#Lucy is the one with better chances of sticking around and they gave her the objectively bad for relationship introduction

[lover-of-mine]

I think Lucy is the biggest proof of the way the show keeps introducing love interests for Buck who are just left of what could work from the get-go. Because since Lucy is a firefighter too, it is really easy to make her exist for us outside of Buck, which means she would have better chances of sticking around and not fall victim of us being biased towards Buck at all times just because he's the only one we care about in the mix, but since it starts with the drunk kissing and the cheating, it bothers the general audience just enough for us not to think it could work.

[synestheticwanderings]

happy talk shop tuesday!!! ( ˘⌣˘)♡(˘⌣˘ ) what's a specific scene or line from a story you posted recently that you're really proud of? give us the director's cut on what you liked most about it!

So I’m on a retreat, but I saw this come through when I had a spot of internet and couldn’t stop thinking about it so I opened my Notes app and here we are. I rarely use Notes and to my surprise, I found my seedling notes about Road to Hell from last August which, wow. Apologies for the literal essay that follows.

The first act and intermission came pretty easily, but I really struggled with the second act and the ending, and I was scared I was going to drop the ball. Thankfully, I’m really proud of how the back half turned out, and I think it ended up being stronger than the first, also a lot more hopeful than I initially envisioned.

There are a couple scenes that come to mind, but the hardest to write were actually the parts of the myth that people know best: Orpheus sung a song so beautiful that Hades gave him a chance and then, of course, Orpheus failed and Eurydice was condemned to the underworld. I was obviously always going to stick to those plot points, but doing it in a way that made sense for the story I was trying to tell and in a unique way was difficult!

The scene that Lucy sings to Ezekiel involved a lot of banging my head against the wall and a lot of whining to @ohmyoverland @justice-for-skull and @hailqiqi. For a while, my outline had this very convoluted tempest happening around her. I think I was trying to replicate the final showdown at the Fittes House in The Empty Grave. It never really worked though; from the beginning, Sto was like, you’ve already established what the song does, just imagine what it does in Hades. My counterpoint was always that the sun wasn’t going to shine down in Hades, flowers were not going to bloom. That was never going to happen, because then why would Jessica have to return to the world above? So I very stubbornly kept the tempest in through the first full drafts.

Finally, Jenny flat out said that she didn’t understand how the tempo fit the larger arc of the story, which was like, well, shit. This is why I have multiple readers: if one person says something doesn’t work, I can ignore it, if two people say it, I have to really consider it (never mind that both of them also told me to cut the cell scene and I rightfully ignored them both and reworked it).

Around the same time, I had started watching Doctor Who again since RTD had taken back over, and I was totally enamored with the new companion, Ruby, and the way she was making it snow everywhere at crucial points throughout the season, and spectacularly with the Maestro. There were also a couple of other reasons for the snow: I really liked this idea of hell freezing over, but I also was drawn to what happens in New York City when there’s real snow, how it blankets over everything and how quiet it gets. I was drawn to the idea of this hush in a place usually really cacophonous, and so I ran with it.

It ended up working a lot better. It allowed Ezekiel and Jessica to come to a more natural reconciliation, which in turn softens the gods towards the mortals. Despite everything that follows, it gave the story a much needed pause and space to breathe.

Anyway, that’s the director’s cut for Lucy singing to Ezekiel 🤣 if you read all of this, thanks 💙💙💙

[stahl-herz]

When James met Lucy

The feeling of the sun was nice on his face, even if the sun only warmed his hair and forehead. He debated for a few seconds at the very stupid idea, before he took off his mask. The acrid smell of burnt rubber, ash, rotting flesh and other harsh chemicals in the air filled his nose. But once his nose got used to unpleasant air, he could smell and almost feel the grit of dirt in his teeth and a hint of the salty air of the sea on the wind. Yes, somehow with the horrid weather and being inland, he could still smell the sea. He would wonder the logic of it, but just like when the air turned to ash and hell itself opened its gates to let the devil’s pets out- He’d stopped questioning such things.

Especially since he’s the one that chose to stay in Australia when he had the chance to leave! It’s… been how long since then? He first had the chance to leave when he was… 15? So by his horrible mental math calculations, that would be around 365 years? He would’ve taken the job too, but his mom couldn’t come with him. And the less he thought about how his mom fared ‘fresh off the boat’, as she served her sentence the better.

His crutch caught on a rock and all thoughts of reminiscing about the horrible early days of ‘modern’ Australian history had to be put to rest. He regained his footing and stopped to just breath-

Why was it hard to breath?

He reached up to cover his mouth and-

Ah. His mask was still down. That’s why he’s having a hard time of breathing. The laugh at his own thoughtlessness was cut off by a coughing fit. After he got the fit under control, the mask came back on.

He managed to hobble his way to a nearby river- God, he didn’t know why he thought a walk would make the restlessness in his bones go away. The fact that his right leg was as useful as a block of wood right now should’ve made that obvious! But, as with this whole past week, his brain seemed to refuse to use logic. Maybe he should’ve taken that pain medicine-

No.

He deserved this. He didn’t have to ask Signe or god forbid, Eleanor to know that he deserved to be in pain right now. He-

He had to wipe the ash from his goggles and adjust his grip on the crutch before he could continue his walk. The sparkle of the sun off the water greeted him and for the first time since this whole mess started he felt some of the weight melt from his shoulders. There’s always been something about sitting by a river that made all his worries melt away. He slowly lowers to the ground when movement caught the corner of his eye.

He turned to see-

A baby crocodile. Its’ body from snout to tail was barely as long as his arm.

“Hey there, Sheila. Where’s your ma?” He pulled down his goggles and glanced around to see if he could spot the little tyke’s mom. After he made sure he couldn’t see a ‘log’ in the water, he gave a relieved laugh.

“Are you having a bad day too? Did you get lost?”

He knew that a crocodile, much less a baby crocodile wouldn’t understand his questions. But he couldn’t help but talk and smile to most animals he met… Unless they were trying to eat him, of course.

The baby crocodile blinks up at him.

“My leg got injured in- Well, it got injured and it’s been driving me up the wall. It’s as a good a stump of wood with how it’s working. But I should be up to a proper walkabout soon! I just needed to get some air.” He ignored the irony of needing to go outside the DOME for air.

Was it his imagination, or was baby croc getting closer to him? He should probably leave. Didn’t want to stick around for when it’s ma arrived.

“Well, I’ve got to go. See you hopefully never again, ya little ankle biter!” He slowly got up and headed towards the dome.

The thought of food compelled him to walk faster, but he resisted the temptation. Just because he felt like he was going to go feral if he didn’t have food right now-

A sound behind him made him pause. A very familiar sound. One that he’d heard many people joke that was more the sound of a ‘ray guy’ than the rumble of an engine it’d grow into. He didn’t want to, but he was compelled to turn around to see why in name of all things holy was that baby croc making noises?

He had expected many things to greet his eyes, but he never thought he’d see this??? The baby croc??? Was trying to follow him???

What.

“Hey, bugger off! You can’t follow me home!” It just.. continues to stare at him as he tries to shoo it away!

“What- Why are you just staring at me? Go on!” He tries to use the crutch to shower the baby with some dirt in the hopes that it’ll scare it off. Besides some skittering to the side, nothing! “Go back into the water!” He sighed as those eyes just.. continued to stare at him. “Here, I’ll help you.” He slowly picks up the baby croc and walks back to the river.

He manages to dump the baby onto the riverbank and can’t help but stop to stare at its… Big... Pleading eyes. He shook himself out of whatever that was and tried put on his sternest expression.

“Now go on! Get outta my sight! I can’t take you home!” He says in a stern tone.

But the baby, for it truly was a baby, peeps at him (trying to ignore how cute it sounds is very hard!) and crawls up to his boot. He moves his boot out of reach of the baby. But it just. Keeps Trying. To climb onto his boot!

“I can’t keep you!” He meant to pick it up and put it in the water. Which was hard enough with his injured leg such a sorry state. But his crutch proved difficult to move around as well. He managed to pick up the croc and sighed. “Ok, I guess I can keep you in the Servo for today. But,” He looks down at the croc, who is still looking at him with those.. Eyes. “But tomorrow, I’m taking you back to the river!”

Anyone who tries to say he stammered at that last sentence is WRONG.

He makes his way back through the dome and to his house. After some fumbling, he manages to open the door and makes his way to the garage. Some digging around produces an old, but mostly clean fish tank.

Over the course of the next week James realizes that he, in fact, does not plan on putting the croc back into the river. He’s actually grown fond of the little ankle biter and is making plans to properly accommodate her growth spurt. He thinks the name Lucy will suit his new companion just fine. And that this is the start of a wonderful friendship.

Never smile at a crocodile. Not because they’ll bite you, but they’re very lonely creatures. Once one of them thinks you’re its friend, it will follow you EVERYWHERE.

[americasass91]

The Shield and the Sweater

Hello lovelies! This little fic came to me when the lovely, beautiful, talented @stargazingfangirl18​ asked a very important question on her blog. Would you rather be enemies to lovers with Steve Rogers or friends with benefits with Ransom Drysdale. Well my greedy ass wanted both. Thus the birth of this story. I also turned it around a little to make it fit into Siri’s 5k Soft Dark Challenge! I’ve never written anything dark before. Also not sure if this classifies as soft!dark or if it’s more dark. But it’s one of those! If that makes you uncomfortable, then please don’t read it. This is also my first time writing a threesome, so let me know if it sucks! I hope you enjoy it! 😘

General prompts:

8)The town golden boy isn’t as sweet as everyone thinks.

Dialogue prompts:

3)”Oh, honey, you weren’t supposed to see that.”

11)”I’ve waited a long time for this, sweetheart.”

Rating: Explicit(if you’re under 18, please leave)

Words: 6.2k(this one got away from me, sorry)

Warnings: soft!dark/dark themes, unprotected sex, anal sex, vaginal sex, threesome(M/M/F), manipulation, language, model!Ransom being an asshole, Steve not being who you think he is

“And I really think if everyone pitches in to make these changes, it’ll really make a difference in the long run.”

Wow, so this is how you were going to die. In your whole 20 something years of existence, you never thought boredom would be your cause of death.

Sure, you were the lead Accountant at Stark Tower and these monthly meetings were mandatory. But did you really have to be here to listen to Rogers go on and on about how we can ‘improve our working environment’? Why did he even care anyway? He was barely ever here as it is.

You must have been zoning out worse than you thought because next thing you know your coworker, Janet, is poking you in the side and pointing towards Steve.

With a quick glare sent her way, you move your gaze to the Captain. He is giving you the same look he always does. Like he’s disgusted with you. “I’m sorry Miss Y/L/N. Am I boring you?”

A scoff escapes your mouth. “No, not at all Captain Rogers. I just love when people who are never here seem to always have an opinion on how things are run and how they could be better.”

He narrows his eyes at you. “Do you have a problem with me, Y/N? Cause if you do, I’m sure there’s a way to solve that.”

You stand up and match his expression. You lean forward with your hands resting on the table. You can’t help but notice the Captain drops his gaze to your cleavage that’s now on more display than before. But just as quick as it was there, his gaze rises back up to meet your face. “Is that a threat, Captain Rogers?”

“Oh, it’s more than a-“

Tony quickly stands up and claps his hands together. “Okay! Meeting adjourned! You two, come here!”

You quickly straighten yourself up and make your way over to Tony. You always try to make sure you show him as much respect as you can. He’s your boss after all.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark. My emotions got the better of me. It won’t happen again.”

He nods to you. “Thank you, Y/N. I accept your apology. But what I’m not understanding is why Steve here wanted to fire you?”

You both turn to look at Steve who has a sheepish expression on his face. “Yeah, sorry about that, Tony. She just seems to bring out this ugly side of me. I’ll try to keep it more contained next time.” He then moves his gaze to you. “Sorry, Y/N. I promise to be more professional moving forward.”

He makes a quick exit, leaving you shocked that he apologized at all. Ever since you started here almost a year ago now, you’ve been at each other’s throats. It was your fault really.

It was your first week and you were in the break room grabbing some coffee when you overheard a few of your coworkers making fun of Steve for being a virgin. Now, you weren’t sure if it was true but you wanted to fit in so you made your way over to the group and asked if anyone calls him Captain Virgin. That earned you some big laughs. But the laughter died down quickly as Steve entered the room to grab some coffee. Judging by the glare he gave you, he heard what you had called him.

You went straight to Tony after that to apologize. You really didn’t want to get fired. But you wanted to make sure Tony heard the story from you before Steve got the chance to talk to him. To your utter surprise, Tony found the name hilarious and gave you a high five, saying you were going to fit right in.

Well long story short, it’s almost a year later and Steve is still getting called Captain Virgin. Oh but don’t worry, he has names of his own for you. His favorite is Tony’s Pet. For some reason, it really eats at you when he calls you that.

But the one thing you hate the most about Steve?

Is how utterly, hopelessly, and desperately attracted you are to the son of a bitch.

That happened in your second week when you went to use the complimentary gym and saw him beating the shit out of some poor punching bag. Your panties and your workout were definitely ruined after that.

The more you fought with Steve, the more you just wanted him to bend you over any surface and have his way with you.  

It was despicable how horny you were for him. You were pretty sure all he’d have to do is snap his fingers and point to the floor in front of him and you’d happily drop to your knees and take him down your throat.

So that left you leaving work every day in a horny state. You started by taking care of it yourself when you got home. But after a while even that wasn’t cutting it. Then you started bringing home one night stands. But after the 4th disappointing non-orgasm, you gave up and just learned to live with it.

Sure, you could attempt to start being nice to Steve and maybe ask him out. But you were pretty sure he hated you. Plus you have way too much pride to actually do that.

So that leads to now. It’s Friday night and your workday is almost over. You’re inputting the last few numbers from the last expense report in your pile.

You get the last number put in when Janet approaches you. She sits on the corner of your desk. “So, you coming tonight?”

You take your glasses off and lean back in your chair, stretching your arms over your head. “Coming where?”

She rolls her eyes at you. “Oh, come on Y/N! You know we go out almost every Friday night. You never come and you always say you will!”

You start to clear off your desk and put things back in their place. “Yeah well I could. Or I could go home and sit on my ass and do nothing.”

“Well, that explains why it’s looking a bit bigger lately.”

Janet’s jaw drops as she directs her gaze at Steve, who is now standing in front of your desk.

You smirk and lean on your elbows towards him. “You like looking at my ass, Rogers?”

He scoffs. “Well when it takes up that much space, it’s hard not to notice. But here, I came to give you this.”

He hands you what looks to be a 10 page expense report. “Sorry it’s late, I’ve been busy, you know. Saving the world.”

You ungraciously take it from him and throw it in your to-do pile. “That can wait until Monday. I’ve got plans. We’re going to-” you look towards Janet for clarification. “Lavo.” You turn your gaze back to Steve. “Yeah, we’re going to Lavo. So this will wait til Monday if that’s okay with you, sir.”

Steve does his best to move his bag and jacket subtly towards the front of his pants so you won’t notice his growing hard-on. He hates how turned on he gets when you guys get into it. And then you call him sir? Jesus. He clears his throat. “Of course, I'm the one who turned it in at the last minute.”

Janet speaks up quickly. “You could always come with us! It’ll be fun!”

You grin widely at him. “Yeah! You could finally get your cherry popped, Captain Virgin.”

Steve can’t help the blush that covers his cheeks. “Uh, I can assure you my cherry has been popped since the 40’s. But thank you for your concern. And thank you for the invite, Janet. But i think I’ll stay in tonight.” He takes out his phone and sends a quick text before turning around and walking towards the elevators.

Wow. He didn’t even try to retaliate. You shrug your shoulders and grab your purse before standing up. “Alright, I’ll go! But on one condition!”

Janet claps her hands in excitement and starts walking with you towards the elevators. “Sure, anything!”

You press the button for the lobby. “You are going to be my wingwoman. Cause this girl definitely needs to get laid.”

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

Lavo is super packed by the time you guys arrive. Of course you all had to go home and change.

You decided to go with a simple, yet effective, little black dress that showed off just enough to get men’s attention.

Thankfully you are able to score the last table. The waiter comes over and gets everyone’s drink order. You decide to stick with your favorite. You don’t want to get too drunk on the off chance you find someone to take home.

About a half hour into hot office gossip, Lucy, who is sitting across from you, taps your arm. You raise your eyebrows in question towards her.

She subtly nods her head towards the bar. “Okay I’m pretty sure the hottest guy I have ever seen is checking you out.”

You can’t help the smirk that crosses your face. “Yeah? Which one?”

“You can’t miss him. He’s fucking hot. Like no comparison to any of the other dudes sitting up there.”

You glance down at your drink and quickly finish the remainder. You stand up and adjust your dress, pushing up your breasts in the process. “Well, then I guess it’s time for a refill.” You wink and turn to make your way towards the bar.

It doesn’t take long for you to spot him. And boy was Lucy not kidding. He was fucking hot. Brown hair, blue eyes, and a smug smirk that would normally turn you off. But on him it worked. And who even looks that good in a fucking cream colored cable knit?

You go up to the bar, not too close to Mr. Hottie of course, and patiently wait for the bartender.

Hottie McHothot not so subtly moves his gaze up and down your body. He must like what he sees. “Hey honey, have you ever raised chickens?”

Uh. That’s definitely not the first thing you expected to come out of his mouth. You look over at him with confusion on your face. “Uh, no. Why do you ask?”

He just shrugs his shoulders. “Just kinda figured you might. Cause you sure can raise a cock.”

Okay, you’ve definitely never heard that line before. You crack up. You’re pretty sure you even snorted on accident. Once you collect yourself you ask, “Has that line ever worked for you?”

The bartender makes his way over to take your order. After reordering what you had before, you turn towards Hottie and wait for his answer.

“Not sure, my buddy told it to me yesterday so this is the first time I’m using it. Did it work?”

You shrug your shoulders. “I don’t know. It was pretty cheesy.”

“Yeah, maybe. But it got you to laugh. So I’d say mission accomplished. Name’s Ransom. What’s yours, pretty girl?” He holds out his hand for you to shake.

Ransom. Now where have you heard that name before? You accept his hand shake. You can’t help but notice how much bigger his hands are than yours. Jesus. You could already feel your panties getting wet.

“My name’s Y/N. Ransom, that sounds familiar. Do I know you?”

He releases your hand and goes to take a sip of his bourbon. “Well, I guess that depends. Do you read magazines or have you seen the side of the city bus lately?”

You quickly wrack your brain. You don’t read many magazines. But the bus drives by you everyday on your walk to work. Holy shit! That’s it! He’s in his underwear on the side of the bus. You’ve drooled over that picture plenty of times.

“Oh, yeah! I remember now! I’ve seen you on the bus! What’s it an ad for? I can never really get past the almost naked man. A bit distracting on my way to work.”

He smirks as he briefly glances down at your breasts. “I’m glad you know my work. It’s an ad for Calvin Klein. For their new line of men’s briefs. Sorry I’ve been a distraction.” He sends you a wink.

Fuck. He was a model. And a popular one at that if he’s in an ad for Calvin Klein.

“I didn’t say I minded. You can make it up to me you know.” You wink back. Holy shit. Were you really flirting with a model?

“Yeah? Well, how about we get out of here and I’ll show you a fully naked man.”

Okay. Cheesy line number 2. Was that really going to work on you?

Yes.

Yes it was.

“Let me just go grab my purse.”

Drink forgotten, you go back to your table as quickly as you can without looking desperate. “Sorry, girls. But this is where I leave you.”

Janet glances down at her phone. “We haven’t even been here an hour yet! Where are you going?”

You send her a wink. “I’m leaving with that guy! You guys know him! Remember that ad on the side of the bus?”

They all turn their gaze to him. And they all make it very obvious. He just waves and sends them a smirk.

“Holy fucking shit! That’s the new Calvin Klein guy! Oh my god you lucky bitch!”

“Wait! Listen. We’ll let you go on one condition.”

You furrow your brows in confusion. “Okay?”

Janet gives you a naughty smirk. “On Monday I’ll need a report on if they had to stuff his briefs to get that delicious looking bulge or not.”

You give her a naughty smirk of your own. “I can totally do that.”

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

Monday morning you were all smiles as you stepped off the elevator and headed towards your desk. You give Janet a wink as you pass by her. She quickly makes her way over just as you sit down. “Um, excuse me hoe. But is that the same dress you were wearing Friday night?”

You quickly grab the cardigan you always keep in your desk out and put it on and button it up, attempting to look a little more professional. “Maybe.”

Janet opens her mouth in shock. “You stayed the whole weekend with him? You little slut! How was it?”

You turn on your computer and grab for the expense report of Steve’s you left in your to-do pile. Then you turn towards your nosy coworker. “Well, if you must know, yes. I did stay the whole weekend with him. And I’m pretty sure I was in an orgasm-induced coma the whole time. It’s all kind of a rough, sticky, mind-blowing blur.”

“Are you going to see him again?”

You shrug your shoulders as you put in your login information on the computer. “I haven’t decided yet. While the sex was the best I’ve ever had, he’s kind of an ass. Talked about himself and all the famous people he’s hooked up with since becoming a model. I honestly kept initiating sex just to make him shut up.”

She gives you a look like you’re stupid. “I’m not seeing the issue here. So what if he talks about himself a lot? The sex was amazing. You need to lock that down girl.”

You roll your eyes at her. “That’s the thing, Janet. He doesn’t do relationships. He told me so multiple times. Plus I’m pretty sure he was texting another chick in between our ‘sessions’. I suppose if I’m desperate, I’ll get a hold of him.”

“You know you could always just have him on backup for sex. Like a friends with benefits situation.”

“Janet, I’m in my late 20s. I’m too old for that kind of relationship.”

“Exactly, you’re in your late 20s! This is the perfect time for that kind of relationship before you settle down and get married! Have one last final hoorah!”

“I can’t have this conversation before caffeine. I’m going to get coffee. You act like I’m dying soon or something.” You turn to walk away but then remember you were supposed to tell her something. “Oh yeah and by the way. The bulge is definitely not stuffed.”

You give her a wink and then head to the break room for some much needed coffee. When you see who’s in there, you almost contemplate going downstairs to a different break room.

Steve is standing at the counter, preparing his coffee. He turns when he hears you come in and gives you a once over. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

You grab a mug out of the cabinet beside him. “Sorry my appearance isn’t up to your standards today, Rogers. I was a little...busy this weekend.”

He takes a sip of his coffee to make sure it’s right. Then he moves out of your way so you can get to the coffee, but still staying close. “Busy getting run over by a truck? Cause that’s kind of what you look like.”

You pour yourself a generous amount of coffee and take a long sip, letting the bitter liquid slowly make you human. “Yeah, well. I was busy getting fucked all weekend, Rogers. But I know your little innocent mind wouldn’t know what that’s like.”

That wipes the stupid little smirk right off his face. He almost looks pissed. He moves even closer to you. Almost pressing himself right up against you. So close that you can smell his coffee-scented breath. If you were wearing panties, they’d be ruined.

“Not all of us feel the need to sleep around. Some of us are looking for a real connection. Not just a one night stand of meaningless, mediocre sex.”

You press yourself just a little closer to him, his chest now touching yours. “Oh, it was anything but mediocre. Maybe if you actually got some, you’d know what that feels like.”

He leans his head down until his mouth is next to your ear, his left hand now resting on your hip. “You really need to stop insinuating that I’m a virgin sweetheart. If you were nicer to me, I’d show you that I know how to fuck.” With that he backs up and heads out of the break room.

You let out the breath you didn’t realize you’d been holding. Jesus Christ. You swear you almost came.

And if you were nicer to him? Fuck him. He’s not nice to you either. That’s okay. You have someone who can scratch this itch.

You pull out your phone and send a quick text.

To: Fuckboi

You busy tonight? I could really use a release.

The reply came almost immediately.

From: Fuckboi

Didn’t get enough of my cock this weekend huh? I suppose I could make myself available.

You roll your eyes and quickly reply with your address and what time to be over.

The rest of the day passes by slowly. It takes you half the day to enter Steve’s expense report. God he’s descriptive. At least it’s completed. You can’t really say that much for the other Avengers. They usually half assed them and made them barely acceptable.

You are shutting down for the day when Steve approaches your desk. You remove your glasses and look at him expectantly. “Is there something I can help you with, Steve?”

A blush creeps it’s way across his cheeks. “Um, I was actually just wondering if you had time to go over the new expense report forms? They should be a lot easier to fill out.”

You glance down at the clock on your computer. Ransom is going to be at your place in about 20 minutes.“Can we do it tomorrow? I have company that’ll be showing up at my apartment in like 20 minutes.”

His hopeful smile falls. His face is now unreadable. “Would your company happen to be whoever you spent the weekend with?”

Confused, you grab for your purse after getting your computer shut down. “Actually, yes. Should I have asked your permission first?” You attempt a joke to ease the sudden tension.

He pulls out his phone and starts typing furiously. Wow. You weren’t aware he knew how to text. You hear it ping with a reply before he angrily puts it back in his pocket. “Sure, we can do this tomorrow. Wouldn’t want to get in the way of your whoreing around.”

Your jaw drops in surprise. Sure you guys were always throwing jabs at each other. But he’d never said anything like this before. And in such a mean tone.

You round your desk and stand right in front of him. “Fuck you, Steve.”

You hurry towards the elevators before he can see the tears that have welled up. You couldn’t let him know he had that power over you. Asshole. Thank god Ransom was coming over. Hopefully he could fuck what Steve just said right out of your head.

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

You’ve lost count of how many orgasms Ransom has pulled from you with his mouth when there’s a knock on your door.

Ransom looks up at you from his kneeling position on your living room floor. “Did you invite someone else to join us, pretty girl?”

You scoff and push him away so you can stand up. You pull your dress down as you make your way towards the door. “Yeah. I can barely handle just you. I’m pretty sure if we added someone else, I’d actually die.”

You open the door and gasp in surprise. “Steve? What are you doing here?”

He rubs the back of his neck nervously. “Look, I know you probably already have company but I felt really bad about what I said to you earlier today and wanted to apologize.”

You have so many questions. “How did you know where I lived?”

That sheepish smile makes its appearance again. “I may or may not have looked in your employee file.”

You shake your head. “And you felt the need to come all the way here and apologize? Why not just text me?”

“It would only have felt right to me to do it in person. I really am sor-”

You feel a pair of arms wrap around you from behind. “Well, who do we have here? Why is Captain America at your door?”

You turn your head to address Ransom. “He just came by to apologize to me. I think he was just leaving.”

Steve has a disappointed look on his face. “Yeah, I suppose I was.”

“Awe, what a shame. I thought you were gonna ask him to join us, pretty girl.”

Steve’s eyes grow wide at the thought. You quickly speak up. “No, I don’t think he’d be comfortable with that. He’s a little old fashioned.” You give him a sincere smile. You didn't think that was a bad thing.

Steve looks back towards the elevators and then back to you. He clears his throat. “What if I wanted to join you?” Seeing your wide eyed look, he quickly adds, “Only if Y/N would be comfortable with that of course.”

You contemplate what the consequences could be in your head. But then you get distracted when Ransom starts grinding his hard on against your ass. “Come on, pretty girl. Make a decision.”

The next word comes out of your mouth faster than what your brain can process. “Okay.”

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

Now you were standing awkwardly in your bedroom with Steve and Ransom looking at you expectantly.

You’ve never done this before so you’re not sure how this is supposed to go. “So, um. How do we start exactly?”

Ransom smirks and comes up behind you. “I think you should call the shots, pretty girl. If you’re okay with that, Steve?”

With the mention of his name, he walks towards you and places his hands on your hips. “I think that’s a great idea. Can I kiss you now?” He places his hand under your chin and raises your face up to meet his. “I’ve waited a long time for this, sweetheart.” With that, his lips meet yours. It’s explosive. You quickly wrap your hands around his neck and press yourself up against him.

You get so lost in the kiss, you forget that Ransom is there. That is until he presses his lips against your neck and presses himself against your ass. It presses you even further against Steve, making you feel his excitement against your lower belly.

You’re so overwhelmed already and you’d barely started. You may not survive this evening.

As you move your hands down to remove Steve’s shirt, Ransom is unzipping your dress, pressing kisses to every inch of exposed skin.

Without breaking the kiss, Steve moves his hands around to unhook your bra so he can get his hands on your breasts. He pinches your nipples, causing you to moan into his mouth. He moves his lips to your neck, sucking on your pulse point.

After successfully removing your dress, Ransom stands back up and turns your head to connect your lips. He starts rutting his clothed hard on against your naked ass. His left hand reaches around to bat one of Steve’s away so he can squeeze your breast.

Steve takes the hand that had been swatted away and moves it down to your soaking wet core. He starts lightly circling your clit. Just enough pressure to make you mewl.

You reach behind you with your left hand and tug at the waistband of Ransom’s briefs. “Off.” You moan out as you take your right hand and start attempting to take off Steve’s jeans. He smirks into your neck and helps you out. He barely gets them unbuttoned and unzipped before you’re reaching your hand into them and his boxers to grab his cock. It feels big.

Ransom grabs your left hand and places it on his now free cock. You wrap your hand around it and give it a squeeze before you start pumping your hand up and down. You do the same to Steve’s, making the both of them let out grunts against both sides of your neck. Steve increases the pressure on your clit a little. Still not enough.

“Nee-need, you. Please.” You weakly moan out. Ransom moves his mouth up to your ear. “How do you want us, pretty girl?”

You reluctantly pull away from both of them so you can think. You decide to be greedy. You point to Steve. “I want you to lay on the bed, please.”

He does as you ask. Putting his hands behind his head as he awaits further instructions.

You get on the bed and straddle him. You turn around and reach your arm out for Ransom. “Want you behind me.” You lean over and open your bedside drawer to grab the lube and toss it at Ransom. He smirks as he straddles Steve’s legs and gets behind you. He uncaps the lube and starts coating his cock with a generous amount. “Need my cock in that ass, pretty girl?”

You hold up your hand. “Wait.” You lean down towards Steve and give him a quick kiss. “Are you okay with this?”

He nods his head. “As long as you are.” You raise back up and smile at him. You turn your head and look at Ransom. “I’m assuming you're okay with this?”

He just smirks and squeezes some lube out so that it slides down the crack of your ass. “More than okay, pretty girl. Need me to stretch you out first?”

You smirk and pull him in for a quick, filthy kiss. “I think it got plenty stretched out this weekend.”

He matches your smirk. “You little slut. Wanting both of our cocks stuffing you full.”

You whimper as he lands a smack on your ass. Leaning up on your knees, you grab a hold of Steve’s cock and start running his tip up and down your folds. He places his left hand on your right hip and his right hand on your left thigh. “Condom?”

You quickly shake your head and pause your actions. “On the pill. Unless of course you’d be more comfortable with one.”

He shakes his head. “No, just making sure.”

You turn back to Ransom. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you.”

He nods and places his hands on your shoulders, waiting somewhat patiently.

You slowly sink down on Steve’s cock. He’s stretching you out so deliciously. It burns in just the right way. Ransom may be longer, but Steve is definitely thicker.

After you get fully seated on him, you take a minute to adjust. It only takes a few seconds. You turn your head towards Ransom. “Okay, I’m ready.”

He removes his right hand from your shoulder and grabs the base of his cock and starts pressing against the tight ring of muscle. He’d been in there a lot over the weekend. But it was still a tight fit regardless. He doesn’t go as slow and sheaths himself to the hilt, causing you to moan out in slight pain and pleasure.

Holy fuck. You feel so full. You think you might die. That is until Ransom removes his cock until just the tip remains and then forcefully thrust back in, causing you to grind on Steve’s dick.

Steve grunts out from the movement and starts thrusting up into you the best he can from his position. Ransom wraps his left arm around you and continues his thrusts, not letting up his pace. You don’t even really have to move, the both of them doing it for you. They somehow find the perfect rhythm. Each of them pulling out and pushing in at the same time. One of your hands is behind you, resting on the back of Ransom’s head while the other is resting on Steve’s chest.

Steve sits up suddenly and pulls you in for a kiss. “Like being stuffed with both of our cocks, pretty girl?” You hear from behind you. “Yes. So good. So full. Gonna cum.”

Ransom removes his arm from around you and reaches down and starts circling your clit. “Do it. Cum all over us. Make a mess.”

Steve can feel you squeezing him. “Please, sweetheart. Need to feel you cum on my cock. You’re gripping me so good.”

You explode. You clamp your eyes shut, seeing stars behind your eyelids. You let the both of them fuck you through it.

Ransom’s hips stutter. The fluttering around his cock is too good. He cums with a shout of your name, filling up your ass to the brim. He gives you a few more thrusts before he pulls out and collapses beside you two.

Steve’s been patient while you come down from your high. He lays back down, pulling you with him so that your chest to chest. He bends his knees and grabs onto your hips. “You ready, sweetheart?” You raise up, both of your hands on each side of his head. You give him a nod.

That’s all he needs. He starts fucking you, hard and fast, chasing his release. He can feel it building. He just needs to feel you come undone around him again. He moves one of his hands and starts circling your clit with his thumb. “Need you to cum for me again, Y/N.”

You shake your head. “Can’t. Too much.”

Ransom sits up beside you. “I know what she needs.” He reaches over with his left hand and wraps it around your throat, squeezing gently.

It makes you clench down on Steve’s cock. “Yeah? That all you needed, sweetheart? A hand wrapped around your pretty throat? I know you like it. Can feel you squeezing me.” He picks up his pace. The only sounds that can be heard are his grunts, your breathy monas, and skin slapping against skin.

It doesn’t take long for your orgasm to hit you. This one is somehow even more intense than the last.

You must’ve blacked out for a few seconds because the next thing you know, you’re waking up in between Steve and Ransom.

Steve smiles down at you. “There she is. We lost you for a second, sweetheart.”

You feel drunk. You smile goofily up at him. “Did you cum?”

Just as you ask that, you can feel his release seeping out of your overused cunt. Then you feel cum leaking out of your ass. You hide your face behind your hands in embarrassment. “I can’t believe we just did that.”

Ransom removes one hand while Steve removes the other. “Nuh uh uh. No hiding allowed, pretty girl. I have no regrets.” He looks at Steve. “Do you?”

Steve smiles down at you and leans down to press a soft kiss against your lips. “None from me. You tired, sweetheart?”

You let out a big yawn and nod your head, slowly closing your eyes. “Get some rest, pretty girl.” That’s the last thing you hear before sleep takes you.

😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

You wake up sometime in the early morning, stretching out your sore limbs. You know you have a dumb smile on your face. But you can’t help but notice your empty bed.

You sit up and hiss at the deliciously sore feeling between your legs. You grab your robe and slip it on. You can smell coffee coming from the kitchen. You giddily make your way out of the room and down the hallway. They both barely just come into view, still unaware you’re there, when you hear Steve speak.

“I thought you were going to be an asshole to her? Make her see I’m not that bad.”

You hear Ransom next. “I was an asshole to her. I’m sorry I dicked her down so good that she wanted more.”

Steve scoffs. “I never gave you the okay to fuck her!”

“You also didn’t tell me it was off limits. Look you got what you wanted right?”

“No, actually I didn’t. I didn’t pay you so we could have a threesome together.”

What the fuck? Steve paid Ransom to help him get in your pants?

“Ok, how about this? I’ll give you all of your money back if I can fuck her one more time before I go? Then we’ll be squared away.”

Steve seems to be conflicted. “Fine! But this is the last time Ransom. I have to get to work anyway. After this, she’s mine. And make sure she’s not late for work herself.”

Before you have time to react, Steve rounds the corner and sees you standing there. He has a deer caught in headlights look. Ransom comes up beside him and sees you. “Oh, honey, you weren’t supposed to see that.”

You slowly start backing up towards your bedroom. Steve moves towards you, stopping once you put your hands up. “Stay away from me! Both of you! I want nothing to do with either of you!”

Ransom moves past Steve and grabs onto your arms. “Oh, please. You’d fuck us again if we wanted. Wouldn’t you?”

You spit in his face. “Fuck you, Hugh.”

He gets a sinister look on his face. “Wrong move, pretty girl.” He looks toward Steve. “Don’t worry, I’ll fuck the brat out of her. You better tell her boss she won’t be in today.”

Your eyes go wide at his words. You start thrashing against him, trying your best to get away. Steve has had enough. He comes over and yanks you away from him and presses you against the wall. “You better calm down, sweetheart. I’ll treat you like a princess if you can be my good girl. Can you do that?”

You shake your head. “Why would you think I’d want anything to do with you after finding out you paid someone to help get into my pants?”

He gives you an evil smirk. “Because if you don’t, I’ll just have to release the tape of last night on the internet. Let everyone see how much of a slut you actually are.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “You’re bluffing.”

He smirks and turns his head towards Ransom. “Show her.”

Ransom gets his phone out of his pocket and swipes at the screen for a second before turning it in your direction.

Holy shit. They weren’t bluffing. There you were, getting fucked by the both of them. That would ruin you if it got out. Not only would you get fired, but your parents would probably disown you. You’d never have a normal relationship again. You’re fucked. Even more than you were last night. How had you not noticed they were recording it?

Ransom must have read your mind. “I set my phone up while you were busy with Steve’s fingers on your cunt and his tongue down your throat. I think you need to ask her again Steve.”

Steve grabs your chin and moves your gaze onto his face. “I’ll ask you again. Are you going to be my good girl? Let Ransom fuck you one more time and then it’ll just be me and you?”

You drop your gaze to the floor. You feel a tear run down your cheek as you whisper out, “I’ll be your good girl.”

Taglist: @stargazingfangirl18​ @drabblewithfrannybarnes​ @harrysthiccthighss​ @lllols @patzammit​ @quxxnxfhxll​

Steve Taglist: @donutloverxo​

[extremelyblackandwhite]

innocence - 26

PAIRING: bodyguard!bucky barnes x innocent actress!reader

WARNINGS: none

A/N: no smut this time, just bucky meeting the family

NEXT CHAPTER

Her mother pulled Bucky into the house. She lived exactly where he’d expect her to live in, a dark academia sort of environment in shades of green, burgundy and dark browns. The walls were filled with shelves containing seas and seas of books and little memorabilia. There were photos of the family on the walls and Bucky noticed the little one right by the staircase of a young girl in a periwinkle dress sat on the beach with a bright smile whom he was absolutely certain was his Y/N. The woman continued to lead them until what he guessed was the living room where the fireplace was on and two kids were running around.

Bucky stood behind with Y/N as her mother made haste towards the drinks’ trolley where Y/N was almost sure the same watered down bottle her brother Anthony had constantly stolen from as a teenager still stood. They were lucky enough not to still have been noticed, her family having an weirdly tradition of not allowing anyone in the living area until they had a drink in hand. Of course she knew why, her family made so many questions both appropriate and inappropriate you’d have to be positively inebriated to deal with it. 

     - Everyone... - Lucy, Y/N’s mother, handed Bucky a burgundy coloured liquid before pulling him inside the living room. - Don’t be shy, Bucky. Everyone, this is Bucky, he’s Y/N’s boyfriend. 

     - I thought he’d be smaller. - a man got up from the dark burgundy couch, walking up to Bucky with an extended hand towards him. Bucky looked at his hand then at his own, before switching to shake it with his flesh arm rather than the metal aberration he’d covered with a glove. - Had a nice flight? Little bean here said she booked first flight tickets even though I told her it’s ...

    - A waste of money, I know dad. - Y/N interrupted. 

    - It was nicer than I expected, sir. - Bucky said yet Y/N could see that little smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. - Your daughter made it all the better.

    - Hope she didn’t bother you with leitmotifs. - another man who looked just around Y/N’s age piped up.

     - Colin, don’t even say that word, it might get her started. - a girl, blonde hair dressed in a baby blue dress added. - Oh wow, you’re athletic.

     - C’mon El, you promised to help me tease Y/N about her first serious boyfriend. - Colin wrapped his arms around Y/N but she merely playfully slapped his chest. - Look at you, the last Y/L/N sibling to introduce someone to the family. We were gonna buy you a cake but mum said no.

    - Colin Y/L/N, leave your sister be. - Lucy slapped her son’s head. - We are very happy that Y/N and Bucky are here. 

   - She’s happy there’s a chance you might give her grandchildren. - Colin whispered before adopting that grin that as children made Y/N want to throw a pillow at him.

   - Colin, I said to leave your sister be. - Lucy wrapped her arms around her eldest daughter. - That is not the reason I’m happy you’re dating. Me and your father were just afraid that you would be a bit lonely in New York.

   - Because you have no friends. - Eloise added.

   - Eloise, leave your sister be. She has plenty of friends. - their father added, not moving from his chair where he had returned to read the paper. 

   - Where is your sister? She should be here to meet Bucky.

   - Claire is busy with her husband convincing my husband to get me to have a rat-like creature they call a baby. - Eloise sat down on the other couch, legs crossed over each other. - Do you want a baby, Bucky?

   - Eloise! - Y/N yelled out of shame. Now she understood why her mother looked so dead whenever she had to go shopping with 4 children at 10 AM. She was clearly wrong to think her siblings would act like regular human beings in front of a guest, they barely acted like regular human beings on a regular basis. - We should go put the bags in my bedroom.

   - No, wait, beanie. CLAIRE! CLAIRE COME SAY HI TO YOUR SISTER AND BUCKY! - Y/N’s mother rushed to the kitchen, yelling out whom he guessed was the name of Y/N’s last sibling. Out of the kitchen and into the living room came a girl dressed in the same dress as Eloise except it was purple, holding a bundle of blankets against her chest. 

  - Aw, let me hold Sophie. - Y/N dropped her bags to meet her sister who handled her the baby. Bucky inspected the scene, watching as her embarrassed facade quickly changed into one of wonder as she looked at her niece. - Look at you, you’re so cute, Miss Sophie, yes you are. 

  - Claire, say hi to Bucky.

  - Why is he so tall? - she shook his hand. - I thought you’d be smaller with that nickname.

Is this was Steve felt like after the serum? Bucky had never stopped to consider that maybe his nickname sounded like a name you’d give a short guy, to be honest, he doesn’t even remember how it came to be, he just remembered his mum calling it and it sticking. However, he did have to admit that he enjoyed seeing everyone’s confused look once they met him as if he was the tallest man alive when he was barely taller than Y/N’s brother. 

    - Conor, Jack come meet Bucky too. - Y/N’s mum held two men by the arm who looked as lost in the family reunion as Bucky did. - Conor’s Eloise’s husband and Jack’s Claire’s. 

    - Okay. - Y/N interrupted before anyone else told her boyfriend he was too tall. Handing Sophie back to her sister, she held Bucky’s hand. - We are going to put the bags upstairs and take the coats off and we’ll return. 

Y/N knew her family way too well. She had been here when Claire brought Jack home for the first time and her father questioned him about a notorious case followed by Colin asking him if he needed earbuds for Claire’s snoring. She had also been there when Conor and all of Colin’s girlfriends so she knew when it was time to run away with Bucky from her very devoted and very curious family who had already decided to have the baby conversation with him before she had even mention it.

Bucky looked at the photos that were scattered on the staircases’ wall. He could always pinpoint where Y/N was, normally in the front with those beautiful, shining eyes. He noticed one particular photo of Y/N alone against a dark blue background in her graduation gown holding her diploma, posing like a beauty queen. He made a note to sneak a photo of it once she wasn’t looking.

She led him into her bedroom. It was a rather small one in tones of white and beige with a double bed. The walls were clean rather than one with a bookcase of dark wood filled with books, trophies and little frames of photos of her as a kid. Her bed had a small white lamb laying on it with some heart shaped pillows and a knitted beige blanket. 

     - Is that you? - Bucky rushed to the shelf to grab a photo of Y/N as a toddler dressed as a ballerina holding a golden medal.

    - Yeah. My grandmother was a prima ballerina so she made all of us do ballet which came quite in handy when I was in Phantom. - she put her coat on the hook on the door. - Sorry about my mum, and my dad and my siblings. I should already apologise for their husbands and the toddlers you haven’t met yet since they’re out with Grandma Louis who I’m also sorry for. 

     - That’s fine. I think they don’t hate me much.

    - It’s better than when Colin introduced Kate, mum was so upset she didn’t speak to her. I would say they love you. 

     - So which one is the oldest? Is there an hierarchy I should know about?

     - I’m the oldest then Colin, Claire and finally Eloise. Eloise got married first and then Claire and Colin is living la vie boheme. 

     - And you? - he wrapped his arms around her waist

    - I’m the actress. Once Aunt Petunia or Grandma Louis gets here you’ll listen to the “the debate team champion becomes an actress kissing all those men and she’s still single” discussion. I also apologise for that in advance. 

    - Well but you are not single anymore. - Bucky leaned down to kiss her. - And I will allow you to parade me as your boyfriend. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. 

    - Ah yes, my three time three-time boxing champion boyfriend. 

    - You’re not gonna drop that, aren’t you?

    - What? It’s very alluring, gets me going.

    - Is that why you gave me an handjob at the airport, princess? - he leaned down to whisper against her ear. She felt goosebumps raise up her skin, mouth drying up as she tried to find the words. - You better have thick walls, princess. 

   - Beanie ... - her mother knocked on the door, pushing the door slightly open and sticking her head in. - We were wondering if Bucky ate meat. We bought this meat that’s not really meat and it’s vegan. I asked some of my colleagues at work to help me cook it and we made some but we can make more if Bucky wants some.

    - No, Mrs. I’m okay with anything, it’s fine. 

    - Non sense. Y/N tell Bucky he can pick what to eat. You’re American right? I’m making some chicken nuggets for the kids and Colin, I could make you some if you’d like. 

    - Mum, that’s stereotypical. 

   - Nonsense, beanie. What do you want to eat, Bucky?

   - I’ll eat whatever Y/N does, m’am. - he tried to hide the little grin as Y/N stood by his side still processing what Bucky had just said to her. - It’s fine, m’am, really. I don’t want to be a bother, I’m so grateful you and your family are okay with having me for Christmas. 

Lucy merely smiled at him as a way of saying it was no problem. Y/N knew her family, they adored to embarrass their children in front of their partners, lovers, and friends but they would adore whoever their children adored as if they belonged to the family since the dawning of time. The actress rose her head to look at her boyfriend, staring at the door like a fading vision on the desert, relaxed muscles and expression. Her hold on his hand strengthened as her head laid against his shoulder, laying a small kiss on the fabric of his shirt.

     - Do you want to go downstairs? We can stay here for a few minutes before dinner. 

     - Yeah, princess. - he snapped himself out of his state, smiling down at his caring girlfriend before following her down the stairs.

Her family had a lot of photos, some on big frames on the wall and other small ones in coffee tables and other surfaces. He couldn’t help but look at them, watching Y/N through the ages and wondering how she was. She always had that look, that inner shyness and bright eyed appearance. Most photos were school photos with that dark blue background followed by a few backstage photos of her in elaborate stage makeup and costumes. Bucky wanted a photo of her, any photo of her, to have in his wallet. Not that he would forget what she looked like, he could never forget it but he wanted to. He wanted to look at her face whenever he paid for his coffee, show people when they asked about her, he guessed he wanted to have the same pride in showing his girlfriend his father had about showing his mother. He wanted a suburban existence, no more Winter Soldier, no more Avengers, just James Barnes. Yet, he also knew he did not deserve that. No, he had taken that structure from so many people he didn’t deserve it. 

Once in the living room, there were more people, notably two kids running around the Christmas tree and two women sat by the beautifully placed table. He felt shy, not knowing exactly what to say, barely knowing these people. 

    - Ah, let me look at you. - one of the woman from the table got up and walked towards them. Bucky thought none of it, thinking it to be directed towards Y/N until the woman took him by surprise by cupping his face. - You’re just gorgeous. Nice eyes, strong features. 

     - Aunt Petunia! - Y/N took her aunt’s hands away from Bucky’s face. - Please. 

     - You know what they say about men with strong features, great lovers, great breeders.

     - Oh my god. - that’s it, she was no longer going to have a boyfriend once she got back to New York. - Bucky, this is my aunt Petunia. 

     - Nice to meet you m’am. - Bucky extended his hand to her but the woman merely pushed him towards the table.

     - I thought she was kidding when she said she was bringing someone home yet here you are. - she led both of them to side by side seats on the table. - So, Bucky have you meet Grandma Louis?

    - I’m afraid not. 

    - Look ma, Y/N brought a boyfriend home. 

   - Can we please not treat this like a world limited event?

   - Nope. - Colin sat next to Y/N. - I had a bet with Eloise you’d date a 50 year old librarian and I lost which is unfair because 100 year old soldier is almost the same. 

   - It’s not and you know it. - Eloise argued from the other side of the table. - How’s the movie, Y/N? 

   - It’s ... good. - she forced a smile, not wanting to show the same family who always wondered why unlike every of her siblings she, the debate captain and champion, had turned down the option to do Law and instead pursued an acting career. Did acting made her happy? Yes. Did the movie made her happy? No. 

   - She’s the best actress I have ever met and seen. - Bucky drew invisible circles over her palm. - Everyone’s always speechless during her takes. 

   - That’s my beanie, always the best at whatever she does. - Y/N’s father added. - Besides, one of us has to not be a lawyer. We’re starting to be known as the lawyer family. 

   - So Bucky, are you enjoying London? Have you ever been? - Claire asked while putting the bibs on her two toddlers who were still happily playing with toy cars on the table.

   - Long time ago, it’s a bit different now. 

   - Y/N should take you to see the tree in Trafalgar, it’s absolutely stunning. - Lucy added. - It’s where her father purposed. 

   - It’s where everyone purposed in this family. We need a new tradition. - Colin rolled his eyes. 

   - If it were up to you, you’d purpose in a McDonalds after coming from the pub. 

   - Shut up, Eloise. 

Bucky merely kept to himself during the dinner, replying to the questions that were thrown his way and laughing at the jokes. There was the odd questions every once and then which Y/N would normally reply to followed by telling him she was sorry which he found adorable. Normally it was him who was defensive over her, too defensive even and to see her take on the role warmed his heart. The dinner ran smoothly and soon everyone was sat on the couch by the fireplace. She was by his side, head on his shoulder as a It’s a Wonderful Life played on the television. 

The night kept going in and in until everyone decided to climb up to their respective bedrooms. Y/N turned on the heating the moment she came in, stripping onto her own cozy red pyjamas while Bucky kept inspecting her room. She had a bunch of books and programs from various West End musicals as well as a few bits of Star Wars memorabilia scattered on the shelves and a Phantom of the Opera music box on her desk. What caught his attention was the tiny miniature of a white picked fence house on her bedside table. Had she been an avid miniature collector and he didn’t know about it?

    - Hey, what’s this? - he pointed at the little house.

    - Oh ... that.

    - Is it a sore topic? I’m sorry princess, I didn’t mean to ...

    - It’s okay, Bucky. - she smiled. - It’s just a silly thing from when I was a kid. I told my mum I wanted to marry Luke Skywalker and move into a white picket fence home and she bought me it. Then I just wanted the house as I grew up but hey I live in SoHo, the best I can do is get another one of those

   - You want a white picket fence house?

   - It’s silly. - she hide her head as a familiar heat climbed up to her cheeks. Bucky placed the miniature back where it was, walking up to her. 

   - It’s not silly. I like picket white fence houses too, princess.

   - You do?

   - Yeah. One of my cousins had one when I was a kid and I always envisioned one for myself. 

  - Did you? 

  - Yeah and then I met you and I thought screw the home, as long as I get to come home everyday to you we could be living in a cardboard home but if you want a white picked fence house than I’ll give you one.

  - Buck ...

  - I’m not kidding. - he smiled at her. - We’ll live wherever you’d like and every single day we’ll come back home to each other and I will pretend I’m not tired so I can stay up and look at you smiling at those TV show reruns you like so much.

  - You like them too. - she added. 

  - Maybe but until then ... - he walked up to his bag removing an worn out big navy blue box. - You can have this. 

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[bucketofdrugs]

They'd come so far. From that one honest exchange, to honest conversations, and as much as he tried to deny it, honest feelings of protection over the young woman who was no longer his begrudging companion. He would do anything in his power to keep his little killer safe, no matter the cost, no matter his sacrifice. That had become as much an obsessive desire as finding his family had once been; there was no point in this world without her particular brand of sunshine in it, regardless of whether or not he thought she would succeed in changing the rest of the wasteland into the ideal picture she had in her head. She had, at the very least, changed him.

They were pinned down, sentry bots and synth both keeping them hidden behind the pillar where they could hide from the rain of bullets storming around any time he peered his head out. He was reloading his pistol when she spoke, a soft huff sounding from his lips. "Bit more than sticky, I think, Luce. If-"

He didn't finish that thought. Her mouth was on his, and suddenly, he was starving. He kissed her back with everything he had, the hand holding his pistol moving to rest at her waist, the other feather light at the side of her neck. Cooper wasn't a fool. He knew this was goodbye. He knew she was going to risk her own soft, smooth, perfect neck to save everyone else. It's just who she was. So he poured everything into that kiss, all his longing, his fear, his grief, knowing exactly what she was going to do and that he had no chance of stopping her.

It was over too soon. She was gone too soon. He gave her cover as best he could, taking a few bullets in his own chest for his trouble, but he would be okay. She would be okay. "You best come back to me, Lucy MacLean, or I swear to everything-" He muttered under his breath, just as the bots all powered down. He didn't waste a second, bolting for that control room the moment the threat was gone.

Seeing her in a growing pool of her own blood broke something inside him, and he slid to his knees beside her. She was a mess, her chest wide open with a... thing sticking out of it. He pressed his hands to the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding just as the door to the control room opened again. His pistol aimed right at the body standing there, not giving a single care in the world if it was her buddy Maximus. "You either got a stim pack, or you're headin' right back out the door to call that vertibird back around. Step any closer, and she won't be the only one outta here bleeding."

Dane, he came to realize later, stepped closer with a pack in hand, only getting close enough to hand it off before leaving to do the later command. He injected the fluid as close to the wound as he could, giving it a few minutes before pulling the object from her chest. "Don't you fuckin' die on me, Killer." He murmured into her hair before cradling her in his arms, moving carefully out the door and down to the waiting bird.

He was silent the whole ride back, all his attention on the girl collapsed in his lap, his forehead pressed against her shoulder to better hear her breathing. He wouldn't leave her side a moment until she woke. To make things even more tense, his pistol was out any time others came to visit, daring them to do anything, say anything, try to get him to leave. He was covered in her blood, smelled like death himself, and still refused to move an inch. It would take a lot more than the Brotherhood and their bullshit to get him to leave her side.

@bucketofdrugs sent: kissing your lover because you believe you're going to die.

The funny thing about knowing you were about to die, while everyone around you still had no idea of what was about to happen, was that it gave you time. Or at least it made her feel like time had slowed down, and gave her time to look at Cooper, at her violent, protective, rude, funny, ghoul who had not only accompanied her far longer than he needed to, but had kept her safe - and yes, sometimes held her at night, even if they hadn't talked about that - and she knew she couldn't watch him die. It was the one thing she just would not accept in this hard but free life. She couldn't lose him here, she couldn't take him away from his own mission either. But they were out of stimpacks, their temporary comrades were also pinned down, Dane and Max upstairs, the rest of the Brotherhood was late, the others who had joined them when she has asked her to pay her back for her past help were fighting the robots, so it was up to her, the only one with high enough science skills. It was up to her to get to the console, and she was never going to see Cooper again, because running away wasn't an option to her. "Dang, this is a sticky situation," she piped up, looking at the door that would lead her to the console room. "...'Waste not', right, Coop?" Protected by the pillar they were using as a barrier from the bullets, Lucy brought a hand to his shoulder to pull him close and pressed her lips against his. Besides him being hot, it just felt like kissing a man; a man who made her feel confusing, positive but distressing things, and Lucy took the little time she had left to allow those feelings to be there, her lips moving slowly but with the hunger of someone who wasn't going to be having a second one, and her hand gently touching the rough skin of his cheek. Enough.

She pulled back, licked her lips and gave him a wide smile, eyes sparkling with affection and unshed tears. No time to think or talk more, she used all her strength and speed to fling herself towards the door, hearing people yell for her; a few bullets did hit her, but she still kept on running and stumbling until she grabbed the console and started typing it. She didn't have the passkey to disarm the security system, and that meant that before hitting enter she had what felt like a spear go through her chest, but she still managed to press the key, and reprogram all the robots, before dropping to the ground, blood pouring from her fast. But it was okay. Vault Tec had lost control of the town, her friends were alive... Cooper was going to stay relatively alive too. He'd know what to do without her, he'd be fine. She wished she had kissed him sooner.

[mochegato]

Hope on Board

Chapter 28 – You Can Never Go Home Again

Chapter 1     Chapter 27

“Okay Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” the doctor said pushing away from the hospital bed in the birthing center and pulling off her gloves.  “You are completely effaced.  We are definitely ready to go.”

Marinette looked up at Dick, an absolutely panicked expression on her face before looking over to the doctor.  “What?  What about an epidural?  We had a birthing plan.  It included an epidural.”

The doctor gave her a sympathetic look and shook her head slightly.  “I understand, but it appears the universe had other plans.  We are too far along for an epidural.  You’re going to be pushing before the anesthesiologist will even be able to get here.”

“Fuck you,” she scoffed.  Her eyes immediately widened at her words.  “I’m sorry that was… I’m sorry.  Doctor Graham, was it?” she clarified.  The doctor nodded.  Marinette smiled in response, which quickly turned into a grimace and scream as another contraction hit.  “Fuck you, Dr. Graham,” she growled.

“There isn’t any way to get the anesthesiologist up there faster?” Dick tried, desperate for any way to help Marinette feel less scared and less pain.

Dr. Graham chuckled at Marinette’s outburst.  “I get that a lot.  Unfortunately, no.  There’s nothing I can do.  The anesthesiologist is with another patient right now and won’t be able to get here for about twenty minutes or more.  I expect at least the first baby to already be born by then, maybe both,” she informed them earnestly.  “Sorry. It took too long to get you here.”

“Well sorry for getting kidnapped by some bird obsessed cult,” Marinette gritted out after another contraction passed.

Dr. Graham looked over to Dick who shrugged at her.  “The bats just saved her and we rushed right here.”  Dr. Graham shook her head.  Honestly, not the strangest thing she’d heard in Gotham. “We will need extra security because of it,” Dick added.

“We can have police in with the babies,” Dr. Graham assured him.

“Oh Hell no,” Marinette grunted.

“Police officers were the ones to deliver her to the cult,” Dick explained, running his hand up and down Marinette’s arm in a soothing motion.

Dr. Graham nodded, again, not too surprising.  “Do you have an alternative?” she asked as she gave orders to the nurses to get the room set up for the birth.

Dick shrugged distractedly, his focus on the pained expression Marinette was making and the way her body was curling in pain.  “We can work something out.  The bats seemed to know something about the cult.  They might be willing to help keep watch.”

“Yeah, maybe we can focus on the baby trying to come out right now, yeah?” Marinette growled between pants.

“Of course,” Doctor Graham said kindly.  “We’re already getting everything ready and I’ll let you know when to start pushing.”

Marinette nodded silently.  She looked over to Dick, her look of annoyance with the situation turning to a look of panic.  She was not ready for this.  She was not ready for the twins to be born.  She didn’t have everything settled.  She and Dick hadn’t talked.  She didn’t know where they stood.  They hadn’t talked about where they were going to stay.  She hadn’t even processed the kidnapping yet.

“It’ll be okay,” he cooed at her soothingly.  He took her hand in his, bringing it to his chest as he wiped her sweaty hair away from her face.  He looked lovingly in her eyes and gently rubbed his thumb along her cheek.  “You can do this.  You’re the strongest person I know.  You’re amazing.”  He kissed her temple.  “I’ll be right here to support you however I can.  Feel free to try to break my hand while you push.”

Marinette huffed out a short laugh.  “I might take you up on that.”  She breathed through another contraction, squeezing his hand and groaning loudly as it crested.

“Go ahead,” he assured her.  “I can take it.  I have the easy part.”  He gave her a soft smile, until she turned to face the doctor and grimaced while her focus was elsewhere.  She might actually break his hand at this rate.  “Just focus on the end.  When this is all over, we’re going to have two beautiful babies just as amazing as their mother.”  She looked back up at him, uncertainty clear, but fading.  “The universe can’t take you down.  The Court of Owls couldn’t take you down.  You can do this,” he whispered confidently.  She nodded at him, a look of determination settling in as she felt the start of the next contraction.

“Alright Ms. Dupain-Cheng.  It’s time to push,” Dr. Graham informed her with a smile.

<><><><><> 

“I’ve been thinking…” Dick started, looking over cautiously to Marinette.  She was sitting in a glider in the twins’ NICU room attempting to nurse Robert.  Robert was doing extremely well, but his sucking reflex was still developing, making latching on more difficult for him than it was for Lucy.  Lucy was resting comfortably on Dick’s bare chest, enjoying skin to skin contact under the simulated sun lamps.  Her black hair sticking up above the blanket wrapped around her and Dick.

Marinette gave him a tired smile.  “About?” she prompted.

“Living arrangements when Lucy and Robert are ready to go home.  Robert’s doing a lot better now.  I think he’ll be ready to go home in a few days.  Lucy will probably be ready sooner,” he answered, turning to be able to make eye contact with Marinette while they talked. It had been a few days since the twins had been born and they still hadn’t had a chance to really talk. Between the coordination of taking care of the twins and making sure there were eyes on them at all times and the exhaustion on Marinette’s system from delivering the babies and after the kidnapping, there hadn’t really been time.

“Dick, I…” she started looking away guiltily.

“I know you’re not ready to date let alone move back in together,” he assured her gently, “this isn’t about that,” he assured her gently.  “This is about their safety.  The Court of Owls isn’t eliminated.  They have multiple strongholds.  This was a hard hit, but they aren’t gone.”  He ran his hand through his hair and looked away nervously. “I don’t even think the apartment is safe.”

“The prophecy,” she nodded, tickling Robert’s cheek to try to get him to open his mouth wider.  “This isn’t over is it?”  

Dick shook his head.  “I don’t think so.  It’ll take a while for them to recover, but I think they’ll be back.”

She sighed sadly and tried to focus entirely on Robert so Dick wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes at the thought of them returning, the thought that they would never truly be safe until the Court was completely eliminated.  She ran her hand over his curly black hair.  Whereas Lucy had gotten her mother’s straight, thick black hair, Robert’s was closer to his father’s.  Little curls licked his face and curled away.  “So, what were you thinking?”

Marinette may have turned away from Dick, but he still knew her well enough to know she was terrified and trying to hide it.  He could see it in the way she hid her face.  He could see it in the way her shoulders curled around Robert.  He could see it in the way she held him just a little closer.  He moved so he was sitting next to her and could cup her face with his free hand.  

“We’ll keep them safe, Marinette.  We won’t let anything happen to them,” he assured her.  The fierce determinism in his voice made her want to believe him. They would do everything they could to protect their babies.  She leaned into his hand and nodded.  “So, what I was thinking was… we should make sure they are as safe as possible.” She gave him a confused look, unsure why he suddenly sounded so tentative.  “And the most secure place I can think of… is the manor.”

Marinette stared at him for a few seconds, mouth slightly agape in surprise. “You think we should move into the manor?” she whisper shouted.  “Dick, I don’t want to live in Bruce’s home for the rest of our lives.”

“I know, I know.  It’s not ideal,” Dick conceded.  Before the kidnapping, he certainly would never have expected to propose returning to the manor.  He had moved out for a reason and now, with Marinette and the twins, there were even more reasons not to.  But, there was one overwhelming, overpowering reason they should.  “But, it’s the safest place in Gotham, probably New Jersey, possibly in all of America.  He has a ton of security to ward off cults, rogues, magicians, assassins, and everything else he could think of.”

“And it’s so big!  What if the twins play hide and seek in a few years and we never find them?  That place is too big,” she exclaimed.

“Okay, good point,” he allowed.  It wasn’t and they both knew it.  There was no way they, Kismet, or Alfred wouldn’t be able to find them, but he wasn’t going to argue that point.  His focus was to get the twins under the best security they could manage, not get lost in the details.  Not to mention, he had actually gotten lost in the manor a few times when he first moved there, so he knew getting lost was a possibility.  It’s just that they wouldn’t stay that way.  “But what if we take Bruce up on allowing him to build us a secure home.  Our own home, with just as much security.”

“Dick!” she exclaimed loudly and immediately regretted it.  She startled Robert off his finally successful latch and woke Lucy up.  “Sorry,” she grimaced apologetically.

Dick chuckled at her and started bouncing Lucy to lull her back to sleep. “I know.  I don’t really like the idea of asking him either, but we need some place safe.  The Court of Owls is dangerous, extremely well connected, and apparently obsessed with our children.  We need top of the line security and I don’t think we could afford it otherwise.  I think it’s the only way to keep them safe.”

She stared at him silently for a few minutes.  Not really sure how to react.  He was right.  They would need security, more security than they could afford otherwise.  However, they did have built in security with the kwami, not that Dick knew about that yet.  But it also wasn’t entirely reliable.  The kwami couldn’t do much more than warn them if something was happening. They couldn’t act on it without potentially devastating consequences.

Dick spoke up after a few minutes, misinterpreting her hesitation.  “I… I can live somewhere else.  The most important thing is for you and the twins to be safe,” he offered.

“But they might come after you as well.  You’re a Grayson,” she protested.  If anything, he and the twins needed to stay under the security’s protection.

“I can stay at the manor,” he assured her.

Marinette concentrated on Robert while she thought it through, running her fingers over his curls.  She wasn’t ready to go back to the way they were.  She didn’t trust him completely yet.  Or rather, she trusted him, she just didn’t know if she trusted him with her heart.  But she did trust him to keep her and the twins safe.  She did trust him to protect them and to act respectfully.  She trusted him to want to do what was best for them.

“No… why don’t we… why don’t we stay in the manor until we figure out where we want to go?  Relationship wise.” she finally offered resolutely.  Dick nodded in understanding.  There was no reason to build a home for the two of them if they weren’t going to live together.  Marinette and the twins would need security whether she stayed with him or not, but if they decided they didn’t want to get back together she should have a home of her own, away from him.  “We can have our own rooms and the twins can stay in mine for the first few months, until the likelihood of SIDS is lower.”

“Bruce has a few very large rooms in the manor, would you… how would you feel about us both staying in the room with the twins, but in different beds?  That way I can help better and you don’t have to do all the work by yourself,” he offered cautiously.  He didn’t want to scare her off by pushing too hard or rushing her.

Marinette studied him uncertainly.  That seemed awfully intimate, but at the same time, it would allow her some rest.  He could change diapers and help get them back to sleep…  “We can try it…”

“But if you start to feel uncomfortable, I can move to another room, immediately,” he assured her.  

Marinette nodded in agreement.  “Okay”

Dick smiled again, a relieved, excited smile.  He knew there was a lot to do.  He knew he still had a long way to go, but they were making progress.  They weren’t as bad as he thought they had been. “I know I have a lot to make up for and a lot to prove.  I know I messed up and I want to fix it.”

“What do you think you messed up,” she asked curiously.  

“I think I was so afraid of losing you, I got obsessed with eliminating any threats that might hurt you.  I… I couldn’t lose you like I lost my parents,” he answered honestly.  “That’s not an excuse,” he insisted quickly.  “It’s not an excuse because I know it doesn’t excuse my behavior.  It’s just my reasoning.  I didn’t even realize it until Lucius pointed it out at the fashion show.  He also pointed out that you wouldn’t have let me go. You would have pulled me out of my obsession, and I knew that.  So that’s why I didn’t tell you.

“I think that’s what I need to fix.  We’re supposed to be a team.  We were supposed to be in a relationship, but I was cutting you out.  I saw that I was hurting you, but I convinced myself I was saving you from something worse.  I think I messed up by cutting you out of my life.  I’m going to change that.”

She nodded at him with tears in her eyes.  “Okay.  You know it wasn’t the secrets, right?  You were allowed to have secrets.  I didn’t begrudge you that.  Hell, I have secrets I haven’t told you yet.”  She looked down at Lucy when she started making whimpering noises.  “Trade me,” she motioned for Lucy and held Robert out for him to take.  He gently handed Lucy off to Marinette to nurse and took Robert, loosening his swaddle so they could do skin to skin time.  “I want us to get to the point we don’t have secrets from each other, but we both deserve the time to figure out when we’ve reached that point.”

After a few minutes bouncing Robert, Dick looked back to Marinette with an open, vulnerable expression.  “I spoke with Commissioner Gordon,” he started slowly.  “And I quit the Titans.  I’m going to become a police officer in Gotham.  I’ll be here from now on.  There might still be things I can’t tell you because it’s police business, but you’ll know why I can’t tell you now.  And I know that doesn’t make up for everything I’ve done, but it’s a start.”

“Dick! You didn’t have to give up something you love for me!  That’s ridiculous.  Whether we get back together or not, you shouldn’t give up things you love to make someone else happy,” she exclaimed desperately.  The last thing she wanted was for him to give up parts of himself, parts that mattered to him, parts he might be bitter about having given up later.

Dick shook his head emphatically.  “I didn’t do it for you.  Well, not just you.  I was miserable whenever I was away.  I hated missing you and the twins.  I… I didn’t want to miss out on their lives like I missed out on the pregnancy.  I don’t want them growing up without me.” He sat back down next to her again to look her in the eye again, close enough for her to feel his breath on her face. “I won’t lie.  I want to go back to the way we were, but without the leaving and the lies.”  

He brushed her bangs out of her face and gently rubbed his thumb along her cheek. “I love you and waking up to you in my arms is one of the best parts of my life in the last few… years really. Kissing you, touching you, seeing your smile.  All of the things I got to do with you were magical.  I’d love to get that back, but I know I have work to do to get there. And I’m willing to put in the effort.”

“Dick…” she rested her head in the crux of his neck, angling Lucy away while she did.  “It’s going to take a while.”

“I know.  And I know we might never get back there, but I want to try.”  He kissed the top of her head and rested his head on hers.

Marinette looked back up at him and nodded.  “Let’s focus on getting the twins healthy and learning how to be parents. Then we can see how things feel.”

Dick smiled gently.  “Okay.”

She shook her head and turned her head back to rest against his neck.  “I owe Adrien 100 euros.  I bet him I wouldn’t end up with a hero.”

“Technically I’m a vigilante.  And we’re not together,” Dick corrected with a smirk, “… yet.”

She stared at him for a few moments before nodding resolutely.  “You know what?  I’ll take it.”

Chapter 29

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[dancingdryads]

Okay you know why I love the Pevensies? I mean besides the fact that they are all hilarious, savage, and can also beat you up without breaking a sweat. I love them because they choose to be happy and light. 

Like take Lucy, she’s what 7? Already close to a war that could take her dad, could take everyone. Then she gets sent to a weird place without her mom (I’m sorry I didn’t want to be without my parents for more than like a week until I was at least 16) and then she finds this magical world with a creepy witch who just hates Christmas and doesn’t let there be spring, and she’s like guys I made a friend! Is she dumb? NO. Lucy is smart and capable and manages to run a country just fine after this. She WATCHES Aslan die. She sees that their greatest chance for hope is completely gone and she still knows that they have things to do to help Narnia. She is shown as the one closest to Aslan often, she sees him the most, but that also means she feels that separation most. And how does she turn out? Her first descriptor as an adult is that she is happy. She is bright and excited and sweet and so so happy. She isn’t happy because she had no hardships, we know that isn’t true. Losing England and her parents 3 times, losing Narnia and her best friends 3 times, plus wars, death, and just generally living in depressing England war times, but she decides to be happy. 

Take Susan. She is in the same circumstances, except that she gets to see Narnia one less time, up until Aslan told her and Peter they couldn’t come back they probably didn’t even think of it as a possibility, or at least a certainty. Now, I don’t think they expected to stay like they had the first time, Caspian became King, they were clearly there for a purpose, and they know that they belong in England to an extent. But it’s whiplash for those poor kids. And, there’s no mom. As the oldest in my family, and a daughter, let me tell you, when the parents aren’t around you step up real fast. I’m not talking about those couple hours your parents leave and you try to have fun without tearing up the house too much so you don’t get in trouble. I’m talking about times where even where there are other adults around but they don’t really know you or your siblings. For me it was a special needs brother who can’t talk except for a little ASL. I knew what he needed, what he was asking for, and how to calm him down from the time I was in elementary school. I didn’t care if it was grandparents, aunts, or teachers, my brother was mine to protect. Susan has that but like times 1000 because they’re the only english kids around, they don’t know if they’ll even see their parents again, it’s not like it’s a 2 hour holiday. Plus she tries being the peacemaker, trying to take care of everyone, keeping everyone fed, united, feeling loved, etc. But you know what? She doesn’t resent the role at all. Yeah, maybe she’s a bit rough around the edges at first (we all are, 12-15 is a terrible age for everyone) but she keeps taking care of them. She stays soft and gentle and protective and maybe she’s not obviously bright like Lucy, but brightness like that doesn’t survive being surrounded by contempt from someone you trust. 

Then there’s Edmund. He feels like trash because of what he did, but you know what? He decides who he is going to be and sticks to that forever. Fair and Just, he’ll make it happen. Supportive of his siblings for the rest of time, check. He is described as quiet, but not sad or guilty or damaged. This is the kid that is happy to sass kings and sword fight rude dwarves. He is happy to not be King around Caspian because it’s not quite his kingdom anymore (i’m ignoring that plot point in VotDT movie). Basically he figures out who he is and is content with that and himself. That is SO powerful. 

Peter. I love Peter. I’m trying not to be super repetitive but like, take Susan’s mothering, and ramp it up because Peter is the oldest and what’s more he was told to look after his siblings. He knows if anything happens it’s on him. And it’s not like they can be like, sorry mum, we fell into a magical war and I let Susan use a bow and Lucy use a dagger because a guy claiming to be Santa gave it to them even though the only weapons they’ve held up till this point are kitchen knives, maybe. Also Ed got kidnapped and I yelled at him right before. Peter isn’t old enough to understand when things aren’t his fault, and when you’re a protector that lesson never quite sinks in anyway. And what does he go on to become? Magnificent. I’ve never known someone who I loved and admired with my whole soul that isn’t happy and bright and the kind of person you feel better about yourself around. The fact that the narnian’s loved them, even though they were humans, is crazy. Like, if some random alien came and started reigning, even if they were cool I wouldn’t be crazy about them. If they were kids??? noooo. But the pevensies were just so loved by everyone because they loved first. Because their experiences tried and shaped them, but did not drag them down. I love that they chose to be polite to random talking beavers, they chose to stay together, they chose to retain who they were through every crazy thing, and they chose to forgive so many people who directly or indirectly hurt them (sorry tumnus but it happened), and they stayed happy. 

That’s why I love them. 

[intubatedangel]

Cold Snap: Chapter 6

 Chapter 1 |  Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 |

Dave was stood on the dock, looking out at the foundering boat when it exploded. He was filled with panic and fear for his partner, but soon had to put that aside. The first patrol boat had pulled up and Dave had to lead the response. He spent the next ten minutes in something of a daze, helping people from the patrol boats, checking them over and directing them to an appropriate holding area or ambulance team.

It was only when the last patrol boat, with quite a badly hurt young man was empty that he realised he hadn't seen any sign of Lucy. The fear came back as he stared out at the larger boat, seeing it slipping into the water, replaced with relief, as he saw one final patrol boat racing across the river towards them, and could make out Lucy's high-vis uniform coat. He heard the radio call of the parked patrol boat and looked more intently at the incoming one.

As he watched, he saw what Lucy was doing. "Bring a gurney, now!" He shouted to a pair of paramedics who were now just hanging around, with most of the patients dealt with and on their way to the hospital. They jumped, then looked where he was pointing. Even at this distance, it was clear to see the Lucy was performing chest compressions. The paramedics ran over with the gurney, suddenly focused.

The suspense was agonising, as it always was, when they knew a situation was grave but there was nothing they could do right now. They watched the patrol boat get closer and closer, the first made way, and a minute later the final patrol boat finally came to a sudden stop next to the dock. One of the medics jumped into the boat, strapping the body of the young woman to the backboard she was already laying on., then coordinated with Lucy.

As soon as she finished the round of compressions, Lucy and the medic grabbed the back board and lifted it, head up, towards the dock. Dave took the board and along with the other medic they lifted her fully clear of the patrol boat, quickly aligning her with the gurney. Dave immediately began compressions.

Lucy pulled herself up the ladder, with clearly aching arms, handing the ambu bag, which she had taken from a damp looking police officer, to the other medic on the dock. He sealed the mask over the girl’s face, hyperventilating her with rapid breaths. Lucy got herself up, grabbing on side of the gurney. Dave transitioned to one handed compressions, the other medic dropped the ambu bag by the young woman’s head, and between the three of them, they started to push the gurney towards an ambulance.

The last medic was helping the officer out of the boat, trailing along behind as Lucy, still breathing hard started her report.

* * *

"This is Shona, early 20's. Trapped and drowned in roughly freezing water. She's profoundly hypothermic and in cardiac arrest. No pulse for nearly 20 minutes at this point. Closed fracture on the right leg, and a minor head injury, both of minimal importance." Lucy rattled off, giving the important information to the others. The gurney rattled and bounced across the dock as they ran to the ambulance, pulling up just short.

Lucy hopped in first, pulling the head of the gurney into the back of the van, while Dave managed to keep his hand firmly planted between the pale breasts of their patient, pressing down hard but consistently. "Drive." He said to the other paramedic, not looking, focused on his attempts to keep blood flowing through Shona's body. He barely noticed when another figure entered the ambulance and was directed to sit down by the last medic, who the closed the doors giving the side of the ambulance a firm slap to alert the driver.

"This is Matt Jones." Lucy told Dave. "Also hypothermic, and exhausted, but no injuries?" she leaned over, double checking, while she picked up the ambu bag and forced breath into Shona's lungs. Jones nodded, still shivering sightly. He pulled the blanket a little tighter, settling back into the corner to rest. Lucy watched him for a moment, but the way he shuffled to make himself more comfortable put her at ease. She focused on Shona.

Lucy grabbed an oxygen line, attaching it the ambu-bag and touching some controls, directing heated air into the bulb. She gave some more breaths, then stood, bracing a hand on the cupboards as the ambulance started to move. She pulled open one of them, extracting some chemical heating pads. She cracked them to activate the effect, then started to place them around Shona's body, starting with one under each armpit. She leaned around Dave, even as continued compressions wordlessly, placing one heat pack across Shona's bulging abdomen. She dumped the others on the side of the gurney, realising that Shona was still wearing her saturated trousers.

"Switch Dave." Was all she said. He gave three more hard compressions, then stepped back to the side, giving Lucy access to Shona's chest, while he grabbed some shears and went to work on the damp clothing. Lucy planted her hands once more, pressing down. It was easier than before. Two minutes of Dave's more powerful compressions had weakened Shona's ribs, and now Lucy didn't to put as much effort into squeezing the young woman's stopped heart between her sternum and spine.

For now, Lucy ignored the ambu bag, rocking over Shona and caving in her chest at a rate of 100 a minute, while Dave cut away with the shears. After removing the straps of the backboard, he sliced down each leg, then tugged the pants off. He then sniped away her underwear, casting it aside too, leaving Shona naked on the gurney. He grabbed the heat packs, they were already giving off considerable warmth. He placed once between Shona's legs, being gentle as he manipulated her limbs, considering the broken leg. The last two he draped over her thighs.

With some haste he also took out a splint and wrapped it around the broken bone. Then opened another cupboard. He took out something shiny and metallic, unfolding the mylar blanket and handing it to Lucy as she stopped compressions. Dave slipped his arms under the pulseless girl, lifting her a few inches off the backboard, being careful with her spine, but knowing that re-warming her was more important. Lucy spread the blanket beneath Shona, then Dave lowered her down. They wrapped the reflective blanket around her, then threw a thick woolen blanket over that too, almost creating a cocoon.

* * *

 Only a couple of minutes had passed in the back of the ambulance, the two medics working through a whole list of things that needed done, while still keeping up near constant compressions. With the girl wrapped up, Dave took over compressions again, allowing Lucy to focus on the rest. She started two IV's, one in each arm, hooking up warmed saline to each via thin tubes. Next, she took a much bigger tube, and a metal cylinder with a blade. She slid the laryngoscope between blue lips, into Shona's mouth, advancing it until she could see her slack vocal chords.

"Hold." She said, grasping the tube, then sliding it along the blade as Dave halted compressions. "In". Lucy said, but he had already resumed the body rocking compressions. She inflated the cuff of the tube, pulled the mask of the amub bag and tossed it to one side, then connected the bulb to the blue tip of the 7.0 ET tube. She squeezed in warmed breaths with on hand, dancing a stethoscope around Shona ghostly pale chest, hearing the welcome woosh of air flowing into her lungs. She could also hear the slight gurgling of the residual water.

"Gotta suction her out." Lucy muttered, to no one in particular. Dave was intent on the compressions, showing no signs of tiredness, and Jones was leaning into the corner, eyes following their actions, but too exhausted to do anything to help. She gave another couple of chest swelling breaths, which Dave could feel against his hands, then unhooked the bag, dropping it again as she dragged a suction unit from one side, threading the small catheter down the ET tube and into Shona's lungs. The device slurped and hummed as it drew the last bits of water out.

With Shona's lungs clear, Lucy tore off a few strips of inch-thick tape, wrapping them around the tube then sticking them to Shona's cheeks, smoothing them gently, almost caressing. She looked at Dave, who was starting to feel the burn in his arms now, after 4 minutes of compressions. He nodded to her, starting to count softly. "45...46...47...47..." As soon as he reached 50 he pulled his arms back and let Lucy slip in front of him to take over. She had dropped the ambu-bag, letting the tube pull Shona's head to the side. Her fingers interweaved, lowering down to the soft, cold and already slightly bruised skin of Shona's chest. Her fingers brushed slightly against Shona's breast as she started to press down again.

Dave concentrated on the monitor, unravelling the leads, attaching electrodes and removing the backing from those electrodes. He then placed them around Shona's chest, worming his hand under the blanket for the lower two tabs. The monitor came to life, immediately singing the asystolic whine. Neither Dave nor Lucy reacted. They knew there would be no cardiac activity, Shona had been down for long enough and was cold enough that even if she had been in V-fib at first, that would have faded away before they had a chance to shock her.

Dave grabbed other sensors, clipping the O2 sensor to one of Shona's fingers, and placing a temperature sensor on her chest. It wouldn't give them a perfect reading of her core temperature, but it would be close enough for them to have a good guess.

"22 C on the surface sensor, with the heating packs, core's probably 18, could have been down to 15." Dave said with a sigh, taking a better look at her. Her lips, though covered with tape, were still clearly blue, and her skin was a pearly white. She was clinically dead, and looked it. It was hard to have hope looking at someone in that state. But he had seen it work out ok, been involved in it in fact, back when he was a fresh-faced paramedic like Lucy. They just had to keep working, keep bending her ribs and compressing her heart, pushing bloody through her body. Because as the saying goes, they aren't dead til their warm and dead.

Once they reached the hospital they would be able to give her more intensive warming and would be better placed to give additional life support. They just had to get there. "How far out are we?" He shouted through to the front.

"Another minute, we're on a clear run in!" The driver replied.

Dave pumped the ambu-bag, then began to package the gurney for moving Shona into the hospital, where Dave desperately hoped they would be able to save her life.

[petri808]

Art link to @ayumichi-me w/permission. Also, a link to her Instagram where’s she more active now, go check her out there along with her latest goodies! 😏💜 fic inspired by art

Happy Pocky Day!

Lucy POV

Lucy walked over to her friends who were huddled in a tight circle. “What are you guys giggling about?” Their hushed squeals were borderline nefarious yet too intriguing not to dig into. All the hairs on the back of her neck tingled with intrigue and fear the moment they turned towards her, grinning, with sinister smiles on their faces.

Cana puts her arm around Lucy’s shoulders, guiding her into their folds like a spider leading a fly into their web. “Just the girl we were hoping to see.”

Suddenly, coming to the guild that afternoon didn’t seem like a good idea! “I-Is something wrong?”

“Wrong?” Levy answered, her voice dripping with sugary sweetness. “No, nothing’s wrong. Actually, today’s a special day, and you have been chosen for a very special role!”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at the women, five in all, these conspirators. Cana, Levy, Mira, Juvia, and Lisanna. What new scheme were they cooking up this time? “Something tells me I’m not gonna like it.”

“Oh, we think you will,” Mira smiled. “A little birdy said you both would.”

‘Both?’ Pfft, a little blue cat-birdy, yeah, sure, as if she would fall for that. “No.” Lucy stepped back. “No, way, whatever you’re all thinking.” She waved her hands in defiance. “No.”

That’s when the water mage coyly pulled out a box of the notorious Pocky sticks from behind her back and everything became clear. “Juvia thinks Lucy will enjoy this game too.”

The spirit mage groaned. “They got you too, huh?”

“This morning, so if Juvia can do it, Lucy can too.” She held out the box. “Take one Lucy.” She looked in the males direction. “Natsu’s right over there.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Cana chimed in, putting her hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “He’ll probably just assume it’s the normal Pocky game, nothing more.”

“You know how much Natsu likes games,” Lisanna added in. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

Levy placed her hand on her friend’s other shoulder. “You can do this Lu.”

“Ugh,” Lucy took a stick from the box. “I hate you all.”

“No, you don’t,” Cana winked, “now go get um girl!”

Why did she cave into them? ‘I must have brain damage from the last mission.’ This was such a childish game, ‘seriously, ridiculous... that I was dumb enough to agree to.’ Yet there Lucy was, walking to the other side of the hall, where Natsu was talking to Gray. ‘Okay, okay,’ she physically shook off the nerves. ‘Just take the leap.’

Lucy held the cracker end on her pursed lips, then cleared her throat, closed her eyes, and tapped him on the shoulder all at the same time. She could feel her flushed cheeks and the pounding of her heart, but couldn’t look at him directly. Oh man, she was so nervous! She couldn’t tell if the heat was from the proximity or her own temperature rising.

Switch Natsu POV

“Yeah,” Gray told his buddy, “Juvia got me to play that pocky game earlier. And look,” he side-eyed towards the group of girls, “they’re about to coax Lucy into it next.”

Natsu glanced over, Lucy sure didn’t look copacetic with the plot and he didn’t know if that made him nervous or saddened. He’d been waiting for a chance to reveal his true feelings for her, but his nerves always got in his way. It was obvious she cared deeply for him, but was it as friends or did she harbor romantic feelings for him as well.

“So, what are you gonna do if she comes over here?” Gray questioned the man. “Oh, well you better think fast,” he chuckled, “cause here she comes.”

Once Lucy got to them, Natsu didn’t turn around until she tapped on his shoulder. But what he found did annoy him and the look on his face showed it clearly. Was she really that scared of him that she had to close her eyes?! He had to admit though, her rosy cheeks were a sign she was nervous too.

Instead of playing along, he pulled the stick out of her mouth, so Lucy instantly opened her eyes in surprise. Evidently, she hadn’t planned on him doing that. Without giving her a chance to say anything, he switched to his own plan, pouncing and kissing her smack dab on the lips. She squeaked and lost her balance, but Natsu easily caught her in a 45 degree tilted angle. He supported her back, placing pressure into the kiss. This was his moment now, and he was determined to show Lucy just what he thought of her.

When he released her, Lucy blinked in shock, staring into his eyes. “Y-You kissed me?! That’s not how the game goes.”

“Since when do I play by rules?” He grined down at her. “I took the opportunity and went for it.”

Such a confirmation caused her face to turn a deeper rouge color. “You stole a kiss on purpose?”

“Isn’t it obvious, you’re more than just a friend to me Lucy.” He stood her upright, but kept one arm locked around her waist, as he cradled her face in his hand and swept his thumb over her heated cheek. “I’ve wanted to tell you that for a long time. This game just gave me an excuse to do it.”

“Oh... my...” Lucy gasped lightly when Natsu kissed her a second time, gentle, yet communicated so much behind it. “I feel the same about you,” she whispered back through stifled happy tears.

All of a sudden, the guild erupted in cheer. Before that moment, they hadn’t noticed how silent the room had become. Lucy sniffled and chuckled in her surprise, while Natsu kept his focus solely on her. Nothing could have pulled it away in that moment. “So what do you say, Lucy? Shall we take this friendship to the next level?”

Lucy smiled back, “that is so much better than any Pocky.”

[madamebaggio]

Notes: Previously...

This one I’ll be dedicating to @msaudreyanne who didn’t pick anything as a request, but absolutely lvoes the sip ;)

It’s been a long while for this one, but here we are, and we had a time skip as I said ;)

Hope you enjoy it.

***

Chapter 4

4 years later…

“Lucy, have you seen Sansa?”

“She was in her office the last time I saw her.”

Arthur hummed. “Was she in a good mood?”

Lucy smirked at him. “Why? Are you planning on spoiling her day?”

Arthur gasped in fake outrage. “Lucy! Have I ever?”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Please, you do it for fun, just because you can’t admit…”

“Oy.” He cut her. “Don’t start with me.”

“Go find Sansa and leave me alone.”

Arthur passed by the kitchen and grabbed tea and lemon cakes with Bridget, who gave him a knowing look.

He didn’t know what was wrong with everyone around this house acting as if he was some green boy with a crush.

Ridiculous.

One of the things that shocked him the most in the years since Sansa appeared in their lives was how fast she carved a space for herself in the house.

Arthur thought he’d have a hard time finding her a job at the brothel, and he’d been humoring her when he talked about keeping the house. The first week she spent sewing and helping the girls with clothes and things like that. Once she started looking at the books and their pantry, she learned way too fast.

In less than a year she had an office -a fucking office -there.

Arthur might take care of business outside, but the brothel was Sansa’s realm. Arthur became the public figure that took care of the girls’ safety, but Sansa was the one that controlled the money that came in and out. Nobody bought an apple there without her knowing about it.

She ruled the brothel with an iron hand -and Arthur absolutely adored it, since it gave him more time to take care of his things.

“Lady Stark.” He called with a charming grin as he stepped into her office.

“Get out. I’m busy.” She replied without even looking up from her book.

“Good morning to you too, love.” He huffed as he entered the place and put his tray down. “I brought you tea.”

Sansa sighed and looked at him. “The answer is ‘no’.”

“I wasn’t going to ask you anything.” He protested.

She gave the lemon cake on the table a meaningful look.

“Right…” He drawled. “I’ll admit. I want to throw a party.”

“No.” She said easily, her eyes going back to the book.

“You didn’t even ask why I want that.”

“I don’t care.”

“You should.”

“I do not…”

"It's for you.” He informed her.

Her hand froze, a droplet of ink falling on the book. “Oh no!” She cursed under her breath. “Look at this mess!”

Arthur groaned. “Sansa! Did you hear me? The party is for you.”

She gave up on trying to clean the spot where the ink had already messed her writing. “Why? My name day has already passed.”

“Yes. However, next week will be your anniversary. Four years since you came into our lives.”

Sansa looked at him, shock clearly written on her features. “I…”

“Have I made you speechless?” Arthur grinned. “Maybe I should write down this date to celebrate in the future.”

“Arthur!” She chided.

Arthur went around her table, then leaned his hip on it, close to her. “I’m serious, princess. Let me throw you a party.”

“Why?” She insisted.

“You deserve one.” He pointed out. “You’ve been an essential part of this household since you got here.”

“Yes, but…”

“We’ll close for the night…”

“Close for the night? Are you out of your mind? The loss…”

“Sh, now…” He covered her mouth with his hand, ignoring the dirty look she sent him. “I’m the boss, in case you have forgotten. One night, we call only the people that matter to us. No work, no intruders. We dance, we laugh, we drink, we pass out in the front hall.”

Sansa started laughing, so he uncovered her mouth. “That’s a really charming offer. But…” Her shoulders dropped. “You don’t need to do this for me.”

“I know I don’t. I want to.” He reached for her hand. “You drive me mad, princess, but I’m thankful you’re here.” He kissed the back of her hand. “Let me do something nice for you.”

Sansa bit her lower lip, her eyes searching for something on his face, until she shook her head, a grin on her lips. “You win. We can have a party.”

Arthur’s smile was positively blinding. “That’s my girl!” He celebrated. He leaned forward and dropped a quick kiss to her cheek. “I’ll make sure everything is perfect.”

Arthur was still grinning as he left the office, proud of his victory. When he turned the hallway he came face to face with Back Lack and Wet Stick, both grinning knowingly at him.

“Not a word.” He growled at his friends.

“Just admit you love her, mate.” Back Lack teased.

***

Sansa found Ada and Rose in Kay’s room, talking to the older woman. “Sansa.” Kay smiled at her. “Do you need something?”

“Do you know what’s wrong with Arthur?”

“Darling, you’ll have to be more specific. That boy took way too many punches to the face, so…”

Sansa snorted. “He wants to throw me a party.”

All the women turned to her, eyes like arrows fixed on her. “Tell us more.” Rose demanded.

“What more can I say? He wants to throw a party because I’ve been here for four years.”

Kay arched an eyebrow. “It’s that time of the year already?”

“And he remembered it on his own?” Ada gushed. “Oh that’s so…”

“Don’t say it.” Sansa asked.

“You don’t know what I was going to say.” Ada protested.

“So romantic.” Sansa finished, her voice sickeningly sweet, batting her eyelashes. Then she gave Ada a hard look. “Am I wrong?”

Kay chuckled. “Are you ever, darling? Let the boy throw you a party; it’s nice of him.”

“It’s suspicious.” Sansa insisted.

“Only because you won’t accept our explanation for it.” Rose pointed out.

“Because it’s a ridiculous one.” Sansa threw at them. “Arthur isn’t doing this to be romantic.”

The three women groaned in frustration.

“Sansa…” Rose started carefully. “If you aren’t interested, it’s fine, but you can’t be that blind. That man wants you to have redheaded babies with him.”

“Oh please…”

“It’s what she said.” Kay pressed. “And again; it’s fine if you aren’t interested. I’m just curious to know why you aren’t.”

Sansa sighed. “It’s… Complicated.”

Kay put a hand on her shoulder. “Does this have anything to do with what happened to you before?”

Sansa nodded. “It’s not as if I don’t trust him. It’s been a long time now, but…”

“Love is scary, isn’t it?” Rose guessed.

“I don’t even know what it’s like anymore.” Sansa confessed.

“That’s fair.” Ada offered softly. “We’re on your side. If Arthur is pressuring you, making you feel uncomfortable, we…” She paused to think about that one. “We’ll tell on him. To Bridget.”

That made Sansa laugh. “That is a cruel punishment.”

“She’d take care of him very fast.” Kay agreed. “But, if even for a second you want to take a chance on anyone… I do believe you should take a chance on him.”

“He is really good.” Ada agreed loyally.

“I know how good he is.” Sansa reminded them.

“He is also very good looking.” Rose pointed out. “And has all his teeth.”

They all laughed at that.

“Fine.” Sansa conceded. “If it ever comes to that, I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Make sure to keep it in mind for your party, darling.” Kay smirked.

***

Arthur was feeling ridiculous.

Everyone thought he had a crush on Sansa.

No one understood that it wasn’t a crush; he was in love with her. He’d been for a while now.

It wasn’t from the beginning. She was a scared child when she started living with them, and for a long time she gave him a wide berth. After he started to understand her story better, it made a lot of sense.

It made him boil in anger every time he heard what had been done to her in her previous home. The abuse, the agressions, the forced marriage…

He despised the Lannisters and he’d never met them.

Arthur was happy that Sansa was with them now, so he could protect her. He felt a bit like a savage for wanting to do it, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want her to ever get hurt again.

He had no idea how she felt. Sansa was hard to read, and she easily hid whatever she felt.

In all the time she’d been with them, there had never been another man. She didn’t take lovers, she didn’t flirt with men or accepted anyone courting her.

Kay had wondered at some point if she had a preference for ladies, but it soon became clear that Sansa was just good at keeping people away.

Arthur came to realise that she wasn’t only trying to get him to trust her; she was also seeing if she could trust any of them.

It took some time for them all to come to an understanding, but once Sansa became a part of the house, she was always there. She was loyal and brave.

And smart.

And funny.

And fucking beautiful.

So, yes, he was in love. He hated when people thought it was just a crush. He wasn’t twelve.

However, he’d never managed to figure out what Sansa felt, and he didn’t want to pressure her. Besides, he was her boss, and he didn’t want to make her feel as if she had no choice but to accept his courting.

So he had a plan.

There was the party, he had a gift and a whole speech prepared.

Everything had to be perfect, so Sansa would believe him when he said he was in love, but that he’d accept whatever she chose to do about it.

He could get it done.

“Arthur.”

“George.” He shook hands with the man. “How’s it going?”

“Have you heard about the vikings?”

Arthur frowned. “Vikings? Here?”

“Yes. They arrived yesterday.”

Arthur groaned. “They always get in trouble when they come around.”

“I’m just letting you know, so you can organize your business.”

Arthur put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Thank you for it. I’ll tell Wet Stick and Back Lack to keep their eyes open.”

Arthur thanked George, then hurried along. He had to pick up the present he bought for Sansa.

[hopeless-weakness]

2021 Books I’ve Read

222/75

One Percent of You by Michelle Gross

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I heard Lucy yell, “Mommy!” followed by, “What’s wrong?” That was a trap. One of many I’d fall prey to the months that led to becoming friends with this woman and her tiny family. A fundamental change in my life. Only I didn’t know it yet.”

I knew within seconds of reading that I hated Scott, and wanted Hadley to be better for herself, and for her kids. Just because you aren’t a deadbeat dad, doesn’t mean you aren’t a deadbeat person. But then again, it turns out he’s both kinds of deadbeat. So my intuition was right. My hatred for him only left more room to love Elijah. This was enemies to lovers for about .5 seconds, or however long it takes to forgive and forget a stolen bag of Funyuns. Did I love that Lucy called Elijah a demon worshiper? Of course. Did it irk me that the narrative existed? Of course. Elijah never needed to stick around and be part of Hadley’s life. But let’s be honest, he never stood a chance. Even if he didn’t live within spitting distance, he still wouldn’t have walked away. Hadley is every kind of stubborn under the sun. Didn’t want to give Elijah the time of day. Doesn’t appreciate help, and definitely doesn’t ask for it. But Elijah is just as stubborn, and it was a pleasure watching them bump heads until they (she) got it together. Elijah and Lucy share a birthday, Eli and Elijah’s names are pretty close, Elijah happens to move next door after the house has been on the market for a year. HELLO? Fate’s on the phone. As soon as he gave Hadley nicknames, in quick succession, he was in for the long haul. I knew by chapter 26 this was a five star. They hadn’t even fallen fully in love yet. They weren’t even together. But the way my heart swooned for Elijah and those kids was all it took.

My Favorite Quotes:

•”Been buggin’ me for a while. Not knowing enough.”

•”Anytime you’re with me, think of you.”

•”The thought of not knowing you guys, hurts right here.”

•”Instead of gorgeous, I was thinking more along the lines of how edible you look in that dress.”

•”I’ve never seen anyone more perfect. You’re perfect. And I’m going to spend the rest of the night worshiping every inch of you.”

•”You won’t hurt him, baby. Go on and choke him out and see.”

•”I love all your pieces, especially the ones that call you mom.”

•”I’ve been in love with you. You’ve made me all domestic and shit.”

7/10 Dirty Birdy

8/10 Friends to Lovers

8/10 Single Parent

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[entity9silvergen]

Mosaic (Disenchantment Fanfiction)

Summary: We are just mosaics of everyone we love and that mosaic shows everyone we love how beautiful they are. Bean doesn’t think she can love like everyone else but maybe that’s okay.

Fandom: Disenchantment 

Word Count: 2K

Characters: Bean

Relationships: Bean/ Mora, Mentioned Bean & Everyone, Mentioned Odval/ Sorcerio, Mentioned Zog/ Oona, Mentioned Zog/ Dagmar

Warnings: Internalized arophobia, first person pov, some self-deprecation, sex mention, drug mention, mention of interspecies relationships in fantasy setting 

Other Tags: F/F, Mentioned F/F QPR, Reflection/ Self-Reflection/ Internal Thoughts, No Dialogue, Queerplatonic, Aromantic Character, Aromantic Homosexual Character, Arospec Character, Queer Themes, Unreliable Narrarator, S3E6, Oneshot, AroWriMo 2021

Author’s Note: My friend sent me the line “I am a mosaic of everyone I’ve ever loved” about twenty minutes after I watched “Final Splash.” I’m working on the prompt for Week 2 of AroWriMo rn but I had to drop everything and write a short fic about this. Again, I didn’t really use the prompt but it kind of fits with week 1’s prompt romo/loveless & future. 

I’m headcanonnoning Bean as aro or demiro/ greyro. I think in the show it was implied she never experienced romantic attraction prior to meeting Mora because she likes women and I don’t want to erase that in any way but Bean still gives off a big aromantic bisexual homo(queer)platonic vibe.

_____________________

My name is Princess Tiabeanie of Dreamland and I’ve never loved anyone.

I mean, I love my dad and my friends and all that but I’ve never loved loved anyone. Is that weird to say? That makes it sound like I don’t really love my dad and Elfo and Luci and everyone. I probably shouldn’t say that then because I actually love them a lot. They’re my everything. 

One time, I was walking down Elf-Ally and this elf was sitting on the side of the road with some chalk. I feel like elves would really like chalk but I’ve never seen any of them use it, not even Arto, except this guy. I’d never seen anything like it before so I asked what he was doing and he said he was making this mosaic to show his love for this other elf he liked. I didn’t really understand it so he explained it to me like this: we are just mosaics of everyone we love and that mosaic shows everyone we love how beautiful they are.

I still didn’t get it so I just laughed at him and he got kind of upset and threw a piece of chalk at me. It didn’t really hurt but Luci was with me and the elf started throwing stuff at him and you know how Luci gets when he hits his nose so we left. I couldn’t really forget what that elf said though. 

You see, a mosaic is a mix of a bunch of little pieces taken from different things that all come together to make one thing. There’s this mosaic at the church and it’s pretty freaking ugly but the mosaic this elf was making was just so beautiful. He used so many colors and he drew all these little pictures and hid these words I didn’t understand in them. I’d expect it to be all crude and gross like those scribbly pictures Derek would draw when he was younger that Oona pretended to love but it all came together so well. It didn’t even look like separate pieces. It was just one.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The influences of countless parts of my life, weaving together into an insanely complex mesh- That felt like me. I always felt like something was broken in me but maybe I’m just a mosaic. 

I think my dad made me who I am the most. Even if he wasn’t really present most of my life. Sure, we don’t see eye to eye sometimes but I think we’re better because of that. He made me strong. His actions guided me into becoming the woman I am today. He taught me how to keep fighting. Literally and figuratively. He taught me to keep my head up and he taught me how to stab people. It’s pretty cool. I remember this one time as a kid he took me out to the courtyard, stole this guy’s knife, and taught me how to use it. I think I still have the knife actually. I don’t stab people with it anymore though.

(I hope he’s okay. He hasn’t been the same in awhile.)

My mom… Well, I don’t really love her anymore but I did for a long time. She was… How do I put it? A constant in my life. Even though she wasn’t there. What I felt towards her, it kept me together for a long time. When I had nothing to fall back on, I always had her memory. Until she tried to take over Dreamland, obviously. Now I just say she gave me my love for alcohol and that’s pretty sweet too. 

(I still miss her. I bet she’s dead.)

You know those pictures where the guy has an angel and demon on his shoulders telling him what to do? That’s Elfo and Luci, and it’s literal for Luci. And maybe for Elfo? He did go to heaven that one time. It can be kind of annoying to hear them bickering all the time, especially since they almost never want the same thing, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Elfo keeps me safe and Luci pushes me to be more than I am. They make life fun. Fuller. Less lonely.

(I’m scared they might leave someday. I wouldn’t blame them.)

I don’t really like Derek but I still love him. Maybe a little less since he tried to burn me at the stake. Maybe a little more since he chickened out at the last second. And a little less because he still went through with it. And maybe a little more since it was an accident. We have a complicated relationship but he’s still my little brother, as weird as he is. He reminds me of what I have to fight for, if that makes sense. I don’t really see him as the future of Dreamland or anything but he’s still a little kid and I can’t really help but have a soft spot for him. Don’t tell him I said that.

(I wonder if he’ll keep me around when he’s king. I’d be lying if I said I was surprised.)

The same goes for Oona. I never liked her but I think I love her. Especially after she tried to save me from my mom. And since she became an epic pirate. She’s awesome. She’s the mom I always wished I had except she was actually there the whole time and I didn’t realize it. I’m happy with how things turned out though. I don’t regret it. Plus she’s got great taste in drugs. I still steal them sometimes.

(I don’t know if she loves me. Maybe she did once but not anymore.)

I kind of hate Odval and Sorcerio in a weird way where I like them at the same time. They’re not really family but always been there. Like they’re kind of like second dads to me. Second dads whose the sex lives I know way too much about. My gay polyamorous uncles? But they kind of care under all that court properness and tradition nonsense so they’ve kind of wormed their way into my heart. They’ve always made my life difficult but I don’t think I would be myself if I wasn’t challenged so much.

(I think they’d rather have me gone. They don’t hide it every well but I can pretend.)

I’m going to be honest, I was really bummed when Pendergast died. We were kind of the same age and he hung around the castle for most of my life. And my dad trusted him so we actually did stuff together sometimes. A lot of adventures that never really went anywhere. He could be kind of a stick in the mud but he never really minded that I’m a girl and let me tag along on crusades and helped me get better with weapons and stuff. And Pendergast was weirdly loyal to Dreamland, even after Dad forked his eye out. Or was it spooned? I don’t remember. Some kind of eating utensil. I wasn’t there when it happened. But it was nice knowing I could trust him. He could be kind of fun though when he was off-duty. Total lightweight though. He threw up on one of those little guys who carries dad’s cape once. 

(I wish I’d known him better. I really miss him but I can’t tell anyone since Dad gets set off by anything that even reminds him of the guy.)

Who else is there? That’s right, Mertz and Turbish. Turbish and Mertz. Two peas in a pod. Plus Mrs. Mertz. Don’t get me wrong, they are idiots. Totally incompentant. It’s a wonder they’re still alive. But they’re sweet. And they try. They’re not good at anything but they try. Sometimes I don’t want to try but they tell me I always can.

(I’m waiting for the day they realize they could have a better life. It’ll be weird not having them around the palace.)

I even kind of like Merkimer. As a pig, not a human. God, he was an awful human but he’s a funny little pig. He lets Luci ride on his back sometimes. Both of them like it way more than either of them will ever admit. It’s cute. I think they’re friends. If they’re not, Elfo and I will start plotting until they are. Or maybe not. A Luci-Merkimer friendship might be too much for Dreamland to handle. They’re kind of a lot, even on their own. Merkimer always kind of had a big head and it only got bigger when he accepted his new life. It’s actually kind of inspiring how happy he is now. 

(I don’t want him to change but he already has. It makes me sad sometimes.)

And Bunty. Oh, Bunty. And Stan! The world doesn’t really deserve Bunty. Stan does though. I think they’re the ones who taught me what real love is. Bunty always showed me love as a kid, she was like the second mom I never had but actually did have because Oona was there. But she gave me something neither Oona or Dagmar could. I didn’t really understand it until I saw her and Stan and their family together. I still don’t. They’re really sweet.

(I’d give them everything. I know they just see me as some spoiled princess though.)

I want what those two have. Or what Odval and Sorcerio have. What my dad had with Dagmar or Oona. What Elfo’s had, and Luci’s had, and Derek’s had, and the knights have had. It feels like everyone’s had that kind of deep love at some point except me. I didn’t even realize until I was talking to Mora. 

I’ve had the chance to have it. Merkimer, that brother of his I accidentally killed, that one time Pendergast made a pass at me, that Steamland guy… I don’t think any of it really would’ve worked out though. I’ve had a lot of things with guys and there’s been kissing and touching and I’ve always enjoyed it but I think I always knew it would never go anywhere. That it will never go anywhere. And I can’t even blame my dad because it’s all me. It’s always been me. And I’m okay with that? Maybe? I don’t think so but I’m not really good at understanding my feelings. It’s just another thing on the pile of things I won’t work through.

I think I understood what I had with Mora though. It wasn’t… romantic but it felt like it almost was. We just… clicked. It felt right. She was tough and funny and she didn’t hold anything back. She followed her dreams and didn’t let the world get her down. That one night we had together, I felt like we were alone in the world.

Mora gave me the ocean and the stars.

She was beautiful. Maybe that’s what was missing? None of the guys I ever screwed around with were beautiful. Not like Mora was. Not like a woman can be. I really felt like this was it but there was still that disconnect. Like something was there but not quite. Like something was missing. I don’t know what it was.

But then she just left. I had that dream and I just felt so happy. I’d never felt happiness like that. And I never felt pain like the pain I felt when I woke up and the necklace was gone. I definitely would’ve cried if Elfo wasn’t there. I might’ve actually cried a little bit. It’s kind of hard to hear anything when Elfo’s sobbing. Some of those tears might have been mine.

Did I love her? I don’t think so. Not like Elfo loved that boat. It wasn’t romantic. But it was real. It gives me hope. I don’t think I’m capable of the same kind of love everyone else seems capable of and that’s not even a slight at me. It’s just reality. But what I had with Mora, however brief and imagined it was, tells me that’s okay. I don’t need the kind of love everyone else has. Not when I have so many others in my life.

Still, I hope I see her again, even for a second, just to feel that kind of happiness again.

I think that’s what that elf meant when he said we are just mosaics of everyone we love and that mosaic shows everyone we love how beautiful they are. Mora was beautiful and she didn’t see it but maybe she would if she saw how I looked at her. 

Stars and the ocean, I’ll never forget them. They’ll be a part of my mosaic forever.

Other AroWriMo Fics By Me, Posted on Ao3, Posted on FFN

[tagsecretsanta]

From @Thundergeek59

to @little-old-rachel

Secret Santa does not own this work, full credit to the author mentioned above!

AN: This is only my second fic and I thought it was only going to be a couple of paragraphs, however, Jeff decided to take this over totally and ran away with it. I now know what you writers mean when you say your characters take over!  I hope you like it, I had fun writing it

Rating: Gen/Family fun

Wordcount: 2900 ish

Jeff sat up and swing his legs over the side of the bed, toeing on his slippers.  It was still dark as he reached for his cane and shrugged his dressing gown round his shoulders. “May as well get up as toss and turn in bed”.  Stuffing his communicator cuff in his pocket, he padded out his door and headed to the kitchen.  

Grabbing a small bottle of juice and a couple of biscuits he headed out towards the pool deck and sat on one of the loungers.  Idly munching the biscuit he gazed at the pool, lit up by the underwater lights, and his mind wandering back to Gordon’s pre-Olympic training when he used to time him with his stopwatch, then chuckling as he remembered having to dive-bomb his little fishie in a vain effort to get him out of the pool, several hours later. 

“Oh Lucy, our little fish is all grown and you’d be so proud of him – of all of them”

With a sigh, he pulled himself up on his cane and continued walking down the path to the beach where Virgil had thoughtfully built a bench for him so he didn’t have to sit on the sand, which only thinly covered the sharp volcanic rock.  From here he could look out to the bird colony on Mateo.  He remembered his first few weeks back home,  when easily overwhelmed by boys and noise, he had sought the solitude by the beach.  Just listening to the waves ebb and flow calmed his mind.  

He looked to the red glint just gracing the edges of the horizon and realised Gordon would be up soon to power though his pool routine while Scott would be just behind, setting off round the island on his daily run.  Eight years and some things never changed while others were irredeemably different.

It was Virgil who caught him by surprise with a hand gently placed on his shoulder. “Hey dad, we’re going to get the tree now, do you want to come along?”  “Thanks for the offer but I think I better stay and help your Grandma with dinner preparations.” He declined. “You sure?  We’d love you to join us and anyway, Max is there to help in the kitchen and Ridley and Kayo will be available to fix any potential culinary catastrophes”.

“I’d only be a hindrance with this”  he replied, waving his stick.  “Actually dad, I have an idea I think you might like”.  Intrigued, Jeff let himself be persuaded, hoping he wouldn’t regret it.

As soon as Virgil had set down Two at the edge of the forest, Scott and John set about configuring a suitable pod.  With Gordon awaiting the arrival of Lady Penelope and Alan still in bed, the party consisted of Jeff and his three eldest and he was looking forward to just doing something social with his boys, a nice change from being ferried to hospital appointments.  He was, however, starting to wonder what form Virgil’s surprise idea would take when he heard a soft cough behind him, announcing said son’s arrival.

The sight that greeted him as he turned around was not what he was expecting.  In front of Virgil was a fully functioning hoversleigh, complete with T2’s green livery with the addition of red flames down the side, a red padded seat with a matching throw.  Words failed him, causing a worried frown to appear between Virgil’s brows, until a deep chuckle rose from Jeff, and a smile twitched at the corner of Virgil’s mouth, pleased that his dad had felt comfortable enough to let his lighter side out.  “Certainly is different” laughed Jeff as Virgil helped him into the sleigh.

Scott and John’s faces were a picture as the hatch descended with Virgil and their father.   “Oh my word, you really did it!” John exclaimed as both brothers tried to stifle their guffaws when they saw their father with a green bobble hat and gloves, looking like one of Santa’s helpers sitting in the sleigh.

“Well, I’d been tinkering with the old hover bikes back at the ranch and decided to see how far I could take the modifications and, well, here she is...”

“Well, let’s see what this baby can do” said Jeff as he pushed the controller forward and... nothing.  A quizzical look at Virgil “Safety feature.  You gotta push the red button first but be careful, I haven’t fully tested.....” He couldn’t finish the sentence due to the cloud of snow covering him. 

“WooHooooo” Jeff whooped as he surged forward down the track, leaving them all brushing snow off themselves.

“You do remember that he likes to go very, very fast” Scott said

“Yep, better jump in the pod and catch him before he heads out of sight” added John. ‘C’mon Virg, hop on”.

Scott steered the pod at speed, following the trail of snow kicked up by the sleigh. After several hair-raising twists and turns Jeff had managed to turn the sleigh into a clearing and was doing doughnut spins, thoroughly enjoying himself.  Finally he came screeching to a halt mere inches from his sons, who were once more coated with a dusting of snow.  “Gee Virgil, that’s gotta be the best fun I’ve had in years!  Reminds me of that time Lee and I tested out the moon rover on Alfie.”

“I’m pleased you had fun, but I hadn’t got around to telling giving you the low-down on all it’s features”.  

“Well, as an Airforce pilot you kinda just learn on the job, part of the fun really, isn’t that right Scott”.   “Sure dad, but you just about gave me a heart attack back there.”  “Ah sorry, Scotty, but you gotta admit, if it had been you trying her out, you’d have done the exact same thing”.  “I guess so” Scott conceded.

While Jeff and Scott had been talking, John had been surveying area, seeking out the perfect tree.  “That one, over there, what do you think Vigil”.  “Looks good to me, lemme bring the pod into position” Virgil replied as he hopped up onto the pod and drove it over to the tree, Scott and Jeff following in it’s wake.  

“Ok guys let’s do this.  John, you take that side.  Virgil, get into position with the saw and dad and I will be over here to tell you when to stop cutting and get the pod grapples ready”  Pure IR commander front and centre. “Yes, and I’ll be shouting encouragement from the sidelines” chuckled Jeff.  He’d had time to see his boys work together over the past few months and marvelled at how seamlessly they all fitted together, deferring to each other’s greater expertise.  He’d learnt from bitter experience that his opinions on the best way for them to do something, more often than not screwed with their well oil system and got them second-guessing themselves, which was not what was needed in the field.

 He was fortunate, so fortunate that his boys had developed the way they had, working in the way they did and in the process, turning IR into something more than what he had originally envisaged.  He’d been away from it all for too long to be able to step back in and run it the way he had and he was coming to terms with that, despite how much his pride and sense of usefulness had been hurt.

“You’d have loved this Lucy – just look at our boys working so well together, just like they did when they were little”. 

“You ok dad?” John was first to notice the faraway look in his fathers’ eyes.  “Yes, I’m fine, just  telling your mother about you all”.  John gave Scott a look, who in turn quirked an eyebrow at Virgil. Virgil imperceptibly shook is head.  Jeff, watching the exchange and remembering how they had been doing this since they were children – saying so much without uttering a word.  “I know those looks, and no, I’m not crazy, you gotta remember that for 8 years I only had your mother to talk to, so it’s got to be a bit of a habit.”  

The boys looked anywhere but at their father, feeling caught out with muffled apologies.  “C’mon lets get this tree strapped onto the pod and back home” Virgil successfully diverted the conversation to the matter in hand.

It didn’t take too long to get back to Thunderbird 2, Jeff taking a slightly more sedate pace on the return journey.  What the boys didn’t know was that the reason for the slower pace would make itself apparent as soon as they exited the pod.

Whooooosh...... splat!  A perfect hit and a whoop of joy from the elf in the sleigh.  Scott looked down at the remains of the snowball that was gracing his uniform.  “You did not just snowball me, did you? Scott scooped up a handful himself “You know what that means.....”   “You wouldn’t hit an old man in a sleigh?” Words were barely out of his mouth when Whumph... direct shot to the sleigh, there followed a rapid volley from the sleigh to the other two sons. Virgil and John only had time to cast a quick glance at each other when they realised what was going on before  Boooooffffff..... fluuuuufffff.......Thwaaaak!  

In the meantime, Scott was building a small cache of snowballs, ever prepared, ready to dive into the fray.  He decided that his chances were better if he and Jeff teamed up against Virgil and John.  Whilst  Jeff could quickly manoeuvre the sleigh out of some of the shots, not all could be avoided.  Virgil had the strength and John had the trajectory calculations going on in his head, weighing up the best type of snowball for the distances involved – enough to make a good splatter but not hard enough to cause damage to sleigh or person. The were quite a formidable team against age and experience.

“Okay, okay, I concede defeat” Jeff laughed as one final snowball splattered against his gloved hands raised in mock surrender.  It had been a long time since he’d seen them rosy cheeked in the cold air, just enjoying themselves, “Well, I think it’s definitely time to head back to the Island” John shivered as they loaded pod, Christmas tree and sleigh onto Two’s elevator.   “But we need to make a quick stop off en-route” added Virgil.  “What could we possibly need on Christmas eve that we haven’t already got” Jeff queried.  “Wait and see” was his reply.

Thunderbird Two took off as soon as everyone was strapped in.  Virgil and Scott in the pilot and co-pilot seats with Jeff and John behind in the passenger seats.  Jeff regarded his middle son who was staring out of the window “Penny for your thoughts” he said.  “Hmm? Oh it’s nothing, just daydreaming really”.  “Uh huh, and would that daydream have anything to do with a lovely young astronaut that’s waiting for you back home?” asked Jeff. 

 John could feel the heat creeping up to his cheeks  “Maybe, just idly looking forward to having a few days downtime together.  Our schedules rarely coincide, so it’ll be nice to spend a few days dirtside with her”.  “You thinking of bringing her into the family business?” Jeff asked.   John had not seen that one coming and, clearly agitated, tried to steer the conversation away. Truth be told, he had thought about it but that would imply a whole load of commitment he wasn’t sure either of them could give right now.  

“Not really thought about it to be honest” was all he offered.  “You sure could do with some additional help up there on Five and she is a fully trained astronaut ....and... well, I like her”  You could have knocked John down with a feather.  What the heck had happened to his father and who was this amiable alien who had taken over his body!

Vigil raised and eyebrow at Scott while all this conversation was going on, realising it was touching on a subject neither of them had even dared ask John about.  Scott quirked an eyebrow back, a small smile dancing at the corner of his mouth.  He’d love to stay and listen in but felt it was getting into personal territory that neither of them had a right to enter without invitation.

“Just stopping off here for a few minutes guys.  Scott, wanna come with?” Virgil asked, the please remained unsaid but was clear from his expression.  “Sure, we’ll be back in no time, no need to get up you two.” Scott replied as they both exited the cockpit.

“Ok, I know, it’s not my place to interfere” Jeff continued “but take it from someone who’s been there, when you find someone you just feel totally comfortable with, you don’t just let it slip away.  I’ve seen you two together John, the way you interact, believe me, I’ve never seen you look so comfortable with anybody outside this family, with the exception perhaps of  Penny.” 

Clearly blindsided, John being John, wanted a bit more clarification “Dad, when you said family business, you didn’t just mean International Rescue, did you?”  “Well son, that would be up to you” Jeff left the ball in John’s court. 

 “This thing we have, it’s quite new and we’re having to work round rotas, so we haven’t actually had a great deal of time together. Certainly not enough to make as big a decision as I think you’re suggesting”.    “Son, sometimes you just gotta trust your gut and leave your head and logic to one side. That’s all I’m saying”. 

Their conversation was interrupted by Scott and Virgil entering the cockpit with several boxes carrying the logo of a well known Swiss chocolatier and four steaming takeaway cups.  “Thought we could all use some hot chocolate” Virgil passed out the cups to welcoming hands. “Just what we needed. Got anything in these boxes to go with the cocoa?” Jeff asked. “Sadly, these are for home. I promised Kayo we’d pick up some goodies for everyone to enjoy with our Christmas mimosas and I’d hate to be the one to tell her they didn’t make it home.” Replied Virgil.  “Well it’s a good job I popped into the patisserie down the road while you were busy getting the drinks and got these”  Scott beamed, clearly collecting extra brownie points as he carefully opened the smaller box, revealing the most wonderful choux pastry creations liberally topped with dark and white chocolate ganache, lightly dusted with edible glitter and gold leaf.  “Wondered where you’d wandered off to” mumbled Virgil mid-chew, trying not to spray glitter everywhere.  “You’re not the only one who knows the little out of the way places” 

“Neither of you would know about either of those places if Eos and I hadn’t scoped them out first” John huffed.  He was pleased the conversation had moved on from the rather uncomfortable personal probing of earlier and was quite happy to keep it that way.

 “Call it teamwork” Virgil added as he slipped into the pilot’s chair.  “Well, from what I see, teamwork is certainly something you boys excel at and I couldn’t be prouder” Jeff added as he raised his hot chocolate in salute to his eldest three.

Waiting to meet them in the hangar were the two youngest, Alan bouncing on the balls of his feet, Gordon trying unsuccessfully to hide his delight at the size of the tree that was appearing from Two.  What they hadn’t expected to see was hidden behind the tree. “Oh my God!” Gordon exclaimed as he caught a glimpse of green and red.  He and Alan ran over to check out what had caught his eye and of course, check out the tree.  

Wow, it’s a beaut” enthused Gordon, gently stroking the machine.  “I thought you were all talk when you were going on about fixing up one of the old hover bikes”.  Virgil just shrugged, enjoying the youngster’s reaction to his handiwork. “You even painted on the flames!” Alan shrieked in delight.

“Well, hello to you too” said Jeff, slightly miffed but totally understanding of their enthusiasm for the new piece of kit rather than welcoming him back.

“Oh, hi dad” Alan finally waved, not taking his eyes off the machine. “You know, I was the one your brother allowed to test drive that thing” Jeff added.  That got their attention.  “Aw Virgil, I thought I was your favourite brother” whined Gordon “You know it’s always been me” replied Alan as they both turned towards there father, their interest piqued.  Virgil just rolled his eyes.  “So, how was she? Was she fast? Did you fall out? Did you test it to it’s limits?” so many questions tumbled from Alan who was now more interested in what his father had to say. “Walk me to the elevator and I’ll tell you all about it” said Jeff putting an arm around Alan’s shoulder.  “C’mon Gordon” Alan gestured for his brother to join him.  Gordon ran over, slipping quietly under Jeff’s other arm.  Jeff positively beamed as he finally had their full attention and a new tale to enthral them.  

The three older brothers looked at each other and smiled.  It’d been a long time since they’d seen their dad so relaxed and happy. 

Definitely the best day he’d had since returning from the Oort cloud and perhaps a new Christmas precedent had been set with the hoversleigh for future tree collecting.

End

[blackypanther9]

Part 21 - Let's be real for a moment...

Your POV.....

I already was at Stark Tower. I waited 30 seconds more and Tony was flying next to me. We need to stop this machine before it opens the portal for the Chitauri. These brainless idiots can't even open a box, without shooting at it.... The Chitauri are a very strong group...but they don't own a brain for thinking. They can nothing but destroy. Loki got the most useless people of the whole Universe. They can't even speak ! Pathetic. We saw this... Selvig guy on the machine. Tony spoke....

"Shut it down, Mr. Selvig."

"It's too late ! It can't stop now. It wants to show us something ! ....a new Universe.", he said.

I snorted.

"You mean more, a new enemy with death. A new Universe is a whole new Timeline, idiot. What you mean is a new race of something. It's bullshit !", I said.

"You don't see, what we see..", Selvig said.

"Okay then...", Tony said.

He aimed....

"Stark DON'T !!!!", I yelled.

....and shot at the machine... A shield or something blocked it and threw a hard explosion around itself. The machine didn't even had a scratch. We flew backwards and Selvig got unconscious. I stared at Stark with a death glare and listened to JARVIS.

"The barrier is of pure energy. It's unreachable."

"Alright then...plan B.", Tony said.

Tony looked down and I followed his stare.

"Oh.....shit. Plan B is....what ? Kick Loki until he falls unconscious ? Heh...yeah...that won't work...", I said.

"Just trust me.", Tony said.

"Have a hard time to do something like that....sorry."

He landed on some weird platform. That thing took of his robot uniform. While he walks. Loki walked to the stairs.

"What are you doing ?", I asked.

"Trust me.", he said.

"Not until you tell me what the hell you think you're doing ! He can kill you, by just throwing you out of the window !"

"Just play our little game with."

I huffed and went with Tony inside. Loki was already and started babbling.

"Please tell me you're both going to appeal to my humanity."

"Uh...actually we're planning to threaten you."

I looked at Tony, then at Loki.

"You should have left your armor on for that.", Loki said amused.

"Yeah.", Tony said.

Tony walked with me down the stairs.

"It's seen a bit of mileage and you got the, uh, glow stick of destiny.", Tony answered.

Loki looked at his scepter in amusement.

"Would you like a drink ?", Tony asked Loki.

Loki still looked amused.

"Stalling me won't change anything.", Loki said.

Tony went to his bar of drinks. He turned to him and said...

"No, no, no. Threatening."

Tony turned to me.

"Do you want a drink...Lucie ?"

I nodded my head. Tony nodded and took a glass with something in it. He looked at Loki again.

"No drink ? Are you sure ? I and Lucie are having one."

He took two glasses. Loki looked outside and went to the window.

"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that.", Loki said.

"Boah ! You are funny. Just because we ask you if you want a drink, doesn't mean we are friends now.", I said.

Loki looked at me.

"I wasn't finished, Mortal."

"I don't care, Frosty. The Chitauri are a bunch of losers. When will you see that ?"

"Liar. You played like you were Luciella first, but you are nobody. You are not her and you are just some stupid, ugly Mortal, who thinks that playing with a God is funny."

"I am not what you say. I know who I am. You don't ! So watch you Silver Tongue ! Or else..."

"What have I to fear ?", Loki asked me with a grin.

"The Avengers.", Tony answered.

Tony looked up at us, I smiled and Loki looked at him confused as fuck. Tony shrugged.

"That's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team. ' Earth's mightiest heroes'- type thing", he explained.

"When do I get my drink ?", I whined.

"Any second. Come here.", Tony answered.

I went to him and stood next to him. I looked at him with excitement. He filled the liquid into the second glass and gave it to me. I took a sip. Yummy.

"Yes, I've met them.", Loki said amused.

Tony and I smiled back.

"Yeah.", we both said.

"It takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a head count here. Your Brother, the Demigod."

Loki looked away maybe...disgusted or more angry.... While Loki looked away, I saw Tony putting on some Wristbands.

"A super soldier, a living legend, who kinda of lives up to a legend. A man with breathtaking anger - management issues, a couple of master assassins, maybe a second demigod with more powers then Thor. And you, big fella,"

Tony pointed at Loki, who looked now really amused.

"you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan.", Loki said proud.

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you.", Tony told Loki.

I took another sip of my drink. Loki looked annoyed.

"I have an army.", he said.

"We have a Hulk.", we both said.

"I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you."

Loki looked at Tony, angry now.

"Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it.", Tony added.

Tony and I took another sip of the drink. I drank it now empty. Loki walked to Tony dangerously closely. With a look, that would scare anybody, but not me and Tony.

"How will your friends have time for me, when they are so busy fighting you ?", Loki asked.

Loki raised his scepter, it glowed and blue magic danced around it. He touched with the top of the scepter Tony. .....nothing happened, just a cling was to hear. Loki lost his smile and tried again. ....Nothing. Loki looked at his scepter confused.

"This usually works..."

"Well, performance issues,", Tony grimaced and shrugged, "it's not uncommon."

Loki stared at Tony.

"One out of five -"

Loki grabbed Tony by his throat. He threw him on the ground, near the windows.

"TONY !", I screamed.

"JARVIS, anytime now.", Tony spoke.

Tony stood up and Loki grabbed him again by the throat.

"You will all fall before me.", Loki said.

"Deploy !", Tony called.

Loki lifted Tony up, still by the throat.

"Deploy !", Tony called again.

Loki threw him out of the window.

"TONY !!! NO !!", I screamed.

I heard a sound. I turned, Loki did also and Tony's Iron Man suit flew out. It hit Loki and flew out of the window in full speed. It was also more fixed. 30 seconds or so later and Tony was there again. Loki just stood up again.

"And there is one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil.", Tony told him.

Loki wanted to use the scepter and shoot at Tony, but Tony was faster and shot Loki. It hurts to see Loki get shot, but it's the only way to make him stop. Loki fell and lost the scepter. I felt something...bad happening. I saw a line of blue, reaching in the sky. The portal...it's open !

"Tony the portal !!!"

He looked up. The Chitauri came through the portal.

"Shit...", I cursed.

"Right. Army."

With that he flew away.

"And what about me ?! What are my orders ?! Babysitting the demigod, Lokster ?!", I screamed after Tony.

I saw the Chitauri shooting at Tony, but missing and Tony shooting and destroying the most of the Chitauri. I stared at Loki, who was smiling at me. I gave him my coldest death glare of the world. I went to him and slapped him across the face. Hard. He had a red mark and fell back to the ground groaning. He stared at me.

"What did you say, years before ? We are friends no matter what ? Guess what, you are wrong ! And what did I once say to you ? No matter who you are or what you do, I will always like you, no matter what ? Guess what again....I WAS A FOOL TO SAY THAT !", I screamed at him.

"You are not her ! Stop pretending that you were !", he yelled.

"Well, maybe you should turn on your God for saken brain and realize that it's me !!! It's my soul in another body you complete Moron !!! I grew in my exile too !! And you know what ?"

"What ?!"

"I am disappointed in you. Frigga and I hoped that you will find a way out, that you are fine and return to us. We BELIEVED in you ! We both cried over you ! Thor didn't do much anymore and Odin looked more shitty then you can imagine ! And now...look at you ! The oh so mighty depressed demigod, Loki destroys his chance of getting hugs and 'I missed you'-s ! I really was worried, you know ?! I was afraid he killed you !! Instead I see this thing here before me ! I can't even call you a person anymore ! You were my best friend and always knew what is right and what is wrong ! You always found a way out ! And now ?! MY Loki is gone, right ?! Did you forgot what you said ?! You never wanted the throne, you only wanted to be Thor's equal !"

Loki stared at me.

"You...are really....here ? You...you...are against me ?"

"I- Loki look around ! Of course I am now against you ! You are destroying New York !! You tell bullshit about 'The Tesseract opened my eyes and horizon.' ! What the fuck Loks ?! He is using you, like in Asgard Thor's friends do !! Wake up Loverboy ! This is another illusion, a lie he is feeding you !! I know him better than you do ! He won't keep his promise ! He just wants you to fulfill 2 tasks and both aren't your business !! They never were ! But you don't see it anymore !! He fooled the God of fricking Mischief and Lies !! Who are you again ?! The God of foolness ?! The God of 'I am too stupid to see a trap, even if it's right in front of my eyes' ?! You messed up, Loki !!!"

I had tears in my eyes and some ran down my cheeks.

"I was worried sick ! I always tried to contact you again, but it didn't work !! I just could wait and hope to God that you are fine and I will see you again !! Now I see you here, but as an murderer !! Tell me how am I carrying the fucking consequences for you ?! I loved you as a friend !! I- I saw you as a big brother ! I- !!"

I looked at him. He stared at me, with an apologetic look on his face. My tears streamed down like waterfalls. He came closer while I talked, I backed away. I looked behind me and....jumped down. I jumped out of the window and flew. I looked at him one last time.

"You don't even care. Why did I tell you this ? You don't even care..."

He wanted to say something, but I already flew away and into the fight.

'I am sorry...' - Loki

'I hate you. Get out of my head.'- You

'He really messed up.' - Heiko

'Can I kill him ?' - Ratchel

'No. Asgard will punish him.' - You

'Can I hurt him at least ?' - Ratchel

'Maybe. Darko is out for a few days...Mimi ?' - You

'Yeah ?' - Mimi

'Stop hurting my heart. Crying won't solve anything.' - You

'I-I try...' - Mimi

'Thanks.' - You

'Let's kill some dumb Chitauri.' - Ratchel and Heiko

Part 22

Masterlist with all Chapters of this Story click here !  

[snarkybluechristian]

Villainous: Reform School Chapter 34

Not too long afterwards, Flug, 505, Demencia, and Melanie made it to the beach. It was getting closer to evening, but the sun was still bright in the sky for all the beachgoers on the surprisingly clean, glistening sand.

“Grace a Dieu!” Melanie exclaimed. “I thought I’d never see the beach again! Come on, 505!”

Melanie then dashed onto the beach ahead of everyone else. 505 handed the leash to Flug and ran after her. Flug walked down behind them with Demencia on her leash.

Once Melanie set down the basket, 505 set down three beach towels for the three of them to sit on since Demencia would be running around the beach anyways. He then set out three water bottles for them to drink from.

When 505 was done with that, Melanie set down her knapsack, took off her shirt and shorts, and started spraying herself down with the sunscreen. Before she had even finished spraying everything she could reach, 505 took the sunscreen and finished spraying Melanie down himself.

“Thanks, 505,” Melanie said. “But I think you need to worry more about spraying down your dad…”

“I’m fine,” Flug yelled from his towel on the left as he wiped sunscreen on his bare arms and neck. “You two can go ahead and have fun.”

“What about Demencia?” Melanie asked.

Demencia just then dashed past them like a bat out of Hell, for no reason that anyone could discern.

“It’s not worth the effort,” Flug said. “Believe me. I’ve tried. You two focus on enjoying yourselves. Okay?”

For a rare moment, Flug set his coat down under him and let himself relax some, sitting on his towel in the sand. He multitasked, vigilantly watching Melanie to make sure no escape attempts would come Demencia to make sure that she didn’t try to eat any of the other beachgoers.

Meanwhile, Melanie dug took off her sandals allowing her toes to sink into the sand, put on her sunglasses, and took in the sight of the horizon.

Melanie wondered what her parents and her sisters were up to and wished she could see. Her face fell and she shed a few tears.

Noticing her sadness, 505 walked up beside her and wrapped a hand around her shoulder.

Not knowing how to respond, Flug turned his attention to Demencia who required his attention since she was harassing an elderly couple. He immediately sprung to his feet to intervene.

Melanie walked over to where the water was lapping against the shore, let the water touch her feet, and let herself feel miserable.

“Why did the Lord let me get sent here, 505?” Melanie asked sadly, holding her arms tightly. “I hate this place. I was so stupid. I can’t fight off Black Hat by myself. I can’t even face Demencia. How will I ever get out of here? I just want to go home.”

505 felt sad for a moment as he wondered what to say. Then he had an idea. He picked up a stick and walked over to Melanie, grunting to get her attention.

Melanie looked over to see 505 drawing pictures in the sand, so she walked over to get a closer look.

Melanie looked closely and saw a doodle of the villains being happy with Melanie. Then she saw one of her outside the gates of the manor with 505.

“Oh, I get it,” Melanie said, perking up from her gloom. “Earn their favor, gain some freedom, and then come up with a plan.”

505 shook his head vigorously and gestured to the happy villains and her outside the manor again.

Melanie gave out a sigh that slowly turned into a smile as she said, “505, I don’t actually want to get along with them. I just need them to think I do. Oh, 505, you’ve given me an amazing idea! I just have to do well enough in my studies that they trust me. Then, when I get the chance, I’ll run away back to my Nunja sisters.”

Knowing that he had given her more mischievous ideas, 505 sighed. But upon seeing Melanie smile, 505 smiled, too.

“You’ll help me, right?” Melanie asked excitedly. “I know you couldn’t do anything with your dad watching before, but you could help me this time. I could get you out of here, too. I could help you find people who truly love you as you are and don’t see you as a failure or as a disappointment. Doesn’t that sound much better than here?”

505 visibly hesitated and looked away.

“505, are you okay?” Melanie asked.

505 picked up his stick and started doodling again. Melanie watched as 505 made a drawing of Flug hugging him and she understood.

“That’s right,” Melanie said. “No wonder you don’t want to leave. Flug is your dad. I don’t know how I keep forgetting that.”

Melanie looked in the distance where Flug had just managed to pull Demencia away from the elderly couple she was harassing and was yelling at her to go do something else.

After watching for a moment, Melanie said thoughtfully, “You know, at first, I thought that Flug was nothing more than an evil, sadistic flunky. At least, that’s what I got from all the videos. But now, I’m not sure what to think. Yeah, his lecture was boring, he knocked me out against my will, he drugged me into spilling the beans on Lucy, he implanted a chip in me, he threatened to dissect me, he bullied me with Black Hat, and he’s a stickler for the rules. But on the other hand, in a weird way, Flug seems to care about me and my well-being. He warned me about Black Hat to make me behave. He tore down Demencia’s mean drawings and let us come out here to help me feel better. He even saved my life. There’s some good in Flug, just a little bit. So, I don’t hate him completely. But on the other hand, Flug has rejected every inclination to be good and still follows Black Hat’s directive to abuse me into being evil, so I’m not that fond of the guy either. It’s so confusing. I guess I can love him where he is as a fellow creation of God. I also feel sorry for him and wish I could help him in a way, but there’s no way I could ever trust him or expect him to be on my side. It’s such a strange feeling. You know what I’m saying?”

505 looked at Melanie thoughtfully and drew some more pictures in the sand. She watched as he drew pictures of Demencia and Black Hat being cruel to him while Flug was kind to him.

“So, Flug has always been your only friend here, just like you are mine,” Melanie said thoughtfully. “I wish there was a way to appeal to that side somehow.”

Sunlight reflecting off the waves caught Melanie’s eye and she instantly turned her attention to the beautiful waves beckoning her with their coolness on that hot summer day. She could not resist sticking one foot into the water and then another.

The feeling of cool water on her feet made Melanie smile. She buried her toes in the wet sand to soak up that feeling even more.

“Hey, 505?” Melanie asked. “Do you want to wade in with me?”

505 looked over at Melanie confused for a moment about her sudden whiplash in mood before he smiled and nodded his head.

Melanie stepped further into the waves, enjoying the feeling of the cool water on her legs.

“Hey!” Flug yelled suddenly from the shore with Demencia sulking in the sand behind him. “Don’t go out too deep! Do you know how to swim?!”

“BS!” Melanie protested. “You just don’t want me to damage your stupid tracker again!”

“Your tracker is waterproof!” Flug yelled while Demencia spotted something down the beach that made her wicked smile gleam and took her chance to run for it. “I’m just making sure you don’t drown!”

“Calm your tits!” Melanie retorted. “I can swim okay. I’m just not great at it.”

“Then no going too far from shore!” Flug yelled annoyedly before turning to 505. “505, make sure she doesn’t get past where she can’t stand!”

“Dios Mio,” Melanie said with a facepalm as she and 505 turned around and headed into deeper waters. “You’re worse than my dad!”

Flug sighed and returned to his spot on the beach towel to try to make himself relax some more while wondering why Melanie never seemed to appreciate his concern. All he did was try to look out for her, but she never appreciated that or the precariousness of her position.

Flug lied down on the beach towel and shut his eyes to try to relax. He let his thoughts wonder and thought about Melanie.

Hopefully, this little outing would calm Melanie down into being more compliant and persuade her to listen to the doctor without having to use her modified tracker. Otherwise, Flug would have to rely on the tracker and Black Hat would push…crueler…methods of behavior modification, if not complete brainwashing. It would be unfortunate to have to crush a spirit like Melanie’s. But oh, well. If it was necessary, it was necessary.

Unfortunately, that was the moment he realized Demencia was missing.

“Oh, my God,” Flug whispered in terror as he jumped to his feet and looked around from one side of the beach to the other.

That was when Flug spotted Demencia about 50 feet away harassing a pregnant woman and her husband. She wanted to touch the woman’s belly and her husband was trying to hold her back with a beach umbrella.

Flug sighed and dashed down the beach after Demencia. There was never any rest for the weary.