#I’m sure their agent outfit have changed especially after 5 years

[alish-artie]

Me, waiting for agent 4 to finally show up so I can finally draw every agents with their Splatoon 3 look :

[simplee-dreaming]

The Great Escape

A/N: So this was requested by an anon and I had so much fun writing it, I think it's the longest fic I've ever written so I hope you enjoy! (Also, reading back over this, I realised I've mentioned Vision and Jarvis in the same story which I know isn't possible but I cba to change it because I love them both...even though they're technically the same...)

Word count: 2458

Summary: The reader tries to sneak out to a party, but Tony, Steve and Bucky are onto her.

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

“Are you coming tonight or what?” Your friend asked at the other end of the phone.

“Yes, yes I am. I’m just thinking of ways to escape without being caught.” You replied.

“You’re not in a prison, just walk out of the front door,” they said.

“I wish it were that easy. Tony’s already said no to me going so he’s gonna be on high alert. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way,” You said.

“Okay, meet me outside the party at 9, no later. Good luck, agent Y/L/N” your friend teased.

“Shut up, I’ll see you later.” You hung up the phone. It was half 5 in the evening and it took about 45 minutes to get to the party by walking. You decided you were gonna attempt to leave at quarter to 8, so you would have time to escape without being seen and enjoy a gentle stroll to the party.

“Everyone normally eats dinner about 6, then they tend to go off and do their own thing. This should be a doddle, right?” You thought to yourself.

At 6, everyone sat round the table together to eat.

“So, what’s everyone doing after this?” You asked, trying to work out everyone’s movements.

“I’ll be working on my latest model,” said Tony, shovelling a load of pasta into his mouth.

“I’ll be in the gym, pumping iron,” said Bucky.

“Vis and I have got a date night booked,” said Wanda. Sam made gagging noises next to them.

“Are you gymming too, Steve?” asked Bucky before spilling pasta sauce on his leg.

“Nah I did my workout earlier. I may chill with a film. Fancy joining me, Y/N?” He asked.

Shit. That backfired.

“Oh, uh, thanks but I can’t. I said I’ll phone some friends tonight.” You said, thinking quickly.

“Surely that won’t take long though, would it?”

You paused. Tony looked at you suspiciously.

“You know Y/N, she won’t shut up once she gets talking to her friends.” Peter piped up. You relaxed.

“Yeah, exactly. I’ll be up there for hours.” You said.

“Aren’t they all going to this party you talked about?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh, no, not this lot. This is the nerd group I’m part of, they don’t party.” You said quickly. Tony grunted but said nothing more.

Once everyone finished eating, you raced back upstairs to find an outfit. Once you had gotten changed and done your hair and makeup, it was quarter past 7. Half an hour before you were due to leave. You were sat on your bed, scrolling through TikTok until half past 7.

“Sod this,” you thought. Waiting around for any longer would heighten your anxiety so you decided to put your plan into action now.

You left your room and decided to scan all exits of the building to see which one was the best option to use.

“Sir, I don’t mean to alarm you but Y/N seems to be acting pretty suspiciously,” Jarvis informed Tony. Tony was in his lab working on his latest project.

“What do you mean suspicious?” Tony asked.

“She’s wandering back and forth around the compound.” Jarvis replied.

“Maybe she’s just taking a walk.” Tony said.

“Sir, she’s wearing make-up.” Jarvis informed him. Tony stopped what he was doing.

“Makeup? She never wears makeup unless…” Tony stopped in his tracks.

“Jarvis, does Y/N appear to be scanning all the exits?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And does she look dressed up?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That little minx.” Tony said. “Jarvis, get Steve and Bucky up here please.”

“Of course, sir.”

A few minutes later, Bucky and Steve appeared in Tony’s lab.

“What’s up?” asked Steve.

“I’ve got a mission for you both. Y/N is trying to sneak out of the compound to get to this party of hers tonight. I’ve got eyes on her through Jarvis but I need your help to stop her leaving.”

“Tony, she’s just going to a party. What’s the big deal?” Bucky asked.

“The big deal is that she’s 16 and she’s going to a big party where there will be loads of people and most likely alcohol...or worse. Plus she’s already asked me if she can go and I’ve already said no so now she’s disobeying me.” Tony said.

“Oh. Right.” Bucky replied.

“Here are some ear pieces, I’ll stay here and tell you where she is and you go and stop her from leaving,”

“Roger that,” Steve said. “Mission: Trap Y/N is go.” He saluted Tony and left the room with Bucky. Tony sighed.

“Alright Tony, where she at?” Bucky asked quietly.

“Jarvis, I need eyes on Y/N.” Tony said.

“Sir, she is currently heading to the north exit.”

“North exit guys,” Tony spoke into their ear pieces.

“I’m closer, I got this.” Steve said. He quietly ran to the north corridor and saw you walking to the exit.

“Hey you, finished your phone call already?” He asked. You jumped and turned.

“Oh, uh, yeah, um, I was just going for a walk.” You said.

“Oh sweet, I’ll join you.” Steve said.

“Oh, um, well I just wanted some alone time,” you said, hinting at him.

“I’ll be quiet, I can do with some fresh air too.”

“Actually, on second thoughts, I really need to pee so um...yeah…” you said, jogging past him and back upstairs.

Shit. Back to square one.

You gave it a minute then decided to head to the east exit.

“Guys, she’s going east.” Tony informed the boys.

“On it,” Bucky responded.

He was closer to the door than you were so he decided to open it and lean against the threshold, as if he was just admiring the garden. You turned the corner to see him stood with his back to you. You froze in your tracks.

“Dammit,” you thought to yourself. You tiptoed backwards and headed for the south exit instead.

“Nice work guys, she’s going south now.” Said Tony.

“My turn,” said Steve. He, once again, appeared the same time you did.

“Oh did you pee? Fancy going for a walk now?” He said behind you. You rolled your eyes and turned around.

“Hey, um, yeah I did, but um I’ve changed my mind I don’t actually wanna walk anywhere now.”

“But you’re heading for the exit?”

“Uh, yeah, um...I...I got lost.” You said, shrugging.

“Lost? You’ve been here for 16 years…”

“Yeah, um, bit forgetful it seems,” you laughed nervously, “alright well back I go.”

You walked past him. Once you knew you were out of sight, you headed for the final exit to the west of the building.

“Alright guys…” Tony began.

“Going west, got it,” Bucky finished. He headed in your direction and deliberately walked straight into you.

“Whoa, watch where you’re going.” He teased.

“Sorry Buck,” you responded.

“Where exactly are you going?”

“Just going to get a drink then back to my room,” you lied.

“....dressed up like that?” He asked. You blushed.

“Um, yeah, we decided to dress nicely for our call earlier. Bit of a treat, you know?” You said.

“So...what are you doing at the exit if you’re getting a drink?”

“Thought I’d go around the outside to get some fresh air before entering the kitchen.” You lied, again.

“Without me?!” Steve said. You jumped.

“Oh uh, hey, um, yeah I changed my mind again.”

“Well can I at least join you this time?”

“Oh, uh..”

“What do you mean this time?” Bucky asked.

“Well I found her at both the north and south exits and she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to go for a walk or not. I offered my company and she said no.” He said.

“Maybe that’s why she said no.” Bucky teased. You giggled a little.

“So how come Steve caught you at the north and south exits and I caught you at this one and the east exit?” Bucky asked.

“Oh, I...um...I...wait, how did you know I was at the east exit?” You asked.

“Because we have eyes everywhere, Y/N.” Tony said, appearing behind Steve. He held up his tablet that contained Jarvis’ map. “I told them to follow you.”

“What? Why?” You asked.

“Because, you’re sneaking out to that party. Don’t think you can outsmart Jarvis now, Y/N.”

“Damn you, Jarvis.” you mumbled under your breath.

“I have been programmed to protect everyone in this compound, especially children.” Jarvis said over the speakers. Bucky, Steve and Tony all laughed.

“Oh very funny. I’m not a child.” You said, sarcastically.

“No you’re not, but you’re also not 18 yet which means you’re still legally under our care. And when I say you can’t go to a party, it means you cannot go to a party.” Tony said, taking a step towards you.

“But Tony, if I miss out I won’t be one of the cool kids.” You said.

“You live with all the cool kids here.” said Bucky, you rolled your eyes at him.

“I can’t believe you disobeyed me and tried to sneak past even Jarvis.” Tony said.

“I’m sorry for disobeying you, I really am. I just...I need to go to this. People are waiting for me.” You pleaded.

“No. Maybe I would have considered it if you didn’t break my trust. But now I want an apology.”

“I just said sorry.”

“No no, I want a proper apology.”

“What do you mean by a proper apology?” You asked.

Tony took a step towards you and you subconsciously backed away.

“Come here.” He said, sternly. You looked to Steve and Bucky for help but they just kept a poker face. You stepped closer to Tony.

“Now, I need to make sure you mean your apology and that you’re not going to break my trust again. Any ideas on how I’ll do that?” Tony asked.

“By putting a Jarvis tracker on me….oh wait,” you said, sarcastically. Bucky chuckled. Tony cleared his throat.

“Keep talking like that and this will be much worse for you.” Tony said.

“What will?” You asked.

“This.” Tony said. In one swift motion he had swooped you up and pinned you to the ground, careful not to hurt you in the process.

“What the hell?!” You complained, now trapped under Tony.

“I’m not going to stop until I know you’ve learned your lesson.” He informed.

“Stop what??” You asked. He pulled your arms up and pinned them above your head. He then took a single finger and wiggled it into your armpit. You instantly started giggling.

“Nononono wahait shit plehease,” you giggled.

“Not until I know your apology is sincere.” He said, wiggling another finger into your armpit.

“Please please please I am sohohorry,”

“No you’re not, not yet.” He said. With that, he let go of your arms and stuck both hands into your armpits. You pulled your arms straight down, trapping his hands in the process.

“WAIT NO PLEASE!” You screamed as he tickled deep into your armpits. Bucky and Steve both awed at your giggling mess.

"Come join, agents. You deserve some down time too.” Tony said to Steve and Bucky. They exchanged a look and smiled before walking over to you.

“NO NO NO NOT YOU!” You screamed, watching them approach. Tony was still tickling your armpits so Steve sat to the side and started kneading your hips. Bucky grabbed your legs and went for the back of your knees. You yelped and screamed and arched your body violently.

“AHAHAHAHA NOHOHO STOHOHOP!” You cried.

“Not until you’ve learned your lesson.” Tony repeated.

“I HAHAHAHAVE!” You cried.

“What do you think guys? Has she?” Tony asked the others. They both said “no” in unison. “Right then,” Tony continued.

He removed his hands from your armpits and started tickling your neck. You hunched up your shoulders and squealed. Steve noticed you were trying to pull Tony’s hands away so he shuffled up next to your head, grabbed your arms, pinned them above your head again and sat on them.

“WHAT THE HEHEHELL?!” You screamed, now unable to protect yourself from Tony. Steve gave an evil laugh then proceeded to drill his fingers into your armpits. You screamed louder than ever and frantically tried to twist away.

“NAHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEASE!” Tears started forming in your eyes as the boys tortured you. Bucky adjusted himself so he was now sat on your legs. Having just taken your shoes off, he was now tickling the soles of your feet.

“PLEHEHEHEHEASE I’M SO SOHOHOHORRY!” You yelled through the laughter. Tony felt your legs trying to move and looked over his shoulder to find Bucky holding your toes and scratching at your soles. You screamed loudly again and fell into silent laughter, your face going bright red.

Tony looked at Steve and they both stopped instantly, but you were still screaming. They looked over and realised Bucky was still going, tickling both of your feet simultaneously.

“Buck, ease up now, don’t kill her.” Steve said.

“Oops,” said Bucky, climbing off your legs. Steve got off of your arms but Tony was still sat on your waist.

“I….I...I really am sorry, Tony.” You breathed out.

“I believe you,” he said. “Will you do it again?”

“Absolutely not,” You giggled softly.

“Good.” He climbed off of you and helped you up.

“What time does this party start?” He asked. You looked at your watch, it was now half 8 .

“In half an hour,” you said.

“Go and fix your hair and makeup. I’ll drive you there.” He said.

“Really?” You asked.

“Yes, really. I was too hard on you earlier. But you’re still only 16 so I’ll be collecting you at midnight, okay?”

You stood up and smiled at the three of them. Then you thought for a moment.

“No.” You said.

“Excuse me?” Tony responded.

“I’m not gonna go. I want to spend the night with my family.” You said. Bucky clutched his heart and let out a long “awww”, which made you giggle.

“Movie and snacks?” Tony asked.

“Movie and snacks.” You agreed.

You all walked back down the corridor together.

“So, does this mean you’re definitely not going for a walk?” Steve teased. You laughed and elbowed him in the ribs. He put his arm around you.

“Wait, let me get changed into something more comfy,” you said, running up the stairs. When you came back down, you got your phone out and messaged your friend.

“Sorry, can’t make it, got caught. See you another time.”

You then placed your phone on the side and sat down between Tony and Steve.

One by one, the other avengers slowly joined your little film group. It really was the perfect family night.

[the-modernmary]

my best habit || aaron hotchner x reader (ch. 5)

Chapter summary: Aaron and the rest of the BAU finally make an arrest on their case, and you spend the weekend at Aaron’s.

Warnings: SMUT, oral (f receiving), multiple orgasms

prev. chapter || masterlist || read on ao3

I had a few, got drunk on you, and now I’m wasted

And when I sleep I’m gonna dream of how you tasted

- Harry Styles, “Medicine”

 ~~~~~~~

The investigation was slow going, and every day when you got off the metro to get to your internship, you would see the undercover van that you knew had BAU members cramped inside, sitting and waiting for somebody, anybody , to slip up and say something incriminating. 

  It was weird being at work knowing that it was bugged, but it did wonders for your productivity. Whenever Chris or another one of your friends at the office started to ask you about your personal life, you were able to deflect it with a quick “Sorry, I’m in the zone right now, and I’ve really got to focus!” Usually, you had no problem sharing, but you really didn’t want the FBI to have audio evidence of your retelling of you double fisting vodka Sprites the night before until you passed out in your bathtub. 

  You also hadn’t seen Aaron since that first night together, which was almost a week ago now. The two of you had been texting back and forth pretty consistently, but you quickly found that there was a variable that wasn’t there two years ago - Jack.

You should have realized that, of course , Jack would be living with Aaron now, but it never crossed your mind. Jack used to live with Haley, and Aaron rarely brought him up to you. Now that Jack lived with Aaron, it made things a little more complicated. It also meant that you couldn’t just show up at Aaron’s doorstep whenever you were feeling lonely, or vice versa. After a long and awkward phone call, Aaron and you had both agreed that it was best that Jack just didn’t meet you, just in case he got attached.

  “For now, at least,” Aaron had added at the end, and holy shit, you did not have the time to unpack whatever the fuck that meant.

  Especially not with Chris throwing a crumpled piece of paper at you like the two of you were in middle school and passing notes.

  You held up the ball of paper with a raised eyebrow. “Seriously? You have the desk across from me, you could have just said my name.”

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asked you, pointedly ignoring your question. “Nina just got the Catan expansion pack and she wants us all to come over.”

  You pursed your lips as you thought about the offer. You did love game nights with your friends, but it was Friday night and you were still holding out on the possibility of Aaron maybe being free and inviting you over. It was almost pitiful how touch starved you were after just a few days of not being with Aaron.

  “I’m not sure whether or not I’m busy tonight,” you admitted, maybe speaking a little too loudly in the direction of the listening devices, just in case Aaron was listening in. 

  Chris gave you a knowing smirk. “Oh, are you waiting to hear from your secret lover?”

  “Okay, don’t use the word ‘lover’ again,” you groaned. “And what makes you think that it was anything more than a one night stand?”

  “Because when you’re not actively texting, you’ve been checking your phone every 20 minutes.”

  Your face turned red as you sunk into your seat, trying and failing to hide yourself. Maybe if you willed it hard enough, the ground would open up and swallow you whole, just to save you from the embarrassment. You hadn’t realized you were checking your phone so often, but you also didn’t doubt it. 

  “Fine,” you grumbled, deciding that coming clean to your friends was going to be much easier than having to deal with them bringing it up at every moment possible. Besides, you didn’t have to give them all the details. “I will tell everybody all about him, but later . Not now.”

  Chris smirked as he leaned back in his chair, obviously proud of himself. You turned back to your work, mindlessly doing edits as you came up with a cover story in your head.

  Ran into an old friend, you could say. We got drinks, and then one thing led to another. That could work, except you came to the realization that you didn’t have any photos of Aaron, which would be suspicious if he was an old friend. You would have to look him up, which you were sure would just lead to a slew of FBI ID photos and news articles, which would mean that they’d just do some major googling of their own. You had avoided looking up Aaron, maybe in fear of what fucked up cases he had been involved in, but your friends would not hesitate.

  You could come up with something so ridiculous that they would just laugh about it. Yeah, I got a sugar daddy and he made me sign a nondisclosure agreement, sorry! You giggled to yourself just thinking about it. Aaron would probably be mortified at the thought. Although, he did wear a Rolex, so you guessed that anything was possible.

  “Holy shit, Y/N,” Chris mumbled, and you just gave a lazy hum as a reply, not really paying attention. “The FBI is here.”

  Your head snapped up at that . You whipped your head around so that you could face the entrance, and sure enough, the entire BAU team was walking in like they owned the place, with Aaron in the lead. They all had their FBI vests on, a sight which was way more attractive than it should have been. JJ and Reid stayed at the entrance to make sure nobody got out.

  “Everybody, please stay calm,” JJ called out, putting her hands up non threateningly. “Everything is okay, but we need you all to stay sitting exactly where you are.”

  A commotion came from the conference room and against your better judgment, you turned your head to watch what was going on. It wasn’t just one person getting arrested, it was every partner. You watched as Aaron spun Julian DuPont around by the wrist and pushed his face down on the conference table and oh, the FBI vest was nothing compared to watching Aaron arrest somebody.

  If anybody asked you if you got turned on during an FBI raid, you would vehemently deny it, but watching Aaron take out his handcuffs made your mind flash back to all those times you were in that same position, cuffed and bent over, completely at Aaron’s mercy. 

  Just as quickly as they came in, the BAU made their arrests and made their way back out. As Aaron passed your desk, his eyes met yours for a brief second and the corner of his mouth quirked up smugly. It was so subtle and quick that even you barely caught it, but you knew that look.

  At least you weren’t the only one in this situation with your mind in the gutter.

  Once the rest of the BAU was out of the building, JJ and Reid started the process of getting everybody else out of the office so that CSI could come in and finish looking around. When you passed by them, both agents greeted you with a warm smile, like the three of you were old friends.

  “Y/N, we’re going to need to get your statement before you go home,” Reid told you as you walked by, and you just nodded in confirmation.

  Once you got outside, you were immediately greeted by some agent named Anderson. He needed to get your statement on the work you did with the team, and you quickly gave him the PG version of the story. Your mind, however, was more focused on finding Aaron, who you knew had to be somewhere in the crowd. God, how long did it take to write down a simple statement?

  “I’ll take it from here, Anderson. Thank you.” 

  Aaron’s voice sent shivers down your spine and you spun around to look at him. You brought your bottom lip in between your teeth. “Nice arrest, although I’m surprised. Mr. DuPont doesn’t even drive himself to work, I can’t imagine him waiting out to kill somebody.”

  “That’s because he hired hitmen,” Aaron explained. “The victims were all bribing judges to get their cases dismissed, and all of those dismissed cases looked really bad for his prosecuting record.”

  You shrugged, placing your hands on his hips. “Probably not as bad as prison, though.”

  That actually got a laugh out of Aaron, but he quickly composed himself as another agent walked past the two of you. “Yeah, he’s not going to be practicing law ever again.” 

  You opened your mouth to say something - maybe to invite him over? You weren’t totally sure - when one of the CSI’s came over to ask Aaron something.

  Aaron waved him off, telling him that he would be there in a moment, before turning back to you. “My house will be empty all weekend,” he whispered, looking around to make sure nobody was watching. “Pack a bag, come over.”

  Before you could even answer him, Aaron had already taken off. You made your way towards the metro so that you could run home before heading to Aaron’s. You had to fight the smile that was growing on your face when Aaron mentioned packing a bag. Not only was it an unspoken promise of a weekend full of sex, it also meant that he was planning on making room for you to keep some of your stuff at his house. The two of you were quickly falling back into your old routines, and it was weirdly comforting.

  When you got to your house, you made a split second decision to change out of your work clothes into a more casual outfit, although it didn’t matter much what you were wearing. It’s not like it was going to stay on for very long. As you packed your bag, you ordered an Uber, knowing it would get you to Aaron’s place faster than the metro. 

  Sure, you were a little impatient, but it had been so long since you had spent the night at Aaron’s place. It always intrigued you how different it was at his house than it was at yours. You were just staying in a shoebox apartment while you were in college - something liveable and temporary until after you graduated and got a job where you could put actual roots down. Your decor was fairly minimum, an assortment of knick-knacks and photos of your friends.

  Aaron’s place was different. It was a certifiable, adult house with framed art and random decorative bowls scattered around. All of his kitchenware was a part of a matching set and his living room looked like all the pieces were picked out by an interior designer. In a weird way, being at Aaron’s house gave you a glimpse of the life you could have in just a few years. Sometimes, it was easy to imagine that you were a part of his world.

  You couldn’t think like that, though. Especially not when he greeted you at his door with an eager kiss, pulling you in so that you were pressed against him.

  “I’m going to use this entire weekend,” Aaron mumbled against your lips in between kisses. His hands slid up your sides, pulling your shirt off almost immediately. “To thoroughly and completely ruin you, until you can only say my name.” 

  Your fingers tangled in his hair as you smiled into the kiss, your fingers already working on the buttons of his shirt. A soft moan escaped your lips, which only encouraged him to deepen the kiss.

  The two of you stumbled towards Aaron’s bedroom, only detaching your lips when absolutely necessary and leaving a trail of clothes behind you. You needed to be naked, to feel your bare skin pressed against his. His hands were impossibly everywhere all at once - running up your thighs, cupping your breasts, and gripping your hips so hard that it was bound to leave bruises. Your body burned everywhere he touched and soon all you could think about was him and how badly you wanted him to touch you where it mattered.

  Once you got to his bedroom, Aaron pressed you against the wall. You tried to grind against him, but he moved one of his hands onto your hips so that he could hold you in place. His lips moved from your mouth to your neck, sucking just enough to make your back arch. “You have no idea how often I thought of you this week. How hard it was to listen to you and not think about how you sound when you’re begging for me. How badly I needed you.”

  Your nail scratched down his back lightly, just enough to elicit a soft hiss from him. “Desperation is unbecoming on you, Aaron,” you teased, knowing that would get a reaction out of him.

  It worked. One of his hands stayed on your hip, pressing you firmly against the wall, while his other hand tangled itself in your hair, pulling your head back so that your face was lifted up towards him. He kept you at an arm's distance as his eyes raked your body up and down hungrily.

  “I’m desperate?” he said scornfully. “Coming from the girl who is so needy that she couldn’t stay away from her phone for more than a few minutes, just waiting for me to want you. I could have called you at any time, and you would have dropped everything just to let me use you, isn’t that right? You’d let me do anything to you, just like the filthy slut you are.”

  You visibility gulped at his statement but you nodded obediently, which earned you a sharp tug of your hair.

  “Yes, Aaron, fuck ,” you gasped out. “I would have let you do anything at any time, just please…”

  Aaron gave you a predatory grin as the hand on your hip slowly made its way up your stomach until it cupped your right breast, thumbing lightly over your nipple. It wasn’t enough to get any real pleasure, but it made you moan all the same.

   “You did such a good job this week,” he murmured, looking at you almost worshipfully like he wanted to commit you to memory.  “I was going to give you whatever you wanted tonight. But maybe that would make me too desperate .”

  You tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but it was no use. “I- I-” you stuttered out. You couldn’t think straight.

  “I- I-,” Aaron mocked. “I thought you were a lot more intelligent than that. Come on, Y/N, whatever you want. Use your words. Unless pleasure’s turned you into a stupid whore.” He punctuated the last word with a light spank to your clit, which made you cry out and your legs instinctively try to close.

  “I want you to use your mouth,” you begged, arching your back in a pitiful attempt to create some form of contact. Your shoulders pressed against the wall was the only thing keeping you upright.

  “Where?” he asked all too casually.

  Your breathing was still shaky at best, but you forced yourself to make eye contact with Aaron. He looked back at you expectantly, waiting patiently for your answer.

  You slowly raised your hand to point to your left breast, which so far had been woefully ignored. “Here,” you said hesitantly, not sure whether or not he was going to tease you. While Aaron always gave you what you asked for eventually, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t make you beg for it first.

  To his credit, however, Aaron immediately bent down and attached his mouth to your nipple, his teeth gently scraping over the sensitive flesh. His eyes never left yours, he wanted to watch your reaction. 

  Feeling more confident, you cupped the sides of his face and pulled him off you, and the sound it made was obscene. “I want you to eat me out,” you whispered, blushing as you said it. “I want to feel myself cum on your face, please .”

  Aaron smirked as he slid down to his knees, kissing all the way down your stomach. “Good girl, you asked so nicely,” he mumbled against your skin and it sent shivers up your spine. He hooked one of your legs over his shoulder, giving him a perfect few of your pussy, slick with your arousal. “Look at you, dripping down your thighs before I’ve even started. Desperation is unbecoming on you, Y/N,” he mocked. He was using your words against you, and you didn’t even care. You just wanted him to do something, anything.

  Aaron ran a finger through your folds, ghosting over your clit. You hips bucked, desperate for more contact, but his finger was already gone. “Look at me,” he ordered, and as soon as you did, you were greeted with the image of Aaron admiring the wetness that was covering his finger. Then he stuck the finger in his mouth, smirking as he did, and you moaned out at the sight. “You taste so good, Y/N.”

  “Please, Aaron, I need you to- oh! ” you begged, but you were cut off by Aaron licking a strip up your center, still avoiding your clit.

  His hands came around and grabbed onto your ass as he got to work, lapping through your folds. You tangled your hands in his hair, rocking your hips against his mouth, craving more . His tongue teased at your clit, humming every once in a while in a way that sent vibrations throughout you. Without warning, he pushed two fingers into you curling them in just the right spot.

  As Aaron’s fingers pumped in and out of you, his lips focused solely on your clit. He flicked it once with his tongue before sucking, relishing in the way you moaned out his name. You tightened your grip in Aaron’s hair as your first orgasm hit you, your whole body shaking and a string of expletives leaving your mouth. But that didn’t stop Aaron.

  He added a third finger and replaced his mouth with his thumb on your clit. “You’re going to give me another one,” he practically growled. “And then I’m going to fuck you until you’re a whining mess. This is what you asked for isn’t it?”

  When you didn’t answer right away, he turned his head to the side and bit down on the sensitive flesh of your inner thigh, causing you to cry out. He sucked on that same spot for a little before dragging his tongue over the newly formed bruise.

  “Yes, I want that, Aaron,” you cried out. “I want you .”

  He reattached his lips to your folds with newfound vigor, making tight circles around your clit. His free hand snaked up your sides to your breast, pinching and twisting at your nipple. You continued to beg, although you weren’t sure what you were begging for exactly. All you knew was that you were so full of want , want for your second orgasm, and want for Aaron.

  Aaron fucked you with his fingers with ease, as if he had all the time in the world. You ground down on him again, chasing your orgasm the best you could. Your eyes were squeezed shut in pleasure, but you needed more. You opened your eyes, only to be met with Aaron’s blown pupils, eyes full of desire. You could almost feel his smirk as he wrapped his lips around your clit and pulled .

  The heel of your foot dug into his back as you cried out, your second orgasm twice as intense as your first one. Aaron’s fingers kept pumping into you lazily, and even your panting couldn’t cover the filthy sounds it was making. You could feel yourself dripping down your thighs.

  Aaron slowly removed his fingers from you and lightly swiped them over your clit once more as he stood up, which almost made you completely lose your balance, a sob tearing from your mouth.

  He held his glistening fingers in front of your mouth and you opened obediently, moaning as you tasted yourself on him. Your tongue swirled around his fingers, making sure to clean every trace of you off him.

  Aaron removed his fingers from your mouth. “Do you have one more in you?” he asked, and it was softer than you were used to. “It’s okay if you don’t. We have all weekend.”

  “I need your dick in me,” you said in lieu of an answer. “Please, please fuck me.”

  Aaron pulled you to his bed and you all but collapsed onto your back, your legs still shaking from your back to back orgasms. Aaron crawled on top of you, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake, all the way from your stomach to your mouth.

  “You’re so beautiful when you come for me,” he whispered, teasing your entrance with the head of his cock. All of his movements were gentle, bordering on caring. “Yelling out my name so that everybody can hear that you’re mine .”

  He pressed into you slowly, his first few thrusts shallow, and you could see that it was taking all of his willpower to keep teasing you like this. You dragged your nails down his back, not caring if it left marks on him.

  “Aaron,” you whimpered, bucking your hips to try and get more movement. “Please fuck me. I need more.”

  Aaron was always good at giving you what you wanted.

  His hips snapped into you harshly, and you had to attach your lips to his shoulder to keep from screaming out. Aaron thrusted into you hard and fast, wanting to feel every inch of you. He stretched you in all the best ways and your back arched off the bed. You were holding on to Aaron like a lifeline, and all he could do was grunt out your name over and over, repeating it like a prayer. 

  Your third orgasm came fast, spreading through your body like a wildfire, and you could feel the tears prick at the corners of your eyes at the overstimulation. Aaron’s thrusts became more desperate and harsher as he felt you squeeze around him. He dropped his head to your shoulder, his breathing ragged and you could tell that he was so close-

  “Cum for me… Fill me up,” you purred into Aaron’s ear, and that’s all it took for him to finish, holding himself deep inside you as his warmth filled you. The two of you stayed like that for a moment, both trying to catch your breath. You brought your head up to kiss Aaron, slowly and deliberately and filled with… something . You couldn’t figure out what it was yet.

  Aaron pulled out of you slowly and flopped onto the bed next to you, but he reached over and held your hand. The two of you laid like that for several moments, giving yourselves time to come back down to reality. Finally, Aaron rolled on his side to check on you. You admired the flush on his body, especially as it rose to his cheeks and made him look like he was practically glowing.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his thumb rubbing lazy circles on your hand. “Can I do anything?” 

  You turned your head to smile at him, giving his hand a squeeze, before sitting up. Aaron was always so careful about aftercare, which you were immensely appreciative of. “Oh, I’m fine, I’m just going to go to the bathroom. A UTI might ruin the mood,” you joked.

  When you returned, Aaron was already in a pair of pajama pants and sitting in bed. He had also laid out one of his shirts for you, which caused your stomach to do flips. Despite the fact that you actually did pack pajamas, you chose to wear his shirt. You could feel his eyes watching your every movement as you made your way back into bed, leaning back against the headboard.

  Aaron placed an arm around your shoulders and you leaned into him, catching his lips in another kiss, this one soft and sensual. You placed your hand on his bare chest as the kiss deepened, and Aaron’s fingers ghosting over your skin sent shivers down your spine.

  “So,” you murmured against his lips. “What are your plans for me this weekend?” It was partially a joke, but you wanted to be as prepared as possible for just how sore you were going to be on Monday after an entire three days of being thoroughly wrecked by Aaron.

  Aaron’s lips curved up into a smile as he dropped a kiss on the top of your head, letting his lips linger for just a second too long. “Hm, we can play it by ear. Although, I was thinking Indian for dinner tomorrow night?”

  You were too old to get butterflies, but there was something so soft and so sincere in his reply that it made your stomach do flips. Aaron yawned, probably not even giving a second thought to his reply, and pulled you in closer to him. 

  “Yeah,” you conceded, closing your eyes. “Indian sounds good.” You could deal with the butterflies later.

[sweetyyhippyy]

Part of You. Spencer Reid x OC! Character. Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: 864 days

(Not my gif.)

Summary: Bridgett brings a date to a party at Rossi’s house. Spencer gets extremely jealous and angry. While working a case with Bridgett, he says some words he doesn’t mean. He goes to Bridgett’s apartment to apologize, and those 3 little words are finally said. 

Pairing: Season 5 Spencer Reid x OC! Plus size character, Bridgett Mendez

TW: Alcohol mentions, Spencer being mean, language, I think that’s all!

Word Count: 4k

A.N.: This is season 5 Spencer, like tail end of season 5. Please reblog! Italicized words are inner thoughts. 

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

“So Rossi needs a headcount for how many people are coming over tonight. He said he hasn’t heard back from only you, Bridge.”

JJ says, joining Bridgett and Garcia gossiping at Bridgett’s desk.

“Oh yeah sorry, I was kinda waiting to hear from… this guy I’m bringing along tonight.”

Both of the girls eyes get wide, staring at Bridgett.

“You’re bringing someone? Who is he?! I need to know everything, now.” Penelope squeals, leaning back in her chair.

Bridgett laughs, knowing that this was going to be the hot topic of the day.

“It’s this guy I’ve been dating for like 2 weeks. His name is Angel.”

“Okay, okay, Angel. Angel and Bridgett… Bridgett and Angel. Doesn’t necessarily roll off the tongue but keep going.” Penelope says.

“I met him at the coffee shop by my apartment. It was that one morning Hotch needed us to come in at like 6am so I grabbed some coffee and they were getting a delivery while I was waiting and the delivery guy noticed me, I noticed him after the third time he passed me by. So I smiled at him and he stopped to talk to me on my way out. We've gone on a few dates and he’s really nice.”

“Just nice? Are you not completely into him?” JJ questions.

“I don’t know, he’s nice, and he is cute. But I don’t know it’s weird, I know you’re both going to say I’m selling myself short but he’s out of my league. Our connection is good when we’re together but I can’t help but think that maybe he’s just putting a front on. It’s all probably just in my head… right?”

“If it’s only been a few dates this is all still new. The both of you are trying to figure each other out. I wouldn’t discredit him just yet, sweetheart.” Penelope interjects, rubbing her shoulder in comfort.

JJ’s phone rings from her pocket, her groaning and leaving out the door to the elevator.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to bring another guy tonight? I’m not judging, I just don’t think that there’s *someone you didn’t think about.”

Bridgett knew who she was talking about as soon as she said it, and she was right, Bridgett didn’t think about Spencer.

“You don’t know for sure if Spence likes me, Penelope.”

“Um, Earth to madam profiler! Bridgy, the boy is beyond in love with you. You don’t see what everyone else in this office sees when you talk to him, or when someone talks about you.”

Bridgett sighs, rubbing her temple with her fingers lightly.

“What am I supposed to do? I’m genuinely asking I’m not trying to be a bitch but, am I supposed to wait, god knows how long, for him to make the first move? I don’t make the first move. Ever. That’s not me and it makes me want to physically puke even thinking about it. What if he never does it? Then what?”

“I know, beautiful, and I didn’t mean to make you question dating other people, but I just want you to think about it.”

***

Bridgett felt off the rest of the day after her talk with Garcia. She almost wanted to just call Angel and tell him that there had been a change of plans and she wasn’t going to the party anymore. But he had told her on the phone a few nights ago he had gotten a special outfit for the night.

Bridgett sits on the couch, her hair flowing down her back, makeup fresh on her face, and a dark maroon dress clinging to her body, the dress ending mid thigh. While she was staring at her phone deciding on whether or not she was going to call Angel and cancel, it starts ringing, his name appearing on screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey you, I’m on my way to come get you. I’ll be there in about 5 minutes.”

Her stomach turns, but in a good way.

“Okay. I’ll be waiting. See you in a bit.”

She slips her heels on, leaving them for the last minute knowing they were going to kill her feet by the end of the night. She paced back and forth, double and triple checking she had everything in her clutch. there’s a knock at the door in a rhythmic pattern, one that Angel frequented when he came over to pick her up. Bridgett walks to answer the door, opening it with a smile. He smiles back, handing her a single red rose.

“For you.” He smiles, kissing her cheek. Bridgett’s cheeks get warm, a nervous laugh coming from her mouth.

“Thank you. You look very handsome.”

He looked so incredibly handsome in the dark brown button up tucked into black dress pants he was wearing, everything head to toe was on point and it made her swoon a little bit.

“Are you ready to go? I’m definitely going to need directions to your coworker’s house.”

***

“This is going to sound very shallow, but how much money do FBI agents make? This house is huge.” Angel whispers to Bridgett, walking up to Rossi’s house.

“He used to work for the FBI back in the day, he retired and wrote a couple of books and he started doing book tours and signing, lectures. So he always hosts parties because this is his house. He’s a great guy, you’ll like him.”

Bridgett was beyond nervous for everyone to meet this new guy. Especially since he was so new in her life. And since the conversation she had with Penelope, she was nervous if she was right how Spencer would react.

She rings the doorbell to the large house, waiting for someone to answer the door. Derek opens the door, a surprising look on his face.

“Hey Bridge. Come on in.” Derek studies Angel up and down.

“Derek, this is Angel. Angel this is Derek. He and I work together at the Buerau. He’s our resident badass and big brother.”

The front of the house fills with the rest of the team members; Emily, JJ, Penelope, Hotch, Rossi, but no Spencer. She introduces everyone to Angel , Rossi handing both of them a drink after the introductions are done.

***

The mood was light while everyone was inside sitting around a large table, everyone talking and laughing.

“I gotta use the restroom. I’ll be back, if I’m not back in 10 send a search party.” Angel jokes, making Bridgett laugh.

“Hey pretty boy made it!” Derek calls out, everyone’s attention turning to Spencer. He smiles and waves awkwardly, coming to join everyone else. He had a nice plum colored button up on with a skinny solid black tie, and of course his converse on. He looked really handsome. Bridgett waves at him from her seat, Spencer walking over and sitting on the opposite side of her.

“You’re late. What took you so long?” Bridgett teases.

“The subway. It randomly broke down right before I was supposed to get off for 15 minutes.”

“Well hey, don’t worry about taking the subway home, I’ll just take you. I’m sticking to one glass tonight, I’m not going to be drunk.”

Spencer smiles at her, nodding his head as he takes a drink from his glass, “Yeah that would be great thanks Bridge.”

Bridgett feels the chair on her other side slide back, Angel touching her bare shoulder as he sits back down. Spencer’s eyes fixate on the stranger, his eyes flickering back and forth between him and Bridgett.

“Who’s this?” Spencer questions.

“Oh I’m Angel, I’m Bridgett’s date.”

The room fell quiet, everyone watching the exchange. Spencer’s jaw clenched, taking a longer swig of his drink.

“Date huh? Nice.” He says under his breath.

Bridgett’s cheeks getting hot, getting through this dinner was going to be interesting.

Spencer was beyond fuming, but in the back of his mind he knew he had no true right to feel this angry.  But seeing that the girl he’s in love with be touched and goggled over made him seethe with rage.

If you weren’t such a goddamn wimp, maybe Bridgett and you could have gone together as a date, but no you have to be afraid of fucking everything.

Spencer knocks the glass of wine back, asking Rossi if he had anything stronger., to which he offered him his best scotch and Spencer took. He quickly shoots that one down, instantly regretting it once he feels the fire in his throat.

Bridgett watches him cough after hearing him swallow the shot, in the few years she’s know Spencer, he’s had maybe half a sip of champagne, and again… it was half a sip. “Woah, slowdown, I can’t carry you out of here.” Bridgett comments, laughing slightly.

Spencer pours another shot full, keeping his eyes on hers the whole time while he slowly sips, finishing yet another glass.

“Slow enough for you?”

***

Spencer didn’t speak one word while everyone was eating , anytime Bridgett spoke to him, Spencer wouldn’t look at her, he just nodded his head and take a heavy drink. He got more and more angry throughout the night, nobody else could tell if it was the alcohol or Angel.

Not too long after dinner was over some of the team started to leave. Angel wraps his arm around Bridgett’s waist, kissing her cheek.

“What do you say we get out of here?” Angel whispers in her ear. Bridgett giggles, smiling at him.

“Okay. I told my friend Spencer I would take him home, so I need to drop him off before I get home. Let me go find him.”

Bridgett walks to the backyard to try to find Spencer, not finding him with the rest of the team that was still here. She walks back inside, finding Derek and Penelope before they leave.

“Hey, have you seen Spence? I was supposed to give him a ride home.”

Derek sighs, throwing his jacket on. Penelope stares at Derek then back at Bridgett.

“He uhh… got a call from his mom’s care facility. He left like 10 minutes ago.”

“Oh my god is she okay?”

“He didn’t say. He was… upset.” Derek states, rubbing her shoulder in comfort. “I’ll see you Monday morning, mama.”

Bridgett walks to Rossi and Emily chatting with Angel, her coat in his hands.

“Hey, Spence took off because of a family emergency. So if you still want to head out, we can.”

Angel nods his head, helping Bridgett put her coat on and saying his goodbyes to the pair before walking hand and hand out with Bridgett back to her car.

***

Bridgett walks through the elevator, pulling the door open to the dugout. She spots Spencer at his desk, not expecting him to be at work this morning.

“Hey, you’re here. How’s your mom?”

Spencer barely turns his head to give Bridgett a dirty look, going back to scribbling something in his notebook.

“Fine.” He says plainly.

“Garcia said that you left Rossi’s party the other night because you got a call from your mom’s care facility that something happened. And you didn’t answer my phone calls all weekend. I was worried about you.”

Spencer gets up from his desk with a sigh, whizzing past her toward the conference room. Bridgett stands there, completely confused why he wasn’t speaking to her.

“Hey mama, we have a local case, Hotch said a briefing in 5.” Derek says, passing by her quickly.

Bridgett sets her bag at her desk, taking her notebook and pen with her to the conference room, sitting in her usual spot next to Spencer.

“Hey, are you okay?” She asks quietly.

Spencer visibly rolls his eyes, fidgeting with his pen between his fingers.

“Yup. Just fine.”

Bridgett opens her mouth to ask him another question but everyone grabs their seat as JJ begins briefing everyone on their case.

***

Hotch had Bridgett and Spencer partner up to examine the crime scene and Spencer was beyond annoyed. Bridgett could feel the anger and tension between both of them the car ride to the crime scene. She wanted to ask what his deal was but she didn’t want there to be more anger in the air when they got to their destination.

While they were examining the crime scene and talking with the town sheriff, Spencer undermined every single thing she asked, said, or thought and it was pissing her off.

After a few hours they were ready to head back to headquarters and Bridgett was furious.

“Hey, Spencer, could you have me a tissue please?” Bridgett asks, motioning to the glove compartment. Spencer sighs loudly, opening the drawer and slamming the door closed hard. That was it.

“What the fuck is your problem?!” Bridgett yells. “Why are you being such a fucking dick? What did I do to you?”

“What are you talking about?”

Bridgett bites her cheek, putting her turn signal on and pulling off to the side of the road.

“What are you doing?” Spencer asks, raising his voice.

“No, what are you doing?! I don’t know why you’re pissed off at me, but you making me look like I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about when we’re working is not okay. This attitude you’ve had with me all morning is starting to piss me off and I’m over it! What did I do?”

Spencer sits quietly, gathering his thoughts.

“I don’t want to talk to you about it.”

Bridgett was about 2 seconds away from screaming in anger, her hands grip the steering wheel, knuckles white.

“So instead of being a fucking adult you’re choosing to act like a child and not tell me why you’re angry with me? Real mature Spencer. You know, for a genius, you can be real dumb sometimes.” She fires off at him.

“Nice to know that’s what you think of me.” Spencer says quietly, grabbing his satchel, opening the car door and walking away from the car.

Bridgett sits dumbfounded. She gets out of the car, running after him. “Spencer! What are you doing?!”

He has his back turned to her, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

“Spencer, Spencer, Spencer, Spencer.” Bridgett repeats his name over and over again, getting under his skin.

Once he hangs the phone up he begins walking away again.

“Goddamn it! Where are you going?” She shouts, Spencer stopping in his tracks.

“Going back to work. I’m not riding with you back. I called a cab”

“Why are you being like this? What did I do Spencer?!” She was pissed, getting upset, and tired.

“You’re being a shitty friend!” Spencer yells, visibly taken back at what he even just yelled.

Bridgett stares at him, tears clouding her vision. “I’m not a shitty friend.” She says with a light voice. “You really think I’m a shitty friend? All the nights I spent on the phone with you because you were having bad nightmares, the time I went to your house at 3:30am because you called me inconsolable, was there for you because you got a call that your mom was having a bad day and you felt guilty for putting her in a mental hospital. All of that I was there for you and you still have the audacity to call me a shitty friend? Really?”

Spencer doesn’t make eye contact with her, his feet kicking the pavement under him. Bridgett walks back to the car, tears flowing down her cheeks at his words. She sits in the car, watching Spencer sit on the sidewalk, waiting for his cab, his head turning every so often to see the car still parked several feet away. Bridgett openly sobbed in the car, she was sensitive enough as it was, but having her best friend call her a shitty friend broke her. She waits in the car until she sees a yellow cab pull up next to Spencer and him get in it. Even though he just pissed her off, she didn’t want him to be by himself in the middle of nowhere. Once she sees him get in she drives off toward the office, still sniffling and the occasional tear rolling down her cheek.

Once she pulls into the parking spot back at the office, she slowly walks inside, trying to get her mind together before having to go back and face the rest of the team. She walks through the doors, throwing the case file on her desk and grabbing her bag to go home.

“Hey, where’s Spence?” Derek asks, popping up behind her.

“Fuck if I know.” Bridgett mumbles, turning to walk out for the day.

“Wait! Where are you going? What happened? Are you crying?” Derek rattles his questions off one after the other.

Bridgett continues walking out, ignoring Derek talking to her. She presses the elevator down button, waiting for it to come. She feels someone next to her, Derek. She sighs, folding her arms over her chest. The doors open, both of them walking in.

“What’s wrong?”

Bridgett clears her throat, choking back a sob.

“Spencer and I got into it… he got out of the car on the way back and called a cab to come get him because we were yelling at each other. He called me a shitty friend.”

“He’s going to kill me for saying this, but the reason he left on Saturday was because he was angry that you brought that kid with you to the party. He sort of has a thing for you.”

“Everyone keeps telling me that, you, Garcia, but he hasn’t made a move on me. I’m not going to wait for him to do it. I know that sounds mean but I can’t wait forever.”

Derek nods his head. “I know. I’ve been trying to tell him. And I told him the other night too. I’ve never seen him so mad. It definitely didn’t help that he was drinking everything in sight. But I can tell you that you’re not a shitty friend. Spencer just says what’s on his mind when he’s mad.”

“So that means he has it in his head that I’m shitty to him.”

Derek shakes his head, giving her a tight hug.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. Let me talk to him. See if I can get him to calm down. Go home, I’ll tell Hotch you got sick on the job and take the rest of the day to make yourself feel better, alright?”

Bridgett nods, giving him a hug.

***

Bridgett grabs the plate of her favorite comfort meal, breakfast food drenched in hot sauce, and takes it over to the couch, flipping through the tv channels to find something to watch for the night. Her favorite movie was already loaded into her DVD player from the last time she watched it, and that was probably what she was going to settle for. As she takes a huge mouthful of eggs there’s a soft knock at the door. She groans, quickly chewing her food, opening the door quickly. Spencer is standing there, his head down, fidgeting with the leather strap across his chest.

“Hi.” He says quietly.

“Hello.” Bridgett responds, a hint  of attitude in her tone, still a little bitter at him for his earlier outburst.

Spencer bites his bottom lip, awkwardly fixing her doormat with his foot to straighten it out.

“I was wondering if I could talk… if we could talk.”

“What about?” She asks, crossing her arms over her chest, still not letting him inside.

“I wanted to tell you I’m sorry.” Finally looking into Bridgett’s eyes.

“Oh really? Okay well I’m listening.”

Spencer sighs, tapping his fingers on his bag.

“Derek told me that you went back to work crying… about what I said to you and I didn’t mea-“

Bridgett interrupts, just to get under his skin. “What did you say to me? I forgot.” She questions, her voice thick with sarcasm.

Well she isn’t going to make this easy.

“I… I called you a shitty friend. And I didn’t mean it, Bridge. I was angry and I should have never said it because it’s far from the truth. You’re the only true friend I’ve ever had, and I feel like such a dick for saying it to you. I probably can’t ever apologize enough to make up for it, but my apology is genuine.”

Bridgett continues to stare at him for a few seconds, she could tell he really was sorry for his harsh words, and even if she wanted to, she couldn’t be mad at him.

“Come in.” She moves from the middle of the doorway, letting Spencer in. He walks in, following her to the couch.

“I want you to be honest with me, because I already know the answer to the question.”

Spencer nods his head, playing with a loose string on her throw pillows.

“Do you have romantic feelings for me?”

Spencer’s eyes grow wide, almost in a cartoonish way. He drops eye contact with Bridgett, his heart beating a million miles per hour.

Tell her. Tell her now. She already knows. Tell. Her.

“Yeah.” He says, no sound coming out of his mouth, his vocal chords frozen. He clears his throat, “Yeah, I have feelings for you. I have for a while now.”

“How long is a while?” Bridgett questions, feeling a bit of relief that he finally admits it.

“476 days. Since the night at the hotel… in Idaho. Well actually 388 days before that, it’s kinda why what happened in Idaho… happened. So 864 days total.”

Bridgett nods her head, trying to hide the smirk on her face, remembering very fondly of what happened in Idaho.

“And why did you feel the need to hide the fact you had feelings for me that weren’t just sexual feelings? Why do you think that you couldn’t tell me you liked me in a romantic way?”

“I don’t know. I was scared that you were going to laugh in my face when I told you that I fell in lo-.” He stops himself before he says the word.

“Fell in love with me?” Bridgett asks, finishing his sentence.  

He nods his head, afraid to say the words.

“I wouldn’t laugh at you. And to be honest with you, I would be lying to myself if I said I didn’t like you too. I haven’t been in love with you for 800 days, but I do love you.”

Spencer stays quiet, smiling to himself. “864 days.”

Bridgett rolls her eyes and elbows his arm playfully.

“Oh, so sorry 864 days. Since we’re talking about how many days we’ve been in love with each other, I've been in love with you for about…” Bridgett pauses as she does the math in her head, not anywhere close to how fast Spencer’s brain worked. “730 days.”

“Really?”

Bridgett nods her head, “Yeah, it’s kinda hard not to love you. You know what solidified my love for you? Do you remember when we were flying back from Seattle, and you were exhausted, we were sitting together, we had barely been in the air for 20 minutes and I felt your head rest on my shoulder. I looked over at you and you were passed out. I put my head on yours and I fell asleep too. When I woke up, Emily had a picture on her phone she had taken of us and I knew that I loved you.”

Spencer touched Bridgett’s cheek with his thumb softly, staring at her deep brown eyes. He takes Bridgett’s hand in his, holding them close to his chest.

“I love you Bridgett, and I really want to make you happy.”

She lets go of his hands and places both of them on each side of his face, giving him a smile.

“I forgive you.” She says softly, kissing his lips. “And I love you too.”

“So does this mean you’re my… girlfriend?”

Bridgett kisses his lips softly, smiling at him lovingly.

“Yes, yes it does mean I’m your girlfriend. You good with that?”

“Very. I’m very good with that.”

[smolbeandrabbles]

Penguin, James Penguin - Killian x Reader (Spies in Disguise)

Alternate Title: ‘I Wish I Was James Bond’

Holiday Fic 5! 🐧🐧

@wltz-bby​ @happyskywhale​

@xxstar-bluesxx​ - From one Killian Stan, to another 😉

Author’s Note: It is EXACTLY a year since I saw this movie for the first time. 

I had way too much fun writing these two again, safe to say I missed them a lot 🥰🥰

Not joking, this plot has been in my notes since January - and I was like “Well I missed my chance completely with the song and everything!” It’s too good not to pass up!!

Reader character from my SiD series/prequel? You betcha! 😉 But this time we’re writing for them post-movie!

Also playing into the rehabilitation program / Agent!McFord storyline here. So I hope, Killian Stans, that he’s been worth the wait to come back to you. And that I’m ticking a bunch of boxes. 

Note: Whilst the song itself certainly has a Christmas theme, the fic does not. At all.

Penguin, James Penguin - Brad Paisley

I Wish I Was James Bond - Scouting For Girls

Disclaimer: SiD & all associated characters not mine / basically taking the same idea as everyone else and slightly subverting expectations, because it wouldn’t be my fic if I didn’t / you don’t necessarily have to read ‘Mine’ to ‘Fresh Start Fever’ to understand this but it might help / lyrics & gifs not mine. 

Premise: In an attempt to figure out how Walters Bio-molecular tech works, Killian ends up getting it wrong with disastrous (hilarious) results...

Words: 6793

Warnings: Christmas themed lyrics/No Christmas themed fic / if you squint there’s some slight sexual banter at the end there / 

______

I've got another story That I bet you haven't heard Did you know that Santa Has a secret agent bird From an undisclosed location He's watching me and you He's got satellite uplinks in his cufflinks Yeah he sees everything you do He's Penguin, James Penguin That dapper little guy Like a well dressed duck in a three piece tux He's Santa's secret spy Not so very long ago Santa didn't need much help But with more and more kids every year He soon got overwhelmed He told the elves one Christmas We can't do this anymore Then a knight in shining polyester Waddled through his door And it was Penguin, James Penguin He was there to save the day He had wireless And GPS outfitted on the sleigh And Santa said Penguin Won't you be my ears and eyes How'd you like to help me run My SCFBI He's Penguin, James Penguin And now I guess you've heard How Santa got his little Christmas Secret Agent Bird

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I've seen you walk the screen, it's you that I adore Since I was a boy I wanted to be like Roger Moore A girl in every port, and gadgets up my sleeve The world is not enough for the both of us it seems Hello Mr Bond, I've been expecting you Martini in your hand, and that eyebrow that you move Don't take this the wrong way, I know it might sound odd I'm the next double-0, I'm the right man for the job I wanted to be you, I wanted to be you I wanted to be someone else And I wish I was James Bond Just for the day Kissing all the girls, blow the bad guys away And I wish I was James Bond Just for the day Kissing all the girls, blow the bad guys away And I wish I was James Bond Just for the day Kissing all the girls, blow the bad guys away Roger and Sean and Timmy and George And Daniel and Pierce and maybe one day me

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The light grey clouds rolled over the mountains on the horizon line. By the colour alone you suspected that you were due heavy snowfall. Up in a mountaintop hideaway you were growing used to such things... no bright blue sky today.

You folded your arms with a sigh; still, a little bit of sunshine would be nice.  

KiTT - your assistance drone - beeped every so often as he moved about the room, doing the odd task. Other than that, the house was silent, for now. Your eyes hovered on the helicopter outside and then back to the clouds; would there be a chance of getting out of here for the next few days? You knew cars would be out of the question, it was treacherous even in snow fairing vehicles... Note to self: Next time choose a boyfriend whose idea of a home is not a typical villain’s hide out. Although you supposed it fit his role in all this. At least to the Agency. Things had changed a lot since Killian had tried to take everyone out with his own drones, but they were still very wary of him. You found yourself tasked with keeping him straight - you weren’t sure they understood your relationship. But agreed anyway.

  Having finished his tasks and now bored, KiTT whirred his way back over to you, beeping his greeting. Blue lights flashing.  You shook your head at him, “What would you have me do? I’ve given you everything I had on my list, why don’t you ask him if he needs any help?” KiTT’s next series of bleeps had you laughing; “I’m sure he didn’t mean to kick you out like that. K just needs to concentrate. You can get pretty loud!”  Your drone protested, which only made you giggle. Especially as he tried to make the argument that he couldn’t possibly be any worse than the rest of them. 

KiTT had a point: the drones that the Agency had let you take back now helped both you and Killian with lab work - amongst other things – and, with your own expertise in AI, each now had their own distinctive personality just as KiTT did. Sometimes you regretted that decision. Although they couldn’t have been further from his blue and silver finish; in sleek black and red lights. Fitting for your significant other maybe, but it made little sense to you for the Agency to have given them such colours. (And if you were honest, KiTT looks a damn sight better, but you supposed there was a bit of favouritism in that comment.) “Oh, yeah. Cuz nothing says evil robot quite like red lights.” Killian couldn’t clap back at that, KiTT was exclusively blue. “I didn’t design it.” “I know. Which begs the question, why the Agency was building an assassination drone.” He folded his arms, “Well they don’t care, do they?” Protection by any means necessary. Stop the bad guys by any means necessary. “Well...” You raised your eyebrows and tipped your head in agreement. He’d know a lot about that alright... 

You found yourself looking back to the clouds and sighed, “You could always go check the weather for me if you’re really that desperate. Or if you could figure out a really quick weather changing machine?” If you could count KiTT’s next sound as a scoff you would, before blue lights ran across his body to let you know he was contacting weather satellites for you.

 The sudden crash behind you snapped you both from caring about the weather. It was followed by a slightly smaller - but still loud – one, and then silence again. You immediately started towards the labs, “On second thought, sounds like I should have just asked you to go straight to him!” 

**

When you both got down there it was a little hard to tell what had happened. At first it looked like nothing too serious; work surfaces scattered with tools, screens full of science mechanics... until you spotted the broken glass beakers and liquid running across the surface of a worktop, dripping onto the floor. “K?!” He didn’t appear to be in here, and yet none of his drones were either, which made you think it also hadn’t been them to make this mess. Or they’d made themselves scarce. You turned the lights up a little further and kept walking, cautiously. Well - for one thing, the floor was now covered in broken glass and curious liquids… they should probably be tidied up at the very least. Good thing your drone was in a working mood. There was another sound from further in the lab that made you jump, and you turned towards it. KiTT made a sound of worry. “Hush, clear this away, I got it.” He beeped again, “I’ll be FINE. Cybernetic, remember!?” KiTT’s next beep caused you to glare at him, “Don’t use that tone with me-!” 

You made your way carefully over to the noise, stepping around the glass that had been spat all over the floor. You were sure it’d made its way to unknown reaches of the lab, and you should be careful where you were stepping. Sure, you wouldn’t bleed, but thanks to the upgrades it’d still hurt.  When you turned the corner, you came face to face with a huddled form. Your head tilted curiously; eyebrow raised. You recognised it alright: but it was more the mystery of how it got in here. It might well have been the source of the crash - after all, you wouldn’t think a penguin to be very careful in a lab. You were just thinking about how you were supposed to catch it and then tell your partner: “Well, a penguin got into the house, and then your lab somehow, and destroyed all your research. Sorry about that-!”, when it turned towards you and-

  “AGH-!!” This time you didn’t jump, although both of you were startled. Your eyes widened even further as you stared at him, on the verge of collapsing into laughter. “K?!” The laugh wavered in your voice and you tried to swallow it back, “What did you do?” Killian was very blunt about it; “Turned myself into a penguin, alright. Are you happy now?” “How?” - Trying not to laugh was having the opposite effect and he sighed. “Go on, laugh-!” You did, but still tried to make it muted, before taking a deep breath, “What the hell...? Did you try to copy Walter’s formula-!?” “Well, it didn’t work did it-!” “They are all pigeons; although this is appropriate for our living conditions.” You crouched beside him, “...I gotta say, it’s very cute.” “Shut up!” You knew, were he still human, he’d be red with both anger and embarrassment by now.  You reached out to delicately touch his feathers; it seemed, just like Sterling managed to retain the bow tie, Killian would retain the outlines of his suit. He swatted your hand away and hissed; “Stop it!” “Just take the antidote. I mean, it’s all over the desk, but I’m sure we can salvage some of it. I assume you are trying for a pigeon, right? Or maybe you aren’t; gotta say I prefer penguins.”  “Thanks.” He responded dryly.  You only grinned your ‘you’re welcome’ and then stood to walk back to his desk; even if KiTT had managed to clear everything by now, if Killian had all the data, creating another batch of antidote shouldn’t take too long, and you could enjoy him as a penguin for a few minutes... or hours... more. “No! Wait! Y/N!” He hissed again, flippers grabbing your leg. “What?” Killian gave you a look of significance. Your eyes narrowed; “You took it without making an antidote!?!” “I took it accidentally!! And I had an antidote, it just wasn’t perfected-! Now I’m stuck as a flightless bird-!” “Deadly in water though.” You mused, tilting your head – that was not well received. Killian grumbled, huffing something under his breath. “So, this isn’t Walter’s formula?” “No!” Although it didn’t look like he was prepared to admit it. And you weren’t sure exactly how he managed to take it ‘accidentally’. “I did it myself!” “Well, this part worked.” You continued walking though, which made him waddle after you as fast as he could, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?!” “Uhm, to get Walter. He’ll be able to fix this-!” “No!!” He got ahead of you and tried to push you backwards, you halted; you supposed you understood why he wouldn’t want to admit what he’d done. You thought Walter would actually love that Killian’s formula was at least correct, even if he couldn’t reverse it yet. “What are you going to do Killian? Perfect the antidote as a Penguin? Think about this-!” “I AM!” “Rationally.” You stooped again and gathered him in your arms, to which he squirmed until you set him on a clear desk. “He’s the only one who can help you.” “I can do this myself..!” “As a flightless bird?” He’d been the one to say it-! He sighed, but was still unwilling to concede. Folding his flippers across his chest and turning slightly away from you. You stroked a hand over his feathers again, and grumpy as he was, you felt Killian lean into your touch and smirked as you teased him. “We could be halfway to D.C. by now...” He turned to you, eyes narrowed, and pushed your fingers away again, gentler this time. “Fine. But not a word to anyone.” “I promise.” You placed your hand over your heart. “And don’t pick me up again. It’s embarrassing.” You raised an eyebrow, folding your own arms, “So... what are you going to do, waddle around after me?” “Yup.” Killian jumped down from the counter, sliding across the floor to the exit, passing KiTT who beeped curiously and looked to you. You gave a shrug and rolled your eyes. “You coming?” 

It didn’t take very long to gather all that you needed and throw yourselves into the helicopter. You thanked your lucky stars that he’d taught you how to fly this thing. Your eyes flicked back to those clouds, “KiTT what did the weather say?” He beeped the response; cold, very cold, chance of snow later but the clouds may have been long gone by then. What concerned you most was if the chopper would fly, he seemed to suggest you’d be fine. 

You took a deep breath and flicked all the switches to their correct positions before starting the ignition, blades whirring into life. Your penguin turned to you from his seat, where you’d firmly belted him in. “You sure you know what you’re doing!?! You have to get us all the way to Washington D.C.!” You glared at him, “You wanna try it in your current situation!? You taught me!!” Killian knew he had no choice but to concede. “Just be careful! Nothing reckless!” “Says the man that just turned himself into a Penguin-!” “It was accidental-!” His voice pitched. You placed your hands assuredly on the joystick and moved the helicopter steadily into the air and into higher altitudes. “Accidental my ass, how do you take something like that accidentally-!?” There was overwhelming silence and you knew you’d won again. But sighed, saying softer, “Look, it doesn’t matter...” You pulled out across the mountains and smiled at the blue sky out across your horizon line, the end of this grey was in sight-! “Walter will have you fixed into a sarcastic, Australian, pain-in-the-ass by the end of the day.” Even Killian couldn’t help but laugh at that.

How exactly did you end up in this mess? It’s probably best to go back to the beginning...

**

Shortly after the whole drone revenge plan had failed, you received an anonymous text telling you to bring a car to a building close to the Capitol Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument. It said nothing more than that, but it made you curious. Upon running it through KiTT and discovering it was from the Agency, your curiosity was only further piqued. And on the dot of the specified time, you were standing outside the building leaning against your car, shades on. To be honest you probably couldn’t have looked less inconspicuous, and you wondered if the Agency, in reality, were about to laugh at you for being so gullible and arrest you too. Well, you’d escaped from them before, and that was more than just a few upgrades ago.

 The doors of the building opposite slid open and your mouth was suddenly agape, you slid your shades slowly from your eyes, unable to hide your shock. Stepping into daylight - in a brand-new suit - was none other than Killian himself. 

His smile was gentle as he made his way down the steps to you, and your heart was hammering against your ribs. As Killian stopped in front of you, you couldn’t help yourself but throw your arms around him. “Am- am- am I here to pick you up!?” God I missed you, I missed you, I missed you… He chucked, returning your embrace, “I believe that’s the idea, yeah.” “They just let you go!?” Killian placed his right hand in his pocket and huffed, “Well. That’s not exactly it, I had to bargain my way out...” You surveyed him for a minute, all his cybernetics seemed intact; he didn’t look messed with. Running a full diagnostic would give you the whole picture, but you were puzzled. “What’s the price?” “Joining the good guys.” You pulled slightly back, “You’re working for the Agency!?” He gave a nod, “That’s the deal.” “Double cross all your acquaintances?” You smiled, leaning back against the car, “Does kinda sound like you... Oh. Wow. You’re an informant?”  “Not exactly.”  Your eyes widened further than you felt possible; “You’re an agent!?” “You got it.” But Killian’s smile slightly faded, “Y/N, I- I was only part of the bargain, though.” You understood him immediately, “Me? They want me.” “You’re an inspired scientist; your expertise in the fusion of human biology and robotics… not to mention AI- they can use that. It’s not really even me they want working with them, it’s you.” “You offered me up as a chip!?” You couldn’t help but be a little upset at him for that. “You’re the only chip I had to play!” Even by the desperate look on his face you shook your head, “No.” “I need you with me on this, you think I was gonna do it without you?” His hand reached for yours, and you didn’t pull away. “So, are we... a team?” “Well, about that—-” His eyes flicked over his shoulder and you both turned.

Standing in the doorway now - each with a wildly different expression on their face - were Walter, Lance and... you believed her name was Marcy. Your eyes flicked to his face and back to them. Walter was the only one that seemed to show any kind of joy; and he was ecstatic. You pushed back just about every swear word you could think of.  “You’re kidding me?”

**

He was not, in fact, kidding and after being hauled into a two-hour meeting - which you felt really explained nothing - you were essentially handed a file and an ultimatum.  Either you worked with them, or you were thrown in a maximum-security prison. You had to laugh, because you didn’t think this was exactly fair on you. And they had you between a rock and a hard place... Killian and you had always had the same vendetta against the Agency since Kyrgyzstan (maybe his a little more aggressive than yours), and you had a life outside all of this. You couldn’t afford not to take their offer. The Agency knew it.

That made you a lot less mad at him for signing you up, and you turned down the opportunity to vent to him on the drive back; “What do I call you now? Agent McFord!?” “Shut up!” The faint blush across his face made you smile and tease him again: “You do know all that James Bond stuff was a joke, right-!?”

It was one of your favourites. The two of you loved spy movies, unironically. And Killian really liked the classic Bond films, how any time he’d make himself a certain drink you’d come for him with the same joke: “Is that a martini!?” “Yes-??” He was always curious as to why that mattered, only for you to give a pointed smirk,  “Alright... James Bond!” And he laughed, hard. And you loved that sound, because it was such a rarity these days, “Surely in this situation Sterling is James Bond...?” Then you smirked again, and gave Killian your best flirty wink, “Not to me!” That seemed to always get you where you wanted. And wasn’t 007 known for his way with the ladies, after all?

Today in your car Killian did not raise to the bait, but you saw him shake his head as he stared out the window.  “So, are you going by Tristan or Killian…?” There was a little smile on his face as he continued to stare at the scenery, “I’ll leave that up to you…” Your sudden gasp had him looking back to you as something else gelled in your brain; “Wait does that mean I get to say I’m dating a secret agent!?” “Oh god.” His groan was quiet and you were already grinning, enjoying yourself even more. “You should never have agreed to this!” “Clearly.” “Wait—!” You turned to him in absolute joy, “Can you just put on a British accent for like five minutes-!?” “NO!” And you noticed how he managed to accent his Australian to new levels.  Clearly his childhood wish to be James Bond was getting fulfilled, but he wasn’t about to play into it for your whims...

You’d figure out how to break that will before long-!

**

It took Killian a little more time than he would have liked to convince you that his deal was a good one. You were basically flat out refusing to work for them, doing the bare minimum you possibly could get away with; it felt too much like coercion to you, and they must have known how much you stood to lose.

 His first track was to use Walter; with both similar approaches to science & technology and similar levels of enthusiasm for it, the work it would be possible for you to do together would be nothing short of incredible, and both of you knew it. You acknowledged Killian was right, but it wasn’t something you fell for. The files Killian gave you, the access to read about the technology... that interested you. The potential to further yourself in your own field, even if it had to be done with the Agency, was a good draw. But still not enough.

So Killian did the one thing he could, and played the last card he had left. Himself. Baiting you with his own fate. “If they say I’m not doing my job and throw me back where I came from, what then?” You hated him for it, hated even more that he had a point. Hated yourself for having to admit you couldn’t be without him. You’d almost gone stir crazy between his arrest and picking him up. You couldn’t stand to think of it being any longer than that.  Too much of a pain point, your one line. You’d both lost enough; you refused to let yourselves lose each other.

You did not become an agent though. Your role was strictly technology and it confined you to the labs. Which you had to be honest, you enjoyed. And because you had your own job – and were a name the industry knew well – you weren’t a full time Agency employee. Your research saved lives – was the reason you still had yours – the Agency couldn’t exactly stop you working on good conscience. Even better! The tension in the team didn’t really let up, but the combination of the four of you (and Marcy and co when necessary) worked well. You all got more done than any other team in the Agency. 

Still, the enjoyment of working alone, or with Walter, didn’t stop you from itching to get out there or complaining about it to Killian. “Oh. I see I’m not an agent.” “Less expendable than I.” “Out of me and you, how am I-” “You have a reputation beyond the Agency and they know it. You’re the poster child of cybernetics. They did it to save your brain; didn’t you tell me that yourself?” “You made this...” You indicated to the parts of your body that were, indeed, cybernetic. “Yes, I did.” He touched his forehead to yours, “but the top half of you is flesh and blood and I do not possess the brain you do. For now, you’re best staying in the lab.” Walter didn’t stay in the lab and it made you antsy; running around with Killian or getting to do stuff for him was half the fun.

And eventually you whined enough to get to accompany him on missions, even though you still didn’t get to be an agent.

You had a few style tips for your 007 too. In the same vein as Lance Sterling, Killian’s crisp new Agency suit was complete with bow tie and dazzlingly white shirt. You couldn’t help yourself, looking him over. Oh, sure, Killian looked great, but he didn’t look like him. As you strolled over, Killian stood still and as tall as possible: his obvious thought was that you we’re going to straighten his bow tie. Not a chance! Instead, you unfurled it and threw the fabric to one side, proceeding to undo one... two... you hovered over the third button. Killian placed his hand over yours, “Isn’t that enough?” He should have known that was a fatal mistake to say; “For me? No!” You took a step back with a smile, at the creased eyebrow and small frown look on his face, surveying your handy work: “Mmm. That’s more you. Agent McFord.” And so this was how he started to wear his suits, and before long that signature blue shirt found its way back into the mix, much to your delight.

It was on these missions together that you both became curious in Walter’s biomolecular tech. You from a purely scientific fascination. He had Sterling turning from man to pigeon left, right and centre. And the two of you had drones (now equipped with AI), but even you didn’t have anything like that. Clearly Killian’s interest had become a little more than just the spectacle and scientific theory though.

No, clearly he’d tried to replicate it for himself. And the result hasn’t exactly gone as planned. You supposed he wasn’t about to allow Lance to one up him for the rest of his Agency career - however long that lasted. And Killian wanted to get back on level footing without Walters help; he wanted to do it himself.

And it had worked, a very valiant attempt, but he hadn’t finished his antidote or had miscalculated somewhere... And that was how you had all ended up in a helicopter flying yourself to the Agency labs, with a penguin in the passenger seat.

Yet with what you’d seen working here, this just seemed like a typical day!

***

You landed to the best of your ability, ignoring his slight glare of annoyance at the small bump as you set the helicopter down. You would call that trip a success. You stared at the heavy doors in front of you and gathered your pass; you heard KiTT behind you and his metallic fussing as he switched himself into all the correct safety modes and access clearances for the Agency. That you had done yourself; you didn’t trust Killian with KiTT, did they really think they would get the go ahead to touch him? Turning to Killian you cleared your throat; “You gotta act like a penguin remember-! So don’t talk to me! Or do anything a penguin wouldn’t do!” “What wouldn’t a penguin do!?” You unclipped his seatbelt. Well, you supposed a researcher would know, or someone that worked with them closely in a zoo. But he couldn’t just guess the Agency’s experience. Then again, it wouldn’t surprise you if he knew everyone in it inside out by now. “Look, I don’t know. But don’t make me talk to you, I’m going to look like an insane person-!” Realising that you were both still talking to each other you shared the same ‘shut up!’ look before agreeing not to talk with a silent nod, and with both KiTT and penguin Killian trailing you, you headed across the helipad with your Agency pass. 

Here we go again...

God, you hated this building.  Most times you’d been out here it hadn’t been for any good reason - and you still didn’t feel particularly safe within it. And so many people… Even when you worked your legitimate job you usually worked alone - or with people you actually liked - you could talk to yourself or KiTT and run your mouth, or talk things through without anyone answering you.  Everyone at the Agency had an opinion. When it was just you and Walter it was okay, and Killian was right, you liked him. But sometimes other people got involved and it got messy. To the point where Walter would gingerly steer you from the room before you really went off at someone.

You keyed yourself in; immediately scanned by the Agency’s automatic sensors, the switch turned green and the door swung open for you. You hesitated for a moment and looked down to Killian. “I know you’re gonna hate this, but I’m going to have to carry you through security. I think that’s all there is for it.” You didn’t let him answer as you picked him up but, as before, Killian protested by squirming in your arms as you walked down the hall to the security area. “Geez, now I look like I’m smuggling in a penguin…”

You gained some funny looks for doing so, but you need only say the word research and they let you through with him. As you turned into the next corridor, through the next security door and it all looked empty, Killian nipped at your fingers; “OW! Okay… Geez-!” You put him back on the ground, only for him to shake out his ruffled feathers with a ‘humph!’ The corridors remained silent as you took the long way down to the research centre. And Killian switched from waddling to sliding around on his stomach. You watched with curiosity; you supposed that was faster for him than trying to keep up with you. You turned to KiTT with a raised eyebrow, only to see him also focused with puzzlement on the penguin. Knowing you weren’t about to get anything sensible out of your drone, you spoke once again to your boyfriend: “Is that easier to move, or is it just fun?” Killian barely glanced up at you, but you knew the look he was giving: ‘you’re the one that said don’t talk!’ He was right, but this corridor was empty, the last 10 corridors had been empty! “Geez you can just nod.” You were met with nearly exactly the same look, before he paused, nodded, and carried on his sliding.   “It’s fun? You are too cute.”

It took you until the next door for him to stand up and retaliate, but when Killian did, he smacked your leg as best he could with his flipper; you could only laugh.

***

You wandered cautiously through the laboratory and he stayed close; perhaps you should have checked that Walter was actually in today. You could already hear the stirring of whispers, and KiTT beeped in acknowledgement. You glanced to him, “Tell them to shut the hell up then!” His beep was a little louder in annoyance, and you rolled your eyes, but he began flying ominously over the heads of the other scientists and chatter stopped, work resumed. You smiled to yourself; everyone was scared of KiTT because of what they knew Killian’s drones had been capable of. KiTT was harmless, and had no weaponry, but they didn’t need to know that. You quite enjoyed how scared they got sometimes. Served them right for the majority of it. You were a little overcome with joy to see that Walter was indeed in his lab, and even more happy to see that Lance was nowhere to be found. You gave him a wave as you knocked on his door and received a big smile back. “Y/N! I didn’t know you were coming in today!” “Unplanned, I do confess. But it’s good to see you Walter!” “Well, it’s lovely to see you too! You working?” “Actually I came to ask a favour…” “Oh!” He straightened in his chair as he swung it towards you, large blue eyes curious, “What is it?” “Your bio-molecular technology?” “Yes.” It was at this point he noticed the penguin, and you could see the million questions racing in his mind, so you opted to continue quick before he got a chance to ask them. “Is that just for Lance? Would it work on anyone? You must have the formula, right? Is there any chance I can take a look? Both for the transformation process and the antidote to it. I mean you guys are using it all the time.” “Uuuhhhh…” Now you’d given Walter a million questions, and his eyes kept flicking downwards to your companion. “Well, I…Yes, I guess I could…. show you how to… Do you want to do this with a penguin?” “Ignore the penguin.” 

Walter tried to keep his eyes on you, especially as the look you were giving him was serious, but eventually they trailed back to the bird at your feet. He studied it for a while and ignored you trying to protest him disregarding what you’d said. He leant forward on his chair, “Killian?” Instead of acting as he was supposed to, your partner became immediately angry. “Not a WORD to Sterling, or I SWEAR-!!” Instead, Walter lit up with a gasp, “You perfected your own formula!?! That’s so amazing—!! Colour me impressed-! Well, I could make what I made for him, so you can turn pretty much at will-!! Well-” He turned to you with a smile, “with some assistance of course-!” “A secret agent penguin!” The idea was funny to you, but at the same time you couldn’t help but love it. Killian immediately protested, “NO-! THATS STUPID, WE ARE NOT—!” You nudged him with your foot to shut him up, before continuing a sensible track of conversation, “First off, I suppose we should get the formula done. Then we can think about what we want to do with it afterward.” “All you need is the antidote right? I can get right on that… but, Killian, I’m going to need your help with what you did…” Walter spun back to the computer and began typing away, “Pull up a seat you two!” You dragged one across, and Killian scrambled up onto your lap; “I don’t have my formula, but KiTT could probably download it. He has a satellite uplink to the lab back home.” Walter nodded, “That’ll do, I’ll have to make sure the antidote coincides… I can’t promise this will be short though, you might be stuck like that for a few more hours.” “Hours!?” Killian sounded exasperated but turned to your assistance drone: “KiTT, see if you can link back to the lab and access file F-BMP5. Then send it across to Walter.” KiTT, glad of something to do, bleeped happily and set to work. “Sorry buddy.” Walter replied softly, “A penguin though, I’m impressed.” “Not entirely easy to find birds where we live.” This caused you to chime in, “Genuinely there are penguins up there?” “If you know where to look.” “Huh!” You smiled gently, “You’ll have to show me!”

Walter worked as quickly and carefully as possible, and as you suspected people were fascinated.  Everyone who passed couldn’t resist knocking on the door and asking what a penguin was doing here. Some even having the nerve to ask, ‘Is that penguin talking?’ By the time the last one had enquired you were up by the door: “NO!” and slamming it back in their face. Walter took precautions to lock you all in here and frost the glass for privacy after that. 

Killian remained in your lap, and you held him close, stroking your fingers through his feathers again, this time he didn’t seem to mind too much, and at times when you paused, he would nuzzle against your hands to get you to continue. Though you knew he would never admit it. As he continued working on the antidote, Walter again brought up the possibility of using this ultimate spy tech regularly. Killian didn’t seem keen, but you wondered if you could get him to warm to the idea… “I’m sure that we could find a little suit jacket for you in that form.” He glared back at you, “You’re enjoying this a little too much, aren’t you?” “A little, yeah!” You grinned in admittance, making him turn to Walter. “It’s a hard no from me.” “Aw, Killian, c’mon!” That only made Walter chuckle, “Let him get used to it Y/N, he’ll like it eventually, Lance did.” “You mean just leave him like this for a while?” Walter grinned, “Something like that!” Killian spluttered, stamping his foot against your leg; “YOU TWO PUT ME BACK RIGHT NOW!”

When Walter had the serum made up, he walked you both into another lab to perform the procedure. Killian let you carry him. “You can drink it if you want, but I’d like to run a few tests.” “Meaning what?” “I mean, if I put you under anaesthetic… I can check a few things.” “Is that usual?” “No but it’s your first time, and Lance’s wasn’t a pleasant experience I just want to make sure you’re okay, or Y/N will kill me.” Killian narrowed his eyes at both of you, standing there trying to look so innocent. “Fine. If I wake up and I’m not human again, I’m going to kill both of you.” Walter winced, however you only smirked; “Noted!”

***

When Killian awoke again, he was indeed human. But he was not in a lab in Washington D.C. instead he was in bed, back in the mountain top hideout. Had he really been out that long? Or was whatever drug used in the anaesthetic or antidote so strong he simply couldn’t remember anything else. He stretched, glad his head wasn’t spinning, and walked into the bathroom. Skimming his fingers up the side of his neck he pressed down on the projection switch. Killian checked this every morning as routine; that the system worked, that there were no problems with the metal, or his eye. This morning, nothing worked. He straightened up with a frown and tried again. Nothing. Killian rushed through the house; “Y/N! Y/N!” He sounded panicked, making you shake your head and call him through. “In the main room, babe.” He ran the rest of the way, “Y/N, my projection isn’t working!” You turned to him slowly, crooked, amused smile on your face; as if you were trying to hold back a laugh. “Are you sure? Why don’t you check again?” This time Killian was more careful, fingers sliding up his neck tentatively. He paused, realising that he couldn’t even feel the switch. It no longer existed. His eyes flew wide, voice quiet; “You- you- fixed it!” You grinned, smile slowly spreading across your face as you nodded, “Yes! So now you have a complete face!” He sprinted the rest of the way to you, grabbing you into a hug. You couldn’t help laughing, throwing your arms around him too as Killian buried his face in his shoulder, “You can cry now too! But please don’t! I would feel terrible!” “How-!?” “Turns out I can pick up a thing or two… Called in a few favours...” He pulled back and you framed his face with your hands, stroking your thumbs over his cheeks, “The Agency have better tech, but I never admitted that out loud. I’ve been wanting to do it for a little while but… Walter finally gave me the opportunity.” “...Thank you.” “Oh, don’t you start.” You indicated to yourself, “I have far more to thank you for.” You gestured to his robotic arm, “I thought… maybe I’d leave that. That was a feat of engineering y’know?” He laughed, “One thing at a time, huh?” “Yes!” You agreed with a nod.

Killian tugged away from you for a moment, and studied your clothes. He was in luck; they were the ones you had been wearing at the labs. Although, as he glanced to the colour of the sky perhaps it wasn’t the morning after all, perhaps it was later in the same day. It was snowing, though, so that weather prediction had been correct. Killian couldn’t be sure when it was exactly, but it was imperative you were wearing these clothes. “I just need to do something.” You were confused as he got closer to you. “What?” “Don’t get too excited.” He ran his hand down your body to the pocket of your jeans. “I mean, I can’t help get excited, you’re here and touching me.” “Stop it.” Although Killian smirked, slipping his hand into your pocket. You stilled, and your features pulled into a highly suggestive look as your eyes scanned his; “I mean, I have questions, Agent McFord.” He rolled his eyes at you as he fished a small disk drive out of your pocket. “…Wait!” You gasped, moment broken, “What the hell is that!? Where did you get that!?” You patted yourself down suddenly, “Killian-!” He closed his hand around it and beckoned you with him, turning to walk back to the labs, you hurried after him, “No one was paying much attention to the Penguin, were they!” “Wait! Seriously! What is that?” “Shush, you’ll see.” He plugged it into his computer and you waited patiently for it to boot up before you found yourself gasping again; “Is that… The Agency’s entire weapons tech!?” “Yup.” You whipped around to him, hands on his desk, “ARE YOU DOUBLE CROSSING THE AGENCY!” “Kinda.” His face was fairly nonchalant as his eyes held yours again. “Killian!” You couldn’t believe this was happening. After all that talk, and trying to persuade you into this. “After what they did...” He transposed the files, “are you really THAT surprised?” You folded your arms, hating that he had a point, “...Well no. But I... thought you might be a little more discreet.” “What they don’t know won’t hurt them - besides a few months ago you were telling me I was double crossing all the people I worked with, so is it double crossing a double cross or is it simply that I’m an effective double agent?” “... That’s a lot of doubles.” “Mm.” “I figure that’s not what the programme and agreement of your release was for. K, if they find out…” He tipped his head, eyes very nearly pleading with you. “I’m not covering for you!” “Accomplice?” “Not in your wildest dreams!” You were grinning - but maybe grimacing, because you thought perhaps you’d get caught up in this too, being part of his damn agreement - and Killian already knew he’d got away with it. You were going to be there for him no matter what he did and no matter what happened, you’d made that promise too long ago and you’d never break it. Not after what you’d been through together. You folded your arms again, “I won’t rat on one condition.” His eyes rolled, “What could that be?” “If you’ll agree to use Walter’s biomolecular tech, penguin yourself on missions in the same way Lance does his pigeon transformation.” Killian scoffed, “How?!” You were sure he wished he didn’t ask as you produced a collection of vials from a table across the lab. Killian’s face fell slightly. “You did not.” “Oh, we did!” “That’s most certainly punishment.” You indicated to the screen, “Someone brought this upon himself.”

There was silence, before he began chuckling, pulling you into his arms gently - and you were only too happy to accept his hug and a kiss to your forehead. “Geez. The things I do for you!” You moved to catch his lips delicately in ‘thanks’. Oh yeah, like you couldn’t say the same thing!

---

Thank you for reading the penultimate fic of the year! 😁

[evabellasworld]

Storm of the Republic

Chapter 25

AO3 Link | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

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Summary:  When Tup murdered General Tiplar during a battle, Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex dispatched Ahsoka, Fives, and Yara to solve the mystery that was plaguing the Clone Army. Meanwhile, Senator Padme Amidala contacted Commander Fox, Commander Tori, Riyo Chuchi, and Dipper to help her continue investigating the death of Palpatine, suspecting that Dooku was behind the evil plot. But when Dooku send an ISB agent to stop them, the team had to race against time to search for the truth, which could alter the course of the galaxy.

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Massaging her daughter’s hair with her fingers, Tori hummed a cheerful tune as Frieda was sitting inside the bathtub, splashing water with both her tiny hands. With two candles lighting up the room, the guest bathroom had a sweet scent, which comforted the clone commander.

Curling herself inside the warm, foamy bathtub was a privilege that Tori had, and it would be the last time she could enjoy a bath like this. Usually, she had to take an open shower with Frieda and her sisters and she had to be quick about it. Now, she could take as much time as she needed without rushing through her relaxation.

It was difficult for her to sleep through the night, despite the long journey from the base. She found her queen bed to be soft, unlike her stony bunk bed. Tori and Friedahad to share with Rex, who does everything he can to drive her crazy. She could even recall the time where Rex placed a dead spider on her pillow, which pissed her off the entire day. He apologised eventually, but that didn’t stop her from cussing at him.

It’s been a while since she felt peace, though she’ll have to go back to Anaxes once the mission was done, where she had to deal with Rex and the rest of the 101st Battalion, who always created chaos whenever they had the chance. Flover, especially, would put a dead rat in Dipper’s helmet, which caused him to scream until the other units could hear them.

Flover was also the reason Tori would get a headache whenever they’re in the battlefield, as the blue-haired clone would rush towards the enemies, which unfortunately became her hubris in the Battle of Coruscant. Tori wasn’t there, but she wished Flover was still alive. As mischievous as she was, the commander felt odd without her presence. Even Dipper missed her.

“Mama,” Frieda spoke, holding a rubber ducky in her hands. “Are you okay?”

“I am, baby,” Tori replied, focusing on her daughter. “I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“What are you thinking about, Mama?”

“I was thinking about your Aunt Flover. She would have loved you very much if she was still here.”

“Who’s Aunt Flover?” the little girl asked. “And where is she?”

“Well, Aunt Flover was one of my vod’ika, and she had blue hair and loves to joke around with the others, especially Uncle Dipper. She and Uncle Dipper were like cheese and crackers. Unfortunately, Aunt Flover died in a fight six months ago, and I miss her very much.”

Frieda hung her head low as her smile disappeared. “Mama, what will happen if you die?”

Tori blinked as she hugged her knees, wondering what she could answer. She was no stranger to her daughter’s odd questions, but this one struck a chord in her mind. There were many speculations about life after death, but the commander wasn’t sure what to believe in. But she can’t leave her daughter hanging. Frieda will feel as if she had done something wrong.

“There are many beliefs about what happened after death,” Tori tried to answer. “Some believe that you become one with the Force, some also believe that you either go to the Garden or the Pitfire based on your actions, and some believe that you’re resurrected into another life. The truth is, there is no right or wrong answer to what happened after death. There’s just many possibilities for you to believe, that’s all.”

“Well, what do you believe, Mama?”

“I believe that if I die, then I just fade into oblivion, that’s all.”

“Will you be forgotten, Mama?” cried Frieda. “I don’t want you to disappear forever. I can’t live without you.”

Tori stroked her puffy wet cheeks, smiling. “As long as someone keeps my memory alive, then I’m never truly dead. I wish I could live forever, but that would be impossible. We all have to go, eventually.”

“Do you know when you will die, Mama?”

She shook her head. “No one knows when our time is up. That’s why we shouldn’t take life for granted. In order to be happy throughout your life, we should appreciate every moment we spend with someone we love, whether it’s big or small.”

“Then I will never forget you, Mama,” Frieda promised, as she climbed on Tori’s lap and hugged her. “I’ll do everything I can to remember you.”

Tori hugged her back with tears in her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to make Frieda an orphan. The latter had survived in the streets for a while and Tori does not want her little girl to go through that hardship ever again. Tori had to make sure she lived to see the last day of war.

As she cradled Frieda with her arms, there was a thunderous knock on the door. “Are you done?” Fox shouted. “You’ve been in there forever.”

“Damn you, Foxy,” she cursed, as she got out from the bathtub, with a five-year-old in her arms. “I was having a wonderful moment just now.”

“Whatever, just get changed,” ordered the Marshal Commander. “We have a mission to complete. Also, it’s Fox, not Foxy.”

“Oh please. I bet you were also soaking in the bathtub with Riyo too.”

Silence filled outside her bathroom door. As Tori and Frieda wrapped themselves with a fuzzy towel, Fox finally spoke after a few minutes. “Just hurry, goddamit.”

She snorted, draining the tub. If he can have a nice, romantic moment with Riyo, then I’m also entitled to have a bubble bath with Frieda as well. God, what a sly, cunning fox.

Walking out of the bathroom door, they headed inside their room and changed into the same outfits they wore yesterday, except it was dry cleaned by Padmé. Despite sweating underneath the pink dress, Tori felt as if she had just bought them from a store.

She also wore the same white ribbon as well and applied makeup on her face to look pretty. Those makeup set belonged to Padmé, but the latter was happy to let her use them. Her foundations and powders, however, don’t match her skin, so Tori just put on her eyeshadow, eyeliner, and a hint of lipstick instead.

Her cat eyeliner may not be perfect, but Tori could raise her head as she glanced at her reflections in the mirror. Who the hell gave me permission to make me this beautiful?

“Tori, are you done?” Fox banged on the door. “Come on, we have to get going.”

“I’ll be there, Foxy,” she complained. “It’s not like I’m late, anyway.”

“5 minutes or I’m leaving you behind.”

“I hate you,” she blew a raspberry, as she lifted Frieda with her arms and rushed towards the living room, where everyone was geared up for a stealth mission.

[ginervacade]

HERE IT IS!!!! The Criminal Minds Fic is happening. IT’S HAPPENING NOW! THIS  IS IT!  CHAPTER 1!

Ok, I don’t have a title yet, ( I’d love to hear your suggestions) but here’s chapter 1. WARNING: This fic deals with periods. It also deals with a trans  character. I myself am not trans so I can not guarantee the content in this fic will be accurate to the experiences of real trans people. If and when I get something wrong please let me know so that I can learn and improve on my writing and knowledge. If you want a better fic of similar content, especially in the early chapters of this one, I recommend Klutsy Commonalities on Ao3,I discovered it after I had this fic mostly written and the similarities in chapter one are hilarious and entirely coincidental, I promise,and it’s absolutely adorable and infinitely better than this one This fic is set around Season 5. I’ll be posting chapters periodically for a while. I have 1-11 written and but I’m struggling with 12 so it may take awhile, if I haven’t stopped because no one has read it lol. 

CHAPTER 1 

     It was a beautiful August morning, the sun seeped through the blinds as the birds chirped happily outside the window of one Dr. Spencer Reid. He woke up with his alarm, rolling over and shutting it off. He sat up and stretched contentedly, today would be a good day. That feeling lasted approximately 7 seconds. 

    Upon waking up fully, he immediately knew something was wrong. Tossing back his blankets and swinging his feet over the edge of his bed, he stood up and examined the scene before him. He groaned as he noticed the deep red stain on his bed sheets.Yes, his period had arrived. Not today, he thought, wishing it would maybe listen and just disappear. No such luck. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. Dragging his hand dismissively across his eyes, he fought off further tears, annoyed that he would get emotional over something so small, stupid hormones. He got ready for the day, showering and dressing rather quickly.  He pulled a hair tie onto his wrist, tossing another, along with a few pads into his messenger bag. He noticed the beginnings of cramps as he pulled on socks, one purple the other green. He took a couple of painkillers, in hopes of stopping the cramps before they got too bad. He stripped the sheets off of his bed,tossing them into the laundry basket as he resigned himself to deal with them when he got home. After lacing up his converse he grabbed his bag and left the house without bothering to make a cup of coffee. 

 He arrived at work, a bit later than he normally would have liked,traffic had been heavy this morning on top of everything else. He walked to his desk without looking up or speaking to anyone. The issue with watching his feet was that he wasn’t watching in front of him. He tripped and nearly fell, Derek stuck his hand out to catch him but he managed to right himself in time for it not to be necessary. Mumbling an apology, he didn’t meet the older agent’s gaze, settling quickly into his desk, without another word. Derek chuckled as he walked back to his own desk.

“ You strugglin’ this mornin’ pretty boy?” 

“I’m fine” replied Spencer, slightly more quickly than he should have, sounding blatantly defensive. Another voice caught his attention, changing his tune almost instantly. 

“ You sure love?” Gracie asked, concern evident in her melodic voice,an English accent cutting across her natural almost southern one, a habit Spencer knew was caused by strong emotion in her. 

“Yeah, I’m good” he assured her, voice calm to show her he meant it.

“ Ok then!” She smiled, contently at him, but not before shooting a look to JJ that he didn’t catch. “By the way, I brought you some breakfast”

He perked up, as she set a cup of coffee and a chocolate sprinkled doughnut, his favorite, in front of him. “Thank you.” he took a sip of the coffee, pleasure evident on his face. It was perfect, temperature and everything,she knew exactly how he liked it. 

“But why?”  He was still not used to the way she always did sweet things for the team without ulterior motives, even after 2 years.

“ Because I could.  I was stopping for tea anyway. I’m in a good mood, figured I’d share it with someone I love.” She replied as though it were obvious, standing behind his chair, arms around his shoulders. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, as she always did before turning and walking the 5 feet back to her desk.  He had learned to like her little touches. It had been apparent to the team early on that she was tactile and though Spencer had been annoyed by it at first, she noticed and reacted accordingly but she had looked sad, he had eventually grown to enjoy it. He watched, taking in her beauty as she got to work, softly humming a musical theatre tune. The light blue fabric of her outfit, always a dress with matching hair bow and shoes, lay perfectly against her pale skin, a perfect contrast with her deep black hair and soft pink lips. Of course, he was just being observant right? Of course, he was a profiler that’s all it was. 

Chapter 2 Coming soon!!! Hope y’all enjoyed it!

[arcticdementor]

Media Twitter does not hate Substack because it’s pretending to be a platform when it’s a publisher; they don’t hate it because it’s filled with anti-woke white guys; they don’t hate it because of harassment or any such thing. I don’t think they really hate it at all. Substack is a small and ultimately not-very-relevant outpost in a vastly larger industry; they may not like it but it’s not important enough for them to hate it. What do they hate? They hate where their industry is and they hate where they are within their industry. But that’s a big problem that they don’t feel like they can solve. If you feel you can’t get mad at the industry that’s impoverishing you, it’s much easier to get mad at the people who you feel are unjustly succeeding in that industry. Trying to cancel Glenn Greenwald (again) because he criticizes the media harshly? Trying to tarnish Substack’s reputation so that cool, paid-up writer types leave it and the bad types like me get kicked off? That they can maybe do. Confronting their industry’s future with open eyes? Too scary, especially for people who were raised to see success as their birthright and have suddenly found that their degrees and their witheringly dry one-liners do not help them when the rent comes due.

…

Life in the “content” industry already sucks. A small handful of people make bank while the vast majority hustle relentlessly just to hold on to the meager pay they already receive. There are staff writers at big-name publications who produce thousands of words every week and who make less than $40,000 a year for their trouble. There are permanent employees of highly prestigious newspapers and magazines who don’t receive health insurance. Venues close all the time. Mourning another huge round of layoffs is a regular bonding experience for people in the industry. Writers have to constantly job hop just to try and grind out an extra $1,500 a year, making their whole lives permanent job interviews where they can’t risk offending their potential bosses and peers. Many of them dream of selling that book to save themselves financially, not seeming to understand that book advances have fallen 40% in 10 years - median figure now $6,080 - and that the odds of actually making back even that meager advance are slim, meaning most authors are making less than minimum wage from their books when you do the math. They have to tweet constantly for the good of their careers, or so they believe, which amounts to hundreds of hours of unpaid work a year. Their publications increasingly strong arm them into churning out pathetic pop-culture ephemera like listicles about the outfits on Wandavision. They live in fear of being the one to lose out when the next layoffs come and the game of media musical chairs spins up once again. They have to pretend to like ghouls like Ezra Klein and Jonah Peretti and make believe that there’s such a thing as “the Daily Beast reputation for excellence.”

I have always felt bad for them, despite our differences, because of these conditions. And they have a right to be angry. But they don’t have much in the way of self-awareness about where their anger really lies. A newsletter company hosting Bari Weiss is why you can’t pay your student loans? You sure?

They’ll tell you about the terrible conditions in their industry themselves, when they’re feeling honest. So what are they really mad about? That I’m making a really-just-decent guaranteed wage for just one year? Or that this decent wage is the kind of money many of them dream of making despite the fact that, in their minds, they’ve done everything right and played by all the rules? Is their anger really about a half-dozen guys whose writing you have to actively seek out to see? (If you click the button and put in your email address, you’ll get these newsletters. If you don’t, you won’t. So if you’re a media type who hates my writing, consider just… not clicking that button.) Or do they need someplace to put the rage and resentment that grows inside them as they realize, no, it’s not getting better, this is all I get?

It’s true that I have, in a very limited way, achieved the new American dream: getting a little bit of VC cash. I’m sorry. But it’s much much less than one half of what Felix Salmon was making in 2017 and again, it’s only for one year.

You think the writers complaining in that piece I linked to at the top wanted to be here, at this place in their career, after all those years of hustling? You think decades into their media career, the writers who decamped to Substack said to themselves “you know, I’d really like to be in my 40s and having to hope that enough people will pitch in $5 a month so I can pay my mortgage”? No. But the industry didn’t give them what they felt they deserved either. So they displace and project. They can hate Jesse Singal, but Jesse Singal isn’t where this burning anger is coming from. Neither am I. They’re so angry because they bought into a notoriously savage industry at the nadir of its labor conditions and were surprised to find that they’re drifting into middle age without anything resembling financial security. I feel for them as I feel for all people living economically precarious lives, but getting rid of Substack or any of its writers will not do anything to fix their industry or their jobs. They wanted more and they got less and it hurts. This isn’t what they dreamed. That’s what this is really about.

…

My own deal here is not mysterious. It’s just based on a fact that the blue checks on Twitter have never wanted to accept. I got offered money to write here for the same reason I got offered to write for The New York Times and Harper’s and The Washington Post and The LA Times, the same reason I’ve gotten a half-dozen invitations to pitch since I started here a few weeks ago, the same reason a literary agent sought me out and asked me to write a book, the same reason I sold that book for a decent advance: because I pull traffic. Though I am a social outcast from professional opinion writing, I have a better freelance publishing history than many, many of my critics who are paid-up, obedient members of the media social scene. Why? Because the editors who hired me thought I was a great guy? No. Because I pull traffic. I always have. That’s why you’re reading this on Substack right now.

…

A really important lesson to learn, in life, is this: your enemies are more honest about you than your friends ever will be. I’ve been telling the blue checks for over a decade that their industry was existentially fucked, that the all-advertising model was broken, that Google and Facebook would inevitably hoover up all the profit, that there are too many affluent kids fresh out of college just looking for a foothold in New York who’ll work for next to nothing and in doing so driving down the wages of everyone else, that their mockery of early subscription programs like Times Select was creating a disastrous industry expectation that asking your readers directly for money was embarrassing. Trump is gone and the news business is cratering. Michael Tracey didn’t make that happen. None of this anger will heal what’s wrong. If you get all of the people you don’t like fired from Substack tomorrow, what will change? How will your life improve? Greenwald will spend more time with his hottie husband and his beloved kids and his 6,000 dogs in his beautiful home in Rio. Glenn will be fine. How do we do the real work of getting you job security and a decent wage?

…

But how do things get better in that way? Only through real self-criticism (which Twitter makes impossible) and by asking hard questions. Questions like one that has not been credibly confronted a single time in this entire media meltdown: why are so many people subscribing to Substacks? What is the traditional media not providing that they’re seeking elsewhere? Why have half a million people signed up as paying subscribers of various Substack newsletters, if the establishment media is providing the diversity of viewpoints that is an absolute market requirement in a country with a vast diversity of opinions? You can try to make an adult determination about that question, to better understand what media is missing, or you can read this and write some shitty joke tweet while your industry burns to the ground around you. It’s your call.

Substack might fold tomorrow, but someone would else sell independent media; there’s a market. Substack might kick me and the rest of the unclean off of their platforms tomorrow, but other critics of social justice politics would pop up here; there’s a market. Establishment media’s takeover by this strange brand of academic identity politics might grow even more powerful, if that’s even possible, but dissenters will find a place to sell alternative opinion; there’s a market. What there might not be much of a market for anymore is, well, you - college educated, urban, upwardly striving if not economically improving, woke, ironic, and selling that wokeness and that irony as your only product. Because you flooded the market. Everyone in your entire industry is selling the exact same thing, tired sarcastic jokes and bleating righteousness about injustices they don’t suffer under themselves, and it’s not good in basic economic terms if you’re selling the same thing as everyone else. You add that on to structural problems within your business model and your utter subservience to a Silicon Valley that increasingly hates you, well…. I get why you’re mad. And I get that you don’t like me. But I’m not what you’re mad about. Not really.

In the span of a decade or so, essentially all professional media not explicitly branded as conservative has been taken over by a school of politics that emerged from humanities departments at elite universities and began colonizing the college educated through social media. Those politics are obscure, they are confusing, they are socially and culturally extreme, they are expressed in a bizarre vocabulary, they are deeply alienating to many, and they are very unpopular by any definition. The vast majority of the country is not woke, including the vast majority of women and people of color. How could it possibly be healthy for the entire media industry to be captured by any single niche political movement, let alone one that nobody likes? Why does no one in media seem willing to have an honest, uncomfortable conversation about the near-total takeover of their industry by a fringe ideology?

And the bizarre assumption of almost everyone in media seems to have been that they could adopt this brand of extreme niche politics, in mass, as an industry, and treat those politics as a crusade that trumps every other journalistic value, with no professional or economic consequences. They seem to have thought that Americans were just going to swallow it; they seem to have thought they could paint most of the country as vicious bigots and that their audiences would just come along for the ride. They haven’t. In fact Republicans are making great hay of the collapse of the media into pure unapologetic advocacy journalism. Some people are turning to alternative media to find options that are neither reactionary ideologues or self-righteous woke yelling. Can you blame them? Substack didn’t create this dynamic, and neither did I. The exact same media people who are so angry about Substack did, when they abandoned any pretense to serving the entire country and decided that their only job was to advance a political cause that most ordinary people, of any gender or race, find alienating and wrong. So maybe try and look at where your problems actually come from. They’re not going away.

Now steel yourselves, media people, take a shot of something strong, look yourself in the eye in the mirror, summon you most honest self, and tell me: am I wrong?

[buckybarnesbingo]

The second game of 3 Prompt Summaries!

Here’s the example rounds, and the rest are under the cut!

Prompts by @rebelmeg - blanket, "don't touch that", roommates

Summary by @psychiccatpanda - Generally speaking,  Bucky really loved having Tony as a roommate.  He liked to have fun, enjoyed movies, shared some musical tastes, you know - important things.

One of the drawbacks, though, was walking into one of Tony's experiments.  They'd had the fire department out more than once... in the last month.  As he walked in, there was no sign of his roommate - just a large blanket-covered lump in the middle of the living room.  When Bucky started to lift the corner to peek at the project underneath, Tony shouted, "Don't touch that!"

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg - blanket, "don't touch that", roommates

Summary by @writing-mermaid - The blanket is lying in the middle of the couch. "Don't touch that !", Saskia yells at Winnie and Morgan. Sam sighs, how his daughter, Bucky's and Tony's will be roommates for three days, if they are already fighting over a blanket ? Sam, alone with a bunch of 5 years old, will have to figure this out all by himself.

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Prompts by @rebelmeg - red, angst, safehouse

Summary by @dreaminglypeach - The door to the safe house is unlocked when they get there. It’s unlocked, open, and there’s blood everywhere. Bucky tries very hard not to panic.

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Prompts by

@psychiccatpanda - "Oops."

@blurockets - Winterwidow

@writing-mermaid - "It was an accident"

Summary by @magicadraconia16 - When your partner is the famous Black Widow, the very last thing you want to hear in the middle of a black op is "Oops". Closely followed by an uncharacteristically sheepish, "It was an accident." He should have picked Clint after all.

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

Prompts by @psychiccatpanda - Sam Wilson, Red Thread of Fate, and "Oops."

Summary by @rebelmeg - "Oops." Bucky muttered the fateful word a split second before alarms started going off, prompting Sam to whirl around in disbelief. "Did you seriously just trip the lasers?" "I'm sorry! I don't have the fancy birdbrain goggles like you do." "YOU CAN SEE THEM WITHOUT GOGGLES, BUCKY, THEY'RE NOT INVISIBLE RED THREADS OF FATE OR SOMETHING!" Okay, so their sneaky infiltration was ruined now. Here's hoping their extraction plan will still be intact by the time they finish their mission.

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg - Blanket, "Don't Touch That", Room mates 

Summary by @blurockets - "Touch that and you lose vital fingers," a tired voice said from the depths of the couch. Clint stared back at the knit blanket that was draped from the recliner he wasn't even using. When you’re trying to build a blanket fort with your niece and nephew on the compound while it was a mass space mission you had to get creative if you didn’t want to break locks. Or Where the former Winter Soldier has a blanket and Clint is stuck rooming with him and has questions about it.

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg - Angst

Summary by Angst_BuriTTo  - There was a saying he had heard somewhere, he wasn't sure where, not that it mattered now, anyways, but one he thought fitting: "The sound of silence is the loudest sound of all". It felt fitting, stuck in this miserable place, for god knows how long, waiting to be rescued. there was no sound here, in the soul stone. and the other dusted couldn't speak either. just... silence.

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg​ - red, angst, safehouse 

Summary by @writing-mermaid - Red, this is red, red and thick. And he doesn't know if they'll have time to reach the safehouse. And the more he's waiting, the more her blood flows on the ground. But will they make it safe, especially with all those HYDRA guards on the way. But he must past through them, it's a matter of life and death.

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

Prompts by @magicadraconia16 - "Hand on heart, I will kill you", T'Challa, kitten

Summary by @rebelmeg​ -  "Heeeeere kitty kitty kitty," Bucky whispered to himself, peeking out through the slat in the vent, lying in wait for his prey. Unfortunately for Bucky... T'Challa was finding the cat jokes less and less funny. Bucky had about three seconds worth of a head start when T'Challa looked him right in the eye through the wall vent, and said in a dangerous tone, "Hand on heart, I will kill you.

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

Prompts by

@dreaminglypeach​ - Race Cars

@writing-mermaid - Tony

@psychiccatpanda - Sam Wilson 

Summary by LLightz - Tony's idea of "team bonding" this month was to hire everyone a top of the range sports car and act out some street racing movie Steve had never seen but everyone seemed very excited out... especially Bucky who always had a thing for speed, and well, Steve wasn't going to deny him, plus Natasha was already throwing down challenges, and Clint was always up for any crazy stunt... So, it came as no surprise when the 2 ex-Russian-assassins and a man who regularly failed to use parachutes ended up practically playing chicken with cars that were definitely not legal, and even then ... "how do I make this car go faster Tony????? came Bucky's shout into his headset... yep, someone was definitely gonna get hurt! Flying overhead and easily keeping pace, Sam was filming every moment...

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg​ - Red

Summary by Angst_BuriTTo - Red. a color that covered his hands and his past, a ledger full of that scarlett color that haunted his nightmares and his waking hours. when an oppurtunity comes to change the red from ever staining his fingers, will he take it?

OR

Bucky Barnes has a really shitty century -- but it's starting to look a little brighter.

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

Prompts by @psychiccatpanda - Red Thread of Fate:

Summary by Angst_BuriTTo - the moment HYDRA found out about his thread, they were determined to snip it. too bad for them that it was tied to a man whose serum enhanced the strength of everything, down to that thread.

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Prompts by

@blurockets - Lake House AU

@dreaminglypeach​ - Wanda

Angst_BuriTTo - "It's ok, It's my time."

Summary by @magicadraconia16 - He thought he'd been stood up. And he had to admit, two years was a long time for her to catch up to him. But instead, oh, instead, that terrible accident that had finally burnt him out... that had been her. He tried to tell her, to warn her, to demand that she actually stand him up, but her only response was, "If it's my time, then that's okay." No, it was NOT okay!

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

Prompts by

Angst_BuriTTo - FBI AU

@dreaminglypeach​ - Wanda

@psychiccatpanda - oops 

Summary by @blurockets - "So your definition of messing with probability is asking the universe what if this happened and you make it happen?" Agent Barnes asked as he sat beside a woman in a red outfit that would not be remiss on a stage in Las Vegas. "And my powers make it happen" She corrected "And the iron man suit just happening to crash on top of the ferrari?" Bucky asked pinching the bridge of his nose wondering just how he was going to file this report. "Oops?"

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

Prompts by @your-ginger-angel​ - Historical AU

Summary by Angst_BuriTTo - Pharaoh Buchanan was known throughout Egypt for his kindness and his generosity, but also for his fierce skills in battle. When an Assassin is sent to kill him, his subjects are surprised that instead of disposing of the small blond would be assassin, he takes him to his bed.

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Prompts by

@dreaminglypeach​ - Wanda

@writing-mermaid - "It was an accident" "What ? You just tripped and fell on his lips ?" 

@psychiccatpanda - Sam Wilson 

Summary by @writing-mermaid - "I'm telling you, it was an accident !"

 Wanda runs behind her brother. "What ?"

 Pietro answers, "You just tripped and fell on his lips ?" 

At those words, and without knowing about who they were talking about, Sam Wilson bursts out laughing.

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

Prompts by

@rebelmeg - Angst

@psychiccatpanda oops

@writing-mermaid - Tony

Summary by Angst_BuriTTo - "oops." that's all that Thanos said when he dropped the lifeless body of Steve Rogers to the ground of Wakanda. Tony could do nothing but stare in disbelief -- he never got to apoligize. he never got to have that talk. he never got to get to know this new, harder Steve Rogers. he felt just as broken as the neck of the man staring sightlessly into the sky.

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

Prompts - FBI AU, vacation, "it was an accident" 

Summary by @your-ginger-angel​ - When Steve agreed to this vacation, it was with the understanding that Bucky would be putting his FBI badge in a drawer and leaving his work phone at home. He made Bucky swear that they were going to keep work at home this time. But when Bucky comes back from the corner store and the local cops are in tow, he knows that there's no way Bucky can keep out of trouble. "What do you mean you managed to catch a drug dealer just by going for soda?" Steve whispers, trying to keep himself from blowing up in front of the cops. "It was an accident?" Bucky replies with a pleading look in his eyes.

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

Prompts by

@rebelmeg - Safehouse, red, angst

@magicadraconia16 - Kitten, "Hand on Heart, I will kill You" 

Summary by LLightz - Bucky could barely see through the red mist of anger in his head, but he could still hear the soft pained meaows coming from behind the restaurant, and he made his way towards the tiny kitten he'd spotted, injured and hiding under a dirty tossed-out rag... Scooping him up into his big warm hand, he hoped he never came across whomever had hurt his defenceless little creature because "Hand on Heart, I'll Kill You" he muttered out loud. Cradling his new friend to his chest he made his way back to the safehouse...

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

Prompts by @your-ginger-angel​ -  Historical AU 

Summary by @writing-mermaid - (ancient Greece au) Y/N is a priestess, sold by her parents at a young age. She's born to serve the God Apollo. Bucky is a soldier, and he's send to Apollo's temple after a war the king he serves won. Since the beginning, Y/N and Bucky aren't getting along, but they will have to, because here he is and here he'll stay, following his king's orders. But the more they spend time together, the more they are longing and pining for each other, craving for each other's touch, despite their hate. With one question in their mind, must they do war to please each other, make love and stay quite or silence their difference ? (and the thing is that the question in question comes from a French song from a musical and I was keeping it in French as the title haha)

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

Prompts by @writing-mermaid - "It was an accident" "What ? You just tripped and fell on his lips ?", Big bro, Tony

Summary by @dreaminglypeach​ - Warning for abusive relationship ”I didn’t mean to,” Tony says. “It was- it was an accident.” Rhodey scoffs, folding his arms as he stares at the dumb kid who has metaphorically glommed onto him and doesn’t seem inclined to let go anytime soon. “Right,” he says flatly. “You just tripped and fell onto his lips. Sure, that happens to me all the time.” “It wasn’t like that!” Tony looks almost too pathetic for Rhodey to continue berating him, his left eye puffy and ugly, purple fading to blotchy green around the edges. “It just- Ty apologised, he didn’t mean to, Rhodey, it won’t happen aga-” “Tony,” Rhodey interrupts, as calmly as he can. “Tones, no. You gotta break up with him.”

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg​ - bot fic, "catch", ceiling

Summary by @themadhalewrites - After Tony had lost mini robot Bucky to a ceiling fan he created humanoid robot bucky who develops feelings for his creator.

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Prompts by @magicadraconia16 - Rhodey, cuddling, cheeseburgers 

Summary by @rebelmeg​ - It wasn't the WEIRDEST thing Bucky had ever seen. Though it was kinda up there. Seeing Tony and Rhodey in the armors, it definitely gave off a BAMF sort of vibe. Like you definitely didn't wanna mess with them, like, ever. But when Bucky happens upon them in the communal living room one night, curled up on the couch and sharing a blanket while they eat their way through a big takeout bag of cheeseburgers... he starts to reevaluate his thinking. Especially when they offer to share their blanket and burgers.

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

Prompts by

Angst_BuriTTo - SPN AU

@your-ginger-angel​ - Christmas

@magicadraconia16 - Rhodey 

Summary by @blurockets - It's the road trip from hell where Rhodey and Bucky on the way to a Christmas wedding. Run over a demon and have to deal with possession, learning the supernatural is real and have to still try to reach their best friends wedding in time.

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

Prompts by LLightz - on fire, rivals, forgotten 

Summary by @rebelmeg​ - "I can't believe you set me on fire!"

"THERE ARE NO FRIENDS IN GAMING!" 

In which Bucky gets really into gaming, is a terrible team player, and occasionally forgets to eat or respect basic hygiene.

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

Prompts by

@rebelmeg​ - bot fic

Llightz - on fire

@your-ginger-angel​ - Christmas

Summary by @magicadraconia16 - He usually spent the latter half of December getting blackout drunk to forget... well, to forget. This year, however, he'd promised to stay on the wagon and had locked himself in his lab to keep that promise. Trying to roast chestnuts over a bunsen burner didn't really work, though. Especially with DUM-E on fire watch.

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

Prompts - SPN AU, cuddling, ceiling 

Summary by @your-ginger-angel​ - Steve as Dean and Bucky as Cas. "It was horrible, Bucky," Steve whispered as he buried his face in Bucky's neck. "I haven't had this dream in years, but there she was, on the ceiling and burning." "Steve," Bucky cradled Steve in his arms and swore he would keep this man safe. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your mother and I'm sorry I couldn't save you." "But you did, Bucky," Steve replied as he looked up into Bucky's eyes. This angel had done everything for him and what had Steve done to thank him? Nothing, that's what. Well that would change, starting today. Steve wasn't much of a cuddler, but this felt so good that he's pretty sure that he can't go back to the way things were before. And it seems that Bucky doesn't want to either.

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

Prompts by

@themadhalewrites - Murder

@writing-mermaid - "he's my friend" 

LLightz - Forgotten

Summary by Angst_BuriTTo - "He's my friend". those words rang through his mine, no matter how many times he tried to forget them and move on. 

It had been 6 months since that fateful day, and Tony had done a lot of thinking, some soul searching, and had, recently, come to one conclusion: He had attempted to murder Bucky Barnes. He had tried to do the same thing to Barnes what HYDRA had forced the poor bastard to do to his parents. He had dropped the charges a week ago against Barnes and Rogers -- they were acting in self defense after all. sure, Steve could have told him about his parents-- but Tony knew Steve enough that the blond had probably not told him because he wanted to protect him from bringing up old demons. How many times had Tony complained to Steve that his father was a cold hearted drunk and his mother, while kind, wasn't around as much as she should have been? Steve had probably thought that bringing up those memories would reopen scares that had only barely healed. 

hence why the 'rogues' were back, and why tony was hiding in his workshop. 

he didn't know how to apologize. Rogers had already given him a heartfelt one, along with Barnes, and then Tony ran away after a stuttered acceptance.

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

Prompts by

@writing-mermaid - Mermaid

@themadhalewrites​ - Stolen Organs

@rebelmeg -  "catch"

@your-ginger-angel​ - Farming AU 

Summary by LLightz - The catch of the day was the finest specimen they'd ever seen; not another mermaid but a mountain of a merman, not like the tiny useless weakling they currently held but finally a strong one that they could breed the others with so they could begin their organ harvesting operation...

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

Prompts by @your-ginger-angel​ - Mechanic AU 

Summary by @writing-mermaid - A forest, in the middle of nowhere. Bucky's car refuses to start. He's waiting for a tow truck for an hour, when one finally stops near his car. "I've ask for a breakdown mechanic, not his girlfriend", he says at the girl going out of the truck, "I'm the breakdown mechanic", she answers, "but, if you want a man to take care of your car, you'll have to wait for more time", she adds, wiping a stain of grease of her nose.

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

Prompts by @themadhalewrites - Luna eclipse, murder, stolen organs

Summary by @dreaminglypeach​ - It’s a dark night when Bucky goes to let the dog out, the way it always is here when it clouds over. He likes it here, far from the city and all those vulnerable regular humans, but if the moon isn’t out, it’s goddamn dark here. Still, dark or not, Bucky is very much not expecting to trip over a body.

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

Prompts by

LLightz - rivals

@writing-mermaid - mermaid

@themadhalewrites​ - lunar eclipse

Summary by @writing-mermaid - The Lunar eclipse, that time of the year all mermaids are waiting for this to go on Earth. This year, two rivals, Natasha and Y/N, both of them fighting for the same man.

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

Prompts by

@magicadraconia16 - Cheeseburgers, cuddling

@writing-mermaid​ - Europe

@themadhalewrites - Lunar Eclipse 

Summary by LLightz - As they sat watching the lunar eclipse with their friends, eating cheeseburgers and enjoying the companionable silence, they took advantage of the darkness to sidle further towards each other until their legs pressed tightly, sending each other looks and smiles hidden in the night that promised more of these soft moments in their future... He could imagine retiring somewhere in Europe, maybe Iceland, he always wanted to see the Aurora Borealis, and it had a small population... he could dream of cuddling out on the open grass under the stars without a care in the world... but for now, as the light flooded back to them, they moved an acceptable distance apart once more.

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

Prompts - Ghost au, fluff, pancakes 

Summary by @your-ginger-angel​ - Bucky missed pancakes. As a ghost, he could smell, he could see, and sometimes he could even touch, but since he didn't need to eat, he couldn't taste anything that passed his lips. In fact, it just looked gross when he tried to eat. But Steve, the new guy renting Bucky's old apartment, was the sweetest ever because he took the time to describe exactly how his pancakes tasted. And if Bucky tried to catch a taste of those pancakes on Steve's lips despite the fact that he couldn't taste, well, Steve didn't have to know.

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

Prompts by @your-ginger-angel​ - domestic avengers, ocean, chef AU

Summary by @themadhalewrites - The team had brought a restaurant on the beach but the only two working were tony and bucky. Bucky had been trying to do knife tricks a knife slipped and now while the rest of the staff were playing in the ocean Tony was stitching up bucky.

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

Prompts by Angst_BuriTTo - Once Upon a Time AU

Summary by @writing-mermaid - "Papa !", the little girl shouts looking at Bucky from head to toe. "Wha... What ?", the later says, his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish out of his bowl.

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

Prompts by LLightz  - Identity Porn, wrong door, pancakes

Summary by @dreaminglypeach​ - Bucky is tired, hungry, and fucking fed up of trying to find the place he’s supposed to be meeting Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. He gets that they’re young and use the google for absolutely everything, but that is no excuse for giving him such craptacular directions. He finally thinks he’s got the right place, but the teenage boy who opens the door with a plate of pancakes in his hand looks unaccountably surprised to see him.

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

Prompts by @themadhalewrites - Pregnancy 

Summary by @writing-mermaid - “Penny for your thoughts”, Steve says, coming silently behind me. “I’m pregnant, Steve”, I say, still looking outside. “Is it Bucky’s ?”, he questions. “Of course, it’s Bucky’s, who else would it be ?”, I shout, turning to him, rushing out of the room.

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

Prompts by

@your-ginger-angel​ - Chef AU

@themadhalewrites - New Love 

@rebelmeg - Fluff 

Summary by @blurockets - (stuckony) Watching Tony argue with the new food prep robots he was fiddling with trying to make Bucky's life easier while they were still fiddling with his arm had to be one of the cutest things he'd ever seen. Watching Bucky throw a peeled clove of garlic into the processor with his good hand while he used 'The Beast' to hold the the wayward robot in place. Steve took a photo quickly trying to preserve the moment. He was going to draw it later. He was going to preserve it as best as he can. They were covered in flour and giggling and there was no where else he'd want to be. From being yelled at by one man to the other man invading his kitchen and fixing everything. This still was a whirlwind. It was amazing.

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

Prompts by

@blurockets - Ghost AU

@your-ginger-angel​ - Ocean

@writing-mermaid - snow

Summary by Angst_BuriTTo - There was a legend, down by the ocean docks, that if you sailed in snowfall, that the Winter Siren would sing and drag your body to the ocean floor, and use your bones to make its nest. 

Steve Rogers didn't believe in such nonsense.

OR

"So, the legend is true."

"What gave it away -- the razor sharp teeth, or the tail?"

"In hindsight, it's 1932, and fairy tales are just that, TALES. I didn't expect that my mother's fairy-tale would be TRUE."

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg - Body Swap, Fluff, Heat 

Summary by LLightz - Bucky loved to cuddle up against the soft and ridiculously warm furry expanse of Steve's body, feeling completely safe wrapped up in his best friend as they licked each other clean before falling asleep. So when he woke up one morning, feeling oddly large and clumsy, with a small kitten under his paws that looked exactly like he used to, he was terrified... feeling terribly exposed in this new body, and why were his thoughts so muddled and slow?

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg - body swap, fluff, heat

Summary by @lbibliophile-mcu - The first thing Sam notices as the fog of sleep starts to clear, is the warmth. He usually prefers to keep the bedroom cool while sleeping - read somewhere that it helps convince the body to slow down and conserve energy. The second thing he notices, is the bed - and he is so glad that it is a bed, that drastically reduces the potential consequences for waking up somewhere unfamiliar. The mattress sinks under his weight, cradling him in a totally different way to his own firm bedding. Combined with the several fuzzy blankets and veritable mountain of pillows surrounding him, he is feeling more than a bit smothered. The third thing, he notices when he runs his hands over his face and finally blinks open his eyes. Because those hands... he squints at them blearily, waves them around a bit to make sure, then sighs and flops back. Two hands, one pale and one metal. Well, at least that explains why he is waking up in Bucky Barnes' bed.

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

Prompts by @steverogersnotebook - Mutual pining 

Summary by @writing-mermaid - (2nd part of the ancient Greece AU) Bucky left a year ago, during this time, Y/N became the High Priestess of the Temple of Apollo. When he left, she told him she had desire for him but they couldn't give in to their passion. One year later, will the passion still be here and will they succumb to it despite the fact that physical love and desire is forbidden for a High Priestess.

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg - Body swap 

Summary by @writing-mermaid​ - Who never dreamed of living in the body of the opposite sex just for one day ? Not Y/N, anyway, and especially not when she finished in the body of an Avenger.

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

Prompts by Angst_BuriTTo - Northern Lights, Russia, Once Upon A Time (TV Show) AU

Summary by @fightingforcreativity - The lights were beautiful. Natasha remembered faintly her father taking her up north. As north as Russia gets he had told her when she had asked where. They would sit, freezing and waiting until finally the night sky lit with northern lights. A beautiful arrangement of all colours, vivid and tangible in a way nothing else was. She was reminded about one of those rare childhood memories, when clint zapped through the channels from one station to the next until landing on the once upon a time. The show, despite not playing there, tugged at her memory. She felt like she knew, livid, the characters life.

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

Prompts by @blurockets - Winteriron, Ghost au, SCI FI au

Summary by @fightingforcreativity​ - Tony was not afraid. He was not. Ghosts were a story for old folk and kids and there are no ghosts in his fucking home. Nope. Science told him differently. And Tony would know, as leading scientist on the Stark-Space-Ship 'The Winter Soldier'

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

Prompts by @rebelmeg - body swap, fluff, heat

Summary by @fightingforcreativity​ -  Hot. Hot hot. It was too damn hot for this to be his bed room. Why was it so hot? Tony blinked his eyes open, fearing to find himself in a cave. But instead he was in an opulent room. The bedsheet felt like silk and the ceiling looked like one of those in palasts and- "What the hell?!" Tony stared at his hand. At his black hand and then his brain caught up with the voice, which was not his!

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

Prompts by @writing-mermaid - Phantom of the Opera AU, mutant, snow

Summary by @fightingforcreativity​ - Snow used to be his favorite form of water. Bucky had loved to play in the snow. To have snowball fights with his sisters and if Steve was doing well with him too. He had adored snow. Then, something changed, he changed. Now all that snow did, was making him uglier, disposable, worthless. He hides away so that snow never touches his frame anymore. So that the snow won't burn anymore of him. The catacombs were his home now. One day though, the most beautiful voice he ever heard made him risk it all. He needed to know who that brunet opera singer was.

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

Prompts by @themadhalewrites - Pregnancy, new love, "not my baby"

Summary by @fightingforcreativity​ - It was said that every woman would fall in love at least once in her life and then could never love another man like that anymore. Peggy strongly disagreed. She had felt love for Steve. She had felt love for her husband. But... the love she felt for the child growing in Maria Stark, the love she felt for this tiny baby which was not born yet, that was a love she wouldn't be able to feel again. "You're not my baby, darling, but I love you like your mine already." She whispered to the belly while Maria smiled softly.

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

Prompts by LLightz - Identity Porn, wrong door, pancakes

Summary by @fightingforcreativity​ - Steve was not panicking. He was Captain America after all. He can't panic. Steve was just.... not expecting his neighbor to look so much like his ex-boyfriend. He was totally not expecting a James Buchanan Barnes look alike as a neighbor. When Steve had seen the man first, he nearly choked up and barricaded himself in his home, cooking the one meal he always had found comfort in, pancakes. The blond refused to acknowledge that he might be indeed panicking, when said neighbor broke in the following night, looking around confused and just mumbled, "Shit, I'm sorry. Wrong door. Gimme a call alter about the costs." and vanished again. He was god damn Captain America and he- ok. Fine Steve was panicking.

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

Prompts by @steverogersnotebook - Mutual pining; stargazing; single parent

Summary by @fightingforcreativity​ - Every night at 11 pm on the dot, the blond would step outside his tiny apartment and look up, hoping to see the stars he was used to. Every night at 11:05 pm, a brunet with his daughter would step on their balcony, (way bigger over in the better parts of the town) and would look in the sky hoping that the pain of losing his wife would one day stop. Every day at 11 am sharp, Steve Rogers would connect his business laptop to a meeting with his best friend and secret crush, Bucky Barnes. They would talk and they would argue and they would do business and then they shared something from their lives. Bucky shared stories of how Natasha was developing and Steve would listen and sometimes talk about that nice old lady from three doors down the floor. Neither man would ever say something, until they do.

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

Prompts by @your-ginger-angel​ - domestic avengers, chef's Au, and Ocean

Summary by @fightingforcreativity​ - As a chef, Bucky prided himself to know where his ingredients came from. So when the family known as the Avengers asked for the best, Bucky was suggested and found himself in the position to cook for them. The brunet had always dreamed about cooking for those big names like Romanov and Stark and Rogers and Barton, but the things those heathens wanted to consume turned his stomach. So he took it as a challenge. He had the perfect recipe. He just needed to catch that rare fish from the coast of Hawaii, easy, right?

[the--sad--hatter]

Frozen Heart-5 (Bucky x Reader)

Frozen Heart Masterlist

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU, DEADPOOL & X-MEN

WARNINGS - ALL OF THEM, SMUT, VIOLENCE ANGST

DESCRIPTION -  

When Nick Fury finally catches the Ex-Shield Agent knowns Black Ice, The Thief with a Frozen Heart he puts her where she belongs. With The Avengers.

You’re not happy about that decision but you’re the only one who’s kicking up a fuss.

Natasha and Clint are happy to have you back in their lives, Sam Wilson is a big fan, Tony Stark just wants you to keep your hands off his stuff and Steve finds out that not only do you have a connection but you were there for him when nobody else was.

Bucky Barnes is one of the few people who doesn’t have a connection with you but he’d really really like one.

** Everything in Italics is being signed, not said out loud.**

Current Word Count -  21,589k       Ao3 Link

Chapter Five - A Memorable Frost 

“Again!” You insisted, shaking your body loose and taking a deep breath.

 “NO!” Clint yelled from behind the tree.

 “Please? Just one more.” You pleaded.

“You said that on the last arrow. And the one before that. And the one before that.” Clint shouted.

“I’m getting better though.” You whined.

 “You’re fucking not. You’re getting worse.” He grumbled, poking his head out from behind the tree to glare pointedly at the chunks of ice and freeze burned grass.

 “I froze the last arrow!” You said indignantly, putting your hands on your hips.

 “And half the lawn and two trees. The one before that got a cool breeze.” He grumbled, nocking another arrow anyway.

 You planted your feet firmly on the ground and raised your hands, readying yourself.

 “PULL!” You called.

 Clint let the arrow fly and you summoned the icy power that was a part of you, blasting it at the arrow sailing towards you. Nothing happened.

 “Ahhh!” You yelped, throwing yourself to the side to avoid it.

 “Useless!”

 “I hate you!” You signed at your brother from your ungraceful heap on the ground.

 He scoffed and put his bow down, regarding you thoughtfully.

 “Maybe it’s time you called for some help from the experts.” He suggested tentatively.

 “Are you joking? You know they still haven’t forgiven me!” You said in disbelief.

 “That’s not true, The Professor isn’t one to hold grudges.” Clint argued.

 “Because I’m going to go near the mind reading professor while I know what I know.” You scoffed.

 “Well there’s always…”  He started to suggest.

 “No! He still hates me anyway.” You said grumpily.

 “It’s been years, I’m sure he’s over it.” He tried to contend.

 “Not happening.” You asserted.

 “Suit yourself but I’m done. Me and my arrows have suffered enough.” He huffed, stomping away.

 You groaned and threw yourself back onto the grass, looking up at the sky.

 “Hi.” Bucky said softly, walking over slowly with an air that was part curiosity, part concern.

 You tilted your head to look up at him, watching as he cautiously made his way over to you, avoiding the larger ice chunks. There was a look of wonder and awe in his eyes, especially for the ice boulder than was twice the size of him. He was dressed for working out and you guessed he’d been running when he saw you and probably come over to make sure you hadn’t accidentally knocked yourself out with an Ice missile.

 “Hey.” You said, waving to him.

 His shadow blocked the sunlight as he stood over you, looking torn.

 “Do you need help getting up?” He offered.

 “Or, you could sit down.” You countered.

 There was a light thump as he took you up on the offer and settled onto the grass next to you.

 “You know… I have ice powers, and I was in the army.” You told him.

 “Yeah, I heard.” He smirked.

 “So…” You said.

 “So?” he asked, clearly lost as to where you were going with this.

 “One could argue that I am The Winter Soldier.” You explained, grinning.

 He let out a huff of laughter.

 “I’ll tell Hydra they infringed on your copyright.” He chuckled and you immediately sobered.

 He hadn’t picked the damn name, you knew that. What had possessed you to say something so insensitive you had no idea. Actually, you did know. It was your brain and it was an asshole.

 “I’m sorry. It’s bad enough I’m flaunting my freezy stuff around and then I go and say something like that. I don’t know why you even talk to me.” You groaned.

 “You’re pretty nice. At least when you aren’t talking anyway.” He said and you squawked indignantly.

 “No, the Ice doesn’t bother me that much though. My memories are intact, so I just try and think of good snow related memories.” He admitted.

 “You do?” You asked gently, leaving it open for him to divulge or change the subject.

 “Yeah. When I was a kid, I loved the snow, meant less school and more playing. As soon as the first flakes fell every year, I’d bundle Stevie up in every coat we owned, his, mine, his mother’s… I’d drag him outside to watch it fall. I loved the way it would settle on the ground you know. It was like watching the world become a blank canvass, the pavements and grass just slowly turning white until they were untouched. It was beautiful.” He said wistfully.

 You got lost in his voice, the bittersweet pain behind the memory.

 “Sounds amazing.” You whispered.

 “It was. Kind of like now….” He said, grinning at you like he knew something you didn’t and pushing you to a sitting position.

 Spreading outwards from you there was a radius of pure white snow blanketing the ground. Exactly as you’d been picturing in your mind.

 “I did it!” You breathed out in shock.

 “Yeah doll, you did.” He said gently, proudly.

 “I did it!” You exclaimed.

 And before you could think about it you launched yourself at him, throwing your arms around his neck and landing on his lap. His arms automatically caught you and he hesitated for barely a moment before wrapping them around your torso. You stilled as you realized what you’d just done and pulled back abruptly, blushing like mad.

 You’d just launched yourself at him… You’d be lucky if he didn’t file a sexual harassment claim.

 “I’m so sorry! I just got caught up in the excitement, I didn’t mean to offend you.” You said in a rush.

 He looked stricken and guilt twisted at your gut. Then his arm snaked around your waist and pulled you back in.

 “You did good Ice; you deserve a hug.” He quipped, enclosing you in the warm embrace.

 Your mind sat back and refused to interfere as your head rested itself on his shoulder and you wrapped your arms around him.

 “I… Thank you Bucky. Thank you.” You sighed happily, nuzzling into him.

 He was sure you were going to notice the erratic hammering of his heart in his chest and regretfully pulled away before he lost any more sense.

 “Well, you should probably get inside now that’s the weathers taken a turn.” He suggested nervously.

 “I have to tell Clint!” You said excitedly jumping to your feet and running off.

 You got a few meters before you turned, jogging backwards so you could smile at him.

 “Seriously, thank you.” You said again.

 “Anytime doll.”

 You raced back inside to gloat to your brother but along the way you were brought to a screeching halt by a text message.

 A very intriguing text message.

 ~~~~~Two Hours Later~~~~~

 You stepped out of your room, satisfied with your appearance and headed for the elevator when your phone buzzed again.

 Big (Brother) Bird: Where are you going?

 You read the text from Clint and scoffed, shoving the phone back in your pocket when it buzzed again.

 Big (Brother) Bird: Don’t ignore me you ‘lil shit.

 You looked around and backed up a few steps, looking at the ceiling.

 “I know you’re up there!” You called loudly.

 There was a banging noise and you jumped out of the way, barely avoiding being smacked in the head with the vent covering as Clint lithely dropped onto the floor in front of you.

 “Where are you going?” He asked again.

 “Out.” You informed him helpfully.

 “Where?” He pressed.

 “Church, can’t you tell from my outfit?” You sassed, gesturing at the little black dress.

 “Is that why you’re dressed like a sinner?” He said, giving the dress a dirty look.

 “I’m taking that as a compliment.” You decided.

 “You shouldn’t. Have you got a date?” He demanded.  

 “Ask me again after I get to the bar.” You said.

 “Let me guess, you’re going to the bar without your wallet?” He guessed.

 “See, I knew all those people who called you stupid were wrong.” You told him, smiling sweetly.

 “At least I’m not a slut.” He said childishly.  

 “Slut shaming is so last decade.” You told him.  

 “Your face is so last decade.” He retorted.

 “I’m leaving now, before you embarrass yourself any further.” You scoffed.

 ” Wait, just let me fix that stray hair.” He said and reached out, mussing your hair as much as he could before you rabbit punched him in the ribs and leaned away, spluttering.

 He cackled loudly and jumped back into the vents before you could stop him.

 “Jackass.” You muttered under your breath, stomping away and fixing your hair up as much as you could.

 You were still muttering obscenities when the elevator doors swooshed open and in your eagerness to escape you walked into something very hard.

 “Oooft.” You gasped, nearly landing on your ass due to the violent rebound.

 “Shit, doll, are you ok?”

 You looked up at the very concerned face of Bucky Barnes who had his arms outstretched like he was getting ready to catch you.

 “Is your entire chest made of metal as well?” You asked him, gesturing at his pecs.

 “No? Just the arm.” He said, going pink.

 “Bucky, you’re fucking solid!” You exclaimed.

 “I’m so sorry.” He said, like it was a problem.

 “Was not a complaint.” You assured.

 “What?” He asked and you realized what you’d just said.

 “What?” You asked in an embarrassed panic.

 “You just said…” He trailed off, frowning.

 “I have a concussion or something. Ignore me.” You blurted.

 “Are you sure you’re ok?” He checked.

 “Really, I’m fine. I swear.” You said.

 It was at this point Bucky seemed to notice what you were wearing, his eyes actually moving down your body so slowly that you started to blush.

 “You look nice.” He said.

 You were probably reading into things; it was more than likely nothing but… he sounded almost sad about the fact that you didn’t look like a mess.

 “Uh, thanks. I have stuff, a bar, meeting friends. That kinda thing.” You stammered.

 “Right. Well, have fun.” He said, stepping away to let you in the elevator.

 “Yes sir.” You said, immediately wanting to bash yourself on the head for it.

 You stepped into the elevator and just before the doors closed his hand snaked out to stop them.

 “Ice? You, well you look really pretty.” He said softly.

 “Thanks, you too.” You whispered.

 Would it be possible to bang your head on the elevator wall hard enough to knock yourself out? Nah, he’d probably try and stop you. Mercifully he didn’t point out your awkward faux pas and let the door close on you.

 When you were gone, he ran his fingers through his hair, sighing heavily. You didn’t have any friends; you were legally dead. And the dress… He knew the vision of you in that dress was going to haunt him for a long time, because he knew what you were wearing it for, he wasn’t stupid. He shouldn’t be jealous, shouldn’t feel so ill at the thought of what you were doing. You weren’t his to covet and he had decided to be your friend. But still, there was the awful voice in his head egging on his forbidden desires. Imagining you wearing something like that for him, him being the one to get you out of the dress.

 The thrilling mental image had two effects on his body, making him feel nauseous at the idea of sleeping with you because he wanted so much more than just your body but at the same time, the primal urge he had to rip the dress of and bury his cock deep inside you was making him uncomfortably hard.

 “Friends. Just friends.” He whispered to himself, shaking off the traitorous desire.

 Or trying to shake it off and failing miserably.

   You slipped a twenty from under your dress and paid the cab driver before you got out of the car, looking up at the large building you’d been dropped off at. Throwing your shoulders back and raising your chin, you walked into the lobby with confidence. It was slightly false confidence, but only slight. You weren’t that nervous about why you were here and what you were here for, it was remarkably simple actually. The elevator took you up and as soon as you stepped off, there he was.

 “I’ve gotta admit, even when you accepted my invitation, I didn’t think you’d actually show.”

 “You get stood up a lot hot stuff, got a complex about it?” You smirked.

 “Nobody stands me up, but not every woman is as mysterious and cold hearted as you.”

 “I’m not that mysterious. If you really want to know, you could ask. I don’t see a lot of talking in our future though.” You said coyly.

 “After I went to all that effort of ordering Chinese and turns out, you just want me for my body.” He pouted.

 “If I’ve offended you, maybe I should just leave.” You tutted, turning back towards the elevator.

 His arm circled your waist, pulling you back.

 “Not until I’ve gotten what you came for.” He whispered, his lips ghosting across your shoulder.

 It was obvious really; Johnny Storm was a notorious playboy and you were emotionally unavailable. That didn’t mean that you were a nun, you still had physical needs, and who could satisfy them better than the man of fire? You spun around in his hold and he didn’t hesitate to capture you in a scorching kiss. It was everything you had hoped for, hot and passionate and completely unemotional.

 You pushed your body into his, gasping in surprise when an image of beautiful grey blue eyes flitted through your mind.

 Your fingers grazed the back of his neck, brushing his hair and you frowned when your fingers itched to tug at longer, brunette locks.

 His hands ran across your body and you shivered, wondering what it would feel like to have metal caress you with skin.

 “Godfuckingdamnit.” You swore.

 You hadn’t had to work this hard to get a man out of your mind since… since Daniel.

 “Everything ok?” Johnny frowned.

 “No. I can’t do this.” You sighed, butting your head against his shoulder.

 “Whoever he is, he’s an idiot.” Johnny scoffed.

 “Pardon?”

 “Whoever you’re thinking about? You’re here with me, thinking about him instead of being with him. So, he’s an idiot for not grabbing hold of this opportunity.” He explained.

 “He’s not the idiot. He’s, well he’s not what I want. My brain just hasn’t got the memo.” You sighed.

 “Look, you’re clearly dealing with some issues. I don’t mind you working them out on me.” He said, raising his eyebrow to make it clear exactly what he meant.

 You were not going to sit around and pine for somebody. Anybody.

 “Good.” You said, pushing him backwards and sending him sprawling onto a chair.    

 He smirked as you hiked your dress over your thighs so you could straddle his waist and pulled him into another scorching kiss.

A/N - I painstakingly recreated all the notes I lost when my laptop broke so I could restart this baby... So Ice is back!I'm undecided as to whether I will actually write the Johnny Storm smut, I guess it's up to you. Other than that, what did you think of this chapter?

@shirukitsune @thelostallycat@jsmith509@buckitybarnes@aw-shit-nuggets @pleasefollowmeuwu @nerdy-bookworm-1998@boxofteenageideas@jaynnanadrews@psychoredpanda@marbleowl @l0kisbitch@brownlee-22@fluffeh-kitty @mywinterwolf@poppunkassbitch@angieptt @muggleborngirl@markusstraya @tarastudiesalot@pinkisokay @buckitybarnes@firefly-in-darkness@chipilerendi @psychoredpanda@littledeadrottinghood@boxofteenageideas@pleasefollowmeuwu @aw-shit-nuggets @brownlee-22@deathofmissjackson @yourwonderbelle @firefly-in-darkness@hiddles-rose @myfandomlife-blog @thosesexytexasboys@liveonce-sodoitright @spnrvt @dilaila95 @dahkness@sexyvixen7

[lunias-takes-on-homestuck]

My Classpects Through the Years

I started getting into Homestuck in late 2012, about a year after [S] Cascade dropped, and like most of y’all I got pretty interested in the system of Classes and Aspects.

...Okay, I got obsessed with it. Who wouldn’t? A highly-flexible system of essentially taking an aspect of reality and interpreting it through the lens of a key verb or idea, creating unique and self-determined power sets limited only by your own imagination? That’s wild. And when I say I got into it, I mean I really got into it. I dove deep into Homestuck’s lore, reading up on popular and somewhat fringe theories about what each Aspect related to, how the Classes utilized them, what the potential Active/Passive pairings were, and how certain Aspects seemed to oppose each other. I even went so far as to contribute to a theory regarding the future of Tavros Nitram, which... didn’t exactly pan out as expected... but it was a ton of fun! And of course, while I was certainly interested in what this all meant for our cast of characters, I was also interested in how it could be interpreted and/or applied to real people.

People are, of course, far more complicated than a simple personality test could possibly explain, but I still got a lot of entertainment out of trying to pin down the classpects of characters or people I knew irl. Which naturally included me. Looking back on it, I think it’s very interesting to see the progression in ideas that led up to my more recent musings, so I figured it would be cool to dive into that and share my past and current classpects here!

Credits:

All images are pulled from the Homestuck Classpect Chart Updated posted by JosiahR94 on DeviantArt.

Artists: Zynchilada (compiled, partially drawn) and Owyn (updated at original resolution). Both blogs listed on the artwork have since been deactivated.

2012-2013 - Knight of Breath

This one is the byproduct of some test manipulation on my part - the fan test I was using was based on MBTI and Jungian archetypes, and honestly I’ve never found them to remain accurate for longer than a couple months at a time. I’ve wound my way around four different MBTI results over the years so I’m not inclined to use them as the basis for much, especially since the original test included fan-created classes and aspects that I really didn’t understand or jive with. But even once I narrowed it down to strictly canonical classes and aspects, I still wound up going with the 3rd-most accurate one. At the time I saw the Knight as the Active Exploiter class, the type to jump into action and wield their aspect as a weapon. I really related the idea of a detached loner who was fiercely protective of their friends, and John had shown off very, very recently (for me, anyway) just how powerful wind could be. The powers were sick, the outfit was neat, and it was absolutely wrong in nearly every way. Nearly. But we’ll get to that.

2013-2015 - Seer of Doom

You’re probably a little familiar with this one if you’ve been keeping up with Homestuck theorists lately, as there are two prolific content creators I know of who identify as Seers of Doom. For some time, I did too! The change was largely brought about because I thought my initial Knight of Breath result hadn’t been accurate enough, and also because I wanted to try my hand at classpecting myself without the aid of tests. At the time I was really feeling the Doom aspect and I saw myself as a guide (or maybe a teacher?) so it felt like it fit. There was just one sliiiight problem - I was entirely focused on how the Doom aspect related to the problems I was having in my life, rather than how I viewed the world around me and interacted with it. I still felt like I was sort of onto something with Doom, but it took some major life events to give me the nudge I needed to see things a little more clearly...

2015-2020 - Sylph of Life

For me, 2015 felt like the year I was finally coming out of my funk and figuring my shit out. It’s the year I started taking college courses (well, a college course), getting into meetups, making new friends, and reinventing myself. At some point I decided that the issue with my initial Doom analysis was that I was overly focused on the challenges I had instead of how I actually dealt with them, and my new aggressively-optimistic outlook would simply not mesh with Doom. Not one bit. I also felt that my class didn’t quite fit, and Sylph was sitting right there with their magick-y healing and creation powerset -- the ultimate support, and the type of person who makes their own way through life by simply refusing to accept they could be stopped or put down by anything. By the time the Extended Zodiac Quiz came out in 2017 and confirmed I was Lifebound, I had already proven to be on top of my game in college in a creative field. I joined our LGBT+ club and started somewhat aggressively railing against overly-restrictive labels and social constructs in Contemporary English to the point that I was exceeding the page limit on our essay assignments on a regular basis and still felt I wasn’t saying everything I wanted to say. Sylph of Life just clicked for me in a way the Knight of Breath and Seer of Doom never had, so I figured I’d nailed it.

Then, earlier this year, I found out I was actually a girl.

2020-Present - Knight of Life... or maybe Heart???

Imagine for a minute that you’re at a theater watching some movie through the perspective of the protagonist. You think you’ve got the plot all figured out, you’re guessing every story beat, and then in the last 5 minutes the big twist reveals the protagonist has unwittingly been an unreliable narrator for the last two hours. Literally everything you thought you understood has been flipped on its head, and it’s still good but it’s all very confusing. You leave the theater wondering what you just watched, and as you turn on your car you suddenly realize there were subtle hints foreshadowing the twist for over half the film. With every passing second the pieces start coming together, and you just know that watching it again would leave you going “How the hell did I miss that?!”

That’s about the best way I can explain what I’ve been experiencing for the past four-ish months. All the puzzle pieces I had put together were thrown totally out of whack and I’m finding every day that there are aspects of myself and my personality that I never knew where there. Discovering myself is hard work, but it’s a wonderful feeling, and it’s no wonder that on the heels of this I’m seriously vibing with the aspect relating to Personal Identity. That said, I still find myself parsing labels and identity through the lens of Life - words which are too restrictive to properly convey who I am, and an experience that can’t be explained or constrained by the stereotypical narrative people tend to have about people who are bisexual, polyamorous, transgender, and at once more complicated than those words can really describe. When I take the Extended Zodiac Quiz I find that I’m still Lifebound, but changing even a single question by a single step leaves me Heartbound instead, and I think that dichotomy really mirrors where I feel I’m at as a person.

Class-wise, I feel drawn to both Sylph and Knight to a degree, but in the years since I first chose the Knight of Breath classpect I have come to understand the class as a Passive Server - one who gives for the benefit of others - and that speaks to me. The wonderful Mythological Class Quiz by @homestuckexamination has only confirmed my suspicions about that. I have yet to decide between Knight of Life and Knight of Heart, but they’re both very interesting classpects imo, and either way I’m sure I’ll be spending far too much of my free time developing powers and things for them :P

Takeaway

Whew, that’s a lot of words! But what exactly does it all mean? Well... if you ask me, Classpecting is sort of a process. I’m sure that, years down the line, I’ll probably say I had it all wrong and I’m actually some other combination of class and aspect, and I’ll reminisce about the days when I was so obviously misreading myself. But that’s kind of the fun of it, isn’t it? It’s just another form of personality quiz, albeit one where you get sick powers and a nifty set of pajamas at the end. And for all the good that introspection can do to help you understand yourself a little better, you better believe I’m going to be spending the next hour or two debating whether passing out heals and buffs while tanking everything would be more cool than body-surfing and turning enemies into clones à la Agent Smith in The Matrix: Reloaded.

[marquis1305]

Silk and Steel ch 10

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9

AO3 Link

Rating: Mature

Fandoms: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Relationship: James “Bucky” Barnes/Reader

Additional Tags:

Slow Burn, Reader-Insert, Florists, Reader is an Enhanced Individual, Nick Fury Knows All, SHIELD, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. References, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Bucky Barnes Feels, Protective Steve Rogers, Hydra (Marvel), enhanced!reader, Reader’s Brother works for SHIELD, POV Female Character, James “Rhodey” Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Rhodey is skeptical, Vision is curious, Tony feeds good behavior with blueberries, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Blueberries, backstory incoming, The Winter Soldiers - Freeform, Fragmented Teamwork, You like making quips as much as the next person, Tony Stark’s Nickames, Bucky Barnes’s Metal Arm, That whirring sound it makes, Russian, Soft Bucky, Sweet Bucky, He really is a sweet heart,

Summary:

A week has passed since your stay at the Avenger’s compound and life is finally starting to feel normal again. Now if only you could kick this blueberry craving.

Chapter 10: The Groceries

A week passed with little notice. Falling back into the routine of your life was easier than it should have been.

As if nothing had changed. As if you weren’t waiting for the call. You went about each day with a sense of tension. Dreading each ring of your cell phone. It wasn’t likely that Babushka would get back to you so soon, but the longer it took, the longer that your brother was in the hands of Hydra.

A week went by, and no letter had come from him. No word. Not even lies that he would occasionally feed you when he was on something big. No smiley face to tell you the truth amidst it all.

It left your stomach tied in knots.

Sunday came round, and it was time to see to the errands you normally let fall to the wayside when going about your week. Luckily almost everything could be handled online, except for running the deposit for the shoppe, but that would be tomorrow at lunch, the same as every monday. You enjoyed the quiet routine of your life. It had always brought a sense of security, of belonging.

Now it just brought distraction.

You decided to get a bit of fresh air, turning on your comm for the first time all week since Bucky’s visit.

“Finally!” Tony’s voice rang out almost immediately in your ear. “Guys! She’s on! You! I gave you blueberries and you do this to me?!”

You can’t help but giggle, getting used to the way it felt to have him sound so near and clear, even your phone never got signal as clear as this. “Sorry, I really didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“Worry? We had to send flower boy after you before the centennial man went charging in and got himself yet another criminal charge.”

“Flower… boy?” You furrowed your brow, even as you started getting ready to go out. Slipping into a rather comfortable outfit of tee shirt and jeans, topped off with the stolen sweater.

“Apparently I have a new nickname.” Bucky’s voice cut in before Stark could manage to say another word.

“I dunno, sort of suits you. Should have seen him, Druid.” Natasha half purred, and you could just about picture the smirk playing at the edges of her lips. “Beamed near bright enough that we worried about getting sunburns when he brought the flower pot here.”

You blushed even as she mentioned it. “Yeah well…”

“Don’t let them tease you. It was a nice gesture.” Steve finally came onto the comms.

“Totally sweet, but if we don’t get a few bouquets here soon, Bunny, I’m going to start feeling like you’re playing favorites. And then I’m going to have to start questioning your taste.” You grabbed your keys, locking up the apartment behind you before making your way down the stairs. Checking to make sure that you had your phone and wallet on you. Then putting in a headset to make it seem like you weren’t talking to yourself for any passersby.

Natasha had gone over that before you had left.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Tony’s sudden question made you jump, glancing around and expecting them to come jumping out of the shadows. “Um… The grocery store? I need food. And you keep talking about blueberries, I’m starting to crave them. Ah… Are you guys here?”

“No. No, we’re at the compound. Stark just has your gps up. You really did worry us going dark like that.” Steve replied, almost softly disappointed. But even then, you could tell that he was trying to be gentle with you, kind.

“Don’t worry Doll, no tail on you today. Everyone is just paranoid. I gave them the mission report.”

“Oh… Right, that makes sense then.” You let out a soft breath, nodding and trying to calm the sudden beating of your heart.

“Breathe Doll.” You heard James almost whisper before he was speaking away from the comms. “Alright everyone, we can see that she’s alive and well. Your pet robot will let us know if anything comes up unusual Stark.”

“I might have to object to FRIDAY being called a pet anything, but I get your point. Enjoy the blueberries kid, you earned them. Signing out.”

The others echoed his call out before you heard the comms go dead. The tight feeling in your chest releasing all at once. You really weren’t built for this sort of work. Attention finally lifting back up to the street around you, taking a moment to regain your bearings before you were walking the few blocks to the grocery store. Humming softly to yourself. You were greeted by the cashier as you walked through the door, smiling and waving to them before grabbing a basket. It was rare that you ever needed anything in bulk, so you didn’t bother to grab a cumbersome cart.

Plus you had a voice in your head that sounded eerily like Natasha telling you to keep your hands immediately accessible.

Fuck’s sake all this time with the Avengers (you assumed it was okay to call them that again, even if only temporarily) was making you paranoid. Trying to shake off the feeling of needing to watch your back while you perused the aisles. You only needed a few items to restock the pantry and fridge after all, it shouldn’t take that long.

Humming as you reached the produce and grabbed a jumbo sized container of blueberries. “Damn Tony and his reinforcement.” You grumbled almost teasingly to yourself, shaking your head as you set it atop the rest of your purchases. Making way towards the till before pausing, your sight catching on a rack of cheesy birthday and event cards.

A smile suddenly spreading over your lips as you made a beeline towards it. Trying to flip through the various cards to find the most ridiculous ones. Carefully selecting an individual card for each of your new team members. Hoping to find something that might be to their unique tastes. (Reserving the Meme for Peter, who would probably prefer an E-card anyways, you would scroll through your phone later to see if you could find anything better.) Adding them each to your cart and heading for the cashier.

Watching as she scanned your items through, you considered whether it would be a good idea to schedule another training sessions. Maybe Tony could find some way of monitoring your ability. Or you could help work on your endurance.

The thoughts trailing off as you accepted your grocery bags with a soft smile, passing over a few bills and telling them to put the change in the donation box. Waving slightly as you parted ways. Heading back onto the empty sidewalk, a few people passing by on the opposite side. This was something that you liked about your neighborhood, it wasn’t constantly busy.

You worried at your lip while trying to consider how exactly you would be able to practice more with your ability, it wasn’t exactly the same as doing a home work out. But Bucky had been right, it would be too dangerous to go back to the compound again, especially now that

———————-

“Mr Stark.”

“Yeah, FRIDAY, little busy.” Tony was tooling about with a new prototype of the suit. Nanotech had come a long way even in just the past year. And honestly, he was tired of having to piece things back together after every fight. The last suit was still wrecked after the Siberia incident, and he had no energy to even try fixing it. Especially not with Steve and that asshole here.

Even if that asshole occasionally had a sense of humor.

“I believe that this qualifies as an emergency, sir.” FRIDAY intoned, the smallest hint of urgency in her tone making Tony pause. “Druid has gone offline.”

[evabellasworld]

Storm of the Republic

Chapter 8

AO3 Link | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

——————————————————————————————

Summary:  When Tup murdered General Tiplar during a battle, Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex dispatched Ahsoka, Fives, and Yara to solve the mystery that was plaguing the Clone Army. Meanwhile, Senator Padme Amidala contacted Commander Fox, Commander Tori, Riyo Chuchi, and Dipper to help her continue investigating the death of Palpatine, suspecting that Dooku was behind the evil plot. But when Dooku send an ISB agent to stop them, the team had to race against time to search for the truth, which could alter the course of the galaxy.

————————————————————————————

Clad in a strawberry pink dress, Tori tightened her brown combat boots as she tied her white ribbon above her curly locks. With permission from Riyo, she applied a darker pink blush to her cheeks and glossy lipsticks, highlighting her beauty.

Throughout her entire career as a clone commander, she never got to dress up nicely, and this mission allowed her to feel what it was like wearing civilian clothes. The strawberry dress originally belonged to Riyo, but thanks to her sewing skills, it fit perfectly well for her height.

She twirled in front of her mirror and played with her hair, smiling at her outfit. I am keeping this outfit after this mission.

“Mama, you look pretty,” Frieda praised her, sitting on the dresser. Tori could only smile as she grabbed a hair ribbon and tied her hair into a small ponytail.

“You’re a pretty girl too,” she complimented her, as she dusted off her matching dress. “Do you want a kiss on the cheeks?”

The little girl shook her head. “No, thank you, mama.”

“Alright then,” Tori respected her boundaries, as she put on a white shoe for her child. “Now come on, Uncle Fox, Uncle Dipper, and Aunt Riyo are waiting for us.”

“Yes, mama,” she said, as Tori walked out of Riyo’s quarters and headed towards another ship, where she found the others in the cockpit, with Commander Fox in the pilot’s seat, dressed in a tuxedo.

“Took you long enough,” he scolded her. “We’ve been waiting for you for almost 20 minutes.”

“Oh, yeah?” Tori rolled her eyes, holding her child in her lap. “Well, try dressing up for two. You know it’s difficult being a mother these days, especially when you’re fighting in the frontline.”

“That’s not an excuse. Every minute we waste, Senator Amidala is closer to danger. Now come on, we should leave right now.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Dipper said, his eyes glued to his datapad. “By the way, where’s Riyo? It’s been a while since we’ve waited for her.”

“I’m here,” Riyo walked into the cockpit, dressed in her salmon pink beret and blouse. “Sorry I’m late. I had to deal with my period.”

“No worries, dear,” Fox’s lips curled upwards, passing her a heating pad. “Period can be painful and exhausting for women. I hope you pack your menstrual cup though.”

Tori squinted her eyes at her brother with exasperation. A few minutes ago, she was chastised for being late. But when his partner was late, he showed his concern to her. What a sly fox.

“So, shall we get going?”

“Of course, senator,” the Marshal Commander winked, as the ship took off from the Raxus base, heading into space. Frieda felt her ears pop when she was above ground, but then cooed when she saw the enormous amounts of stars surrounding her.

Even though she had followed Tori into battles many times, the little girl never got bored with the colourful galaxy she saw with her eyes. Everything fascinated her, even when it was the same object. “Mama, stars,” she pointed with her fingers.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Tori responded positively, holding her hands. “How many stars can you count right now?”

As the child counted, Fox placed his hands on the gear and was about to jump into hyperspace, but observing Frieda’s curiosity made him delay his actions. He was once like her as well, except he counted raindrops instead of stars.

It was always raining on Kamino, so he never had the same privilege to enjoy the wonders in the sky. But it was fun though. Fox enjoyed watching the raindrops on the window racing against each other, wondering which one would win. Come on, Lenny, you can do it. You can win this race this time.

He wished he could experience something like that again, where everything was simple and less terrifying. “So, how many stars did you count, Frieda?”

“There are 150 stars in the galaxy,” she answered, much to his amazement.

“150 stars? That’s a lot of stars you counted, kiddo.”

“150 is a big number,” Riyo chimed in. “I only reached that amount when I was 8 years old. You’re such a clever girl.”

“What can I say?” Tori shrugged, proud of her daughter’s accomplishments. “Frieda is a smart kid.”

Pulling the gears, their ship jumped into hyperspace, prompting him to turn around and face his crew members. “Alright team, we’re on our way to Coruscant and I’m only going to explain this plan once, so pay close attention.”

Dipper bobbed his head as he put away his datapad, his gaze focused towards his superiors.

“So, when we arrive at Coruscant, we will stand by for inspection by the patrols, along with our chain codes. So make sure we all relax and act naturally, like what normal people do.”

“That’s not so hard for me,” Riyo stated. “I can act as natural as possible.”

“I know you can do it, Riyo, but I’m not sure about those two,” Fox gestured to Tori and Dipper on their outfits. “I mean, you both stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Choerry said that ripped jeans and neon green hair are a trend,” Dipper defended his style choice. “Plus, I look handsome as hell.”

“I like your hair,” Riyo praised him. “I thought you looked like a rockstar.”

“See, she agrees with me. You’re just jealous that you can’t pull off this style.”

Fox shook his head. “We’re going on a stealth mission to help Senator Amidala, and you both look like you’re going to a Moachella instead.”

“That’s the whole point, Foxy,” Tori raised her eyebrows. “We’re dressed like average citizens of Coruscant. But you look overdressed. I mean, who wears a tuxedo on a normal day?”

“First, it’s Fox,” he corrected her. “And second, every secret agent in movies wears a tuxedo, and it makes me look smart too.”

“But you’ll get caught easily,” Dipper gave him a reminder, which irritated him. “I mean, isn’t a tuxedo inconvenient, especially since you’re running and all?”

As much as Fox hates to admit, the ARC Trooper made a good point. But it was too late for him to change clothes, as he’s already in hyperspace. Besides, Riyo was the one who suggested that he wear a tux. She told him it highlights his good looks.

“Whatever, do you remember to bring our chain codes, Dipper?”

“Yes, sir,” he said, as he took out five chain codes from his backpack and passed it around to the others. “These are from General Brinks. She was the one who taught me how to make a fake one.”

“These chain codes looked genuine,” he praised his efforts. “The Empire will easily be fooled. Well done, vod.”

As Tori received two chain codes for her and Frieda, she read the names on the card. Rina and Lara Young, well, that’s a pleasant way to remember Lira and Eva Bella Young. They would have loved to go on a stealth mission as well.

“So what are these for again?” she scratched the side of her head.

Fox turned to her with a scorned look on his face. He couldn’t believe that Tori wasn’t listening. “In case you forgot, the Imperial used these as IDs. Not having one is illegal and could face two years in prison.”

“That’s harsh,” Riyo gasped at what she heard. “But it’s also an efficient way to keep track of their citizens.”

“And outlaws too,” Dipper growled, remembering the plot to one of his favourite novels, where Big Brother was watching everyone’s moves, even if they’re innocent.

“Anyway, so what happens once the Imperials allow us to enter the planet?” Tori asked another question.

“Once we got in, we parked our ship at Level 1312,” Fox continued, explaining his plans. “From there, we’ll have to take a taxi to Senator Amidala’s place.”

“Wait, why can’t we land near her penthouse?” Riyo wondered, seeing that was rather difficult.

“That will make us more suspicious, and that’s the last thing we want.”

“Okay, so what do we do once we make it to the senator?” Dipper raised his hands.

“We’ll help her with the investigation of the Chancellor’s death, and then we get her out of here,” Fox finished his briefing. “Now, do we have questions about this mission?”

Tori, Dipper, and Riyo exchanged a glance of confidence within themselves, determined that their mission will be successful. Things will go just as planned, the Pantoran was sure of herself.

“No questions, Uncle,” Frieda spoke, shaking her head. Her response brightened the cockpit as Fox chuckled and ruffled her hair, when the panels were beeping rapidly, signalling to them they had arrived at Coruscant.

[jjeangrey]

Blame It On Love

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You’re a HYDRA agent, and Bucky’s an avenger and a SHIELD agent. You’re both assigned to capture each other. The question is, who’s gonna get who first? Especially when feelings get in the way.

Warnings: Explicit language, angst, mentions of abuse

You woke up and groaned as the sunlight hits your face. You slowly open your eyes and almost fell off the bed as you see a man standing in front of you, crossing his arms.

“God fucking dammit, Adam. I told you a million times to not fucking do that.” You put a pillow on your face and turned around so you wouldn’t be facing him.

“Do what?” He said, acting all innocent. “You drool when you sleep.” He chuckled and you threw the pillow at him. You looked over at your alarm clock: 8 am. Normally, Adam walks into your room and annoys you around 10 am, so it must be pretty important.

You sighed and finally stood up, putting your messy hair in a ponytail. “What do you want, dickhead?” You walk into your bathroom to take a quick shower as Adam leans on the wall outside and waits for you. “Baron wants you. He says it’s urgent.”

“You still refuse to call him ‘dad’ huh?”

“Because he still refuses to act like one.”

“Fair enough.” After a few minutes, you go out wearing just a towel and lingerie underneath and you notice him look away. You subtley smirked. “What does he want me for? It’s supposed to be my day off.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re a HYDRA agent. You don’t get day offs.” You chuckled and walked to your wardrobe to change into your normal outfit which is a black leather bodysuit and black leather boots. “Not when i’m HYDRA’s best agent.” He scoffed and sat on your bed, crossing his legs. “Second best, you mean?”

You stopped for a bit because of his comment but shook your head and flipped him off. He laughed and walked over to your door to go out, but he turns around one last time before he completely leaves. “Be fast. You know he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

“Tell him, he can fuck off.” He smiled at you and closed the door.

Ever since you were 5, you were taught to kill. Baron Von Strucker took you in after he killed your parents, or to be exact, he made Bucky, aka the Winter Soldier, kill them, and he decided to take you and be your mentor. He made you his top spy, taking down people and stealing informations and documents all around the world.

But when Bucky got out of HYDRA’s brainwashing a few years ago, he made you worse. He and his other top agents trained you to be a literal killing machine, and eventually injected you with the super soldier serum. After that, your only mission was to bring the Winter Soldier back to HYDRA, dead or alive. Of course, you still get other missions, but those are only your side jobs. Your main priority is Barnes, and you train everyday so you can take him down.

After you get dressed, you went outside to go to headquarters, and the other agents greet you, saying “Hail, HYDRA” as you walk. You nod at them and continued on your way, until you’ve reached your destination. You didn’t knock, you just quietly opened the door and entered the room, and you saw a man sitting on a chair, his eyes focused on the papers in front of him.

You cleared your throat and the man immediately turned his attention on you. “Ah, good morning, Y/N. You’re looking extra feisty today.” He said, smirking as he looks at you from head to toe.

“What do you want Baron?” You crossed your arms as you walk closer to his table. “And it better be good. This day was supposed to be my day off.”

He chuckled. “I did promised you one day off work, didn’t I? What were you planning to do, anyway?”

“Oh, I don’t know, live like a normal person for once?”

“That’s pretty much impossible, Y/N.” He shrugged. “But don’t worry, i’ll make this worth your while.” He paused for a second and slid in a file to you. You opened it and it was full of photos of the infamous Winter Soldier, and some of them, he was with his newly-found ‘friends’ Steve, Tony, Natasha and the rest of the avengers team. “It’s time.”

You closed the file and looked at him. “Are—are you sure?”

“Yes. You’ve been training for many years, and I think you are ready to face him.” Baron said as he leaned on his chair, his eyes still focused on you.

“I won’t let you down.” You can’t help but smile. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for, to get the man who killed your parents mercilessly. To get HYDRA’s traitor.

“I know you won’t. This is your true purpose, Y/N.” He handed you a key, the key to the weapons room. “I will be assigning other HYDRA agents to look after you too, in case you would need back-up.”

You shook your head in disagreement. “No, no backup. I can handle this. Trust me.” He smirked and winked at you. “That’s my girl, fierce and feisty. I’ll be sending you information on where he is.” He stood up from his chair and ran his fingers through your hair, which gave you chills and flashbacks when you were a teenager and he did horrible things to you. But you immediately pushed the thoughts aside. You don’t wanna focus on the past, you wanna focus on the future. And the future is taking down James Barnes. And this isn’t just about capturing him, after you do that, you were hoping that you can escape, get out of this nightmare of a life and start over.

“Go get him, Y/N. Go get our Winter Soldier and take him down.” Baron whispered on to your ear. You looked at him and slowly nod.

“Hail HYDRA.”

———

On the other side of the world, Fury greeted Bucky with an early briefing, along with the rest of the team. He just got back from a week-long mission with Steve a few hours ago, and he’s very tired. He couldn’t help but accidentally fell asleep, and his head banged on the table. He immediately looked up and he saw everyone staring at him.

“I’m alright.” Bucky said nervously, as he took a deep breath and straighten his back.

“Are you really?” Sam chuckled.

“Looks like someone needs a good night sleep.” Clint joked.

“Give him a break, guys.” Natasha shook his head. “Him and Steve just finished their mission like three hours ago and they haven’t had an actual sleep for a week.”

“Finally, someone who understands.” Steve said and pats you on the back. “It’s fine, bud. Don’t worry about it.”

Fury cleared his throat and everyone’s eyes went towards him. “Now that you’re all done acting like children, maybe you can actually listen now.” He drops a file on the table. “Barnes, you actually play an important role on this.” He looks up at him, all confused. “Why me?” He asked.

“We believe HYDRA has resurfaced again, and this time they’re being more careful.”

Bucky flinched as he heard the word ‘HYDRA’. It’s been a few years since he escaped and were cleaned from all the brainwashing, but somehow, hearing that name always gets under his skin.

“But we believe that someone connected to them has been roaming around New York City.” Fury continued and he pulled a photo that looks like it was from a surveillance camera. It contains a woman, but her face is covered with a scarf, and only her eyes were visible.

“How did you know that woman is somehow connected to HYDRA?” Tony asked.

“Because I’ve seen her before.” Fury pulled out another photo and it was from a mission in Germany a few months ago. A woman was also in that picture wearing a black mask covering her entire face, except her piercing Y/E/C eyes. “She was on that mission in Germany, working for HYDRA. But she wasn’t there to help HYDRA agents take you down, she was there to steal SHIELD files.” Fury pulled out the last photo from the file and there shows the same woman inside one of SHIELD’s facilities, hacking into one of the computers with a hard drive that has a skull on it.

Bucky puts two and two together and he started sweating nervously as he realized something. “What—what files did she take?” Fury closed the file and looks up at him. “Yours.”

“That’s crazy. What did she want with Bucky’s files?” Natasha asked as she opened the file and looked at the pictures again.

“To kill me.” Bucky answered as he lowers his head on the table, gritting his teeth. He knows that eventually this is going to happen, that HYDRA’s going to track him down and end him once and for all, for betraying them. But he’s mad at himself for not realizing it sooner.

“How do you know that, Buck? Maybe it’s for another reason.” Steve said, putting his hand on Bucky’s shoulders but he gently brushed it away. “It’s HYDRA, Steve. There’s no other reason. They have probably been planning this since the day I escaped.”

Bucky rested his head on his chair, closed his eyes and massaged his temples. All he wanted was one day off work, sleep on his comfy bed, maybe even watch his favorite movie while eating plums but apparently the universe have some other plans for him.

“Okay, so we go march into HYDRA’s headquarters, take them down for the millionth time, capture the mysterious woman who had been hacking into SHIELD’s files and head back home in time for dinner. Great.” Clint said as he loads his bow with different types of arrows. “Let’s go then. Pepper’s cooking tonight and we wouldn’t wanna miss it.” Tony agrees and clicks on different things on his phone, probably making sure his suit is ready.

Before the rest of the team could make their exit, Bucky shook his head and said, “No, stop.” Everyone turned to look at him, and he sighed.

“I should be going on this mission. Alone.” He stood up and puts his hands inside his pocket. He’s nervous and afraid of what’s gonna happen, but he knew that this is the only way.

“Not happening, soldier. We are not leaving you alone.” Natasha said, loading her guns.

“Natasha’s right. You’re not going solo on this mission so you could take credit for it when you succeed.” Sam said and Natasha immediately glared at him and he looked down. “Or, you know, you might die or something.”

“I’m the one they want. And besides, if I take you with me, there’s lesser chance that this is gonna go smooth. No offense, but you’re all pretty reckless.” Bucky shrugged and Tony cleared his throat. “Offense taken.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and Fury started talking again. “Barnes has a point. This might get too messy if all of you come to this mission. He just needs to delete the files HYDRA has taken, capture the woman and bring her back to headquarters. It doesn’t have to become a bloodbath.”

“It’s HYDRA we are talking about, Fury. There will always be bloodbath when it comes to them.” Steve turns to Bucky and before he could talk again, Bucky cut him off. “It’s fine, Steve. I can handle myself.”

He knew deep down that was a lie. He can’t admit it to the team but he’s scared. He’s still traumatized after over seventy years of being tortured and brainwashed. He wishes he could just completely get over it, but everytime he closes his eyes, he sees them frying his brains out over and over again. Maybe doing this mission will finally end all the nightmares. Just maybe, he could sleep well at night without screaming and being woken up by Steve.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to do this alone.” Bruce said from the back of the room.

Bucky nods. “I do have to do this alone. This is my fight.”

Fury looks down on his phone for a second then looks back up. “Agent Hill just texted me the location of HYDRA’s new headquarters, and it’s in Russia. You’re going in alone but i’m giving you this red button so you can click on it if you’ll ever need backup.” Fury throws Bucky a button that looks like a car alarm, and he puts it inside his pocket. “Once you click on it, it’ll trigger a silent alarm in our systems and i’ll be sending the team on your way.”

“Get ready, Barnes. You’re leaving in less than two hours.”

———

You were getting ready to fly off to New York to finally put Bucky Barnes to rest when you get a phone call from Adam.

“What? I’m really busy right now.” You said as you struggle zipping your bodysuit up with only one hand.

“Right. I know, I know, this is a big moment. Killing the Winter Soldier and stuff,” Adam said on the other line, and he seemed like he’s struggling to catch his breath. “So, um, we have a little bit of a problem, I kinda ran into him like five seconds ago.”

You stopped for a second, trying to understand what Adam just said. “What do you mean you ‘ran into him’? Stop playing pranks on me, I will literally snap your neck.”

“I really wished I am playing a prank on you right now ‘cause this is a good one. But no, i’m not. He’s in the building and he just stabbed two HYDRA agents.”

You took a deep breath, trying to process everything. How did Bucky find HYDRA’s headquarters? And what is he doing here? He wouldn’t know about the plan, would he? There are so many questions going on through your mind right now and so little time.

“Okay, okay. Where are you right now?” You asked as you zip your boots up and load your gun. “Don’t worry about me, i’m good. Just go to the surveillance room so you can see where he’s heading.” Adam answered.

You thanked him and went on your way to the surveillance room. When you got there, there was no guard so you sat on the chair and tried to find Bucky.

“Okay. Where are you?” You clicked on a few things on the computer so you can see from every surveillance camera around the building. Unfortunately, half of them is already down. Bucky was fast and quiet.

You looked at the last two surveillance cameras that are working, and you see him walking to your way. Once he saw the camera, he shot it.

You smiled and twirled your favorite weapon, your batons or staves, in your hands and slipped your gun on your belt. “Got you.”

———

Bucky was on a roll. He already took down a dozen of HYDRA agents after only a few minutes of being on a building without getting caught. Maybe this is gonna be an easy job after all, he thought.

He was going around the floors, checking every room and shooting every surveillance camera he sees.

It was going smooth, until a couple of guards saw him and tried to call for backup, but he quickly ran and stabbed all of them. He turns around and there was about 10 agents in every corner, surrounding him. He looks down and saw one of the guards he stabbed holding a silent alarm.

“Dammit, I did not think this through.” He whispers to himself, preparing his gun to shoot every single one of them.

The HYDRA agents attacked and he thought it was going great until one of them got him from the back and he was suddenly outnumbered. They kicked and punched him and dragged him to a room that what seemed like a laboratory. He immediately got hit by multiple flashbacks from when he was tortured and experimented.

The HYDRA agents tied Bucky to a chair and gave him a few more punches and kicks until one of them finally talked. “Alright, punk. Game’s over. You’re dead meat now.”

Bucky scoffed, he’s used to people threatening him, he’s just gonna play along. He leaned closer to the guy and spit blood on the floor. “Once I get out of this chair, i’m slicing your throat first.”

“Try slicing my throat when you’re a corpse.” The agent took out his gun and pointed it on his head. He was so close on pulling the trigger and Bucky just closed his eyes, waiting for it to happen, until someone yelled from the back.

“Hold up!” Everyone immediately got quiet and Bucky opened his eyes. The agents opened gave the woman a way and she walked closer to him.

Bucky first noticed her eyes, because the rest of her face was covered in a mask. She was the same woman from the photos. He quickly and subtley pulled out his pocket knife to cut the rope...

Until the woman takes off her mask.

He was startled that he almost dropped his knife. He slowly put it back on his pocket and studied the woman’s face.

Beautiful was an understatement. Your eyes were far more captivating than in the pictures, Bucky thought. And you had that mysterious but deadly look on your face that he immediately loved.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment, Barnes.” You said, making your way to him as each your batons rest in your hands.

After a few seconds of intensely staring at you, Bucky finally found his voice. “You’re the one who wants to kill me?” You chuckled because his question. “I don’t just want to kill you. I need to. You’re my mission. And I didn’t even break a sweat. You willingly came into my property.”

“You’re my mission too.” Bucky answered, his voice shaking. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous around you, but he hoped that you wouldn’t notice it.

He thinks you’re the most perfect woman in the world, except for the fact that you’re trying to kill him.

“I’m your mission? Well, i’m not the one tied into a chair.” You smirked and circled around him. His eyes follow your every move, anticipating what you are about to do.

Bucky pulled out a red button out of his pocket, and his keys made a noise so you noticed it. You immediately snatched it from him and studied it.

“What is this? A silent alarm to trigger your teammates?” You laughed and threw the button on the ground, smashing it with your feet. “Good luck with that.”

He pats his other pocket, and as he suspected, the real button is still in there. You smashed the button for his car. He smirked. “You got me. I just want to remind you, i’m not easy to kill.”

You leaned closer to him, your face only a few inches from him. He thought you smelled like vanilla with a hint of death. He was sweating, but not because he’s about to die. He just realized he has a crush on his killer.

“Oh, you’ve made this way easier for me now, soldier.” He saw you raise one of your batons, and just like that, everything went black for him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I don’t know if I should make this a series, but reblog and leave a comment on what you think!

Here’s part 2 as requested! Enjoy x

[poemsforcowboys]

What a Feeling // Freddie Mercury

2  3  4  5 

Pairing: Freddie Mercury and Katy Newton (OC) 

Summary: Before she moved from London to New York at the age of thirteen, Katy Newton had always been friends with Brian May. He was the only one she knew who encouraged her creative side, especially her designs for fashion and makeup. So much so, that Katy is hired as Queen's newest stylist. But what she doesn't expect is her knew found friend, Freddie Mercury. Will their casual flirts lead to anything of substance? Or will their relationship just become another lost love as they both make their journey towards self acceptance. 

Warnings: there will be smut eventually but not in this chapter, bisexuality (?), feels 

CHAPTER ONE 

"Kathryn, dear get up, it's nearly noon!" at the sound of her mother's shrill voice, the barely conscious mess of dark blue hair groaned into her pillow. It wasn't even late for christ's sake. And, this was one of the only times she could really sleep in anymore, her job at a thrift store in the upper west side had weird hours, but it was the only time she would be getting paid to help sew and repair fabrics, something she loved to do and only wanted to improve with. The new job wasn't providing her with enough money to keep up with the rent in her old apartment, so she had reluctantly moved back in with her parents and younger brother.

"Kathryn!" her mother yelled again, but this time with a different tone, could she be excited? Positivity was not something Mrs. Newton was the best at, as it was not something she valued highly.

"Come look at the telly! Kathryn!" Katy huffed, that's what she'd rather be called, and told her mother this many times, it was a decision she made when she realized she wanted to be known for her art. A vital part of her that was ignored by her family, and only one of many including her new hair color and fashion sense.

"What is it, Mum?" Katy's British accent had disappeared for the most part, but sometimes made an appearance, especially when she was around her family. Her older brother Daniel and her parents had been able to maintain their accents through their move from Hampton, London, England to New York City in 1960. Unlike them, Katy was only thirteen and had just begun to make friends in her hometown.

She begrudgingly called back and rolled out of her bed, accidentally stepping on one of the many crumpled sketches on her floor. What she wanted to be doing in her twenties was thrive through her designs and cosmetology skills, but her parents had made their disappointment clear many times. They resented her for going down this path especially it being one of an artist, they were both lawyers, even now still encouraging her to go to law school and offering to pay for it.

She gave herself one quick glance to her mirror in the corner of her room, wanting to make sure the makeup she wore last night hadn't turned her into something like a rabid animal. Katy had brown eyes, and to her, they were nothing more than that. Often she'd wear bright eyeshadow, maybe a deep red or an electric blue, always intending on looking like nothing less than art. She was only about 5 feet, making her the punchline to many jokes, and some of the fashion statements she wanted to make more difficult to pull off.

"Kathryn! It's Brian! On the telly!"

Katy actually turned her head this time, and went quickly to their small living room to see what her mother was talking about.

Katy did not have many friends when she was growing up in London, and to say that was an understatement. She was shy and often seen as a loner, except for when she was with Brian May. He had stuck by her as many of his own friends thought she was odd or awkward, he never thought that. He was polite to her father and looked up to Daniel, Katy's own mum had made jokes about wanting them to marry and always wanted to insinuate something that as twelve year olds, Brian and Katy just couldn't understand. When she moved to New York, it was even harder to establish any relationships she thought would last, which is why she turned to art. There was nothing she loved more than to sketch the people of New York City, the only difference between her art and reality was they were wearing outfits she had designed to enhance their natural beauty. So, she didn't have many friends but she did have art, and living in New York City made that easier for her to cultivate, and harder for her parents to control. It was all too often that she would sneak onto the fire escape and leave to dance or just have a smoke, she was nothing like her family and they all knew this.

But Brian always loved her, he always accepted her for the individual she was, and he was devastated she found out she was moving.

It indeed was that same Brian who was playing guitar and performing on stage and live television for what looked like thousands of people. Katy instantly recognized him, then smiled at the sight of his new hairdo, on her faded small screen he looked like a poodle and it reminded her, and her mother as she could tell, of when he would get scared of Katy's tiny dog Finn, whenever he came over to play.

It wasn't just Brian's face on their 1972 Sony Trinitron Television, but he was playing guitar with three other men in front of a huge crowd.

She watched each one of them perform and nodded her head to the beat, Brian was killing it and she knew her mother secretly completely agreed, her foot tapping the whole time. Katy's gaze rested for an extra moment on the lead singer, he was clad in a yellow striped sweater and black polka dot sequin jacket, one that she quite rather liked the fit of.

"Kathryn! They're touring America!" the credits began to roll on the screen, listing the various dates of their 1974 American tour dates over an image of her one true friend in her life doing what he loved. "Do you still talk to Brian? You should invite him for dinner, your father would like that, and the drummer can come too?" her mother never joked like this, but Brian always had a special place in her heart for being so kind to her daughter, even when she wasn't.

"Oh Kathryn if you don't go, I will" she remarked when her daughter just continued to stare at the screen, the picture changed to one of the blond drummer.

Katy couldn't help but agree with her, maybe not about the dinner, but she had missed her old friend. They had always kept in touch, the telephone definitely made that easier, but neither of them ever had the money or the time to reconnect in person. Of course, Brian had told her a little about the band he was in, but he was always humble and promised to tell her more when they met in person.

The tickets for their New York show were pricey to say the least, Katy tried a few box offices and a few friends before finally realizing Brian should just meet her somewhere in the city instead. Not knowing how exactly to reach him, she called his mother, Ruth who still lived in that same Hampton neighborhood in London, and, who was more than happy to give her a way to reconnect with Brian.

She pressed her ear nervously to her pink rotary phone as she held it and played with the chord, twirling it around her fingers and walking around her room, for all she knew his agent could answer. On one of the last rings, she finally hear some rustling and a connection.

"'ello?" Now that she thought about it, Katy couldn't remember the last time she had actually had the time to catch up with her friend, but despite this she recognized his voice instantly.

"Brain!" She laughed into the phone, relieved to be hearing his voice and not a stranger's.

"Shady Katy?" he questioned back, on the other end of Katy's line, he was just as excited that this call was from her and not a stranger.

"I've missed you! Are you still studying astrophysics?"

"Not exactly" he laughed "I'm assuming mum gave you this number?"

"She did, and she told me to give you a kiss too"

He groaned, as did she when first prodded by Ruth earlier.

"I'm sorry about that, you know how it is" Katy nodded and laughed, she did.

The two caught up as if nothing had changed except their situation, and that may have been true, although it felt like it had been forever for the both of them since they actually hugged for the last time. Eventually the conversation digressed to Queen's - Katy now knew that as the band that sent her modest friend into riches - tour of America, specifically their New York shows.

"I would love to come Bri, I really would, but I don't have the money right now, what if we meet for drinks?" Brian just laughed, he was rolling his eyes, unsure of how naive his closest childhood friend was truly being.

"Don't worry about that, Katy Shady Lady," she huffed at the dumb nickname, "are you at least free on that night? Oh and, have you made any friends yet?" confused as to how Brian could be free on the night of one of his shows, she answered anyways with a yes to both questions. Besides Brian, and since her transition to New York, she had gained one more close friend, a film student from one of her philosophy classes at school. Jo was always the first to see and most excited by the clothing Katy designed, often volunteering to model. As if anyone could detest anyway, she was beautiful and easily could've made it as an actress in Hollywood as opposed to behind the scenes - what she wanted - she appreciated Katy in a way that even Brian couldn't, she knew her for the new her and encouraged it.

"So it's settled?" Brian asked, tugging her along the joke that she still did not understand.

"What? Where would you like to go for dinner? I mean we could visit my parents but they-" "Katy, I'm sending you three tickets in the mail, make sure that night stays free, yeah?"

She nodded and smiled before realizing he could not see her, and finally accepted his proposition, after having to make sure he was certain he could do that. Sometimes she forgot how wonderful true friends could be, she was just worried she had to find one more to go with her to the concert now.

-

Jo had not stopped talking about how excited she was for the show that night. Actually, she hadn't been able to stop talking about it since Katy invited her, three weeks ago.

"Joey, stop moving for one second before I poke your eye out" she was attempting to coat her friend's brown with a hint of green eyes in a gold liner she had made herself.

"Okay fine but when I'm in Love with My Car comes on you're gonna need to give me a second" her friend looked up at her, her eyes now looking more beautiful than ever, as Katy's record player spinned in her dimly lit room. She didn't own any of their records them but Jo did, and brought her collection over to listen to as they got ready for the concert.

"So, who did you decide to bring tonight?" she ignored Jo's previous statement, mostly because she didn't know the song, and continued to apply glitter to her eyes and eyebrows, grateful that Jo let her experiment so much with her looks. Katy had also let her choose the third person to bring, as she had many more friends than Katy did and she honestly didn't quite care, whoever she chose always ended up being someone unique.

"Oh, um," Jo blushed and looked away, it wasn't usual that Katy saw her like this, flustered.

"Well, her name is Michelle, you know Michelle, and um, she's in my film class, she's really pretty and offered to be in my next video, she's really nice, you're going to love her, I promise" Katy just smiled, she could tell Jo was nervous but anyone Jo liked, Katy would be more than happy to meet.

"Done!" she took Jo over to her mirror to show her the final look. She was beautiful, as always of course, Katy couldn't help but stare. She was much taller, with curly brown hair and the ability to pull off any look. Tonight it was a white long gown that made her into a goddess, one of Katy's earlier and simpler pieces, the city was going to be too cold for anything too experimental.

She then quickly did her own makeup, light green eyeshadow tonight and big wings, something reminiscent of the 1950s but with more spunk,

"A 50s housewife gone wrong" she remarked to Jo. That was basically her brand, nostalgia with a burst of New Age.

"I love it" Jo smiled, admiring her friend's brave and bold approaches.

They met Michelle at the venue, it wasn't exactly Madison Square Garden, but it was much bigger than Katy expected. Michelle was taller than Jo, lean and tan with curly hair and bright eyes, when she spotted them, she ran up to Jo and smiled, kissing her on the cheek and grabbing her hand. Katy watched them, Jo laughing, introducing the two most important people in her life to each other. She never explicitly said anything to Katy about her love life, but they both knew Katy knew, only Jo did not realize how happy and intrigued it made Katy feel to know, and to fully accept.

"Brian and I want to see each other before the show, is that okay?"

"Is that okay" Jo laughed "of course it's fucking okay I've been waiting to meet Roger Taylor for my entire goddamn life" Michelle nodded her head in agreement, she complimented Jo's dress, and Katy's work. It was clear she was hiding her excitement in order to appear calm, something Jo could see right through. They put their backstage passes on and suddenly felt like they were being treated differently. Katy couldn't tell if a fan with long blonde hair was staring at her in jealousy or something else, she ignored it as she waited for Jo to figure out where exactly they were going.

"This way!" she motioned for her two friends to follow her, Jo was fine with always have to be the one to ask the questions, it was a task she had learned to love.

It was as if they went through one door and their whole perspectives changed. Suddenly they were backstage, people running around them, some holding water, cameras, extra drumsticks, Katy didn't know where to look until Michelle just pointed. All the way in the back corner, was a van with the Queen logo poorly drawn and even more poorly taped to the door. A wave of excitement overcame Katy as she quickly made her way over, with her friends unsurely trailing behind.

She knocked on the door, nervous at the sudden realization that a different bandmate might answer. She heard yelling from inside the tiny silver van. Some of it was definitely music, but she didn't think the sound of glass breaking and a sudden "DEAKY LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE" were from any record. Just then, she saw someone else peak through the blinds on the truck window right next to the door. She thought it could be Brian, the man was wearing aviators and only peaked his eyes through so she really couldn't tell, but he didn't seem to recognize her, and actually looked slightly annoyed to see her.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Katy was face to face with her childhood friend, she hadn't seen him in over a decade. She ran into her best friend's arms and heard a faint squeal she knew could only belong to Jo from behind her.

Brian, also enveloped in this hug, was trying to ignore the loud complaining of his bandmate who was audible although he was still fully inside the van.

"Roger, how many times do I have to say it to you darling! I just simply will not go on stage without my eyes done, now where the hell is is Debbie?! I can do it myself she just has my makeup"

"Sorry about them, blueberry" Brian mocked her good naturedly, "can I meet your new friends?"

The blinds on the car window were suddenly pulled up, revealing an impatient yet attractive man with long hair and bangs, the aviators now clipped to his robe, looking for someone. It caused Brian to shoot an annoyed glance, he hoped Freddie would get a grip on his damn temper or Debbie, their formal makeup artist - who Freddie often spoke poorly of due to her "dullness"- would show up to her only job.

Jo took that opportunity to cough loudly and grab an equally excited Michelle's hand "Yeah Katy, please introduce us to your friend, please" she said in a smiling tone, waving to Brian, whose attitude changed to excitement as he waved back and walked over.

But Katy's eyes were still on the window where the lead singer of her friend's band was looking out from moments ago. She hoped he would walk by again, and heard he was looking for makeup.

"Roger!" From inside the car, Freddie's tone had suddenly changed completely. He did not expect to see such a unique looking person outside his truck, when he was wearing nothing at all besides a robe. "Roger!" he snapped, trying to get the attention of his friend, suddenly aware of how loud he was being before.

"What, Fred?" he looked up from brushing his hair in the mirror.

"Who is the girl Brian is talking to" Freddie mouthed to Roger, he did not want them to hear him and had honestly no idea how loud he was being at any given moment.

"Oh come on Freddie you know I can't read your lips" Roger retorted, a smile at the edge of his mouth. Freddie just rolled his eyes and walked over to him, any thoughts of Debbie temporarily disappearing from his concerns.

"Brian's childhood friend, she moved in primary school and they haven't seen each other since" John piped in, a little offended that Freddie went to Roger before him.

"Are she and Brian..." Freddie trailed off, trying to look out the window without being seen, when instead he caught a glimpse of two other girls, holding hands, he smiled softly.

"I just told you, they haven't seen each other since primary school Fred, no one was sleeping around in primary school, ya fool" Freddie rolled his eyes, secretly embarrassed at the mistake. "Maybe you weren't sleeping around Deaky, but I was" he winked, saving himself from any further questions when John rolled his eyes.

There was a knock on the door.

Freddie shot Roger a glance, who shot John a glance, who looked out the window.

"It's the girl" John mouthed.

Sometimes, Freddie really didn't know what took him over. He tied up his robe, for the most part, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Bri" he said, holding eye contact with Katy whilst drawing the attention of Brian, who was still talking to Jo and Michelle, more Jo, about the embarrassing things Katy liked to do (such as being irrationally scared of elevators, and lack of knowledge when it came to rock and roll) whose face quickly turned into a mixture of anger and confusion when he saw Freddie talking to his friend.

"Who is this beautiful pixie? Can I keep her?" he winked. John was the one to laugh from inside this time, Freddie sure could act. Katy blushed, even harder after she heard Jo scream

"That's Katy! She loves your style!" and then shoot her a thumbs up, Katy's eyes widened. She was obviously angry that Jo had exposed her like that, but she couldn't deny it, his fashion sense was something else.

"Well Kate, it's a pleasure to meet you" he took her hand in his and kissed it, she admired his black nail polish. "And, I call this look" he referred to his maroon silk robe "my birthday suit, I can show you the whole thing sometime if you'd like"

"Freddie I swear I will hit you right now I don't care if we have to cancel the show"

"Don't worry Bri, I'm only teasing" he matched Katy's eyes again and winked.

"I like to call him Galileo" the first words Katy could muster up the courage to say to who felt like a god in front of her.

Brian just sighed and walked over.

"Katy likes to think she's clever, Galileo was the astronomer who discovered Jupiter's moons-" Brian shot her a fake annoyed look, he secretly quite liked the nickname but if he told her that, she'd stop.

"Oh no, don't worry, I get it, it's because you were going to be a nerd before I saved that arse" Freddie interrupted, earning a laugh from Katy (what he wanted) and a glare from Brian (a problem he will have to deal with later).

"Anyways" Freddie continued, smiling at his success, "why'd you knock? Galileo's out here talking to...." it was clear he wanted an introduction, but Michelle and Jo were caught up in their own conversation and couldn't hear him. "My friends, Jo and Michelle" Katy smiled, happy to see Jo happy.

"I knocked, because I accidentally overheard that you couldn't find your makeup" she started

"Don't worry about it, if you're near Freddie you might find yourself accidentally hearing a lot of things" Brian interrupted, he was the one smiling this time, and Freddie glared before realizing what she had just said to him.

"You have makeup?" he asked, hopeful, and surprised by the kindness and accepting nature of this practical stranger, but anyone who Brian loved, must be good, Freddie rationalized.

She nodded, "I did Michelle's on the way here" pointing to her, before actually looking over to see her and Jo holding hands. Katy and Freddie both stayed silent for a second. Caught up in their own thoughts.

"Well, dear" Freddie finally coughed "if you wouldn't mind me borrowing it, Debbie - our makeup artist - is an absolute bore, nothing like you darling, and she's also very late" Katy didn't know what to do with all of this flirtation, she herself had never been so entranced by a boy and he was actually receptive to it.

She couldn't help but watch him apply the dark shadow to his water line and eyelids, she had made her way fully inside the van by now, and looked around. It was nothing too fancy at all, if anything, it needed a good wash. There was a broken beer bottle on the floor that John, Brian's friend and bassist was currently cleaning up, and Roger made his way outside to talk to an internally freaking out Jo.

When she looked back to Freddie he was already staring at her.

"Did you design that dress?" He asked, his gaze suddenly making her nervous.

"I did, the first attempt took me all night and was a slightly different pattern but my parents threw that one out, they aren't the biggest patrons of my art. This one isn't as nice but I-"

"You look absolutely stunning, I meant it when I said like a pixie, some woodland fairy, that is what you are" Katy blushed, she appreciated his odd compliment.

"Freddie you better not be high right now, we've got a show to play in - shit in ten bloody minutes" John suddenly realized the time and hurriedly began to gather his things.

"Don't worry darling, we are performers, they can wait a minute, maybe they'll get all hot and heavy. Are you watching tonight?" he spoke from John to Katy, while having his back to them, watching through the mirror as he tried to multi task by also changing into his leather outfit, makeup finished and looking lovely. Katy tried her best not to stare but found it hard, she almost wanted to reply with "I'm watching right now" but she lacked the witty confidence she so admired in the man in front of her.

"Of course, I'm excited to see Brian" she decided to say instead, feeding into the game it was clear that Freddie liked to play.

"And are you excited to see me?" he turned around, locking eyes with her, dressed to a tee.

"I just met you" 

CHAPTER TWO

AN: Hi guys!! Thank you so much for reading so far! I have pre written the next few chapters so they will be up soon! Don't forget to like if you enjoyed it, I am so excited to be writing this fic. ~June :) 

[notsoguiltykpop]

Champion pt4

Jungkook x Reader

Racecar driver / street racer au

Genre: Romance, suspense, fluff, slightly smutty later on in the story

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Part 6,  Part 7 coming soon

Synopsis: You might have gotten your start on the street, but you’ve always had bigger plans. With a new sponsor backing you, you’re all set to work your way up in the motorsport world and make it big.Your dream is to take down Jeon Jungkook, who is currently one of the best drivers in the sport. He doesn’t quite know how he feels about this rookie winning all the races and getting all the attention, but it reminds him why he’s racing in the first place–to be nothing but the best, and leave everyone else in the dust.Things get complicated when he falls head over heels for the competition.

Previously posted on my AO3 (2018-03-26) but decided to post it here as well!

"Congratulations ," Hoseok deadpanned, slamming his phone down in front of you so you had little choice but to look at the screen. After the race, you and your small crew ended up at Taehyung's house for a celebratory party. It sounded fun at first, but Hoseok was so irritated with you that no one wanted to be in the same room as him, so Jimin and Taehyung ended up playing the Wii while you ate chips and watched them from the kitchen bar. "After only two races--I repeat, two--you have already made an enemy of the most influential driver out there."

"It's good for publicity?" You tried, and Hoseok fixed you with a cold stare. You weren't sure what you could say to make your sponsor feel better, and stalled by clearing your throat and reaching for your glass of water. The article that was open on his phone described the "beef" you apparently had with Jungkook. "It's a competitive sport, Hoseok. What was I supposed to do? What I told that Yoongi guy is true--and it's not like I'm the only driver who's hoping to beat him."

Hoseok scoffed in annoyance. “Maybe so, but other people know better than to start unnecessary drama and to keep their heads down. So what now? When you race against him and lose, what happens then? Everyone says 'told you so' and forgets about you, that's what."

You were taken aback by the bitterness in Hoseok's voice and frowned. It was true that you didn't fully think through what you wrote down earlier, but Hoseok was making it out to be much too big of a deal. So you got a little carried away--what was he expecting? Hoseok threw you into an interview without any warning whatsoever, and on top of that there was the issue of Jungkook quitting without you getting the opportunity to race against him. All things considered, it went pretty well.

"Whoa, breathe," You held up a hand in defense. "What happened to all that faith you have in me? I'd win against Jungkook... Probably," You muttered the last part, shaking your head quickly and changing the subject. "It'll all blow over, anyway. Don't forget that I'm still a nobody--people will forget anything happened by tomorrow. Don't worry so much."

"Hey," Taehyung called, wandering into the kitchen. It was only then that you noticed the sounds of mario cart had come to an abrupt halt. Jimin trailed after Taehyung, giving you a look you couldn't quite decipher.

"What?" Hoseok asked, running a hand down his face. He sounded tired, as though this one day with you had aged him by years.

"This might be a bad time," Taehyung said, looking between the two of you. "But, uh... Jungkook's agent made an official statement in response."

You smiled nervously as Hoseok turned to face you. "Maybe he's defusing the situation?"

Taehyung shook his head, grinning. He was the only one who was truly happy with what you said in your interview, and was even happier about the articles. "I think he just accepted Y/n's challenge."

Jungkook, in his attempt at being inconspicuous, somehow managed to make himself stand out even more than he would have if he'd just worn normal clothes. He spent a little longer than he'd care to admit trying to pick out an outfit, only to remember that it would be awkward for him to be recognized while the two of you chatted. So he ended up wearing an oversized sweater with the hood pulled up over a baseball cap that was pulled down to cover his eyes. It was only after he sat down in a corner of the coffee shop that he realized just how out of place he looked. The hot weather had everyone else was wearing shorts and sandals, and he sunk lower in his chair.

He wondered briefly if there was time to go home and change, but a quick glance at his phone told him otherwise. He internally groaned--he was quite literally overdressed. He grateful for the distraction of his phone going off, and couldn’t quite help his smile when he saw who it was from.

[12:35] “Runing late b thr soon.”

Maybe the butterflies he felt were because he hadn’t really gone on a date in so long, or maybe it was because he really did like you thatmuch, he wasn’t sure. What he did know was that talking to you was strangely refreshing. There was a glint in your eyes, sort of like you were in on a joke that he wasn’t, and he was dying to get to know what it was. In all of your short conversations through text, you steered clear of topics concerning yourself. You dodged direct questions expertly and changed the subject so smoothly it was only later that Jungkook noticed that he didn’t really get an answer.

You were a bit of an enigma, which only made Jungkook want to know you more.

His phone buzzed again, and he pulled it back out of his pocket eagerly, only to have his smile drop completely a moment later.

Seokjin’s text was simple and to the point; 

[12: 39] “We need to talk. Call me.”

Jungkook closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. Seokjin meant well, and up until roughly a year ago, Jungkook would have called his manager one of his closest friends. But when Jungkook lost his motivation and first started talking about quitting, the elder couldn’t understand it--Jungkook had everything going for him, after all--and the disconnect drove a wedge between them. As a result, their recent conversations were quick, curt, and generally unpleasant.

Jungkook was pulled from his thoughts by someone sitting down across from him, bumping the table slightly. He opened his eyes to see you sending him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, car trouble,” You said with a sigh, rather than greet him properly. “Had to borrow my roommate’s, and he wasn’t too happy about it.” In fact, Jimin didn’t have much of a say in the matter. After realizing your car wasn’t going anywhere, you took his keys and shouted that you were “borrowing” his car as you went.

“You should have called me, I would’ve picked you up,” Jungkook smiled, and there was that little blush again.

“No! I mean, it’s fine,” You sounded slightly panicked at first, but laughed it off the next second. Hoseok occasionally just showed up at your house to chat, and the last thing you needed was him seeing Jungkook’s Maserati in your driveway--especially while he was still unhappy with you. “Jimin didn’t have plans for today, anyway.”

“Oh, that’s good, then,” Jungkook nodded, biting his lip. You realized you’d somehow made the conversation awkward, and were trying to think of something to say when Jungkook did for you. “So uh, do you know what’s wrong with your car? I know a little about them, maybe I can help…” He muttered the last bit, as though he was regretting mentioning it.

“I would think you’d know at least a little about cars,” You laughed. “You only drive one for a living…” You glanced at him briefly to gauge his reaction, making sure he hadn’t taken offense at your sarcasm. He only chuckled though, ducking his head in agreement. “There’s nothing really wrong with my car, it just doesn’t have wheels at the moment.” Jungkook looked confused, and you figured you should elaborate. “My roommate’s a mechanic and decided today was a good day to replace my shocks without telling me.”

You were sure he did it on purpose. Jimin couldn’t tell you what to do or who not to date, but he could make your life a little harder if he wanted to. Plus, you couldn’t really be that mad at him because he was doing you a favor.

Jungkook’s mouth formed an “oh” shape and he nodded again. You decided it was time to steer the conversation away from yourself, in case you let something slip that you shouldn’t.

“How’s your week been?” You asked, unable to think of something better to say. You hated small talk--it was pointless and had a habit of dragging on endlessly--but the fact was you didn’t know Jungkook quite well enough to avoid it yet.

“Odd,” Jungkook said after a second of thought. “I genuinely can’t tell if you follow racing or not--” You laughed a little at that. “--but you know Hoseok, right? His driver’s lost his mind, apparently. Thinks he’s better than me because he won one race,” Jungkook seemed quite amused by this. Part of you wanted to point out that it wasn’t really one race, you were the best street racer out there before making it to the track. Your confidence did have ground in something, at least. But you could say no such thing, for so many reasons.

“I did hear something about that,” You nodded. “I think it’s good Hoseok’s driver has so much faith in their abilities.”

“He’s getting ahead of himself--he’s only ever been in two races, and he thinks he stands a chance against me? Poor kid’s setting himself up for failure,” Jungkook shrugged, and you realized he’d slipped back into the cocky overconfident persona you originally met. You still weren’t sure which one was really him; shy and cute, or obnoxious and bold, but you were increasingly curious.

“You sound pretty sure of yourself,” You raised an eyebrow.

“I have every reason to be,” Jungkook smirked.

“So you’re actually going to take him up on the challenge?” You asked, trying not to seem too eager to hear his answer. The official statement Seokjin made was vague, and while at first you were sure it meant he would race you, the more you thought about it, the less likely it seemed.

“Why not? I’ve got nothing to lose,” Jungkook’s smile widened, and you couldn’t help your own competitive streak rising in you.

“He might win, though,” You pointed out.

“Unlikely,” Jungkook countered. “I’ll admit he has talent, but he’s still new to this. Yesterday's win was a fluke.”

“How do you know?” You said before you could stop yourself. “I mean, you don’t know anything about him, right? Maybe he has more experience than you think.”

Jungkook tilted his head to one side. “You and Hoseok are pretty close, right? Do you know his driver?”

You regretted your words instantly. You’d said too much. “We’ve met. Why?”

“You almost sound like you think he stands a chance against me.”

You shrugged. “Maybe I do.”

Jungkook couldn’t help but laugh a little. This whole conversation was ridiculous. Since when did he feel so competitive just talking about some rookie-nobody? “Who knows, maybe you’re right.” He bit his lip, trying to think of the right words.

“I am,” You said casually, a slight smirk on your lips.

Jimin was none too happy when you returned his car that evening, but he thankfully didn’t take revenge out on you by telling Hoseok.

“You’re not seeing him again though, right?” He asked, and you shrugged noncommittally. You knew you probably shouldn’t, but after spending the afternoon with Jungkook, you didn’t really care about what you should and shouldn’t do. The playful banter had continued for the majority of the date, and you weren’t sure when the last time was that you felt so at ease with someone (other than Jimin; he didn’t count).

The fact was you liked Jungkook--liked his competitiveness, the cute way his ears turned pink when he got shy, and the way his nose scrunched when he laughed. But Jimin had a good point when he had asked you what would happen when Jungkook found out you were lying to him. You knew if you wanted a chance at something with Jungkook, you would have to tell him who you were sooner rather than later, and that simply wasn’t an option.

Jimin must have seen the conflict in your eyes, because he actually let the subject drop. The next time Jungkook came up in any conversations, it was two weeks later, after your fourth race.

Just like the time before, as soon as the photo-op with you and your first-place trophy was over, Hoseok lead you away from the crowd and into a back meeting room. (You had no idea how he managed to get permission to use these rooms, every time you asked he just shrugged.) The race itself passed in the usual blur, save for the moment you were nearly involved in a wreck. The car ahead of you miscalculated a turn, and the next thing anyone knew, they were off the track. You avoided getting hit by the other car only narrowly, but kept driving just like everyone else.

“That was good,” Hoseok said after the door shut behind Taehyung. Your whole crew was grinning ear-to-ear, and you felt pretty great yourself.

“Hell yeah it was,” You agreed as you pulled your helmet off.

“You’re on a roll,” Taehyung slapped you on the back, taking the first place trophy from you to admire it for himself. You shrugged, and he rolled his eyes at how calm you were acting. “Winning three times in a row is pretty damn impressive.”

Hoseok walked over to you and pressed a bottle of water into your hands. He was significantly less outwardly excited than the others in the room, but you knew him well enough to see that he too was thrilled.

“Drink this,” He said firmly. “And then get back out there. Yoongi wants to do a follow-up interview, and there are a few others who want to talk to you as well. Do me a favor and don’t start anything this time, yeah?”

You nodded, pouring the water on your face instead of drinking it; the jumpsuit got way too hot, and that in combination with wearing the helmet for so long left you feeling overheated.

“Oh, that’s just lovely,” Hoseok said dryly, watching you as his lip curled in disdain. “You’re getting water all over the carpet--”

You interrupted him by flinging some of the water in his direction, laughing as he jumped out of the way. Before he could scold you, Taehyung joined in, opening his own water to pour on Hoseok from behind.

“Loosen up!” He said as Hoseok let out a startled yelp. “You’re no fun!”

You glanced over at Jimin, who was sitting off to one side laughing at the scene in front of him. “You’re a bunch of children,” He chuckled.

“That is enough!” Hoseok announced, trying to wrestle the bottle away from Taehyung. Before he succeeded however, someone knocked on the door.

“That’ll be Yoongi,” Hoseok said, letting go of Taehyung’s arm and trying to fix his own hair quickly. You sighed, not looking forward to putting the helmet back on so soon.

“I’ll stall,” Jimin stood, slipping out the door quickly. Taehyung was still smiling brightly, and even Hoseok didn’t seem nearly as annoyed as he was trying to act.

“I meant it when I said don’t start anything--And don’t let Yoongi get to you. He likes getting a reaction out of people, so just stay calm and ignore him, okay?” Hoseok said as Jimin stepped back into the room.

“It uh… Isn’t the reporter guy. Kim Seokjin’s out here and wants to talk to Y/n.”

“So you’re going to keep that… thing… on?” Seokjin asked, leaning against the wall opposite to you, arms crossed. You nodded once, wishing your visor wasn’t quite so dark. The hallway you were in wasn’t exactly bright as it was, but adding the tinted glass made it hard for you to see properly. “God, you’re weird.” He muttered, and you nodded again.

A moment of silence passed between you, and Seokjin shifted slightly. “You really don’t talk, huh? Fine, it doesn’t matter. Look, I’m here to give you a chance to end this thing you’ve started with Jungkook before it gets out of hand.”

You wanted to ask why, but could only shrug.

“You’re new to this sort of thing, so maybe you don’t understand that by challenging Jungkook, you’re putting your career on the line. Once he wins, people will forget about you.”

“I assure you, my driver knows what he’s doing,” Hoseok chimed in, stepping into the hall behind you. You nodded, and Seokjin sighed.

“Good,” He said, pulling out his phone to type as he spoke. “Because Jungkook’s about to announce that the two of you will be in the same race in four months time, and he plans to win.” He didn’t wait for a response, turning to walk away and waving absentmindedly over his shoulder.

“Hang on,” Hoseok looked just as surprised as you felt, jogging to catch up with the other man. “Last I heard, Jeon wasn’t in any of the same races--”

“Right,” Seokjin looked up at his phone. “That was before this kid decided to remind Jungkook how much he enjoys crushing the competition.”