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brittaden · 4 years

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Zoey’s Extraordinary Awkward Tension

Ch. 2 is up!

AO3 FF

Zoey nervously drummed her fingers alongside the take-out cup of coffee that she had stopped for on her way into work this morning. Not that she needed the caffeine boost, she was already jittery enough at what would await her at work. That is, once she had enough courage to step out of the elevator. So far, she had stood rooted in her spot in the elevator for at least four stops now. But the weird looks from her fellow co-workers were a lot easier to deal with than with the repercussions that came with kissing your boss in the back of a car after a disastrous night out.

Who knows though, best case scenario, Joan might've been just drunk enough that she had completely forgotten about the kiss. Or was that the worst-case scenario? Not knowing which would she wanted it to be only freaked Zoey out more and was the catalyst for one more elevator ride before stepping off on the floor she worked on but that idea was halted when a hand smacked against the side of the elevator and held it so it stayed open.

"What are you doing, you weirdo?" Max asked, smiling at her with that crooked smile. "I've counted three elevator stops, are you going for a world record or something?"

"Actually, there were four and yes I am," Zoey laughed it off, hoping that Max didn't pick up on any weirdness because she couldn't even begin to explain this to him. Especially not after hearing his heart songs. That would be like rubbing salt in his wounds.

Max gave a jerk of his head back to their office space. "Well come on, there's something we need to talk about."

"What happened?" Zoey asked urgently as she fell in step behind Max. He couldn't possibly know what happened. No one could. There was no way. "Is there a crisis? Does it involve me?"

Max was leading her to where the other coders had formed a huddle around a computer but he stopped at that. "Why would it involve you? Did something happen that I don't know?"

"No, what?" Zoey stammered. Her fingers were back to nervously tapping against her coffee cup. "I have no news. Just tell me what you're talking about."

Max leaned in, as if most of the office didn't already know. "Joan and Charlie are getting a divorce."

"Oh," Zoey sighed, a wave of relief washed over her that this news wasn't about her.

He pulled back from her. "Unless you already knew that."

"I might've heard a rumor," she played it off because it's not like Max needed to know that Joan had confided in her after she relentlessly pursued the deeper meaning behind Joan's first heart song which led to her playing couple's counselor for them which then led to a new bond between them that had culminated in a drunk Joan kissing after she burned down a rose wall at an engagement party.

Yeah, that she was definitely keeping to herself.

"Hey, I like rumors," Max joked.

Zoey smiled at him. "Okay, well next time I hear our rumor about our boss getting divorced, I'll pass it on."

"That's all I'm asking."

"What are we asking for?" Joan asked, popping up out of nowhere and scaring the pair. "Are we talking about the boss' divorce too? I've already been over it but you two can catch the highlights from the other coders who think that my personal life is their business."

"Sorry," Max quickly apologized. "I just wanted to offer my condolences."

"Okay," Joan replied with a nod of her head and an unimpressed look on her face. She, then, turned to face Zoey. "We need to talk in my office."

Before Zoey could ask why or object, not that she would object an order from Joan because that was asking for trouble, Joan turned on her heel and left Zoey nervous and fidgeting once again. She shared a look with Max, one that was their usual whenever Joan demanded one of them in her office, before she followed in Joan's footsteps. She took the time to drop all her stuff on her desk before practically sprinting to Joan's office.

"You wanted to talk?" Zoey asked as cool as she could in spite of how she felt. "What's up?"

"Well, moving past that," Joan replied. She sat at her desk and pushed her tablet across the desk to Zoey. "Leif had a new idea and it was, surprisingly, good. Needs some work but there's real potential there."

"Um, okay," Zoey drug out the last syllable as she approached the desk and picked up the tablet. She tapped and swiped at the screen for a new product design called The Chirp. "This was Leif's idea?"

Joan nodded her head. "I was just as surprised as you are. He pitched it to me at Simon's engagement party, which I'm sure you remember."

Zoey could feel her cheeks heating up and her breath was caught in her chest as Joan gave her a very similar look to the one she gave her a couple nights ago. Or maybe she was imagining it. She let out a little nervous laugh. "So…um…Leif's idea?" she asked, just trying to get back on track.

"Once he pitched the idea to me, I couldn't get it out of my head. We met yesterday to go over the logistics and design for the product and since you are his supervisor now, I wanted to loop you in before we give the presentation."

"We?" Zoey questioned.

"Leif and Me," Joan answered. "Of course, we'll be bringing you into this but, for now, we'll give the presentation."

"So, you called me in here to show me the idea?"

Joan gave her a look and Zoey regretted even wasting her breath asking the question when the answer was obvious. Of course, she had been called in her to talk about Leif's idea. The idea that she didn't even know he had and that kind of bothered her since she was his superior but Joan was the one that said they needed a new idea, so, of course, he would go to her first. At the very least, Joan was looping her in now so she wasn't totally bombarded by their presentation. That was...something.

"Never mind," she said dismissing her own question. She looked away from Joan and back to the tablet in hand that showed sketches of Leif's idea. She looked back up when Joan began speaking.

"I was going to fill you in more before we gave the presentation but you decided to use the elevator as your own personal amusement park ride this morning and wasted precious time."

Zoey cringed. "You saw that?"

"I see everything, Zoey."

"Right," she said with a nod of her head. She, then, gestured to the tablet in her hand. "And this is all you called me in here for?"

Joan gave a nod of her head. "Yes, Zoey."

"Right."

She crossed her arms on her desk. "I need you to round up everyone and let them know that we'll be giving a presentation soon. Also, I need Leif in here, if you'll let him know for me."

"Aye-aye captain!" Zoey said with a mock salute to her boss that she instantly regretted. "That I can do."

"Don't ever do that again," Joan said half-heartedly.

Reflexively, Zoey gave her a thumbs up. "You got it!"

Flushed with embarrassment, Zoey turned on her heel and set out to do as Joan had asked of her. Before she got to the office door, Joan's voice was calling her back.

"Zoey?"

"Yes?" She asked a little too eager as she turned around to face her boss.

Joan clicked her tongue and pointed at the tablet still in Zoey's hand. "That's mine."

Zoey hurried back over to Joan's desk and handed over the tablet. She couldn't help but notice that during the exchange of the tablet, Joan's hand lingered on hers a little longer than normal and she smiled before taking the tablet completely away and then used the same hand to gesture in a shooing motion. Zoey bowed her head before turning back around and finally exiting the office.

Zoey considered hiding herself in one of those isolation pods where their sole purpose was total isolation and complete focus on one's work. After the morning she had, being in complete isolation with her tablet and a true crime podcast episode as her only company sounded almost perfect. But she guessed as a supervisor, she needed to be more available to those she was supposed to be supervising, so she settled on another chair in which to curl up and code.

She had successfully avoided Simon for most of the day and the few times that she couldn't avoid him, Max, she was ever thankful for him, jumped in and saved her from a whole bunch of awkwardness. They even decided to get out of the office and go to lunch together somewhere not on a campus. A fact she was also ever thankful for because it got her out of the way of Simon and Joan.

Joan.

That was a different story today. Usually, before these last couple of weeks, she avoided Joan for different reasons. Since she wasn't completely sure how she wanted things to happen with Joan after their drunken kiss in the back of a car, avoidance seemed like the best approach. However, avoiding Joan wasn't as easy as it sounded. Especially today.

She had been called into a pseudo-meeting first thing this morning where Joan just wanted to show off Leif's idea and tell her that they'll loop her in more soon. Then, after the presentation, she was called back into Joan's office where she thought they were going to discuss their new tech idea but instead Joan just ended up telling her more details about her divorce and that she was doing really great. Save for a few bad mistakes. Zoey wasn't listened as a bad idea in Joan's list but maybe that was her way of hinting at it.

No, Joan was direct and blunt and didn't talk her way around things without ever getting to the actual point. So, that couldn't have been it. At least, Zoey didn't think so. And the idea of their kiss not being a mistake, calmed Zoey down a little even though she still had a nervousness about her. Then, just as she thought she could leave, Joan mentioned that she was thinking about getting back out there in the dating world. That she was ready.

Joan still hadn't mentioned their kiss or even alluded to it, not that Zoey thought she would at work, and she didn't want to overthink anything and assume that Joan was dropping a hint to her. That would be crazy. Joan was her boss. She couldn't date her boss.

Plus, there were still the feelings for Simon that just didn't disappear overnight like she had hoped they would. And then, there was the crown jewel that was Max who had sung a couple heart songs that further sent her spiraling into a land of confusion. He was her friend. Her best friend but apparently, he was harboring feelings for her like Simon, and like Joan maybe was now.

The whole thing was almost laughable. Yes, she had dated before and had boyfriends before, and a computer camp girlfriend that opened up her eyes to dating the same sex, but to have three people into her at the same time? That was a lot to process.

Not even the true crime podcast that she had blaring in her ears could drown out everything that was rolling around in her mind. And they usually calmed her down.

Plus, maybe Joan wasn't actually interested and it wasn't something that she needed to worry about. But there wasn't an easy way to find out that answer. One doesn't simply drunkenly kiss their boss and sweep it under the rug like nothing ever happened. Joan might've been too many drinks in to exclusively remember that part of the night but Zoey knew one thing, she couldn't forget it.

The only thing that jerked Zoey out of her rambling thoughts was the taking off of her headphones that she reflexively reached up for to find that Max was the one behind the interruption.

"This is a podcast about the Golden State Killer," Max said after listening to what was playing from her headphones.

"True crime calms me down," Zoey defended as she took her headphones back from Max.

"Okay, well since you were off in serial killer land, I'm going to say that you didn't notice Joan pointing and calling you into her office, oh for like the past two minutes now," Max replied and used his eyes to direct Zoey's attention to their boss' office where Joan sat with Leif.

Sure enough, Joan was watching them and moving her finger in a 'come hither' motion directing it at Zoey.

"Again?" Zoey complained. "That's like the third time today. What could she want now?"

Max shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, it's Joan, she could want literally anything. And I mean anything."

Zoey groaned. She thought she was in the clear for today but that didn't look like it was happening. "But calling me into the office three times? Seems like overkill for today."

"Maybe someone has a crush," Max teased.

Zoey's eyes widened at that. And she grew suspicious. "What?" she asked with a little nervous laugh. "Who said anything about that?"

"Relax Zoey, it was just a joke," Max assured her. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Is everything okay? You seem a little off today."

She shook her head. "I'm just a little tired."

"Alright," Max said, his tone a little disbelieving. "Well you better go, don't want to keep Joan waiting any longer."

"Right," Zoey replied as she was already turning away from Max and heading towards Joan's office.

Back in Joan's office for the third time today, Zoey walked up to see Joan and Leif sitting on the same side of the desk. She politely knocked on the door-frame and waited for Joan to acknowledge her before she fully entered the office.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Finally," Joan said as she noticed Zoey. "You took long enough."

"Sorry, I was working on some code and I just got wrapped up in it," Zoey lied and hoped that Joan believed her.

"Good, that's why I called you in here," Joan replied, looking up at Zoey. "I have a few calls to make right now so I want you and Leif to get together and begin working more on this idea."

"Right now?" Zoey asked.

"Preferably yesterday because this is a golden idea of a product," Joan answered. "So, yes, right now."

"Okay," Zoey sighed. "Anything else?"

"Nope," Joan answered quickly, already shuffling papers around on her desk and reaching for her phone. "Just need you two to get started so we'll have something soon that we can actually present as a viable product."

Zoey nodded her head in response. With no more being said, she motioned for Leif to follow her out of Joan's office so they could find a spot to work as they were requested.

Later that night, after working the rest of her day with Leif who made it obvious that he would prefer to work with Joan, Zoey was finally packing up her things and getting ready to leave for the day. She slipped her headphones over her ears and started up another episode of a true crime podcast as she wound her way through the office and headed towards the elevator. Distant voices played over the voices coming through her headphones and her curiosity got the better of her. She slipped the headphones off and crept slowly towards the voices to find that Joan and Leif were standing in the conference room talking.

Her name popped up. That she wasn't surprised about since Leif seemed to relating everything back to Joan that they had worked on earlier. But what made her stop in her tracks, was when Leif started coming on to Joan. Judging by the look on her face, Joan seemed just as disturbed at what Leif was implying as she did. Her inner voice was screaming 'no' over and over again as music began to play in the background and Leif began to sing a heart song to Joan. Their boss.

Zoey was horrified. And not only because this was Leif and she had her own personal issues with him but his heart song was very telling of his intentions. If there was ever a time for her to interfere in her boss' personal life and stop her from making another bad mistake, this was it.

She just had to wait for Leif to finish singing because she knew that trying to interfere while someone was singing their heart song did not work out. That is if the idea of Leif trying to seduce their boss with terrible intentions didn't make her sick first. Luckily, the song was short and as soon as Leif was trying to hit on Joan again, Zoey rushed over to them.

"Hey guys, what's going on?"

She could tell Leif was mad at her when he spoke. "Actually Zoey, Joan and I were in the middle of something."

"Oh, I know," Zoey said, eyeing him carefully and wedging herself between the two. "I just had a few questions that I need to ask Joan."

"Leif," Joan said as she looked over Zoey's head at the guy in question. "I believe we're done here for the night. We'll reconvene in the morning."

Leif tried to protest but Joan cut him off and reiterated the fact that they could go over everything else tomorrow. Zoey looked over her shoulder to watch Leif begrudgingly pick up his things and leave. She tossed him a little smile and wave just to mess with him before she looked back to face Joan.

"You had some questions for me, Zoey?" Joan asked.

"Well, actually," Zoey took a few steps back from Joan. "Not really. I just...okay, here's the thing."

"Yes?"

She just needed to spit it out. "I'm your friend and I just had to tell you that I had a feeling that Leif was trying to come on to you and you mentioned your bad mistakes and Leif would definitely be a bad mistake. If not the worst. Plus, I'm pretty sure his intentions are sketchy."

Zoey waited for Joan's reactions and was both relieved and a little confused when she started to laugh.

"Oh my God, Leif?" Joan asked through a laugh. "Zoey, come on, give me some credit."

Zoey had started to laugh along with her. "It is a pretty ridiculous idea."

"Very," Joan said with a smile. "It would never happen. It flies in the face of everything I believe in regarding workplace professionalism. I'm his boss."

Zoey sucked in a deep breath. Maybe that was her answer. She wasn't even completely sure of her feelings for Joan or if she had any at all but hearing Joan talking about workplace professionalism felt like a punch in the gut when their kiss had been on her mind all day.

"Right, you're his boss, and that is totally unprofessional and wrong," Zoey started to babbled. "And you're very professional, so you wouldn't ever do that. Kiss one of your co-workers, that's absurd. And you're my boss too."

"Zoey," Joan interjected. "Are you done?"

"I guess I am now."

"Good. That was a lot of nonsense but I think I know what you're trying to say."

"You do?"

Joan gave a nod of her head. "If you're referring to Simon's engagement party, which is the only thing there is to refer to, I do remember what happened between us. And you're right, it was unprofessional."

"Right, unprofessional," Zoey agreed.

"But," Joan said as she took a step towards Zoey. "I don't regret what happened."

Zoey stood rooted in her spot. "You don't?"

"I was drunk, yes, very," she said as she took another step closer. "But I still knew what I was doing. Even if it was wrong."

Zoey stayed silent and stared up at Joan because in just a few seconds, Joan had closed the small gap between them and stood so close that they were almost touching. And now they were touching because Joan had reached out and brushed a few strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face.

"Do you regret what happened Zoey? You have been acting a little stranger than normal today."

"I..." Zoey tried to process all that was happening. "I don't."

"Okay," she smiled. "Let's have dinner."

"Tonight?"

Joan shook her head. "Not tonight, it's already late. Friday, I'll send a car to pick you up. Sound good?"

"Yep," Zoey found herself agreeing before she even knew exactly what it was that she was agreeing to. "Sounds great."

"Friday," Joan agreed. "I'll see you in the morning, Zoey."

As Zoey was trying to figure out what she agreed to by going to dinner with Joan, Joan was already packing up everything of hers that was spread out on the table beside them. She waved by to Joan as she exited and hope that her exit wasn't met with another heart song because after everything today, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. Zoey was grateful that she was only met with silence as she watched Joan walk out of view. She threw her headphones back on and immersed herself in a podcast as she hurried out of the building with her apartment in mind and to the one person that could help her navigate this new path that opened up because of her powers.

#my writing #zoeys extraordinary playlist #zoeys playlist #zoey x joan

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rainbowdashisthebest1 · 5 years

Text

Winteriron fic recs

This is a fic rec list of some of my favorite Bucky/Tony fanfiction!

They are organized and numbered in order from shortest to longest (1k-167k). There is a collective total of 36 fics on this list.

All are located on ao3 (Archive of our Own).

The word count is listed underneath the title. (for example, 14k is the same as fourteen thousand words).

I have tried my best to avoid any stories with Major Character Death or an Unhappy Ending. So you don't need to worry about those here!

If they have a little star (*) that means they are some of the more memorable ones that I have read.

ENJOY!

1~killer love

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/20646356

“Nice to finally meet you in person," Bucky said. "If you’re anything like you were over text, I think we’ll get along just fine.”

“More or less,” Tony shrugged playfully. “Just with a little more murder.”

Something dark passed over Bucky’s face, there and gone in an instant. “Murder?” he asked.

“I’m a mystery writer,” Tony explained, hands waving. “That’s why my search history was so bizarre, you know? Gotta do my research and all that. What do you do?”

“I work in forensics,” Bucky replied after a beat.

Tony breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh, good,” he said. “For a second there, I thought you were a serial killer or something.”

2~Like me better

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636204

For almost a fraction of a second, Tony thinks this is it – Barnes isn’t attractive anymore, he’s not some badass bad boy; he’s a giant squishy nerd – he isn’t hot. I don’t want to take his pants off with my teeth, I don’t want to lick my way down his body and I don’t want him hoisting me up and fucking me against a wall – no, sir, I – am a giant fucking liar.

3~suicidal stolen art

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/20134036

Tony was going to kill Bucky Barnes. Tony was going to cut the other thief’s flesh arm off and beat him with it. It was bad enough that they were both running jobs in the same building, but they had to be going for the same necklace, too.

Really, the universe hated Tony. He stared at the ceiling, sending up a very nasty prayer in case someone was listening, then turned back to the job at hand.

4~Bad Days

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/11971314

Bucky likes Tony, but is too scared to tell him. What he doesn't know is that every time he has a "winter soldier" moment, he is constantly protecting tony and not letting anyone near him, so tony already knows that Bucky likes him ("genius, remember?"). Bucky finally gets up the courage to talk to Tony, only for Tony to tell him what's been going on and he's been waiting for Bucky to be comfortable enough to actually tell him.

5~Bad Scoping Mechanisms

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20607554

Like, the general public hates Tony Stark for having been a weapons manufacturer but actually he was pretty popular while he was still in the weapons industry so one wonders, who would have been a fan of Stark Industries before Afghanistan? Military, alphabet agencies, private security, hitmen and assassins? ...Hydra assassins?

-In which the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, is an avid fan of Tony Stark for reasons.-

6~Sometimes Life Happens

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/4376774 Prompt: Imagine Tony and Bucky where Bucky works for the Russian mob and he hijacks Tony's car with Tony still in it to run from the cops. Tony wants to be mad, but really, he was sort of bored anyways and hang on, this guy's deadly, hot, and he has an awesome f*cking arm. Maybe this hostage thing isn't so bad after all.

Tony hadn’t necessarily been looking for further proof of his maladjusted—one might even argue self-destructive—approach to problems, but sometimes life happened, and you didn’t have any choice but to take a long, hard look at yourself. Sometimes, you’re sitting in your car, staring into your recently emptied coffee cup, contemplating whether or not you really want to do this whole “leading a responsible life” thing anymore, and a guy with a gun slides into your passenger seat. Sometimes, that’s just the way your Monday goes.

7~Tell Me Your Name, I Need To Know

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19907770

Tony is overworked and underappreciated, always pushing his limits and not taking care of himself well; but someone decides to take care of Tony for a change.

Tony just wishes he knew who it was.

8~Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream

3k https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322914 Bucky accidentally crashes a blind date and he's not all that sorry about it.

9~Arm(s) Dealer

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/20869010

Just Tony being totally oblivious of Bucky being his fanboy and Bucky trying to 'play it cool' and kind of failing at it and coming across as kind of a weirdo.

-In which Tony slowly but surely realizes Bucky is his biggest fan. Slowly though.-

10~Warmth

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10543758 The day Bucky realizes that the Winter Soldier is in love with Tony Stark, he nearly brains himself on the doorway between his room and the rest of Stevie’s floor.

Because that’s the thing, he’s somehow not noticed, despite sharing a headspace with him. It’s been a team-wide question since Bucky came in from the cold as to why the Soldier spends so much time with Stark, and even Bucky’s been unable to answer, though now he’s just unwilling. The Soldier is in love with Stark. He’s the sun, the Soldier thinks. How the hell is this Bucky’s life?

11~How to Survive a Haunted House

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19070833

“Lord save me from crazy white boys,” were probably going to be Rhodey’s last words. He didn’t care what his friend said; this place was haunted, and they were both gonna end up dead because Tony was too taken in by the ample closet space.

A fanfiction based on a popular twitter thread.

12~How to get away with (murder) Tony*

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/13516308 All Bucky wants is five minutes alone with Tony - is that really too much to ask? Yes, it is, at least according to the rest of the Avengers that made it their mission to never leave him alone with the engineer for whatever reason. So if he ever wants to make his moves, he's going to have to employ every single one of his assassin training techniques and more. And he better do it fast, before the annoyed Winter Soldier takes over and just kills the meddling fools. Naturally, Tony is completely oblivious to the entire situation until a mysterious note leads him to the most unlikely of places - McDonald's.

13~forgiveness (can you imagine)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17585558

bucky gets called back to the states so the man whose parents he killed can help him fix what has been unmade

he never expected tony stark's massive capacity for forgiveness to remake him

14~Not a Competition

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/16951419

Steve Rogers has been trying to force himself back into Tony's life, despite the fact that Tony no longer wants him there. Bucky makes some mistakes but tries his best to keep Tony safe and away from Steve's unwanted advances.

Features clear communication between Bucky and Tony, Tony learning about healthy relationships, a realistic approach to jealousy, and a potential bash down of Captain America.

15~These Sleepless Nights of Ours

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19971652

It's another sleepless night and no one is around to keep Tony company. That is until he wanders into the Compound gardens and finds an insomniac Winter Soldier in desperate need of a hug.

16~Today's Forecast*

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/6830737

Loneliness had followed Tony Stark his entire life, so they were on pretty good terms. Ignoring those empty places inside of himself was easier once the day was in full swing, but the mornings had a way of slipping a knife between his ribs and getting him right in the heart.

The last place Tony expected to find the cure for his condition was on TV, but now watching the morning weather report has become the highlight of his day. Well, it was less the weather, and more the weatherman. One look at Bucky Barnes making some adorably lame joke about umbrellas, all lopsided smile and sparkling eyes, and Tony was in love.

17~This Ship (Ain't Never Ginna Sink)*

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7939663/chapters/18149251

HYDRA kidnaps Tony Stark. What happens next should be obvious—the torture, the snark, the dramatic rescue. You know, the usual. Except.

Except Bix—the newest self-proclaimed faceless HYDRA goon—really ships WinterIron.

Or: Why faceless HYDRA goons aren’t allowed to have a Tumblr account.

18~The Gift Of Care

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19908034

Freshly back to the States, James Barnes has a lot to learn about his new world, so he watches and learns and finds himself slowly falling for one Tony Stark, who always appears miserable when he has to spend time at the Compound with his former teammates, but who still takes the time to treat James with kindness.

James sets out on a mission to take care of Tony, make Tony’s life easier in whatever small ways he can. An unfortunate misunderstanding nearly ruins that, but in the end, James still reaps the rewards of his secret good deeds.

19~The Art of Petty Theft

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15943550

All Tony needs right now is a good night’s sleep, but with nightmares nipping at his heels, he can’t do it without his sweatshirt— Rhodey’s sweatshirt, technically, that had become Tony’s long ago, back in their MIT days. The sweatshirt had kept him warm, cozy, and safe through many bad nights, but now it’s missing and when Tony finds out which one of his teammates is a no-good clothes thief, oh, they were going to have words.

20~Merry Kissmas

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/5368094

In which all Bucky wants for Christmas is a certain genius superhero, and for the rest of their teammates to stop hanging mistletoe and kissing said genius, thank you very much.

21~The Voice Inside My Head

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12253551/chapters/27844158

The Soldier is overly protective of Tony after the rogue Avengers come back, forcing his way out when the slightest thing happens to him, so it's a problem when Steve doesn't know when to stop.

22~Whatever you say darling

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/6942853

Tony has been trying to woo Bucky for about a year now. He flirts, he builds him things, he kisses him on the cheek after movie nights and does almost everything he can think of to convince the guy that he really wants to date him. Bucky is strangely steadfast in his answer though: No, they can't date. After an explosive argument about the issue, Tony leaves the Tower for Malibu, making the team wary of a moody Bucky. When he comes back after two weeks, things are a bit...different.

Tony is actually doing exactly what Bucky asks. And it is creeping the team out while making Bucky go crazy.

23~Phase Change

10k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16336445/chapters/38220197

The man who used to be both Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier but now neither has to figure out who he is and what he wants, with a little prodding from Tony along the way.

24~by any other name

10k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944860/chapters/34627725

He hates 'Bucky', hates the man, hates the way it makes his skin crawl and his chest ache.

Hates hearing that name thrown around so cavalier. Hates the image it evokes.

But he can't do anything about it. His tongue is leaden, his tongue sour with disgust, and he's unable to push out the words.

Until Tony Stark rages a one-man war against 'Bucky Barnes'.

Or, the 5 times Tony rejected 'Bucky’ and the 1 time James did.

25~Let It Grow

10k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15711483

When Tony steps inside a random flower shop on pure impulse, he doesn't expect to find himself face to face with the hottest florist he has ever seen. Sure, the guy is also the snarkiest florist he has ever seen, but Tony wouldn't consider that a bad thing. Bucky is clever, funny, and can keep up with Tony's banter better than most, and maybe Tony becomes a little bit infatuated with the man, right then and there.

And maybe Tony ends up going back to that same flower shop, time and time again, just to talk to Bucky. That's not weird at all.

He can always pretend it's for the flowers.

26~Speed Dating (Isn't Supposed to Happen in Cars)*

11k https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19388686 Tony's temporarily broke due to a scandal at Stark Industries, and with no one willing to hire him, he's got to get creative in how to get by. When he reads about a solar-powered car race that pays out in the millions, he knows he can win it. He just needs a car, all the parts, a racing team, a sponsor, a driver, and like a gajillion other things he does not have. What he does have is: one whole month, an Air Force pilot, an heiress, two enthusiastic teenagers, a discredited science teacher, three ex-cons, a high-tech robot disguised as a Roomba, and a wicked crush on the guy from YouTube. Seriously, how can he lose?

27~And Time Again

11k

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/21033113

When Bucky starts acting strange — well, stranger than usual — Tony notices right away. Their friendship might still be new, but he likes to think that he's gotten to know Bucky pretty well by then. The problem is that Bucky doesn't want to tell Tony what's wrong, even when he asks. He dodges Tony's questions, saying everything is fine.

But the way Bucky keeps looking at Tony — as if he expects him to disappear the moment he turns his back — says otherwise.

And Tony is determined to get to the bottom of what's really going on.

28~Spring is Coming

12k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17709014/chapters/41776952

When Tony returns to Earth, he finds out that Bucky Barnes died in the Decimation.

The Winter Soldier, however, did not.

29~Weekly love

12k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11095257/chapters/24754530

Steve flicks him off and Bucky shuts his mouth. “Anyway, so what about Monday?”

Sam leans his hip on the table. “It’s about Stark.”

Bucky almost snorts at that. At MIT almost everything comes back to Tony Stark one way or the other.

Sam stares at him and Bucky clears his throat only then Sam continues.

“Every Monday Stark agrees to go out with the first person who asks him out.” Then he adds, “for a week.”

Bucky makes a face at that, mumbling ‘damn playboy’ under his nose.

Steve shakes his head at his antics. “Unless they have no chance to ask him out then they have to wait another week to try.”

“Mondays are exclusive, any other day and Stark will turn them down harshly.”

“Yep.” Steve nods then stretches, his eyes become a bit distant. “And at the end of the week, he will break up with that person saying: I couldn’t fall in love with you. Let’s break up.”

30~Misremembered

14k

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/11046240

When Loki smirked at Rogers in the middle of a battle and told him he would give Rogers what he wanted most in the world, the mind of his old friend back, Tony had a very bad feeling.

31~Scars

26k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4799096/chapters/10983695

When Tony tried to urge the homeless guy sleeping on the steps of the Tower’s loading dock to move, he never expected that he'd found Hydra’s pet assassin—James "Bucky" Barnes.

Now, after months of keeping his presence a secret from the Avengers and helping Barnes learn to cope with both his returning memories and the modern world, Hydra is back for their favorite toy and Tony must call in old friends to save the life of the man he just might have come to care for a little too much.

32~Hate Me

45k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17054348/chapters/40099106

There were moments where Bucky wondered what could have made Iron Man, possibly his best friend here in the future, sarcastic and gentle and funny and caring, hate Tony Stark so much. Moments where he wondered what Tony Stark, who could manage to be kind and generous to the assassin who had murdered his parents, could have done to Iron Man. But he never dared to ask, afraid of the answer.

33~Fractures (Filled With Liquid Gold)

63k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10913913/chapters/24268908

Ultron happened. The Avengers left.

Tony is fine with being alone again. He always worked better as a Lone Wolf than a team player anyway. He's not sleeping or eating or resting or... living, but it's fine. It's good. It's okay.

And then there's James.

34~Far from Heaven*

67k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13808031/chapters/31748817

Bucky Barnes falls asleep with the man he loves in his arms. In their bed, in their home, safe and sound.

He wakes up in the cold room of the cryostasis chamber in Wakanda to the worried faces of his former best friend and King T'Challa.

Everything that happened in the past six months— his pardon, his recovery, Tony's forgiveness, falling in love— he's told it was nothing more than a fevered dream, conjured up by a broken mind in cryostasis sleep.

The second chance at life he worked so hard to embrace. A newfound family and a place to call home. Tony, the love of his life and his whole world. All gone in a blink.

Bucky Barnes breaks.

35~Dig No Graves

142k WIP

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11633517/chapters/26163312

"I'm here to kill you, Terminator," Tony said slowly, "does that compute?"

The soldier looked up at him with wide blue eyes and no expression. "Okay."

Tony froze. "Okay," he echoed. "I tell you I came here to kill you and your response is 'okay'?"

"I am being decommissioned," the soldier said, and for one horrible moment, Tony thought he actually seemed relieved. "I understand. I will comply."

(Or; Tony learns the Winter Soldier killed his parents and goes on a search for revenge, but ends up learning how to heal instead)

36~Such Sweet Revenge*

167k

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15146219/chapters/35123417

When the Rogues are back in the States after being pardoned, the New Avengers want nothing to do with them and as far as Tony is concerned, if he never speaks to them again, it'll be too soon. After all, he didn't spend the last year putting himself (and his family) back together only for his former co-workers to ruin all of his hard work.

But then he gets a hand-written letter from the Winter Soldier himself, apologizing for the events that transpired and an off-handed comment from Rhodey about Rogers failing to take care of an obviously miserable Bucky Barnes sets in motion Tony's new, oh-so-evil plan to get some payback.

After all, what better revenge than to steal the Winter Soldier away from his best friend?

The only problem: Tony sucks at being vengeful, but apparently he's an expert at inadvertently falling in love.

34 notes · View notes

samwise-writes · 4 years

Note

19. “I made a mistake.”

So this ended up much longer than I had anticipated. And I am unsure if I actually like it. But I figured I needed to explain at some point why Reah was acting like such a weirdo. Anyway, this take place directly after Names

annnnd I am really feeling this Reah and Rylen pairing, soooo I probably will be posting more of them very soon.

History

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

Reah had come stomping into her younger sister’s chambers both out-raged and out-of-sorts. It was uncommon for Reah to lose her temper these days, and it took a great deal to shake the woman, so Eloise was instantly concerned by the sudden appearance and obvious foul mood her sister was in.

“Good morning, Reah…” Eloise said cautiously. Her sister seemed lost in thought. Once Reah registered her sister’s words, she looked up and around herself as though she was seeing her surroundings for the first time. She hadn’t meant to come to Eloise’s room, she knew she was likely busy with Inquisition business, but it seemed her feet led her there anyway. She met her sister’s concerned face with an apologetic and slightly sheepish smile.

“Oh, Eloise. Good morning. I apologize. I was… lost in thought and automatically came here...” She trailed off and took a few steps toward Eloise’s balcony.

“Do you mind if I stay here for a while?”

Eloise raised an eyebrow at her sister’s odd behaviour.

“Are you hiding from someone?” she asked, getting up from behind her desk, and moving over to stand beside her sister.

Reah winced at Eloise’s question. She looked guilty, as though she had been caught doing something wrong.

“Who are you hiding from?” Eloise asked gently, genuinely concerned.

Reah shook her head silently closing her eyes for a minute, taking a deep breath.

“It wouldn’t happen to be our very striking Knight-Captain Rylen, would it?”

Reah jumped. She hadn’t realized there was someone else in the room – she never would have asked to stay if she had realized, nor would she have even opened her mouth. She spun around to glare at the Tevinter mage.

Dorian was lounging on her sister’s chaise, smirking under his ridiculous mustache, the book he had been reading, tossed to the side. He met Reah’s gaze unflinchingly.

“Why would you be hiding from Rylen?” Eloise asked. Her curiosity was peaked now. She had observed her sister, and Cullen’s second-in-command circling each other for months now but she hadn’t realized anything had come of it.

Reah was still staring down Dorian, but his smirk only grew into a grin. Reah made a rude gesture at the mage before turning back to meet her sister’s eyes.

“I made a mistake,” Reah breathed out quietly, “I did something I promised myself I wasn’t going to do… but now that it has happened, I am not sure I can keep it from happening again.”

Eloise blinked at her sister a few times. Eloise was trying to process what exactly her sister meant, but only fully understood once Dorian piped in again with a coy: “Why would you? He is a positively delectable treat.”

“Oh!” Eloise cried out.

“Oh. Yes.” Reah said, her irritation at Dorian’s remark obvious in her voice.

Eloise hesitated. She knew her sister, and she understood now why Reah was not acting like herself.

“This doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” Elosie said softly, placing a hand on her sister’s shoulder, trying to catch Reah’s eye.

Reah shook her head vehemently.

“I said I wouldn’t let this happen. Not again. I can’t.”

Eloise sighed. “Rylen isn’t James, Reah.”

Reah visibly reacted to the mention of her past lover’s name. She shrunk away from Eloise’s touch, wrapping her arms around herself. She cursed the mage in her head, fully aware of how vulnerable she was.

Dorian was fully aware of the fact too, and he suddenly felt sorry for making his earlier comments. Clearly there was more going on than he understood.

“Who is James?” He asked quietly.

Reah’s head snapped up to look at him. This time, her eyes were not full of vitriol, but rather, tears.

“He was my fiancé” Reah breathed out, surprised at how willingly the words came to her lips in answer to the mage’s question.

“What happened to him?”

Reah walked slowly over to the chaise and collapsed down beside Dorian. She mulled over the words in her head for a few moments, before deciding to just tell it in the simplest way she could.

“As you already know,” Reah began, and Eloise moved over to sit on the edge of her bed, facing Dorian and her sister, “Eloise and I are half-sisters. We don’t talk much about our family for a reason.” She met her sister’s eye, and Eloise gave her an encouraging nod to continue. “We share the same father, Argonne Trevelyan. He had an illicit relationship when he was quite young, with an ‘unsuitable woman’” Reah paused to make a face and take a breath before continuing.

“His parents basically banished my mother, she had worked in the Trevelyan household as a stable hand for five years. That was before anyone, including my mother, realized that she was with child. Well, once she did realized, she wrote letters to our father to let him know. Of course, her letters were intercepted by our grandparents and my father didn’t learn about my existence until I was about seven years old. By that time he had married a suitable woman, who was pregnant with Eloise. He had grown hard, and cold; quite a lot had happened within the family to make him that way.” Reah sighed, looking incredibly tired.

“Anyway, once he found out he had another child, he felt it was his right to raise me as a Trevelyan, despite my status as a bastard. So, he found out where my mother and I were living, and he took me. There was nothing my mother could do to stop him. He was a Lord, and he had a great deal of power in the area that we had been living. She never really gave up on him. I think she had hoped one day he would get out of his parents’ control and come back to her.”

Reah shook her head, staring at her boots.

“Instead, he came back for me, and left her there with nothing.” She looked up to look Dorian in the eye. “I’m told after he left with me, she lost the will to live. She became ill and died within the year. I could never forgive Argonne for that.”

Reah expelled a long breath, trying to gather her thoughts to get back on track.

“For the remainder of my life, I lived at the Trevelyan estate. However, I was never quite accepted there. I found some friends in the staff, but Eloise’s mother never did like having me around. I can understand that, I was a threat to Eloise’s claim to the Trevelyan fortune and estate.”

“Not that I wanted it” snorted Eloise.

Reah ignored her sister.

“She was a good woman in spite of her concerns about titles and who deserved to be Argonne’s rightful heir. She tried to include me in most events, and she protected me as well as she could from our father’s wrath. And she loved Eloise dearly, who had become the most important person in my life, so for that I could respect her, and in a way, love her. She is the reason that I met James. He was a younger son of a decently wealthy merchant family, that was sometimes invited to the soirees that she put on. He was the only reason that I would agree to attend the parties. I wasn’t accepted, and frankly, I didn’t want to be. These were not my people. But, the first time I met James, I must’ve been sixteen, he walked right over to me, and insisted that I dance with him. I refused multiple times, and tried to slip away from the party, so that he would stop pestering me.”

Reah smiled at the memory.

“Unfortunately for me, I hadn’t quite gained all the sneaking skills of a decent rouge, and he followed me out to the stables. He found me there, grooming one of the horses. I was annoyed that he found me so quickly, but he stayed with me the rest of the night; he stayed quiet, just observing me. After the next two parties, it became an unspoken agreement that we would meet in the stables when he would come, I taught him how to care for horses, and sometimes we would go out for a ride. Eventually, I grew to like him, and somehow… that became love. He allowed me to just be me, and that was not something that I had experienced before, in a household where I was constantly observed by everyone, other than Eloise, with suspicion. He asked me to marry him a few years later. I was only eighteen at the time, and a part of me knew that it was too soon. But I was suffocating. Our father had become… crueller… So, I agreed to the proposal, not realizing that there was a Blight just around the corner. James’ family had travelled to Ferelden on business about two weeks before King Cailan’s army was decimated by the horde. He was killed about a week after that. He tried to help what he thought was a small group of refugees, but they turned out to be bandits. They killed him.”

Reah gave herself a few seconds before continuing.

“So. I left home shortly after that, unable to stand our father’s treatment any longer. By that time I was nineteen, and I vowed that I would never allow someone to get close to me in that way again. It just hurt too much. I learned that the only person I could rely on was myself. And that was good enough for me. I didn’t need anyone other than myself, and Eloise.”

Silence fell over the three of them for a long few minutes.

Dorian finally broke the silence.

“So, what you are concerned about is…?” He held up a hand to Reah when she opened her mouth to speak. “Rylen is not James. He can defend himself. I also saw the way he was looking at you last night. And every night before that since we arrived at Skyhold. And for some time in Haven as well.”

Reah blinked in surprise at how forcefully Dorian was speaking to her.

“Just because you have been hurt in the past, doesn’t mean that you can just close yourself off from other people.”

Eloise and Dorain shared a momentarily meaningful look. Eloise recognized the words she had spoken to Dorian after they had met with his father.

Reah shook her head.

“I have to protect myself.”

Eloise stared at her sister.

“Why?”

Reah met Eloise’s gaze but remained silent.

“Why must you insist on being an idiot? You have to let people in! It is the only way to survive, especially in a situation like this!” Eloise swung her arms out gesturing around the room.

“This is the way that I survive!” Reah sprung up and began pacing erratically around the room, her voice bouncing off the stone walls with urgency. “Why can’t you understand that? I am weak, and the only way I can protect myself is to prevent myself from becoming weaker by relying on, and needing others!” Reah stopped her pacing with a wild look in her eyes. Eloise had shrunk back looking visibly hurt by her sister’s words.

Dorian understood why Eloise looked hurt, but he also knew that Reah hadn’t meant Eloise to be a weakness.

“You are not your mother.”

Eloise and Reah both stared at Dorian. He met Reah’s gaze calmly.

“You are not your mother, and you will not crumble if someone else leaves you.”

Reah visibly deflated, coming back over to Eloise and Dorian. This time she perched beside her sister. Throwing an arm around Eloise’s shoulders she pulled the younger woman a bit closer.

“I’m sorry. You know I don’t mean that you are a weakness.”

Eloise sighed. “I know.”

Dorian was not ready to let the matter go.

“You need to talk to him.”

Reah’s eyes bugged out and she sat up a bit straighter.

“No. No way. It was a mistake.”

“You two are possibly the most hard-headed women I have ever met in my entire life!” Dorian exclaimed dramatically.

“Why do you care so much?”

“Because,” Dorian smiled, “as I said, I’ve seen the way that man looks at you. He could never leave you because he is so utterly devoted to you that he would follow you across Thedas if he could.”

Reah swiped a pillow from Eloise’s bed and tossed it at Dorian. He carelessly threw up a hand and the pillow burst into flames; Eloise stared at the smouldering pieces of fabric that remained on the floor for a moment.

“Hey, that was my pillow you brute!”

“I’ll buy you a new one,” Dorian said, while still staring down Reah.

“Talk. To. Him.” Dorian drew out the words, and Reah narrowed her eyes at him.

“Who are we talking to, now?”

They all jumped, no one had heard someone else enter the room.

There, standing at the top of Eloise’s steps was no other than the Knight-Captain himself.

Eloise and Dorian both stared at Rylen, Dorian’s face rearranging itself into possibly the smuggest face Reah had ever seen. Rylen found himself unable to keep his eyes from Reah, but she was set on continuing to glare at the mage.

After what felt like hours to Reah, Rylen spoke again, holding up a small stack of vellum in one hand.

“The commander needed these brought to you, Inquisitor, but was held up by some other matters. I told him I would ensure you got them.”

Eloise blinked a few times, trying to catch up with what Rylen was saying.

“Ah, yes.” She stood, smoothing out her clothes, “Right. The reports I asked for. Thank you, Knight-Captain.” She moved over to take the stack, just as Reah jumped up. Everyone paused to look at her.

“I…” Reah looked at a loss for words, “I need to go. I have another engagement I forgot about.”

“And what, pray tell, could that be?” Dorian asked slyly, needling Reah.

She glared at the mage as she made to leave, “I have to go beat up your boyfriend.”

Dorian’s laugh followed her down the stairs and out the door of her sister’s chamber.

#Reah #Reah x Rylen #Quizzy Eloise #dorian pavus #OC x knight captain Rylen #Dragon age au #Dragon age fanfic #Long post

2 notes · View notes

imamotherfuckingstar-lord · 7 years

Text

The Five Times Steve Rogers said No & the One Time He Said Yes

Steve Rogers x READER

A/N: Commission for the patent and wonderful @xlemon-limex

Summary: Tony thinks Steve has the hots for you, he isn’t totally wrong.

Deny #1

Tony was going over some intel, standing in the front of the conference room, while Steve sat across from you - trying his best to gain your attention, but you were too focused on Stark. You listened to all the information he was giving, leaned forward to take a closer look at the hologram he brought up and smirked at Nat, who called dibs on the mission.

“I’d like to go to,” you announced and Tony smirked.

“That’s all fine, but unless we can pry Roger’s eye from you, we might not have a leader for this one,” he bellowed out, staring right at the Captain.

Steve stirred in his seat and frowned up at Tony. “I wasn’t staring at her.”

“Uh, yeah you were,” Tony scoffed, giving you a wink. “I mean, she is pretty cute.”

“That’s enough and I wasn’t staring at her,” Steve scolded, getting up from his seat. “Are we done here?”

Holding back a smile, you looked to Tony, who held up his hands. “At ease soldier, we’re all done here.”

Steve was the first to leave the conference room, followed by Sam. When they were out of sight, you glared at Tony. “You really love pushing his buttons, don’t you?”

“It’s what I do best,” Tony grinned, nodding to Nat. “Romanoff and I have this theory, see, we think Cap has the hots for you.”

“As if.” You rolled my eyes and got up, making your way to the door. “I gotta go work out with the fellas. You two cool your jets.”

You left the room and exhaled deeply.

Stark wasn’t too far off, Steve indeed had the hots for you, because you were most certainly his girlfriend of six months. How the two of you manage to keep that a secret from the others was a damn miracle, but you both knew the time to tell everyone was drawing closer as Stark’s suspicious started to gain some heat.

Deny #2

The bar was packed for a Tuesday night and you wondered why you all had to go out when Tony kept a perfectly stocked bar back at the Tower. Something about team bonding, as if fighting alongside each other wasn’t enough bonding. Easing away from the bar with two pitchers of beers, you glanced around and found your band of misfits at the pool table. Steve caught your eye and he waved you over and you smiled, making your way through the crowd. You pushed, politely, until you managed to get to the pool table.

“Took you long enough,” Clint grumbled, beelining to you.

“My bad,” you replied, handing over the pitchers to him. “Who is up?”

“Point Break,” Tony nodded to Thor, who looked odd in his civilian Earth clothes. “Next game we got doubles.”

“Fun,” you echoed, looking to Nat. “Partners?”

“Of course,” she answered swiftly, nudging Sam in the ribs. “I want to beat this one.”

Before he could respond to the redhead’s flirtation, his eyes flew to someone next to you. Your head turned slightly, coming face to face with a rather attractive man, who was asking if you’d something.

“Excuse me?”

“A drink,” he smiled, flashing his pearly whites. “Can I get you a drink?”

You laughed nervously and said no. “Thank you, though.”

“Come one,” he grinned, his hand squeezing your shoulder. “Just one drink.”

Jaw clenched, you moved away from his touch. “I’m good.”

He stood his ground and asked again. “Listen, one drink to show you how witty and charming I am. Don’t like me after one drink, then we part ways.”

You gazed around to your group of friends, who were all watching with intense eyes, waiting for you to make a move. “I don’t think-.”

“She said no.” Steve spoke up, walking away from the pool table to stand next to you. “She said no, so you can leave now.”

The man sized Steve up and chuckled. “She has a mouth, doesn’t she?”

All bets were off then, you lunged toward the man, but Steve got to him first. He had a fistful of the guy’s collar and the others were telling Steve to get him the hell out of here. You watched with amusement as Steve practically carried the man out the bar, coming back a few seconds later. He gave you an apologetic look, to which you just waved a hand, letting him know it was okay.

“Well, well, well,” Tony started up from the pool table, cue in hand. “Look who came to the rescue.”

“Not now, Tony,” Steve grumbled, walking over to Clint for a refill of beer.

You side eyed Tony and gave him a warning stare, but he just shrugged. “I’m just calling it as I see it.”

“Steve was just coming to my defense,” you explained, ignoring Tony’s shit eating smile. “I didn’t see anyone of you stepping up.”

“Well, we figured you had it,” Clint piped up, taking a drink from his mug.

“Nonetheless,” you scoffed teasingly, giving Steve a soft smile. “Thank you, Steve.”

He glanced your way and held back a smile. “No problem.”

Later that night, when a soft knock from my door, you knew it was him. He walked in and quickly apologized for being all alpha male.

“Babe, it’s okay,” you laughed, beckoning him over to the bed. Throwing back the covers, you patted the empty spot next to you. He blushed, but turned around to lock the door before making his way to the bed. He slipped under the covers and sighed when his back touched the mattress. You leaned against the headboard and started playing with his hair, watching as he closed his eyes.

“We have to tell them eventually,” he said quietly.

“I know, but I wanna enjoy the privacy while we have it.”

“Me too, but it would be nice to get Tony stop teasing me.”

You smiled and leaned down to press a kiss onto his forehead. “It’s pretty funny though.”

Deny #3

The quinjet was relatively quiet as you took a seat next to Steve, letting out a loud yawn. Natasha, who was standing across from the two of you, smiled and asked if you were tired.

“Like hell,” you proclaimed, yawning again. “How long until we’re home?”

“About an hour,” Tony called out from the cockpit, where he was chatting away with Clint.

“Too long,” you whined, eyes falling heavy. “I have to sleep...”

Nat laughed and shook her head when you promptly fell asleep, head slumping over to Steve’s shoulders. He chuckled, but his smile faded when he realized his teammate was staring.

“Should I move her?”

“No,” Natasha answered, pushing away from the wall. “Let her sleep.”

He nodded, grinning down at you when Nat stepped away.

It freeing to him to have you so close and Steve savored the moment, daring to reach down for your hand and placing it on his thigh. There were reasons why the two of you wanted to keep things low profile, but being able to touch each other while on a mission, made those reasons seem ridiculous.

“Don’t you look a tad bit happy there, Cap.”

Steve groaned and glanced over to were Tony stood, a smirk on his lips.

“She fell asleep.”

“I see that, I have eyes,” Tony remarked, walking over to Steve. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t getting a little frisky, Rogers.”

“I’m not you, Tony,” Steve barked back and Tony laughed.

“That you are not. Let her sleep, she kicked ass today.”

“She did,” Steve agreed.

Stark walked away, saying something about Steve being so obvious, but he paid no attention. Instead he looked down at you and chuckled.

“You can open your eyes now.”

“How did you know,” you pouted, peeking open an eye.

Steve shook his head and reached down for you hand to squeeze it. “I know you too well”

Deny #4

“So, his name is Luke and he’s really cute.”

“Nat,” you warned, looking up from your tablet. She gave you a pouty face and you laughed. “No.”

“Luke is the total package,” she said in a fake Valley girl voice. “Come on, you haven’t been on a date in nearly 7 months.”

“Okay, weirdo,” you snorted, putting the tablet down. “Can we not do this right now?”

“Do what?”

Sam walked into the kitchen, Steve, and Tony trailing behind him. “What are we not doing?”

You gave Steve a quick eye roll and he smiled before wandering over to the fridge.

Natasha explained how she wanted to hook you up with Luke, a SHIELD agent. Tony pointed a finger at you and grinned.

“Oh, you need to get laid.”

“You have no idea what I need,” you retorted, sending Nat a death stare. “See what you started.”

“Hey,” she frowned, crossing her arms against her chest. “I just think you two would be cute together, he’s a really nice guy. Maria tells me he’s super smart, you like super smart, yeah?”

“Just drop it,” you begged.

“Isn’t he the one with the bad temper,” he piped up, pouring himself a cup of water.

Nat turned her head to Steve. “How would you know that?”

He shrugged and looked to Sam for support. “Didn’t we hear that from that guy?”

Sam nodded and snapped his fingers. “Yeah, that one dude from HR. Said something about him being hot headed.”

Smiling down at the tablet, you pretended to be invested in the report Hill had sent earlier. “See, Nat, I’m good.”

“Look at Cap,” Tony snorted, grabbing his mug off the counter. “So jealous he had to make up lies about some random guy.”

“I’m just looking out for my friend,” he shrugged nonchalantly, moving toward the door. He glanced your way and nodded. “You’re welcome.”

“Thanks, Steve.”

“OH, you are so full of shit,” Tony called out, following him out the door. “Just because you can’t have – “

“TONY.”

You laughed at the pair’s bickering, ignoring Natasha’s eyes on you until Sam asked if she wanted to grab breakfast together. She asked if you’d like to join, you declined with the excuse about writing up some reports. The two left and once they were gone, you chuckled.

“Sorry, Luke.”

Deny #5

Tony was staring at Steve, he could feel the man��s gaze on him. He tried to ignore his friend, focusing on the task on hand – dinner for the group. Steve had volunteered and Tony said he’d help. The two of them worked quietly for a bit, Tony chopping the tomatoes for the pasta and Steve straining said pasta, until the former sighed.

“Just confess, Rogers.”

Steve turned off the sink sauce and looked at his friend. “What am I confessing?”

Tony smirked. “That you have the hots for you know who.”

“Tony, I am flattered, but you are not my type.”

The two men laughed, but Tony wasn’t going to let up. “I mean, for fuck’s sake, you could be getting some if you wanted to. I’m sure she feels – “

“Listen, Tony,” Steve interrupted, turning his entire body to face the man. He inhaled deeply and sighed. “I don’t have the hots for anyone, okay? I’m just trying to get by.”

Tony studied Steve’s face for a long minute and Steve knew he wasn’t done for good, but he just smiled and shrugged. “Fine, denial is bad for your health, Cap.”

Confession #1

You ran alongside Steve, dodging bullets behind his shield and doing what he did best – taking down bad guys. You were all in Turkey, taking down a Hydra hide out, one agent at a time. Tony had decided to split everyone into pairs, smirking when Steve and you somehow ended up together. The two of you pretended to be annoyed, but when he wasn’t looking, you smiled at each other.

The couple that fought bad dudes together, stayed together.

The two of you fought side by side, until every agent was down, or so you thought.

You stood still, trying to catch your breath as Steve spoke over his comm.

“Tony wants us back at the jet,” he said, nodding for you to lead the way.

“Okay,” you huffed out, moving ahead of him.

He watched for a second until something caught in his eye and suddenly he was in front of you, pulling you down as bullets came flying in your direction. Steve yelled for you to stay down as he made his way to the shooter, knocking him down in a flash.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” you smiled, standing up from the ground. “I’m good.”

….

“So that was fun,” Clint grumbled, collapsing on the floor of the quinjet.

“We’re all here, so yeah, it was fun,” Nat smiled, settling next to the archer. She looked at you and nodded. “Heard you almost bit it.”

“I did not,” you snapped back, moving to the center of the jet.

“Yeah, because Cappy over there saved her ass,” Tony explained, giving you a little wink.

“Oh, so you saw that too,” Sam teased. “I got an aerial view.”

“Cut it out,” Steve warned, making his way to my side. “We’re lucky we all made it out alive.”

“So now that you saved her from death, are you gonna ask her out?”

Your eyes snapped over to Clint. “Not you too.”

He laughed and shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious.”

“What is?”

“That Steve wants to jump your bones,” Sam chimed in, much to his friend’s dismay.

“Are you seriously jumping in on this, Samuel?”

“Don’t call me that,” he groaned, leaning himself against the wall

Tony laughed and you turned to him. “You keep starting this shit.”

“I’m only calling it as I see it,” Tony held up his hands and you sighed, looking to Steve.

His eyes were fixated on Stark and he took a deep breath just as the entire group started to throw in their two cents about Steve having the hots for you. You started to say something, but before you could get a word in, his mouth was against yours. His lips were warm and soft, and you couldn’t help but moan a little, fingers swirling into his locks. All the teasing stopped and a silence fell over the group just as Steve pressed another kiss onto your lips before pulling away.

“What the hell just happened,” Tony asked, gazing to his friends. “Did they just kiss?”

“I believe that was more than a kiss,” Natasha explained, her eyes going back and forth between Steve and you.

“You all are world class idiots,” you declared, resting a hand on Steve’s shoulders. Gazing over at him, you grinned. “Do you want to tell them, babe?”

“Did she just call him babe?”

Clint shook his head and Tony echoed the question.

“Well,” Steve said, bringing his arm around your waist. “We’ve been dating for six months now.”

It took about 30 seconds to register and when it did, the whole team exploded in “I knew its” and “Why the hell didn’t you two say anything?” until Steve told everyone to calm down.

“We wanted to wait,” he explained, bringing you closer to him. “But now that you all know, I need one thing from you all.”

“Anything,” Natasha said, giving me a soft smile.

“The teasing has got to stop,” Steve said, looking directly at Tony. “You got it?”

You smiled at your boyfriend’s diplomatic proposal and waited for the inevitable answer.

“Yeah,” Tony smirked, running a hand through his beard. “The fun's just started, Cap.”

Forever tags

@my-amazing-nerdyness @naih-reedus @maciiiofficial @casownsmyass @jade-taillia @fangirlextraordinaire @indominusregina @feelmyroarrrr @my-rainbow-wonderland @myhopeisinfinite @girl-next-door-writes @dontbeamenacetotheforce @melonberri @superisatomboyuniverse @xloudwhocares @dracsgirl @moonlight53 @makemyownwonderland @dreamwhisper87 @trekken81 @barely-emily @winterboobaer @purelittleblueberry @goodnightwife @mishaissocoollike @stormyfandoms @foreverybodythatunderstands23 @gallifreyansass @flirtswithdanger @yana-tardis-drwho @myplaceofthingsilove @jchona @alyssaj23 @blackhoneybucky @urbanspacedecay @castieltrash1 @hannahsakorax3 @imagine-all-the-imagines @motleymoose @distinguishedqueenofbooks @kitkatgaming @fizzylollipop12 @iamwarrenspeace @darkmystress00 @lunarwolfrose @kapolisradomthoughts @sisinia13 @swiggityswagness @takemetoneverland91 @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 @sarah-mos @rubynationwins @padfootorionblack @kaywolves @wonderlace19 @purelittleblueberry @courtneychicken @rayleyanns @whatmakesmebeme-tblr @thewinterwitch @avengersgirllorianna @holywinchesterness @tatortot2701 @brewsthespirit-blog @seabasschino @lame-lozer @ex-bookjunky @travelwithwords @supernaturaldean67 @thehuntchback @shoytai @besamiculo-puto @ign-is @zuni21798 @multipleuniversesinwriting @pleasantdreamqueen @damalseer @10kindsofderp @hennessy0274-blog @jodoethr @s-t-r-i-k-e-us @seeing-but-not-observing @happyskywhale @anyakinamidala @sebstanchrisevanchickforever19 @cinema212 @geeksareunique@ @thilbob @hercrazyfandomobsession @wildefire @sashavis @nosleeptillbucky @grace-for-sale @someonekindalikeyou @huflerin @space-helen @sorenmarie87 @wickedsingularity @steve-rogers-personal-hell @wintersire @whatshernamemaria @theheadcanonsawakens @iminlovewithasuperboy @loverbug1123 @sugerquill @starmission @pineapplebooboo @justanotherfangirl272 @battlebunnyteardropsinthesun @liamssmiler @ludwigs-a-monster @mad-girl-without-a-box @k8tie-a-934 @dr-pepper-only @allltheships @sebs-stanny @cwar1864 @showtimeaholess

#Steve Rogers #Steve Rogers x reader #Steve x reader #Captain America x reader #captain america imagine #captain america #steve rogers fanfic #marvel imagine

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trickormemes · 7 years

Text

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie starter sentences

213 starters feel free to change gender pronouns ‘read-more’ added for length

“Underpantyworld was a peaceful planet where everybody wore only underwear.”

“And guess what? I’m rotten!”

“Now put on some clothes, you weirdo.”

“I didn’t know if it was the thing where it was, like, good weird or bad weird.”

“It’s okay. We got more ideas.”

“Oh, my goodness. Did that really happen?”

“I’m sorry. I’m still mad about the comic.”

“What is happening right now?”

“Do you think he fell asleep with his eyes open?”

“Let’s try and leave and see what happens.”

“Come see my hairy armpits.”

“How? How do you know?”

“Do you have any proof?”

“The proof is here. Inside my gut.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of pranks.”

“Some of those must’ve been really hard to pull off.”

“You see what we’re up against?”

“Time to have fun with history.”

“Our pranks and practical jokes are the last line of defense against the injustice of our terrible principal.”

“Well, well, well. I heard you both got into a bit of the old trouble today.”

“Did you tattle-tale on us?”

“No one has to stand up for the Man. That’s the whole point of the Man. He stands up for himself, _____.”

“This is where the magic happens. Not, like, actual magic. No, we’re not practicing the dark arts.”

“_____ and I aren’t friends yet. But we’re about to be.”

“I don’t get it. It’s just science, guys.”

“That one’s still a work-in-progress.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to draw this.”

“I love Saturday ‘cause I can wear my pajamas all day.”

“I love Saturday ‘cause I can watch TV all day. I can pee a little bit in my underwear and no one will mind.”

“Where are you going with that? Do you really do that?”

“Make it end!”

“This is the stuff of nightmares.”

“We have to do something about this.”

“Maybe we should just lay low for a while.”

“Look at our fellow children. Look at their sad, miserable, pathetic faces.”

“If you won’t do it for me and you won’t do it for you, do it for future generations.”

“Best. Prank. Ever!”

“Well, that brings our story to its happy conclusion.”

“What’s happening to his face?”

“I’m so cold. So, so cold.”

“You’re doing it wrong.”

“We’re so guilty.”

“Extra credit, it feels so good!”

“I told you I would get you one day. And that day I was talking about is this day. Today. This is the day.”

“Your parents are obviously total failures.”

“I’m going to annihilate your friendship.”

“_____, no. You can’t do this. Please.”

“This is too much. I mean, even for you.”

“Our friendship’s over. I’ll never see you again in my life!”

“Hey, hey, calm down. It’s not the end of the world.”

“We’ll still be best friends.”

“What am I talking about? This is bad.”

“Long distance relationships never work!”

“This is the future! The future always has robots.”

“I’m the artist, you’re the writer. That’s why we need each other.”

“I mean, if we get put in separate classes, it’s the end of the world as we know it.”

“Oh, is this a bad time?”

“What brings you around here?”

“I just made this tuna casserole and I noticed it had your name on it… in jalapeño peppers.”

“Eww. They like each other.”

“Oh, _____. Get your head out of the clouds.”

“I was kinda’ hoping we appealed to a slightly cooler demographic.”

“It’s really incredible. I can actually see the end of your friendship.”

“Why are we floating?”

“I honestly didn’t think that would happen.”

“Captain Underpants? Is that really you?”

“Underpants? Check. Captain? Also check. I’m pretty sure I’m Captain Underpants.”

“Well, that was invigorating.”

“We gotta stop him!”

“Get out of the road, bozo!”

“You poor soul. You’re trapped in some sort of invisible box-like prison.”

“Is it okay that I’m kinda’ loving this?”

“You think a guy like him would be easy to find.”

“Stand down, you giant ape monster!”

“You put up a good fight!”

“Never underestimate the power of underwear!”

“Come on, _____, let’s get you back into bed.”

“Well, don’t worry about that.”

“There’s no more evil villains around here.”

“What are we gonna do? He can’t just stay here.”

“But can’t we just take a moment to acknowledge what’s happening here, please?”

“Well, a hero’s work is never done. Now it is time to fly again!”

“Where are my pants?”

“Why am I soaking wet?”

“We should probably stop.”

“I didn’t know I could do this.”

“I wonder what horrors lie inside…”

“Why’d you scream?”

“I just assumed there’d be something scary, but… it’s actually a really nice place.”

“We probably shouldn’t snoop around.”

“Ahh, this guy’s bumming me out.”

“I gotta say, this has not been the funnest snoop.”

“I sure hope we don’t ever end up like him.”

“I actually can’t see a thing. These sunglasses are too dark.”

“Are you sure my secret identity requires these… restricting, uncomfortable clothes?”

“Ooh, flirt alert!”

“I totally got this. Don’t worry one bit.”

“I’m getting a really good vibe about you.”

“Children must never laugh!”

“Just sit there and look angry for no reason.”

“How did I get here? Why is my face wet?”

“It’s like we’re the same person, yet so, so different. I love it.”

“If I had to change one thing about the world, it would be to get rid of… laughter.”

“Oh, look at this. We got a grade-A suck up.”

“I don’t like this. I mean, I don’t really understand it, but the stuff I am understanding seems genuinely bad to me.”

“Medicine is the best medicine.”

“I don’t get it. What’s so funny?”

“Can you hear me? I’m sitting right here.”

“There’s a new super villain in town and we’re trying to discover his weakness.”

“What’s going on with your face? Are you choking? Do you need to sneeze?”

“Excuse me, could you explain to me why this is funny?”

“Oh, what’s happening? I’m hyperventilating.”

“Is that really your name? It’s not, like, some kind of joke?”

“Why are you laughing?”

“I should be famous! I should be dating models twice my size and doing the talk show circuit! I should be protecting baby seals as a cause that I say I care about, but not really!”

“Stop! Stop laughing!”

“How much of that was out loud?”

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Ever heard of the sidewalk?”

“Wow, that actually worked out for once.”

“Now, let me ask you something. If you could control your principal, what would you do?”

“Yeah, scam, okay? We’re closed for Ebola.”

“I’m sorry. Why are you showing me this?”

“You have no sense of humor like a chair or a supermodel.”

“Oh, this is gonna be epic.”

“This whole visual storytelling thing is hard.”

“Hey, _____, why are we doing this again?”

“Woah! Where did this even come from?”

“Oh, my goodness! Is that a ferris wheel?!”

“This cotton candy makes me feel powerful!”

“_____ would totally lose his mind if he saw this.”

“What is this, a carnival? I hate carnivals!”

“Oh, this looks fun! How do we play?”

“What are we gonna do? We can’t keep this up forever.”

“_____, I really want some sugar.”

“We made the wrong choice!”

“This did not solve anything!”

“Nothing’s more fun than fire!”

“What is happening?!”

“Free the children!”

“_____, come back!”

“_____, I’m right here! I’m right here!”

“Don’t leave me!”

“Where would a burgeoning villain find unlimited power?”

“True power comes from within.”

“No, it doesn’t, _____! That’s on stupid posters!”

“The world, as you know it, is about to go extinct.”

“Finally! You’re speaking my language!”

“Okay, we have to stop him.”

“Are you in there? Ohh… Maybe you’re hiding here.”

“I bet he thought that was going to be cooler.”

“Prepare to be vanquished, and justice to be served on a piping hot platter of freedom! With a side order of liberty and a super-sized cup filled with freedom also!”

“Ugh, you are just so annoying!”

“I’m not naked!”

“Any final words before this whole revenge thing goes down?”

“Wait, wait, listen. We apologize for making fun of your name. I mean, that was just wrong.”

“Listen, your problem isn’t that people laugh at you. Your problem is that you can’t laugh at yourself.”

“Oh, I hope you enjoyed your years of laughter and merriment, because they’re about to come to an end.”

“Do you find anything funny about me now?”

“_____, I can’t smile anymore…”

“_____, can you hear me?”

“Now, if we don’t laugh at something soon, we may never laugh again.”

“Don’t you say that, _____! Don’t you leave me!”

“It feels so good to laugh!”

“No, stop it! Stop laughing! You’re ruining everything!”

“Extra credit or survival? I choose survival!”

“No, how could this be happening?”

“Never underestimate the power of laughter, _____.”

“Ugh, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I think I bruised a rib… because I’ve never laughed so hard in my life!”

“Why does one person have so much lip balm?”

“No way! He has real super powers!”

“Ohh, that is an obvious twist I did not see coming despite my many years of comic book studies!”

“I have come to save the day!”

“Oh, there’s more where that came from.”

“Wow. He is super dumb.”

“Ow! Did you just slap me?”

“Give it back, it’s mine!”

“No fair! No backsies!”

“Would you just give me that?”

“Now look what you’ve done!”

“Yeah, that’s more like it!”

“There we go. Back to normal like it never happened.”

“Ah! A bee! Get it away from me!”

“What? What the… Why would you do that? You just let the bad guy get away!”

“What the heck happened here?”

“I can’t believe we made him.”

“And he’s even dumber in real life.”

“We have to get rid of him, don’t we?”

“I mean, he’s a way bigger problem than _____ ever was.”

“Just ‘cause we’re in separate classes doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

“I mean, we’ll always be friends. Right?”

“Let’s do a blood oath. But minus the blood. I don’t wanna see the blood. No blood.”

“What? No! That’s not sanitary!”

“Can’t we just do, like, a verbal declaration of friendship or something?”

“I, _____, hereby declare _____ as my best friend, permanently, forever.”

“The truth is a slippery thing.”

“What am I doing in your tree house again?”

“Why does this keep happening?”

“Where are my clothes? Where are they?”

“Do you wanna go on a date?”

“Big plans tonight, _____?”

“You know, it feels good to do something nice for _____.”

“Oh, my, I’ve never been to such a fancy restaurant before.”

“Well, I had to go all out for m’lady.”

“Once again, that brings our story to its happy conclusion.”

“I think there’s valuable life lessons in there… somewhere.”

“Are you worried about impending doom?”

“Those evil villains got you filled with gloom.”

“But don’t you fear, there’s a hero in the sky.”

“It’s wedgie-power time!”

“Mac and cheese, PBs and jellies—some things are better together, and that’s you and me.”

“You are my favorite, I’m not ashamed to admit.”

#rp meme #rp sentence starters #sentence starters #inbox meme #roleplay meme #ask meme #captain underpants #*mine

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schwarzwaelder-kirschtorte · 7 years

Text

The Shopping Complex

Word count: 4958 (👀)

Characters: Reader, Gadreel, OMC, OFC

Rating: G (Some swearing)

Summary: The Reader has to buy new clothes for an undercover case, and she brings Gadreel along for company.

A/N: I was feeling a little down, so I wrote a self-insert Gadreel fic. So sue me. And the title is kind of a...play on words.

“If you dislike purchasing things so much,” Gadreel brought up as I cursed under my breath for the fourth time that afternoon, “why are we here?”

“I am here because we have a new case, and I’m better at undercover work. And I am here,” I said tightly, gesturing harshly at the line of boutiques on either side of the mall’s indoor promenade, dreading the possibility of having to go into even one of the stores to find what I needed, let alone all of them, “because my G-gal duds just won’t cut it this time. And you’re here because I wanted company and you looked like you were coming down with cabin fever.”

And because I would take any chance I could get to be around the guy, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. No siree, Bob.

“I’m not susceptible to human immunological ailments,” he reminded me blankly.

“It’s a…figure of speech,” I sighed, slinking through a doorway and into a store whose walls were just way too pink. After years of internalized misogyny, I had learned to like pink again, even love it sometimes, but not like this. This looked like the insides of a Pepto-Bismol bottle.

I stopped in my tracks, and Gadreel, eyes on the garish color scheme as well, collided with me in the entranceway, and I went sprawling. He grabbed my hand to keep me from falling and pulled me back. Already off-kilter, I lost my balance the other way around and crashed into his hard chest. Mortified beyond my wildest dreams, I savored the contact anyway. I would probably never get another chance to have my hands all over the angel.

I always wanted what I couldn’t have. In high school, it had been the captain of the football and basketball team. In college, it had been my resident adviser Isabelle. And out hunting mythological creatures with my found siblings the Winchesters, I had met and fallen for a divine being who wouldn’t love me back if I were the last person on earth.

Gosh, I really knew how to pick them.

“Are you okay?” he asked, staring down at me with his dark eyes.

“Um…”

“May I help you find something?” a young saleswoman asked the two weirdos at the front of the store.

“Definitely not,” I said, pushing Gadreel back the way we came and following him out. I hoped to Chuck we never ended up in this city—no, this county—again, or I could very well spontaneously combust from the humiliation.

Leading Gadreel to another boutique some ways away from the pink nightmare, I noticed that our hands were still bound between us. The natural light fell through the high glass ceiling, sprinkled here and there with colored panes, and brightened the main concourse like something out of a fairytale. The line of fountains and large ferns certainly didn’t help. We could have been on a date.

I jerked my hand away and marched through the nearest doorway.

“I’m sorry,” he said when he found me browsing pin-striped blazers along a wall. “Was I squeezing too tightly? Sometimes I forget my own strength.”

“No, it’s just…” I pushed the hangers aside one by one as I tried to find my size. My broad shoulders were good for breaking through doors and knocking down the human subcategory of monsters, but they were awful for trying to fit into the average shirt or jacket. Technically, I was average, but try telling the Western fashion industry that. “It’s just that holding hands is kinda for…special friends.”

“Aren’t we special friends?” he asked, confused.

“Oh, you are definitely special, and we are friends, but it’s not the same thing.”

“I don’t understand.”

And I didn’t have the emotional energy to explain levels of intimacy and displays of affection to the angel I had been crushing on harder and harder ever since he came back into our lives.

“Ask Sam when we get back to the motel,” I dismissed, grabbing a blazer I thought might fit and stepping back to scan the store for trousers. As much as I had learned to like pink again, I would never feel comfortable in skirts or dresses. Even if my thighs didn’t chafe. Even if my hips and stomach didn’t bubble. I just couldn’t relax in them.

“If you tell me what you’re looking for, maybe I can help,” Gadreel mentioned.

“Anything that doesn’t make me look like a blimp,” I muttered, wrinkling my nose at the wide-legged pants. Those made me look awful.

“Technically, if you’re going to compare yourself to any dirigible,” he said, steering me toward a nearby rack, “you’d be rigid, like the Hindenburg.” At my blank stare, he folded one of his arms and flapped it like a chicken wing. “Because of your bone structure.”

I coughed out a laugh. I had asked him to come along in the first place because I liked spending time with him, and I was being a jerk with all this feeling sorry for myself. And he just wanted to be useful.

“Not that you need any validation from me, or anybody,” he said, picking through a bunch of pin-striped trousers that would go pretty well with my blazer, “but your line is very aesthetically pleasing. But you’re so much more than that too. You’re one of the best and bravest Hunters I’ve ever heard of. Your loyalty to your found family is enviable, and I don’t even know what envy feels like. And your taste in movies is so much more agreeable than Sam or Dean’s.”

I laughed again, feeling my cheeks warm in the air-conditioned shop.

“That reminds me. Your sense of humor is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered as well,” he continued, pulling a garment from the rack and slinging it over his shoulder. “Dean says you’re a terrible influence on me.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, unsure how to take a compliment, especially from him.

“Did you only need the one outfit?” he asked.

“No, I need something…” I clenched the blazer, feeling the fabric strain in my hands. “I need something pretty. A bunch of suits will do for the office job, but there’s the party in a couple weeks that we’re pretty sure is a cover for the summoning, and I need to dress up for that.”

“Okay.” He went through the store, along the walls and around the racks, picking up and setting down blouses, jackets, and trousers.

I followed him without choosing anything else myself. Honestly, I could use all the help I could get, even though I would have thought that Gadreel was as clueless about fashion as I was. He hadn’t been entirely correct earlier. It wasn’t that I didn’t like purchasing things—I did. I liked buying movies, music, alcohol. I could spend hours in a bookstore. I even enjoyed grocery shopping for the bunker.

I just hated buying clothes. I hated that things didn’t fit, and when they did, bits and bobs bulged. I hated that it cost way more to buy something in my size than was necessary, extra fabric costs be damned. I hated that boutiques that catered to plus-size—average—people were few and far between. And worst of all, I hated that I cared.

“Would you like to try these on?” he wondered, holding out the clump of hangers.

I gaped at the number of things in his hands. “I can only bring seven items into the fitting room.”

“Take your time,” he said easily.

“Oh. Okay.” I grabbed as many garments from him as I could, and it was his turn to follow me as I made my way to the fitting rooms, dragging my feet all the way.

The store was busy on that Saturday afternoon, but Gadreel managed to find a seat among the spouses of the three other women trying on outfits.

The block of fitting rooms had its privacy, but sound carried. When another woman showed off something to someone I assumed was her husband, all he made was a noncommittal grunting noise, and from where I was looking at myself in a tri-panel mirror before going out to show Gadreel, I watched her slink back to the dressing rooms and latch herself in a stall.

I came out slowly, timid. What if Gadreel just grunted? What if he made a face? I knew he didn’t feel about me the way I felt about him, but such obvious judgment and rejection would destroy me.

His eyes grew wide as he looked me and down, and my breath caught in my chest at his honest smile.

“You look very nice,” he said as I approached, getting out of his chair to take me in from all sides. “Very professional. How do you feel in it?”

“I feel like I’m in a straitjacket,” I grumbled. I liked the trousers—he had chosen a bunch of slim-leg styles that gathered in at the ankles, which made me look less like a house and more like a rhombus. I liked rhombuses. The blouse was okay—the neckline was actually kind of flattering. But the jacket. “The jacket’s too stiff. It’s not worn in like my others. And I have to start at the office on Monday. I’ll never break them all in by then.”

“Hmm. A stiff jacket isn’t safe in your line of work,” he understood. “You can’t run. You can’t fight. You probably couldn’t even aim your gun.”

The spouses pretended not to be eavesdropping. I tried to hide my smirk.

“How do you feel about cardigans?” Gadreel wondered. “Or is that too casual?”

“I love cardigans,” I said. “And if it’s too casual, they can shove it up their asses.”

“That doesn’t sound pleasant at all,” he mentioned, but I could see the hint of a smile on his lips, and it lit up my insides that he was beginning to understand figures of speech…with my help.

I giggled before I could stop myself, and his grin seemed to bloom now that I seemed to be enjoying myself.

“I’ll go find you some sweaters,” he volunteered. “You go try on the rest of the blouses and trousers.”

“I’m going to need new shoes too,” I grimaced, looking down at my scuffed ankle boots.

One of the men scoffed, and I could practically feel the other two rolling their eyes, no matter how unenthusiastic I sounded. I almost said something, but then they would have said something back, and I was just in the mood to really mess them up if it came down to it, and I didn’t need to cover up a black eye or split lip on my first day at the office. Gadreel would also feel compelled to step in, and he could really hurt them.

“Let’s go somewhere else for those,” Gadreel said without argument.

“Agreed.”

I turned back to the fitting rooms and heard one of the men make a sound like a whip cracking. The meaning was not lost on me, but I let it go.

“Gesundheit,” I heard Gadreel say cluelessly, thank Chuck, and I snickered into my hand.

I picked out a week’s worth of blouses and a few pairs of trousers that I could mix and match until the party.

Oh, shit, the party. The party where everyone was going to dress to impress, because one did not wear jeans to a demon summoning.

I was going to have to wear a skirt.

I slunk out to Gadreel, who already had a stack of comfortable-looking oversize cardigans.

“You can just try these on out here,” he said first. Then he noticed my face. “Y/N, what’s wrong?”

“I have to wear a dress to the party,” I told him, trying not to throw up.

“Why do you have such an aversion to dresses?” he wondered, setting the sweaters on his chair.

“I don’t know. I don’t look good in them. They bulge everywhere. I’m always afraid my underwear is showing, no matter how long it is.” I heard one of the men snigger and then try to hide it in a cough, and I came the closest I ever did to punching him before stopping myself. “I just feel so…vulnerable in them.”

“Would a jumpsuit be fancy enough to blend in?” he inquired.

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “I’ve never worn one before.”

“If I may…” He held up a finger. “You stay here and try on the sweaters. I’ll be right back.”

He left me there and wandered to the front of the store.

“Think she’d rent him out to my wife next weekend?” one of the spouses asked another. “I’ve got season tickets to State, and they’re 4-0.”

They laughed to themselves, and I just felt sorry for them. I felt worse for their girlfriends or wives.

I had brought out the blouses and trousers I would buy by the time Gadreel came back. My heart dropped when he held out a black jersey dress. The scoop neckline and form-fitting elbow-length sleeves were nice. And the high-low skirt was interesting, but it ended above my knee. And I just knew my stomach and hips were going to be all over the place in this thing.

“Gadreel…”

“Here, try these with it.” He held up a pair of floral leggings with solid black along the sides. “They have something called a…control top. That’s supposed to help with the bulging.”

The guys behind me were acting like children again, and it was hard to keep ignoring them. I was so angry, I could have cried.

“And…” He turned the leggings around to show me the hanger behind it, and seeing the black jumper made me feel a little better. “In case you’re still uncomfortable in dresses.”

His consideration for my feelings but also trying to get me out of my comfort zone made my eyes well up.

“Th…thanks, Gadreel,” I said slowly, taking a black cardigan with me into the fitting rooms as well, in case I thought layers or covering up would improve things.

I tried the jumpsuit first. As self-conscious as I was, I had to admit that I looked pretty good. It had a sweetheart neckline with a patchwork lace grid for the neck and arms. And the legs tapered in at the ankles again. Gadreel seemed to know me better than I knew myself. I didn’t even try the sweater with it.

I was undressing to give the dress a chance when one of the men—that same instigator—opened his mouth again.

“If I wanted to watch women dress up, I’d watch the Vicky’s Secret Fashion Show,” he said loudly. “It’s on YouTube, you know.”

If his wife couldn’t hear him before, she could now. And if I weren’t in my underwear, I would have gone out there and kicked him in the head. Or lower.

“My girlfriend is picking out a dress for a baby shower,” another one chimed in. “I’m not even gonna see her in it. So, what the hell am I doing here?”

“Mine’s buying something for her cousin’s engagement party,” the third man shared. “But I’ve got paintball with the guys, so I’m gonna have to go into the office, if you know what I mean.”

As they guffawed from the next room, I wondered if they would be so candid, if they knew their insignificant others could hear every hurtful word.

“Don’t you like your spouses?” Gadreel asked them, and I cursed under my breath and started to pull on the dress and leggings to get out there and diffuse whatever was going to happen.

I really didn’t need to get arrested today. Arraignment court didn’t even open until Monday. I couldn’t be in jail when I was supposed to start a new undercover job with white-collar demonic cultists.

“Hey, I love my wife, asshole,” the most outspoken of them said defensively.

“Then why don’t you like spending time with her?”

“I spend time with her. I take her out to dinner. And to movies. We watch the game together, and she rubs my feet.”

“Isn’t taking an interest in each other’s interests part of a meaningful relationship?”

“Hey, I don’t need to take an interest in everything,” Baby Shower said. “I babysit the kids while she goes grocery shopping. And when she goes to her book club.”

I opened my mouth to shout out at him, but Gadreel took the words right out my mouth.

“It’s not babysitting when they’re your children,” he said slowly, and I heard something dark in his voice that made me wish I could get dressed faster than the klutz that I was.

“Listen, buddy,” Engagement Party said, “don’t lecture us on relationships just ‘cause you’re so pussy-whipped, you can’t see what a cow you’re dating.”

My hands froze where they were pulling the control top over my belly, and I sank to the bench in the stall with a choked sigh. The fucking jerk had brought my body into it.

“I don’t romantically fraternize with livestock,” Gadreel said. “Bestiality is against my Father’s command, and I happen to agree with Him on that point.”

Somehow, I managed to smile through my tears.

“And if you’re referring to the young woman I’m with,” he said, eerily calm, “as some sort of low-class insult, I think you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”

I got to my feet, smoothed the dress without looking at myself in the mirror, and unlatched the door. The other women were standing around the corner from the men, in clothes with the tags hanging off of them, listening in without giving away that they were listening in. They turned to me as I approached the doorway.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, taking responsibility for Gadreel’s confrontation.

“No, we are,” one of them said as quietly, taking my arm gently to stop me from going out there just yet.

“I think you ought to be ashamed of how you treat women in general,” Gadreel was saying, “and especially how you treat the women in your lives.”

“Hey, asshole—”

“No, you’re the asshole,” Gadreel cut off the first guy. “Sit down.”

He must have listened, because I didn’t hear any scuffling.

“If you don’t cherish your spouse and every moment you have together in your short human lives, why did you get married? And why did you have kids with her? And why are you even with her at all?”

The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood up, and I realized that he was using his Grace on them. Which was stupid, because he was still replenishing from when he had lost it.

I looked to the other women and saw that they had their heads down and eyes closed. Gadreel’s Grace was reaching them too.

“The average life expectancy for the White American male is 78 years 9 months. You are all White American males. You are all average.”

One of the men harrumphed in protest, but that was all the fight he had left in him.

“You’re going to go home with your women and think about how you have behaved toward them and all the others,” Gadreel instructed clearly. “And you are either going to change your ways, or you are going to lose the only ones who can tolerate you. Look upon yourselves and see the error of your ways, or you doom yourselves as well as you doom humankind.”

I stepped around the corner before he went too far, and his eyes swept over me, his expression instantly changing from one of somber lecture to pleasant wonder. “Oh, Y/N, you look like a goddess.” To the others, he told, “Get out.”

The men raised their heads as if waking from a trance—I had never had Grace used on me before, so I didn’t know how it felt—and the women stepped out from the fitting rooms.

“That looks good on you, hon,” the first guy said to his wife. “We’ll get it if you want it, but we should really be heading home now.”

“You look real pretty,” Engagement Party told his girlfriend. “Are any of my shirts good enough to match, or should we stop somewhere else on the way home and get me something? I want to look nice for your family.”

“You look smoking in that dress,” Baby Shower said to his girlfriend. “Shame I’m not going to see it on you. We should go out to dinner tomorrow night. That restaurant you really like.”

Without saying anything, the women went back to change into their own clothes, and the men stood around in a daze, ignoring me and Gadreel.

“When is that going to wear off?” I questioned.

“When they’ve done as I’ve instructed and thought about what they’ve done,” he replied simply. “Whether it becomes a blessing or a curse is up to them.”

I rolled my eyes. “You can’t turn every asshole into a decent human being.”

“I wouldn’t want to. The onus lies on them. That’s what being human is all about.” He shook his head. “But I noticed how they’ve been acting toward you and their partners ever since we got here, even if you liked to pretend I hadn’t, and the shitheads needed to be taught a lesson.”

“Okay, who taught you that word?” I demanded.

“I heard Dean say it last night at the bar,” he said. “Based on similar context, I assumed I was using it correctly.”

“Oh, they’re definitely shitheads,” I agreed. “You’re just so…” What, innocent? Yeah, right. Naïve? As if. Chaste? Oh, Chuck only knew. “You’re so not Dean.”

“No, of course I’m not.” He stepped back to look me over again. “But all you need is a bow and quiver, and you would be Artemis incarnate.”

Never one to be able to take a compliment, I blushed and looked at the floor. But from this angle, it was hard for me to find a bulge that shouldn’t have been there.

Anyway, I had to stop using my looks as a way to measure up as a person. I was a badass Hunter who could kick some serious butt—even in this dress—and that’s what really counted, right?

“Are you still uncomfortable in skirts?” Gadreel asked as we watched each of the couples check out and leave the store. “Have you tried on the jumpsuit?”

“I did. I liked it. But…I kinda like this better,” I admitted.

“Really?” he wondered. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn that he was almost proud of my personal growth that afternoon.

“Don’t think I’m going to start wearing them every day,” I warned, and he held up his hands. “But thinking about wearing one doesn’t make me want to throw up and die anymore, so that’s something.”

“Yes, it is.”

“The leggings really do help,” I said, spinning on my toes so my skirt flared out. “No chafing. No flashing.”

“You should wear it to the shoe store,” he grinned. “It would help picking out shoes.”

“You know, you’re right.”

Shoe shopping was a piece of cake compared to choosing office-wear and the party dress. A newer, cleaner rehash of my ankle boots worked well with both the trousers and the leggings, and we were out of there in ten minutes.

On our way through the mall and back to the car, I couldn’t help noticing the stares from the other shoppers. If being as observant as I was weren’t necessary to staying alive as a Hunter, I would have thought it an unfortunate skill—under the circumstances, I considered it unfortunate anyway.

I wouldn’t have cared if they were only looking at me—I was used to it. But they were looking at Gadreel, with his tall, trim stature and Roman good looks, compared to me and my stout frame, and were no doubt wondering what the hell we were doing together. Even if we weren’t together-together—that was unthinkable. No, that someone like him would even spend time with me platonically must have been as confusing as a Rubik’s cube or President Cheeto’s unwavering base popularity.

If I hadn’t changed back into my street clothes in the restroom, if I had still been wearing the dress, I would have torn it off my body and stomped on it with my dirty shoes for even thinking it made a difference. And I couldn’t yank it out of the bag and throw it to the ground, because that was the bag Gadreel was carrying.

As if sensing what I wanted to do the damn dress, he changed his grip from the inside hand to the outside, out of my reach.

“Would you like to find a shooting range now, instead of going straight back to the motel?” he asked as we stepped outside.

“Actually, that would improve today by, like, a million,” I admitted. “Are you sure you don’t mind? I know you don’t like guns.”

“Thank you for thinking of me,” he smiled. “I don’t like using them myself, but I like how happy you are during target practice.”

“That’s sweet, Gadreel,” I said point-blank.

When he kept staring down at me with his small grin, I made myself turn away and look around for the car.

“I think I know what special friends are,” he brought up.

“Oh, yeah?” I said, only half-listening while I tried to remember where I parked.

“Yeah, I don’t need to ask Sam,” he said. When I didn’t press him on it, he continued, “I think they’re what those couples were pretending to be. But they got lost somewhere along the way.”

“That’s an interesting way of putting it,” I remarked. “You’re not wrong, I guess.”

“I think we could be special friends,” he said, and I froze in the crosswalk like a deer in headlights.

Gadreel stopped beside me, with the same small smile on his face, and I couldn’t move or say anything until an SUV pulled up and honked at us.

“We’re not those couples,” I told him, walking fast, walking anywhere, even though I was lost in the Chuck-forsaken parking lot.

“No, of course we aren’t,” he agreed, grabbing my arm and stopping me on a patch of grass with a recently transplanted sapling, where we weren’t likely to be interrupted by a rushed soccer mom. “But what they aspire to… Don’t you think that’s already us?”

What did he mean by that?

“What do you mean by that?”

Smooth, Y/N.

“Forgive me for being so forthright,” he soothed, “but after speaking with those men, I can’t hold my feelings in any longer.” He released a deep breath. “I like you. I really like you.”

“Eep,” I said oh, so suavely. Suddenly, the bag of shoes was just too heavy in my hand, and it dropped with a soft thud to the ground.

“My favorite part of the day is when I can spend it with you. Even when we’re just running to the store for beer and pie,” he went on, and I laughed quietly with him. “I know today was rough on you. But thank you for bringing me.”

“You’re welcome,” my Midwestern manners made me whisper automatically.

“I don’t know what love feels like, but the affinity I feel for you is stronger than what I feel for any other person, or even my siblings. I had no idea I was even capable of feeling this way. Then I found the Winchesters again…and there you were. Such an amazing human being. How could I not?”

I opened my mouth to give him a hundred reasons, but he set his shopping bag on the grass and framed my face with his slender fingers, gently smoothing his thumbs over my cheekbones, and the tenderness in the gesture shut me right up.

“Even if you couldn’t ever reciprocate what I feel for you,” he said, “I’ve cherished every moment we’ve ever had together.”

Say something, stupid!

“I infinity you too,” I said breathlessly.

“There’s that sense of humor,” he chuckled patiently.

“I think I’ve infinity’d you since the day we met,” I told him. I had to break up our confessions with levity, or my heart would implode.

Gadreel used his conveniently placed hands to tilt my head so that he could step forward and press his lips to mine. I clenched my fingers in the front of his unzipped hoodie and held him to me until we both had to catch our breath a heated moment later.

“I take it we don’t have to go to the gun range anymore?” he assumed, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

“Oh, we definitely still have to go,” I argued, hugging his around his waist.

“Oh? Why?”

“Because I have all this blood, adrenaline, and relief pumping through my veins now,” I shared. “I’m a bundle of nerves and unexpended energy. And the thin motels walls are a disgrace to the construction trade, so we won’t be able to explore this infinity for each other to the…” I swallowed a lump in my throat, “fullest extent until we get back to the bunker. In two weeks.”

“Oh,” he realized. “Well…can we at least hold hands while we look for the car you’ve apparently lost?”

I grumbled and tried to push away from him, but he kissed my hair and held me fast, and I had to forgive him for his teasing. I was really rubbing off on him. And standing in his arms on that warm and sunny afternoon, I tried not to think about how long we had to wait until we were alone and could, you know, rub off on each other.

#fanfic #supernatural #gadreel

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mischievousmoonhunter-blog · 7 years

Text

Shadow of the Stars

A Captain America and Winter soldier story

Jaylin Rogers has always struggled with being the daughter of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, mostly because of her lack of freedom. After a failed attempt to do something about this, her life is changes forever when a shadow from her father’s past returns to haunt her.

Chapter One

@skeletoresinthebasement @38leticia @purplekitten30 @fetalpositionokay @lokiyoulittle @all-hail-the-fandom @fanfictionreblog @chipilerendi @xxpurpledragonxx --------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The morning after my great nightly promise, I woke up because dad tried to move his arm away and failed in keeping me asleep. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled when he realised my eyes had opened. ‘It’s okay.’ With my arms stretched across the soft mattress, I arched my back like a cat, feeling stiff muscles sigh and shriek at the same time. ‘I wanted to make something of today, anyway.’ ‘Really?’ Dad seemed pleased, despite the darkness underneath his eyes. ‘You’re gonna draw? Or do you want me to ask Tony if he still got those hologram-things you used to love?’ ‘Dad!’ I exclaimed, chuckling as I remembered the special holograms Tony had made when I wouldn’t stop eating play dough. Dad had been extraordinarily frustrated, even though it had been nontoxic and made for children. ‘I was like three!’ ‘I know,’ Dad stroked my hair, just as he’d always done when I was little. His eyes were soft and his expression open, ‘but I think he’s been upgrading them – it can do sculpting and painting and all sorts of stuff.’ ‘Really?’ I liked the sound of that; despite the fact I preferred pencils above everything else, I loved trying new art forms. A long lost sensation arose within me: excited curiosity. I marvelled at its return while I lay on my belly to grab my bed slippers from the floor, so my feet wouldn’t get cold. ‘Is he trying to take over the art supply world?’ I joked with a muffled voice. ‘No, he just wanted to make you something nice. Here.’ Due to my sluggish motions while searching for my footwear, dad had already gotten the chance to walk around the bed and handing me the slippers I was looking for. ‘You seem surprised,’ dad smiled. ‘You don’t believe he would make something for you?’ ‘Sure I do,’ I replied quickly, masking the jolt I had indeed felt at this revelation, ‘I just didn’t know he thinks me old enough to switch from playdough to the adult stuff.’

After a nice breakfast of pancakes and a gorgeous view of the early morning New York skyline, I made my way down to Tony’s labs, knowing he spent like 99% of his waking time in there. Seeing how he usually spent no more than 20% of his time sleeping, there was barely any chance I wouldn't find him there. As expected, he was playing with some fancy new electronic bits for one of his suits, or possibly an upgraded coffeemaker; with Tony you could never be entirely certain. When he heard me come in he looked up, grinning instantly. ‘Hey, Jay, what brings you here?’ I shrugged. ‘Dad mentioned some neat arty things you were working on?’ ‘Oh, you’re talking about the JAM?’ Carelessly, he threw away his screwdriver and moved away from his project. I followed him, very aware of the stuff sprawled across the floor. ‘JAM?’ ‘Jay’s Art Machine,’ Tony explained, rummaging through the mess on his workstations. There seemed to be a lot of unfinished products, and I wondered how many of those could change the world, if only Tony didn't have so many ideas, as well as some structure in his life. Gently, I pushed away a heap of metal parts, clearing a little space, and hopped onto the worktop. ‘Don’t you think simulator would’ve been better,’ I commented slyly. Tony smirked. ‘Yeah, but JAM sounds cooler. Besides, I first wanted to call it “The apparatus to stop the clay monster”, but that didn’t have quite the same ring to it.’ He looked up, his dark eyes glimmering. I stuck out my tongue before I replied indignantly, ‘I was a toddler, Tony!’ ‘I know,’ he grinned. ‘I told Steve a little clay wouldn’t hurt anybody. He’d rather not take the risk. So, to stop your frustrated crying, I gave you a little something to do.’ He held up a small metal pot, shimmering silver, which I vaguely remembered. ‘I kept it, so all it needed was a little upgrade.’ He showed another three of the same pods, and one slightly bigger one. Then he took a thin, smooth tablet, and with everything stacked in his arms, he told me to come along. Apparently, the living room would be more suitable for a demonstration. ‘It’s too messy, here,’ he explained. ‘Well, I’m glad you are aware,’ I grinned.

Back in the living room, Tony set up the four little pods in a square, with the bigger one in the middle. ‘If these lights are green, there’s a good distance between them. If they’re orange, it’s still possible, but not optimal. Red means they’re too far apart,’ Tony informed me. ‘You can sculpt in the middle, like so.’ A tall block of marble appeared above the coffee table, which changed colours when Tony dragged his finger across the tablet’s screen. ‘But,’ the inventor continued, ‘you can also paint an entire room, or redecorate it, if you want.’ The walls started to flicker with different hues and patterns. ‘Here’s a library with textures and colours and shapes,’ he handed me the tablet, ‘and you can pick the mode you want to work in. That’s it, I think.’ Speechless, I stared at the technologies in my hands. I turned it around and saw the name engraved in swirly letters; “Jay’s Art Machine.” ‘That’s it…’ I repeated incoherently. ‘That’s it…’ I shook my head. ‘Seriously, Tony. I- just- gee… thank you. It’s incredible!’ Tony was smiling at me when I looked back up. There was no trace of smugness - which, honestly, would have been appropriate, seeing the awesomeness of the creation - only a happy contentment. ‘I take it you like it.’ ‘I take it you have put too much effort in this, Tony. Wasted so many hours you could’ve spend saving the world.’ But I was smiling, secretly glad he put those hours into making this. ‘Saving the world becomes such a boring thing once you’ve done it a dozen times. I appreciate a good challenge.’ Tony shrugged, as if it was nothing. As if it wasn’t everything. As if it was obvious he should prefer making something for me instead of the entire planet. ‘Damn it, Tony,’ I sighed, ‘you’re supposed to be annoying…’ With arched eyebrows he gave me an uncharacteristic piercing and comprehensive look. ‘Am I supposed to, or is that how you see me?’ ‘Wha-’ embarrassingly, the latter was probably true. My cheeks flushed with the realisation, and the shame about my former attitude. Then Tony winked. ‘Though I have to admit, I have teased you in the past. I hope this can make up for it?’ ‘O, for God’s sake, Tony!’ I cried out, and hugged him. ‘I should do this more often,’ Tony chuckled, ‘I usually don’t get such a response when I make something.’ ‘You usually aren’t out of your workspace to see people’s reactions,’ I pointed out. Tony padded the back of my head. ‘You’re right. And I must be getting back; my androids are missing me.’ I stepped back and looked up at him. ‘You’re a weirdo, you know that?’ Tony gave a weird little bow. ‘It’s in the job description.’

‘So…’ I muttered to myself, looking at the thin tablet I’d just been gifted, ‘let’s get down to business, shall we?’ First, however, I moved everything to my own room, so I wouldn’t be an inconvenience to anyone. Besides, I would have more privacy there. When everything was properly set up again, I mused what I would do. I didn’t really have much inspiration, so I just started playing around with the many features on the device. The walls became a whizzing whirlpool of colour, until they became a subtle, soft tint of blue, which reminded me of something. Ah, yes: my old room. The one in the white house, hidden in the woods. The one I had run from, and started this mess. From that moment on, my hands started to move all by themselves, scrolling through pages of previews of textures, colours, patterns. But the walls weren’t good enough, I also tried to find the perfect furniture; the closet I remembered, the desk scribbled with coloured pens from when I was a child, and of course the bed I’d lain in. Yet, it still missed something. Thus, I let the virtual ceiling come down, took an old paintbrush so I could have something in my hand, and started painting. I often closed my eyes, just to see the picture in my head I was trying to replicate. When I was finished, the night's sky looked descent enough, though wasn’t nearly as pretty as the one dad had painted for me in our home. Satisfied, I let the ceiling up again and sat down on my bed. I looked around, looking at the safe and familiar surroundings. Especially the stars dad had painted when I was a kid were something I’d missed since moving here. Their familiarity was just so comforting. I stiffened. Wait. Familiar surroundings… An idea started forming in my head, bit by bit. I could make him feel better. If only he wouldn’t feel so threatened, he might start listening. Finally, I thought, hope rising inside me, I might have found a way.

Chapter Nineteen

#bucky imagine #avengers imagine #bucky x reader #reader x bucky #Bucky Barnes #the winter soldier #Steve Rogers #captain america #sam wilson #falcon #natasha romanoff #Black Widow #tony stark #Iron Man #Sebastian Stan #Shadow of the Stars #captain america x daughter

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