#I had hoped he and my aunt would get at least one good winter in Florida together

[delicatefury]

Please pray for my family. Two days ago we lost my great uncle and yesterday we lost my Aunt’s second husband.

My great uncle passed away in public beside his wife. She’s understandably distraught. My younger aunt and her family are taking his daughter home to help.

My older Aunt’s husband was supposed to have several more weeks, if not months, and passed suddenly yesterday right before my mom came to visit. My Aunt is… she’s not taking it well. She’s lost two husbands in less than 10 years and her coping method is to run away. My mom stayed with her last night,

Please pray for my family, my Aunt and Great Aunt in particular, that they may find comfort and consolation in this time of grief and still find joy this holiday season with the family we still have.

And pray for the repose of the soul for both my Great Uncle Charlie and for Allen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[corroded-hellfire]

Just a Spark - Eddie Munson x Reader

A Collaboration with my beloved kindred spirit @munson-blurbs🤍

Summary: Eddie takes his sons to watch fireworks at Lover's Lake for the Fourth of July. But when he notices you there with some friends, including some male friends, he can't help but be jealous.

Note: Thank you to my dearest @joejoequinnquinn for loving jealous!eddie as much as I do and for coming up with this lovely idea! I still find it funny that it's a Fourth of July fic and you do not live in the US, lol. I hope you all enjoy and happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans 💙

Warnings: older!eddie, dad!eddie, babysitter!reader, eddie being jealous hehe

Words: 3.9k

[As You Wish masterlist]

It wasn’t often that Hawkins held activities that appealed to the whole town. The haunted houses around Halloween only appealed to the teenagers, the winter wonderlands at Christmas only mattered to young children, and the Thanksgiving Parade was something that everyone swears they got dragged along to against their will. Fourth of July in Hawkins was the one day a year that could be counted on to bring people of all ages out to Lover’s Lake for sunshine in the afternoon and fireworks at night. 

Kids would splash and swim together in the shallow area of the lake while their parents watched from picnic blankets spread out not too far away. Teens and college students would come with their friends, the college kids drinking beer out in the open while the teenagers had to hide sips behind a tree or behind a friend’s back. 

It was a tradition in the Munson household to grill up some hamburgers and bring them down to eat at the lake while they watched the fireworks. This particular year things seem to be off-track, though. Brittany had left the house early in the afternoon to run a few errands and pick up some charcoal for the grill so that Eddie could cook the hamburgers. After being gone far too long for just saying she was heading to a few stores, the phone rings and Brittany gives Eddie some sob story about how she ran into her sister who’s having a crisis and she needs to stay with her for a while. Eddie just sighed as he hung up, thinking to himself that at least Brittany wasn’t dumb enough to say it had something to do with work when banks are closed because it’s a national holiday. The only problem—because going out with his boys without his wife was certainly not a problem—he ran into now was that he didn’t have time to run out and get charcoal and make the burgers before they were going to leave for the lake. 

Improvising, Eddie swings through a Burger King drive-through on the way, making sure the three of them would still keep their tradition intact as much as possible. The boys don’t seem to mind the differences between this year and last, maybe just glad to have a chance to hang out with their dad while they did something as cool as watch fireworks. 

Eddie pulls his truck into the already-crowded parking lot and grabs the bag of fast food. As he and the boys get out, people walk by carrying coolers, picnic baskets, and a few types of inner tubes to use in the water. There are tons of people there—which Eddie expected. He takes Luke’s hand into his own and instructs Ryan to grab onto Luke’s other so they don’t lose anyone. 

“Eddie!” A familiar voice calls out and has Eddie whipping around to spot its owner. He quickly sees the Sinclairs; Lucas is waving with his left hand to get Eddie’s attention, with Tiffany on his right hip. 

Eddie nudges the boys. “Look who’s here!” Their eyes widen when they notice Uncle Lucas—who Eddie swears is his younger son’s namesake and certainly isn’t Luke Skywalker—along with Aunt Max and their baby. They practically pull Eddie across the lot to them. 

Clapping Lucas’s hand and pulling him in for a modified bro-hug so he doesn’t crash into Tiffany, Eddie offers his long-time friend a grin. “How have you guys been?” he asks as he gives Max a hug. 

“Good. Tired.” Max says with a laugh. “Tiffany slept through the night for about three days before she started teething.”

“Aww, poor thing,” Eddie coos, chuckling when Tiffany proves her mother’s point by grabbing Eddie’s finger and gnawing on it. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t last as long as it seems,” he reassures the new parents. 

“We’re just headed out,” Lucas explains, kissing his daughter’s cheek. “It’s this little lady’s bedtime, and we’ve gotta get home before the fireworks start.”

“We have no idea how she’ll react to them, and we’re not about to conduct that experiment in public,” Max chimes in, making Eddie laugh again. “But we’ll see you at Ryan’s birthday party next week!”

The Munsons and Sinclairs part with goodbyes and more hugs before Eddie and the boys head towards the lake. 

“I wanna sit near the water!” Luke insists, and Eddie winces at his high-pitched whine. 

“Think we might get a better view of the fireworks if we sit up a little higher.” It’s the truth; plus, he won’t have to worry about Luke flinging himself into the cesspool that Hawkins calls a lake. 

They find a shady spot right under a tree, and Eddie lays out three beach towels so they won’t have to sit in the dirt. He passes out the parchment-wrapped burgers and little bags of fries and sits back with a sigh. This is what he’d always wanted—family traditions with his boys. If only…

“Has anyone seen my sunscreen?”

Eddie freezes mid-bite, only remembering that he has a burger in his hand when his arm starts to ache from being in one position too long. He chews and swallows as though nothing happened, but his mind is racing. 

It can’t be, he thinks. He’s almost certain that this is all in his imagination—God knows he can’t get you out of his head—until he hears someone say your name. 

Just one look, Eddie convinces himself. A quick peek so I can see that it’s not actually her; just someone who sounds like her and has the same name…

His stomach flip-flops when he glances over and sees you in a low-cut red tank top and cutoff denim shorts. Oh, shit, it’s her. And she looks really, really good. He takes a deep breath, trying to gather his scrambled thoughts. He wishes he had a six-pack; a cold beer can always calm his jangled nerves. Okay, I can’t let the boys see. Once that happens, she’ll come over here and—

Eddie’s anxious thought is disrupted by the sight of one of the three guys you’re with applying sunscreen to the back of your neck. He’s got long, light brown hair—though not as long or luscious as his own, Eddie notes wryly. 

Long Hair spends far too much time massaging the lotion into your skin. Calm down, Buffalo Bill. She doesn’t need that much sun protection. 

The only other girl there plucks the lotion bottle from Long Hair’s hands, much to Eddie’s relief, and Eddie turns his attention back to his boys. “You guys ready for the fireworks?” He tries to keep the enthusiasm in his voice. “Sun’s setting, so they’ll be starting soon.”

Ryan nods, chewing on a fry. “I wonder what colors they’ll have,” he muses. 

“Well, I wonder what would happen if I sat on a firework!” Luke pipes up with a mouthful of burger. “Like, would I fly into the sky? Or would it blow up in my butt?”

Eddie laughs loudly. “My money’s on the second one, little man.”

Your laughter floats over to Eddie on the breeze blowing off of the lake. He mentally berates himself, thinking of how he should be enjoying this family tradition with his boys and not be wondering if any of those guys you’re with are your boyfriend or if you’re sleeping with any of them or if…

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” Eddie looks up at Ryan’s worried face and frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Your lip,” Ryan says, pointing at the bottom half of his father’s face. “You were chewing on it, and it started bleeding.”

“Silly me,” Eddie says with a forced chuckle. He grabs one of the napkins from the Burger King bag and dabs at his lower lip. Luke has shifted to watch a game of volleyball happening on a court that someone set up and it gives Eddie the opportunity to scoot closer between his boys, so his back is to you and your friends. Maybe now he’ll be able to focus. 

It works for a while. The three of them finish their burgers and Luke is immediately complaining that he’s still hungry. Eddie tells the five-year-old he has to wait and tries to play a game with them to distract his youngest son from his rumbling tummy before the fireworks start. 

“Simon says put your hands on your head. Simon says give your brother a high five,” Eddie instructs as the boys eagerly await the next command. “Simon says stand up. Sit back down. Ah! I didn’t say ‘Simon says!’”

“I win!” Ryan cheers as Luke sprawls out on his beach towel with a groan. The familiar twinkling tune of an ice cream truck approaching has him bolting up, though. 

“Ice cream?” Luke stands up and balances on his tippy toes to get a better view at the parking lot. When his suspicions are confirmed, he hops up and down. “Ice cream! Daddy, can we get some? Pleeeeease?”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie says as if it’s a hardship for him to indulge his boys when in reality he’d already planned on getting ice cream for them at some point tonight. “Get me some too, okay?”

“Cookies and cream?” Ryan asks, citing his dad’s favorite flavor.

“Atta boy,” Eddie says, handing him a ten-dollar bill. Luke starts to walk away and towards the truck, but Eddie stops him with an, “ah-ah-ah. It’s crowded here. I don’t want you to lose each other so hold your brother’s hand.” When Luke opens his mouth to respond, a frown creasing his forehead and his nose wrinkling up, Eddie halts the whining before it even happens. “Hold your brother’s hand.”

“Fine,” Luke huffs and offers his hand to Ryan in the most limp, unenthusiastic manner possible. 

The two walk off and Eddie adjusts his position so he can keep an eye on his sons as they snake their way through the crowd and over to the ice cream truck that already has a line of a few kids in front of it. But from this new angle, Eddie can also see you out of the corner of his eye. A breath rushes out of him as if he’d been holding it since his eyes were last on you. Seeing you makes Eddie calmer and more tense at the same time. As always, your presence brings him comfort and happiness. But you’re with a bunch of guys your own age and the jealousy monster is rearing its ugly head like nobody’s business. Eddie looks down at his lap and his eye catches on his wedding ring, glinting in the fading sun.

“You’re a fucking hypocrite, Munson,” Eddie mumbles to himself. 

Unable to not look in your direction—I swear to God she’s got something magnetic about her, he thinks—Eddie sees you gazing out over the lake. You raise your hand above your eyes to shield them from the bright, falling sun and look around the whole area where people have settled in to have fun. Eddie’s just about to look away, not wanting to risk being caught staring at you if you spot him, when he sees one of your guy friends walking over to you. It’s not Long Hair from before. This guy is shorter and as muscly as the other guy was scrawny. Eddie can hear him calling your name, but you must be too caught up in your thoughts to hear him. Muscles reaches out and touches your arm to get your attention. As if seeing him just touching you isn’t bad enough, Eddie watches as you turn around to face Muscles, but the guy still doesn’t take his hand off of you. The tanned, muscular hand is slowly moving down your arm and a knot grows in Eddie’s stomach. If this asshole takes your hand, Eddie feels like he might throw up the burger he’s barely started digesting. 

Luckily, you move to walk back towards your group of friends before Muscles’s hand could reach yours. Eddie feels twenty pounds lighter. He turns back to look towards the parking lot and sees his sons approaching, Ryan holding an ice cream in each hand, and Luke holding one and holding onto the back of Ryan’s red t-shirt with the other hand. By the way his youngest son is rolling his eyes as they approach, Eddie realizes it was Ryan’s idea that Luke holds on to him. 

Ryan hands Eddie his scoop of cookies and cream, plopping back down to enjoy the mint chip cone he’d bought for himself. 

“DAD! OH MY GOD, DAD!!” Luke shouts, and Eddie nearly drops his cone. 

“What? What’s wrong?”

Luke points down towards the left. “Look at that doggy! He’s so cute!” Sure enough, a middle-aged couple is walking a golden retriever along the lake. Both boys sit up a bit straighter and watch as the owners toss a tennis ball into the water and the dog eagerly paddles after it. 

As Eddie’s heart rate steadies to a normal pace—seriously, he’s going to have to talk with Luke about using his “emergency voice” when it is not an emergency—he finds his gaze drifting back to you. He’s just in time to see Long Hair take the baseball cap from his own head and put it on top of yours. Eddie silently wills you to take it off, chuck it into the lake, set it on fire…but he’s utterly disappointed when you adjust it to your head and wear it proudly. 

Would she wear something of mine if I gave it to her? He silently wonders. He’s so engrossed in whatever flirtatious games you’re playing that he barely hears his older son trying to get his attention. 

“Daddy, your ice cream is leaking over the cone. Daddy! It’s getting runny and gonna drip! Daddy?”

“And whaddya keep looking that way for? The lake is that way!” Luke chimes in, face covered in cotton candy ice cream. 

“Y-Yeah, sorry, guys,” Eddie mumbles, but he keeps his gaze locked on you. A blonde guy wearing a puka shell necklace like he’s on Hawaii Five-0 points to a beach volleyball net that’s just been vacated, and you and your friends follow him. 

It’s two versus two; Muscles is serving as a referee for this game. You and Puka Shell are on a team, and Long Hair and the only other girl in your group stand on the other side of the net. You serve, the girl returns it, Puka Shell lobbies it to you, and you spike it back, surprising yourself. 

Eddie clenches his fist until he feels the ice cream cone begin to break when your teammate wraps his arms around you in a hug. Jesus H. Christ, whatever happened to high-fives? But he knows that he’d envy any little touch these guys got from you. 

He tries to distract himself, asking Ryan if he’s excited for his birthday, but he’s only half-listening. 

“What do you want for a gift?” he asks, raising his eyebrows when his sons look at him curiously. “What?”

“I just said I wanted a new Lego set,” Ryan says. He’s not annoyed, just confused. “Are you feeling okay, Daddy?”

“Maybe he has scurvy,” Luke suggests, “like the pirates in that movie we watched.”

“‘M fine,” Eddie reassures them. It takes a second for him to register what Luke’s suggested. “Did you just say I had scurvy?”

There’s no time for Luke to elaborate—not that Eddie necessarily wants him to—before your joyous squeal filters through the air. It seems as though you and Puka Shell won the game, because he’s twirling you around triumphantly. 

Does she want him picking her up? Touching her? Eddie’s inner monologue runs wild. Okay, she’s laughing and smiling, so that’s good. She’s fine with it; yeah, so that’s fine. Everything’s fine. We’re all fine here. She’s with her friends, I’m a married man here with my kids, and that’s all there is to it. 

The whistle and boom of the first firework lighting the sky is a welcome distraction. Ryan lets out a gasp as he stares in awe of the red shooting through the dark sky. Luke scoots backwards and plops himself in Eddie’s lap. He leans against Eddie’s chest and lays his head back on his shoulder as he becomes engrossed in the spectacle. It’s been a while since Luke’s sat in his lap like this, so it brings a smile to Eddie’s face. 

Mixtures of red, white, and blue fireworks crackle through the air, occasionally making shapes other than the usual spherical pattern that shimmies down. Eddie looks over at Ryan, who has a bright grin on his face. The red firework currently popping off leaves a scarlet shadow behind on his older son’s face. Beyond Ryan, Eddie glimpses a view of you watching the fireworks. You’re still with your friends, but you’re sitting a little bit in front of them with your legs crossed and your elbows resting on your knees. There’s a peaceful joy on your face and it makes Eddie’s heart give a few thumps harder than usual. Your friends behind you are talking but you couldn’t seem to care less about what they’re saying. You’re solely focused on the show in the sky. Eddie looks back at his kids and sees them just as mesmerized by the bursting colors. Luke snuggles back against his chest and Eddie is filled with warmth. He wraps his arms loosely around Luke and rests his head against his son’s smaller one as he looks up and joins in watching the celebration. 

By the time the fireworks are done, Eddie’s pretty sure his hearing is damaged. Didn’t I used to play in a metal band? Jesus, I’m getting old. Luke springs up from his dad’s lap and Ryan stands up and stretches his arms out over his head, releasing a long yawn. 

“How was that?” Eddie asks as he collects the beach towels they had been sitting on.

“So cool!” Luke says, jumping as if to emphasize his point. 

“I like the ones that make the fizzy noises as they go out,” Ryan says as he picks up the empty Burger King bag and balls it up in his hands. 

“My favorite are the ones that go pheeeeew,” Luke attempts to mimic the whistle, “then BANG!”

“What about you, Daddy?” Ryan asks. 

“Hmm,” Eddie hums as he considers the question. “The ones that were shaped like circles. They looked pretty cool. Okay, now come on and take my hands, guys. It’s gonna be like a stampede getting out of here.” Eddie tucks the towels under one arm and offers a hand to each son. 

They only make it about five steps before Luke is groaning. “It’s going to take forever to—hey! Look!”

Both Eddie and Ryan turn their heads to look in the direction that Luke is pointing. Eddie’s heart stalls in his chest. Luke’s grinning from ear to ear as he notices you walking with your friends. Ryan gives a gasp of delight when his eyes land on you as well. 

“I’m gonna go say hi!” Luke exclaims, and he’s already halfway to you before Eddie can even open his mouth. 

“Luke, I—ugh, shit.” Eddie mumbles the last part under his breath as he leads Ryan by the hand over to you and your friends. Luke is already in your arms by the time they get there. 

“And then the red one went higher than all the others! And I think it had the loudest boom, too,” Luke is saying. You look up and the brightest smile lights up your face as you see Eddie and Ryan standing there. 

“Hey, strangers,” you greet and Ryan dives in for a hug. You chuckle and wrap your arms around him too. 

Long Hair is standing to the side, slightly closer to Eddie than he is to you, and the rest of your friends are behind you. He gives a small chuckle at the intensity of the hugs the kids give you before turning to Eddie and saying, “You want a hug, too?”

You jab Long Hair in the ribs with your elbow, but that only makes him chuckle more and wrap an arm around you to pull you back against him. This time, Eddie notices, you don’t have the same enthusiastic grin that you had earlier in the evening. It takes everything in his power not to pry you from his arms. 

“I’ll see you guys on Monday, yeah?” you ask the Munson men, desperate to fill the silence. 

“Usual time and place,” Eddie says. The words would usually be accompanied by a wink or a smirk, but something about being around these college guys is grating on his nerves and it’s the closest he’s felt to being intimidated since he was a senior in high school—the first time. 

“Bye!” both boys call and wave at you before walking away with their dad. You wave in return, but it looks pitiful compared to their enthusiastic ones. 

As soon as they’re out of earshot, you pull out of your friend's arm and spin around to face him. “Peter, do you ever shut up?”

“Calm down,” Peter says, exhaling a sound that’s a mixture of a laugh and a scoff. “This guy’s old enough to be your dad.”

Tony smirks and rests a muscled arm on Paul’s shoulder. “Maybe she’s into the whole ‘daddy’ thing.”

The eye roll you give them is involuntary. “You guys are assholes!” 

Turning on your flip flop heel, you spin in the other direction and jog a bit until you catch up with Eddie and the boys. 

“Hey! Where are you going?” Paul asks.

A soft, gentle hand lands on Eddie’s shoulder and he looks back to see you offering him an apologetic smile. 

“I’m sorry if my friends were weird…and I’m sorry if I’m making this weirder.”

Eddie’s entire demeanor changes; despite having to watch you flirt with those douchebags—and then being mocked by them—he can’t help but soften towards you. “Nah, Sweetheart, you’re good. Be safe tonight, okay?” Be safe? Seriously, Munson? What are you, her grandpa?

You don’t seem to notice the way he bites his tongue, trying to quell the surge of embarrassment. “I always am,” you say reassuringly. “See you Monday?”

Eddie nods as you turn around to head back to your friends, utterly oblivious to the way your natural beauty outshines the brightest firework tonight. You’re everything he could ever want, but you’re young and gorgeous with a million better prospects than an old married man. 

He takes one last look at you before he brings the boys to the car. The passenger seat is empty, and he wears a sad smile when he thinks about you sitting there, excitedly chatting with him and the kids about the evening. Eddie would rest his hand on your thigh while he drives back home, and once Ryan and Luke are sound asleep, you and Eddie could make some fireworks of your own. 

Shaking his head, Eddie pulls out from the parking spot and braces himself for the holiday traffic. He grumbles some swear words under his breath, flicking on the radio to the first station that doesn’t have commercials. 

“…say I’m not so tough, just because I’m in love with an uptown girl.”

He leans back in his seat and taps out the rhythm on the steering wheel. Funny, he’s never really been a Billy Joel fan, but something about this song reminds him of—

“Dad! Luke’s looking at me!”

“He looked at me first!”

“Both of you close your eyes,” Eddie orders. He can’t see whether or not they listened, but the squabbling stopped, so he’ll consider it a victory. 

“Uptown girl, she’s my uptown girl…”

[literaryavenger]

Captain America: Civil War - 2

Summary: After Peggy's funeral, Steve, Sam and you go to Bucharest to track down Bucky before the FBI kills him, or at least tries to.

Pairing: Avengers x Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of violence. Language. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 2.6K

A/N: Here's part two of Civil War and the first look into a Bucky x Reader relationship! That's my goal, anyway. Hope you enjoy!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

It’s been a sad few days for Steve, he’s been crying a lot after the news that Peggy died.

You and Sam offered to go with him to the funeral so now you’re both sitting in the first row as Steve and five other guys carry the coffin.

“And now, I would like to invite Sharon Carter to come up and say a few words.” the priest says and Steve’s old neighbor Agent 13, steps up to the podium.

Your eyes widen a little in shock and elbow Sam while looking at her, then Sam nudges Steve and nods to her.

“Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD… but I just knew her as Aunt Peggy.” Sharon starts the eulogy and you look at Steve who's just as surprised to see her. “She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related.”

She looks directly at Steve before continuing. “I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, compromise where you can. But where you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move… it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say ‘No. You move.’.”

Her words hit you deep, and you’re sure they hit Steve deep, too.

Peggy was clearly a very smart woman, and the fact that she helped found SHIELD and was such a badass made her your inspiration when you were a trainee and ever since you became an agent. Sharon’s words just made you more and more sure that not signing the Accords is the right thing to do.

-

After the funeral Steve asks you and Sam for a moment alone, so you hug him before letting him have some peace, making your way to the hotel you’re all staying at with Sam.

You’re in the hotel bar when the news comes on with the bombing in Vienna. You and Sam exchange a worried glance and set out to find Steve right away.

You find him near the elevators with Sharon just as the elevator arrives.

“Thanks for walking me back.” Sharon says and as Steve answers “Sure” you get close to them.

“Steve.” you grab his attention.

“There’s something you gotta see.” Sam finishes.

We all go up to Sharon’s hotel room to turn on the news that’s all about the UN bombing in Vienna and how the culprit is believed to be James Buchanan Barnes, the Winter Soldier HYDRA asset and formerly known as Sergeant Barnes, Steve’s best friend.

They talk about the death of King T’Chaka and you look at Steve who seems as concerned as you are as you quietly say. “That’s not good.” And he agrees with a nod.

“I have to go to work.” Sharon says and you all know what has to be done.

-

Sam, Steve and you flew to Vienna with Sharon and now you and Sam are in a coffee shop waiting for Steve while he talks to Natasha.

“How can you eat at a time like this?!” you whisper shout to Sam, annoyed.

“What am I supposed to do, starve?” He answers and you roll your eyes but before you can say anything back, Steve steps next to him.

“She tell you to stay out of it?” you ask him, knowing Natasha pretty well.

“Might have a point.” Sam comments casually.

“He'd do it for me.” Steve says back.

“1945, maybe.” Sam says and you roll your eyes and try to be a little more sensitive than Sam.

“I just want to make sure we consider all our options.” you gently say, but Sam cuts in.

“Yeah, the people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at us.” He says and can’t really fight him on that, he’s not wrong.

Sharon appears next to Steve and starts talking quietly without looking at any of us.

“Tips have been pouring in since that footage went public. Everybody thinks the Winter soldier goes to their gym. Most of it is noise. Except for this.” She slides Steve a file. “My boss expects a briefing, pretty much now, so that's all the head start you're gonna get.”

“Thank you.” Steve says as he takes the file.

“And you're gonna have to hurry. We have orders to shoot on sight.” she says and leaves as the three of you exchange a worried glance. Without wasting any time, you make your way out of the coffee shop and to the airport, destination: Bucharest.

-

You get to the right address and go separate ways. Sam gets to the roof of the building that Steve enters to look for Barnes and you go to the roof of the other building, where you have an eye on both Sam and, thanks to the scope on your rifle, you can see Steve even through the covered windows.

You see Steve enter the small apartment and look around, then he goes to the kitchen and picks up what looks like a notebook and opens it. Then you hear Sam’s voice through the comms.

“Heads up, Cap. German Special Forces approaching from the south.” You notice movement behind Steve as Sam talks.

“Understood.” Steve says as you see Barnes has entered the apartment.

“Steve, turn around.” You tell him through the comms and he slowly does.

“Do you know me?” You can hear Steve ask, but can’t hear Bucky’s response because he's talking too quietly.

“They've set the perimeter.” Sam says, but you’re still focused on Bucky inside the building.

“I know you're nervous. And you have plenty of reason to be.” You hear Steve say, “But you're lying.” You can see Bucky’s lips moving, but at this angle you can’t really read his lips.

“They're entering the building.” Sam says and you finally take your attention away from the apartment and look around the building as you hear Steve talk.

“Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive.”

“Sam, they’re on the roof.” You say through the comms.

“She’s right, I'm compromised.” He says.

“This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck.” Steve says.

“5 seconds.” Sam says in your ear.

“You pulled me from the river. Why?” Steve keeps trying to get through to Bucky.

“3 seconds!” You say as you see them about to breach the apartment.

“Yes, you do!” Steve almost yells before you hear Sam yelling in your ear.

“Breach! Breach! Breach!” you see a grenade crash through the window. Bucky kicks it to Steve, and he smothers it with his shield.

You see Bucky shielding himself with the mattress against an attack from the window, then he blocks the door with a table as cops swing in on cables. Steve pulls the rug from under a policeman, sending him flying. Bucky slams another policeman into the wall.

“Buck, stop! You're gonna kill someone.” you hear Steve say before Bucky slams him down and punches a hole in the floor right next to his face.

You faintly hear him say, “I'm not gonna kill anyone.” Before he pulls something out the floor, throws it out the building and it lands near you.

You’re about to go see what’s in it but are distracted by Bucky and Steve hiding behind the shield together before Bucky shoves Steve into a cop and you have to stop yourself from laughing. 

Bucky holds up his metal hand and repels bullets, then slams a cop into some shelves. He picks up a large cement brick and slams it into a cop and you can see Steve fighting another cop on the balcony.

You see Bucky punch through the wall beside the door. He steps into the hallway and you lose sight of him, a second later Steve steps into the hallway and you lose him too.

“You have a visual, Sam?” You ask through the comms and he answers with a simple ‘No’.

You hear Steve say “Come on, man.” and hear his grunting as he fights.

After a minute you hear Steve say “Y/N, he’s coming your way.” and you frown.

“What do you mean he’s-” Before you can answer you can see Bucky jumping out a balcony and you let out a quiet “Holy shit.” that makes Steve groan and Sam snicker.

Bucky lands not too far away from you and, before he can get to his backpack, you put yourself in front of him so he can’t get to it.

“Hello, soldier.” you say in a teasing and vaguely flirting tone, but he simply looks at you for half a second before throwing a punch that you avoid and quickly say “Not a talker. Got it.” Before throwing a punch of your own that he easily stops, holding your arm as he sweeps your legs and in a second you’re on the ground.

Bucky picks up his backpack and runs, but a big man all dressed in black, a full face mask with pointed ears, slams into him and knocks him down. He extends his fingers and sharp claws pop out and he attacks Bucky with sweeping kicks and slashes.

Bucky fights back but is kicked into a wall, the figure swipes his claws and spins gracefully. Bucky narrowly avoids being slashed, holding up a metal bar to protect himself.

You get up and get closer to them to try and help Bucky. You kick the man off of him and protect Bucky by standing in front of him in a fighting stance.

“Bad kitty.” you tell him and can hear Steve and Sam simultaneously say “Seriously, Y/N?”

“Sam, southwest rooftop.” you hear Steve say as the cat man lunges at you. 

“Who the hell's the other guy?” Sam asks.

“About to find out.” Steve answers while you try your best to not get killed by the overgrown cat you’re fighting at the moment. The man manages to slam you into a wall and lunges at Bucky with his claws, but Bucky grabs his wrists.

You’re about to help but a soldier fires a machine gun from a chopper, the ammo bounces off the man’s armored suit who’s now on top of Bucky, but you’re forced to hide to avoid the bullets.

You hear Steve call for Sam’s help and Sam answers with a “Got him.” before he flies down and shoves the chopper off course, then swoops towards street level.

Bucky breaks free from his attacker, slings his bag on his back, runs and jumps down a level, and the other man slides down the wall using his claws for traction. Bucky lands at street level and the chase continues. Steve follows and lands rolling along the ground. 

You watch them from the edge of the roof and sigh. “Okay, I can’t do that.” You look up in search of Sam. “Sam, I need a ride.”

“I got you.” He says as he swoops down and picks you up, taking flight again to follow the others while you hang on to him for dear life.

Gunfire from the chopper tears up the sidewalk, Bucky jumps down through an opening, lands in an underpass and he runs through the traffic. Cat Suit and Steve drop down and chase after Bucky as a Special Forces Vehicle pursues all of them.

You see Steve leap onto the vehicle and splinter the windshield and, when the driver stops, Steve yanks him from the vehicle and kicks the windshield out, then drives off.

Bucky runs over the top of a speeding car, outpacing it and Cat Suit is a few cars behind, keeping pace with him. Then he leaps on the back of the 4x4 that Steve's driving and Steve swerves from side to side, trying to throw him off.

“Sam, I can't shake this guy.” He says into the comms.

“We’re right behind you.” Sam says as you fly behind him.

Several police cars join the chase and you see Steve side-swipe another car and drive on.

Bucky leaps over a barrier and Steve drives through it, then you can see Bucky grab the handlebar of an incoming motorcycle and spin the bike around in mid air, throwing the rider off as he gets on the bike himself, riding away and sending cars careering out of the way. 

Steve keeps on Bucky's tail with Cat Suit holding onto the back of his car. They all rocket through another underpass and Sam flies into the underpass. 

Cat Suit leaps off the front of Steve’s car onto Bucky's motorbike and Bucky flings him over his head and the bike leans down on its side. Bucky kicks his assailant away, straightens up and rides on.

Cat Suit catches a ride on one of Sam’s legs and Sam tries to kick him away. Bucky throws a sticky bomb and blows up the roof at the end of the underpass, bringing down tons of rubble. 

Sam tells you to hang on and you can feel his grip tighten on you as he stops and throws the Cat Suit man into the rubble. He throws Bucky off the motorcycle as Steve swerves the car through the rubble and leaps out, running as Bucky and the Cat roll on the ground.

When they stop the Cat is on Bucky right away but Steve jumps on him and pulls him off Bucky.

Steve stands up, facing the sleek and muscular overgrown black cat as the police arrive and surround you all, guns aimed. War Machine leaps down from above and raises both his suit hands, guns drawn.

“Stand down, now.” Rhodey says, aiming at Bucky and Steve who are standing side by side and at the Cat Suit Guy. Steve puts his shield on his back again as Rhodey continues. “Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal.” 

Police move in and force Bucky to his knees. The Cat raises his hands as a cop moves Steve's arms behind his back and you and Sam are also handcuffed and brought closer to the others by two police men. The cat retracts his claws and pulls off his mask revealing his face and you’re all shocked to see it’s King T'Challa. 

“Your highness.” Rhodey says as Bucky's hauled flat on the ground and getting handcuffed.

-

You all get arrested, forced to change out of our suits and gears and taken to Berlin. Bucky is restrained inside a glass-walled pod surrounded by armed guards.

In an SUV sits T’Challa on front, then you, then Steve and last Sam. You’re quietly going through traffic until Sam very respectfully breaks the silence. “So, you like cats?”

“Sam.” Steve warns him while you snort in amusement, looking out the window to avoid what you’re sure will be a disappointed glare from Steve. 

“What?” Sam continues. “Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't wanna know more?”

“Your suit…” Steve ignores Sam and addresses T’Challa. “Is it Vibranium?”

“The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior.” T’Challa finally speaks up. “And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king.” Oh, no. “So, I ask you... as both warrior and king... how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?”

The silence that follows is deafening, as none of you know or want to give an answer to that, and you’re sure T’Challa doesn’t expect one.

“Sorry about King T’Chaka…” You say quietly after a moment.

“Don’t worry, miss Y/LN. He will be vindicated.” He answers back without missing a beat.

You look back at Steve and Sam and they both look as worried as you feel.

This is not going to end well, is it?

Requested taglist: @sapphirebarnes @aki-ham

[cateyesinlove]

 Aemond Targaryen x OC, Cregan Stark x OC

Chapter one; The sea-star

Rhaella stepped into the Godwoods holding onto Lord Dodrik with all her strength, a sadness crashed onto her as a wave but she ignored it, even when she always imagined her wedding day as a day where there would be no clouds in Kinglanding and all her family would be surrounding her and Daemon would be giving her away. She felt the same sadness that her father Laenor couldn't be the one to walk her down the aisle.

Sara was sanding before the heat tree and asked, “Who comes? Who comes before the Gods?”

Lord Rodrink answered, “Princess Rhaella of House Velaryon and Targaryen comes here to be wed. A woman grown and flowered, trueborn and noble, she comes to beg the blessings of the gods. Who comes to claim her?"

Cragan stepped closer to them and answered him"Me, Cregan of House Stark, Warden of the North. I claim her. Who gives her?"

The escort says, "Lord Rodrick of House Dustin, loyal subject and friend” he answers and turns to Rhaella, "Princess Rhaella, will you take this man?” he asked 

Rhaella smiled and replied, "I take this man." taking the hand Cregan had extended to her.

Cregan smiled and guided her in front of the heart tree, they both kneeled and prayed. Cregan prayed to his father and brother hoping he had done the right thing in helping Princess Rhaella while indulging the feelings for her. Rhaella instead silently cried for Luke, she prayed he was with father and aunt Laena, that they both had received him and were loving him the way her family did when he was alive, she prayed for her sister Visenya that her grandmother Aemma was with her and looked after her and finally, she prayed to her gods, the gods of old Valyria to give her the strength to destroy the Hightower.

Cregan was the first one to stand up and offered a hand to Rhaella to help her get up, he signaled for Sara to bring the cloak and after asking her to turn around, Cregan wrapped her in the beautiful gray cloak with a massive stark wolf symbol. 

She turned around and kissed her husband surprising him but causing the few expectators to erupt in cheers. 

She was no longer Rhaella Targaryen, bethrod of Aemond One Eye, from now on she was Rhaella Stark, Lady of Winterfell. 

And winter will come with Fire and Blood for those who had wronged her.

Red Keep Year 117 AC

Rhaella could hear the screams of her mom through the door, as some tears gathered in her eyes she held onto her father who had come running to await the birth of his son. Rhaella had been reading to her mother that morning when she had begun her labors. 

“ It will be okay my darling star.” Leanor murmured into her daughter's brown curls hugging her tight, “ Your mother and sibling will be okay.”

“Are you sure you would rather not go somewhere else?” Leanor asks worried for his little girl. Rhaella since birth had been such a sweet babe, she had cried the least between his children, and she would sleep through most of the night and be a cheerful delight through the day, The realm delight born again he would hear the whispers at court and through the city. 

Rhaella shook her head holding on to her father,” No no, I wish to see mother and my sibling as soon as I can.” 

“CUNT!” Rhaenyra screamed startling both father and daughter. 

“What does that mean?” asked Rhaella confused, Laenor simply laughed quietly. “Nothing you have to worry yourself with daughter,” He replied. 

After a couple more hours a maid came through the door with the biggest smile, “A BOY YOUR GRACE, YOU HAVE ANOTHER BOY!” She shouted excitedly. 

“Oh, how marvelous!”Laenor excitedly picked up Rhaella making her giggle and hold tighter to her father. “And Rhaenyra, how is my wife?” he asked securing Rhaella to his hip, while his daughter was older he still indulged himself and her carrying her when no one who would judge was around. 

“Both the Princess and the little prince are healthy and in good spirits!” she answered, returning to Rhaenyra. 

“You hear that my star,” Laenor said kissing his daughter's hair, “Both mother and your new brother are fine.” 

A maid passed behind them making his way to Rhaenyra, both Laenor and Rhaella sat on the chair waiting to be let in when they saw Rhaenyra walking out of the room with the babe in her arms. 

“Mother!” Rhaella exalted making her way to Rhaenyra quickly, “What are you doing!” she inquired alarmed, panicking that her mother or sibling could get hurt. 

“Rhaenyra what is the meaning of this!” Laenor demanded arriving at her side, holding her close to him, and helping her while walking towards the door.

“She wishes to see him, immediately,” Rhaenyra growled and tears gathering in her eyes. 

“She can not mean right in this moment!”He exclaimed, both adults enrapped in their conversation forgetting Rhaella was trailing after them.  

“She wishes to see him and I refuse to be parted with my newborn son,” she said eyes closed in pain and panting. 

“Mother I think you should rest!” Rhaella called reminding her parents she was there, and both of them gasped looking at her. 

“I can’t my dear,” she said wincing in pain, Laenor was quick to hold her close to him and warp a second pair of arms around his new baby. “Queen Alicent wishes to see the babe at once and I will not be parted from your brother, not even one second” She explained leaning on Laenor. 

“But mother, you are in so much pain!” Rhaella exclaimed, a frustrated child scared for her mom as tears gathered in her eyes. “Her grace must know you are in no state to go see her!” she said. 

Rhaenyra straight up a bit, “Well she is demanding to see your brother, I see no other solution  but for me to take him.” She said in between deep breaths trying to manage the pain. 

“The Queen is sweet and kind!” Rhaella exclaimed with a smile, “ She mustn't have thought about coming to see you but I will explain to her, how you are in so much pain so she must come to you!” the prince exclaimed excitedly and turned around to run towards Alicent Chambers. 

“Wait Rhaella!!” both her parents screamed with surprise but it was too late, the little princess was dashing through the court in her beautiful blue gown and greeting every lord and lady she recognized alongside the staff she held dear to her heart. Laenor looked fondly at her beautiful daughter, she shone like a star brightening this old castle. 

Rhaenyra laughed through the pain at the look on Laenor's face and sighed once more leaning on Laenor, “Well at least this solves this problem,” she murmured eyes closed. 

Laenor huffed, “I have yet to see one person deny anything to our daughter,” he joked, “I dare Alicent Hightower to be the first .” he said laughing and helping Rhaenyra move back to her room.

“Good luck, cunt,” Rhaenyra murmured under her breath and allowed Laenor to guide her back to the room, small Joffrey still asleep in her mother's arms.

Little Rhaella quickly made her way up the stairs running towards the Queen's chamber, she knew in her heart if she explained to the Queen how much pain her mother found herself in, she would understand and would walk to her mother's chambers by her side. 

“Good morrow Lord Caswell” Rhaella greeted on the stairs, she had stopped and curtsy like her septa had taught her, like every princess should. “Lady Caswell” 

“Good morrow, little princess,” the lord and his wife bowed to her, Lord Caswell couldn’t help but smile, delighted by the manners of the princess, The seastar of the realm he would hear people call her. While she would not be inheriting Drifmark given the incident years ago, she was still very loved by its people and in Kingslanding, truly the realm’s delight daughter. “How is your morning Princess?” he asked.

“It has been a wonderful morning, I have a new brother!” she answered thrilled,, “I am on my way to speak with Queen Alicent, she has asked my mother to show her my brother but she is in so much pain yet I know if I explain to her grace the problem she will understand!” she answers.

Lord and Lady Caswell were speechless to hear the princess say those words, everyone with eyes could see the Queen's disdain toward Princess Rhaenyra and her kids. “ Oh I am sure,” he said hesitantly looking at his wife for assistance.

“I should be on my way my lord and lady,” Rhaella said feeling herself becoming impatient but not wanting to seem rude. “Have a pleasant day,” she said, curtsing and continuing on her way to Alicent's room.

As she approached the room her gaze wandered as always towards the beautiful details of this part of the castle, wondering if she would be able to go see Silverwing today, if today would be the day she could fly on her, as the princess was distracted she crashed into someone's leg. She yelped embarrassed and as she tumbled backward a pair of hands held her by the shoulders. 

“You should be more careful,” Cole scolded the princess, “Princess,” he added with disregard.

A flush spread through Rhaellas check embarrassed, ashamed, all the usual feelings Ser Criston Cole caused her.

Rhaella positioned her hands in front of her, trying hard not to bow her head, she knew she was the princess and had no business bowing or feeling less than anyone, especially Ser Criston Cole, why did her majesty keep such a serious and pouty man around her still was a mystery to her, “My apologies,” she replied muttering the apology with a curtsy, annoyed that she had to be nice to such man like him.

Rhaella felt uncomfortable under Cristons piercing gaze, she almost felt in danger, and her heart raced when he took a step towards her, looking up at his eyes, rhaella thought she saw hate in his face. 

“Is there a problem Ser Criston,” Ser Erryk announced placing himself between Criston and Rhaella, shielding her from his view. 

“No, not at all” he answered annoyed scowling at him. “ The lady was simply distracted and crashed with me, she could have been hurt”

“Thank the Gods, you were fast and helped the Princess,” Sir Erryk said making sure to emphasize the word Princess, shooting glares at Sir Criston. 

“That is what we are here for,” Criston answered, never looking away from Sir Erryk's eyes. “ I must go, I am late for training.”  he nodded and walked away without a single word to Rhaella. 

“Do you find yourself alright princess?” Ser Erryk asked concerned, looking over the little princess. 

“Yes Sir Erryk, I find myself alright,” She answered unaware of why he was so concerned, she had just lightly bumped with Sir Criston.

“Your parent sent me to look for you,” he said in an almost stern voice but Rhaella could see the small smile spread on his face.

“I only need to talk to the Queen and you can take me back to my parents,” she said, “ please!” she asked.

Ser Erryk sighed and shook his head but finally moved aside for Rhaella to keep her path towards the Queen. Once she was in front of the Queen's room, Ser Erryk announced her and she she entered. 

“Good morrow my Queen” Rhaella steps inside and crusties to Alicent, a small smile on her face. “I have wonderful news!” she exclaimed walking towards her.

“Rhaella” Alicent mutters with some displeasure that evades the child, “What a wonderful surprise, tho I am sure I had called for your mother to see the new babe.” 

“That is why I am here for, your grace, my mother is in so much pain, she can't even walk,” she said, getting upset and tears forming in her eyes. “I know you never meant to cause her harm, you are always so kind and thoughtful, I came to ask if you could come with me so we could see my brother together!” she exclaimed. 

The whole room went silent. No one dared to breathe.

“Pardon?” Alicent said perplexed, stunned at the audacity of the little bastard princess. She was the Queen if she commanded Rhaenyra to bring the babe she would have to do it, not send her pretentious little girl. 

“Your grace my mother is in so much pain and I know you are so understanding and kind, could you please come to see her?” she asked, pleaded to the queen. 

Alicent felt rage starting to bubble inside her. She hated this child. She hated Rhaenyra and she mostly hated how much Rhaella looked like her mother, the spitting image of young Rhaenyra but rather than her divine beautiful silver hair this child had brown locks that framed her face perfectly. Disgusting. 

She leaned down before the child, grabbed one of her curls, and smiled at her. “Of course, let us go.” 

Rhaenrya unable to contain her content hugged the Queen tightly and whispered a teary Thank you. 

Hug. The child was hugging her. 

Alicent froze, she couldn't remember the last time any of her children had hugged her out of their will and not because she wanted to keep up appearances, no nagging from her or a fierce look from him making them act lovable. 

She had hugged her with love. 

She closed her eyes and hugged the girl back. “Let us go Rhaella.” 

Rhaella backed away with a huge smile and held Queen Alicent’s hand. 

As they walked out Alicent could see the faces of Ser Erryk and her ladies-in-waiting, mouths wide open. “Shall we go Ser Erryk?” she asked bothered. 

“I'll be following closely your grace.” He bowed as the Queen and princess exited the room. 

“Tayla, please let the King know we are visiting Rhaenyra and the newborn babe.” Alicent requested as they made their way down the Red Keep

“It's a boy!” Rhaella interrupted excitedly, “I have a new brother!” 

“Tell the king we are visiting his new grandson,” Alicent said smiling down at Rhaella, maybe this kid was Rhaenyras saving grace, maybe this time she could make a difference and save this child from going the same path of sins her mother.

Tag list

@beebeechaos @void21 @menaosama @fiction-fanfic-reader

[doudouneverte]

Back to Home | Chapter Three: Impossible

*GIF not mine*

Summary: While on Earth 717, they start to plan an operation to get you back; on Earth 616, everyone want to know who you are but, you just want to go home and for this, you'll have to ask the help of one of the last person you want to see right now.

Pairing in this chapter: Natasha Romanoff x Teen!Reader; Avenger x Teen!Reader; Doctor Strange x Teen!Reader; America Chavez x Teen!Reader; Peter Parker x Teen!Reader; (variant)WandaNat & family

chapter two | serie masterlist | chapter four

--------

Okay it was the only thing you did want to deal with. You just looked at them for a moment, you needed to think about a name right now. "Uh...Scarlet." you replied more like a question. They clearly doubted that but it's not like you could tell them who you were. Right now you just needed to not bring more questions and quickly came back in the future.

At your reply, Natasha scoffed and you looked at her with a sad look. The last argument you had with your moms was still recent in your mind but she didn't have to know that, at least not yet.

"Scarlet hum? Like the Scarlet Wi-" Sam tried to ask but you cut him off.

"No, definitely no. It's Scarlet like Scarlet Widow." you said proudly and everyone looked at you confused.

"Widow? Like the Black Widow?" Bucky asked and you sighed.

"No. Like the Scarlet Widow." you reply harshly.

"Okay, okay. Miss, Scarlet what do you want?" Strange asked, visibly annoyed by your interaction with the two men.

"I want to go back home." you replied.

"And where are you from?" he asked.

"Really far from here." Nobody seemed convinced.

"And where did you find this?" Natasha spoke for the first time and showed you your widow's bites.

"Oh thank God, you found them. Morgan would kill me if I lost them." you replied and the two teens chuckled at your attitude.

"You know it's not something a kid should have." Tony said and you rolled your eyes.

"I'm 18, so, technically I'm not a kid anymore and I have used this for nearly three years now so yeah how dangerous they could be." you said looking at the red headed when you finished your sentence.

"But they didn't work." Natasha said

"Yeah I know that's why I'm here. I need to repair them even if I don't really know how. I need to send a signal to the....to my team and to let them know I'm alright." you said and tried to be the most convincing possible.

"But we have some questions before." Steve said and you rolled your eyes.

"Birthday?" the Russian asked but you didn't reply. You can't tell them you were technically born aly six years ago. "Okay you don't want to reply." she sighed. "Parent's name?" she asked. You just stare at her but you didn't said anything. "Okay, another question. Why do you have the same power as Wanda Maximoff?" she asked.

You played with your fingers and when they think you'll finally reply you wiped their hope. "Can I talk to my lawyer?" you asked and they all exchanged a look.

Tony grabbed a phone and looked at you "Who are they?" he asked and you bit your cheek.

"Clint Barton." you replied and they were all confused. "You know Hawkeye, the Avengers" you added and that didn't make disappear their surprise.

Okay even in your univers Clint didn't really learnt anything about laws but if there is one person you wanted to confess anything it was him. Morgan is only 6 years old in 2024; your aunts are very good friends but you knew they couldn't really keep this to themself and for your uncle it's sure he could talk with your mom so he was the safe option.

Natasha just glared at you, it was clear that she couldn't trust you; she didn't say anything and just left quickly followed by the winter soldier. "Did I say something wrong?" you asked Peter.

"Honestly I don't know. She seems a little upset but I think she will call him." he replied. 

"Oh okay, but why did the Snowman soldier follow her?" you asked and Amercia chuckled at the shity nickname.

"I'm not sure but everyone says there is something between them." Peter whispered and you frowned your eyebrows. Yeah of course your mom is good friends with Bucky but she's married to a certain Sokovian witch, right? The boy noticed your face and added in a whisper "You know they are a thing. Like they date each other." 

"What??!" you yelled and the adults stopped their conversation to look at you. "No it's impossible. Are you sure about that?" you asked a little quietly.

"Yeah it's like everywhere on the internet." he replied casually.

"But it's impossible I need to...I mean I ship her with Wanda." you corrected yourself and ignored America who raised her eyebrows to you. 

"Sorry not sorry. I think you missed a lot of things because right now I don't think it could have anything between her and Wanda." he said and when you wanted to ask why Natasha came back. 

Everyone looked at her but she focused her gaze on you and it remembered you all the time she was about to ground you. "He will be here tomorrow." she informed you and you nodded. "We will let see you tomorrow. Steve will bring you your lunch later." she said and left.

“So I think we can go back from where we came too.” Strange added.

“No!” you stopped him. “Actually I’ll need your help to go back to my home.” you informed him.

“And what makes you think I will want to help a perfect stranger who I don’t know her name?” he asked you.

“Because…you’re an avenger and the Avengers help the ones who need it.” you said. “And also because you’re one of the most powerful users of magic here, and I’m pretty sure my problem needs magic.” you added.

“I’m the supreme sorcerer, I’m not ‘one of the most powerful magic users here’. I’m the most powerful.” he explained and you rolled your eyes.

“Okay if you want but I think you forgot Wanda. She can alternate reality and she’s like the most powerful witch in this world, even if I’m the second one.” you said and America flinched a little. The action was unnoticed by everyone in the room except you but you didn’t find the need to ask her about that.

“Yeah, but I don’t think she would be able to help you for a moment.” the sorcerer said before leaving with the two teens before you could reply.

In the afternoon Steve came back to the kitchen with an empty plate. "She didn't say anything, I think she doesn't want to talk to anyone except Clint." he said and Natasha just nodded.

"Do you think it's a good idea to let her speak with Clint? She didn't look like someone we can trust." Sam asked.

"I don't trust her." the Russian said and Bucky looked at her confused. "I don't know why she wants to talk to Clint but she's silly if she thinks he will not tell me what she wants to keep hidden from us." she explained.

Tony came just after and throw your widow's bite on the redhead's laps she looked confused. "Look at them" she looked at them and then at the billionaire again. "More carefully." he said and she inspected them. She was about to give up until she found it, a little 'Stark Industrie' logo.

"But how?" she asked and Tony took back the weapons.

"I don't know but I think it's not the last secret this little thing hides." he said and went back to his lab.

--------

[Earth 717 - the Tower] 

Tony was zoning out in the kitchen with a coffee cup in his hand, neither him or his daughter had a proper night. He was too far in his mind to hear the footsteps, he came back to reality when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Tony, are you alright?" Steve asked.

The billionaire placed the cup on the kitchen counter, "Honestly no" he admitted "I don't know what to do. We try anything Steve, we search in the multiverse. We used the power of America to help us but nothing worked." he said.

"I think you should try to sleep, after a good nap you will try again and we will help you." the super soldier saif and gave him a reassuring smile and led him in a bedroom.

~~~~

In your tower’s bedroom Morgan was here with Ava, your other best friend, she told her everything.

"Wait hold on, you are telling me that the most reckless person we know is lost somewhere in the multiverse?" Ava asked and Morgan nodded, "wow, it's the most Y/n-ish thing she ever did" she joked and the little Stark laughed. "But how are you? You don't look good so I think you stayed up all night with your dad to find a soluce."

"Yeah but it's more complicated than we thought."

"I don't even want to try to imagine all you did."

"We did a lot of things but it doesn't really matter we didn't find her."

"Hey don't say that you'll find her, like you always did. And she can't miss the gender reveal party, I'm sure she'll come back soon."

"Talking about that, how is my little buddy?"

"They are pretty good but I think I'm not ready for the next few months." 

"Don't worry we will be here, like always."

'Ava was in front of your door, she was nervous but after five more minutes she knocked on the door. She didn't have to wait too long before Wanda opened the door.

"Hey Ava how are you?" she asked and your best friend almost cried at the question.

"Very good and you aunty Wanda?" she replied and even if your mom sensed it was a lie she didn't push her.

"Very well thank you. Y/n and Morgan are in her bedroom." she said and took a step aside to let the teenager in. Ava thanks her and after quickly greeting Natasha she rushed to your bedroom; she didn't knock and just enter and close the door quickly behind her.

You were playing Mario Kart with Morgan, you sprained your ankle at your last mission so you can't really go out. Your other best friend sat on the bed and you paused the game to look at her; she texted you two hours earlier to let you know she had to talk to you and Morgan and that's why everyone was there.

"Girls I fucked up" she started and the two of you exchange a concern look.

"Did you crash your mom's car? Don't worry my dad can get you a new." Morgan said but the other girl shook her head.

"Did you burn your house? It's okay, I'm sure my mama can reverse the thing." you said but she shook her head again.

"Okay now you start to worry us. What's happen?" Morgan asked. Ava took a deep breath and tears almost fell on her cheeks.

"Guys, I'm pregnant." she announced and she would look at your two faces if she was not too anxious about the news.

"You're WHAT?" you both yelled, in the living room Natasha looked at Wanda a little confused, her wife sensed you were shocked, happy and worried at the same time but she didn't know why. "From who? Since when? And most importantly does your mom know?" you asked her together.

"From Marcus of course, you know I'd never cheat on him. I've known about it since yesterday. And yes my mom knows, she's actually the one who encouraged me to tell you." she replied and you smiled.

"It's awesome Ava you always wanted to be a mom." you said and you hugged her tightly but you pulled back she was crying.

"Hey baby girl, what's wrong?" Morgan asked her.

"My mom was happy, she said she will help me. But him..." she couldn't finish her answer before she cried again.

"What did he say?" Morgan asked.

"He said he doesn't want to have a kid now and he broke up with me." she said.

"Honestly I understand him." You said "It's not easy to raise a child even more when we are only 18 but don't worry we will be here with you and I'm sure my moms would be more than happy to help you." you explained and she finally smiled.

~~~

You came back from Ava's first echography. The three of you were excited when you opened the door of your home. You quickly went to the kitchen with your friend where your moms were.

"Hi moms" you said and they looked at you.

"Hi girls, you seemed excited" Wanda said and Ava nodded.  

"Mama, do you still have the book on pregnancy?" you asked and Natasha choked on her coffee. "That's not for me." you reassured them.

The Russian scanned your friend and lent her gaze on Ava who just waved shyly. "Wait no. Not you." Natasha said and Wanda looked at your friend confused.

"Yes it's me. I'm pregnant" she said and your moms started to cry and gave her a group hug.

"But how? I remember the first time Y/n brought you here after school. You were so tiny, you were a baby and now…" Wanda said and Morgan and you laughed at her attitude. Your moms cried, they saw Ava like her daughter too like Morgan or your cousin Luna.

"Time flies aunty Wanda" she replied and everybody laughed.'

Morgan yawned and Ava brought back to reality, "You need to sleep, I'll be here with you don't worry." she said and the young Stark nodded before she laid on your bed and started to sleep.

--------

[Earth 616 - Tower, the next day]

"Miss Scarlet, Mr, Barton is here." Friday said. You were watching a series after you convinced Tony to let you have a Netflix account. When you turned your head you saw Clint and Natasha, they both had a silent discussion before the man looked at you. He didn't make you wait and open the door to enter, the redhead was just behind him.

He sat in front of you and you just looked at Nat to wait until she left but she didn't. Fortunately for you the archer seemed to understand. "I think I heard Tiny said he would need your help with something" he said to his best friend and she finally seemed to notice and leave. "So, hi, I'm CLint but it seems you already know that." he said and you nodded. "So who are you?" 

You took a deep breath and looked at him. "Okay, I know what I'm about to say would be weird but I need you to trust me." you said and he frowned his eyebrows. "You're the only one who can help me and keep my secret safe until I'm back home."

"And what tell you I would not tell you anything?" he asked. 

"Because you're Clint Barton, I know exactly what you're capable of and I know you'll never tell what I'll tell you." you replied.

"You seem to trust me a lot but I don't know you."

"That's because my moms do."

"Your moms?"

"Yeah, you're the first who trusted them and allowed them to try to have a better life and change who they were." you declared but he didn't reply. "Okay, I'm Y/n Maximoff-Romanoff, and my moms are Natasha Romanoff and Wanda Maximoff." you said and his jaw dropped.

"But how can you? Natasha..."

"Can't have babies, I know. It's Wanda who carried me." you explained.

"But why do you tell me this? Why not Natasha or Wanda?" he asked.

"Oh I don't know because it seems a little weird to appear from nowhere and suddenly say 'Hey, I'm your daughter from the future. I don't know why I'm here but I can't go back home. Oh and I love your hair cut by the way.' See, it seems weird." you explained.  

"Wait, you're from the future?" he asked.

"Yes, how do you think I could be so old when my mom only met 12 years ago?" you replied.

"You really talk like a Romanoff." he said and you smiled.

"Thanks, I think it's one of the best things someone said to me." you replied honestly.

"But now I start to think, how could I help you?"

"I just need you to fix my widow's bite and send a signal to Morgan." you replied.

"I stop you kid, I'm not the best with technology. And wait Nat let you use widow's bite?" he asked, visibly shocked.

"Technically, she didn't let me but I'm the scarlet widow and a widow without a widow's bite it's weird." you replied.

"Scarlet Widow?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah because of my magic" you replied.

"Not because of something else?" 

"Why do everyone think I chose this because of my mom?" 

“Because you have the same habit of playing with your hands when you’re nervous,” he pointed at your hands. Honestly you didn’t realize you were nervous until her said it. “But what tell you Natasha didn’t put a mic on me?” he asked.

“Would you let her if she asked you?” he seemed to think about it before he shook his head. “See? Now I need your help, I’ll explain what to do.” you started but he cut you off.

“Sorry but you know that they can record us with Friday?” he asked but you smirked

“I’m the best friend of the little genius Morgan Stark, I know how to hack Friday easily.” you said proudly.

“Okay you’re really Nat’s daughter.” he said and you laughed. After twenty big minutes he finally accepted to keep your secret and help but with the condition to tell him all you know about the future partners of Lila, just to be prepared.

But when he made his way to the lab he was greeted by the last person who could possibly be there. “Oh Wanda, it’s a surprise to see you here.” he said. The Sokovian turned around at his voice, she seemed very tired and sad but she was like that since the incident with America.

“Hi Clint, uh- yeah, Fury sent me someone to tell me that the Avenger wanted to talk with me.” she said but didn’t make eye contact with the archer.

“It’s…nice to see you again…I suppose.” he said, clearly unsure if that was a good or a bad news.

“Oh you don’t have to act like this, I’ll just talk with them and go away as soon as possible.”

“Uh, I think you should be stay a little I mean you should have a lot to say with anyone…I really want to stay but I have something to do so, see you later.” he said and run in the lab before she could reply

In the Lab Clint saw Natasha and Tony, they were talking about something and he wasn’t focus on the conversation when he saw this. Your widow’s bites were on the table in front of the duo and according to the billionaire's face, it was something that even him couldn’t understand.

“Does anyone know why Wanda is here?” Barton said and gained the attention of his two teammates.

“Steve wants to recruit her back and according to Fury, I’m not qualified enough to oppose. And that even if that means to let a woman who attempted to kill a little girl in my tower.” he explained and the Russian sighed.

“Don’t listen to him; she’s here because we need her for any potential new menace.” she replied.

“You act like that because you don’t have children, Romanoff, but I’m pretty excited to know how you’ll act when she would harm your little copycat. Talking about her, what did she tell you?” 

“She just said she needs our help to go back to her home. I think we can try to help her, she didn’t look like a threat or anything.” Clint explained and Natasha looked at him suspiciously. “And what is it?” he asked, pointing the device on the table.

“A little from our little guest.” Tony said, and Nat rolled her eyes. “I don’t know who did this but it’s a genius. There are a lot of gadgets in only one.” he added.

“Can I see it?” the archer said and took them before they could reply. He examined the thing while remembering what you said about how to send a signal discreetly. “And what is this button?” he asked, pushing it.

“I don’t know but it seems that nothing works.” Natasha said and her best friend hummed before he put your weapons down and took a step away.

--------

[Earth 717]

Wanda was sitting on the couch in the living room, she stared at the window. The sun started to set again and you were not here. She came out for her trance when she heard footsteps behind her, she turned round to meet the green eyes she loved so much. Natasha didn’t say anything, she just sat beside her wife and took her in her arms. It was always like this, when the Sokovian felt sad, empty or both; her wife would just hold her tight to remind her that she was not alone. They never end this habit even after your birth and when you were the reason she felt like this.

There was a comfy silence until Morgan entered the room visibly in a rush. “We have a signal.” she said and your moms didn’t wait before following her in her lab. “It’s not a big one so we think she sent it in a while now.” the young Stark explained when they were in the Lab with everyone.

“Like we excepted the signal don’t come from anywhere in our universe, but I traced it and I found the location.” Tony said while the screen showed a lot of earth planets until it stopped on one of them, he zoomed and a signal appeared on the screen. “Universe 616, I’ll do some research to know where exactly it’s from.” 

The room was drowned in the silence and noise of the keyboard until they stopped. “Got this.” he said and everyone looked at the screen. “New York, from what seems to be the rest of an Avengers’ tower.” he explained.

“I can go now.” America said.

“No, we come with you.” Wanda said.

“Wanda, you retired from a while now you should let them go.” Tony said but the Sokovian didn’t change her mind.

“It’s my baby so, of course we come. I don’t want to hear anything, I should be there to protect her the first time.” she said and nobody wanted to argue. After she materialized her and Nat's suit, America opened a portal and they crossed it. 

-------

[Earth 616, 2036]

On the other side of the portal, the three were ready to fight anyone who would face them but fortunately or unfortunately, there was nobody. 

“Are you sure we’re in the right place Amrica, because it doesn’t seem to have a soul?” Natasha said while looking everywhere for a sign of you.

“Yeah, I came here a while ago but it was a decade prior.” she said and the woman nodded.

“I think we should split up to find her.” the red head proposed but she was quickly stopped by her wife.

“No, it’s not right.” Wanda said and the two other women looked at her.

“What’s happening Wanda?” the younger asked.

“She’s not here.” your mama whispered. “I can’t feel her, she’s not here.” she repeated louder.

“Hey honey, it’s okay, maybe it’s just because we’re in another universe so your powers don’t work.” Natasha tried to reassure her wife (or herself). “Let’s try to search a little.” she proposed and even if Wanda didn’t think it was a good idea she couldn't say ‘no’ when her wife looked so desperate.

Unfortunately for them after three hours of research and a world tour for Wanda in this universers they couldn’t find you. “I think we should go back now. We will tell Morgan to affinate her research the next time.” America proposed and even if they didn’t want to, your moms just nodded and after crossing another portal they were back home.

--------

[Earth 717] 

When they came back everyone was expecting to see you but when they saw their faces, they knew.

“It’s impossible.” Morgan said before felling apart. You were not back, not yet.

[deceptive-daydreams]

California Dreamin’

Chapter One - Lasagna (18+ ONLY)

Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4

Modern!Eddie AU - In which Eddie travels to California searching for something more out of life. And then he meets you.

Warnings: mentions of deceased parent, self doubt, insecurities, eventual smut

5.6K words

Eddie x Reader, Friends to lovers, Slow burn

Next ->

Note: This is my first time writing in a while and this idea came to me and just kept building in my mind. A lot of it is self indulgent, not gonna lie. It builds off some of my personal experiences. If you read I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think :)

Masterlist

—

The air is different from Hawkins.  Not cleaner, dirtier if anything but certainly different.  And different is good, different will be good Eddie thinks to himself.  It has to be because at this point it’s all he’s got. 

As he drives into the suburban area of Circle Crest, he can’t help but notice the palm trees pass him by over and over.  He’s never seen a palm tree before, always figured they were reserved for the movies and shows he’s watched on TV.  And there are mountains but not mountains like in the midwest he’s used to.  Mountains that look like they could probably be from Hawaii with how green they are from the Winter rain, the golden afternoon sun cascading over them as if to welcome him.  As if to say everything will be okay.  

Approaching the top of the hill that overlooks the city, Eddie takes in the amount of homes scattered throughout the landscape.  Definitely the suburbs, something he has never really experienced.  Other than Halloween in the rich neighborhoods back home.  But as he looks to the right there are those gorgeous mountains right in front of him.  The head of a hiking trail is just off the side of the road where people park their cars and disappear into nature. 

California so far is not at all what he had envisioned.  Obviously he wasn’t expecting to show up to a red carpet, Hollywood sign right in his face but he never pictured a forest before him just right off the main road.  This forest was different from the ones back home.  There were no pine trees and there were many people heading onto the trail, no doubt trying to get a walk in before the sun disappeared on the horizon.

Eddie reaches the street of his temporary home for who knows how long.  There wasn’t really a plan.  He just needed to get out of Hawkins.  Turning into the neighborhood, there are some nice looking homes on his left, the kind that he was always convinced he’d never be able to have.  They had pristine lawns and basketball hoops out front that signified happy families lived there.  

A little further up the road at the stop sign there is an open field to the left with what looked like a dam on the other end.  It was a reservoir but for most of the year it was just a field since there wasn’t much rain.  To the right across from the reservoir are some more homes, not as large or nice as the ones he previously saw down the road but still nicer than he’s used to.  They are lined up down the road, four homes with a little more land than the others.  Each one is a different style and were probably all built at different periods in time.  He reaches the last house, Marlene’s house.  

It looks like an older one, maybe built in the 80’s.  There is a chain link fence in front closing off the driveway.  The driveway is made up of dirt and there is a wooden awning next to the house with a car parked underneath along with boxes and storage containers, a place for where things couldn’t find a home inside the house.  The house is dusty and looks like it could use a paint job but it's still cozy.  

Marlene is an old family friend of the Munson’s.  Or at least Eddie and his Uncle Wayne.  She’s basically his aunt.  And her daughter Jocelyn is like his cousin.  Not related by blood but still family.  Back at the trailer park years ago they would cause all kinds of trouble, pissing off the other neighbors by being too loud. 

Unfortunately by the time Eddie was twelve her and her mom had moved back to California where they had some family.  They were having a hard time in Hawkins as a Latino family, Jocelyn an even harder time being gay.  It was a fairly unprogressive town and Marlene wanted better for her daughter.  That left Eddie without his only friend in a town that hated him even at the innocent age of twelve.

Eddie reached the driveway where the fence was closed off.  His van must have been noisier and closer to coming apart than he thought since Marlene came running out with excitement etched into her features.  Following her are two chocolate labs, barking enthusiastically.  She pulled the gate open across the dirt enough for Eddie to drive his van in and park to the side underneath a large tree sitting in the front yard.  

Marlene was a short woman with long black hair and brown skin.  She was beautiful and kind hearted, always reminding Eddie not to listen to a damn thing anyone in that small town says.  She’s the closest thing to a mom he had since she died when he was seven.  But even so, he hasn’t seen Marlene in years.  He thinks the last time may have been on Thanksgiving in middle school.  He tunes in on a phone call with Wayne every now and then having basic conversation, texts Jocelyn, but that’s about it since they moved away.

“Come here you!” Marlene shouts out of excitement as Eddie hops out of the van, briefly stretching his legs.  The labs eagerly paw at him and he gives each a scratch behind the ear.   Marlene wraps him up in a big hug which he isn’t used to.  “Eddie you’ve gotten so tall, and your hair!” She looks at him proudly.  “Oh, this ol’ mane?  Grew it myself, thank you.” Eddie shakes his wild curls, jokingly flipping his hair with his hand. Always dramatic and outspoken.

“So how was the drive?” Marlene asks as Eddie rounds the back of his van, beginning to pull out his bags.  She assists in grabbing one.  He didn’t have very much to bring, just his clothes and some things like books, his guitar, and of course his bong.  But Marlene didn’t need to know that.

“Pretty fucking long.  I was bored out of my mind for most of it.”  He responds while kicking the van door shut.  “I’m glad I’m here though.  Get to see you and Jos.”  Marlene hums happily.  “Well let’s get you situated, we’ll go through the garage and say hi before I show you your room.  Jos is in there with everyone.”  She leads the way across the yard to the garage connected to the house.  “Everyone?” Eddie questions with a raised brow.  “Don’t worry they’ll love you!” She waves him off, approaching the open garage.  

The garage isn’t really used for cars or anything a garage would usually contain.  There are two couches in the middle of the room along with a coffee table and some mismatched colorful rugs underneath.  In the right corner is a drum kit along with a keyboard and some guitars.  On the left side of the room there is a bench with cushions lining one wall, long enough to hold around six people.  The walls are painted orange but not too bright, just a nice orange on the verge of being yellow but not quite.  The other side of the garage is lined with storage cabinets.  There is a chandelier hanging in the middle, it looks like it could be an antique and there are lamps in every corner and a couple wooden stools scattered randomly.

On those couches sit people.  People who appear to be having a great time, laughing and talking.  Marlene walks in with Eddie following, he momentarily sets his bags down.  “This is Jonathan, Argyle, Will, El, and…” your name leaves Marlene’s mouth and you can’t help but stare at the man who just walked in.  His chestnut brown hair is long, curly, and wild.  He’s wearing a tshirt with the name of a band you can’t be bothered to pay attention to right now and ripped black jeans with a chain hanging on the side along with some worn out black converse.  He’s wearing these chunky rings and has a couple tattoos throughout his forearms and then you get to his eyes and you’re met with a pool of chocolatey irises.  He’s gorgeous and that golden hour sun is just making it worse by lighting up the hues throughout his eyes you would otherwise mistake as plain brown.  

“And this is Eddie, he’s gonna be staying with us for a while so you guys better play nice.” Marlene jokes.  Jocelyn scrambles off the couch to hug Eddie, screeching as she does so.  They hug for a minute and then pull apart “I missed you dude.” Jos punches him in the arm playfully.  

Jocelyn is 23, the same age as you.  She has shoulder length black hair with choppy layers.  She’s definitely an indie chick with her style and music taste.  She’ll call you out on your shit but is a solid friend through and through.  

“Yeah ya left be back in that shit hole remember?” Eddie grins, shoving her shoulder.  “Someone had to look after all those stray cats we tamed and it wasn’t gonna be me, those fuckers hated me.” Jos laughs.  “Well they’re Wayne’s responsibility now.  He’s gonna be pissed when like 15 cats show up at the door.” Eddie winces.  “So they don’t have mama Munson to take care of them anymore?”  Jos gasps.  “Nah, it’s okay though.  Wayne’s girlfriend, Leslie said she’d take over so not all hope is lost.” Eddie says confidently.  

The rest of you watch this banter play out in front of you.  Eddie was cute.  There was no denying that.  “You gonna jam with us while you’re here?” Jocelyn questions, glancing at Jonathan and Argyle.  They formed a little band a few years back in high school.  Jonathan on bass, Argyle on drums, and Jos on guitar/keyboard/singing.  She was a triple threat.  “Nope I’m a one man show.” Eddie crosses his arms.  “You’re still such a dickhead!” Jos shoves him jokingly.  “Alright alright, you don’t have to beg Jos, I’ll be in your band.” he smirks.  Everyone else laughs.  

Eddie says hello to everyone individually and shakes hands.  Once his hand touches yours you feel the nerves taking over.  He offers a quick “Hi.”  You can’t say anything, anxiety builds up as he looks directly at you, gorgeous eyes and all.  His rings are a cool contrast to your skin.  You're suddenly worried if your hand is clammy before he pulls away, smiling and then picks up his bags.

He’s now bantering with Jonathan and Argyle when Marlene speaks up.  “Okay let’s get you settled and then you can bicker all you want.  Looks like you’ll fit right in with our crew.” She carries one of his bags through the door into the house and he follows after shooting the room a wink.  He’s charming.

—

“And this will be your room” Marlene wraps up a tour of the house.  Eddie notices the freshly made bed, a dark wooden nightstand next to it with a lamp on top, and a wardrobe at the other end of the room.  It was empty other than that.  “You can do whatever you want with it while you’re here.  We barely even use it anyway.” She opens the curtains to let the remaining daylight in.  The dogs trot around the room, their paws clicking against the dark wood floor.  “Treat it just like home.” Marlene turns to Eddie, offering a small smile.  

“Thanks, Mar.  Just so you know, I’m gonna find a job and do what I can to help out.  I’m no freeloader.”  Eddie smirks, setting his bag and guitar case on the bed.  Marlene chuckles and gives him a nod.  “You’re a good kid, Ed.  Wayne did a good job.” She says.  “Mar, I’m 24.”  Eddie laughs.  “Still a kid to me.  All of you.”  She responds, making her way out of the room, the labs following her.  “Feel free to join everyone in the garage once you’re ready.  I think they already love you.  Dinner will be ready soon, I’m making lasagna.” She finishes before disappearing down the stairs, the wood creaking slightly under every step.

Eddie gazes out the window, taking in the garden in the yard.  Tomatoes, peppers, and some other vegetables each in their own barrels of soil.  Some flowers sit along the side of the house, stunning colors decorating the aged chipped paint they sit in front of.  The hose is still coiled on the ground, discarded until the plants need watering again.  The house sits on a little patch of land. It’s not huge but it’s more than the expensive houses up the road.

The sun is just setting and it’s summer so it’s around 7:45.  Eddie begins unpacking some of his things, dumping some of his clothes in one of the drawers of the wardrobe.  That’s really all he has to put away right now, everything else remains back in Hawkins.  The only other time he’s packed up and started brand new was when he was seven.  Except that time it wasn’t his choice.  That’s when his mother died and his dad went to jail.  It was either living with his Uncle or straight to the foster system.

He shakes off the memories of his past, he doesn’t need to relive that pain.  Eddie was never one to tune into his emotions fully.  He learned at a young age not to express sadness and to “be a man about it”.  Threats of “Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” were ingrained into him.  Closing out his thoughts, Eddie picks up his guitar and heads downstairs.

—

“Dude’s pretty cool.” Jonathan expresses, plucking the string of his bass.  Argyle is bouncing a small rubber bouncy ball as he lazily paces around the garage.  El and Will are sitting on one of the couches scrolling through some Tik Toks, bursting out laughing every now and then.  You and Jocelyn are sitting on the other couch with Jonathan, talking.  “He’s such an ass but like in the good way, y’know?  You guys are gonna love him.” Jos lounges against the arm of the couch, propping her head on her hand.  “So you’re cousins?” You question leaning back into the cushions behind you.  “Yep, not by blood but that’s basically it.  We practically ran the trailer park.  The neighbors hated us sometimes.” 

Jocelyn was your best friend since high school.  She’s basically your only friend other than Jonathan, Argyle, El, and Will.  They were great friends but Jocelyn was your best friend. The one you could tell almost anything.  Except that you think her ‘cousin’ is hot.  Not even having much experience with relationships yourself, you weren’t even going to go there.  

“How long’s rocker bro staying?” Argyle questions, not once looking up from his bouncy ball.  “As long as he needs.  He just had to get out of that place, dude.  Hawkins is not a forgiving place to live.”  Jos explains.  “Just don’t bring it up with him though.  He’s kinda closed off and if he wants to talk about it, it has to be his idea.”  She finishes.  You can’t help but want to know more.  You just nod in response.

Jonathan continues playing around with his bass.  “So is he gonna be taking courses with us at the college?” He asks, his eyes not moving from the instrument.  Jocelyn shakes her head.  “No, he told me he was gonna find a mechanic job.”  She says.  Jonathan nods.  “Maybe he can fix my shit box then.  Still can’t figure out why it keeps stalling.”  He chuckles.  “Yeah, he’s real good with that type of stuff-“  “Damn right.  I knew you had nice things to say about me.”  Jos is interrupted by Eddie striding into the room.  He sets his guitar against the couch before plopping himself next to Will and El.  

Will seems intimidated by the big personality that is Eddie Munson sitting to his left.  “Shut up.” Jos rolls her eyes.  Eddie shrugs, leaning back and is he—yep he’s manspreading and usually it’d give you an unimaginable ick but because it’s him you don’t seem to mind.  He makes it work and you find it difficult to tear your gaze away although eventually you force yourself to.

“Holy shit is that DND?!” Eddie’s eyes gleam at the box on the small coffee table centered in front of the couches.  “Yeah, i-it is.  It’s mine.” Will’s face turns red, seemingly embarrassed.  “Dude, you’re already my favorite.  We gotta play sometime.” Eddie looks at Will with a smile.  Will seems relieved that the cool new guy doesn’t think he’s a huge nerd, when actually it seems like he’s also a nerd himself.  Jonathan beams at the interaction, his brother has always had a hard time putting himself out there so to see Eddie already taking him under his wing almost brings him to tears.  

A few minutes later Eddie and Will are still going back and forth, practically speaking another language.  It’s sweet, you think.  He’s sweet.  The way he interacts with Will, not for a second judging him and just allowing him to go on a tangent about his favorite fantasy game, letting him take the lead on the conversation.  Meanwhile you’re the only one still engaged in their discussion while everyone else has moved on, talking amongst themselves.  El and Jos chatting about an upcoming concert they had been raving about, Jonathan and Argyle quarreling over something again, no doubt being about a song they practiced earlier and you would chime in every now and then, a word or two.

You were usually the more reserved one of the group.  Always observing more than participating.  For the most part you liked it like that but there are times you wondered if you were just a background character in everyone else’s story.  

As the sun started fading out of sight, the group started to disband.  El, Will, and Argyle piling into Jonathan’s car.  “You promise we’ll go?” El questions Jocelyn, they had just been talking about going to the mall next week to find an outfit for that concert.  “I swear.” Jos waves as the car door closes and they drive off.  They had a sisterly relationship which was nice seeing as both of them were only children.  

Just down the road around the corner was your house so normally you opted for walking.  It was about half a mile away just in the other neighborhood on the other side of the reservoir Jocelyn’s house sat in front of.  

Before you get the chance to say goodnight Jocelyn pipes up next to you.  “You staying for dinner?  Mom made lasagna.”  And how could you refuse dinner when Marlene was cooking up one of her home cooked meals.  “You already know my answer.”  You giggle.

—

Eddie is still sitting on the couch in the garage where he had been conversing with everyone for the past hour or so.   Except now he’s strumming his acoustic guitar, glancing up when you and Jos come back in from the front yard.  

As if on queue, Marlene peaks in from the door leading into the house.  “Time to eat, get your butts inside.”  Like ducklings, Jocelyn, yourself, and Eddie file into the house and into the kitchen.  The smell is immaculate, marinara and cheese filling your senses.  “Smells amazing, I’m so hungry.” You praise while pulling out plates from one of the cabinets.  It was practically your second home.  “Thanks, Mom.” Jocelyn takes a plate from you, beginning to pile it high with the gooey cheese and noodles.  “Thank you, Mar.” Eddie slings his arm around Marlene’s shoulders playfully as she sets down a tray of garlic bread.  You then realize he’s the human embodiment of a golden retriever.

Marlene hums in appreciation and observes Eddie proudly.  “You look so much like your mom.” She blurts out.  It’s no secret that this is a sore subject for Eddie with the way his face drains as he clears his throat.  Marlene instantly has regret in her eyes.  “Uhm-I’m sorry- I just-“ she stutters.  “It’s okay.” Eddie states, avoiding eye contact and moving to the table situated in the breakfast nook of the kitchen.  

It takes him a minute but as you all assemble around the table for dinner he’s back to his normal antics.  “Do you jam with Jos and her band?” He inquires, gesturing toward you.  This catches you off guard seeing as you haven’t even had a full conversation with him in the time he’s been here.  In fact, the only thing he’s said to you so far was ‘hi’ when he first arrived and was introduced to everyone.  “Uh- well no.  No, I don’t even know how to play an instrument.  I'm basically the moral support.”  You nervously laugh.  He flashes a grin before he stuffs a large helping of lasagna into his mouth.  “Most important role, right?” He says through a mouthful, smirking somewhat shyly.  

You just offer a nod and a polite smile in response.  It’s not a full conversation but it’s a start.  And you chime in where you can but again, not as often as you’d like.  The rest of dinner entails old friends catching up, the dogs waiting patiently for scraps to drop.  One of them, Winnie is next to you, drool hanging off of her jowl.  The other, Diesel next to Marlene.  It almost feels like you're imposing on a family dinner.  And although you are also considered part of said family, it feels like you’re an outsider, your own anxieties and insecurities getting the best of you.

—

The four of you are cleaning up when Jocelyn makes it known that there is a trip to the beach planned this weekend with everyone.  “Ed, you gonna join us?  Pleeease?” Jos puts on an exaggerated pout as she wipes down the counter.  Eddie is scrubbing a plate over the sink while he squints his eyes as if he’s contemplating the offer.  “I guess.” He sighs dramatically.  “Only for you though.” He winks mischievously.  Jocelyn rolls her eyes, finishing up her task and throwing a dish rag into a nearby basket in the hallway next to the laundry.

“Jos, will you help me with this?” Marlene asks, carrying  two bowls of cat food, two more prepped and ready on the counter.  They had outdoor cats that didn’t officially belong to them but they never really left the property.  Why would they when they had the promise of a meal waiting for them every morning and evening?  Jocelyn grabs the other two bowls and follows her mom out the screen door just off the kitchen, through the little hallway where the laundry was located and to the backyard.  The door smacks against the wood of the house as they walk out, Winnie and Diesel following eagerly.

“So are you and Jos…” Eddie breaks the silence in the room, the sounds of silverware clinking against the drawer as you dry and put it away.  He’s finishing drying off a plate.  “Y’know—uh-like together?” He finishes his thought, awkwardly clearing his throat, eyes on you from across the kitchen.  You giggle at this and his brows furrow.  “She’s my best friend and I love her but not like that.”  You explain, your words soft as if speaking too loud could disrupt the balance of the universe.  He nods.  “Cool, cool, I just—I didn’t know.  Jos doesn’t really let me in on the gooey details of her relationships you know?  She’s got that tough guy thing going on—at least with me when we talk.”  He further explains.  

“Oh I know, she hates people seeing her soft.  Even me and I practically live here half the time.” You finish up with the silverware.  “I live just down the road but I live alone so…” you shrug.  “I like to come over here most of the time, sometimes help Mar with her garden or whatever she needs.  Keeps me from going crazy in that big house by myself.” You continue.  “How’d you end up as Mar’s assistant?” Eddie jokingly asks, he rounds the island, now leaning on it with his hands tucked under his chin as he listens.  

You’re across from him on the other side nearest to the kitchen cabinets, busying yourself with small tasks so you don’t have to commit to making eye contact with him.  That would be daunting.  His eyes would swallow you whole.

“Um—well I met Jos in high school, junior year.  And as they say the rest is history.  We hang out in the garage a lot of the time and suddenly Mar has you doing chores you can’t say no to.” You laugh, shaking your head at the thought.  “Because then she feeds you and it’s like eating for the first time every single time so how are you supposed to say no?” You lean against the counter closest to the wall, finally bringing your gaze to Eddie.  

He’s so endearing in the warm kitchen lighting.  A small smile is pulling at his lips and the corner of his eyes are slightly creased.  It occurs to you that he’s just been listening to you talk, no interruptions, full attention on you.  And it’s not like Jocelyn or Jonathan or everyone doesn't listen to you but a lot of the time, your voice gets drowned out by interruptions.  Not intentional but still wounding your self esteem.  It isn’t their fault by any means, you know you should just speak up above it all but some things are hard to change and easier said than done.  

“Sorry—I” you’re about to apologize for the little ramble you’d performed seconds ago but he cuts you off but not in the way you’re used to.  “Don’t be sorry.  Why are you sorry?” He questions, now bringing his forearms in front of him, clasping his hands together on the counter, fiddling with his rings with his brow furrowed in confusion.  “I don’t know.” You offer a short answer.  “Don’t apologize to me ever again.  I don’t wanna hear it.  Unless you like—I dunno, hit my car or something.” He stands up straightening himself out, stretching his arms above his head and ending with a yawn.  

You don’t know how to respond, now too focused on the way his shirt rides up ever so slightly at his stomach, his happy trail on display for a brief moment.  Marlene and Jocelyn stroll back into the house.  Marlene announces that she’s going to bed and suggests the three of you think about doing the same. 

“I’ve got a paper to write, so no sleep for me.” Jos sighs, grabbing her laptop from the coffee table in the family room adjacent to the kitchen.  “You sleeping over?” She asks.  “I have work in the morning.” You can’t fathom sleeping under the same roof as the metal head, maybe eventually as you get used to him but not now.  Not when he’d be just down the hall and there was a chance of running into him on your way to the bathroom.  

“You have work every morning.  You work from home.  Do you want me to drive you back and we can pick up your laptop—“  “No that okay, Jos.  I’m just super tired, think I need to go home and recharge.” You say putting your shoes on.  “Okay we’ll it’s dark so I’m gonna drive you anyway.” She grabs her keys off the side table by the front door.  “I can drive her if you have that paper to write.  I don’t think I’m gonna be sleeping any time soon either…” Eddie offers.  Fuck.  Now you have even more of a chance at humiliating yourself.  

It’s decided and soon enough you’re hopping in the passenger seat of his van.  It starts with a rumble, sounds like it could give out any minute.  You don’t say anything though.  “Sorry about the mess, I just drove across like half of America and couldn’t really bother stopping to throw away the trash.” He mumbles, throwing some of it in the back carelessly.  “That’s okay, I don’t mind.” You respond shyly.  

The tires crunch over the gravel and dirt that is the driveway, making their way onto the asphalt of the road but he stops just before.  “Uh-pardon my French but where the fuck is your house?” Eddie looks cluelessly back and forth between the left and the right, unsure of which way to go.  A laugh escapes your lungs and he looks back over to you, a grin on his face, a small chuckle falling from his lips.  “Turn right and then make another right at the stop sign.” You manage to get out in between a wide smile.  “Got it.” He snaps his fingers and begins driving.

—

The van stops in front of your house, Eddie seems to be taking it in.  It’s a nice house, not like the fancy ones he first encountered earlier in the day but still nice.  Most of the homes on the rest of the street are similar but different in their own ways.  Different colors, different layouts, but the same general idea in the way that they’re all made of stucco.  Somewhat cookie cutter but not all the way.  Each house somehow still had its own personality with how one had a boat parked in the driveway and another had a swing hanging from the tree in front.

Your house was two stories, a cream color with a light brown trim and a hedge blocking the front door from view of the street with a little path leading behind it so as to reach the door.  There was a small grass lawn in the front, not too large.

“Wow.  Fuck.” Eddie expresses through an exhale.  You quickly glance back to him, unaware that he was referring to your house at first.  “Oh uh—yeah this is me.” You murmur, reaching for the car handle.  “You’ve got shit figured out.” He says, still staring at the house.  You feel the need to reveal that it’s not at all what he thinks.  That you don’t actually have anything figured out at all.  That it’s not even your house.  Well not fully your house.  

“It’s not like that.  It’s my grandparent’s house.” You quickly say.  “Thought you said you lived alone?” He inquires.  “For the most part.  They’re always going on cruises so most of the time it’s just me.  I take care of the house, pay what bills I can.  But I most certainly don’t have my shit figured out.” You explain, tucking your hair behind your ear.  

“And here I was thinking I was the only one without my shit together.” Eddie smirks.  You find a hint of insecurity behind his eyes, a fraction of self doubt but just as quickly as it came it’s gone, hidden away.  

For some reason you feel comfortable enough to continue, clearing your throat before you do so.  “And my mom and sisters are about an hour and a half away, living in the desert.  I'm the oldest.  Felt like I should stay and help out and eventually they put my name on the house.  So technically it is mine, just not only mine.” You wince.  “I—I don’t know why I felt the need to tell you-“ “If you apologize I’ll scream.” Eddie interrupts but again, you don’t mind because he’s preventing you from crawling back into the depths of your mind, insecurities rising.  “So-“ just as the word begins leaving your lips he gives you a stern look, eyebrows raised.  “Okay.” You say. 

“That’s better.” He concludes.  The moonlight is steaming in from the wind shield, brighter tonight than most nights.  Eddie taps his rings against the steering wheel, following the beat of the song playing quietly over the radio, a metal song.  “Do you visit your mom and sisters very often?” He asks.  “Yeah, yeah usually every two months.  They aren’t super far but I have stuff to take care of here.  It’s real fun out there, the desert just does something to you, maybe it’s cause the airs super dry but I love it out there.” You grin at the thought.

“I’ve never been anywhere outside of Indiana so everything here is new to me.  All I know is farmland and shitty small town people.” He says.  “Well we always have people visit out there.  Jos loves it, we swim and lay out in the sun.  Have big family dinners.  Maybe you can come out sometime.” You offer, nearly shitting yourself.  How are you even forming coherent thoughts while speaking to the beautiful boy in front of you?  “I’d like that.” He looks down at his rings tapping against the steering wheel.

His long eyelashes cast a shadow over his cheek and his silhouette is like something out of the renaissance.  

“So Jos said you work from home?” He changes the subject.  “Yeah, I do some insurance work.  It’s really boring but it pays pretty well and I don’t have to be in an office building with people I don’t like all day.”  He laughs at this.  “I respect it.” He says.  “What about you?” You question.  “Well I don’t have anything going for me yet but back home I worked on cars at the auto shop.  I’m really good at taking shit apart and putting it back together.  I’ll probably find a shop here that’ll take me in.” He tells you.  “You will.  There are tons of shops down on Main Street.” You enlighten him.  

—

You could have  listened and babbled on and on with him all night but eventually you bid him goodnight and he waits as you make your way through the door.  Only leaving when he’s sure you made it in.

You let out a long sigh, making your way upstairs and to your room for the night.  Eddie Munson was going to be a problem in the best way possible. 

~end~

Next ->

Masterlist

[decadentpandawasteland]

Prompt:I picked my journal up. I hadn't written in it for so long, I had no idea where to start.

It was weathered and worn, and the leather binding was aged and cracked from years of keeping it open. The paper inside had begun to yellow slightly. A single ribbon stuck to the top of the book binding acted as a bookmark two-thirds of the way through. The front embossing had faded throughout the years, the only word on the front barely visible but could easily be felt with fingertips, “Journal”.

“What's that, Dad?” Ethan asked, watching me handle the worn book. He was my oldest, always eager to learn but starting to become ashamed of his eagerness. An average teenager in his sophomore year. Unruly but eager, a leader but a follower, a child who thinks adulthood is a time frame, not a mindset.

“One of my old journals,” I said, flipping through the pages. I picked a random page and glanced over it. “I was never good about writing dates, but I saw it mentioned Mr. Woodard, so it's either from my freshman or sophomore year.”

“Wait, really? Why were you journaling then?” Ethan asked, his eyes wide.

I let out a little laugh, “Honestly, I'm not even sure anymore. That was almost twenty years ago buddy. I had a full head of hair, just like you then.” I said, running a hand through the thinnest part of my non-existent hairline. Ethan made a face of absolute horror, his curly brown locks were his most prized possession.

An ancient urge, long forgotten in my mind, had me find a pen. “It's been so long since I've done it, I wouldn't even know where to start.” I thought to myself. Opening it up to the bookmarked page, I read through my old entry. Luckily this one was dated.

November 10

I saw her in class again today. We even talked for a little bit! I couldn't tell you at all what it was about, I just kept getting lost in looking at her. Señor Inglès yelled at us for interrupting class, but I didn't care. It felt good. Hopefully I'll get some actual courage to talk to her about things other than Spanish class.

It's been about two months since the whole thing with mom. Dad isn't holding up too well. Lana came back from college early to help out. I just want to stay out of the way. I really miss her.

A few wet stains were on the page. Losing mom was rough, especially on Dad. They had been together since high school, and the cancer ravaged through her in less than a year. Even to this day, I miss my mom. But at least Dad's with her now too.

I skipped ahead.

Dec. 18

Out for winter break and it finally started snowing. Dad finally started getting out of the house. He needs it. Before school let out I asked Rachel “¿Saldrias conmigo?” while we were practicing conversational skills in Spanish. She just responded with “Me preguntaba cuando preguntarias. Sì.” I was so blindsided, I just assumed she said no! We decided to go see Christmas lights on Christmas Eve at Stanley Park. Corny, I know, but hey it's who I am. Miss you mom.

Pen in hand, I added a new entry.

March 16

Saying it's been too long is an understatement. Around twenty five years, give or take. Rachel and I got married and we have a son, Ethan. He reminds me a lot of me at his age. He's hopeful and curious, questions everything but just a little too shy to be outspoken about it. Mom, you would have adored him, but I'll let Dad fill you in on all of the stories. He better tell you about when Ethan was six and demanded to be allowed to eat the wasabi at Tsunami Sushi.

Rachel and I are doing as well as we can be. I never realized how hard marriage is, but in the end it's worth it. For some reason every day she gets up and chooses to be with my grumpy ass, if you'll excuse my language Mom. The easiest choice I ever make is waking up and choosing her, and choosing this life. I wish we didn't have to be packing up the old house, but I'll make sure Rachel and I help build the memories of our little family. Even if Lana likes to be a fun party aunt a little more than I'd like her to be, but hey, it's her life to choose. I love you and miss you more than you know.

Oh, by the way, we haven't told anyone yet, but Ethan is going to be an older brother! I wanted to tell you two first. I love you.

- R.

I closed the journal and Rachel came up behind me. She kissed my cheek and I watched her slightly graying hair fall down around her shoulder. A flash of seeing her sitting at her desk, freshman year in Spanish class. She looked even more beautiful now than she did then.

“Ready to go?” She asked, giving me a hug.

“Yeah, I think so.” I closed the journal. Ethan came over and we walked out the front door.

As we walked out, I poked Ethan with the journal before asking, “Hey buddy, have you thought about journaling?”

[ilovenearlyeverything]

Secret Santa 2022

Dear @princephilipplahm I am pleased to present you with your Secret Santa present :) I hope you like the little Christmas peaks into the lives of all your favourites! I hoper you have a brilliant Christmas and a happy New Year with lots to celebrate!

Christmas Spotlights

24th of December 2022

The snow that had glistened on the Swiss alps last weekend had been replaced by mud and rain everywhere in Germany in just two days. Even the southern Bavarians were lacking snow in the valleys. Constantin looked out of his window and dreamed along with Bing Crosbys „White Christmas“ before turning around. Seeing the beautiful tree they had put up and decorated with various ornaments - some in his family for generation – cheered him up significantly, especially the carefully wrapped presents underneath it. This was the one day of the year he was definitely spending inside, he shouldn’t be worrying about the weather. Consti grabbed his phone from the small table beside the sofa and took a picture of the tree before opening the WhatsApp group chat and typing:

„Merry Christmas boys. Hope you get lots of presents. Eat as much as you want, I am ready to beat you in Oberstdorf!“

Karl must have sent a picture at the same time, because right after he had sent his, he saw Karls daughter Luisa next to a tree and a new ski set as well as a Playmobil train in her arms. The accompanying message read „The christkind made someone happy here!“ Consti grinned and replied with a heart eyes emoji. The little girl was just too cute.

„Consti, you said you would prepare desert, I am counting on you“, his mother shouted for him. „Yes, move your ass“, his girlfriend added. „On my way!“ he laughed and decided not to let the weather dampen his mood again.

------

In Willingen Stephan Leyhe sat on his couch alone. He had decided not to tag along with his family which was visiting his aunt. They’ll see each other tomorrow anyway, so he just enjoyed having the quiet house for himself, reading the last pages of his current book. He finished it quite quickly and eyed the wrapped presents carefully, he suspected new books in at least two packets. Stephan grabbed his phone and he saw four notifications in the teams group chat. He smiled at the tree pictures from Consti, Karl, Andi and Severin, before adding his own.

„Merry Christmas boys! Keeping it quiet here.“

After sending the text, he wandered around the living room and started setting the table for dinner, beginning to regret staying behind. He loved his family and winter was the part of the year he spent the least time with them, even his loud younger cousins. So when he heard the key in the lock he perked up and smiled at the commotion in the hallway, where everyone was getting rid of wet shoes and coats. Quiet was nice and well, but family was always better.

------

In Switzerland Simon Amman was quite busy. They always decorated their tree on the 24th so after his wife and his kids had given up and decided it was boring, he stuck around. Adding another bauble here or there, rearranging something he didn’t like before until he was fully satisfied with it. They had a beautiful tree. He sat down in an armchair and his thoughts wandered around the last year. The ups and downs of his jumping, his shoes, his studies. And once again he wondered how it would keep going. Trying to block the last weekend in Engelberg – of all places – out of his mind, he didn’t even let the thought of the Four Hills tournament rise up. This was Christmas, the time he spent with his family. The kids were super excited to get their presents later on and hoped their wish list did make it to Santa. He had told them he was really sure, and he was, because he had been the one to go shopping and get some of the stuff on it. The absence of the much anticipated real rocket will be a slight disappointment, but he was sure they could cope with that. Simon hadn’t noticed his oldest daughter coming into the room until she spoke:

“You did a good job daddy! I like the sparkles!” He smiled, stood up and picked her up from the ground.:

“I like them too. Are you ready for the presents later?” She nodded her head vigorously and he laughed. After placing her back on the ground he followed her into the dining room where he looked at his family. No matter what his jumping was doing, he had fun doing it and would do it as long as it would let him, and if not, his life was definitely not over.

------

Killian didn’t really care for the break in the world cup. Yes it was Christmas, that was wonderful and everything, he just wanted to keep going. He just started in the World Cup in Titisee-Neustadt and it wasn’t working as well as he hoped. He was buzzing to be better in Oberstdorf and the following places. But as much as he wished it could go on he couldn’t change it. So he took another strip of sticky tape and finished wrapping the earrings he bought for Veronika. He was always late with preparing everything and she had given him an ultimatum 25 minutes ago. Time for presents was in 30 minutes, and if he didn’t finish wrapping til then he would have to endure the whole evening filled with Ariana Grandes Christmas songs on repeat. He could cope with that but would prefer a wider mix, so he was pleased with himself as he stood up and gathered the four presents.

“I’m done!” he shouted happily as he entered the living room, where his wife sat in a chair, reading on her tablet.

“Well I just have to threaten you with Ariana and you’ll actually do something!” she grinned. Killian laughed: “Oh no, I made myself vulnerable!”

He placed his presents under the tree and sat down on the floor next to it.

“Can I have my presents now?” And while they exchanged gifts and enjoyed their evening with a movie, Killian decided the break was kind of okay.

------

Manuel had loved the perfect Christmases at his parents’ house, shared with girlfriend and her family as well. But this was their first Christmas as their own family, the three, well four – counting their dog – of them alone. And it hadn’t quite been the perfect day so far. Henrik had woken them up at an unholy hour, just to fall asleep to System of a Down before noon. He then vomited up her milk on the living room floor, thankfully next to the carpet, but they had to keep the dog away from it and well, it had all been a bit chaotic. Not quite the definition of perfect he had dreamt of. Manu and Sylvie sat down on the couch with a glass of Coke each. They decided not to have alcohol with the baby being so little, in case of emergencies. He was lying in a crib next to them, now totally at peace and dreaming away. Manuel thought about his last results and the upcoming four hills tournament and he couldn’t wait to get started there. He was on a high again and this year would be great, he just knew it. And sitting there, with the twinkling lights around him, his family next to him, everything did feel perfect in the end. He was totally ready for his next tasks in the world cup.

------

In another part of Europe, precisely Finland, Antti was practising a German tradition someone in Titisee told him about. Praising the Christmas tree. You just have to look at a decorated tree and tell the owner “what a beautiful tree”, and you get a shot of liquor. After explaining it to his family he had praised three trees already and he was starting to feel the Salmiakki. Normally he didn’t drink at all, so he decided that was enough for him. And now, slightly drunk he sat in his chair and thought about the family around him and how much he loved each and everyone of them. Always supporting him in his dreams, no matter what he was doing. And when that concerned ski jumping a second group of people came to mind. The fans. They were amazing, constantly pushing him and their support encouraged him all the time. They would never let him down. Antti smiled. He hoped that each and every one of them had a brilliant, maybe slightly tipsy Christmas. Especially the one reading this.

[alpaca-clouds]

Fluffcember Day 22: Winter Sports

Yesterday's Fluffcember prompt was Winter Sports.

Fandom: SK8 THE INFINITY

Shipping: Reki/Langa

Genre: Romantic Fluff

Length: 1280 words

[Ao3 Link]

A scream. A crash. A groan. “This is nothing like skateboarding!”

Langa held out his hand to help his friend up. “It is though.”

Reki pouted, when he was back on his feet, still struggling to stay upright with the snowboard strapped to his feet. “It totally isn't.”

Looking at his own feet, Langa could not help but disagree. To him it felt kinda similar.

“The only thing this has in common is that a board is involved,” Reki continued to complain.

At this Langa sighed. “Well… I…” He shrugged. “Maybe.” He did remember of course, how many times he had fallen down learning how to skate. Considering this was Reki's first day on a snowboard, it really should not be this surprising, should it? “But I am sure you can do it!” Langa grinned at him, making Reki groan.

“I hate that I can't move my feet.” He tried to find a balance on the snowboard. Probably it did not help his pride that they were surrounded by mostly children on the small training hill.

“You get used to it.”

“You snowboarded since you were like 4!”

“It got used to not happing my feet strapped down.”

A clearly disgruntled Reki muttered something under his breath.

“Really, once you have the balance down, it gets easy.” To demonstrate Langa moved his body, until he picked up enough momentum for the board to move town the three meters of piste. From there he grinned up at Reki. “See. Easy!”

Reki shot him an angry look. He had his pride, though, and could not help but try to follow. With a small jolt, he managed to get moving, too, sliding down the slope for maybe a meter, before he pulled the board to quickly to the side, loosing his balance and once more ending up on his ass. On said ass he somehow slid down for the last two meters.

“I hate this!” he groaned.

Langa could no longer hold back his laughter. So far Reki had unceremoniously landed on his butt a total of 25 times. The first 13 of which was just by trying to stand up with the board strapped onto his feet.

Once more the fact that some of the kids had long mastered the basics were laughing at him as well did not help either.

“Don't laugh, you little runts!” Reki was yelling in Japanese, only getting confused looks from those kids.

A part of Langa felt pity for his friend. Again he offered his hand for Reki to get up. “We can take a break, if you want to.”

Reki shook his head. “No way! I won't leave here, before I master this!”

This, too, made Langa laugh. “I hoped so,” he muttered. Because really: Reki had gotten around to sharing skating with him, so he wanted to share his beloved hobby in return.

***

In the end it took Reki 18 more falls, before he managed to slide down the slope without a hitch. Langa had to wonder if maybe, really, this was not like skating at all. Because it seemed to him, that Reki had such a hard time exactly because he knew how to skate and was trying to mimic the movements, he was used to.

By the evening, even Langa was exhausted. He had not gotten to do a lot of snowboarding himself, but had been there to pick Reki up, again and again.

Still, Reki had promised: “Tomorrow we'll take on an actual piste.”

And while Langa was not as confident in Reki's new found abilities, he was looking forward to it. They would go to a beginner’s piste, but at least to one with some actual length to it, instead of the training ground for children.

Back at Lauren's house – Lauren being Langa's aunt – they both had supper before taking a good long shower. Especially Reki had been frozen, though he had insisted of letting Langa go first. Still, it did take him suspiciously long to get out of the shower.

After more than 20 minutes, Langa could not help but knock at the bathroom door. “Everything alright in there?”

A grunt was the only reply at first. Only after a second or so, Reki yelled: “I will be out in just a minute.”

“Okay,” Langa replied, before returning to the bedroom they shared. He had gotten himself a sports magazine and some sweets, making himself comfortable on the bed. It was actually 5 minutes, until Reki returned to the bedroom, only clothed in a towel around his hip.

“Langa?” he asked.

“Uhum?” Langa did not even look up from his magazine, until he heard the towel drop.

“How bad is it?” Reki asked, turning his ass to Langa, who almost let go of the paper in his hands.

He blushed. He could not help it. Even though it was stupid, given that they were both men – and had bathed in an onsen together before. That was different, though. And be it just, because they had not been alone at the onsen. “What?” was all that he managed in reply.

“My ass!” The other young man turned his head around. “How bad is it?”

“Oh.” Slowly Langa dared to lower his gaze. There was, of course, some bruising on said ass. While the winter clothing had given Reki some cushioning… well, he still landed on his ass more than 40 times. “It could be worse.”

“I can't even properly sit!”

Unsure whether to laugh or avert his gaze, Langa just gave a nervous chuckle. “You'll manage.”

Reki turning around, did not make anything better. “I won't!” the Japanese man complained. “I probably can't even sleep like this!” His hands were on the collar of Langa's leisure suit, making his face definitely too close.

Langa's cheeks burned. Without even thinking about it, he stumbled backwards – until he met the bed. It was stupid. All of this was stupid, but before he knew it, he had fallen down and Reki had fallen with him.

There they were, lying on that stupid bed with Reki full on naked. Now they were both blushing, but Reki being the idiot he was, he did not move away. Instead, they just stared at each other. Long. Breathless. Maybe Langa was the one, who should move away, who should shove Reki aside, but he didn't do that either. Instead, they stared, as the seconds flowed by.

“Uhm,” Langa made just one moment before Reki's lips met his. A stupid mistake?

Another long stare. What was even happening right now? This really was bad. They were bad. Real bad. At all of this.

Maybe one of them should say something. Anything really. But instead, it was Reki, who kissed him again, a bit hungrier this time and after just a moment of hesitation Langa returned the kiss.

Where would they be going from here?

Say something, you idiot, a voice in Langa's head urged.

“Uhm,” he started once more, because words were real hard at this time. “What…”

This time it was not Reki's lips interrupting him, but the door being opened. “You left the…” Lauren started, before seeing them like this.

She raised an eyebrow, before taking a step back. “You left the light on,” she said slowly in English. “But I see I am interrupting something so…” She moved out of the door again, closing it slowly.

“Uhm.” This was Langa's third try and he was still unable to find any words.

Then Reki started to laugh. A nervous laugh, more like a giggle. And because it was stupid – because they were stupid, both of them – Langa did not know any better, but to join in.

[yes-i-am-happyaspie]

It's been a while since I've had a nice long fic rec list cross my dash so, as my good friend said to me earlier today, I'm going to be the change I want to see.

Anyway, here are some of the in-progress Irondad fics and series been enjoying recently! (in no particular order)

❤ A Secret Or Two by Winterturtle @winter-turtle

Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings || Rated T

A single gunshot was all it took to turn the Parker family's lives upside-down. It's been rough couple of months, but Peter and May were slowly starting to pick up the pieces of their lives. For a moment, it was starting to feel normal again.

That is, until a mysterious man barged into their apartment, leading to a secret or two being revealed about both of them.

Or a (former) Shield agent May Parker fic because I couldn't find this trope anywhere.

❤ 5 times Peter Parker falls asleep in an uncomfortable position by lemonlillybee @lemonlillybee

Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings || Rated T

And 1 time he falls asleep like a normal person

❤ 5 Times Tony Tried to Be a Good Dad by InfinitesimalDna

Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings || Rated M

+1 time he knew he was.

Or, Tony trying to navigate new waters he never thought he would have to with the kid. He hopes he can handle at least one of 'em right.

❤ Social Butterfly Spidey by Jenniboo311 @jenniboo311

No Archive Warnings Apply || Rated T

A series filled with Spider-Man's adventures in social media.

❤ A New Point of View by waitingondaisies @waitingondaisies

No Archive Warnings Apply || Rated T

Peter doesn't hesitate before ditching school to go help fight the weird, purple, goo energy type stuff that's coming out of a portal over Manhattan. Perhaps he should have, though, because when he and Tony breathe the stuff in, they end up swapping bodies. With Dr. Strange not answering his phone, Peter and Tony are stuck living each others' lives for the time being. Really, though, what could go wrong?

❤ one single thread of gold by tonystarktrash

No Archive Warnings Apply || Rated M

Tony's answer to the final question of whether he would ever allow contact to be made prior to his offspring’s 18th birthday had been instinctive. Tony had checked ‘no’ and had clicked the end of the pen, satisfied by a job well done. A quiet voice at the back of his mind, the voice of his mother, had caused him to scribble over ‘no’ until the bottom of the page was almost entirely consumed by ink. Then, his handwriting cramped but legible, Tony had written yes — in case of medical emergencies or death of legal guardian(s).

a drunken dare made six years ago leads to a phone call that changes tony stark's life.

❤ Catch Your Own Happiness by truelovetakesawhile

Archive Warnings Apply! || Rated M

When Tony finds a strange, spidery experiment locked underground in a Hydra facility, he takes it upon himself to try rehabilitating a teenager who knows nothing about the outside world.

❤ The ghost at the back of your closet by niniblack @niniblack

Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings || Rated M

The DODC makes good on their threat to charge May with child endangerment, sending Peter into foster care. But in a universe where Tony Stark is still alive, his actions have repercussions as well, and May Parker isn’t the only one fighting to get custody of her child back.

Meanwhile, Peter’s left completely alone and unable to contact any of his loved ones, trying to navigate a system he thought he’d left behind after his aunt and uncle picked him up a few weeks after his parents’ deaths. And he’s absolutely not going to let anything like what happened to him happen to Morgan, no matter what he has to do to make sure she’s safe.

❤ Tales from the Tower MedBay by Call_Me_Coley @call-me-coley

No Archive Warnings Apply || Rated G

Also known as “MedBay Adventures” with a specific focus on Irondad and Spiderson, and of course some Avengers and Ironfam will be stopping by!

Or

A series of unrelated drabbles and oneshots that revolve around the Tower’s MedBay cuz if we’re being honest, you know those walls have got some stories to tell.

Please be sure to leave these amazing authors' comments and kudos!

Also! Stay tuned for a 'completed multi-chapter' and 'one-shot' rec list in the future!

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Jack Frost

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

(I know the third movie came out in the early 2000s but the first one came out in 1994 and I figured it would be easier to have all of my content from the series on one blog)

- Working in retail often came with a price: that price being that the holiday season would chew you up, spit you out, and use your blood as paint for its copious amounts of candy canes. But no retail job; not even one at Toys"R"Us, could ever compare to the responsibility of being Santa Clause’s sister.

- Like any rational human being, the moment your estranged older brother showed up on your doorstep and started ranting to you about how he was now the jolly old Saint Nick, you advised him to get his head checked.

- But, after a series of mystical events, you were forced to question everything that you knew and come to terms with the fact that you were now related to a legendary figure. Although, surprisingly enough, this new information; for the most part, had very little bearing on your day to day life; at least until he met Carol.

- While your sister-in-law loved the North Pole and everything that came with being the one and only Mrs. Clause, she also found herself craving company that was a little more …human; which is where you fit into the equation.

- You already knew about the mystical secret and were more than happy to move in and help with anything you could; especially after finding out that you were going to be an aunt, so it wasn’t long before you were running around the toy shop in hopes of easing a little bit of the couples stress.

- That was, of course, how you met Jack.

- Your first encounter with the man was pretty anticlimactic. You were barely able to say a word to him before your brother was ushering him off with a group of elves; after having quickly introduced the two of you and explained what was going on.

- Its your second meeting that has any bearing on your future relationship with the legendary figure.

- You’re going about your day, helping to make sure everything is running smoothly when Jack spots you out of the corner of his eye and decides to use the fact that you’re almost completely alone to his mischievous advantage. He “smooths back” his hair, straightens out his outfit, and makes his way over, greeting you with a cheerful smile and a comment that makes it seem as though he hadn’t just been watching you from afar.

- He’s speaking to you with the intention of getting on your good side and gaining your trust; with a hint of flirtation because he just can’t help himself, but what ends up happening is sort of the opposite of what he’d intended.

- The two of you had quickly ran out of shallow pleasantries and a sort of awkward lull had appeared in your conversation, up until you turned to him and asked if you could “ask him something you’d always wanted to know”. He, of course, agreed; he was trying to make you like him after all, and you said the question that made his heart warm over just that tiny bit: how exactly did he freeze things over in the winter?

- He probably said something along the lines of it “being a secret” but backpedaled on his teasing once you immediately accepted that answer and didn’t try to persuade him into telling you anything more. He spent the next few minutes eagerly explaining different little things about his line of work and playing off just how much effort it took in an attempt to seem even cooler.

- But you had to cut your conversation short because of some elven issue, leaving him standing in the snow, staring after you as you apologized and said goodbye; contemplating feelings he hasn’t had to think about for a very long time....

- Change of plans: he’d decided. Before he could do anything else, he needed to have you. 

- So, while he’s still going around and messing things up, he’s also taking the time to “bump into you” and get to know you better, using any excuse he can to remain by your side and pretend as though he’s only interested in being of help. 

- It’s during his helping that he tries to cause a rift between you and your brother; something he’s rather unsuccessful in doing. What he is successful in doing however, is eliciting a comment from you that would ultimately make him rethink his entire decision.  

 “But it must be hard, putting in all this work and getting no recognition for it. I mean, every child in the world knows about Santa and Mrs. Clause …but they’ve got no clue about his sister: the one who’s made everything possible. I think that in a different life, one were Scott was never Santa Clause, you would have made the perfect Mrs. Clause. Don’t you think?” He’d asked you, watching your face closely as you took in his words.  

“Oh no,” You’d laughed incredulously. “I could never. I mean, don’t get me wrong: I love helping out and making sure that Christmas is special for every little boy and girl. But to have it be my responsibility for the rest of my life? No. …No, that’s just not me.”

You paused for a moment as you thought about your next words. “I think you’re where it’s at actually. Something more subtle, more natural. I know you think you got the short end of the stick and hey, what do I know, maybe you did? But in my opinion, when that first real good snow blows in and frost freezes over the windows …well, it’s just as good as Christmas.” 

“And believe me, I’m not the only one who thinks that.” You gave him a friendly wink, finished what you were doing and headed out of the room, leaving him standing there in awe; every devious plan he’d ever come up with suddenly blown from his mind and disappearing in a cloud of snow. 

- You won’t ever know it, but you were singlehandedly responsible for saving Christmas that year. 

- After changing his mind about becoming Santa Clause, Jack had instead chosen to right his wrongs; if only to make himself out to be a hero in the trying times that he had caused. 

- He was also forced to continue on with his community service though he didn’t mind it all that much. If he didn’t have work to do, he’d have no reason to be in the North Pole, and if he wasn’t there, he didn’t have a chance of seeing you any time soon. 

- And see you he did! Any time he had the chance, he would find a way to be at your side, making conversation about anything and everything and trying his hand at any sort of flirtation he could manage. 

- After some time, you grow rather used to his innuendos, compliments, and teasing. In fact, you even start to return the favor; which is how the two of you end up sharing your first kiss.

- You’re both alone in a room together. It’s an occurrence that’s become rather common, except this time, you’re teasing him: repeatedly calling him Mr. Frost after he’d made some comment about how he loved the way you said it. 

- He’s all smiles while you say it but you miss the way his eyes keep drifting down to your lips; unaware of what he’s thinking about until his cold hand cups your face and abruptly pulls you into a kiss. 

- When you pull away, you’re breathless and all you can manage to say is that his lips are cold before you let out a small laugh and coyly remove yourself from him, casting a playful look in his direction as you leave the room. Oh how proud of himself he was. 

- Lets just hope that Scott’s become a little more receptive to the thought of his baby sister dating because this one isn’t gonna be easy to “confess” either way. 

- There’s almost always some form of pda at play whenever you’re with Jack in public. You could probably argue that it’s because he’s; somewhat, possessive of you but there’s a multitude of other reasons as to why he just can’t keep his hands to himself: bragging rights, being alone for so long, annoying Scott, etc. 

- He craves affection like nothing else. Having you hanging all over him is the highlight of his day and does wonders to his self esteem; and ego. 

- His arm is constantly wrapped around your waist. 

- Nose boops. 

- Hand kisses. 

- You know those stereotypical old Hollywood kisses: the ones that are deep and passionate and aggressively intimate at times? Those are the types of kisses that you get from Jack a lot of the time. 

- I have a feeling that he’s cold to the touch: like if any part of him were to touch you, it would give you goosebumps. I mean, if he’s capable of freezing his clothing and hair, then chances are he’s going to make you shiver at least a little bit. 

- Because of that, it’s kind of hard to cuddle with him but that’s never stopped you before. You might have to wear two sweaters at a time and lay on a heating pad but by god, you’re gonna do it. 

- So, speaking of cuddling: most of the time, when you’re doing it, you’re snuggled into his side with his arm wrapped around or with him acting as the big spoon. 

- Soo many pet names are used in your relationship; both for him and for you. He loves hearing you say his name but he also loves when you have specific little things that you call him. And he loves to call you pet names: things like kitten, honey, snowflake, etc. 

- I mean this in the nicest way possible: ya’ll are disgusting. You are that couple who constantly flirts with each other: growling and making animal noises, staring into each others eyes, acting like there’s no one else in the room. That’s just how Jack is and because of that, you’ll start doing it to. 

- He genuinely brags about you all of the time. You’re pretty sure that you’ve developed a few enemies purely because of how annoyingly proud of you he is and how much he speaks about you to people who couldn’t care less.

- The amount of flattery that comes out of his mouth when it comes to you is baffling. But be careful, some of his flattery is used to butter you up before he tells you something that’s guaranteed to upset you in one way or another.

- He seeks your validation and praise constantly. He might as well be considered an expert at fishing for compliments: though granted, he’s pretty transparent any time he does it so perhaps he isn’t technically an “expert”.

- Anything he does is shown off to you in hopes of receiving your admiration. He’s constantly bragging and peacocking for your attention: tweaking stories to make himself seem cooler, finding new tricks that he can demonstrate, working extra hard at making someplace especially pretty just so he can take you there and see that special little twinkle in your eye; it’s very important to him that you find him impressive.

- Any talent that you may or may not have will be used for his own gain in one way or another. Sometimes he’ll ask you to help him with his plans, other times he’ll just have you use them to stroke his ego; either way he benefits and you’re usually too flattered to care. You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to date him anyway so you really can’t complain.

- Just don’t trust him if he seems too insistent on doing something nice because chances are he has ulterior motives. He’s an opportunistic little shit and as much as he loves you, he’s still going to be mischievous and focused on some kind of self fulfillment plan.

- Being sort of like his secretary at times. He’s always wanted to be “the man in charge” and to have people who respected and/or worked under him but he never really had a reason to have them; nor were there people volunteering for the job. So once you get together and show an interest in helping him, he immediately eats it up and appoints you “his elf”.

- That being said: any time he gets a little too cocky about you helping him out, all you have to do is give him a look and he adds a somewhat nervous “please” to whatever he’d borderline ordered you to do.

- He loves the whole “honey I’m home!” thing: like getting that hello/goodbye kiss as he walks through the door and having you there waiting for him; his own beautiful adoring wife.

- Receiving surprise flowers. 

- Him making you little figures out of ice as gifts. 

- Candlelit dinners.

- Occasionally walking with him while he goes around and freezes everything over. It’s fascinating to watch how he does it and he enjoys having your company. 

- Sitting by an open fire. It’s a nice way to combat how constantly cold he is. 

- Tropical vacations and hanging out at his condo. 

- Is there a way for Jack Frost to make money? I’m not sure. Will he find a way to spoil you either way? Probably: he’s obviously not opposed to making a little mischief so why wouldn’t he make some for your sake?

- Him making you cocoa. 

- Jack Frost gives off malewife energy and I refuse to believe that he doesn’t cook or bake for you; at least on occasion. I get that he was purposefully trying to entice those elves but I feel like there was definitely a bit of culinary knowledge behind those vivid cocoa descriptions.

- Going ice skating whenever and wherever you want. 

- Now I’m not saying that Lucy is singlehandedly responsible for global warming, but I am saying that I feel like there’d be repercussions from Jack Frost being permanently unfrozen. So with that in mind, I raise you the idea of him still being his icy little self but whenever you make him particularly happy, his roots start to poke through and his eyebrow icicles start to melt a bit. 

- I don’t think that Jack is a particularly dated person but I do feel like he’d probably be a bit oblivious to some new age technology or things that you can experience in the modern world. I’m sure he isn’t routinely walking down the streets of Manhattan looking the way that he does so chances are you get to introduce him to more than a few new and exciting; or not so exciting, things. 

- If you aren’t living with him then prepare for a lot of random visits because he won’t be able to help himself; especially if he’s in the neighborhood while taking care of business. 

- That being said: you probably wind up moving in together and becoming neighbors with Scott in the North Pole. 

- Ohh to be a fly on the wall when you finally tell Scott about your relationship. You’d probably tried to break the news to him gently; dancing around what you’d wanted to say before he managed to piece together what you were getting at. He’d smiled and congratulated you, asking when he’d get to meet the guy; up until Jack wrapped an arm around you with a shit eating grin and said something along the lines of “about that~”. 

- Jack messes with him constantly. Before the two of you even get married, he starts calling him brother or brother in law just to receive the typical  “not yet” or “don’t” sorts of comments. Sometimes he’d be genuine in his actions but most of the time he’d just do it to bother him; because what’s more infuriating then your rival offering you valid advice and having to admit that they’re right?

- Jack really isn’t a family oriented person but he’d force himself to be one if only to fuck with Scott. If you were anyone else, he would have probably never bothered to attend your family get togethers or be involved in your nephews life or take family photos, but since it subtly annoys the man he thinks of as his rival, he’s become dedicated towards making the rest of your family love him.

- He knows exactly how to push your buttons and you lovingly despise him for it. 

- He’s genuinely kind of scared of you when you’re actually mad; either at him or someone/something else. He’s sort of spineless so as much as he likes to talk a big game, when he’s really put to the test, he folds like a cheap suitcase under pressure. 

- Letting him rant to you and trying your best to seem empathetic. Yes darling, it is ridiculous that you don’t have your own holiday. Yes, you’re a very crucial part of the season. Yes, you deserve more recognition for the work that you do.

- Trying your best to be a good influence and stop him from doing the wrong thing. You’re pretty much the only reason he’s begun to try and be nice to people so congratulations, you’re slowly melting his icy heart.

- Just having you in his line of sight calms him down. He could be two seconds away from turning somebody into an ice sculpture but if you were to walk into the room, he’d immediately brighten up and greet you as if nothing happened.

- Making him actually think through his decisions so that he doesn’t get kicked out of the legendary council. Mother nature personally sends you a fruit basket every year in gratitude over you keeping him on a leash.

- He’s obviously a pretty jealous person: he’s worried that you’ll start to overlook him and find someone better which causes him to look too deep into things and misconstrue a lot of the interactions that you have with other people. After you return to his side, he won’t know how to deal with his emotions and will probably end up making passive aggressive comments until you explain that you really aren’t into that person and that you only love him.

- Jack is a complete and total coward who would use you as a meat shield if there were ever any form of danger nearby. He loves you but the most important person to Jack is Jack.

- The two of you get into quite a few arguments; most of them being entirely his fault. He’s pretty hot tempered for such a chill guy so he tends to say things that he’ll regret later on or lose his cool and yell at you.

- He’ll always do whatever he can to make it up to you because he genuinely can’t stand it when you’re not talking to him. He has a way of worming his way back into your heart so you aren’t usually able to stay mad at him for very long, but if need be, he isn’t above snowing you in so that you can’t storm out on him before he resolves things.

- Like I said before: y’all are disgusting and exactly the type of couple to do the whole “love you more” thing for a solid minute and a half.

- He’s looking forward to making you Mrs. Frost as soon as possible so don’t be surprised when he pulls out the ring.

[ramzawrites]

Just a day with MICHAEL and wine aunt y/n?

Babysitter Y/N Is On The Case

GN

Pairings: none

Characters included: Ranboo, Tubbo, Michael, Fundy, Philza

Warnings: While this is Gender Neutral, Reader refers to themself as Aunt/ gets referred to as aunt by others

Series: a request drabble!

Summary: Y/N was asked to play babysitter for Michael so of course who would they be if they didn’t bring some toys with them or tell him some funny stories about his parents.

Words count: 3103

Authors Note: I’m sorry I wasn’t sure what kind of pronouns you wanted me to use so I stuck to Gender Neutral but Reader still gets referred to as Aunt. 

I also was really excited to write it but lost steam halfway through, I apologize but it did help me get back into writing after being stuck with studying so much! So thanks for that!

Ranboo was sitting on the ground. Busy watching Michael draw with crayons on scraps of paper. He was currently making his own rendition of a family portrait and Ranboo couldn’t help but be amused with the way he drew him, Ranboo, and his best friend Tubbo.

He was tall, sure, but seeing how Michael drew clouds right next to his face was for some reason quite comical to him.

Tubbo was pacing the room up and down. His thoughts lingering on something else. Foolish was currently building their new home, a mansion to be exact, and he needed their help to map some stuff out.

At first the two wanted to bring Michael with them but Foolish brought up that a construction site might not be the safest place for a toddler. So, the two had to find a babysitter. It would be the first time they entrusted someone else with their adopted child and it made both of them nervous to say the least.

This place didn’t have the best track record when it came to important things like that and yet they still found someone who they felt like they could trust.

It was none other than Y/N.

Y/N did help the two numerous times. They were always there when trouble arose and they made their best effort to help the two through it. Both Tubbo and Ranboo felt close enough to them to even consider them family.

Ranboo mentioned this off handedly the day Y/N first met Michael and they looked shocked but also as if they were about to melt right then and there. It was this reaction that reaffirmed to them that, yes, they could trust Y/N.

A knock made Tubbo finally stop pacing and instead he practically sprinted down towards to the front door. Ranboo wanted to roll his eyes towards Tubbo’s agitated state but he felt similar. He just had more experience on how to hide it.

When Tubbo finally opened the door he was met by a smiling Y/N. They were holding a small bag in their hands as they gave Tubbo a short hug as a greeting.

“Hello, Tubbo! Babysitter Y/N is here and ready to take care of my little nephew Michael.”

A bit overwhelmed Tubbo let them in and closed the door, shutting away the cold winter air “Nephew?”

“Well you two told me that I’m somewhat like family to you, so, that would make Michael my nephew, definitely not grandson. So nephew.”

Tubbo just stared at Y/N for a short moment “I- I guess?”

Frankly he was a bit confused with how enthusiastic Y/N seemed to be about this whole situation. On one hand it was proof to him that Y/N did indeed take this somewhat serious and on the other hand this seems like it could somehow spell trouble.

Shaking off his confusion Tubbo began making his way up back into Michael’s room, closely followed by Y/N.

“Ranboo! How are you!” Y/N greeted the Enderman Hybrid as they softly put down the bag.

Michael looked up from his drawing and let out a happy squeak as soon as he noticed Y/N. He slowly got up and stumbled his way towards them and effectively hugged their leg as a greeting.

Y/N giggled as they slowly knelt down and put one hand on his head, ruffling through his bristle like hair “Hello, Sweetie. I’m happy to see you as well.”

“So, um, we need to go then. We made some extra food and put it to the side. Please don’t give Michael too much cookies or too much from the cake. He likes to-“ Ranboo begun to ramble off but Y/N interrupted him.

“Don’t worry, Ranboo. You won’t be gone for weeks. It’s only a day, probably even just a few hours. Nothing will happen to him. I’ll make sure of that.”

“Okay, but don’t let anyone else close to him, okay? Especially not Fundy. He has threatened him before!” Tubbo added.

Y/N put their hand above their heart “I hereby swear that I will protect little Michael with my life and make sure no harm will come to him while you two deal with your own business. Now, go.”

They were now physically pushing the two towards the stairs.

“You are awfully forceful today.” Ranboo noted, now worried after all that they chose Y/N as the babysitter.

Even so the two begun making their way down away from Michael’s room, all the while Y/N would continue push and poke them towards the door.

They scoffed “I’m not being forceful I’m helping you guys out. Besides, do you want to let poor Foolish waiting?”

“Alright, Alright! We are going! But should anything bad happen to Michael… Just saying, I have extra nukes.”

“Tubbo!”

But Y/N just rolled their eyes “I know. Don’t worry. Really. You guys have been good to me so I want to repay your kindness. Besides I have gotten quite attached to the little gremlin as well.”

Finally the two seemed to relax and grabbed their jackets as they walked out of the door. Y/N waved them goodbye and softly closed the door once they couldn’t see them anymore.

Now with the two parents gone Y/N made their way back to Michael, not wanting him to be alone for too long.

Back in his room Y/N found Michael staring out the window, probably watched as his parents left the home without him. Usually at least one person would stay behind so it must have been a surprise for him to see both of his parents leave at the same time.

He let out a few sad squeaks as he desperately tried to jump around, hoping he could somehow find his parents again if he just took a better look.

“Hey, it’s fine. They’ll come back and while they are gone I’m taking care of you, alright?” Y/N begun speaking, hoping he would turn his attention towards them instead the outside but he ignored them.

Y/N stepped closer, sitting down on the ground next to him while he was standing on the tip of his hooves, holding on to the corner of the windows with his hands.

Carefully Y/N stretched out a hand to Michael’s shoulder in order to gain his attention this way and it seemed to work. He let go off the window and instead twisted around to look his babysitter in the face. Both his eyes wide and glossy. Michael seemed to be close to tears.

“They will be back soon I promise, alright? In the meantime we can hang out!”

He still seemed to be close to tears and sad squeaks where still leaving his mouth so Y/N decided then and there it was time for their special weapon.

As Y/N got back up they held their hand out for Michael who slowly put his hand into theirs. Together they walked towards the brown bag Y/N brought with them.

An almost mischievous smile made it’s way on their face as Y/N opened up the bag in a way that Michael could look inside.

His expression immediately lightened up. The gloss seemed to disappear and instead he looked like he was in awe. He took his hand out of Y/N’s and moved it inside the bag only to stop and look Y/N into their eyes. Obviously asking for permission.

Ranboo and Tubbo really did a good job when it came to teaching Michael manners apparently which surprised Y/N a tiny bit. For some reason they suspected that Ranboo played a bigger role in this than Tubbo though.

Y/N nodded “Go ahead. I got them for you after all.”

Excited Michael almost dove into the bag as he got the little toys out. They were just simple wooden toys like horses, people and the like but still hard to come by around in this place. He sprayed them out on the ground only to take a closer look at the figures that seemed to represent certain people.

There were four of them. One looking like Ranboo, Tubbo, Michael and of course one looked like Y/N. They had to admit part why they did this was to bribe Michael but only a tiny bit. He was adorable and they did get kind of attached to this young Pigling as well so giving him gifts like that was only natural, right?

He grabbed all four of them and hugged them close to his chest, his gaze once again on Y/N’s face with a pleading expression.

“Yeah, they are yours! Just remember who got you them.” It felt like their heart was swelling up in their chest as they watched Michael hugging the piece that looked like them.

To Y/N’s sudden surprise Michael softly put the wooden dolls down, got up only to crash back into Y/N, hugging their body with his tiny arms. His previous sad squeaks exchanged by happy grunts.

“Alright. You want to play a bit? Read something? Or would you want me to tell you stories about your parents? Don’t get me wrong they are amazing but they are also idiots.”

Curious Michael looked back up which gave Y/N the chance to boop him on his little snout “Embarrassing stories about your parents it is then.” Which resulted in Michael to let out a sequence of grunts that mirrored a giggle.

Michael moved back away from Y/N and sat down on the ground. Grabbing the figure that represented Y/N as well as a brown horse.

“What could I tell you about... There is so much. Oh, if I tell you about that I think both Tubbo and Ranboo will kill me. Then again. You can keep a secret right?”

Without hesitation Michael nodded enthusiastically as he continued to play around with his new toys.

“Let’s start then.”

For the next hour or so Y/N begun telling stories about Ranboo and Tubbo. At first they only wanted to tell him about the little embarrassing things they did but it soon turned into a bit of a nostalgia trip for them. Briefly talking about how L’Manberg started, Tubbo’s presidency, Ranboo’s first day in the SMP and all the hijinks in between.

They made sure to let out the bad parts and mainly concentrated on the funny bits and pieces in between all the stressful situations and wars they have been through. That was something they didn’t feel like they had the right to talk about. Not without talking with Ranboo and Tubbo about it.

During all of that Michael was patiently listening though he was still rolling around on the ground playing with his new toys. Whenever Y/N thought he might not be listening anymore he let out a few squeaks urging them to keep on going.

The two new parents probably have never talked much with Michael about what they have been up to before they adopted him. To them there was a lot of pain connected to their past so instead they tried to work on their future instead. A future that involved Michael and hopefully a happier one.

For Y/N it wasn’t that different to be honest. They were right there at the beginning of it after all but when it came to the two parents they could tell Michael probably better than they themselves about the funny little bits in their past.

The time went on and at some point Y/N stopped telling stories and instead joined Michael in him playing with his new toys. He was also very adamant about the fact that Y/N used the Y/N-Doll while they played out scenarios like fighting off zombies.

It has already been after mid-day when Y/N came over to babysit so it didn’t take long for the sun to slowly set, soon the world turned dark.

When Tubbo and Ranboo first talked with them about Y/N babysitting they also made sure to tell them that once the sun is down it’s bed time for Michael which was a rule Y/N tried to follow at first.

“It’s bed time Michael. You can play later with the dolls but this is one of the rules your parents set up for me.”

He just put his arms in front of his chest and huffed out an annoyed grunt, still holding on to the toys.

Y/N smirked “Man, you sure are lucky that cool auntie Y/N is here. Let’s move bed time another hour or two but if your parents come home soon you have to get in bed asap?”

Once again Michael was enthusiastically nodding.

When Tubbo and Ranboo did finally came home again they heard a ton of noise coming from upstairs as the door fell shut. They were tired from the visit to the mansion since it took longer than expected. Foolish took the chance with them there to properly map out all the rooms. And with properly map out it really meant thoroughly.

He was so happy to see them since apparently having to build all this while having to guess how to build the rooms was a stressful endeavor. So, as much as they missed Michael and worried for him, they felt the need to stay and help out Foolish as much as possible.

He really seemed to be on the edge of losing his mind.

Though now they were curious why in the world they heard a rumbling from upstairs and Tubbo, determined as he is, climbed up the ladder as fast as he could.

Though all he saw in the room were toys strewn around, Michael in his bed with his eyes closed, clearly taking in deep breaths as if he was just running around while Y/N sat next to the bed with a book open upside down in their hand.

Ranboo was now joining the group as well, his expression showing his confusion to this situation.

“Ah, uh, hey! How was the day with Foolish? As you can see I got the kid some toys, I hope that is alright.”

“Michael?” Tubbo asked and to Y/N’s detriment his ears twitched for a moment and he clearly squinted his eyes even closer shut.

Now Tubbo turned to Y/N with his hands on both of his sides, his eyebrows turned down into a frown “Y/N!”

“We told you he had a strict bed time!” Ranboo chimed in.

Y/N set the book down and got up “Yes, you are right. I should have listened. I am sorry. He was just so happy with the toys! Anyways, I have to go now as well. Hope you guys aren’t too angry with me since babysitting him was a ton of fun. If you need my help again don’t hesitate to ask me.”

And with that they made their way out of the house. Ignoring the call outs from the two. Effectively fleeing.

While they were not thrilled that Y/N let him stay up way past his bedtime nothing really bad happened to him hence why in the end they had to admit that Y/N was a good choice for a babysitter.

So whenever the need for a babysitter arose they still asked Y/N to fill that role.

Of course whenever they appeared they would bring in more presents. Either more toys or things like books and building blocks. Over time Michael seemed to be mostly interested in the little dolls that depicted actual people from the SMP so Y/N made sure to at least bring always one little doll over whenever they visited him.

Telling him fun little stories about them and who they were. At some point this turned into their favorite little tradition with the Piglin kid.

This seemed to also be the same case for Michael judging by one little instance.

They were visiting Michael once again, this time carrying a Ghostbur-Doll with them only to meet Philza and Fundy at Tubbo’s and Ranboo’s place. They were all deep in a discussion concerning Michael which Y/N used to sneakily hand him his new toy which he happily put next to his others.

Both Philza and Fundy have visited Michael a few times already as far as Y/N knew but not as often as they themself did.

“Oh, good that you are here, Y/N. I ‘ve been wondering something.” Fundy suddenly approached them, missing the subtle gift exchange just beforehand.

Y/N raised one of their eyebrows, somehow sensing trouble from him “Hey, Fundy. Hello Philza, Tubbo, Ranboo. Sorry that I’m late? Didn’t expect to see Fundy and Phil here.”

Ranboo scratched the back of his neck nervously “Yeah, we didn’t as well. It just kind of happened.”

“I get that. Either way it’s nice to see them. What is it that you were wondering about Fundy?” Y/N turned back to the Fox Hybrid at the last part.

He had a mischievous smile on his face which didn’t seem to only worry Y/N but the other residents in the room as well “You have not been the only one visiting Michael from time to time, so we have to settle one thing. Who is the better aunt or uncle.”

“Just ask him then.” Philza threw in, sounding somehow tired of Fundy already.

This seemed to pull Michaels attention back towards the adults. Ignoring his new toy for now but still holding on to it.

Y/N didn’t want to show it but a satisfied smile appeared on their face. They had it on good authority what Michael would probably go for.

Fundy knelt down on the ground, so Y/N followed suit.

“Hey little guy. Uncle Fundy has been wondering who you like more. The super cool fox dude? Or the boring Y/N?”

Normally Y/N would have said something against it but instead they just rolled their eyes and made sure to put on a soft smile for Michael. No words were needed.

When Michael looked at bit unsure on what to do Tubbo let out a weary sigh, probably tired of Fundy’s hijinks “Go ahead Michael. Don’t worry no one will get mad it is just a question.”

“You- You don’t need to answer if you don’t want to.” Ranboo tried to further calm Michael’s worry down but before he even properly ended the sentence the kid was already on the move.

Without even hesitating he ran into Y/N arms. Y/N put their arms softly around him and ruffled through his hair “Yeah! Suck it Fundy! I’m the better one! Hah!”

“Y/N!” both Tubbo and Ranboo exclaimed angrily at the same time but Y/N just continued to snicker as Fundy got back up and begun sulking in a corner. Philza was of course busy laughing.

There was no way that Fundy even stood a chance against Y/N from the very beginning.

“This was unfair! They clearly bribed him! Look at all the toys he got from them!” Fundy exclaimed angrily.

“All is fair in love or war, Fundy.” Philza reminded him between him laughing.

[meredithdoesfandoms]

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PARTY WILL BE LIKE AS GROWN ADULTS?? I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW YOUR HEAD CANONS!!!

THIS IS SO BROAD GAHHHHH

byler- yall know im an absolute sucker for the Writer Mike™️ and Artist Will™️ hc. they definitely leave hawkins ASAP and go to university together. they always wanted to live in a bigger city, both because of the art scene, and because larger cities are usually more queer friendly. the problem is that will absolutely hates the cold, but also doesnt want to go back to california, or live in the south. basically he’s just a picky little bitch. honestly fuck it, ik the winters are cold but lets stick em in new york. mike gets him through the winter, and they keep their tiny little shoebox apartment at like 80F. (thats a good bit warmer than room temperature for those of u who dont use Freedom Units™️)

dustin- goes to UI and gets his masters. he works in like communications engineering for a while (is that like a thing? like he engineers different radio waves and forms of communication.) he then moves to indianapolis and becomes ur insanely cool high school science teacher. his coworkers think he’s fuckin weird, but the students LOVE him. I THINK HE AND SUZIE ARE LIKE HELLA ENDGAME. they live together and have a bunch of weird ass pets, and like 2 kids MAX. hes just suburban and happy :)

lumax- california lumax. i always imagined lucas working a pretty standard 9-5. not because hes a dull character, but he grew up in a stable home, and after everything max has been through, he wants her to feel secure and happy, like he did before everything went to shit. i have no fucking idea what max would do. lowkey i always hc her as being crazy good with kids, OH MY GOD WHAT IF SHE IS LIKE A PEDIATRIC TRAUMA COUNSELOR. im fucking genius that is so max. NO BETTER YET SHES A SOCIAL WORKER. because the system fucked her over, and nobody ever listened to her, so she advocates for children the way she wished someone did for her as a kid. this is canon because i say so fuck you. lumax doesnt plan to have kids, max has witnessed too many tragedies involving children, and cannot handle having her own. but they foster teenagers every once and while. then they foster one girl who’s a bit younger than normal, maybe 8. and then they accidentally fall in LOVE with this kid and fuck it, we’re adopting her she’s one of us now. and theyre a little family and its cute and max teaches her how to surf :))

el- this always interests me because i dont know what her life could even look like? depending on s5 outcomes things could look like 10 different ways. ik she isnt a strong student, so i like to think she goes to community college to see what she likes, because shes never really had a chance to explore that. i hope she finds something that makes her happy i fucking love this bitch. i saw an hc where she worked at the library in hawkins, so maybe she does that while she does community college classes. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YALL THINK SHE WOULD STUDY I CAN SEE LIKE 10 DIFFERENT THINGS. eventually she moves to california, to the same city as lumax. lumax’s kid calls her aunt jane, and they have dinners together and are happy because they all deserve the world ok.

the party remains intact to an extent. byler lives together, lumax lives together, and el lives in the same city as lumax. everyone reunites for the holidays, when will brings mike with him, and el brings lumax with her when they go home for Hopper- Byers christmas. dustin typically makes an effort to stop by while he is in town visiting his mother. even tho theyre in different cities, el and will talk on the phones every damn day. usually once, sometimes like 5 times daily. mike and el talk about once or twice a week, and byler talks to lumax about every other day. dustin creates a little bit more distance, but he makes an effort to call each person for at least an hour a week. there’s a lot of love between all of them :)

[mindofharry]

In which you’re sam’s sister and bucky definitely has a crush on you.

this is my first piece for bucky, so i’m super excited and hope you like it!!! smut and fluff :D feedback is welcome as always. enjoy! <3

You loved being home.

After the blip happened and it felt like nothing was right anymore, you and sarah became closer than ever. You, sam and sarah have always been close. You’re those sort of siblings. You and sarah would sneak out together, top and tail on the boat and most importantly take absolute shit about your brother sam. But he did it right back.

Your parents raised you well.

The blip happened and sarah felt all alone. Actually, she was all alone except for her two boys. You got the first plane back home and immediately became like the boys’ second mom. You’re the cool aunt. The good cop. The boys absolutely adore you, the same way they adore sam. They just don’t see him as much as you and sarah would like. It’s not his fault, he’s off being a superhero or whatever.

You’re still not completely sure what he does. Flying? Fighting? Putting away bad guys? Who knows. And honestly, now, you’re past the point of caring.

Sam came home, said he’d take care do stuff and then he upped and left again. But it’s superhero stuff, sarah said. To cut him some slack. So that’s exactly what you’re trying to do now as you watch sam absolutely destroy the boat. You’re over with a clipboard, helping sarah tick things off, double checking everywhere is where they’re supposed to be. Sam is meant to be fixing up the boat, so you can sell it.

Not that you want to.

But he’s definitely making it worse.

A tall, brunette man comes over to your brother, helping and teaching how to mend that specific part of the boat. You bit your lip looking at the way the brunettes muscles bulged and the way his veins popped.

Veins? Seriously? You’re really finding vein attractive right now. You can tell that sam and the mysterious man are somewhat friendly, but you can almost feel the tension and you’re a good bit away from them.

“Y/N?” Sarah called again, getting fed up. You were too distracted looking at the hunk fixing the boat. Sarah followed your eyeline and then understood why you were distracted. She hummed and put down the cup in her hand, dragging you along the pier to the boat. You didn’t even register what was happened until halfway there.

“Sarah, what are you doing?” You asked shaking her hand, sarah just giggled shaking her head. You deserved this. Sarah wasn’t going to let you talk yourself out of this one, not for her or the boys. You always did this and although sarah appreciated you not bringing random people back home, she wouldn’t mind you going out and finding some new friends. Sarah always feared that she was holding you back, especially after the blip.

“I’m helping you out” She whispered as you both came into view of the boys. Sam saw the look on sarah’s face first. Oh shit, he thought. Sarah didn’t know when to stop meddling or when was the right time to do shit like this. Sam was not going to let either of his sister go out with bucky barnes.

Not happening.

Bucky hadn’t seen a woman more beautiful then you before. Your hair is natural, curly but you suited it. It went right around your round face ending at your shoulders. Your eyes are blue and bright, nothing like Sams. But Bucky can tell your all siblings from your cheeks, they’re like apples.

Sam looked at Bucky and saw him looking you up and down, Sarah was trying to be discreet so were you and maybe sam would’ve fell for it, if you and Bucky weren’t eye fucking each other.

“I’m sarah” Sarah said, giving bucky a welcoming smile. Bucky smiled back nodding his head, and then looked to you. You placed one hand on your hip and the other hand was still holding onto the clipboard.

“Y/N” You said smiling at him, more flirtatious. Bucky bit his lip and leaned against the boat machinery.

“Bucky” He replied quickly, sam looked over at sarah and then the two. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. You tutted at sam, before sarah pulled you away from the two boys. You both giggled all the way back to your ‘station’.

Sam looked at bucky, as bucky watched you walk away. The sway in your hips even made him hard.

“Do not flirt with my sister” Sam said and bucky rolled his eyes.

“Of course”

Bucky walked off, leaving sam to stand there and try to piece together what just happened. You and bucky? His sister and the winter soldier?

Not fucking happening.

You and sarah arrived home, the boys came home about an hour later. The neighbourhood always helps out with schools runs and just looking after the boys, you and sarah always make sure to do the same. Some of these people helped raise you and your siblings. It’s the least you guys could do.

“You have any homework?” You asked, placing a hand on your nephews head. He shook his head and continued to eat.

You loved those boys to death. You’d do anything for them.

After helping with dinner and helping the boys get ready for bed, you decide that maybe heading to bed early would be nice. You haven’t been getting much sleep lately, not with sam out with those dangerous flag smashers. Something about them doesn’t sit right with you. But you understand that sam has a job to do, you’ll just have to get over it.

“I’m heading to bed” Sam said, poking his head inside your room. You were laying on top of your bed, comfy clothes on. You smiled and got up, going to hug your brother.

“I missed you” You said and sam sighed holding you tighter. “You know i always miss you more” Sam teased kissing your forehead.

“My friend, from the boat, bucky is staying over just for tonight. If you go down, make him feel welcome. not too welcome though” Sam warned, pulling back from the hug and pointing his index finger at you. You shrugged and leaned against the wall.

“Can’t promise anything, Sammy” You said and Sam rolled his eyes, before walking off to his room mumbling some gibberish. Probably annoyed at the comment you made. His friend is hot, and you can just tell from looking at him that he has a big dick.

Bucky barnes has bde. Big dick energy. There’s no denying that.

You walk over to your bed and curse yourself when you see there’s no water on your bedside table. It takes you even longer to sleep without a nice glass of cold water, you don’t know why but it’s been like that since you were a child.

That means you have to go down and see bucky.

You have no idea why you’re so nervous. Well, you do, he’s hot. But he’s sam friend. But he’s hot.

You contemplate for a good five minutes, before deciding that you’ll get your drink. This is your house and you’re both adults. You can do this, say hi, get your drink and then go to bed. It’s easy enough.

You open your door and make your way down to the kitchen, to get to the kitchen you have to walk through the living room. Where bucky is.

He probably doesn’t even remember your name, relax you told yourself. You opened the living room door and was met with a wide awake bucky. He was still clothed (thank god), laying on his back watching tv. He looked up immediately when he saw you.

“Did i wake you, i’m sorry” He apologised sitting up trying to find the remote.

“No, no i was just coming down to get a drink” You said, cursing yourself at how shaking your voice was. Bucky definitely heard the tumble in your words, he smirked to himself.

You grew a little more confident with that. As you walked into the kitchen, you swayed yours hips a bit more and bent down to get a glass. You made sure bucky could see. You heard him groan under his breath. Fuck, he sounds so good.

“Can i sit?” You asked and bucky nodded quickly, moving over on the couch. He was watching some stupid drama show, you could tell he really didn’t understand it. It was endearing to say the least.

“I-“

“So-“

You both laughed, you looked down at your water.

“So, are you and sam close?” Bucky asked and you nodded. “Yeah, all of us are. We were definitely those siblings” You said and bucky nodded.

“Were?” He asked and you shrugged, looking down at your water again. “Sams a superhero. He’s got more important things to do. Sarah and i stayed close, but sam just drifted. But we’re getting better again” You said, and bucky nodded kind of understanding. It was the same with him and steve when they met again. They drifted, but they put in the work.

But then steve left.

“How are things with you?” You asked and bucky sighed.

You knew you weren’t going to get an honest answer, so you didn’t push when he didn’t answer.

A few minutes passed, no one talked. And then, bucky looked over at you. You were looking at the tv, laughing softly. Your eyes lit up and your smile was huge.

“You’re beautiful” Bucky whispered and you looked over at him, eyes widened. “So are you” You whispered moving closer to him. Bucky took the water out of your hand and placed it on the floor, before looking back up at you.

“Can i kiss you?” He asked and you whimpered nodding your head. “Please” You said and bucky, crashed his lips into yours. You moaned quietly, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. His lips are soft, warm and inviting. You never want to stop kissing him.

He pecks your lip, moving so he could take your shirt off. You were bare, your tits out and bucky couldn’t keep his eyes off of them.

“Sit back” You ordered, taking his shirt off, then sitting on his lap. You had your knees on either side of bucky, your hands on his shoulders. His eye were wide and he was dying to kiss you. Fuck, he was already so infatuated by you. He wished he knew you before. Before everything. Before the winter solider, before all the wars even before steve.

“I’m going to ride you” You said and bucky nodded, pecking your lips three times. You bit your lips trailing your kisses down his neck, he moaned and you shushed him.

“Don’t want anyone hearing us, ok?”

You sit up to remove your shorts and bucky chuckled, “No underwear?” He asked and you shrugged. “Had a feeling i was going to get fucked tonight” You said and buckys eyes almost rolled to the back of his, he could cum his from your dirty words.

You moaned as bucky pressed his thigh against your core. Buckys hands were on your hips, guiding you on which to go with your hips. His jeans were hitting just the right place. You rock your hips down against his thigh, opening up your eyes to see bucky already looking at you and biting back a moan.

“Now are you going to fuck me or not?”

Bucky wasted no time in take his pants off. You nearly toppled off the couch and that made you giggle loudly, bucky put his hand over your mouth to stop you. God, you liked that way more than you probably should of.

Buckys tip teased your bundle of nerves, slowly inching himself in. You moaned and through your head back in pleasure. He was huge, and you were going to be really fucking sore, but it is so worth it. You begin to move, bucking your hips up, that makes bucky groan and then it’s your turn to put your hand over buckys mouth.

Oddly, he likes it too.

Bucky guides you down on his cock again, a little more rough this time kneading your ass cheeks. You whimpered bouncing up and down. He slapped your ass and you moaned, bringing your down to his shoulder to bite it. Fuck, so much pleasure all at once.

It’s euphoric.

Bucky took this as his opportunity to pound up into you. He’s never felt this close with someone before.

“I’m gonna cum” You said and bucky nodded.

“Gonna cum together” Bucky said sternly.

You both hit your climax at the same time, your shaking and buckys mind is in another dimension leaning against the back of the couch.

“Fuck” You said getting off of buckys lap.

He smirked and pecked your lips.

“Yeah, fuck”

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Hue and Cry IX

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series), mild violence, male-iinduced anxiety

This is dark!medieval!Bucky Barnes x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: The first day of the tournament arrives.

Note: My pupper had surgery yesterday and it was my longer day of work for the week so lots going on. Also had some bad Chinese but managed to get this out before it came back up. Feel better now and I'll have a shorter day today.

Thanks to everyone and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Lord Barnes’ mood did not improve in the days leading up to the first of the tournament. It grew colder in the capital and many feared the events would be cut short by an early winter. You didn’t care much either way. You had no interest in the sport or much of anything. You just abided the duke and in those times he left you alone, you laid in a void.

His want of you didn’t wane nor did your despair or the disgust you felt when he touched you. It was one thing to be a servant, to be a tool, a means to an end, but what he used you for now seemed little more than torture. He delighted in what he did, in how he made you suffer. Those times you remained unmoving and unfeeling angered him the most.

You dressed in yellow that morning. The horns announced the beginning of the tournament as you made your way to the stand amid the sea of guests. The wives, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers of those who would compete. You were out of place as you climbed the wooden steps between the benches and a green sleeve shot up to wave to you.

“Dearie!” May brushed past her husband to stop you at the end of their seat, “here, with us,” she insisted, “we did save you a place.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” you said quietly. You hadn’t seen her or her family since the night of the feast. Since Barnes had…

“I can’t have you sitting alone,” she trilled as she pulled you along with her and sat beside Lord Benjamin who bowed his head and issued a gentle greeting. “And I always longed for a daughter, you know? Peter’s a good boy but so troublesome. I did try to persuade him not to enter the lists but he just never stops.”

“The boy’s old enough,” Benjamin said, “when I was his age--”

“You married me,” May cut in, “a foolish decision indeed. He is on the roster for today. Sparring. I fear he might not make it past the early rounds but so long as he is not hurt.”

You nodded and covered your hands in your sleeves. Even with the fur-trimmed cloak Barnes allotted you, it was crisp. Your matching cap barely kept the cool air from your cheeks. Your leg shook from more than the cold as you recalled that Barnes was set to compete with the sword as well.

“A fine cape,” May commented as she touched the edge of your cloak, “with sleeves even.”

You looked down at the fawn-coloured garment that only allowed a peek of the canary yellow beneath. You fidgeted and kept your eyes on the field, “a gift,” you lied, well, maybe it wasn’t a lie, or maybe you’d bought it in sweat and tears.

Another horn blew and she quieted and clapped as all looked to the center of the arena. The wooden stands were hung in all shades of silk, the banners of each house, high and low, covered the rafters. By the end of the day, only one would remain. Lord Barnes’ blue and ivory flapped opposite your side and Benjamin pointed out his family's slender red and black crest amidst the panoply.

You were thankful for the distraction, not for you but for them. You didn’t know how many lies you could conjure or if you could keep the false smile on your lips. You clamped your hands together and watched a man in gold stroll out to the centre of the stadium with a cone to project his voice. You stood with May and Benjamin and the rest of the onlookers

“Fine ladies and gentlemen, princes, paupers, and everything in between, we welcome you in name of King Samuel to the Games of Goblets. For each competition, the victor is to be prized a goblet to bear as a symbol of his prestige. For the ax-throwing, bronze inlaid with amber, for the bow-and-arrow, silver set with citrine, for the melee, gold set with sapphire, and for the joust, a fine piece in gold set with opal and ruby.”

The crowd applauded and shouted. The man waited for them to quiet again, “This day, we begin with the melee, on the morrow, the axe, the next day, the arrow, and on the final day, we ride!”

Again, the audience grew rowdy and you were deafened by the cheers. The man laughed at the excitement and held up his hand for a final lull.

“Without further delay, let us begin. In our first round, the lower lords and the untested, before the second where they shall meet our season veterans, and so on…” he gauged the fervent tension of the people, “you will see me again upon the finale and perhaps you will be surprised by whoever stands with me.”

Again, the stand quaked with the energy of the people. You would have liked to sit but you stayed on your feet, afraid to draw unwanted attention. The first pair was announced but you didn’t watch. You stared at the sky or a rippling banner but had no interest in the games.

You only stopped to look as Peter’s name was called out and May grabbed your arm. She squealed as her nephew came out decked in his used armor, beaten out from its former user’s wear, and he unsheathed his sword to face his opponent. When the handkerchief was dropped, you were as stunned as his fellow competitor and the crowd by his swiftness. You’d never seen anyone move so fast, and in at least twenty pounds of armor.

The crowd awoke from their awe and cheered as his sword beat against the other man’s suit with tinks and tunks. It was like a bell, ding, ding, ding. It wasn’t until the other man was on his knees that the spar was ceased. Peter was declared the plain winner and sent on to wait for his next engagement. May wiped away tears of joy and Benjamin grumbled his approval.

You smiled, just a little. You were happy for Peter. You’d seen how joyful he was, he was likely dancing behind the curtain right now.

🏰

It wasn’t until the second round that Lord Barnes was introduced. He walked out fully armoured like any other combatant but his left arm was permanently bent, a shield strapped to it as he gripped his pommel in his right hand. He showed his steel and faced his match. He dealt hard and heavy blows until his opponent was on his back.

You shuddered at his unboasting victory as he wasn’t even patient enough to hear himself declared the winner. You touched your cold cheeks and puffed into the bitter air. The bodies around you warmed the stands but you were chilled to the core.

Peter appeared again in the second, then the third, fourth, and to his aunt and uncle’s delight, he soldiered onto the final. To your fear, he was to meet Lord Barnes. You tried not to squirm, not to show how nervous you were for Peter. You thought of running down and begging him to withdraw but what could you say? If anything, you’d both be worse for it.

As the last two banners were presented to the crowd, you sensed movement to your right. A familiar head of blond hair approached and the tall duke pushed past the row of people along the bench. Lord Rogers smirked as he came close, his sweaty hair drooping down his forehead from his last bout, the one he’d lost to his closest friend.

“Ah, I found you,” he said, “lady.”

You felt May peek past you and you gave a meek “my lord” as he stood close. He looked around you at the older couple.

“You have friends,” he stated, “please, do introduce us.”

You looked down and chewed your lip. You turned slowly to May and Benjamin, the latter peering past her only as he was torn from his fixation on the field.

“Lord Benjamin and Lady May Parker, baron and baroness,” you rubbed your hands together nervously, “Lord Steven Rogers, duke of Astrens.”

“Oh, we’ve heard of him,” May chirped, “my lord, it is an honour.”

“Indeed,” Benjamin agreed, “my lady, you did not inform of us of your lofty friends.”

“She is modest,” Rogers intoned, “we met by chance, really, through a common acquaintance.”

“You were skillful on the field, it is a pity you were bested,” May said.

“Very pitiful, I did put some gold on you, Lord Rogers,” Benjamin added, “alas it was a fine showing.”

“Wasn’t it?” he turned to stand with his arm pressed to yours, much too close for your liking, “however this one should be intriguing.”

“It’s our boy,” Benjamin said, “and your friend, my lord.”

“Perhaps you’d take another bet?” Rogers countered.

“I’ve lost enough this day,” Benjamin snorted, “I’d rather watch and be pleasantly surprised than paupered.”

“Prudence is wise but always so boring,” Rogers mused.

As the lower of the lords, Parker was announced first and you were saved from more uncomfortable banter by the man in grey. Rogers nudged you and bent as the introductions went long as the man with cone went into detail about the day’s fights all the way to the present match.

“I did look fine out there, didn’t I?” he whispered, “good form, even if I did lose. Barnes is in a mood and we both know that makes him… unpredictable.”

You lowered your head, “my lord.”

“You are quiet since last we met,” he remarked, “perhaps your thoughts linger on how else to use your mouth?”

You squirmed and stared at the competitors as they awaited their signal. Rogers laughed and stood straight as he focused on the field in kind. He played with your sleeve and tugged your arm down. He caressed the back of your hand and stepped even closer.

“When he wins, he might just be cheerful enough to share in his celebrations, hmm?” he said under his breath.

The gold cloth was dropped and the two men circled each other, eyeing their opponent cautiously. Barnes was the first to act but was evaded by the younger man. He didn’t not falter however as he swung again. Peter rolled under the strike and met it with his own steel, batting it away so that it nearly struck its holder.

Barnes dodged that time, then the boy spun again. They danced around each other, both swift, both calculating, both determined. Steel met steel but never that which clothed the fighters. May grabbed your other wrist as she held her breath.

Barnes laid a hit across Peter’s chestplate that made him stagger but he turned it into another lithe evasion. He snaked around the higher lord and hammered his false arm. The shield cracked in half and Peter ducked again.

Barnes was angry as he stabbed out. His blade was shoved away again and Peter jumped over the foot that tried to trip him up, a true achievement in armor.

You realised as Barnes laid a flurry of blows at the air that he was angry. The crowd silenced as the realisation fell over them and they watched as time seemed to slow. The duke was losing and he was enraged.

Peter jabbed the other man’s chest plated with his sword then hit his true arm. The sword bobbled in Barnes’ grip but he regained his hold on it. Too slow as Parker struck over and over, throwing him off balance, and sweeping him off his feet with a low lunge.

As Barnes clattered onto his back, the breath went out of him and every other person in the stadium. The man in grey shook away his shock and finally stepped forward.

“Our victor!” he grabbed Peter’s arm and raised it, “the Lord Parker!”

May hopped up and down and hugged her husband. Steve tutted and shook his head. Your eyes clung to Barnes as he sat up, forgotten in the dirt. His left arm was stuck at an angle away from his body and he reached up to force it back down.

Peter offered him his hand and was ignored. Barnes sheathed his sword and offered a curt bow before he exited. Rogers’ hand crawled up your arm and he gripped you. “Well, looks like we both will suffer his loss.”

For once, he spoke the truth.

[rhysiana]

The weather finally got cold here, so an autumnal modern Suitang thread:

Tang Fan realizes he left his scarf behind just as the train pulls away from the platform, thus losing it forever. He knows better than to entertain even the tiniest hope it will end up in lost & found.

Who would turn it in, after all? It is the best scarf. A wide ribbed knit, nearly three meters long, he can wrap it around his neck multiple times for maximum coziness and still have ends to fiddle with. And so soft! Just acrylic, because Tang Yu knows him and his laundry abilities, but apparently a magical kind that feels like a squishy cloud? It gradually changed color 10 times down the length. He loved everything about it.

He never should have taken it off, he knew that, but the train had once again been at exactly the wrong temperature for how he'd been dressed to be outside. They manage this so often he's sure it must be on purpose. He keeps meaning to write to complain about it.

He won't remember to look up the contact info to do so today either, because he is both in mourning and on a mission! He'll never see that particular scarf again, so he must get a new one!

The first step is to ask his sister where she got it. (He knows better than to think she knitted it herself. She's had no time since she went back to work after the divorce, and he's happy for her.) She’s given up trying to convince him he can afford to turn the heat up a little in the winters now. Yes, he is an adult with a job, but as long as he can still move his fingers to type in the evenings, it's warm enough. He needs that money for books and snacks! Hence her gift of the scarf and some fingerless gloves. The scarf that is now lost.

But if he has to get a new scarf anyway, the endless spinning of his mind says, why not see if he can get specific colors? He doesn't want an exact replica of the previous (perfect, irreplaceable) scarf, that seems disrespectful, but maybe...

That settles it. He has to find the exact maker of his scarf and talk to them. Commission them! He will become a brief patron of the knitting arts! (It's 2am by now and he's gone down a rabbit hole on 3 different crafting/yarn websites.)

When Tang Yu replies to his texts at a very sane hour the next day, she says she got it at a co-op stall in the street market near her apartment. She's not sure which of their knitters made it, but he could ask the woman who does the actual sales at the stall.

*

The knitter, of course, is Sui Zhou, who was assigned it as a therapeutic hobby to try during bouts of insomnia. He'd prefer to cook, but he lives alone and his neighbors were only so willing to accept excess food. (And cooking for random strangers just isn't quite...)

Anyway, the knitting is cheaper and soothing and certainly quiet enough not to travel through walls in the middle of the night, and he's developing the ability to just zone out in a semi-restful way. Unfortunately, he has a lot of sleepless nights and not a lot of need for multiple scarves. After attempting to gift Xue Ling with a third one, the poor man hooks Sui Zhou up with his aunt who runs a handmade goods stall, so at least they all have somewhere to go now.

He's dropping off a new bunch after work, expecting to just hand them over with a quick silent nod as usual, when he hears, "Oh, here he is!" and a firm matronly hand on the shoulder turns him toward an unexpectedly intense (and attractive) young man.

"You!" the young man exclaims, grabbing Sui Zhou's elbow. "You made my scarf!" He is not wearing a scarf.

Sui Zhou furrows his brow. This is not how he was expecting his trip home to go. (The young man's grip on his arm is surprising pleasant. His fingers are very long.)

"I need to commission you!"

No one has ever asked such a thing of Sui Zhou before. His scarves are very basic. Xue Ling's aunt is smiling at them indulgently. "Okay," he finally ventures.

"Great!" The man begins towing him down the alley. "We can talk about it over dinner."

"Who are you?" Sui Zhou finally pulls together the wit to say.

The young man laughs and shoots him a smile over his shoulder, still pulling him along. "Oh, sorry, I'm Tang Fan. I've been looking for you for days."

"For a scarf?"

"For the most perfect scarf," Tang Fan insists.

They have dinner. Sui Zhou somehow ends up paying, but he doesn't mind, because the food he ate while listening to Tang Fan (and watching him gesture expansively as he talked) was the best food had tasted in years.

Tang Fan of course has too many ideas for things to be settled over one dinner. They need to meet again to look at yarn choices. When looking at options online (Sui Zhou's usual method) isn't sufficient, they have to meet at a yarn store instead so Tang Fan can touch things.

Can Sui Zhou do other patterns? Tang Fan really liked his ribbed scarf, but maybe there's something even more perfect. Sui Zhou learns some new stitches and does some test swatches. They have to meet for coffee or tea or lunch or dinner to discuss them.

Sui Zhou knits another insomnia scarf in the meantime and gifts it to Tang Fan as a placeholder. Tang Fan pets it and puts it on immediately. (He's been cold since the ballooning of this project, a problem he knows he caused himself.)

Sui Zhou is starting to realize the Perfect Scarf may never be decided on if Tang Fan is allowed to keep thinking of new possibilities. (Sui Zhou also may be chasing the deep sense of satisfaction he got when Tang Fan put on the placeholder. His work is keeping Tang Fan warm. He can do better.)

He takes matters into his own hands. He invites Tang Fan over for dinner and presents him with a wide, long angora scarf, impractically white in the center, transitioning to black at the ends, truly soft as a cloud. Tang Fan goes wide-eyed and briefly silent when he touches it.

Sui Zhou smiles at the reaction, quietly proud, and that's apparently the breaking point for Tang Fan, who throws himself at Sui Zhou in an overwhelming embrace.

"It's too much, Sui Zhou. Why are you so nice to me?" he says into the side of Sui Zhou's neck.

"You deserve it."

Tang Fan draws back to look at him. "I really don't."

How can Sui Zhou explain that Tang Fan brought light and warmth and color back into his world? He can't. He tightens his arms around Tang Fan to try to convey his sincerity somehow. "You do."

Tang Fan blinks at him. Swallows. Licks his lips. And then leans in and kisses him. Sui Zhou melts into it in relief at being understood and kisses back with all his heart.

Some time later, in a pause for breath, Tang Fan asks, "Can you make one with pockets?" Sui Zhou huffs a laugh into his shoulder and vows to make him all the scarves he could ever want.