#I love agent 14 please more missions with him

[soupy-sez]

[antiquarianfics]

Marry me? Nah. Marry me? Yeah.

4 times Bucky Barnes asks you to marry him and you refuse. 1 time Bucky Barnes asks you to marry him and you accept.

A/N: I have been working on this for the last day, so enjoy. HOWEVER, I wrote it on my phone and refuse to proof it. Warning(s): Some canon level violence, swearing. Note: I do not own Bucky Barnes or any other Marvel affiliated characters.

You do not have permission to steal or repost my work; however, feel free to like, comment, and reblog.

—

Proposal 1

The first time Bucky Barnes proposes to you, you aren’t even dating. The two of you are paired on a mission to dismantle a HYDRA base hidden deep in the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky. You had met before but never shared more than polite conversation. Steve had assured Bucky you weren’t scared of him, but that you wouldn’t push him to speak with you. Bucky never quite believed him, so he never attempted to converse with you either.

However, when you’re paired on this mission, you take that as the go-ahead to finally speak to him.

“So, Barnes,” you say, nudging his shoulder with your own, “guess we’ve got to come up with more conversation topics than the weather.”

“Guess so,” he replies.

It is during the mission he proposes. There are more HYDRA agents active than expected, and they come at the two of you guns blazing while you’re distracted setting up an explosive at a structural point of the complex.

“Y/L/N,” Bucky says to grab your attention, “we’ve got company.”

You bite your lip, finishing your task before standing and pulling your rifle from your back, preparing yourself for a fight.

“Don’t worry, honey, I’ve got this one,” you tease, shooting him a wink before unleashing precise kill shots before Bucky even thinks to pull his own trigger. After taking out a dozen soldiers, a few manage to get close to you, and you hit one in the head with the butt of your gun and then quickly pull a knife from a thigh holster while pivoting on your foot to slit another’s throat. You shoot the unconscious soldier in the head for good measure before wiping your knife on your pants.

With your knife returned to its home on your thigh, you look up at Bucky who is staring at you with a dumbfounded, albeit impressed, look on his face. You had taken out 14 men on your own. He was in love.

The words “marry me” slipped past his lips before he could stop them, and you laugh.

“Maybe buy me dinner first, Sarge.”

Proposal 2

The second time Bucky Barnes proposes to you, you’re comforting him after a nightmare. It is late at night, at the point it was really morning, and you happen to hear his screams through his bedroom door.

You stop at his door, letting a frown set on your face before reaching out for his doorknob. You hesitate before opening it, wondering if he’ll appreciate you barging in on him in such a vulnerable state. Then, he screams again—louder—and you turn the doorknob, letting yourself in.

The sight you’re met with is heartbreaking. Bucky is tossing and turning, his sheets bunched at his feet, comforter on the ground. He’s sweating buckets and whimpering what sounds like, “Please, no. Not the chair. Please!” over and over again. You choke back a sob before crossing over to him, gently lying a comforting hand on his shoulder and calling out his name.

“Bucky, honey, wake up. It’s just a dream, hun.”

The touch and sudden sound wake him up from what is truly a light sleep. Bucky shoots up into a sitting position, right hand shooting out to grab the hand touching him, and eyes darting around the room until they land on you.

“Shh,” you coo, “you’re okay, Bucky. It’s me, Y/N. It was just a dream. You’re safe.”

Bucky’s heart rate slows to a normal pace, and he lets out a shaky breath.

“Y/N?” He asks hesitantly. “W-what are you doing here?” His voice is small, like a terrified child’s, and you can’t help but frown at the thought.

You let your hand move to cup his face, noting that he relaxes at the gentle touch, leaning his face ever so slightly into your touch.

“I was headed to the kitchen and I heard you scream. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

He nods, eyes searching yours for some sort of anger or resentment for bothering you. He doesn’t find any.

“Can I do anything to make you feel better?” You ask kindly.

“Um,” Bucky says, voice shaky. “Would you mind—you don’t have to—but would you mind staying with me? Only if you want.”

You smile kindly, pressing a comforting kiss to his cheek before climbing into his bed with him, pulling his head close to your chest.

“When I was little, I lived in a house in the woods for a while,” you say randomly, catching Bucky’s attention. His eyebrows scrunch together in some sort of confusion, but he says nothing. “At dinner one night, I look out the glass door onto the porch. Wanna know what I saw?”

Bucky hums his agreement as your hand works it’s way into his hair and your fingers begin to massage his scalp.

“4 raccoons!” You exclaim. “3 babies and a mama. We had a toddler slide on the porch at the time,” you continue, “and the baby raccoons kept climbing the little ladder and sliding down. The mama just sat a little bit away and watched and stole cat food occasionally.”

Bucky chuckles, finding your story cute but also recognizing your attempt to distract and soothe him after his nightmare. He appreciates it more than he himself understands; he is comforted by your voice more than he feels he should be. He lets the proposal slip a second time: “Marry me?”

You grin and press a kiss to his head.

“Not yet, hun.”

Proposal 3

The third proposal comes after the two of you begin dating.

Bucky takes you out on a date to a little coffee shop in Brooklyn you both had become fond of. You’re standing to the side of the café, out of the way, waiting on your order. Bucky has his right arm around your shoulders while you lean into him; his left hand stuck in his jacket pocket.

“So Natasha’s screaming at Clint to show himself so that she can kill him, right? Like, she was so fucking pissed at him. And Clint is in the fucking air vents—like those big ones people crawl through in action movies—hiding from her. Over a remote, Bucky!” You excitedly recount one of the most ridiculous encounters you’ve ever had with the Avengers to your boyfriend who is quietly listening with a fond smile.

“Like, ‘Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ my ass,” you scoff. You’re about to add another thought to the discussion when you hear someone else’s conversation from a few feet away.

Bucky tenses. You tense.

“Personally, I think they should’ve carted him off to the South, or somethin’, and put him in the chair,” a younger man—college age—says. “The death penalty, y’know? An eye for an eye, and all that. I mean, the guy killed a lot of people.”

“Fuck, man,” his companion, another college aged man, says. “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh? I mean, he’s also like a war hero and a prisoner of war.”

“He killed innocent people, man. Like, people’s kids and shit.”

“I guess.”

Bucky clenches his jaw, and he also tightens his grip on your waist when he feels you start to move away from him.

“It’s fine, doll,” he assures you, but he doesn’t seem fine to you.

The barista calls out “Barnes” and Bucky kisses the top of your head before moving to grab your drinks. You, however, take the opportunity to address the disrespectful boys while your boyfriend isn’t holding you back.

“Excuse me,” you say, walking up to them.

“Fuck!” One says, jumping a little. “You’re an Avenger.”

“Mhmm,” you agree. “So is Sergeant Barnes who you so innocently suggested deserves the chair.” You jam a finger into his chest.

“You have absolutely no fucking right to talk about him that way. He gave his life for this fucking country; fought alongside your grandparents. The fuck is wrong with you?”

“Ma’am, I’m sorry. Shit. It’s not like my opinion is gonna change anything.”

Before you can say anything else, you feel Bucky’s hand wrap around your bicep, pulling you away from the college kids and into his side. He leans close to your ear to whisper, “Doll, it’s fine. Come on.”

He pulls you out of the coffee shop before you have time to protest.

Walking down the street, you’re ranting, letting your arms flail around angrily.

“What the actual fuck is their problem?! You can have your obviously wrong opinions, but why would you express them so loudly in front of the person you’re talking about? You’re a fucking Avenger. You’re a good man. Why would they pardon you if you weren’t? Why would the Avengers adopt you as one of our own if you weren’t? Pieces of shit! Hateful, fascist, brain dead, ungrateful, military-hating, assholes!”

Bucky can’t help but laugh at your insults, and he can’t help but feel flattered that you care enough to defend him.

“Sweetheart, it’s really fine. I’m used to it,” he assures you, finally handing you your coffee he’d been balancing in his hand.

You take it, but shoot him an incredulous look.

“Like hell it’s okay! You deserve better than that bullshit, Bucky. You deserve to go out on a date with your girlfriend without being fucking harassed.”

Bucky pulls you into his side, kissing your head like he had earlier, and murmurs into your hair his third proposal.

“Marry me.”

You smile softly.

“Nah,” you say, leaning into his hold. He laughs.

Proposal 4

The fourth time Bucky proposes to you, it’s less direct.

In fact, you’re in the field, lying on your back in Bucky’s arms while he frantically puts pressure on a bullet wound in your gut.

“Steve,” he says into the coms, “Y/N’s down. She got shot. I’ve got to get her back to the jet.”

“Go,” Steve responds quickly, “I’ll cover you.”

Bucky’s attention falls to you, grimacing at the blood covering his hands.

“Hold on, baby. I’ve got you,” he says, lifting you into his arms as gently as you can.

“I’m fiiinnneee,” you slur, unsteadily and awkwardly reaching to pat his face. Your action, meant to be comforting, only adds to your boyfriend’s anxiety.

“Doll, you’ve been shot, and it isn’t a clean wound.”

“That’s nothin’!”

Bucky grunts indignantly in response.

Finally, he gets you back to the jet, moving through the aircraft quickly to get you to a stretcher to triage you best he can. When there is nothing more he can do, he holds your hand, doing his best not to cry or show how scared he is.

“Y/N, stay awake for me, alright?” He pleads, squeezing your hand.

Your eyes flutter open and you smile goofily.

“No worries, Doll,” you giggle as you call him by the pet name he reserves for you. “I’m A-Okay.”

Bucky scoffs.

“You’re bleeding out.”

“You fixed me.”

“Not fully; I put a bandaid on you really.”

“Silly. Bandaids fix you!” You try to comfort, but you fall into a laughing fit.

“Doll, I need you to take this seriously so you make it. You’ve gotta marry me.”

“You didn’t ask me to!” You say, narrowing your eyes and pointing accusingly.

Bucky smiles at your antics.

“Marry me, Doll?”

You smile fondly as you stare up at Bucky.

“Ask me again when I’m not bleeding out.”

Proposal 5

The fifth time Bucky Barnes proposes to you is the last time.

You convince the super soldier to go hiking with you; you argue he deserves to sit and watch a waterfall with his girlfriend. He gives in easily because you’re not easy for him to say no to.

The two of you find a local hiking trail that leads to a decent sized waterfall, and you’re pleased to find the trail is mostly deserted. You only run into a few stray hikers along the trail.

Bucky smiles as you hike, watching as you excitedly stop to watch centipedes cross the path, or point out woodpeckers, or smell flowers. Finally, the two of you reach the waterfall and you squeal in excitement, running a few paces ahead of Bucky and jumping to let out some excited energy.

“Buck, look! It’s gorgeous!”

“Yeah,” Bucky agrees, slowing to a stop behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin in the crook of your neck.

The two of you stand like that, in each other’s embrace, for a few minutes, watching the waterfall, listening to nature around you.

“Thank you for coming up here with with me,” you say, turning around to place a grateful kiss on Bucky’s lips. He gently returns the kiss before pulling away.

“Anything for you, sweetheart.”

You peck his lips again before turning back to the waterfall.

“Look!” You say upon turning around. “Bucky, a rainbow!” The spray of the water and the beams of sunlight meet to display a rainbow in front of you.

When Bucky doesn’t respond, you curiously turn around.

“Bucky? Oh!”

Bucky is on one knee, a ring box open in his hands, held out to you.

“Y/N, will you marry me?”

There is no speech, there is no absurd gesture. There is just Bucky, and there is just a question.

It’s perfect.

“Yes.”

“Finally.”

[scoonsalicious]

Chapter 6, Unattached - Pt. 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, angst (Bring on the Pain!), alcohol usage, dumbass Bucky, noncon kissing that becomes con kissing, so..., arguing, jealous!Pocket, posessive!Bucky.

Word Count: 5.4k

Previously On...: After Bucky left you alone in your room, not wanting people to get 'the wrong idea' about the two of you, you came to the horrible conclusion that you were in love with your best friend. What the hell are you going to do about that?

A/N: Wow, okay! So, first off, Chapter 6 is long, and it only has the one part, so don't worry if you go looking for more and the next thing you find is Chapter 7! Second, there's a lot of progress and updates on Unwanted I wanted to share! I am already well into writing Chapter 14, and have planned out the rest of the story. We'll have a total of 25 chapters, plus an epilogue (unless something strikes me creatively that throws the entire thing for a loop, then all bets are off). This beast, as it currently sits, is already 208 Google Docs pages long and just shy of 80k words, so final product is probably going to be novel-length, which just blows my mind. I want to give a special shout out to @mrsbuckybarnes1917 for being my beta and my sounding board; your help and support has been immeasurable!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917

Taglist: (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!) @jmeelee @cazellen @blackhawkfanatic @les-sel @marcswife21 @buckybarnessimpp @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @erelierraceala @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @jupiter-107 @marygoddessofmischief

You stood in front of the doors to the common room, the low thrum of conversation and music filtering out from inside. Taking a deep breath, you tried for the umpteenth time to calm your nerves following your unsettling realization.

You had no idea how to approach this, how to approach Bucky. Do you tell him how you felt, in the hope that he felt the same way? But what if he didn't? Could you risk losing him all together? Or do you just keep on like nothing's changed, happy with what you have together? Would that be enough for you? Could you even be happy in a real relationship?

Why couldn't your mother have just been a decent human being and let you go to school like a normal child so you could have worked through all your awkward issues at the appropriate time, instead of saddling you with years of trauma and isolation that left you an emotionally stunted adult? God, you needed a strong drink and to talk to Nat, preferably in that order. Pushing open the common room door, you stepped inside, surveying the room with one eye out for Bucky, the other out for your friend.

It should have been of no surprise, then, that instead of either, you first spotted Jade Carthage. She was situated on a couch in the center of the room, like a queen on her throne before her court, and nearly every Avenger and agent with a penis was surrounding her, jockeying for her attention, even Clint who, you knew for a fact, loved his wife Laura more than life itself.

Your stomach dropped when, after one of the agents in front of the couch shifted slightly, you saw Bucky sitting immediately to Jade's left. And while it seemed like everyone else was clamoring for Jade to pay attention to them, she only had eyes for him. Jealousy coursed through you as she leaned in close, whispering something into his ear that had him throwing his head back in laughter. It was an entirely unpleasant sensation that you would be happy to never feel again. Especially because you knew you had no real right to feel it in the first place. You may have just realized you were in love with him, but he had made no similar declaration to you.

"Careful, you glare any harder, you're liable to bore a hole straight through him," Natasha said, coming up alongside of you.

"What if I aim for her, instead?" you asked, reaching for the tumbler of alcohol she offered you and taking a sip to distract yourself. It was like she could read your mind.

Nat shrugged. "So long as I'm not the one cleaning up the mess, I say have fun. But what happened to no-strings-attached, friends who happen to fuck?" Nat asked with a smirk. "Don't tell me you've grown strings, Pocket."

You looked away from the scene in front of you. "There might be some growing of string, in theory," you mumbled to her. Nat was the only person you had confided in regarding your arrangement with Bucky. Of course, your friend had been thrilled that there had been something going on between the two of you, but she'd been more concerned about protecting your heart-- was this the safest thing for you to do? You assured her at the time you'd be fine, but now...?

Nat's eyes widened as a grin took over her face. "Honey, that's fantastic!" She leaned in to give you a hug. "I'm so happy for you!" Taking in your forlorn expression, she quickly lost her good humor. "Why do you look like you're about to throw up?"

You cast another glance over at the couch. Jade was tracing her fingers along the golden veins of Bucky's vibranium arm and you felt like snakes were crawling through your stomach. "Because I don't know what the fuck to do about it, Natty," you told her with a sigh. "I've never felt like this before in my entire life and it's fucking terrifying; what if he doesn't feel the same way? Or worse, what if he does and I mess everything up because I'm so fucking damaged inside?"

Natasha looped her arm through yours, leaning into you. "Honey, first of all, you are not damaged. You've been through hell and it left its mark on you, that's true, but you've been so strong. We're House Martell, remember?"

You sniggered, remembering how, when the entire Tower was obsessed with watching Game of Thrones together and picking what houses you'd each belong to, you and Nat had been drawn to the words of the ruling house of Dorne. And also, Pedro Pascal, obviously.

"Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," you recited from memory, a reminder that despite the obstacles life had thrown at you, you remained standing, stronger for what you had endured.

"Atta girl," Nat nudged you with her elbow. "And second of all, you don't need to worry about Bucky's feelings. Boy's obviously mad for you. Everyone can see it."

You drew your bottom lip in between your teeth. "I don't know, Nat. He's been acting strange lately. I tried to give him head earlier and he flat out rejected it." Come to think of it, that was exceptionally weird since, in your text exchange, he'd explicitly told you he'd been waiting in your room specifically for the purpose of getting off.

"Huh. That's... not like him." Nat tilted her head and looked over at Bucky, expression curious. "Did he say why?"

"He was real eager to come up here and get in the middle of that, apparently." You waved a hand in the general direction of the couch where Jade's little reverse-harem was still going strong. "I was getting on my knees and everything."

Nat raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"And then he made a really big deal about us coming up here separately. Said he didn't want people getting 'the wrong idea' about us if we arrived together."

Letting go of your arm, Natasha spun to face you, her face a mask of anger. "He said what now?!" she practically shouted, temporarily drawing everyone's attention to you. You looked around sheepishly as you tried to dismiss their stares.

"Nat," you begged in a whisper, "keep it down."

"Okay, okay, sorry." Natasha lowered her voice to a level only you could hear. "I'm sorry, but that's just complete and utter bullshit. Look, I know you guys think you've been in super secret stealth mode about hiding it, but pretty much everyone on the team knows you've been sleeping together. Hell, most of us placed bets on it." You opened your mouth in order to protest but she cut you off.

"If anything, it's weirder if the two of you don't show up to something together, so I don't know what the hell he's thinking."

"I do," you said morosely. "He doesn't want her getting the wrong idea about us."

"Pocket, don't even let your mind go there," Nat said.

"Think about it, Nat; I've been standing here for what, fifteen minutes now? And he hasn't even looked at me. When's the last time that happened?"

Nat's brows creased, her expression clouding over into something immensely sad for you, and you knew she was realizing what you'd already seen. In the last year, you and Bucky had been attached at the hip, nearly physically joined to one another, and if you were apart, your eyes were always scanning the room in search of the other's presence, seeking them out. The fact that he hadn't even looked for you, let alone come to you since you walked in, was telling in its own heartbreaking way.

Nat let out a heavy sigh. "Oh Pocket. Honey, I'm so sorry."

You shook your head, trying to dispel the tears that were threatening to fall from your eyes if you kept down this path. "Don't Natty, please. I can't fall apart, not here."

"Yeah, okay-- you're right. Now is not the time. Come on." Linking her arm through yours once again, she directed you toward the bar where Tony was standing, whiskey in hand. "If anyone can talk you to distraction," she murmured as you approached him, "it's Stark."

You let out a startled laugh and let her guide you toward the man who had already saved you more times than you could count.

"Hey, kiddo; Romanoff." Tony saluted you with his glass and you did your best to smile back at him as you stuffed your emotions down as far as they would go. "What do you think of our new recruit?" he asked Nat.

"I think 'Weasel' would be a better fitting code name for her than 'Vixen,'" Nat replied with a sly smile as she took a sip of wine.

"Ah, saw the security feed, did you?" Tony asked her. Nat nodded.

"Watched it live as it happened. Wasn't going to leave my bestie without eyes on her six." She gave your arm an affectionate squeeze.

Tony hummed and glanced over to the couch. "Wish Cap had been as discerning as you. He refused to watch the feed; said it made him uncomfortable to spy on someone when they didn't know they were being recorded." Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Always the fucking Boy Scout," she murmured.

"So, how did the interview itself go?" you asked Tony, not really sure you wanted to know the answer, but feeling the need to punish yourself with the details, anyway.

Tony leaned back against the bar, resting his elbows on the polished wooden surface. "If it were up to me, we wouldn't even be playing this charade right now," he said, motioning with his chin to indicate the meet and greet. "Girl's a first-class bullshitter."

"Talent recognizing talent?" you asked with a wry smile that almost felt genuine.

He pointed a finger and winked at you. "Exactly. She talked a good talk, but it doesn't take much to see she's suffering from Big Fish, Small Pond Syndrome. She's in for a rude awakening if she thinks she's ready to swim in the ocean with the whales and the sharks."

"So, you're not going to offer her the probationary position?" you asked, hope rising pathetically in your chest. As if you could un-ring the bell.

"Oh, I didn't say that," Tony said as you deflated. "It's not all up to me. Though, given the fact that I personally fund this entire operation, you'd think it really should be, right?" At the look on your face he moved on. "Apologies, I digress. Anyway, Cap thinks it's only fair we offer it to her, seeing as how we don't have a ton of other options knocking on our door, and Fury's not going to get off my ass until we find someone." He sighed. "I think this entire exercise is a waste of time, and we should be kicking her out on her ass for how she treated you earlier, Pocket, but I'm outvoted."

"Thanks, Boss," you said softly, grateful at least that Tony could see through Jade's facade and took how she treated you seriously. Too bad your best friend couldn't offer you the same courtesy.

The timer on Tony's watch went off. "And that's the dinner bell," he said, putting down his glass. Clapping his hands, he called out to the rest of the room. "Attention Avengers, SHIELD Agents, and... whoever else managed to sneak in off the street! Dinner is served, so if we could all head to the dining room before the food gets cold and Raul quits on me, I'd appreciate it very much."

You held back as the crowd of people noisily moved to the dining room, hoping to catch Bucky's eye, but he remained steadfastly absorbed in his conversation with Jade.

"Come on, honey," Nat said as she took your elbow. "You can talk to him during dinner. You nodded and allowed her to lead you into the dining room. You and Bucky had sat next to one another, without fail, for every meal for the last year, the only exception being when one of you was away on a mission. You'd have plenty of opportunities to talk to him while you ate.

Normally, you all ate at one large table, but since this was a special occasion that required the attendance of a lot more than just the regular 13 members of your family (14, if Parker was around), Tony had the dining room arranged more like a restaurant, with a series of smaller tables spread out throughout the space.

You and Nat followed Bucky and Jade to a six-top where Steve and Sam were already getting ready to sit down, but you froze in your tracks when Bucky pulled back a chair for Jade, pushing it in behind her as she sat down before taking the seat next to her.

The air seemed to grow heavy, as though it weighed too much for you to draw it into your lungs and your chest began to hurt. How could such a simple action be causing you so much physical pain?

Steve, who had already been sitting at Bucky's other side at the head of the table, caught your eye and moved to get up to offer you his chair, instead, as though that could make up for Bucky's dismissal of you.

You subtly shook your head, not wanting to draw attention to the awkward situation you found yourself in. Instead, you made your way over to the only two remaining seats at the table: the one next to Sam that was directly across from Jade and Bucky or the one next to Jade at the opposite end of the table from Steve. Deciding it was better to be sitting across from Steve than either of the other two, you opted for the chair at the end, and Nat slid in next to Sam.

You cast a quick glance in Jade's direction and had to stifle a sick laugh-- she was physically coming between you and Bucky, quite literally.

Jade reached a hand out to Nat across the table. "Wow! Black Widow! It is so great to meet you! My name's Vixen; I'm a huge fan! I'm so excited for us to be working together!"

Bless Nat, she just stared at the girl with arms crossed across her chest, impassive and judging, until Jade slowly and awkwardly pulled her hand back.

"I take it, then, that you've deemed the Avengers good enough to be your backup team?" Nat asked without expression.

You did your best to cover the laughter that escaped from you with a fake cough, but you didn't try very hard to be convincing.

"What's this about, now?" Steve asked, leaning forward.

"Little Vixen over here," Nat began, leaning back in her chair until she was perched on the two rear legs, "was live-streaming this morning to her social media followers. Told them it wasn't so much that the Avengers were interviewing her to see if she'd be good for the team, but she was interviewing us to see if we'd be good back up for her."

Jade had the decency to look embarrassed for a moment before she turned to face you for the first time, anger taking over her features. "So, what? Didn't much take you for a tattler. You that intimidated by me?"

You opened your mouth to defend yourself but were interrupted by the sound of the legs of Nat's chair slamming back against the floor. "Pocket didn't tell me shit. I heard it straight from your mouth on the security feed. That and a lot of other interesting things."

"You're spying on her, Nat? Really?" Bucky spoke up. "She's our guest and she deserves a modicum of privacy, don't you think?" You stared at him, open mouthed, but he didn't spare you a glance.

"It was a part of her interview, Barnes," Nat spat. "Maybe if you---"

"Okay, Nat, Bucky," Steve said, using his official Captain America voice, "let's table this conversation for later and just enjoy our meal. Raul worked really hard on tonight's menu, so let's not spoil it for him, alright?"

Both Nat and Bucky grumbled their agreement as the catering staff brought out the first course and placed them on each of your plates. Normally, you loved when Raul, Tony's personal chef, cooked meals for the team; he always made sure to throw in something with lemon in it, knowing how much you loved the flavor; but tonight, your appetite was failing you and you ended up pushing more food around on your plate than you put in your mouth.

You couldn't help but steal glances over at Bucky, who continued to be wrapped in conversation with Jade. You tried to keep up with what the others were saying, occasionally nodding your head in agreement to something, but you weren't able to pay any real attention; your mind was elsewhere until you noticed Jade looking at you.

"You know, I have to say I'm surprised to see so many non-Avengers here. I got the impression that this group was... I dunno, elite? But it seems like you just let anyone in."

Steve laughed from the other end of the table. "Being an Avenger is a team effort, Vixen. Everyone plays their part. And besides, Pocket here's just as much an Avenger as I am." The comment took you by surprise, and you gave Steve a warm, appreciative smile.

"Thanks, Cap," you said, truly touched by his words.

"Well, she's more like Avenger-adjacent," Bucky amended, and all the warmth you'd felt at Steve's compliment vanished in an instant, leaving you feeling cold and hollow. The words shouldn't have stung-- it was how you had referred to yourself hundreds of times, but you tended to reserve it for your low moments, when you were feeling unequal to Earth's mightiest heroes. Hearing the words come out of Bucky's mouth, as if he, too, shared in your belief that you were inferior to the rest of them... well, that fucking hurt.

Steve let out a surprised laugh and clapped Bucky on the shoulder. "Pocket may not have enhanced physical abilities or powers or what have you, but she's got a brilliant mind. She's got a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Computation from MIT, three Master's degrees, she speaks seven languages, she's got a black belt in Krav Maga, and she was the youngest Chief Technology Officer in Stark Industries history; all without ever having formally graduating high school. It's no exaggeration for me to say that I'd be dead a couple of dozen times over if I hadn't had her at my six. If anything, I think it makes her even more important than the rest of us. We're here because of the physical things we can do– primarily because of things that happened to us by accident; Pocket's essential to the team because of how she thinks, and the strength and quality of the work she’s willing to put in. We're replaceable, Pocket's one-of-a-kind."

You looked at Steve as if seeing him for the very first time. You had no idea he thought so highly of you, and his praise warmed you. You offered him a soft smile, your throat tightening with emotion and leaving you unable to express your gratitude. You mouthed a silent thank you instead, hoping that conveyed how much his words meant to you. He winked back at you in acknowledgement.

Bucky glanced back and forth between the two of you, as if analyzing your silent exchange. He coughed awkwardly. "I just meant that we try to keep Pocket away from the really dangerous stuff," he backpedaled, poorly, in your opinion. "Can't risk her getting hurt." He smiled at you, but you just stared back, expression blank, until he looked away in embarrassment. Good. Let him feel an ounce of the discomfort you’d been feeling this entire time.

Small talk resumed around the table, with Sam telling Steve about some new modification he was making to Redwing, and Bucky and Jade back to being locked in their own bubble. You did your best to ignore the little glances and gestures that Jade directed to Bucky, but it felt like your eyes were drawn to them like a magnet every time she touched him. Which seemed to be happening more and more frequently. You couldn't help but notice the way he leaned toward her when she spoke. Did he ever do that when he was talking with you?

"So, Bucky," Jade said eventually, her voice low and flirty as the caterers took away the main course, "handsome super hero like you, you seeing anyone?" Your eyes snapped up to Bucky's face, watching him. Surely he was going to look to you, make eye contact, something to acknowledge what was between you, to make you feel like you were in the same room, hell, on the same fucking planet as him. But he didn't.

"Nope," he said, running his hand over the back of his neck like he always did when he was feeling self conscious or nervous. "Not seeing anyone, though I'm not opposed to the idea." You had been stabbed in the abdomen on a mission once, and that had hurt less than hearing the words that had just come out of Bucky's mouth. It took everything in you to resist getting up from the table and leaving the room at that moment.

"Really, man?" Sam asked from where he sat on the other side of Natasha, his voice hard in disbelief. The atmosphere at your table had shifted. Natasha, Steve, and Sam all stared at Bucky with looks ranging from incredulity to flat out disgust. Bucky either was oblivious to the stares or was doing a great job patently ignoring them.

You couldn't even bring yourself to look at him anymore. It felt like a betrayal, the way his eyes had met Jade's and not yours. How could he sit there and just completely deny you like that? Had you been deluding yourself? Had you just been some kind of fuck toy this entire time?

The caterers brought the next course, a cold raspberry soup. You sat there, staring into space as you mechanically spooned the soup into your mouth, trying your hardest to appreciate the taste, but everything seemed bitter in light of Bucky's attitude, actions, and words.

"Could you hand me the water carafe?" Bucky asked. You looked up to watch Jade hand him the bottle of water. "Thanks, doll," he said, smiling at her.

You dropped your spoon, letting it fall into your nearly empty bowl with a reverberating clang. Your companions at the table stared, eyes wide as their gazes traveled between you and Bucky. In his entire time at the tower, he had never once called another woman 'doll.' It was a moniker he'd specifically reserved for you.

Or, it used to be.

You could tell the exact moment when Bucky realized he'd fucked up. His eyes locked on yours, the color draining from his face. He opened his mouth as if he was going to speak to you, but you'd had enough. Without a word, you pushed back your chair with enough force that it practically tipped over and exited the dining room.

You made it all the way to the elevator before you heard him calling for you.

"Doll! Doll, where are you?" You stabbed repeatedly at the call button, as if it would bring the car to you faster. You could hear his footsteps drawing closer, and you really didn't want to talk to him right now.

Finally, the elevator doors opened and you slid inside, turning to press the 'Close Door' button just as you saw Bucky turn the corner to the elevator bay. You were ready to breathe a sigh of relief at evading him until Bucky's metal hand shot in the diminishing space between the closing doors. You were trapped.

"Doll, didn't you hear me callin' to you?" he asked as he slid into the car with you.

You looked around, as if searching for another person in the car. "I'm sorry, were you talking to me? Should probably be more specific with your pet names, then. A girl’s liable to get confused." You were impressed that the words came out as hard and bitter as you felt inside.

Bucky flinched. "I deserved that."

You leaned forward to press the button for your floor before crossing your arms and glaring at him. "You fucking think?"

"Look, it just slipped out, okay? I didn't mean anything by it. It's not a big thing you needed to storm out over." You rolled your eyes at him, disgusted that that was the only thing he seemed to realize he'd done to offend you all evening. "Pocket, can we just talk about this?"

"Oh, now you want to talk to me?" you asked, jutting out your hip in annoyance. "Seemed like earlier today, you couldn't wait to not be seen with me, or do you no longer care if people get the wrong idea?"

"Alright," Bucky said, slamming his fist against the elevator's emergency stop button. You stumbled as the car came to a grinding halt. Bucky tried to put his hands on you to steady you, but you pushed him away. "What is going on with you today, Pocket?"

"What's going on with me?" you asked him, incredulous. "What's going on with you? You've been an ass to me all night, that is when you weren't acting like I didn't exist."

"How am I being an ass?" he asked, voice rising. "You're the one who couldn't even hold a civil conversation with our guest! It was embarrassing!" You recoiled as if he'd slapped you, backing away from him until your back hit the elevator wall.

"Wow. Okay then." You blinked heavily, telling yourself not to cry. You'd be damned if you showed weakness in front of him now. Bury the emotions, encase them in ice. "Sorry I'm such a fucking embarrassment to you, Sergeant Barnes. Now that I know how you feel, I'll make sure to stay out of your way so you don't have to put up with me." You moved to press the button to restart the elevator, but Bucky grabbed your wrist.

"Don't do this," he growled at you. "Don't hide behind snappy quips so you can shut down and avoid having a real conversation with me." You stared between his eyes and where he held your wrist in his metal grip. It wasn't tight enough to hurt, but it was tight enough to keep you from breaking free.

His gaze softened as he watched you. "I never said I was embarrassed of you, Pocket. I just don't know why you had to be so rude to Jade at dinner tonight."

"Name one thing I did that was rude to her," you challenged.

"Okay," Bucky stuck out a finger as though he were about to count off all your grievous errors. "Let's see... You said... No, that was Nat... You were... okay, Steve said that... You said... No, that was Nat again." He looked up at you sheepishly. "So, maybe you actually didn't say anything during dinner, but not talking to her was still rude."

You scoffed. "You want to talk rude and embarrassing, Bucky? Do you know how embarrassing it was to have everyone staring at me when you pulled out my chair for Jade, or when my own best friend didn't defend me when she had the audacity to call me a fucking tattler? Like I’m some kind of fucking child?" Your voice was rising and you could feel yourself getting swept up in your anger. "How about the pity looks I got when everyone heard you lie about not seeing anyone, or when you called her 'doll'? Or when you told her I was 'Avengers-adjacent'? You think I'm the embarrassing one? You made me feel like an insignificant piece of shit tonight, Barnes. God, if it hadn't been for Steve saying what he said, you would have driven me to tears."

Bucky had been staring down at his boots as you'd been speaking, as though your accusations were too much for him to face head-on, but at the mention of Steve's name, his head snapped up, blue eyes like ice on your face. "Well, if Steve's such a hero, why aren't you fucking him, then?" he asked, voice clipped and bitter.

You yanked your wrist free from his grasp. "Maybe I should start!" you shouted. "At least he's not embarrassed of me and doesn't forget I exist when another pair of tits shows up!"

Bucky's gaze darkened and in an instant, he was on you, caging your body against the elevator wall, a hand on either side of your head. "Don't you even fucking joke about that," he snarled.

You jutted out your chin, refusing to show any sign of weakness, though his actions were beginning to frighten you. "Who says I'm joking? Sounds like a good idea to me; thanks for suggesting it." You moved to duck under his arm, but he grabbed you by the shoulders, pinning you in place.

His breaths were coming hard and fast now, as though he'd just run a marathon. His gaze darted between your eyes and your lips, as though trying to make up his mind about something. In the next instant, his mouth was crashing down on yours, his tongue demanding entry.

You gasped at the sudden intrusion and Bucky took that as his invitation, deepening the kiss with a primal fervor. His hands gripped your waist, pulling you into him. For a moment, you were stunned, unsure of what was happening. But then instincts took over – he was kissing you, really kissing you. Your stomach fluttered and your heart hammered in your chest.

One of your hands ran through his hair, while the other gripped his shoulder for support. His hands had somehow migrated beneath your shirt, thumbs rubbing soothing circles into the bare skin at your sides. You returned his kiss with as much intensity as he gave. But then suddenly, as if waking from a dream, you remembered why you were angry with him. You pushed against his chest, breaking the kiss.

You were both panting, and despite your attempt to put distance between your bodies, Bucky leaned down, resting his forehead against yours as he fought to catch his breath. "Don't," he whispered hoarsely, his voice heavy with an emotion you couldn't quite place. "Don't sleep with Steve."

"You realize how incredibly infuriating you're being right now, don't you?" you asked. "You can't just treat me like that, ignore me all night in favor of someone else, then kiss me and try to tell me who I can or can't sleep with."

"I know, Sweetheart," he said, nuzzling your nose with his, "I know and I'm sorry, but please, promise me: no matter how angry you are with me, don't sleep with Steve. You wanna fuck someone else to piss me off? Go fuck Sam, Thor, Rhodes, hell, even Parker. I'll hate it, but if it's Steve, it'll fucking kill me."

"Your signals are all over the place tonight, Buck," you sighed, letting out an involuntary moan as his lips found the sweet spot on your neck and sucked at your skin. You had to pull away before he turned you into a babbling mess. "If you think you can just kiss me into oblivion and I'll forgive you for everything you've said and done tonight, you better think again, because that's not happening."

Bucky ran both his hands through his hair, sending it pointing every which way. Then he pressed the emergency stop button again, letting the elevator resume its journey. "I know I owe you an explanation, Pocket," he said. "So, can we go to your room and talk? No interruptions, no one else, just you and me, okay?"

You studied him, considering. A part of you was still so angry at him that you didn't want to hear him out, but the part of you that loved him hated the idea of leaving things in a bad place. In your line of work, you never knew when your next goodbye might be your last goodbye.

"Fine," you said, dropping your shoulders with a sigh. "We can talk, I'll hear you out, but I'm not promising forgiveness."

He smiled, his eyes bright once again. "That's all I ask, Sweets. That's all I ask."

<- Previous Chapter / Next Chapter ->

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Steph, do you have any "there was only one bed" recs?

Hi Lovely!

Ahhh, not SPECIFICALLY "only one bed" but I do have a LOT of "Bed sharing" fics where the majority of them are "victims of circumstances" so in turn Share A Bed, LOL. And because I need a list for today, I'm using your list to put out the next part that doesn't have much but I did go through my MFL list to pad it out a bit. For those, I whittled down that section to fics specifically tagged with "one bed" LOL, so check that section out to get more closer to what you're looking for.

If anyone has some fics to share that are SPECIFICALLY One Bed, please do!!!! One of these days I will properly sit down and go through all my bookmarks, and then I'll filter those out from these lists.

BED SHARING Pt. 7

See also:

The Speckled Blonde / BedSharing

BedSharing Pt. 2 and Insecure Sherlock

Bed Sharing Pt. 3

Bed Sharing Pt. 4 

Bed Sharing Pt. 5

Bed Sharing Pt. 6 (Mar 2023)

BOOKMARKS

Both Sides Now by Silvergirl (M, 14,724 w., 5 Ch. || Post-TEH / Reunion Fix-It, Bed Sharing, First Kiss / Time, Undercover John, Couple for a Case, Assassin Mary, Big Brother Mycroft, Norfolk Coast, Angry John, First Kiss, Worried Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Alternating POV, Infidelity, Meddling Mycroft, Emotional Love Making, Matchmaker Mycroft) – Sherlock, undercover on the Norfolk coast, texts that he needs help; John is still seething after Sherlock’s gambit in the train car, and he refuses. When Sherlock goes missing, Mycroft sends John in to pose as Sherlock’s bit on the side.

Spare Parts by Raina_at (E, 63,497 w., 10 Ch. || 24th Century / Futurism AU || Post TRF, Pre-TRF Relationship, Case Fic, Mutual Pining, Estrangement, Reconciliation, Science Fiction, Reunion, Nightmares, Angry John, Cybernetic John, Emotional Discussions / Heart to Heart, POV John, Scars, Past Drug Use, Forehead Touching, Emotional Lovemaking, Kissing, Apologies, Kidnapping, Rescue Mission, BAMF John, Bed Sharing, Top Sherlock) – Two years ago, Sherlock Holmes jumped off the roof of New London Hospital. Two months ago, he walked into John's clinic as if no time had passed at all. John hasn't seen him since. But then Sherlock knocks on John's door with a case he can't say no to, and while figuring out why the biggest manufacturer or synthetic limbs in the System is going after veterans, they also need to find out whether there's a way to fix what's broken between them. Part 1 of Realigning Gravity

Out There by DiscordantWords (T, 131,695 w., 10 Ch. || X-Files Fusion || Past Soldier John, Panic Attacks, POV Alternating Present Tense, Anxious John, Canon Adjacent, Deductions, Obsessive Sherlock,, Travelling, Sherlock’s Family, Jealous Sherlock, Mind Palace John, Awkward Flirting, Batting Cage, Kidnapped/Abducted John, Semi-Reverse Reichenbach, Worried/Anxious Sherlock, Hospital, Slow Burn, UST, Case Fic, Government Conspiracy, Aliens, UFOs, Mutants, Mutual Pining, First Kiss, Coma John, Forehead Touching, Hand Holding, Drinking/Bars, Past Jolto) – FBI Special Agent John Watson, medical doctor and army veteran, is assigned to assist eccentric genius Sherlock Holmes with paranormal investigations on the X-Files project.

MARKED FOR LATER

One Bed That Wasn't Slept In, and Another That Was by ancientreader (E, 8,455 w., 1 Ch. || Bed Sharing, First Time) – John doesn’t mind sharing a bed with Sherlock. Sherlock dissents. Things go downhill from there.

The Perfect Place by meet_me_in_samarra (T, 10,070 w., 14 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting AU || Crack / Humour, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, Only One Bed) – Sherlock needs a flatmate and already has the perfect person in mind. Now he only needs to convince his object of desire to move in and also find out if he desires Sherlock as well.

All of the Things I Need by thalialunacy (E, 10,337 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Parentlock with Rosie, Romance, Friends to Lovers, Big Brother / Uncle Mycroft, Frottage, Anal, First Kiss, First Time, Only One Bed, "Straight" John) – In which John has to be shoved into moving forward, Sherlock actually manages to be surprised, and Mycroft turns out to be an A+ uncle. (And they all live happily ever after, of course.)

The Cavern by elwinglyre (M, 28,323 w., 12 Ch. || The Beatles / 1960s Rockstar AU || Only One Bed, Mutual Pining, Rock and Roll History, Erotic Dreams, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Homophobia, Heavy Petting, Kissing, Inspired by Music, POV Third Person Alternating) – Sherlock is not into making magic. He doesn’t believe in it. He does, however, believe in making rock and roll history. His best chance is to join John Watson’s band, the Magic Makers. They begin at the Cavern. There he learns to believe in more than magic with a little help from his friends. AU is set in Liverpool during the early 60s—when homosexuality is a crime.

Roommates are for little people by alexxphoenix42 (E, 69,042 w., 14 Ch. || Teen/Unilock || Forced to Share a Bed, Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Fake Relationship, Sherlock is a Prick, Drinking, Inadvertent Drug Use, Family Wedding, Footballer John / Ballet Dancer Sherlock, Frottage, Slow Burn, Mild Dub Con, Cuddling While Sleeping, Slight Homophobia, Posh Boy, Dirty Dancing, Endearments, Nosy Family, Bathing Together, Mild Angst, UST/RST, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff) – John was looking forward to seeing his friends back at uni, but a new year brings new complications, not the least of which is a dorm room with only one bed, and a stroppy roommate with an utterly spectacular arse. God, John doesn't need the headache.

Trick or Treat by Accident and holmesian_love (M, 88,310 w., 8 Ch. || Halloween, Costume Parties / Masquerade, Love Confessions, Only One Bed, Injured John, Three Continents Watson, One Night Stand, Case Fic, Jealousy, Greg and John Relationship, Caring Mycroft, Ghosts) – Sherlock has a new case. One that John is unlikely to get on board with, so it's going to take some convincing. Little does he know that John is discovering new feelings and this whole adventure may unravel more than just a killer.

[sarahscribbles]

REQUESTS ARE: CLOSED

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MONTHLY FIC RECS

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LOKI MASTERLIST

[Last updated: March 8 2023]

[All my readers use she/her pronouns]

KINKTOBER MASTERLIST

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MASTERLIST

THE SAKAAR FILES MASTERLIST

FOLLOWER CELEBRATION MASTERLIST

☆ Signifies 1k notes and up

✧ Moments of Magic ☆ 

Summary: You bring Loki two gifts to mark his birthday. One a magical object and the other your heart

✧ 14 Hours to Cape Town (18+)☆ 

Summary: When the rest of the Avengers are sent on a mission to Cape Town, you're forced to stay behind to recover from a previous mission while Loki isn't trusted enough to go along. How will you cope with being made to stay in the compound with the man you're in love with when he seemingly wants nothing to do with you?

✧ Warming Him (18+) ☆ 

Summary: Loki makes you warm him

✧ Stay Here One More Time

Summary: On the anniversary of the Battle of New York, Loki discovers he has someone on his side

✧ Don't Go Tonight

Summary: While on a mission fighting against HYDRA you do the one thing you’re not supposed to do and get distracted. The price you pay is a high one.

✧ Do I Haunt Your Mind?

Summary: You finally work up the courage to confess your feelings to Loki, but it goes badly wrong

✧ Little Green Dress (18+)

Summary: You try, and spectacularly fail, to tease the god of mischief.

✧ I Want To Make You Feel Wanted (18+)

Summary: On a mission you get the opportunity to kill the HYDRA agent responsible for torturing you, but, misreading the situation, Loki kills him before you get the chance. And now you want to kill him

✧ "My Pet." (18+)

Summary: Tony’s Christmas party gets a little steamier than you had imagined

✧ Tiny Blessings

Summary: Growing up within the royal palace of Asgard, you learned magic alongside Loki and his mother Frigga. After Frigga's death, you find a way into the dungeons to comfort her broken son

✧ Paper Trail

Summary: Loki organises a romantic treasure hunt for you

✧ Back In Your Arms

Summary: Loki arrives back at the compound, and back in your arms, after the battle with Thanos

✧ Illicit Affairs (18+)

Summary: A marriage built on nothing but childhood infatuation was always bound to fall apart. The love you once thought you had for Thor has dwindled to nothing but indifference. He doesn't know the things you crave and makes no effort to find out, so you turn to the one person who will fulfill all your filthy desires: his brother.

✧ One More Week (18+)

Summary: When Loki makes a request of you in bed, how can you possibly deny him?

✧ Burned (18+)

Prompts: “Do I look like I’m messing around? Do I look like I won’t punish you?” ||"Fucking is a reward, but you haven’t been good.” || "Be a good girl

✧ In The Quiet Of The Morning (18+)

Prompt: Soft morning sex with Loki

✧ For All To See (18+)

Summary: You, Loki, and a floor-to-ceiling window. What of it?

✧ Between His Thighs (18+)

Summary: Loki makes you warm him. Again.

✧ Emerald Lace (18+)

Summary: Your first time wearing lingerie for Loki has you nervous, but your god is quick to show you how much he adores you.

✧ Victory Prize (18+)

Summary: Loki arrives home from a mission eager to celebrate its success

TWO PARTERS

✧ When You Play With Fire (18+)

Summary: When Loki doesn’t accompany you to Scott’s birthday celebration, you think you have the upper hand by leaving him to stew in his own desire. You should have known better than to play with fire.

PART ONE

PART TWO

✧ Dancing With The Devil (18+)

Summary: You’ve burned for him for centuries, but you know he sees you as nothing more than a prize to claim. Still, you play his game of teasing and innuendo, but never give in to how badly you crave him. That is until an innocent smell of a flower on Midsummer leaves you with no other choice.

PART ONE

PART TWO

✧ On The Throne (18+)

Summary: Yet again Loki has allowed a security council meeting to run late. You decide that, this time, you’ll go and help hurry it alone

PART ONE

PART TWO

DRABBLES

✧ Don't Move, Darling (18+)

Prompt: "Move an inch and you won't be coming tonight."

✧ Purple And Red (18+)

Prompt: "I won't apologise for marking you up, everyone should know you're taken."

✧ Against The Glass (18+)

Prompt: "I want everyone to see how good you take it."

✧ Make You Sing (18+)

✧ Eyes Open (18+)

Prompt: "Keep your eyes open."

✧ Consequences (18+)

Summary: Loki gave you one simple order when leaving the palace and now you have to face the consequences of failing to follow it

✧ Worship You (18+)

Summary: Yours is the only altar Loki will ever worship at

BLURBS

✧ Loki with an overstimulation kink

✧ How would Loki love us?

✧ Loki praising us

✧ President Loki

✧ Sub!Loki

[thesantos-gottadoit]

[Owen arrives at the location he was told and watches the house from afar. Somehow this entire house - big enough to house several generations of a family - had apparently just appeared here rjust outside Hatchetfield and it is Owen's very first official mission as a P.E.I.P. agent to find out more about it.] [Somebody knocks at the door of the Santos' house. Whoever opens it, will find a tall man dressed in a HFPD uniform standing in front of it.]

-@agent-carvour

{I think it's funnier or will be funnier if it isn't Sergio who opens the door}

Vilma Santos froze. That wasn't the knock her brother in law told her was his. But who could they be expecting? All their neighbors were somewhere in the past according to Sergio. Maybe he'd sent new friends? Her daughter Rosa however had other plans for the day. She'd been promised a sesson with her piano friend and this must be him!

She used the special nob they'd installed to male the door easy to open for her in case of a fire. Her face fell when she saw a man who was not her piano friend.

There was a heavy second. Vilma looked at the doorway, and at her daughter, and quickly put down her pencil. "Hello there sehnor! I'm Vilma, what brings you to our lovely home?" She shivered as wind blew in. "Please, come inside it's far too cold for an open door." She knew English, but her accent was heavy and she hoped her words made sense.

Rosa looked at him closely. On the head of the 14-15 year old girl was an identical hat to Sergio. She tugged on her mother's arm. "Aah, nah naaa."

"I'm sorry, I don't think he's coming today."

Rosa looked frustrated and sat on the floor.

( @agent-carvour )

[animeshrink]

Kakashi - No signs of trauma

TW: Sucide mentioned.

So back to this picture. A little context. The masked guy is an Anbu agent (think elite covert ops). The yellow-haired guy is Minato, Kakashi's teacher/sensei, and Hokage (leader of the village) who had put 13-year-old Kakashi in Anbu.

As for not seeing any evidence of trauma, by 13, Kakashi...

Was a child prodigy. The prodigies of prodigies. He graduated the ninja academy at 5, yes 5. Which even by anime standards is RIDICULOUS. And became a chunin, or intermediate level shinobi, that is considered an adult at 6. So, yes, in their world, he was considered a full-fledged adult who could take care of himself and lead others, including adults on missions, at 6. And at 9 or 12, became jonin, or elite.

Prodigious children, in general (so not all, but it's not uncommon), can struggle to relate to peers and it can be a very isolating experience. It's not uncommon for prodigies to experience increased levels of anxiety and depression due to pressure and isolation.

Parentified/Adultified children may experience a social disconnect from peers due to adult responsibilities, again, causing increased feelings of anxiety, social anxiety, and isolation.

2. Had lived with a parent with mental illness. Sakumo, Kakashi's father was an elite ninja, who had a mission go wrong. He was ostracized by Konoha, the village where they lived, and died by suicide. Kakashi found his body and was 5-8 years old/under 10.

Children with parents who have mental illness are more susceptible to mental illness themselves due to genetic and environmental influences.

3. Was a child soldier. This was the norm for their world, but as such, he witnessed immense violence and partook in it to the point of normalization and desensitization. It was the ninja world. He was doing this since he was 5-6. All because it was the norm does not mean it wasn't traumatic. See #4, 5, and 6.

4. Lost his eye in battle. He lost his eye during the 3rd Shinobi War when attacked at unawares. He was 9 or 12.

Losing a sense (sight) and an organ is traumatic. In addition, he received a transplant on the battlefield. Medical trauma. It's not often talked about, but it's still trauma.

5. Witnessed his best friend die in battle. His friend, Obito (the kid in orange and blue), was crushed by a rock, saving him. Right after he lost his eye. In fact, he got his transplanted eye from Obito.

Thinking the traumatization is self-explanatory.

6. Other squad mate and friend used him to die from suicide.

Don't really think I have to explain how this is traumatic.

Survivor's guilt. At this time, both of his squadmates were dead. It's not uncommon for people who experience traumatic events in which they have survived and those around them, especially loved ones or close ones, have died to experience survivor's guilt or the immense guilt that accompanies the fact that you survived and everyone else died.

So, this is when he was placed in Anbu. His teacher/sensei thought it would be helpful to place him in a covert assassination squad to help him cope. Does his trauma stop? Coping skills is another post. But for now, the trauma.

The guy in the middle. That's Minato his sensei. By now, the boy on the left, Obito, and the girl in the front, Rin are dead. Kakashi is 14 and in Anbu. And guess what?

7. Minato dies.

Depression, anxiety, PTSD - Kakashi does develop all of these, but guess what, the Anbu saw no signs of trauma in him. We'll talk about adult him in a few posts, but wanted to cover kid him first. We'll also talk about resiliency, a BIG factor for Kakashi.

*This post for entertainment educational purposes only, if you are feeling suicidal ideation, please contact your local suicide prevention hotline. If you're in the US, call 988.

[redheadedbrunette]

Cool so I reread the series and I noticed a lot more than I did the first two times I read it which is fun. The relationship between Ben and Erica is more explored than I remembered which is good and I can definitely see her character arc a lot clearer.

X is still my least favorite book and there’s absolutely a corner that Gibbs wrote himself into on that one unless he’s entirely giving up on the idea of having Ben and co. be secret agents.

Ben’s a lot more of a competent spy than I remember too, which is refreshing.

I also completely forgot that all 10 of these books happen in the span of like a year and a half which is hilarious.

Oh and the age gap seems like something that would be a lot more of an issue if there weren’t only like 300 people in the world they could have contact with. Even Erica and Josh had a bit of a gap since she had to have been 14/15 or so while he was 17/18. A gap of 2.5 years would be problematic for normal kids but I think different rules would apply.

I'm so glad it was clearer on a second go around! Honestly, I didn't even really see it all that clearly until I reread the series a couple years ago (SSAS came out my first week of college) and had a lot more experience with how stories work on a fundamental idea. Erica's development is very much in the background, but when you're looking for it (excluding SSPX, but that's a different rant) it's so clear and interesting and I love it.

SSPX bothers me for SO MANY REASONS the biggest of which is that Mr. Gibbs puts the message before the overarching plot of everything, and then! It's not even a relevant message! Like, what twelve year old is hardcore believing QAnon (it's pretty obviously meant to be that or something similar). I feel like something could have been achieved and a message about privacy, like Murray makes getting a video of Ben part of some TikTok knockoff challenge, because that seems like a much more likely thing kids would do, but gotta make fun of people who remember what the news said two years ago and comparing it to what they say now! Can't have people with good memories! But yeah, it does shoot the series in the foot kind of, and I understand the reasoning behind why things were done the way they were! I just don't agree with it most of the time.

It's even funnier when you realize that it's not a year and a half evenly spread out, it's one mission his first year with five months before summer, one that summer, and seven his second year. Eight if you want to count SSGS and SSBI as different missions (I go back and forth as to whether or not I do). It's so funny. Please give poor Ben a break.

And yes! Ben is actually so much more competent than people seem to give him credit for sometimes. It's just that his skill set tends to be less flashy and useful in battle scenes, but he's very much the chess master of the group. He's the one planning and strategizing, and all the karate moves in the world aren't going to do you any good if you can't actually foil the plans.

My reasoning for why I'm okay with the age gap is because the narrative treats them as equals who are more or less in the same place in life. Like, yes she's two classes ahead of him, but for all intents and purposes, they're teamed up together constantly with others in Ben's class and I think Erica is the only one we really know about in her class (can't remember Chip's age, but he might be? idk, doesn't really matter). It's never dwelt on, and it bothers me when people try to make a deal about it! Like, they're not going to be in the same place in their lives forever. It's high school. Almost no one marries the person they dated in high school. I've long held that they'd break up sometimes after Erica graduates and starts her adult life while Ben is still in school (or something similar depending on how Mr. Gibbs decides to do things moving forward).

[jamesbuchananxsteviegrant]

I Pick the TV Show, Rogers Shuts His Cake-Hole | Bucky x Steve x Reader (Angst, Fluff)

Category: Angst, Fluff (Suggested) Age: 14+ Trigger Warnings: none, other than the standard explicit language Ship: Bucky x Steve x Reader Summary: Steve Snaps At Reader When He’s Stressed, Resulting In Her Being Very Upset Request: "can u write where steve/bucky is overwhelmed with something and when reader asks to help or is telling them to relax they snap at reader and reader is hurt which makes them feel really bad afterwards. thank you sm. i love ur writings. and this is anon right? is it alright if u dont post my response if its not anon? im sorry. thank you so much. ur blog always pictures great stucky imagines. 💗💗💗" Contains Spoilers for: N/A Word Count: 2,488

---

A given, the super-soldier had been on nonstop missions for the last month or so, but she thought she was helping him feel better, not making him feel worse.

“Would you like anything to eat, Stevie? You’ve barely moved all day.” (Y/N)’s voice is small. Quiet.

She’s leaning through the door of his study where he’s sat putting together his mission reports from the last three or four missions he’s been out on.

He shakes his head but doesn’t even turn to look at her.

Sighing, the woman walks further into the room where her boyfriend is slouched over the desk.

“You gotta take a break, Stevie.” She whispers, resting her hands on his shoulders.

She notices the way they tense up, but he still remains silent.

His fingers continue to write up his report on the laptop.

“I’m worried about you, Stevie; talk to me.”

“I’m busy, (Y/N).”

“I know you are, baby, but you’ve gotta look after yourself too.” She attempts, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek. He pulls away.

The woman furrows her brows.

“Steve, please, you’ve got to-”

“(Y/N), just stop!”

The shout is sudden and it makes her flinch back away from the man as he turns to face her.

“I’m fine, alright?! I don’t need you babying me all the time!”

She doesn’t respond for a second, surprised at her lover’s outburst.

He says nothing more, simply turns back to the laptop and continues typing away.

“Steve, look how stressed you are. Can you please just-”

“STOP! Okay?! Just stop! Leave me the fuck alone while I finish these neverending mission reports. For once in your life can you just understand that not everything is about you?!”

(Y/N) swears that being shot in the heart wouldn’t hurt half as much as the words that just came out of the man’s mouth.

Her mouth opens and closes as if searching for the right words to say, but that hurt.

Is she really that bad? Is that the truth behind all of this? That she’s clingy? Thinks everything is about her? That was never her intention. (Y/N) is well aware of how important being an Avenger is. Hell, she is an Avenger, for Christ’s sakes.

She says nothing more and leaves the room.

She can’t even decide if she feels sad. No. She’s not sad, she’s not angry, she’s not… anything.

Numb.

Naturally, her feet lead her to their room. Steve’s room. They all basically share the super soldier’s abode since they all got together, but right now she doesn’t dare open the door.

Doing a full one-eighty spin, (Y/N) takes herself back to a place she barely touches anymore. Her room.

It’s pretty empty. Most of her clothes are in Steve’s room, in her own walk-in wardrobe. Her bed is perfectly made from the last time she slept in here - maybe a year ago?

The woman walks around her bed and straight onto her bedroom balcony, overlooking the lake at the back of the compound, and stays there. For three-hours. Until Bucky comes looking for her.

He came home from his mission about thirty-minutes ago only to find their shared room of Steve’s empty. He searched just about everywhere, completely clueless.

“FRIDAY, where’s (Y/N) and Steve?” He finally gives in.

“Captain Rogers is in study five, and Agent (L/N) is in her private quarters.”

Now that makes the brunet furrow his brows.

Why would (Y/N) be in her room and not his or Steve’s?

He prioritises finding (Y/N) first, knowing Steve will be writing up mission reports, no doubt.

Despite them being together for over six-years now, he hesitates when reaching for the handle of her bedroom door. Instead, the man opts to knock.

No answer.

“(Y/N)?” Nothing. “Doll, it’s me; can I come in?” Nothing.

Bucky tries the door handle and finds it unlocked, yet still hesitates.

“Baby?” He calls out. Again, nothing.

He’s cautious now. Scared.

Her room looks as untouched as the last time he saw it, which was a few months back when she was after one of her plushies.

“(Y/N)?”

It’s when he feels the chill of the midnight winds ruffle his hair that he realises her balcony doors aren’t fully closed.

Striding straight over, his eyes widen at the sight of his girlfriend curled up in the corner of the outdoor area, crying.

“(Y/N), baby, hey, what’s wrong?!”

Bucky immediately drops to his knees in front of the woman, reaching for her hands and gently tugging them away from her tear-stained face.

“(Y/N), doll, look at me.” His voice is gentle. Soothing.

She does almost instantly but her sadness stays.

“What happened, baby? Are you hurt?”

The fear and sincerity in his voice is enough to prompt the woman to shake her head. Yes, she’s hurting emotionally, but he needs confirmation that she’s not dying.

The woman immediately sees the relief take over his features, but he’s still concerned.

“What’s wrong, doll?”

Her eyes stray away from his, not wanting to tell him what’s got her so upset.

“Hey, no, look at me, baby,” He whispers, hand lightly grasping at her chin to raise her face back up to his. “What’s got you so worked up, (Y/N)?”

Another shake of her head as she tries to escape her lover’s hold.

“Baby, please, you’re scaring me.”

Her face contorts into something close to heartbreak as she wants nothing more than to reassure the man in front of her.

“It’s okay, Buck.”

“It’s not okay! Doll, I haven’t seen you cry since Stevie nearly died on that mission in Ohio like two-years-ago! Talk to me.”

She takes a deep breath and wipes her face of the shedding tears.

“Do you want me to get Stevie?”

The question is innocent and makes sense, but her eyes widen and she shakes her head desperately.

“No! No, please, no.”

That truly makes the super soldier concerned.

“Doll, please can you tell me what’s happened?”

Never in the last eight-years that Bucky and (Y/N) have known each other has she been so reluctant to see Steve.

Another sob escapes her and it’s breaking his heart.

“Baby, please.”

“Steve got mad at me, alright?!” She manages an attempted shout. “I just wanted him to look after himself.”

“What happened? What did Steve do?”

He’s concerned. Massively.

“I was trying to get him to eat; he hasn’t eaten properly in so long. He’s so overworked and he’s hung up on all these mission reports. He told me that not everything was about me - shouted at me; told me to stop.” She’s whimpering and sniffling again now. “Please get him to eat something, James.”

That last sentence is the one that crushes him. She’s upset, yeah, but above all that, she’s still worried about the blond super soldier.

“Come on, baby, let’s go to our room and get into bed, yeah? I’ll go and speak to Stevie.”

Her eyes meet his and she looks scared, but the ocean blue gaze that he returns makes her bound to his every command.

The woman nods.

“Okay.”

“That’s my girl.”

With the help of the Winter Soldier, (Y/N) manages to stand up, letting him lead her out of her private room and into their shared one of Steve’s.

“Here, let’s get you into your PJs, yeah?”

He doesn’t leave room for negotiation as he helps his girlfriend strip out of her casual dress and into one of his oversized t-shirts.

“You get snuggled up in bed, doll. I’m going to go and get Stevie, okay?”

He hates how she looks nervous at the mention of their other lover’s name.

“He loves you more than words can describe, baby girl, I promise you. He shouldn’t have lashed out at you, I’m gonna talk to him, okay?”

A hesitant nod and forced smile is enough for now.

“I’ll be back shortly, I promise.” He leans over and gives the woman a kiss on the lips, leaving her with one of her favourite shows playing on the TV.

“Bucky,” Her choked up voice calls out just before he leaves.

The man turns from his place in the doorway.

“I love you.”

The smile that takes over his expression is contagious.

“I love you too, baby girl. More than anything.”

Despite his reassurance to the woman, he’s pretty damn pissed for a number of reasons about Steve losing his cool with their girl. Reason number one being, how dare he? Reason number two being, he knows better than to overwork, yet here we are.

Bucky doesn’t even knock once he approaches the glass doors of the study where Steve is sat typing away on the laptop.

The blond doesn’t even glance up to see who entered. He barely heard the door open which enrages Bucky further.

The brunet slams the lid of the laptop shut without saying a word, prompting Steve’s head to shoot up, glaring daggers at whoever has interrupted him.

“What the fuck, James?!”

That makes Bucky really get annoyed.

“Are you serious right now, Rogers?”

“I’m in the middle of about seven different mission reports, Buck, I’ve gotta finish them.” The man sighs, going to open the lid of the PC once more, only for Bucky to hold it down. “James, seriously,”

“No. What you need to do is explain to me why our girlfriend has been crying for the last God-knows how many hours?”

That makes Steve snap back to reality.

“What? (Y/N) has been crying? Is she okay?”

Bucky literally rolls his eyes at that.

“Are you fucking serious, Steve?” He repeats, Steve looking confused, expression contorting as he realises that his boyfriend is seriously angry at him.

“Bucky, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”

The Winter Soldier’s head lolls back as he groans in frustration.

“You seriously have no idea?” He asks, rhetorically, watching Steve look almost scared. “Do you often shout at your girlfriend and forget it happened?”

Cap’s eyes widen at that, and he visibly gulps.

“What?”

“She came in here to make sure you were looking after yourself, which you weren’t, by the way, and you tell her that not everything is about her?! Are you fucking stupid, Steve?!”

He remembers it all too well in that moment, turning his head down to avoid the frustrated glare of his male lover.

“No. No, you don’t get to look away from me. Look at me.” Bucky demands, watching the blond super soldier reluctantly do so. “I come home from my own exhausting mission, search for (Y/N) for thirty-minutes, and find her crying her God-damn heart out on the balcony of HER room; not our room, Steve, no. Her room.”

Steve’s heart shatters and his eyes widen once more.

(Y/N) hates staying in her room. She’d always be in his or Bucky’s without a doubt.

“I- Buck-”

Bucky shakes his head and stands back upright as Steve is lost for words.

“I’m not mad at you, Steve. I get it, you know? You’ve been overworking for the last month, I know you’re stressed, but fuck, baby, you can’t hurt her like that. Do you know how much my heart fucking shattered when I saw her curled up in the corner of her own God-damn balcony?! It tore me apart. She hasn’t cried since you nearly fuckin-” Bucky chokes on his own word as he walks away from his lover.

“I’m sorry! Buck, I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have let Fury send me on that many missions, I- I should’ve said no. I’m sorry.” Steve attempts, standing up and following the brunet, turning him around to face him once more.

“It’s not me you need to be apologising to, Stevie.”

Captain America nods and leans up to press a kiss to the man’s lips.

“I’m sorry, James.”

Bucky takes a deep breath and forces a smile.

“I forgive you. Of course I forgive you, I know you didn’t mean it, but I swear to God, if you hurt her again…”

Steve is already shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t dream of either of you getting hurt. Where is she?”

“Our room.”

He nods and begins heading toward the woman to which he owes more than he can give.

The door is half ajar when Steve gets there, he slowly opens it to reveal his girlfriend in all her glory, curled up under their Captain America themed duvet - which Sam bought the trio as a joke last Christmas. Her face is clear-as-day red from her earlier upset, and it breaks his heart.

The man knocks gently on the day as if not to startle the poor girl.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He offers a solemn smile when she turns to see who’s there.

He hates the way he can see her hesitation to speak to him as opposed to her usual squeal of his name, arms opening wide to welcome him into her cuddle-fest.

“Hi.” She manages, forcing her own smile.

There’s silence floating between them, the only sound being Jensen Ackles, in his role of Dean Winchester, talking a load of nonsense about pie on the TV that’s streaming Supernatural.

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Steve manages, taking a step toward the bed. “Nothing can excuse the way I yelled at you, and I’m so sorry for that, but, sweetheart, trust me when I say I didn’t mean it. I was so stupidly stressed, and I should never have let it get to that point.”

She nods, truly believing his words, but it still hurt.

The blond sits down on the edge of the bed, not daring to cuddle his girlfriend until she’s comfortable.

“I love you so much, (Y/N) (L/N).”

A bigger smile taints her lips at that.

“I love you too, Steven.” Her voice is barely a whisper but he hears it clear as day.

“Can I hold you?”

(Y/N) smiles and shakes her head as if he was being silly.

“You never need to ask permission for that, Stevie. No matter what.”

With another sad smile, he pulls the woman into his arms and holds her tighter than ever before.

“I’m so sorry, my love.”

“I forgive you, but no more missions for a while.” She whispers.

“Yes, boss.”

Bucky’s leaning against the doorframe, watching the interaction. He took a detour to Tony’s office and made sure to give the billionaire a piece of his mind about making sure Fury didn’t have Steve on any missions for a long time.

“Is this the last episode?” The brunet speaks up, stripping himself of his clothes as he enters their room properly.

“Yeah.” (Y/N) nods.

“I still think we should watch Vampire Diaries instead.” Steve chuckles, mirroring Bucky’s actions.

“I pick the TV show, Rogers shuts his cake-hole.” (Y/N) teases, mocking a line from Supernatural and snuggling herself in the middle of the bed, sandwiched between the two super soldiers - where she belongs. “I love you both.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

“Love you always, doll.”

TAGS

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Stucky x Reader Only Tag List: polarbearnamedpanda | @marvelous-glims

SFW Only Tag List: @piper-koko-barnes-rogers

[mypoisonedvine]

vignettes of a bond || alpha!bucky barnes x omega!reader

I originally wrote this in two parts for my sleepover but after I realized how long it accidentally became, I've reformatted it, added/changed a few things, and made into a oneshot!

word count: 3.1k

warnings: smut, angst, knotting, violence

June 2nd, 1943, 11:43 p.m., James Barnes’ bedroom

“I wanna do it, before I go,” he whispered against your skin. “But I know it’s wrong. It’s too cruel.”

“No, please,” you whimpered, “I want it. I want your mark.”

Bucky pulled back for a moment and you examined your Alpha’s face carefully, knowing it might be the last time for a long time. “I couldn’t bond to you and then leave you. It wouldn’t be fair… you deserve to find somebody who can stay, and be with you, and protect you.”

“All I want is you,” you whispered. “Please, Alpha… bite me.”

You saw him hesitate for a moment before he leaned in and sucked at your neck, building the anticipation before he finally sunk his teeth into your skin and you cried out, one single tear rolling down your cheek. “Mine,” he growled against your skin as he lapped at the healing wound, “my Omega. Forever.”

“Yours, only yours,” you agreed eagerly.

It wasn’t the first time Bucky had taken you, but that night he really and truly claimed you, left you a desperate begging mess, stretched out over his knot as he filled you over and over.

The next morning, you were still sore between your legs as well as on your new mark, and it took everything in you to be strong as you saw him off at the train station, waving goodbye and praying that your Alpha would return to you soon.

November 9th, 1943, 2:24 p.m., undercover SHIELD facility

“You promised Bucky you’d take care of me,” you reminded him with a little smile, wiping a tear from your cheek.

“I know,” Steve relented, “but we both know I can’t do that. Not in this state. But maybe I can protect you if I do this. Maybe I can protect my country. I owe it to everyone, especially Bucky, to try.”

You nodded. “But I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. Come see me before I ship out for good, alright?”

“Of course,” you agreed.

December 27th, 1943, 8:32 a.m., your front porch

“You’re lying,” you gasped as you shook your head. “You’re wrong, no, it’s not true.”

“It is,” Steve promised as tears welled in his eyes, “I’m so so sorry, I saw it myself, I had to watch him fall…”

“It’s not true! He’s not dead!”

“I know he loved you so much. He talked about every day, he couldn’t wait to come home to you,” Steve remembered, choking up noticeably. “But he won’t. He’s gone.”

“You don’t understand, I know, okay? I know.”

“You’re in shock, I understand, it’s hard to lose your mate—”

“You’re a beta, you wouldn’t understand,” you dismissed; sure, he looked like an alpha now, but it didn’t make a difference. “Omegas, we know when our Alpha dies, we feel it, it kills us. He’s far away, but he’s still there, I still feel him!”

Steve held you as you sobbed, your body crumpling into his arms. Sometimes you thought maybe he held you too tight on accident because he was still getting used to his new strength; other times you thought he did it on purpose.

February 3rd, 1944, 12:00 p.m., undercover SHIELD facility

“Even when I had nothing, I had Steve,” you recalled shakily, “and now he’s gone too.”

“Is that why you’re volunteering?” Agent Carter asked you. “Because you’d rather sleep for a hundred years than live without your mate and your best friend?”

“I’m volunteering because my mate and my best friend died for SHIELD,” you corrected firmly, “and if I’m not willing to also, then I’m admitting I think they went to waste.”

“Steve told me you didn’t think Bucky was dead,” Peggy remembered.

You winced. “I’m not sure. But I know he’s not coming home again. I came here to give whatever I could to help find him… I was asked to participate in a cryogenics research study. If it helps him, then I’ll do it.”

She was about to get up, apparently satisfied with your final interview, but you stopped her.

“On one condition,” you added. “If James Barnes is found, alive or dead, wake me up to see him.”

She nodded, stepping out of the room and leaving you alone again.

May 8th, 2012, SHIELD headquarters

“Can you hear me?”

You slowly blinked awake, your vision taking a moment to catch up with your mind. You saw tubes coming out of your arms; you saw Steve above you, looking like the day you saw him last.

“Did you find Bucky?” you asked instantly. Why else would they wake you up?

“No,” Steve answered, seemingly a bit disappointed that that was your first and only question.

“Then put me back to sleep,” you demanded.

“It’s been 68 years,” he told you. “You’ve slept for 68 years. It’s time to wake up.”

And you did, more than you ever wanted to, because you realized you couldn’t feel him anymore. Your Alpha was gone. Worse, he probably died while you were asleep; he probably died alone.

One more time, like he had 68 years ago, Steve held you while you sobbed.

August 1st, 2014, 2:11 a.m., Avengers compound, Steve Rogers’ quarters

You ran into Steve’s room barefoot and still in your pajamas, barreling through the door and right into his bed.

“Steve, I feel him!” you rushed.

“What?” he groaned sleepily, looking up at you as he blinked in confusion.

“I feel him again, he’s alive,” you explained. “I know it. He’s weak… he’s hurting… but he’s there.”

“That’s impossible,” Steve shook his head. “It’s been too long, he would’ve died of old age anyways.”

“Don’t you want to believe it? Don’t you want to think he’s out there?”

“Do I want to think he’s alone and I didn’t save him?” Steve hissed. “No, I can’t say that I particularly do!”

“But we still can, Steve, we just have to find h—”

But before you could finish, the feeling left you, and you were just half of something again.

“Oh,” you breathed.

“He’s gone again?” Steve realized.

You nodded, biting your lip as it started to quiver. He sighed and pulled you into a hug. “If I could just see his body, and know it was over,” you whispered, “if I could just bury him, have a funeral…”

“We’ll have one,” Steve decided, “after this mission. We’ll put him to rest. He deserves that, and so do you.”

You nodded into his shoulder. It shattered you into a million pieces but it was still the better option, to try to let him go in whatever small way you could. He would always, always, always be your Alpha, nothing could change that, but a funeral would at least bring some closure.

That would have to wait until after your next mission though… and it was going to be a big one: tracking the elusive Winter Soldier.

August 3rd, 2014, 1:14 p.m., Lower East side

You were a few blocks away, helping civilians escape the firefight, when you felt it.

For one impossibly brief moment, you felt him, stronger than you had in nearly 80 years. He was here.

You instantly got up and ran like you’d never run before, finding the Soldier and Steve locked in a brutal showdown— but his mask was gone now, and you nearly fell to your knees at the sight of him.

“Bucky!” you yelped, but you knew he wasn’t there or you would’ve felt his presence. Your Alpha was somewhere underneath the shell that wore his face, and you needed to find him.

You ran forward just as Steve made a break for it, getting to him just in time to stand between the Soldier and his mission.

“Alpha, please,” you whimpered, clutching at his chest. A metal hand backhanded you to the ground.

“Out of my way, Omega,” he growled, stepping over you, but you grabbed at his ankles even when he tried to kick you away.

“My mark,” you explained hastily, pulling your shirt down some to make sure it was visible. “It’s yours. Do you remember? You gave me this. This is your mark on me.”

He stared down at you, seeming to be contemplating it, and you scrambled back to your feet and faced him.

“I still feel you,” you whispered. “I knew you were alive, I knew you’d come back to me. I could feel you, right here,” you explained as you took his hand and placed it on your chest. “Could you feel me? Did you know I was waiting for you all this time?”

His eyes were watering but he still seemed confused— stunned, more specifically, as you placed your hand on his chest.

“I’ll always be yours, Bucky. I’ll always be your Omega, no matter where you are.”

A stun gun took you down, an array of masked men appeared, and before he could really see you for what you were, he was dragged away and taken to be erased again.

August 3rd, 2014, 9:04 p.m., Avengers compound, medical bay

“I can’t believe we let them get away,” Steve lamented, resting his face in his hands. “I can’t believe they took him again…”

“They’ll be back,” you promised sternly. “They’re going to figure out what I am to him. They’re going to realize I could break his programming. And they’re going to come for me.”

“And when they do?” Steve pressed.

“We’ll be ready. And I’ll get my Alpha back.”

August 3rd, 2014, 9:04 p.m., temporary HYDRA operations facility

"The woman on the bridge... the Omega..." Bucky mumbled. "She knew me... she had my mark."

"No she didn't."

He furrowed his brow. "She showed me..."

Pierce sighed, glancing over to the HYDRA scientist who looked back at him sternly.

"She's too dangerous to be left alive," the man sighed, shrugging in his lab coat. "We can't deprogram a bond like that."

"We'll take care of her," Pierce promised.

Bucky launched from the chair, snapping his restraints like paper. "Touch her and I'll fucking kill you!" he bellowed, tackling his handler to the ground.

Pierce just laughed as another scientist jabbed Bucky with a needle, dosing him with something strong enough to kill any other man but just enough to knock out a super soldier. Pierce stood up and dusted himself off as he watched Bucky go limp and be lifted back into his chair.

"I can see the fight in your eyes, Soldier," he taunted as he leaned into his face. "I know you really would kill me, if you could. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, right? But don't worry about your mate, we'll make it quick and painless. Hey, maybe beforehand me and a few of the other Alphas will show her a good time, poor thing's been without her mate for 70 years... I bet she's raring to go."

Bucky's arm twitched as his eyes started to fall shut, a tear falling down his blank and motionless face.

"Wipe him," Pierce instructed to the scientist, turning and walking away as the electric whirr of the machine charging up filled the room.

August 11th, 2014, 3:53 p.m., SHIELD headquarters

Steve was impressed with how accurate and imminent your prediction was; HYDRA was hot on your trail and desperate to eliminate the biggest threat to their Asset. Knowing they were coming made it easier, but it was still a brutal fight.

You and Steve tried to stay together, but they were smart, they used the perfect bait to lure you away.

"Tell me where he is," you demanded from the HYDRA agent as you held a blade to his neck, "then I'll kill you."

"Isn't it supposed to be 'or I'll kill you'?" he frowned.

You shook your head. "Not the way I operate."

Opposite to the reaction you were expecting, he grinned widely. "He's here."

Your heart stopped.

"On the roof. He's here to kill you."

You dropped the knife and ran straight for the stairwell, ascending them like they were nothing and calling out for your Alpha.

You found him there, waiting, gun trained on you. Raising your hands in surrender, you yelled to him again.

"Bucky," you called across the windy roof, eyes nearly blinded by the bright afternoon sun. "Alpha."

"I'm not who you think I am," he yelled back. "I'm not your Alpha."

It hurt to hear it in his voice, but you knew it wasn't him. Cautiously, you stepped closer. "Before you left, you told me you didn't want to mark me and leave me behind," you recalled. "But I wanted it. I wanted to be bonded to you more than I'd ever wanted anything."

He could clearly see you were coming closer, he even tightened his finger over the trigger of his weapon, but he was waiting. You kept walking to him, slowly.

"I've never regretted it," you continued, "not even when I thought you were dead, not even when I had to spent a lifetime-- more than that-- apart from you."

Finally you were face to face, and you stepped closer until his gun was pressed right into your chest.

"You can shoot me now and I still won't regret it," you promised. "I love you."

Shakily, he lowered his weapon. "Omega..." he breathed.

"Your Omega."

He pulled you into him and you sobbed as you felt him come to life in your arms-- the real him, your Alpha, your Bucky. He held you close and breathed against the top of your head and it was like a dream coming true decades after you'd forced yourself to let it go.

But you'd never given up. And now you had found him again.

Agents started to come onto the roof and Bucky spun the two of you around, firing with his right hand and using the left, metal arm as a shield for you.

He carried you and you didn't even know where he was taking you, but it didn't matter. In his arms, you were home.

August 12th, 1:03 a.m., Avengers compound, your quarters

You hadn't stopped coming or crying for at least an hour. Bucky had all but split you open on his knot all night and he didn't show any signs of stopping.

He apparently intended to make up for lost time. And you'd lost a lot of time.

"Just one more, I know you can give me one more," he groaned furiously rubbing your clit as his knot began to swell again.

You could give him anything, as long as he asked for it like that.

You'd lost count of how many times he'd told you to come for him, and how many times you did it immediately.

"I can see how full you are," he whispered as he rubbed your stomach gently. "So much seed in you that your body can't hold it all."

You looked down and yep, you were distinctly bloated from his come alone; it made you a little dizzy to even look at it.

"The idea of you alone during your heats, no one to protect you, it kills me," he explained with a growl. "I won't let you go again. I can't."

"Then don't," you sighed. "Never leave this bed, fill me with everything you have."

"Did anybody ever help you through them? The heats?" he asked. "I wouldn't blame you, they can be so painful... I just need to know so I can make sure you forget about them."

"No, Bucky, never— I never let anyone touch me."

"Steve could've helped you, at least some..."

"He wouldn't have, he loves you too much. And I wouldn't accept anything less than you, ever. You're my Alpha. We're bonded. There's never anyone else."

That didn't seem to satisfy him, his eyes darting away as he swallowed. Your gut sank with the realization he probably wasn't being totally honest about why he asked.

"Your ruts," you gasped. "Were you alone for all of them?"

He shut his lips tighter.

"Bucky, it's okay, just tell me. I was asleep for 70 years, I skipped most of them, but you... you had to live through them all."

"They gave me betas, and omegas," he mumbled, "but I don't... I don't really remember. I know they wanted me to. They threatened to hurt me if I didn't, because they knew I'd go crazy after so many ruts alone, but I can't remember if I really did it. I remember... I remember crying, and begging for you."

"Alpha," you breathed as you felt new tears run over the stains of your old ones. "It's okay. Whatever happened, it's okay now. We're together again. Everything's okay."

You wiped his tear away with your thumb, holding his face tightly, weaving your fingers into his long hair.

"I'll always be your Omega," you promised.

He leaned in closer to you, kissing your cheek before pulling back a little. "It's faded," he whispered as he ran his thumb over the mark on your neck. "The last time I saw it, it was still fresh."

"It's older, sure, but it's stronger than ever, Bucky."

August 14th, 10:12 a.m., Avengers compound, residential area kitchen

Steve's eyes went wide when he came into the kitchen for breakfast and found you there, steeping your tea. "Surprised to see you out of the love nest so soon," he smirked.

"It's been three days, I don't think that counts as soon," you scoffed.

"It does to him," Steve frowned. "He's asleep, isn't he?"

"Yep."

"I know he wouldn't let you out of his sights if he was conscious," Steve chuckled.

At that moment, you heard Bucky call your name and run out into the hall, only a bedsheet covering his groin as he appeared in the doorway. You spun around and smiled when you saw him come running towards you, embracing you with his free arm.

"You should've told me you were leaving, I got scared when I woke up without you," he admitted weakly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry!"

He pulled back and clutched your face in both his hands. "I'm waking up next to you every morning for the rest of my life, you understand?"

You nodded dutifully. "Yes, Alpha."

"One hand on the sheet, please, Buck?" Steve winced, looking away.

“Whoops,” Bucky groaned, reaching to cover himself as you laughed softly.

“Let’s go back to bed, baby,” you decided quietly, taking Bucky’s (free) hand in yours and waving goodbye to Steve, who was already making his way as far out of earshot as possible.

[buckystevelove]

You left your mark in my heart Part 4

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader

Warning: angst

Steve was leaving for a mission that would last 4 days. You needed to talk to him before he left.

After breakfast you left him a note in the fridge that said:

“Steve,

Please don’t leave with things like this. Come to our room at 14:00pm. -YN.”

Now you were sitting in your bed, waiting for Steve to come.

You heard the knocking at the door. Quickly ran to the door and opened it,

Steve was standing there, he looked like a kicked puppy.

You just stood there for a while. Looking at each other. You took everything in, his perfect body, his handsome face.

He is beautiful.

“Hey” he finally said looking at the floor.

“Hi”

“I am sorry for yelling at you yesterday at dinner.” He couldn’t look at you. He was ashamed of himself.

“You really hurt me Steve.” You tried to not to spill the tears in your eyes.

“Please forgive me.” He finally looked at you. His eyes were red. He must have been crying.

“You know that I always will.” A small and sad smile appeared in your face. “ I want you to know that I am willing to fight for us. I need you. You are my life Steve. Please. I love you.”

“I love you too. I want you in my life.”

“We can try going to therapy. Maybe you can take fewer missions so we can spend more time together, look for a place outside the compound.” You were starting to get hopeful.

He let a frustrated sight.

“You still don’t get it, don’t you?” His tone was harsh. “ it is just not being a dad what I don’t want. I can’t slow down with my life for you. I can’t leave this behind.” He looked at you angrily.

It was like a punch in the guts. “Steve, I am willing to leave so many things go. So many hopes. I am just asking you to give me some of you. Give me Steve Rogers, you can keep Cap.” You we’re getting angry, though tears never stopped sliding through your face.

“We”ll talk when I come back.” He left without looking at you.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Steve left at night that day with Tony and Sam. He didn’t said goodbye to you.

You cried yourself to sleep that night.

The next few days Bucky and Wanda tried to make you fell better.

They would watch movies with you or bake different comfort desserts.

One night you and Bucky were together in the common room playing UNO.

“Uno!” You shouted before putting your last card in the pile.

“Ahhh, you keep winning this over and over again. I am starting to thing that you may be cheating.” Bucky said with a teasing tone. He had a playful smirk in his face.

“No no no. Maybe you just don’t know how to play old man.” giggling you gave him a hug.

“Thank you Jaime. Thanks for making me feel better.”

He hold you closer. “Of course doll, you are my best friend. I want you to be happy.” He look down at you with adoration.

“I need to talk to him when he comes back.”

That brought Bucky back to reality. He let you let go of you and stand up. “Yeah doll, sleep well. See you tomorrow.”

Bucky left you alone with your thoughts.

STEVE’S POV

The mission had been a success. He was now in the hotel bar with Tony, Sam and Sharon. She was the assigned agent for this mission.

“Well, congratulations. Now if you excuse me I will go to sleep. I am currently in zombie mode.” Tony said giving Steve a pat on the back.

“I will also head to my room. Well done Cap.” Sam smiled at Steve.

“You did great guys. You deserve a good rest.” Steve had a big smile on his face. He loved his job.

Now Sharon and Steve were alone at the bar. It was getting late but they both were talking animatedly.

“How is everything with YN?” Steve’s smile dropped.

“Things could be better.” His tone was bitter.

“Trouble in paradise??”

“She wants me to let down the shield. She wants so many things. I just wish she could be happy with what I give to her.”

“You are Captain America. She should understand. She knew what she was getting into when she started dating you.” She gave him a smile. Took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Do you really want to be with her, she can’t give you what you need. She can’t ask you to just become a stay at home husband Cap.”

“I know, I know.” He sigh frustrated.

But I love her he thought.

“You need some one who can keep you satisfied.” She said flirtatiously.

Steve stopped thinking straight. The was angry, sad and annoyed. He had to let some pinned energy out.

“Do you want to come to my room?”

A/N: comment, I want to know what you think. This is my first time writing a fic.

[snakechu]

A primer on your Splatoon characters and how they relate to each other, if you please!

Pulls out my Google Doc

Short Version! (Yes, this is actually the short version)

Kai (Agent/Captain 3 who is brash, but becomes an aspiring leader), Cole (Agent 4 who is reserved, but breaks their shell. Does campaign 1 along with 3), and Jordan (Agent 8 who is very much traumatized, but strives to move forward) develop a polyromantic relationship during 2 and are still going strong in 3.

Kai has an older brother named Pike who is very much protective, but the good kind to prevent Kai from getting into trouble, which she can, will, and has despite his efforts. A very caring older brother who supports his sister and her friends/partners all the way. Also a weapon enthusiast and becomes Sheldon's full time assistant in 3. Also captain of his own team called Inkthority.

Kai has a full team by the name of Palette Swap in which Cole, Corey, and Star are apart of. Corey and Star are cousins with a very sibling dynamic. The two even become an indie Idol Duo by 3 called Foreshore. Corey shares a friendly rivalry with Pike before he even met Kai.

Maxwell (Neo Agent 3) escaped Octarian society when he was 9, two years after he and his father heard the Inkantation. He also escaped with his best friend, Julian, and his mom with the two having just heard the Inkantation. Max and Jules are practically brothers.

The two young Octolings met two Inklings when they turned 14, those Inklings being Nicki (cute and feminine but unhinged) and Atlas (no ounce for respecting authority), born and raised in Splatsville. The four of them formed the team Hue Havoc with Julian being the captain.

Max has a little Smallfry buddy he named Salt and raised him from an egg. Salt is the embodiment of 'no thoughts, head empty'. Loves being carried by Max while going completely limp. Likes going limp, regardless of being carried and just lays in places.

As Neo 3, Max greatly respects all the Agents before him. He shares a sibling dynamic with Captain 3, is intimidated by Agent 4 while 4 finds him endearing, and he shares mutual understanding and respect for Agent 8 and bond over their shared heritage.

For those who want the longer version (and I mean LONG you better buckle up).

I'll start off by talking about these guys!

First up is Kai Piers, who is my Agent/Captain 3. She is brash and bold who isn't afraid to speak her mind or jump into situations, which has led her to quite a bit of trouble in her youth (No hesitation when joining the New Squidbeak Splatoon at age 14). She may be reckless, but her hearts are in the right place. In 1 and 2, she is the captain of her own team dubbed Palette Swap. By Splatoon 2 (16), she has matured, but is still brash and reckless, but has learned to come up with plans before taking action... most of the time. I have yet to see Splatoon 3's story mode (21) so I'm not 100% certain on things, but I'd imagine she's fully in the mindset of Captain and is a much critical thinker than when she was younger, but that fire from her youth has not left her. She is also fond of Neo and is very much an older sister figure to them. By this point, she is fully in a polyromantic relationship with Agent's 4 and 8.

Cole Aegean, aka, Agent 4 is up next. Cole (15) met Kai the day she began her Turfing career by saving his butt from a couple of bullies (with the help of her brother), and they've been glued to the hip ever since (formed Palette Swap). He is much more reserved than Kai when it comes to taking any sort of initiative, down to the point where he can have an panic attack. Cole was actually dragged along by Kai into the New Squidbeak Splatoon (Yes, I have a two player campaign in Splatoon 1, fight me). Although he accepted the mission, he was very much a hot mess and was actively calling out Kai for how reckless she was being and how she was treating it like a game (She almost got them killed multiple times). But contrasting Kai's recklessness, Cole was much too cautious and overthought a lot, letting many opportunities get away from him. In the end, the two learned to combine their strengths to save the Great Zapfish. By 2 (17) Cole is still reserved, but has learned to be much more daring, even beginning to become charismatic. The moment he heard the Great Zapfish had been kidnapped once again, he didn't waste a second accepting his new solo mission (and received extra help, teehee). By 3 (22) you wouldn't even believe he used to be an anxiety ridden mess (It's not gone, but he's dealing with it much better now). An outsider would think him now reckless, but every move he makes is calculated and swift. No opportunity escapes him now or his Duelies. In a Polyromantic relationship with Captain 3 and Agent 8.

Now for my Agent 8, Jordan! In Splatoon 1 (14) they were present when the Calamari Inkantation was performed by the New Squidbeak Splatoon, opening their mind to the possibility that Inklings and Octarians can live in peace, despite what DJ Octavio has propagated to them during their time as a soldier. They have been unable to escape to Inkling society by 2 (16), but a chance encounter with Agent 3 would change all of that. They managed to recognize Agent 3 at the time and refused to fight her because of it, but that wasn't an option for 3, so a chase ensued with Jordan running for their life. This chase separated Jordan from 3, caused them to lose their memories, and end up in the Deepsea Metro (that I DO have an explanation for, but I'm currently writing about it RN, so no spoilers >:3). Their escape from the Deepsea came with a lot of built up trauma from going through all 80 tests for basically nothing (Mem cakes didn't provide complete memories *nudge nudge wink wink they weren't supposed to hehe*) along with the escape itself (fighting 3 was Not Fun TM). But once they reach Inkopolis, they began to live with Agent 3 and her older brother whom they've developed strong bonds with along with the rest of Pallet Swap. About a year and a half/two years later (haven't fully decided yet), all 3 Agents move into an apartment together some time after they begin their polyromantic relationship (still need to figure out how they all confess). By 3 (21) they have fully accepted and embraced their new life, thankful for every day they are able to live on the surface and thankful for the loves of their life. They never want to take anything for granted (God, I hope we get 4 and 8 content in the upcoming DLC so I can have further thoughts about my 4 and 8 during 3).

Pike Piers is Kai's older brother by two years and profreshional battler and captain of Inkthority! Pike had been living in Inkopolis alone for some time until his younger sister came to live with him just before her 14th birthday. Their relationship is a strong one, full of teasing, support, fights, and respect. Only strengthens as the two grow older. Pike is very much aware of Kai being Agent 3 and eventually the Captain of the Splatoon. His first reactions to this are panic and anger. Kai snuck off with Cole without telling him she was doing any of this during the first game, which reasonably freaked him out, as Kai had only just gotten used to Turf Wars. But after seeing what the two had done to save Inkopolis, he reluctantly allowed Kai to continue Agent work as long as she kept him updated as much as she could for the sake of his own sanity. By 2 (18) he actually assists Agent 4 during the second campaign as an assistant to Sheldon (he absolutely fanboyed getting the chance to work with him, he's a huge fan). Also in 2, he becomes the person to talk to for all of the young Agents when they need an ear, and shares a strong kinship with all of them, which only got stronger when they all began dating. By 3 (23) he is Sheldon's full time assistant and is also a weapon's and teamwork coach on the side.

Corey Humbold (16) is another teammate of Kai that she met early on along with his cousin, Star Botale. Corey is a very charismatic and confident individual who is also able to show a much more gentle and sensitive side to those he deems close. Also a good listener when he needs to be and the secondary older sibling friend among this group of six (Pike being the primary one even though Corey is older). Corey and Pike themselves have a shared friendly rivalry, with Corey once being apart of a rival team that has since disbanded (Corey also has a boyfriend that is a part of Pike's team, so there's that). Joining Kai's team has only increased the bond and rivalry between the two. In 2 (18) he also assisted Agent 4 as a source of recon and information, as he has been doing his own side research on Octarian society ever since Kai and Cole became Agents (he knows because he helped Pike to look for his sister when she joined the Splatoon). During the final confrontation in that campaign, Corey and Star become backup singers and dancers for the Squid Sisters as they performed the Calamari Inkantaion a second time (I got this idea from the art book showing a concept with DJ Octavio and Callie having backup dancers, so why not flip it). This was the beginning of Corey and Star's indie music careers in 3 (23).

And last, but not least in this group is Star Botale (15). She met Kai and Cole the same time as her cousin, Corey, and joined Palette Swap. Star is also charismatic like her cousin, but many people mistake her for seeming aloof. She is actually much more observant than people give her credit for (they realize their mistake much too late the moment she gets them with her charger skills) and is very good a reading people. She is able to say the right thing to get people to open up and then uses that for blackmailing purposes (all of which are for super petty reasons. But don't test her). She has always hopped around friends and girlfriends alike, with the only person she's ever stuck around and built a genuine bond with is Corey. But that all changed when she joined Palette Swap and found out about the New Squidbeak Splatoon. That was a ride she didn't want to hop off of. In 2 (17) also helped Agent 4 with her keen eye of environments, helping him with puzzles and weaknesses. Performed the Inkantation alongside her cousin with the Squid Sisters. By 3 (22) Corey and Star have formed Foreshore and are an indie Idol Duo.

OKAY! That was just the Splatoon 1 and 2 kiddos. I do have OCs for 3 despite me not having it. I've only shown one of four I have (Neo 3), who you can see here, here, and here... Okay, here we go, holy cow.

Neo Agent 3 is Maxwell 'Max' 'Maxie' Delta! A 14 year old Octoling who escaped with his father to Splatsville during the events of Splatoon 2 (9), but they both heard the Inkantation when Max was 7. Max was raised to become an high ranking engineer like his father and his mother was an Elite Octoling Soldier who was reported MIA 3 months after the first Great Zapfish raid and 3 months after Max and Mr. Delta heard the Inkantaion. This event led to Mr. Delta wanting to wait to see if his wife would somehow return so his whole family could escape and it led to Max building a grudge against the society he was born in because of how long it took for it to tell him his mom is missing (AKA, this is all set up for what I hope becomes a really interesting and fun character arc for the Story Mode, DON'T SAY ANYTHING I'LL REWORK IT IF I HAVE TO THIS IS BASICALLY ALL BETA). He will never know what happens to his mother, but hopes against hope that she's somehow still out there and will find her way back to him. Max during his first year or so on the surface ends up finding an abandoned Salmonid egg. His instinct to protect came over and raised the egg until it hatched into a Smallfry, which he named him Salt. Salt is 'no thoughts, head empty' at all times and goes limp whenever Max carries him in his arms. He does this a lot. Salt also just goes limp anyway, looking like a dopey plush. He also 'bleps' a lot, which Max finds adorable.

Up next is Max's best friend, Julian 'Jules' Lewis, headstrong and loyal to a fault! Jules was practically raised alongside Max and are basically brothers. Jules in Octarian society was being raised to become a soldier, and was quite the prodigy as well, the only thing holding him back at the time was age and the inability to shift properly. His mother was a weapon producer, as she was unable to become an Elite Soldier due to an accident that left her left eye blind and left ear deaf. Jules's father was never present in his life, as he was the product of a one night stand. Jules didn't end up hearing the Inkantaion until he was 9 years old, during Splatoon 2. He only heard of the song through Max, but hearing the song himself was a completely different experience. He wanted to go with Max. It took much convincing to get his mother to go along with them, but she eventually agreed for her son. When the two boys turned 14, the two moved into an apartment together in Splatsville to being their Turfing careers. Jules ends up becoming the captain and strategist of Hue Havoc, with him and Max becoming the founders.

The first new friend the Octolings meet is an Inkling their age named Nicki 'Nick' Eris! At first glance, Nick appears to be a very cute and friendly face, but that is only a façade. She's an Inkling who causes chaos on purpose and is terrifying on the battlefield with her blaster game. It was chance for the young Octolings and Nick to meet, but the two immediately wanted to become friends with her after a couple of Turf War matches with her. She'd never been friends with Octolings before, but she agreed on the premise that it might be fun for awhile. Turns out, the boy's reactions and interactions with her have been 100% genuine and all because of her skill. Her appearance never factored into any decision they made. She has never met anyone who didn't want to try an take advantage of her outward femininity (what started her toying with people in the first place), so to meet these two who are so genuine, she thought they were naïve at first. The friendship she has with those two is something she cherishes, but she'd be caught dead rather than admit that out loud.

Finally, we have Atlas 'Atti' Tide, a 14 year old Inkling with not a single ounce of respect for those above her. All her life, she has constantly been told what she needed to do and what she needed to be. Her reaction to that was "That can all go to hell!" She forges her own path with her bare hands. That first step began with buying a ticket to the heart of Splatsville to make a name for herself, and herself alone. She met the trio at the Tableturf Dojo and destroyed all three of them at it. Frustrated, Jules challenged Atti to a private one on one Splat Zones match. Atti, having to play clever, managed to pull a victory, but fully acknowledged that Jules is terrifying to fight ("It's like fighting a trained soldier!" "...Hahaha... Yeah.....") and Jules did the same. Her energetic gall was a perfect fit for the team, and Hue Havoc came into the spotlight.

THAT TOOK SO FREAKING LONG OKAY BRAIN. Seriously, if you decided to read all of that, give yourself a cookie because OMG EVEN I WASN'T EXPECTING TO WRITE THAT MUCH THAT TOOK ACTUAL HOURS!

...But yeah, these are my Splatoon OCs :D

[marvelhero-fics]

Snowman

Series - Chapter One

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You’re a HYDRA assassin that’s worked closely with the Winter Soldier, to each of your dismay you’re reunited with Bucky after the blip. 

A/N: I haven’t posted in like 300 years, but I hope you guys enjoy this new series! This follows parts of TFATWS so expect spoilers! (Also I’m sure all the Russian is absolutely wrong, if you’d like to correct it please send me a message!)

Word Count: 1,815 (future chapters will be wayyy longer)

Snowman Masterlist || Full Masterlist

New York

2023

“So tell me about this-” the therapist looked down at her notes briefly, “(Y/N).” She finished.

Bucky paused momentarily, “No.”

“James, for these therapy sessions to be effective, you need to open up to me. I can’t help you if I don't know what’s wrong.” His therapist responded, laying her pen carefully on her small notebook.

Bucky thought for a moment, taking in the ambience of the room. What would he even say about (Y/N)? He hadn’t seen her in years. Bucky was kicking himself for accidentally bringing her up in his session last week. “I- uh-” he stammered, shifting his weight on the couch, “I met her in 2011. At least I think it was 2011. Date’s get kinda fuzzy sometimes, with all the cryo.” Bucky’s hand pressed against his head, feeling dazed as he tried to think back. “It was at the big HYDRA base outside of Moscow. We had to go on a mission together-” he was cut off,

“Did she work for HYDRA?” Dr Raynor interjected.

“Yea. She was an assassin too. She went by the alias the Viper.” Bucky pretended not to notice his therapist tense up. Anyone who knew anything about HYDRA knew who the Viper was. She was one of the most prolific assassins after the Winter Soldier.

“Tell me more about when you met her.”

“We were instructed to take out a terrorist organisation forming against SHIELD. Which was ironic because we were working for a terrorist organisation. But at this point SHIELD was being run by HYDRA and they couldn’t risk any slip ups, so they put 6 assassins on the job. HYDRA usually didn’t have their assassins working together, we were all too volatile. But we had to take out over 70 people in one night. It was (Y/N), a few assassins from the Red Room, and a few agents that HYDRA had trained personally, and me.” Bucky stopped.

“Where was (Y/N) trained?”

“At a secondary facility run by HYDRA. She was trained from a really young age. It’s all she’s known.” Bucky seemed somber. But his therapist continued,

“What happened on the mission?”

“Nothing. It went exactly to plan. The targets were taken out and we all left without a trace. But (Y/N), she- she kept trying to talk to me, or get to know me. I was the Winter Soldier. No one in their right mind ever tried to ‘get to know me’.”

“Why do you think (Y/N) did that?”

“She told me she was bored.” He replied bluntly.

Moscow

2011

The poorly lit conference room was filled with a myriad of assassins and officials. The only illumination came from old LED lights hanging from the concrete ceiling. The mossy green paint on the walls looked as if it hadn’t been patched up in years. The only new-ish part of the room was the large, oak conference table, surrounded by black, leather seating. It was difficult not to notice the red HYDRA symbol holding a spot on almost every piece of clothing in the area.

“TITAN terroristicheskaya organizatsiya, formiruyushchayasya protiv nas. (TITAN is a terrorist organisation forming against us.)” Kuznetsov spoke, “Izbrannyye budut otpravleny segodnya vecherom v Ukrainu dlya vypolneniya postavlennoy zadachi. Uberi ikh. (The chosen ones will be sent to Ukraine tonight to complete their given tasks. Take them out.)”

That was all it took. You stared at the file in front of you. You had read through it multiple times, going over every single name, every single skill set your targets had. You were more than certain you could complete this job on your own. But you had no choice on the matter.

Your eyes darted around, taking in the faces of the assassins that were to accompany you on your mission. Two youthful females, dressed in black leather sat next to each other. The older, grimacing woman behind them was Madame B., the head supervisor of the Red Room. You moved your gaze to the two agents in dark green uniforms and red, soviet berets. Neither looked particularly menacing.

You finally landed on the last assassin. His dark hair fell like curtains around his face. Gloomy blue eyes searched their way through the room. His sharp jaw seemed tense through his stubbled cheeks. He was large, extremely built. Covering his frame was an amplitude of black clothing and gear.

“Play nice.” Your mentor spoke softly over your shoulder, breaking you from your train of thought.  

“I always do.”

~

Your padded snow boots ripped through the thick snow covering the ground. The six of you had hiked your way to the set point on your GPS systems, the clouds of snowfall covering your vision held the illusion that there were absolutely no structures nearby. A large helicopter had dropped the group a few miles out from the hideout to ensure nothing was compromised. The trek was in utter silence, fighting against the harsh temperature in mid February.

The waypoint became closer on your map, a tiny building slowly appeared in your vision against the foggy downfall. It was a small, wooden cabin. Everyone hustled their way through the unlocked door. It was barren, it held no furniture, no blankets, no means of any life. There appeared to be a few doors that led to small, empty rooms. The entrance only held a small fireplace, filled with old cut down logs that had been eaten by bugs.

The group quickly dispersed, you headed to one of the rooms alone, throwing down your belongings onto the floor. The bag you carried was mainly filled with weapons and ammunition, along with a very warm sleeping bag. You knew too well you wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, but you would need the extra heat for now.

There was no chatter anywhere in the house. Your mission would begin in 6 hours. Everyone was likely putting together their artillery. You decided to cozy up in your navy sleeping bag for a moment of comfort.

Someone had lit the fire in the lounge. A warm, orange light crept through the cracks in your door. The ambiance was strangely calming for a shitty cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Snow continued to fall against the tiny glass pane of your room. You weren’t a fan of assassinating in the snow. It was low vision, harsher climates, and it lessened the ability to move. Snakes weren’t creatures of the cold. Conveniently you’d been grouped with someone who called himself ‘The Winter Soldier’. I’m sure he loves the cold, you thought.

You’d heard a lot about him. Everyone had. He was the perfect assassin. He never failed a mission, his body didn’t reject cryo, every form of enhancement HYDRA had used on him had been a success. He was what every assassin had aspired to be.

Without thought, you grabbed the glass bottle laying next to you and walked off to the room the Winter Soldier had claimed for the night.

“Privet (Hello)”. You announced, pushing his door open with a creak. His head didn’t turn towards you. He sat on the floor, the sound coming from him indicated he was sharpening knives.

“Khochesh' vypit'? (Want a drink?)” You asked, motioning the bottle towards him.

He stayed silent for a moment. Finally he turned, looking up at you from his position on the floor. “What is it?” His dark tone asked back. The amber light from the fire crashed against his features. His strong jaw was covered with a dark stubble, his brunette hair tucked behind his ears. His most obvious feature was the hauntingly blue eyes that sat in sunken sockets, he looked drained.

“It’s vodka.” You stated, honestly. You were surprised to hear he wasn’t Russian, he sounded… American?

“You’re drinking before a mission?” He queried.

You shrugged. “Alcohol doesn’t freeze.” You sat down next to him. “Plus it takes the edge off.” A faint clinking noise announced as you placed the bottle on the floor between you two. He stared at you for a moment, before quietly going back to his knives.

“Wanna play 20 questions?” You interrupted the silence.

“No.”

“What about truth or dare?”

“I’m not 14.” the soldier replied, his eyes not leaving his handy work.

“How old are you?” You shot back,

“Why are you trying to get to know me?” He dodged your question.

“I’m bored.” You shrugged, taking a deep swig of the vodka. “And by my calculations,” you peered down at your watch, “we still have 3 hours and 27 minutes until the mission starts.”

He gave a shallow sigh, “93.”

“What?”

“I’m 93. How old are you.”

“93?! You were born in 1917?”

“Mhm. How old are you.”

“25. You look great for 93.” You chuckled.

“You look old for 25.” He jabbed back. His knife sharpener still grinding across a 6 inch blade.

“You flatter me.” You replied sarcastically. “So what’s your story? How’d you make it to 93?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Why would I ask if I didn’t want to know?”

Bucky looked over at you. “I’m telling you, you don’t want to know.”

“C’mon old man,  I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” You smirked. He once again, went back to his knives. It almost seemed as if he was trying to threaten you, pulling out larger knife after larger knife.

You huffed, opening your mouth to speak, “I was born in Hungary to a drug abusing mother, and an absent father. I was kidnapped and sold to HYDRA when I was 6. I was placed under the care of the Kraken. Not sure if you’ve met him, he’s this large guy-”

“I’ve met him.” Bucky stated, interrupting your spiel.

“Right, well, he trained me for years. Eventually HYDRA got involved again and I was tested on, experimented on, messed with, ya’ know, all that fun stuff.” You explained.

“Are you enhanced?” Bucky asked, almost as if he was actually interested.

“Yea. I have this whole snake venom trick. It’s great for up close combat. The experiments really should’ve killed me though. But maybe that’s what makes us so good-” Bucky looked over at the woman next to him, her bright eyes stared back at him as she spoke “ya’ know, the best assassins are the ones living off borrowed time. Because we’ve met death before, so we’re not afraid to do it again.”

Bucky quickly grabbed the Barrett M82 rifle next to him, his metal arm making faint whirring noises. “I’m going to scope out the base.” He stated bluntly. And with that, his large black boots walked him out the bedroom, and out the door.

You let out a faint sigh, creeping back to your room to sort out your weapons. You were sure it was something you said that scared him off. I guess at 93 you have to be living off too much borrowed time, you speculated. You absentmindedly set up your pistols, your mind not being able to wander from the Winter Soldier. Maybe annoying the Red Room girls would get your mind off it.

[wfanfic56]

Reunion | Behind us | Weaver x Reader

Chapter 1

Normal day like every other. Walking fast with a stick through KGB headquarters with papers in your hands, from office to office. You came to your table, and sat down to take a break. You were looking at the ceiling, and you were thinking about those days when you were going from city to city, doing what they order you.

But now you are working in office because you were wounded in leg. You can barely walk without walking stick. His brown eye looked at you when he stabbed your leg. You grabbed your knife and you wanted to make him completely blind, but he ran away. He didn't kill you, he just disabled you and left that building.

You thought about that day, killing him so many times, but you don't have a chance. Or maybe you have it now?

Your supervisor called and you came in his office and gave you a mission. You must eliminate Grigori Weaver, no other than the same man who disabled you.

14 days have passed and you were sitting on the roof of a building, two streets away from his building, your gunpoint was set directly at his apartment. You were waiting for him to come back home from a mission. The lights turned on in his apartment, and you knew his next step. He always sits down on his sofa when he comes in.

He did the same thing always and just as you wanted to pull the trigger, someone was standing behind you.

"Y/N, don't."

You turned around to see only Belikov, your closest friend. He kneeled down beside you and puts hand on your shoulder.

"I'll explain you everything, just don't pull the trigger."

He sat on the cold concrete and explained you why he was here and why is he a double agent. You wanted to kill him, but at the same moment you wouldn't because he saved you so many times and that's at least what you owe him.

"I need your help Y/N. We need you in our team. Please comrade, help us."

You nodded and he helped you pick up your equipment. After getting down the stairs, you went to no other than Weaver's apartment.

Both of you were looking at each other, you didn't left your gaze from his eyes. To add tensions in the room, Adler, Mason, Woods and Hudson were there too. Belikov looked at you, waiting for your first words.

"Looks like a reunion after 2 years... Not friendly indeed." Mason started

"Of course not fucking friendly, she aimed her gun at us." Woods continued

"Okay, enough with this shit. What do you need?" You interrupted them.

"Where's Perseus?"

"Why did I have that feeling you would ask the same fucking question, Adler? When will you understand? Perseus is an organisation, not an individual. Everyone can be Perseus."

Adler slammed picture of Perseus and asked you again the same question. "Where is the Perseus?"

"I don't know. I'm was send here to do what they sent me to do. I don't ask questions I just do my work. I never saw that man." then you turned to Belikov "If you thought I would know something about this, you should have asked me in KGB. And even if I don't know I would find out for you, not like this."

"Then you would kill me. Y/N, this is our only way of finding him. We will make everything, even make you a new identity, new citizenship. Just help us."

You looked at them, especially at Adler and Hudson. They nodded towards you, and you knew that they meant that what they said. You stood slowly up and held out your hand to Adler.

"Soldier to soldier. We are brothers in arms. Let's help each other then. I'll help you find Perseus, you gave me a citizenship."

"Fair enough."

"What a lovely reunion." Eye patched man said in the corner of the room. You looked towards him and you could barely resist not to shoot him.

Here you are, just one meter away from him. So close, but so far away. He isn't your enemy, he's now your comrade, but yet you have madness in yourself towards him more than to anyone.

"We're not finished, yet." was your reply to him. Belikov helped you to carry your things to another apartment, and that apartment was only few doors from Weaver's.

"Great, really great." You said to yourself "Now, I have to work with him? Is there anything else what will happen to me?" As you finished that sentence in your head, you entered the bedroom and fell on the bed exhausted from cold. You just fall asleep there in few minutes.

Belikov grabed blanked and covered you with them.

"Sleep tight, princess." he said and left your apartment.

[qandnoablog]

Secrets (Marvel Imagine)

Title: Secrets (Work-In-Progress)

Pairing: Loki x TVA!Reader

Warnings: This is a spin-off based on my previous work Discovered (Marvel Imagine) and the TV series - Loki Please be sure to read my previous work (link below) as well as watch the show before continuing to both understand the story and not be spoiled!

Discovered (Marvel Imagine) - Part: [18], [17], [16], [15], [14], [13], [12], [11], [10], [9], [8], [7], [6], [5], [4], [3], [2], [1] Short story: [3], [2], [1]

Part: 1

Key: Y/N - Your Name Y/A - Your (TVA) Alias

Word Count: - 2,292

Summary: [Y/N] centered her whole life around the TVA. She was born from it, trained by it, and was destined to fight for it. That should have been enough, but for some reason, [Y/N] found it difficult to accept. She just could not conform to the norms, like every other TVA agent around her. It caused her great pain to mold herself into the proper soldier, to ignore the discrepancy she felt surrounded by those who had no issues following nothing but the orders from above. Then, all that began to change. One variant, one being, shattered her very reality. He exposed the deeply rooted secrets of the Authority and his very presence swallowed her up like a storm. Who was this man who proclaimed himself to be a god? How was he so different from all the others the TVA had succeeded in erasing? And why? Why did [Y/N]’s heart stir every time he looked at her, as if peering into her very soul?

Note From Author: I finally got down to watching the Loki series! Binged the whole season in one day, and loved it! It flooded me with new ideas based on the Discovered series I made, and though I’m not sure what path I’ll be taking for this series, please bear with me! I love Loki and Sylvie’s dynamic together in the series, but I desperately wanted to incorporate [Y/N] since before the series even came out. Please don’t hate me too much if I down play their romance to make way for [Y/N]! Maybe there’ll even be a twist... Who knows? ;)

Part 1 - Secrets

The bright tiles of the mosaic glinted dimly as it obscured the intense rays of the sun trickling in from outside.

[Y/N] stared at the windows as she carefully examined the art, trying to look away from the scene that was littered before her. Instead, she focused on the colors of the window, the smell of the burning candles, and the sensation of the cool, natural air that blew in from the distant entrance. She savored the brief feeling of the outside world, before a voice awoke her from her trance.

“It’s him,” Hunter U-92 said in a slightly annoyed tone.

She glanced up at the hunter assigned to the case and slightly frowned. [Y/N] didn’t know why, but she never liked her fellow co-workers. She should have felt a unity with them, given that they were all created by the same being and assigned the same mission. Though she understood that they existed solely for the mission, it was difficult for her to accept that. That was what set her apart from the others.

“Yeah,” another man answered as he crouched down to examine the bodies, “stab wounds look consistent with the others.”

Mobius was one of the few exceptions.

“Positioning of the bodies indicates they didn’t know what the hell hit ‘em,” Mobius continued as he stood up and looked closely at the fallen Minutemen. “And reset charge is gone.”

“That’s the sixth attack in the last week,” Hunter U-92 stated.

“That we know of,” Mobius and [Y/N] replied in unison, though for [Y/N] it was more of a quiet grumbling.

“You know, [Y/A], you didn’t need to come,” Mobius chuckled as [Y/N] sat down carelessly without any regard for the bodies around her.

“And miss out on leaving the office? Not a chance,” [Y/N] countered as she glanced once at the fallen agents and quickly turned away.

[Y/N] wasn’t heartless.

She was saddened by the deaths of others and disliked meaningless slaughter. Though trained as a diligent TVA agent, she was still weak when it came to killing. But she refused to show how much it affected her. The last time she exhibited such emotions… Well, it didn’t end well for her.

“We can’t just leave them!” [Y/N] yelled as she snatched away the reset charge that had been placed on the ground. “If we reset, they’ll be erased with the rest of the timeline! We have to take them back. We have to send them off properly!”

“Stand down, Hunter Z-73. We’re running out of time-”

“No.” [Y/N] held her ground, her heart racing, as her body trembled from this blatant act of insubordination.

She didn’t know why she wasn’t following orders. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t accept something this simple, like all the other Minutemen could. She knew the consequences of failing the mission when a branching timeline was created, so why? Why couldn’t she bear to look at the faces of her fallen TVA? Why couldn’t she just be like everyone else and just do her job?

“Stand. Down.” Her superior warned her one last time, emphasizing each word, as everyone’s eyes looked at her with impatience and distrust.

“Please, just let me take them home.” [Y/N] insisted as she got on her knees as a final plea. “Let them rest at the TVA, where they belong.”

The words sounded strange to her, but she didn’t know why. Still, this one act… Her begging her team… It would seem humiliating, but something within her seemed to have settled. The uneasiness she felt since the moment of her creation, it was finally feeling more at peace. As if the acts she was committing today weren’t crimes against the TVA… As if this all was the right choice. It was the right answer.

[Y/N] had hope in that feeling, and believed that the others would feel the same way. But, reality was colder than hope.

“Apprehend her.”

No one even felt sympathy for her, let alone those of their fallen. Everything was only ever about the mission. Through overwhelming numbers, she was captured and taken to be punished for her sins. Her sins against the ultimate power, the Time Variance Authority.

[Y/N] shut her eyes at the memory, her jaw clenching from the sense of betrayal she felt towards the TVA and from herself. She felt betrayed by her colleagues who should have cared about one of their own. She felt betrayed by her team, who did not understand her nor did they even try. And she felt betrayed by her own emotions, that only ever settled when she was acting outside the strict law of the TVA.

That was her first and last mission with that team.

Since then, she had been grounded for nearly a decade, unable to go outside the TVA and stuck with grunt work. She had to start from the bottom once more, organizing and filing cases, without taking one step out into the timeline. Without so much as feeling the natural sunlight of the world beyond the TVA walls. Like clipping a bird’s wings, she was imprisoned in the system that they were designed to work for.

After possibly centuries of similar punishments, depriving her further of the outside world, her individuality was slowly being chipped away. Now, as she sat inside one of France’s most beautiful cathedrals, [Y/N]’s eyes were dimmer than the light that was obscured by the mosaic windows. Her rebellious spirit had long since broken.

“Hey!”

The shout startled [Y/N] out of her trance, and that was when she realized that it was not just the Minutemen who were here at the church.

Hunter U-92 took out his weapon, ready to spring into action by the stranger’s presence, but Mobius quickly caught his arm, ordering the man to stand down.

“Tsk,” [Y/N] scowled as she stretched from her seat, “All violence and no thought.”

Her mood had plummeted since recalling her first mission.

“It’s just a kid.” Mobius ignored [Y/N]’s remarks, giving [Y/N] a warning look, before turning back towards the child. “(I’m sorry, my friend is an imbecile).”

Mobius tried to sooth the child, speaking in the tongue of their country, but Hunter U-92 quickly shot back.

“Hey, yo! (I speak every language on the timeline too),” he called out, but then muttered under his breath while putting away his weapon, “(Jackass).”

“(Control that mouth of yours),” [Y/N] growled as she rose from her seat with a sharp glare, “(or else I’ll do it for you).”

Then she bounded off towards Mobius, disregarding the pale look that spread across the hunter’s face.

Everyone knew that [Y/N] would never do anything against them due to the authority of the TVA, but she was still feared by many. Out of everyone, she was one of the few that had powers far beyond their own. They assumed only the Timekeepers knew why she had those abilities. And since she was made differently from them, though the judge said otherwise, some were wary about her position in the Timekeepers’ eyes.

[Y/N] stood behind Mobius as he spoke with the young child, even allowing him to hold his TemPad - a very strong tool among the Minutemen - but the child did not have much regarding the incident. The only clue they managed to obtain was candy left behind by the so-called, “devil.”

As she watched his interaction, [Y/N] couldn’t help but reminisce about her past once more.

Mobius… He was one of the few within the TVA who had empathy, like her. He had come to her after her failed mission, and brought her under him when her own team had abandoned her. He understood her to a certain extent, caring for her as if she was a lost lamb amongst lions. Over time, she began to depend on him, even feeling protective over him when his words were disregarded by other agents.

He was the only one that ever stuck their neck out for her. Although he could not go against the TVA, he made exceptions for her any way that he could. Mobius was aware that whenever she was not allowed to go out, she felt suffocated, and was willing to stifle her opinions if it meant just having a taste of that unachievable freedom. Knowing this, he allowed her to tag along on missions that weren’t assigned to her. Nevertheless, he also understood that this only made her longing for an escape that much stronger. Perhaps, that too was hell, but it was the only thing he could grant her.

“Devil bearing gifts.” Mobius mused, shaking her from her thoughts.

“What else is new?” [Y/N] sighed, rubbing her somewhat groggy eyes.

Why was she acting like this? Why was she thinking so much about the past these days? She kept getting the feeling that she was trying to recall something, something she had long forgotten, but all the memories she dredged up were things she never could forget. So what was it? What was she searching for?

Then, the long awaited mission - her trip to the outside world - was wrapping up.

“Set a reset charge,” Hunter U-92 ordered, the words scraping against [Y/N]’s ears.

That often followed with a hasty retreat and the disposal of fellow TVA agents’ bodies. It had been so long, but after digging up those old memories of her first mission, she couldn’t help but feel nauseous with those words. With that tool. With the reset charge.

However, this time, things didn’t end there. A Timedoor was opened and another agent came out holding files in one hand. He glanced at [Y/N] for a brief second, a flash of worry flickering across his face, before he turned back and walked closer to Mobius.

“Sir, there’s something you’ll wanna see.”

Mobius took the files, glancing between the agent and [Y/N] who became curious about the questionable attention towards her, and glanced over his shoulder as he opened the files. A picture of a variant came into view, a stamp stating, “APPREHENDED,” in red letters above some of his printed information. It seemed like any other case, something [Y/N] had seen for what felt like her whole life, but something caught her eye.

The more she looked, the more she couldn’t look away from the picture. It was as if those eyes were drawing her in. But soon, her eyes shifted downward and were once again sucked in by two words.

Loki Laufeyson.

~

“You lost what-?!” [Y/N] gasped as she trailed behind Mobius as the team hurried down the corridor.

She could barely believe her ears. Mobius, the only TVA agent she would go out of her way to call her friend and also one of the ones who cared most about the TVA’s mission, had lost a variant under his command. [Y/N] wanted to ask more questions, to ask how the variant escaped, and how much trouble Mobius would be in after this incident, but someone was faster.

“Wish I could say I was surprised,” Hunter B-15 sneered as she kept pace with Mobius.

“Yeah, I wish you hadn’t interrupted us,” Mobius responded, a bit irked, while [Y/N] shot daggers at the hunter.

“Me? It’s my fault?” Hunter B-15 just glanced at [Y/N] but she was one of the few agents who were unaffected by her presence. “And why is [Y/A] here? We were ordered not to-”

“Look, he can’t have gotten very far,” Mobius interrupted, shifting his eyes away from [Y/N]’s questioning look.

“There’s a reason [Y/A]’s not supposed to… Fine, she can come, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Hunter B-15 let out a resigned sigh, after getting the message from Mobius’ sharp look, and stopped at the end of the hallway. Then, she turned around to face the other agents and gave out an order. “Split up. Prune on sight.”

“No, no pruning, no resetting,” Mobius countered as he turned back, away from the elevators. “He can still help us!”

[Y/N] hurried behind him, followed by two other armed agents, and held in her plethora of questions. This was a first for her… Mobius was for some reason hiding something, but she didn’t know what or why. Though she had complete faith in the man, she couldn’t shake off the uneasiness she felt.

“Mobius, what’s going on?” [Y/N] asked as they got further from Hunter B-15. Perhaps he couldn’t tell her in front of the hunter. “How did that variant get past you? I heard that that particular variant can be tricky. Is there something I can do to help?”

But despite her beliefs, Mobius didn’t answer her. Instead, he gave orders to the following agents, including herself, and hurried off to find the escaped variant. Not once did he look her straight in the eyes. As if to hide a guilty conscience, he escaped from her like he was running away from a fire.

[Y/N] stood there by herself in the hallway, staring at her friend’s back that got further and further away.

Mobius never kept secrets from her. If something was classified, he would tell her that it was and she would not ask further questions. That was how they always were, so what was different this time? What was he hiding from her? What was so important about this secret that he couldn’t even give her excuses?

You’re ok, right? She wanted to ask before he hurried off, but the look in his eyes made her swallow down her words.

Her uneasiness began to fester and grow.

[Next]

Author’s Note: This was fun to make and so was part 2! It’s still a work-in-progress but I have to admit, I’m pretty proud with how part 2 is shaping up. Please continue to stick around and look forward to the next part!

Thank you so much for reading and feel free to leave comments :)

[thesleepiesthufflepuff]

My Favorite Fics 2020

Alrighty. I read a decent amount of fanfiction this year (mostly thanks to Wizards Hearts/Game of Drarry), and I’m here to list out some of my very favorites. Thank you to all of the creators out there who put so much time, effort, and energy into creating beautiful stories, and here’s to lots of reading in the new year 💜 also, this is in no particular order and all rec notes are from my personal fic tracker spreadsheet (if anyone wants details on how I set up my spreadsheet, etc. please feel free to send an ask!) 💕

1) Change on the Horizon by Static_abyss / @static-abyss [Explicit, 118.6k,]

When things settle down after the war, Harry has trouble figuring out who he’s supposed to be and what’s expected of him. At the same time, Draco finds himself having to decide between what his parents want and what he wants for himself. Together, Harry and Draco embark on a journey to figure out who they are as individuals and what that means for their future together.

A canon AU drarry fic based on the relationship between Mickey and Ian from Shameless.

Hands down one of the best fics I've ever read. Ana did the most amazing job at translating Micky and Ian's relationship to Harry and Draco, although it’s definitely not necessary to know Shameless in order to enjoy the story. The writing is stunning, and I loved every single bit of this

2) I’ll Play Your Game by JayseHasNoGrace [Mature, 52.2k]

After quitting the Auror department at the ripe old age of twenty two, Harry Potter finds a nice, uneventful job in an apothecary. At least, it's uneventful until his old rival Draco Malfoy comes into the shop.

They strike up an unlikely friendship, which evolves into an increasingly convoluted scheme, which then snowballs spectacularly out of control into a tangle of lies and blurred lines.

They'd agreed to a fake relationship — in Harry's case, to get the wizarding world to take him off his 'perfect saviour' pedestal, and in Draco's case, just to be given a chance in wizarding society at all — but neither of them expected just how difficult that might really turn out to be. Especially when the stakes grow ever higher, and they both start falling for each other. Just a little bit.

FAKE DATING!!! Ugh, this was so good. I love the media aspect of it, and the way that everything comes together is just brilliant. A must-read for anyone who loves fake dating!!

3) I Can be Your Lighthouse by orpheous87 / @orpheous87 [Teen, 4k]

When Harry gets called to investigate reports of Dark magic, the last thing he expects to find is an almost unconscious Draco Malfoy. After multiple instances, he resolves to find out what's going on.

inspired by the song The Lighthouse by The Used.

So, so sweet. I love Harry's determination to figure out what's going on. This is such a lovely fic, and I enjoyed every minute of it

4) Freedom to be by Quicksilvermaid / @quicksilvermaid [Explicit, 169.5k]

Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived.

12 years after the war, he's become the Boy Who Lived For Everyone Else. He has the perfect wife. The perfect house. The perfect job. The perfect friends.

Only nothing feels perfect.

Until one day he stumbles across a club called Release and begins a journey of self-discovery that takes him to a very different place.

This left such an impact on me, and it’s a fic I think about often. I can't even begin to explain how incredible everything about this is.

5) Dear Diary by AWickedMemory (TeddyLaCroix) [Teen, 20.4k]

// This can’t possibly go worse than the last time I kept a diary. //

After the war, Harry picks up a journal to write in… and it writes back. Luckily, it’s not a Horcrux on the other end this time.

Absolutely amazing. The relationship that develops between Harry and Draco as they write to each other was so soft and wonderful, and I would easily read 100k of this!

6) Grounds for Divorce by Tepre [Explicit, 122.2k]

Malfoy finds a coin. Harry finds a letter.

A story about histories, a story about families. A story about a lemon tree somewhere in Upper Egypt.

I loved this. It was so angsty at times, but well worth it. An absolute classic that I’m so pleased to be able to say I’ve read.

7) Nero Su Bianco by Zuzallove [Explicit, 40.5k]

September 1997. Hogwarts is under the regime of Voldemort and the Carrows. Finding himself alienated by both his friends and his supposed enemies, Draco puts quill to parchment, and writes letters. He addresses them to the only person he can think of, as Hogwarts rapidly falls into chaos and ruin: Harry Potter. He goes to great lengths to ensure the letters are never discovered, and he’s pretty certain he’s done a great job.

Until the day of his trial.

The letters were so much fun to read, even though they were heartbreaking at times. I loved Draco’s characterization in this, as well as how his relationship develops with Harry.

8) Thunder by Keyflight790 [Explicit, 21.5k]

The storm will disappear; the rain will subside; but what's left in its wake will last forever. A story of love and loss, redemption and thunder

I really loved how well Draco's addiction was written. I'm not a huge fan of past relationships, but this was done in such a beautiful way. Plus, talking to dragons!!!

9) dirtynumbangelboy by magpie_fngrl [Explicit, 39.4k]

After Harry’s unfortunate encounter with his ex, Draco Malfoy makes him a proposition. Draco wants his parents to stop matchmaking him and Harry wants to make his ex jealous. All they need to do is simply pretend they’re in love. Problem is… Draco already is.

Amazing. This has absolutely sucked me into the world of fake dating. I could ramble about this forever, to be honest. Simply incredible, and I love how snarky their relationship was. It was the epitome of a good Drarry fic.

10) just tell me when it’s alright by M0stlyVoid / @bonesliketambourines [Explicit, 23k]

Harry’s been fighting tooth and nail for any bit of normalcy he can get his hands on. He’s sick of feeling like something’s wrong with him, tired of feeling different. He thinks he’s finally gotten to the root of it, and has settled into a routine that makes him happy. Naturally, that’s when Draco Malfoy walks back into his life and upends it once again. Has Harry bitten off more than he can chew with his former rival?

YES!! I genuinely loved Harry’s clinginess. This fic was absolutely amazing, and the secret dating was lovely. Plus, bi awakening!!

11) When Hippogriffs and Pygmy Puffs Collide by oldenuf2nb [Mature, 32.7k]

Harry Potter bakes cakes, brilliantly. Draco Malfoy inks tattoos, brilliantly. Owls deliver post, including messages from clients, with an occasional lack of brilliance.

I was really surprised at how much I loved this, especially since I’ve not really read many fics with odd jobs. I absolutely adored the fact that Harry was a baker and Draco was a tattoo artist, and the characterizations were absolute perfection

12) You Send Me (Honest You Do) by firethesound [Explicit, 37k]

As far as potion accidents go in general, and deaging incidents go in particular, Draco knew this could have been so much worse. Harry only lost about ten years, and all his memories are still intact. But the sight of him looking as if he’s stepped straight out of Draco’s Hogwarts memories has dredged up a whole mess of complicated feelings Draco thought he’d buried years ago, and Draco really doesn’t know what to do with any of it.

I absolutely adored this, and I thought the de-aging aspect was done is such a tasteful way. Such a good read.

13) Highly (in)Compatible by daisymondays [Teen, 36.8k]

Draco’s been shagging The Prat Who Lived on and off for a few months when his soul mark starts to change. Draco’s had to accept a lot of adjustments to his life, but accepting that Harry Potter could be his soulmate is one step too far. It can’t be true? Can it?

I LOVED THIS! Oh man, that ending!  Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant

14) Kiss the Joy (Until the Sun Rise) by ICMezzo [Mature, 37.8k]

The Room of Requirement was severely damaged in the war, but not so much that it could not provide for one lost student and another young hero—especially when they needed each other most of all.

An amazing, beautiful, tender fic! The ROR has given them the gift of each other, and I honestly love that it's just the two of them and no other characters. An incredible and soft read

15) December Never Felt So Wrong by MaesterChill / @maesterchill [Explicit, 50k]

'Twas the month before Christmas and sixteen year old Draco Malfoy had never felt worse. His attempts to kill Dumbledore were failing and, as usual, Harry Fucking Potter was a constant thorn in his side.

All that suddenly changed when Draco woke up 15 years in the future and discovered that not only was he allegedly shagging Harry Fucking Potter, he also had thinning hair and a five year old son, and no fucking clue how he got there.

Truly brilliant, and I was laughing from the start. The combination of the aging up, Harry’s off-tune singing to Muggle songs, and soft parenthood were all things I immediately fell in love with. Will be reading again and again

16) Catch Me If I Fall by keeli_marie [Explicit, 38.2k]

When Draco Malfoy collides with Harry Potter one morning while dropping the kids off at school, things don’t go quite the way either of them would have expected.

Another absolute gem, and I'm still reeling from how amazing it was. I'm always a bit hesitant with kid fics, but this is one of the best depictions of love between Harry and Draco that I've read. I love how supportive Astoria is. Such a lovely fic  

16) Love Found by Peachpety / @peachpety [Explicit, 7.5k]

During Harry’s sixth year, Draco Malfoy joins the Order as a double-agent and continues with his task to get the Death Eaters into the castle as assigned by Voldemort. Draco succeeds with his mission the evening Harry returns from the caves with Dumbledore. The boys reunite on the Astronomy Tower and, with the Death Eater’s arrival, are forced to engage in a fight, driving Harry to come to terms with his feelings about true friendship and romantic love.

SUCH a good rewrite of the astronomy tower scene. I can’t describe how much I love the pre-existing relationship, which is a trope I typically steer clear from. And the snark!!! Such a good fucking fic

17) Taro Milk Tea with a side of Depression by Veelawings / @veelawings [Mature, 1k]

Draco sat through twenty grievous minutes of Ministry-mandated group therapy for Newly Registered Magical Beings & Creatures — then promptly stormed out.

Okay, I loved this. The play format was so cool and fit the narration so well. Absolute perfection and SO. GOOD.

18) The Dragon At The Bottom Of The Garden by Zopno [Explicit, 52.3k]

At 25 Harry Potter's life was simple; he flew, sculpted, and had the vault in the back of his mind to keep all unpleasant business. It was stable, but when Draco Malfoy literally hit him with a giant rock; all that changed.

I loved the storyline, especially Animagus bird Harry!! This was such a unique take on an Animagus and post-war fic, and I loved reading it so much   

19) Exposure by GallaPlacidia [Mature, 26.9k]

When Seamus uncovers Draco Malfoy's camboy profile, he, Harry and Ron decide to anonymously book a private show so as to humiliate him later. Fascinated by Draco's confidence, Harry keeps booking private shows under the disguise...

Self prompt: Draco is a camboy. Harry betrays him.

I can't give this enough praise. The hurt of it all was so brilliant. A new favorite for sure

20) you've got the antidote for me by Kandakicksass [Mature, 20.7k]

When Harry Potter unintentionally severs their soulbond before it can fully form, Draco Malfoy resigns himself to a slow death and decides not to burden Harry with a soulmate he's made it very clear he doesn't want.

He's never been selfless before, but for Harry, he can try.

Fuck. Like...fuck. This was so sad and angsty and perfect in all the right ways. Watching everything unfold was so painful but so worth it. Another new favorite

21) A Room Up There (And You In It) by thestarryknight [Teen, 59.2k]

When Preservationist Draco Malfoy was assigned to work on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was excited to delve into the gorgeous Black family antiques. His excitement quickly ended when something in the House decided it did not like his presence one bit. Featuring a grumpy antiques lover who most certainly did not sign up for this, encounters with a vengeful apparition, and a healthy application of Christmas spirit.

Absolutely fucking fantastic. This fic reads intimacy all over, despite there being no sex. I love preservationist Draco and the way in which information about Harry unfolds. I can’t say enough how much I loved this advent fic, and Starry did such a great job

And now for three fics that I have yet to read/need to emotionally prepare myself for:

1) Modern Love by Tackytiger / @tackytigerfic [Explicit, 61.2k]

Harry Potter, of all people, knows that life isn’t always fair. And no one gets to be happy all of the time. But surely there’s something more—something better—than a rubbish Ministry job, and a lonely old house, and that feeling that everyone out there is doing a better job of living than Harry is.

And it really doesn’t seem fair that Draco Malfoy is back in Harry’s life, all of a sudden, and even though he’s wandless, and living with Muggles, and making his mother cry with his lifestyle choices, he’s happy. So what's he doing right, that Harry isn’t?

Because things don’t really change, do they? And if Harry can’t be happy, he’ll settle for a good night’s sleep, some posh antiques, and the opportunity to find out what Malfoy has been up to for all these years.

And that’s what starts it all.

2) Dragons Don't Know Paradise by  tainara_black / @teacup-tai [Explicit, 50.9k]

In 2004, when Remus spends two scary weeks in the ITU due to complications of pneumonia and his HIV condition, Sirius walks around the house like a ghost and Harry finds comfort and strength in Draco through a chat in an online LGBT forum. Harry falls for him, but Draco has a lot of secrets and, before long, will need to come clean—even if he believes that no one is able to understand a dragon.

This is a story about falling in love online and about facing the reality of death, but above all, this is a story about hope, finding love and acceptance. (Non-magical / bookshop AU, written for the 25 days of Drarry 2020)

3) Aeternus Solem by onbeinganangel / @onbeinganangel [Explicit, 36.9k]

On December 1st, Harry Potter gets sent halfway across the world to attempt to break a possibly fatal curse on an unnamed British Unspeakable — except said Unspeakable is not unnamed at all and Harry has been in love with him for over four years.

{If anyone spots any mistakes in this list, PLEASE let me know! I hope you all have a lovely New Year’s, and may 2021 be less of a dumpster on fire than its predecessor 💜}