichi - Have you tried dming her?

Kiyoko - She is ignoring me, she hasn’t replied to one of my messages

Asahi - Maybe she’s just busy?

Daichi - In the middle of lockdown…

Suga - Yeah thats unlikely

Kiyoko - Can one of you dm her as well? I just want to make sure she’s ok?

Daichi - I can... i’ll let you know if she replies and if she doesn’t Asahi or Suga can try

Having received a concerned message from Daichi, you realised how much you had lost track of everything and anything. Replying to both him and Kiyoko apologising and explaining you had just forgotten to press send. Although Daichi wanted to believe that was the case he couldn’t, instead of being upfront about it though he started messaging you throughout the day. Just small things asking if you had eaten and if you were staying hydrated, little did he know that this helped you get back into a better rhythm of lockdown life.

You slowly fixed your sleep schedule and got back to eating 3 meals a day. Although you hadn’t managed to get back into running, your talks with Daichi slowly got more frequent and for longer periods of time. The more you talked to him the more motivated you started to feel, eventually you got back into your running routine. It no longer became the odd message to make sure you were eating, but full day conversations about anything you could think of. Eventually you started relying on talking to him to cure your lockdown loneliness, a day without talking to him was not a good day for you. Daichi being the fairly observant person that he is, started to realise and eventually bought it up.

Daichi :) - Hey [y/n], I've been meaning to bring something up with you, you mind if we call?

[y/n] - Yeah sure Dai, just call me whenever i don’t exactly have anything going on

Receiving this was like a bullet to the chest, worrying what it could be about you pulled your knees up to your chest steadying your breathing. As you were lost in your head, your phone started ringing. Answering it you heard his voice for the first time in close to 3 months, it was music to your ears. Slowly over these 2 months you had grown fond of the boy, but you had quickly dismissed the idea of anything forming between each other. Both having different priorities in life, being scared of rejection also didn’t help.

After an hour and a half of deep conversation, a couple tears shed but more laughter at the end. You collapsed backwards onto your bed, he had found out everything. How your parents were barely home, always doing long shifts at the hospital, how you felt like you had no one during those 3 weeks you were MIA. Most importantly though you had confessed that talking to him was like receiving a warm hug. It's exactly what you needed at this time, obviously you would love an actual hug as well but that's pretty hard from a 2m distance.

~ 1 week later ~

Your eyes went wide as they announced on the news that lockdown was starting to be lifted, you were now allowed to meet up with people outside at a safe distance. Smiling you quickly messaged Daichi telling him how excited you were that restrictions were finally being lifted.  

Daichi :) - That's Great [y/n]!! So.. you fancy going on a socially distanced pic-nic tomorrow? Don’t worry about bringing anything but yourself. I got the rest covered, obviously if you're ok with that?😃

Reading the text over multiple times, pinching yourself to make sure it was real. You hadn’t seen Daichi in close to 3 months, and within that time you had developed feelings. What would it be like seeing him in person now, generally being awkward with past crushes, you started to worry about scaring him away. You couldn’t do that, you needed him. Taking a couple paces around the room thinking about what to reply, before realising you were most definitely overthinking it. He didn’t see you that way…

[y/n] - Yeah sure! Just let me know a time and place, i will be there

Daichi - 1pm at the park round the corner from your house?

[y/n] - See you there!! 

The next morning you woke up with a huge smile plastered on your face, excited for the day ahead. Jumping out of bed and rummaging through your wardrobe you pulled out a cute summer dress, not too dressy but showed you put effort in none the less. The summer dress was red and was covered in little white flowers, you had only worn it a couple times and decided it needed another outing.

Walking down your road and around the corner to the park, the wind hitting your face made you feel like maybe the world was getting back to normal. As you walked through the gates, you noticed Daichi stood over by a slightly more wooded area, smiling as you made your way over to him. Greeting each other you forgot how much his laugh and smile made it seem like nothing else mattered, making your heart beat faster in your chest. He ended up leading you through the woods and into a small opening which had 2 picnic blankets laid down at the appropriate distance. As you got closer you noticed that there were sandwiches, fruit and small cakes on both.

‘You didn’t have to do this Daichi you know? A simple sandwich would have been fine?’ You started smiling at him, no one had ever gone to this much effort for you and honestly you felt bad. ‘It must have taken you a bit to set this up…’

‘Oh no, honestly don’t worry about it… i wanted to, neither have been out in a while so i figured why not?’ The laugh that came out sounded almost nervous, which confused you slightly… Was he really as nervous as you?

The afternoon went by quicker than both of you wanted. Chatting, cracking jokes and eating, which the food Daichi had made was really good. You had asked why he had never told you about his clear culinary skills, apparently this was the first time he had attempted something like this. Trying not to get too far ahead of yourself when he had mentioned this, even though you were freaking out. Mainly chatting about quarantine life and how you missed being out of lockdown, being able to socialise freely and do whatever you wanted. 

You only realised how long you had been with Daichi when it started to get dark, letting him know you should probably be getting back. Even though in reality you could have stayed there for the rest of the night and into the early morning. Helping him pack everything up  occasionally sneaking glances at him, wishing you could pull him into a hug or give him a peck on the cheek. Just to let him know how much he had helped you over the past month. Sadly you couldn’t, once everything had been packed away Daichi (being the gentleman that he is) offered to walk you back.

‘I had a really good afternoon, thank you for this Daichi…’ Smiling at him as you walk up to your front door.

‘Would you want to do something like this again maybe?’ The way he looked at you, his eyes almost pleading, with a slight smile gracing his lips. This made your heart instantly melt.

‘If you want to? I would love that!’

‘[y/n]... why would i ask if i didn’t want to?’ Raising a brow at you playfully.

‘Shut up you dork, i’ll see you soon then!’ Laughing as you walk through your door giving him a wave before closing it and sliding down it on the other side, trying to calm your heart that was about to burst through your chest.

Another couple weeks past, you had only met up with Daichi once more, but both were still texting all day with the occasional call. You also had met up with Kiyoko within these weeks, explaining your situation. She thought it was really funny how much you were worrying about it because to her it seemed obvious that he returned your feelings. You were still completely denying this fact though, it was something your brain really couldn’t fathom. However, the next day lockdown was reduced once again, you were now allowed to have people in your house from other families. 

Being as excitable as you were and the fact your parents were out almost all of the time, you rattled off a text to Daichi asking him if he fancied a chill movie marathon night? Both of you deciding to watch The Hobbit trilogy later on in the evening. Hopping up from the couch you started cleaning the house, preparing snacks and setting up pillows as well as blankets on the couch. Seen as though it was a chill night you had decided on a pair of grey sweats and a plain v-neck t-shirt, that was tied so it wasn’t too long.

You had just finished setting everything up when there was a knock at the door, practically running to get it. Opening the door to his smiling face made something snap and you don’t know what came over yourself as you jumped into his arms, wrapping your own around him. Luckily he was quick to catch you. 

‘What did i do to deserve this hug?’ He chuckles to himself as you nuzzle into his neck.

‘Everything. Daichi I owe you so much, you don’t even understand’ Letting out a sigh, he closes the door and carries you over to the couch. Placing you down next to him as you pout at him, sad that the hug was over so soon. You had waited for so long to be wrapped up in his arms and when you finally get the chance it barely lasts 2 minutes. 

‘Listen Daichi… you have helped me so much over the past few months, and honestly…’ Taking a breath to figure out how to phrase your next words, however before you could say anything else he had pulled you back into his chest.

‘I like you too dork…’ Frozen in his arms, how long had he known… How long had he liked you back? All you could do in that moment was snake your arms round him and enjoy each other's company as he started the first film.

~ BONUS ~

‘How long have you liked me Daichi?’ You question him half way through the first film.

‘About 6 months give or take why?’ He turns his attention towards you and gives you a quick head kiss, before looking back to the film.

‘6 months… that's before we went into lockdown..?’

He hums, smirking at your clearly oblivious nature, as your brain was spiralling thinking about how many signals you missed.

Tags: @super-noya @stcrryskies @iwaxme @bb-noya @vventure @ardorwrites-hq-mha @scorpiosanssexy