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myenterpriseisparked · 3 years ago

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The Voyager Bunch

Or, Rascals: Voyager Edition

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Based on this post

This is dedicated to @jellybeansarecool @bizships @emilie786 @joyful-voyager and @subtle-spock for providing ideas, encouragement, and for generally being really awesome people. Also they are the nicest folks ever. Go follow them.

This ain’t my first fanfiction rodeo, but it is my first Star Trek fanfiction rodeo so I beg for your patience. Also, I am perfectly aware that there are some plot holes in here. This is because I am an animal scientist, not a Starfleet physicist/biologist/whateverist. Swiss cheese also has holes and swiss cheese is good so please consider that.

Click here to read on AO3, if you prefer. Thanks for reading!

-----

Despite having only been a captain for a few years, Kathryn Janeway had seen more unusual occurrences, courtesy of the Delta Quadrant, than most Starfleet captains combined. Some days, she felt a little overwhelmed by the summary of the last three years of experiences. Other days, she was grateful for the callouses such challenges had built over her nerves, preparing her to face even the strangest incidents without panicking.

Today was a day to be grateful, because without having seen everything she had seen, the prospect of her Chief Engineer, Chief of Security, Head Helmsman, and most brilliant Ensign being reverted into child-like versions of themselves would have launched her straight into a spiral of panic.

“How-” Janeway paused for a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose, “how exactly did this happen?”

“Well, ya see, ‘Lanna and Harry and I were in that shuttle and then this big black thing showed up and we flew into it and there was a big flash and-”

Janeway held a hand up, cutting off the shockingly fast string of prattle. “I think I understand that part, Tom, thank you.” She spoke as gently and patiently as possible. “What I don’t understand is how Tuvok got into this.... predicament.”

She turned toward the tallest of the four children, who stood with his hands behind his back in a way that would have been exactly like Tuvok, if the pre-teen boy weren’t fidgeting with the hem of his shirt and looking around the bridge, open mouthed and starry-eyed. “Tuvok?”

The Vulcan turned toward her. “The shuttle was stuck in the anomaly and the tractor beam wasn’t working, so I rammed my ship into theirs to dislodge it.” Tuvok nearly smiled, which was jarring to see on his features, no matter how much younger he looked. “It worked, but I got sucked into the anomaly too. When we came out the other side, we looked like this.”

He motioned to Tom and B’Elanna, who were standing next to him, both of which appeared to be around the age of 5 or 6. Harry, who looked to be about a year old, was currently tucked into Chakotay’s arms, playing contentedly with the rank bar at the large man’s throat.

Janeway looked the group over, ignoring the humored smiled playing at her first officer’s lips. With a sigh, she turned to the members of her senior officer team that were not currently under the age of 13. “I’m open to suggestions.”

“I would like to run some experiments first, but I am wondering if I can age their DNA back to the correct age in a process similar to the one I used to turn you and Mr. Paris back into humans after the, ah, Warp 10 incident,” The Doctor said.

“That might put their bodies back at the right age,” Kes said, brow furrowing, “but their minds appear to have reverted to their new biological age as well. Will the DNA reversal process fix that?”

The Doctor tilted his head. “I’m unsure. I need more time to research and run simulations.”

Janeway nodded. “Get started on that right away. In the meantime,” she turned back to the children and her commander, “let’s get you four something to eat.”

Neelix jumped to his feet, practically lighting up the room with his enthusiasm. “I’ll fix you kiddos up something real nice!” He dashed over to the door with a wild grin. “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll have the best grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever smelt!” He saluted the whole room and practically bounced out the door.

Janeway glanced over at Chakotay who, for the first time since he had picked up baby Harry, looked nervous. His worried glance met her own and he tilted his head.

“Well,” Chakotay sighed, “hopefully these guys aren’t as picky of eaters as I was.”

-----

As unappealing as Janeway found Neelix’s cooking to be, it was, apparently, perfect for kids, as evidenced by the unrestrained glee with which Tom, B’Elanna, and Tuvok devoured their sandwiches.

The captain couldn’t help but smile as Tom downed the second half of his sandwich in a few bites and think how the older version of Tom would have been appalled to see himself eating Neelix’s cooking with such enjoyment.

As the older children ate, Janeway found herself spooning some kind of mashed vegetable mix into Harry’s waiting mouth. At first, she was a little uncomfortable with the idea of feeding one of her best officers, but, once she was able to get past the strangeness of the entire situation, she found herself enjoying the funny expressions and eager attitude of the baby in front of her.

“Gosh, he’s such a cute baby.” She said with a grin for the fourth time.

Chakotay leaned over, his shoulder brushing hers as he smiled at Harry. “I’d like to agree with you, Captain, but you keep hogging him so I can’t get a good look.” He turned to look her in the eye, raising his eyebrow teasingly.

She shoved him playfully with her elbow. “You got to hold him earlier in the conference room. It’s my turn.”

“I think your turn ended about ten minutes ago,” he grinned.

“I think I can find something else for you to do if you’re going to take Harry away from me, Commander.” She returned his grin.

“Fine,” Chakotay shook his head with a chuckle, “but I get him later.”

-----

Several hours had passed since lunch and, much to Chakotay’s disappointment, baby Harry was still firmly in Janeway’s possession, perched on her hip and looking for all the world like he belonged there.

Chakotay tried not to think too much about how naturally Kathryn had taken to caring for Harry as he watched her pace the bridge, checking on various scanner readings and flight paths, from his position on the floor by their command chairs. Beside him, Tom and B’Elanna rolled a ball back and forth between them, excitedly chattering about... well... everything.

“Do you think the whales were really THAT big?” Tom spread his arms out to the side.

“Yeah they were!” B’Elanna exclaimed loudly enough that the entire ship could probably hear it. Despite Chakotay’s best efforts to get her to lower her voice, the young girl seemed to only have one volume. “I saw a big fake one in a museum once and it was HUGE!”

“Whoa!” Tom’s eyes widened. “Bigger than this ship?”

B’Elanna tilted her head. “I don’t know, but it was definitely bigger than me!”

The two kids laughed, rolling the ball back and forth faster.

“Hey Tom?”

“What?”

“You’re my best friend!” B’Elanna suddenly reached forward and gave Tom a hug.

Chakotay glanced up at Kathryn to exchange a look of awe before he turned back to the kids on the floor. “But B’E, I thought you just said a few minutes ago that I’m your best friend.” He raised an eyebrow, hiding his smile.

The young girl gave him a look that he had seen far too many times on her older counterpart’s face whenever he said something particularly dumb. “I can have two best friends, duh.”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

Suddenly, he saw Kathryn’s purposeful walk stop out of the corner of his eye.

“Chakotay,” her voice was even and tense, “where’s Tuvok?”

Eyes widening, Chakotay glanced around the bridge. Tuvok was no where to be seen.

“Chakotay to Tuvok.” He stood as he tapped his commbadge. “Tuvok, please acknowledge.” They waited a moment and, upon receiving no response, moved simultaneously toward the turbolift.

“It’s possible he hasn’t figured out how to use his comm.” Janeway tucked Harry closer to her side as they stepped into the lift. “Computer: locate Tuvok.”

“Unable to comply.”

Janeway gave the ceiling a glare. “Why?”

The computer did not respond.

“Maybe the de-aging effect has made it difficult for the computer to locate him.” Chakotay rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure he’s alright; he’s probably just exploring the ship; you saw how amazed he was by everything in the conference room earlier.”

She nodded tightly. “Let’s hope so. Where do you think he’s gone?”

“Maybe to the holodeck?”

“Or his quarters.”

“What about the mess hall?”

“He just ate.”

They both paused, mulling it over.

“Alright.” Kathryn straightened. “I’ll check holodeck one and his quarters, you check holodeck two and the mess hall.” She turned back to the lift door. “Holodeck one.”

Chakotay swallowed around the lump in his throat, trying not to think of all the ways a small child could get hurt on a spaceship like Voyager. As the turbolift began to move, Janeway’s badge chirped.

“Kes to the captain.”

Her brow raised as she tapped the emblem. “Go ahead.”

“I think I’ve found something you’re missing.” Kes’s usually lighthearted tone was even lighter, clear amusement seeping through.

Kathryn turned to look Chakotay in the eye, a hopeful smile brightening her face. “I’m on my way.”

-----

Honestly, Janeway was a little ashamed of the fact that she didn’t think to go looking for her best friend among the orchids and other plants in the aeroponics bay, considering his horticulturally-related hobbies. As she and Chakotay stepped into the room, smiles crept onto both of their faces as they watched Tuvok carefully transfer one of Kes’s sprouts to a bigger pot. After patting the soil around the plant firmly, he wiped a hand across his forehead, smearing dirt on his face to match the dirt on his uniform.

Kes smiled up at the command team. “He came down and asked about a hundred questions about our system and then offered to help me with my work while we talked because its ‘more efficient to talk and work than simply talk.’”

Janeway chuckled at Kes’s approximation of Tuvok’s speech pattern. “Thanks for letting us know, Kes.” She reluctantly handed Harry to Chakotay, who flashed his dimples, and crouched next to Tuvok. “Hello there.”

Tuvok glanced up quickly before resuming his work. “Hello, Captain. Did you know that these Talaxian green beans take only a week and a half to reach maturity?”

“I did not.” Janeway raised a brow and tilted her head. “That’s very impressive.”

“I thought so too when Kes told me.” He patted the soil around another plant and set it aside, retrieving another sprout.

“Tuvok,” the captain reached forward and rested a hand on his shoulder, “I’m glad you’ve found something to do, but you have to tell someone where you’re going before you wander off. We didn’t know what happened to you and Chakotay and I were really worried.”

Behind her, Chakotay’s heart flipped. There was something rather... intimate about the way she had referred to both of them being worried about a child.

“I’m sorry, Captain.” Tuvok nodded his head. “It won’t happen again.”

“Good.” Janeway smiled and stood. “Why don’t you help Kes down here for a while and then come back up to the bridge when you are ready?” She looked at Kes. “That is, if Kes is alright with that.”

The young woman smiled. “Of course, I’d love some help.”

Janeway nodded and turned back to Tuvok. “Be sure to let us know when you’re on your way back up.”

“Of course, Captain.”

She patted him one last time on the shoulder and turned back to Chakotay. They fell into step beside one another and entered the elevator.

As the doors whooshed closed, Janeway turned to Chakotay with the intention of reclaiming Harry, but stopped. A smile grew across her lips as she watched Chakotay bounce Harry gently, allowing the little boy to palm his tattoo in curiosity. Even as one of Harry’s chubby fingers poked him in the eye, Chakotay simply chuckled and took the tiny hand in his own.

He finally turned to look at her. “What?”

Kathryn just shook her head, grinning wider. “I was going to take Harry from you, but I can’t bear to break up this cute little arrangement.” She motioned to the two of them with a long finger.

The corner of Chakotay’s mouth kicked up a little higher. “Captain, did you just imply that I’m cute?”

Her brow arched, but her smile didn’t diminish. “It would be hard for anyone to look unappealing with a cute baby in their arms.”

Her heart stopped suddenly as she realized what she had just said. From the look of Chakotay’s face, he had caught it too. Implying that he and the baby were cute was one thing; calling him “appealing” was another. Before she could say anything else she might regret, Kathryn turned back to the lift door, schooling her features back into the face of the Captain.

If she had turned but a half-second later, she would have seen a wide smile break across Chakotay’s face.

-----

“I’m sorry, Captain, but I need more time. I won’t deactivate myself until I have a solution, but this situation is very delicate and I can’t risk rushing my tests. You’ll need to find somewhere for the children to sleep. Hopefully I’ll have a solution tomorrow.”

Kathryn nodded. “Of course. Thank you, Doctor.”

With a grim smile, the feed from sickbay switched off, leaving her to look at her dark reflection in the black screen. Something like relief swept over help alongside a touch of regret. On one hand, she could really use her senior officers back in functioning shape. On the other hand....

Her eyes drifted back down to Harry, who had pulled a bit of her hair out of it’s ponytail and was curling it around his tiny fist in unbreakable fascination. A smile tugged at her lips as she cuddled him a bit closer.

She could get used to this.

The thought struck her before she even knew what she was feeling and, as soon as she admitted it to herself, she took that feeling and shoved it as deep into the recesses of her mind as she could. She was the captain of a ship that was constantly in danger and she shouldn’t dwell on things she couldn’t have.

Kathryn sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, Harry, looks like we need to find you a place to sleep.”

Turning back to the computer, she moved to set him down so she could use both hands to search the crew quarters layouts for a suitable place to keep the children overnight. As soon as Harry’s feet touched the ground, a wail rose from the back of his throat and his face scrunched.

Kathryn quickly scooped him back up. “Harry? What’s wrong?”

The boy’s cry of protest faded into whimpers and he buried his head in her shoulder, clinging to her tightly.

A warm feeling washed over her. “Ah,” she smiled, “I see.”

She pulled him closer and turned back to the computer, tapping buttons with one hand. “You can stay up here with me, then.”

The door to her quarters chimed.

“Come in.”

Before she could turn to greet her guest, mischievous giggles rose from the door. Eyebrow raised, she whirled around to find Chakotay standing in the doorway, a stack of PADDs in his hand, a tiny engineer on his left leg, and a tiny helmsman on his right.

He stepped forward with far less difficultly than she would have expected, given the extra weight on his legs. He crossed the room quickly and passed the PADDs to her. “The crew reports you requested.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, glancing down at the still giggling forms. “Not to alarm you, Commander, but it would seem that you have a couple of lifeforms attached to you.”

Chakotay’s eyes grew wide in mock surprise. “Really?” He turned his head and shuffled around, as if to look at his back. “Where?”

Tom and B’Elanna’s laughter grew. Suddenly, Chakotay leaned over and scooped the two of them off his legs, lifting them both up over his shoulders as their shrieked in delight.

He turned back to Kathryn with a wide smile. “Not to worry, Captain, I’ve apprehended the life forms.”

She smiled back with a soft chuckle. “We need to find a place for the life forms to stay tonight.”

Chakotay’s smile faded into a more serious, but not displeased look. “The Doctor doesn’t have a solution yet, then?” He lowered Tom and B’Elanna to the ground. They scampered off to the viewport, excitedly chattering about the stars.

“No, he needs a bit more time.”

Chakotay nodded. “Maybe I could take them for the night, that way someone is there to keep an eye on them.”

Kathryn shook her head. “I have no doubt in your babysitting abilities, Commander, but four children is a lot for one person to watch alone and your quarters are not big enough for Trouble 1 and Trouble 2 to run around in.” She gestured to the kids at the window.

“Fair point. Maybe I should take Harry and Tuvok then, and you could take Tom and B’Elanna?”

She turned Harry away from Chakotay. “Trying to take my boy again, are you Chakotay?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Do you have another idea, then, Mom?”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to smirk at him and continue speaking without any indication that his previous sentence had impacted her. “My quarters are the largest on the ship. If we set up cots here in my living room we could easily both keep an eye on the children overnight.”

“Sounds good to me.” He glanced up at the clock on the wall. “How about I go collect Tuvok from aeroponics and some food from the mess hall while you get the cots set up?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He gave her one last lingering smile, which she returned, before heading out the door and down the hall.

-----

Apparently the lunch they had shared earlier that day had been misleadingly easy. Supper was, to put it lightly, a challenge.

“B’Elanna, eat your own food and stop taking from Tom’s plate,” Kathryn said firmly.

“But Tom isn’t eating it!”

“I was going to eat it! I’m just a slower eater than you are!”

“Well eat faster then!”

“B’Elanna!” Chakotay set down the spoon he had been using to feed Harry and fixed her with a stern look. “That food isn’t yours, and Kathryn already asked you to stop taking Tom’s food. You won’t be asked again.”

B’Elanna mumbled out an apology and stuffed another bite of her own meal into her mouth.

Kathryn shot Chakotay a grateful smile and turned to Tuvok, who was holding up one of his vegetables to the light. “Tuvok? What are you doing?”

“I’m looking at the xylem and phloem of this plant.”

She bit back a smile. “I appreciate your curiosity, Tuvok, but I need you to stop studying your food and start eating it.”

The young Vulcan turned to her and nodded. “Of course.” He politely chewed and swallowed his food and turned back to the captain. “Did you know that this particular plant is a distant cousin of Terran broccoli? You can tell by the-”

Chakotay smiled as he watched Kathryn listen to Tuvok’s fourth lecture of the evening on plant biology. Neither of them were certain of what he was talking about most of the time, but his enthusiasm for the subject was nearly infectious and neither of them minded listening.

“Chakotay?”

He turned away from the scene across the table and looked at Tom next to him. “Yes?”

“After dinner, will you read to us?”

“Of course.” Chakotay smiled and ruffled Tom’s hair. “Anything particular you want to hear?”

“I want to hear about your missions with the Maquis!” B’Elanna bounced in her seat, all of that barely-contained Klingon energy starting to spill over.

“Or perhaps you could read to us from a classic story,” Tuvok raised a brow. “I’m fond of the works of Tolkien, maybe Tom and B’Elanna would like ‘The Hobbit’ too?”

“What’s a hobbit?” Tom’s face scrunched in confusion.

“Maybe,” Kathryn interjected before Tuvok could give a detailed recounting of the beloved childhood book, “Chakotay could tell us a story from his tribe.” Her eyes met his across the table. “He is pretty good at recounting ancient legends.”

Heat crept up the sides of Chakotay’s face as he held her stare. “Maybe.”

“Nah,” Tom’s voice broke through the pleasant tension between them. “I wanna know what a hobbit is!”

Chakotay chuckled. “Alright, ‘The Hobbit’ it is.”

-----

It took some time to get the older three to settle into bed, but finally, they began to yawn and snuggle deeper under their blankets. As their heads grew heavier, Chakotay wrapped up his story telling and the command team began to tuck their young companions in for the night.

As Chakotay wished Tom and Tuvok a good night’s rest, Kathryn carefully extracted B’Elanna from where she was snuggled into her side and took her over to her cot. As she got the small girl settled, she suddenly reached up and captured Kathryn in a tight hug. Surprised, Kathryn’s eyes widened, but she returned the gesture in earnest.

“Kathryn?”

“Yes, B’Elanna?”

“You’re my best friend.”

Kathryn blinked and pulled back to look B’Elanna in the eyes with a small smile. “I thought Chakotay and Tom were your best friends.”

“I can have more than one best friend.” B’Elanna’s voice was filled with deep confidence, despite how sleep-laced it was.

“Fair enough,” Kathryn chuckled, pulling the blankets tightly around the girl. “Goodnight.”

She met Chakotay in her bedroom, Harry still in his arms.

“Any time I try to set him down he starts crying.” Chakotay grinned sheepishly.

She grinned back. “I had a similar experience earlier today.” She reached up and brushed hand over the boy’s soft, black hair. “Its a good thing he weighs next to nothing.”

At Kathryn’s gentle touch, Harry stirred. His dark eyes found Kathryn’s and he reached out for her. With a look of mock hurt, Chakotay transferred the boy to his desired location.

“I’m trying not to be offended right now, Harry.”

Kathryn simply grinned and bounced the baby in her arms gently. “It’s alright, Chakotay. He has excellent taste.”

Chakotay shook his head, dimples flashing. “I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

She turned toward the bed and settled herself on one side, her back resting against the pillows and Harry resting against her chest. “Let’s see if we can get this one sleepy enough to not notice if we set him down.” She looked back at Chakotay, who was still standing, rather awkwardly. She patted the bed next to her with a smirk. “Come on, Commander. Get some rest. We’ve has a big day, wrangling the kiddos.”

He smiled and crossed the room to the other side of the bed, gently sitting next to her, his legs stretched out. “It has been a long day,” he said with a sigh. “But, I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed it.” He tilted his head to look at Kathryn, who was already looking up at him.

“Nor I.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Suddenly, Chakotay was very aware of how close their faces were. He watched as Kathryn’s eyes slid down to his lips. Before he could do something he couldn’t take back, he took a deep breath and turned away.

“Well,” Kathryn cleared her throat, sounding more like the Captain now, “it’s been fun but we should get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye on Harry here and take him to his cot in a few minutes. You should go ahead and rest, Commander.”

“Of course.” He tilted his head and gave her a small smile. “Goodnight, Kathryn.”

She grinned back. “Goodnight, Chakotay.”

-----

Apparently, Kathryn didn’t stay awake long enough to take Harry back to his cot, as evidenced by the weight on her chest as she stirred awake the next morning. She slowly became aware of her surroundings and the previous day’s events came flooding back to her.

She also became distinctly aware of the warm, comfortable presence beside her. As she opened her eyes, she realized that her first officer’s arm was settled around her shoulders and that his shoulder was currently her pillow. His head rested atop hers and the hand that was not draped around her shoulders was resting on top of Harry’s back next to her own.

The situation was all rather snuggly and, were it not a violation of every professional barrier Kathryn had erected between her and the commander, she would have had no issue in savoring the moment.

Then again.... maybe she could allow herself just a few moments to pretend that the baby in her arms wasn’t her star technical officer and that the man holding her close wasn’t her XO and that this was a perfectly normal situation.

Before she could get too far into her fantasy, however, Chakotay stirred next to her, his dark eyes fluttering open to find her own.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice huskier than her own as sleep clung to it.

“Good morning.”

They looked at each other for a moment before Chakotay carefully extracted himself from her side, helping her up so she could carefully place Harry in his cot in the living room without waking the boy or the other children who were still sleeping. Without a word, they quietly prepared breakfast and coffee, steeling themselves for another day of handling the kids.

-----

“I’m afraid I’m a bit.... stuck,” The Doctor ground out with obvious difficulty.

The captain raised an eyebrow. The EMH admitting that he was struggling to solve a problem was a rare instance indeed. “How so?”

With a huff, The Doctor turned back to his desk, flipping through experimental results from a stack of PADDs. “Kes was right; the DNA reversal process I initially thought might work will not account for the de-aging of the officers’ brains, so I decided to look at the type of radiation that might have caused this and, to be completely honest, Captain,” he turned back to look her in the eye, “I have absolutely no idea how this even happened. There’s no evidence of radiation, the temporal energy around them is unidentifiable, and I can’t figure out how their cells and their minds were reversed.” He lowered his head. “I’m unsure of how to even proceed from here.”

Kathryn nodded, taking the emotions that were beginning to tumble in her chest and stuffing them as far down as she could. “Very well, Doctor. Take a rest and we can all come back to the issue later once we’ve had time to think.” She rested a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up. “Don’t despair yet; there’s a lot of other brilliant minds on this ship besides your own. We’ll figure it out together.” She smiled and gave his shoulder a squeeze before heading into the turbolift.

As the doors slid open, she found Tuvok waiting in the lift for her. She smiled down at him and stepped inside, calling for the bridge.

“Chakotay to the captain.”

She tapped her badge. “Go ahead.”

“We need you on the bridge, there’s a bit of a situation.”

She raised a brow, glancing down at Tuvok, who was gazing at her intently. “On my way.”

-----

“So they want to.... interview us?”

“They want to interview you specifically.”

“To see if we are worthy of going through their space.”

“Something like that.”

“And going around their space isn’t an option?”

“It would add another 7 months to our journey, so this interview is our ideal option.”

“No pressure, eh, Commander?” Janeway shifted Harry from one hip to the other with a long sigh. “Alright. Hail them.”

After a moment, a blue and red humanoid alien appeared on the screen.

“Greetings, Ambassador.” The Captain flashed a polite smile. “I’m Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager.”

The alien woman inclined her head. “Hello, Captain Janeway, I’m Ambassador Tel Parah of the Doonian Delegation.” Her eyes swept the bridge. “You’re ship is heavily armed, which, according to the laws of our people, requires that we do a personal interview of the commanding officer to ensure that violence or other manners of chaos will not be instigated as you pass through our space.”

“Of course, I understand.” Janeway smiled again. “What questions may I answer for you?”

Over the course of the next 30 minutes, Janeway was grilled on their purpose in passing through Doonian space, the types and numbers of weapons they carried, and the journey they had made so far. Just as Janeway thought there wasn’t possibly anything more she could tell them, Ambassador Parah paused and looked up from the computer device in her hand to study Janeway. After a moment, she spoke again.

“Just one more thing, Captain Janeway,” a slow smile slipped onto her face, “What’s your son’s name? He’s absolutely precious.”

Janeway raised her eyebrows in surprise and glanced down at Harry, who she had nearly forgotten was still in her arms. At some point, he had removed her combadge and was currently turning it over and over again in his tiny hands, taking a moment here and there to bite parts of the object he must have found particularly interesting. Kathryn exchanged an amused glace with Chakotay, who shrugged off screen, before turning back to the ambassador.

“This is Harry.” Janeway smiled, turning the boy so the ambassador could see him better.

The other woman smiled widely. “How adorable. He has the brightest eyes.”

“He does.” Kathryn smiled back down at him.

“You know,” Parah leaned back in her chair, “I usually don’t allow anyone through our space that isn’t from a system or planet we are already know and trust and so I wasn’t planning on letting Voyager pass. However, when I saw your baby and how well-cared for and happy he seems, I felt that I could trust you somehow.” She smiled again. “We value children highly in the Doonien Delegation. Children are often a reflection of a parent’s character. I can tell by Harry’s disposition and curiosity that you are of a fine character, Captain.”

Janeway cuddled Harry a little closer, heart warming. “Thank you, Ambassador, I take that as a high compliment.”

“As you should.” Parah leaned forward again. “You may pass through our space. We will have you stop at three checkpoints on your way though which I will send you the coordinated for in a moment. Have a safe journey.”

The screen went blank and Kathryn turned to Chakotay.

“Should I feel bad that I let her believe Harry is my son?”

Chakotay chuckled, stepping close enough and lowering his voice enough that the rest of the bridge could pretend not to hear him. “Are you saying he’s not?”

Her gaze grew softer. “I guess he’s sort of been like a son to me since we got on board.” She looked back down at him. “I feel very protective of him.”

Chakotay rested a hand on her shoulder. “I know.”

They smiled at each other again. Chakotay opened his mouth to say something more but, suddenly, there was a tug at Kathryn’s elbow.

“Captain? Now that the negotiations are over, I think I have an idea about how to fix Tom, B’Elanna, Harry, and me.” Tuvok’s eyes were bright and eager.

“Alright,” Captain Janeway smiled down at him. “Let’s get The Doctor up here and we’ll hear your idea together.”

-----

Chakotay exchanged glances with The Doctor and the Captain over the table as he bounced both Tom and B’Elanna on his knees. “Could that really work? It seems almost too easy.”

“Well, if this is a phenomena that’s inexplicable and is tied only to the anomaly the shuttles passed through, I feel like sending the children back through isn’t our worst idea.” The captain rubbed the back of her neck. “Doctor?”

The holographic man continued typing into his PADD for a moment before stopping and reading. “I- I honestly think this could work.” He slid the PADD over to Janeway. “It’s hard to predict, since we have no idea what exactly caused this, but if we send the shuttles through the anomaly opposite of the way they first went through, I think it just might turn them back to their usual ages.”

“How do we know it won’t just make them even younger?” Chakotay watched as B’Elanna slipped off of his knee, pulling Tom along with her to go play in the corner.

“We’d have to run some tests to be sure that they don’t. Perhaps we could send a plant through first, or some other organic life form.” The Doctor took the PADD back and made a note.

“We would also have to make sure that, if the tests show some promise, Tuvok can take the shuttle back through the anomaly.” Janeway turned to the boy sitting at her right. “Well, Tuvok? Do you think you could pilot the shuttle?”

He shook his head. “Since I don’t have my older self’s memories I don’t think I could.”

“We could use the tractor beam to send the shuttle through,” Chakotay said. “If we give them enough of a push to go through the anomaly, they should be able to pilot themselves back to Voyager once they get out the other side and have returned to their normal ages.”

Janeway raised her eyebrows. “Well, it’s worth a shot and I don’t have any better ideas. Commander, set a course for the anomaly. Doctor, prepare the experiments.”

-----

Tom and B’Elanna seemed to sense that something was up as they suddenly became even more clingy. The whole trip back to the anomaly, B’Elanna shared the captain’s chair with Kathryn, insisting with all of her Klingon passion that the older woman tell her more stories from earlier in their journey through the Delta Quadrant. At the helm, Tom hung on to Chakotay’s arm, watching the stars go by and asking Chakotay a hundred questions about piloting starships. Tuvok sat in Chakotay’s usual seat, interjecting with questions of his own here and there, and Harry sat on Kathryn’s knee, chewing on her jacket sleeve, her combadge still clutched tightly in his left hand.

After they reached the anomaly, it took a couple of hours for The Doctor to complete his experiments and, once he had declared that plants that had gone through the anomaly twice were returned to the same age the started as, they began preparing the children to enter the anomaly themselves.

“Will it hurt?” B’Elanna asked in the smallest voice she had ever used in her life as Kathryn tucked the small Starfleet uniform that she had come through the anomaly with around her shoulders.

“It won’t,” Tuvok said. “It didn’t hurt when we came through the first time, did it?”

She shook her head, but didn’t look very reassured.

“It’s okay, ‘Lanna!” Tom grabbed her hand. “I’ll be right beside you.”

Kathryn stood and took a step back, feeling almost as if someone had filled her chest with some of Neelix’s heavy stew. She had to let them go, of course, this wasn’t the way they were supposed to be, but she was certainly going to miss seeing the level of innocence her officers had now. B’Elanna was unburdened by trust issues, Tuvok was passionate and bright, and Tom - well, she supposed he hadn’t changed all that much, but at least he seemed to be genuinely happy, not just putting up a front of humor to protect himself.

It would be hard to see them go back, but maybe, now that she understood how the world and time had changed her friends, she could help them.

She was shaken from her thoughts by a tug at her collar. She looked down to see Harry pulling at her pips, completely enamored by the gold metal.

“Oh, Harry.” She nearly choked on his name. Since he was so young now, she didn’t have any insight into his personality after having seen him as a baby, but she was going to miss his innocent curiosity and familiar weight on her hip.

Before she could think too much about it, she handed Harry over to Tuvok. The younger boy scrunched his face up and whimpered at the change of hands, but Tuvok bounced him gently and he settled down, reaching for the pointed tip of Tuvok’s ear.

Kathryn took a step back, feeling Chakotay step up behind her so that they were nearly touching. “Best of luck, you four.” She gave them her most reassuring smile. “See you on the other side.”

She and Chakotay hurried up the bridge and gave the go ahead for the ensign who had taken over Harry’s post to begin using the tractor beam to move the shuttle out into the anomaly. They stood side-by-side on the bridge and watched the shuttle go through. At come point, they grabbed each other’s hands and squeezed each other tightly.

There was a flash as the shuttle passed through the anomaly. After a few terrifyingly quiet moments, the shuttle came bursting out of the other side and a voice crackled over the comm.

“Cochran to Voyager,” confusion leaked through Tom’s voice. “What the hell just happened?”

Kathryn and Chakotay smiled at each other in relief. “What’s the last thing you remember, Tom?” Chakotay asked.

“B’Elanna, Harry, and I were coming back to Voyager when we- wait a second, how did you get here, Tuvok?”

Janeway laughed. “Why don’t we get you four back on board and then we’ll explain everything.”

“Copy that. See you in a few.” Tom’s voice grew quieter, like he was leaning away from the comm. “I have a feeling this is going to be one heck of a story.”

-----

After everyone had been debriefed and left to process the last two days of strangeness, Chakotay found Kathryn in her favorite spot; on her couch and staring wistfully out at the stars as they drifted past. She had shucked her jacket and taken her hair out of it’s clip, leaving her in her grey turtleneck with her hair falling around her shoulders and face.

“Got a lot on your mind?”

She turned to smile at him, a note of sadness in her eyes. “It’s been an interesting couple of days.”

He settled on the couch a ways down, turning to face her. “It sure has.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’m going to miss our kids.”

“Me too. It was fun having little ones around, playing at being a parent.” She fidgeted with the seam on the couch. “It was different and they sure did give us some challenges,” she chuckled, “but I loved it.”

“Have you ever thought about having kids of ou-” he coughed, “your own?”

Her crystal blue gaze caught his. “Yes.” She smiled and looked out the window again. “I always thought someday I would be a mother.” With a snort and a smirk, she continued; “Of course, I never thought I’d be mothering my helmsman, security officer, engineer, and technical officer.”

Chakotay laughed softly. “I think you were mothering them before they were turned into actual children.”

“Perhaps.” A pause. “What about you? Did you ever think about being a father? Outside of the whole instance with Seska, of course.”

He nodded. “When I was in the Maquis, no. My life was too fast-paced to be a proper father. If I was going to be a dad, I wanted to do it right and I couldn’t have done that from a Maquis ship.” He took a deep breath. “After joining this crew, though.... I’m in a better place now, and I think I’d be thrilled to be a father.” He looked over at Kathryn to find that she was already looking at him with something like wonder in her eyes. He held her gaze for a moment and, finally finding a bit of courage, he said: “I’m more at peace.”

A smiled played at the corners of her lips, and her eyes looked a little like they were silver-lined, though Chakotay couldn’t quite tell for sure in the low light of her quarters.

“You were really good with the kids. You would make an excellent father, I have no doubt.”

He smiled. “You would make an excellent mother. You’re a natural.”

“Thank you, but I barely felt like I knew what I was doing.” She chuckled.

“You could have fooled me.” He grinned for a moment, before his countenance grew more serious. “I hope you get your wish someday, Kathryn. I hope you get to be a mother.”

She was quiet for a moment, and Chakotay suddenly felt his chest tighten. Had he said too much.

Before he could fall too far into his panic, her hand slid over to his, giving it a squeeze. He looked up into her eyes, which definitely had tears in them now.

“I hope you get to be a father too Chakotay. Someday.”

He squeezed her hand back and they both fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the view of the stars outside Kathryn’s window.

#whew okay that got emotional there at the end #lets all take a breather and remember cute little Harry #Okay that's better #anyway #thanks for reading!#hopefully this wasn't too plot-hole-ridden #star trek voyager #kathryn janeway #captain janeway #janeway #chakotay #harry kim #b'elanna torres #tom paris #tuvok #neelix #kes #the EMH #the doctor

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ultraintrovertedgryffindor · 4 years ago

Text

Sweet Pandemonium - Gally (The Maze Runner) Part 2 of 16

(Not my GIF)

~~~~~~~~~~

Everything started to spiral out of control when a new Greenie came up in the Box, Thomas.

You didn’t know him, but you felt connected to him somehow. Why? You had no clue. It’s almost driving you crazy that you can’t place why you felt this way, and if you were being honest, it almost scared you.

Thomas felt this way as well. He felt that same type of connection to you. He never spoke of it for the sake of him sounding crazy, well, even more crazy than everyone else already thought him to be.

All it took was a simple glance in each other’s direction to realize you and Thomas felt the same way about each other.

“Y/N!”

Gally’s irritated tone snapped you out of your daze. “Sorry, what?”

Gally rolled his eyes. “That’s the third time you’ve dozed off today. Get it together, will ya? This shack needs to be built and I don’t feel like getting scolded by Alby because you didn’t do your part.”

You tried not to blush as the rest of the Builders looked at you with amusement, probably glad that they’re not getting yelled at for once.

Gally noticed your eyes traveling to the other Builders and huffed. “Get back to work, you shanks!”

You almost could’ve laughed at how fast they went back to work because they were pretty much scared of the boy.

“What’s up with you today, huh?” Gally asked, surprising you with his slightly softer tone.

You sighed, biting your lip in thought. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just one of those days.” You lied, partly. You truly didn’t know why you felt the way that you did, but had a feeling it was because of the new Greenie. But you didn’t need Gally to know that, especially after he’s expressed so many times about how he didn’t like Thomas.

Yeah...he didn’t need to know.

Gally raised his brow, clearly not buying her reasoning, but he decided not to push it. “Well, just, get back to work, okay?”

“For sure, Captain.” You fake saluted, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.

Gally rolled his eyes as he shook his head, struggling to hide a smile. “Shut up. Just get building.”

You sighed as you sat down in your hammock in the Homestead, relieved to have finished that new shack for the Slicers by sundown. After that talk with Gally, you made sure to focus extra hard and you managed to do more work than you thought you were capable of.

Your muscles ached badly. You needed a shower asap.

You tried not to scream when you bumped into a Glader, realizing it was just Thomas. “Oh, hey, Greenie.” You chuckled breathlessly.

Thomas’ face visibly from relaxed to one of irritation. “I have a name, you know.”

“Right. Right. Sorry. Guess I’m just happy that I’m not the one being called that anymore.” You chuckled, clearing your throat seconds after. “I was just heading to the showers so...”

Thomas blinked rapidly, quickly moving out of your way with a slight blush dusting his face. “Uh, Y/N?” He voiced, causing you to look back up to him with a smile. You noticed Thomas’ face contorting in thought. “Uh, sorry. Never mind.”

Before you could say anything, Thomas walked off in a hurry, causing you to tilt your head in confusion. But the aching muscles in your arms and legs begging for the coldness of the shower water caused you to shrug it off quicker than you normally would.

You tossed and turned that night, which was unusual as you normally were able to fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

You felt like you woke up as soon as you fell asleep, the opening of the maze doors woke you from a less than pleasant dream. Yet again, the dream you had left your memory as soon as it appeared. The one thing attaching itself to you from the dream was a face. Thomas’ face.

You groaned as the rest of the Gladers started to get up for the day, knowing that you must’ve gotten an hour of sleep, if even that. You just accepted that it was probably going to be a shit day.

The Builders didn’t have much to do surprisingly, only needing to touch up a few things. But you absolutely didn’t mind the shorter work day, having the night that you had made it difficult to focus on anything. Even Gally’s pretty face.

Still, you didn’t want to be a useless shank. So, against your better judgement, you decided to help out Newt, Zart, and Thomas in the gardens.

You were tired as hell, but you wanted to talk to Thomas eventually, and befriending him felt like the best way to go about doing so. Plus, Newt was an absolute delight to be around.

“Eyo, Y/N.” Newt smiled, “Gally finally given ya a break?”

You laughed softly. “Nah, just a smaller work load today.”

Newt nodded. “Because you work so hard, no doubt. Things are gettin’ built a lot faster ever since you came up, love.”

You rolled your eyes playfully and grabbed a little basket to help pick off some ripe fruit. “I’m just good at following orders, if that’s something to be proud of.”

Newt chuckled. “You give about as many orders as Gally does nowadays. If anything, you seem to be partners.”

You knew Newt probably didn’t realize his phrasing, but it still made you blush nonetheless. “Gally’s an asshole.” Thomas muttered out.

You tried not to laugh loudly. “He has his moments, for sure.”

“Gally’s an alright bloke, he just has issues with change. He’ll warm up to ya eventually. He even avoided Y/N the first week and a half she got here. It’s just how he is.” Newt said.

“You seem close with him now.” Thomas said, looking at you.

You shrugged. “Uh, I’d say we’re friendly. Well, I guess my definition of friendly anyway.”

“Do us a favor, get us some more fertilizer.” Newt asked Thomas.

“Uh, sure. Where is it again?”

“Show him, will ya, Y/N?” Newt asked.

“Yeah, sure.” You nodded. “Let’s go, Greenie.”

“You really think Gally’ alright?” Thomas asked once you both got a few meters into the woods.

“Yeah, I think so. Like Newt said, he’s just scared of change. I think it’s understandable when you live in a box that you can never leave, unless you wanna get horrifically murdered by Grievers.”

“When you put it like that, then yeah. I guess change would be pretty scary.” Thomas paused, “I just, I don’t understand how you guys have been here for three years without making any progress.”

“You’re acting like it’s easy, Thomas. I’m no Runner, but I can tell how hard it is to run a changing maze every single day, having to map it, fearing for your life in the process.”

Thomas stayed silent after that, only speaking up when you both passed the Deadheads. “Who was George?” He asked.

You shrugged. “I wasn’t around when he died. He was the first one to get stung by a Griever from what Newt told me...he wasn’t too eager to talk about him anymore after that.”

“Y/N?” Thomas started, “I don’t really know how else to put this without sounding crazy but...I feel like I know you from somewhere. I know how it sound but-”

The look on you face stopped Thomas from speaking any further. You couldn’t even describe how you were feeling. Almost like relief, but fear, all meshed together in some sort of weird understanding. “You feel that way too?”

A sudden snap of a twig caused the moment between you and Thomas to end abruptly, you both twisting around to see another Glader. “Ben?” Thomas asked.

You eyed the Glader up and down, noticing how frightening he looked. Black and purple veins protruding out all over his body. His eyes red, almost bloodshot. His heavy threatening gaze on you and Thomas.

He had been stung.

You never saw how anyone looked after being stung, not really. You imagined horrible things, things more horrible than how Ben looked now. But seeing him like that disturbed you to no end.

“Ben...” You said slowly. “Are you okay?”

Ben grunted in response, looking in between you and Thomas like he couldn’t decide who to look at. “You did this.” He whispered harshly.

You brows furrowed in confusion. “What? What do you mean?”

“You did this.” Ben raised his voice. “I saw you. Both of you! This is your fault!”

You gasped when Ben suddenly charged at you and Thomas. All the breath being knocked out of your lungs when he body slammed you into the ground.

You and Ben struggled on the floor, him quickly gaining the upper hand and placing his hands firmly on you throat. “Get off her, man!” Thomas yelled, tackling Ben off of your smaller body.

You coughed violently, gasping for oxygen as the pressure on your windpipe finally disappeared as Thomas saved you from being choked to death.

You looked around to see Thomas hit the infected Glader with an animal skull just in time, him quickly pushing a now disoriented Ben off of him and soon helping you to your feet. “Go, go!” Thomas yelled in your ear.

You didn’t have to be told twice.

You and Thomas took off in a sprint, adrenaline pumping through your veins as you feared of being caught by the fellow Glade member. The confusion taking a hold of your mind as you ran, still having no idea why Ben seemed so hateful towards you and Thomas.

Thankfully, you didn’t have to think about it anymore. Ben ultimately catching up to you both due to his Runner status and tackling you and Thomas down a hill.

You groaned in pain, feeling your body topple over and landing on your arm painfully.

Thomas, yet again, helped you get to your feet, making sure you didn’t get left behind. You yelped in pain as he grabbed your now aching arm, pulling you along as he yelled for help as loud as he could.

You almost felt relieved when you saw the Gladers running to your aid, but it was short lived.

Ben grabbed your bad arm and pulled you back, making you fall on your back, but he still went after Thomas first. “Hey!” Newt’s voice filled the air, then a sickening thump, Ben immediately falling to the ground.

Newt quickly ordered the Gladers to hold down the struggling boy, Thomas quickly rushing over to you. “Oh shit, are you okay?”

You nodded, sitting up with a painful groan. You looked down at your arm to see it bruised and bloody, short jagged cuts deep in her skin.

Ben screamed bloody murder over and over again, so loud and animalistic that it even your throat hurt, even though it already hurt from being choked before.

After being taken to the other Med-jacks, it didn’t take for Gally to barge into the room, an almost angry look on his face. “How’s Ben?” You asked.

Gally could’ve scoffed at the question. Obviously Ben wasn’t okay, but you asking about him first was the reason he could’ve thrown a fit. He had seen you at the scene, wanting so badly to go to your aid first, but he needed to help the Gladers get Ben to the Pit. “Seriously? How are you? You were hurt.”

“She’s fine.” Jeff answered for you. “A sprain, and some marks from Ben’s nails.”

Gally would’ve sighed in relief, if Thomas wasn’t there too. “Why were you even with that shank anyway?” He asked, acting like Thomas wasn’t even there.

“What? Just because you don’t like him, that means I can’t hang out with him?” You sassed.

Gally glared at you and Thomas. “Ben’s gonna get banished at sundown. Do me a favor and stay away until it’s over.”

You rolled your eyes as Gally exited the room, trying not to cry at the thought of a Glader getting sent to their death. “What, banished?” Thomas asked you.

You closed your eyes with a heavy sigh. “You know there’s cure for getting stung...it would be too dangerous to keep him here.”

Thomas quickly left the room, probably leaving to see what was going to happen to poor Ben.

At first, when Gally told you to keep away from the banishment, it just made you want to go just to spite him. But you had seen a banishment before, and it was horrible. It still haunted your dreams sometimes. You really didn’t feel like reliving that again, so you listened.

That, of course, didn’t stop you from finding Gally after the fact.

“Hey...” You said softly, running up to Gally to walk with him to the wall of names.

Gally didn’t say anything, he just kept his gaze ahead of him. You knew he was hurting. Ben was his friend after all. You looked down at his hand that wasn’t carrying a torch, and your hand twitched forward, gently grabbing his large hand.

You could sense that Gally tensed at first, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he squeezed you hand, letting you know it was okay.

“Hold this please.” Gally said, barely a whisper, handing over his torch to you.

You held the torch up as Gally reached up, placing his chisel at Ben’s name to cross his name out.

Another day, another death.

“I’m sorry, Gally.” You whispered, placing a gentle hand on his board shoulder.

Gally simply nodded, giving you a weak smile as he walked away, leaving you at the wall with only the torch as your light in the growing darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~

#the maze runner #gally x reader #tmr gally #gally #sweet pandemonium series

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supraveng · 5 years ago

Text

We are friends

Summary: Friends with benefits works fine for everyone, right? But what happens when Sam is injured and your true feelings come out?

Word Count:3222

Pairing: Sam Wilson x Fem!Reader

A/N: This is my first time writing about Sam, but I just love him so much!

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling you decide to give up on trying to sleep. It’s useless at this point, you are too worried for your brain to shut off and try to get any sleep. You make your way into the kitchen and decide to make some coffee, the Quinjet should be back in about an hour, and you knew if you poured yourself a drink, you could finish the bottle before they got back.

Sitting down in the common room, you see Bucky coming out of his room with his phone in hand. You perk up hoping for an update on when they are returning from the mission. Bucky grabs a water bottle from the fridge before plopping down on the couch next to you. “So, any update?” you ask hoping for some better news. “They are about 30 minutes out, Cho arrived a few minutes ago and will take Sam into surgery right away. Don’t worry, your teammate will be fine” he states with a suspicious look on his face. You nod your head and swallow the lump in your throat,

“Sam’s not just a teammate, he’s my friend” you respond while sipping your coffee. The truth was, the two of you had been sneaking around for the past four months, and what started out as a friendly hook up turned more serious than you realized before hearing Sam was shot on the mission. “Oh, so you are just friends?” he asks trying to get you to fess up to what’s really going on. Everyone suspected something, but you both decided that it was no one else’s business what you did behind closed doors.

“We are friends, Bucky, and I’m really scared” your voice trembling now. Bucky puts his arm around you and tugs you closer “hey, it’s going to be ok, you don’t usually get this worked up when I get hurt on a mission” he smirks trying to lighten the situation. You look up at him with unshed tears in your eyes “yea, well, he doesn’t have super soldier healing like you, and he’s a big baby whenever he gets hurt or sick” you smirk remembering him acting like he was going to die when he got the flu last month. “And we are friends….. I just happen to be falling in love with him, so if he doesn’t make it, I don’t know what I’m gonna do” you start weeping and clinging to Bucky’s shirt.

“Oh doll, don’t cry….I didn’t know it was serious, I just thought you guys were fooling around, shh, shh. It’s gonna be ok, Sam’s to damn stubborn to die.” Bucky strokes your back trying to calm you down. Your tears slow down just as Bucky’s phone rings “yea Steve, ok, we’ll be right there. Come on, doll, let’s go get your man.” Bucky stands and heads towards the elevators. Bucky requests the hanger and you turn toward him. “Thanks Bucky, for everything tonight, but can I ask a favor? Um, don’t mention what I said to Sam? He doesn’t know” you state as your gaze drops to the floor. Bucky stares at you with a smirk on his face, he doesn’t want to lose your trust, but he knows if you don’t tell Sam how you really feel, he’s going to have to step in. He’s seen the change in Sam over the last few months and knew it was more than just releasing tension, but Sam wouldn’t say a word.

The doors open and you are frozen in your spot, seeing the hatch on the quinjet start to open. Your holding your breath hoping to see Sam come walking out with Steve, but instead the medical team goes rushing to the jet with a gurney. “Hey, he’s got the best team working on him, he’s going to be fine, I promise you” Bucky states taking your hand and pulling you closer to the jet. “And if he’s not fine? What do I do then?” you look up at Bucky hoping for some form of reassurance. “Then I’m gonna kick his ass for putting you through all this” he smirks and pulls you further towards the medical team as they start coming off the jet with Sam on the gurney.

You gasp and cover your mouth when you see him, there’s blood everywhere and he looks like he must have passed out from the pain, there’s an oxygen mask over his face and they’ve started an IV already. Steve comes off the jet and heads towards you and Bucky to give you more details. “He was hit a few times, 2 of the bullets went through his thigh, but there’s one in his abdomen without an exit wound. He lost a lot of blood, but once Cho gets that bullet out, he’ll be good as new” Steve explains as you follow them through to the medical bay. “Y/N, he’ll be in surgery for an hour or so, why don’t you get some rest and I’ll call you when their done” he offers but you just shake your head. “I’d prefer to wait here, if that’s ok Captain?” you ask looking up at the super soldier for hope that this will all be over soon. “Of course, I’m going to get cleaned up, then I’ll be back down, ok? I don’t want him waking up and complaining that I abandoned him” he smirks.

Sitting and waiting for the surgery to finish felt like hours, you hadn’t even realized Steve had returned until he handed you a cup of coffee. “I figured you might be staying here while he’s in recovery too, this might help.” You nodded a thank you and stared down at your feet. “He’s going to be ok, I promised him that he could talk to you when we got back, and I always keep my promises.” “What?” you look at him confused “what did he want you to tell me?” “I don’t know, Y/N. He started saying that if he didn’t make it I needed to tell you, but I didn’t let him finish, I told him he was going to see you soon and tell you himself”

You take a deep breath and nod, you are overwhelmed with everything going on and you just want to cuddle up with Sam, but instead you just sit there and think of the worst case scenario if the surgery doesn’t go well. What if he doesn’t make it, he lost too much blood. What if he has spinal damage and can’t walk.

You started going through a spiral of what if’s when the door opened and Dr. Cho stepped out. “The surgery went better than expected, no serious damage other than the sever blood loss. We are moving him to the cradle to get him healed up as quickly as possible” she smiles at you and Steve. “That’s great news, thank you. When can we see him?” “The anesthesia is just starting to wear off, but you can see him. He might be a little confused from the sedative, so don’t worry if he starts talking and not making much sense” she tries to reassure you. “It’s Sam, he never makes any damn sense” Bucky grumbles from behind you. Turning to glare at him, but you just start to giggle “you’re right, he says some of the weirdest stuff, especially when he’s tired.” “See Steve, it’s not just me!” he exclaims as you all head into the room.

You run to the other side of the bed, wrap yours around him and bury your face into his neck as you start to sob all over again. “I was so worried……I thought I lost you’ you stutter out between breaths. Wrapping his arms around you as best he can, he strokes your back “you can’t get rid of me that easily, I’m too stubborn to die” he tells you. You lift your head and giggle “that’s what Bucky said too” before leaning into kiss him. Bucky and Steve gave each other a look before clearing their throats, “we will let you to have some time” “get some rest” as they started towards the door.

You stop in the doorway when you see him lying there, so still and calm, it’s almost eerie. Steve and Bucky go next to the bed as Sam starts to rise in a seated position, but you are frozen. Unsure if he wants you there, unsure if you can stop from crying anymore and just watch the man you love lie there. Your thoughts are interrupted when Sam looks over at you with a small smile on his face. “Cupcake? Come here” he rasps at you, and your heart leaps. He only uses that nickname when the two of you are alone, it’s always Y/N when the team is around or just L/N during a mission.

You pulled away from Sam, face flushed and trying to catch your breath. “I love you, Sam Wilson, and if you ever scare me like that again, I’m gonna kick your ass” “I love you too, Cupcake, and you like this ass too much to do any serious harm” he responded as he kissed you again. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to get you to the cradle for a few hours so you can get out of here sooner rather than later” Dr. Cho announced as she walked back in the room. “You go get some rest and I’ll see you for breakfast, ok Cupcake?” You smiled at him and nodded as they wheeled him out.

Back in your room you took a long bath and grabbed Sam’s favorite hoodie to sleep in, knowing he was safe and being wrapped in his scent was the only way you would be able to get a full nights sleep. And sleep you did, it was past 10am when you finally woke up and headed to the kitchen for coffee. “Someone slept in this morning, that’s not like you, Y/N, everything ok?” Natasha asked as she eyed you from the kitchen table. “I’m great Nat, just up late checking on Sam after surgery so I decided to sleep in. I’m gonna go see how he’s doing after I make some breakfast; do you want anything?” you asked, trying to sound casual but knowing full well the spy could see right through you. With a smirk she stood up and crossed over to the kitchen and deposited her cup in the sink, “no, thanks. And for the record, I’m glad he has you Y/N, you two are good for each other” as she left the room.

You carried the breakfast you made to the med bay and headed toward Sam’s room, but when you arrived it was empty. Looking around you spotted a nurse and cleared your throat before asking “excuse me? Has Sam Wilson been moved to another room? Or is he still in the cradle?” “No, he was released this morning and left with Captain Rogers about an hour and a half ago.” Starring at him in disbelief, you mumbled a thanks and headed back upstairs. Making your way from the elevators to Sam’s room was quicker than usual, you were too anxious to get your arms wrapped around him to walk at a normal pace. But that came to an abrupt stop when you investigated his empty room. He’s been out of medical for over an hour and you hadn’t even seen him, you tried to calm down when your heart started to race, there had to be a reasonable explanation.

“FRIDAY, can you please tell me where Sam is?” “Mr. Wilson left the tower about an hour ago” the AI responded. “He left, do you know where he went?” you knew she wouldn’t have an answer, but your brain was racing a mile a minute and after your reunion and confession last night, none of this made any sense. “I am unaware of where Mr. Wilson has gone, only that he was accompanied by Sergeant Barnes.” “Oh, okay, thanks” you mumbled leaving his room and heading towards the kitchen in the common area.

After dumping the breakfast you made into the trash, you cleaned up the dishes and made your way back to your room. Sitting on your bed you rethink the entire conversation you had with Sam last night, it felt like things were moving forward, the two of you love each other, it’s not just friends with benefits, then it hits you like a bucket of ice water. Cho mentioned the sedative would make him a bit off and not make any sense, you confessed you love him, and he said it back, but it wasn’t real it was the medication. “How could I be so stupid” you growl and then decide you are better than this, you can reel in your feelings and put your anxiety to good use.

You quickly change into a pair of leggings, sports bra and your favorite tank top (I run on caffeine, chaos and curse words) before heading down to the gym. Climbing on the treadmill, you popped your earbuds in and decided a bit of running and some Metallica would be the best way to keep yourself occupied and not overthinking everything. As hard as you tried, you couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, what now? He doesn’t feel the same way so do we continue what we’ve had these last few months, or do I break things off? Knowing he might never feel the same way is only going to make this hurt worse when it all blows up in my face. The stress of the situation makes you push yourself harder than normal and speed up the treadmill trying to relieve some tension by torturing your legs in the process. After another 20 minutes of running you are ready to collapse or scream, you're not sure which would feel better but you decide to make your way to your room, shower and leave the tower for the rest of the day.

A change in scenery can only help you at this point, right? You still have your earbuds in and playlist at full volume when you come off the elevator and trek through the common area heading toward your hallway and your room. Hoping if anyone is in here, they are too busy to notice you and you can sneak by without anyone talking to you, knowing the minute you open your mouth you will probably just start crying. Luck as not on your side today, it seemed like almost everyone was gathered around and Sam was right in the middle with a big smile on his face. The smile that usually made you melt, was now making you feel like the biggest idiot in Manhattan. Why would a man like him be in love with you, you were obviously delusional. “There you are! I was beginning to worry about you” he says as he stands up and makes his way towards you. You look around and realize everyone is staring at you, did Steve and Bucky tell everyone what happened last night? Oh, this is only going to get worse, can I make a run for it without looking like a fool? Probably not, am I going to try it anyway? Absolutely.

You nod toward Sam and offer a small smile, knowing that your voice would betray your emotional state if you tried to speak at this point. Lowering your gaze and pretending to be looking for something on your phone, you didn’t realize how close Sam was now and almost run into him. He grabs you by your elbows and smiles down at you, with so much adoration in his eyes you are completely overwhelmed. “I’m sorry I missed breakfast this morning, I came by your room after I left medical and you looked so cute and peaceful all snuggled up in my hoodie that I didn’t have the heart to wake you” he stated as he leaned in and kissed your forehead. He didn’t forget about breakfast. He a came to you, and you slept through it. Looking up at him in shock “I thought you didn’t remember what we discussed last night and decided to spend the day with Bucky” you reply almost ashamed that you let your mind tell you that you had been replaced so quickly and easily.

“Hang out with Tin Man instead of you? Not a chance, Cupcake, he could never replace you, even if he tried.” You looked up at him at the use of the nickname with a huge smile on your face and exhaled “Sam.” “But he did help me with something that I needed to pick up this morning, that’s why we took off before you were up. I hope you forgive me” he said sliding his hands down your arms so that his hands were holding yours and takes a deep breath.

“You are the most amazing person I have ever known and these last few months together have been better than I could have hoped for.” What is he saying? Is this how we are announcing our relationship to the team? He’s so dramatic sometimes, but this is too sweet to ask him to stop, I can suffer through a little embarrassment.

“You are strong and funny and so much smarter than you give yourself credit for. My life would be boring without you in it. And while we are friends, I want us to be more.” You're caught off guard as he lets go of your hands and pulls something from his pocket. Looking up at Bucky in confusion, you turn back to see that Sam is now kneeling before you with a black velvet box in one hand. Your eyes must have bugged out of their socket as you hear most of the team start to giggle at you. “Y/N L/N, my cupcake, will you marry me?” he looks up with that same smile that mad you fall in love with him.

“Holy Shit!” you exclaim as your mind catches up with what was going on. “Yes! Yes! Sam, of course, I’ll marry you!” you scream as you throw yourself at him, making you both fall to the floor. As you are coming up for air, Sam laughs at you “you didn’t even look at the ring!” “I don’t need a ring Sam, I just need you.” At that you can hear the team cheering and champagne corks popping, of course Tony has champagne ready for any occasion. Bucky helps you off the floor and pulls you into a hug “Congrat, Y/N, you deserve better, but it looks like he actually makes you happy” he jokes as you hug him back.

“Hands off Barnes, that’s my fiancé” you hear Sam say from behind you. Turning towards him you smile and he grabs your left hand and gently slides the ring onto your finger. “It’s beautiful” you whisper, still in shock at what had just happened. “It doesn’t even begin to compare you to” Sam replied and leaned down for a perfect kiss that quieted all those thoughts that had been plaquing all day. You were in love with Sam Wilson and couldn’t wait to marry him and begin your lives together.

#marvel au #marvel fanfiction #marvel fandom #sam wilson fanfiction #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson au #avengers au #avengers fanfiction #avengers fandom #we are friends

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xrikix · 4 years ago

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» Hiraeth Chapter 13 || Haikyuu AU

❝They will learn how to fly.❞ – an AU where the kids of Haikyuu characters grow their passion for volleyball and face their problems.

Starring our OC’s Hoshi, Minami, and Leo! (don’t worry they’re as fluffy as our babies from Haikyuu but sprinkle in more angst)

Read Chapter 12 Here!

The Match That Lost Its Flame

Jogging onto the court, Leo could feel a shift in the atmosphere.

A new anticipation grew in his chest and sparks of excitement lit up in his heart. This feeling settled deep into his bones, taking his newfound determination to another level.

Leo shifted his glasses and glanced up towards his family, all of whom were already out of their seats preparing to cheer for Leo.

“Yeah, Leo! You got this!” Minami yelled, her hands in the air, “we only take victories in this family!”

Minami’s comment lit a match inside of Leo. The dark thoughts that plagued his head seemed to dissipate and flee from the light that shone down upon his body.

Walking towards the net, it towered overhead, creating another wall that he had yet to knock down.

“Hey Leo,” Dino said from beside him, “you ready?”

Leo nodded, his eyes alight in flames, “let’s go win this.”

The whistle blew, signaling the continuation of the game. Four points. Four points was all they needed to win this set and break through into Interhigh.

Ayama served the ball over the net as Leo watched it soar gracefully over towards the enemies. Their captain easily picked the ball up, bumping it towards their setter. Leaving his fingertips, the setter pushed the ball overhead towards their wing spiker.

Dino’s and Leo’s arms were in the air, holding their breaths, waiting for the right time to jump. “Now!”

Leo’s legs pushed against the ground, his body aligned with Dino’s, their arms raised high above their heads. The ball slammed into Dino’s fingertips causing him to yell, “one touch!”

Ryu sprang into action running for the ball, his arms outstretched. It was his turn now, Leo knew. His fingers were already above his head, itching to touch the ball. When the ball landed his fingertips, his heart bloomed at the feeling— a feeling he would never forget. His arms pushed, the ball climbed a high arc towards Hikaru. He excitedly jumped, a smirk clear on his face as his hand crashed into the ball. His grin turned into a blinding smile as the ball landed with a thud against the court.

Leo noticed that his hands were shaking, and Hikaru turned to look at him, “that felt… amazing!”

Leo laughed, suddenly feeling bashful. The countless hours spent practicing with Kageyama and Okiawa were paying off, he could feel success right at the end waiting for him.

But, the feeling of a storm still inched dangerously close to the edge of his mind, ever so slightly growing stronger.

Leo called for the team to huddle in quickly, “if we pick up the ball after their attack, I’m going to initiate a synchronized attack.”

The team nodded, resuming their positions. Taking a deep breath, Leo appreciated the confidence he had, the self-awareness, and the courage to ignore his fears. Ayama once again served the ball over, Tokonami High began their attack. Their ace rose into the air, spiking the ball down into their side of the court. Kise dove for the ball allowing it to fly once again through the air.

With his hands up in the air, Leo glanced around the team and nodded. It felt like time slowed down as the ball slowly fell onto his fingers. Ryu and Ayama swung their arms into the air, both running towards the net in preparation for a spike. With Dino and Hikaru still in the air, Leo quickly set towards Dino right into the palm of Dino’s hand. Dino slammed the ball down, and eyed the wall in front of him that was crumbling. Leo observed the way Dino seemed to soar, and a pit of giddiness opened up within Leo, making him realize that he helped Dino achieve a point.

They were two points ahead, only needing three more to win this set.

Leo’s knees bent, an idea formulated in his head as the ball soared over the net. Noting the way Tokonami prepared their attack, he waited patiently. Kise flawlessly bumped the ball over towards Leo. Leo’s body was already facing Dino and Hikaru, and his eyes met theirs. The two got ready to jump, nodding their heads.

Smiling, Leo felt the ball land in his hand, as he pushed the ball back over the net in one flick of his wrist. He gleefully watched them dive for the ball, only to miss by a finger, he could feel the power surging through his blood as he looked down on them.

Two more points, just two more.

The cheering from the crowd grew louder, showing how they knew that the set was going to be over soon. The ball flew over the net from Karasuno’s side as they anxiously awaited Tokonami's attack. The enemy ace swiftly jumped up behind the net, his arms raised, smacking the ball over the net.

“Ryu!” Kise yelled, his voice full of fear. Ryu dove for the ball, only for it to bounce off his arms and awkwardly fall onto the floor.

The whistle blew, signalling the end of Leo’s time on the court.

“My bad,” Ryu said, his eyes cast down on the floor.

“We only need two more points, don’t mind,” Leo said, plastering a smile on his face. He slowly walked off the court, all feelings of adrenaline leaving once his hands found Hisaki’s. Hisaki said nothing as he jogged towards the court.

Grimacing, Leo walked back towards the white box, where Katsuki, Kousei and Rin were waiting. “You did great Leo!” Katsuki said, bouncing up and down.

“We just need two more!” Rin excitedly said as everyone eagerly watched the set unfold.

Time once again seemed to freeze, but this time from anxiety. Seconds pushed into minutes and the lead that Leo had managed to get them disappeared.

“What happened?” Katsuki whispered, his energy lost.

Leo grit his teeth and clenched his hands as he begged someone, anyone to let them win.

The storm that lingered at the edge of his mind, took over. Thunder and lightning flashed through his mind causing him to spiral down into oblivion. Their families screamed even louder, their support deafening. His body wanted to curl up in a corner, you’re gonna lose, it seemed to say.

24-24.

“How?” Leo defeatedly sighed.

“It's okay, we just need a 2 point lead,” Rin said, patting his shoulder.

Studying the team, they looked tired and dejected, but they never stopped fighting. Leo’s eyes locked onto the ball as he watched it fly over the net. The storm inside his head thundered harder, and the boom rang through his head as lightning flashed. The lights of the gym were blinding, the screams deafening. His mind tumbled, wondering what would have happened if Ryu actually managed to pick up the ball.

His anger and jealousy outpaced his rationality, his mind darkened.

Time slowed down one last time as Karasuno watched in defeat the ball land on their side of the court. No one spoke. The shrill of the whistle blew and the sounds of celebration erupted from Tokonami High. The stands for Karasuno were quiet except for the few sighs and the “maybe next times.”

Leo couldn’t bear to lift his eyes from the ground to look at his family, to see their disappointment on their faces. He didn’t even want to leave the court in despair of seeing his family and hearing their pity filled words. They lined up against the back of the court, yelling a loud “thank you” for the game, bowing in front of their banner, the words Fly became limp.

Leo refused to raise his head, and his steps felt heavier.

His mind blamed himself for not being a better setter, but he also blamed his teammates which he couldn’t help but feel guilty for.

“Let’s get going guys, there’s next time that we can win. You guys need to rest now,” Coach Ukai said, clipboard in hand.

The storm really was a premonition, a foreshadowing for the loss they would face.

Crossing through the door, it felt like a slap from reality, the adrenaline from the game rushing out. He felt devoid of anything. Following his silent team, they walked past large crowds to hear their scornful words. “Karasuno?” “Look at them, losing.” “Too bad, they used to be so good.” “I heard they beat Shiratorizawa a few years ago.” “That’s not gonna happen again.” Leo’s teeth clenched, and he clutched his arms tighter around himself, forcing his legs to trudge on.

Finally finding a hallway to hole up in, the team collapsed onto the floor. No one spoke, their breaths were bated, trying to come to peace with what had happened.

“Um….” Yoshe said as she handed out water, “it was a really good game guys!”

No one acknowledged her.

“Thanks Yoshe...” Hikaru replied, with no emotion as he and Kise leaned against each other. A scowl on Dino’s face, and a frown on Katsuki’s. Dino leaned against the wall, his head in his knees. It hurt, the pain of losing felt like a stab through his heart, further strengthening the dark thoughts in his head.

“Hey Leo,” someone said from beside him. The voice sounding familiar, his head snapped up in surprise. Hinata crouched in front of him, Kageyama and Minami behind him.

“Oh… hey dad.”

Hinata smiled bittersweetly, slowly helping Leo get up.

“What are you doing here?” Leo asked, his words coming out forced. His eyes still refused to meet theirs, finding the floor more interesting.

“To tell you that you did your best, and it was a really good game.” Kageyama nodded while Minami sent him a small smile.

“I uh- thanks…” his mind not wanting to take their words.

He felt stupid. He didn’t want words of “you did great” or “maybe next time.” Everytime someone said those phrases, it sent a spark onto the fire already burning within him from his fury.

Minami stepped in front of Hinata, her arms wide open. “You want a hug?” she asked softly. His eyes rose to meet hers and resentment flowed right out of him. He couldn’t control it as his eyes sharpened, his voice deathly cold, “No thank you,” brushing his twin off. He didn’t want to look at her face, the face of someone who was actually able to play volleyball to the best of their abilities. A frown formed on her face that soon dropped into a scowl as her arms fell back down, “what’s your problem?”

Leo realized he was still surrounded by his teammates, but for some reason, he couldn’t care less. His mouth burst out with words that he couldn’t contain, “I don’t have a problem.”

Minami crossed her arms, “oh yeah, then why the nasty tone?”

“What tone?” Leo huffed.

“That!” she said, pointing at him. Her eyebrows furrowed in rage.

“Hey guys….” Hinata said, trying to stop the two. Everyone’s eyes were on them, watching the beginnings of an unravelment of a lifelong friendship.

“Just leave me alone,” Leo snapped.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, I don’t want to see your face.”

“Seriously, what is your problem?!” Minami yelled back, confused.

“What, do you want me to be sorry?”

Minami scoffed, “you’re just acting like this because you lost.” Leo’s vision went blurry as anger blinded him, his self-control snapping even more. His body lunged towards Minami, but was stopped when Kageyama stepped in front of him. “You both need to stop, people are watching,” his voice harsh, but Leo could feel Kageyama’s gaze sharpen on him.

“Tell that to him,” Minami said, scowled.

Leo leaned back, eyes averted, “leave.”

“This isn’t our home dumbass. You can’t tell me to leave in a public area.”

“We’re leaving Leo,” Kageyama said, holding his arm and dragging.

“Wait what?” suddenly shaken out of his stupor.

“We’re going home.”

“But Coach-”

“Coach said to take you home.”

Coach Ukai nodded his head, his eyes filled with worry when looking at Leo. They walked past Hinata and Minami, the latter still annoyed, both of them refusing to look at each other. A few seconds later, Tsukshima and Yamaguchi walked up towards the group.

“Well if it isn’t the king,” Tsukishima said, amused.

“Tsuki…” Yamaguchi said, sighing.

He turned towards Leo, “good game out there.” The words entered his ears, his teeth grit, he looked away.

“Tsk, your son couldn’t get starting position and he’s acting like this? We saw everything.”

“Tsuki!”

Leo hit his boiling point. He felt like he was going to erupt any second

Why? Does the world hate me that much? Leo could feel Kageyama starting to argue with Tsukishima, both glaring at each other.

“Okay dad, you can stop. This isn’t necessary,” Dino said, standing up, the team still behind them watching.

“Son of a pro volleyball player right?” Tsukishima said, ignoring his son.

“Okay!” Yamaguchi yelled, intervening, pushing his husband out of Kageyama’s line of sight. Hinata shook his head, telling Kageyama to stop. Yamaguchi turned to look at the Shoyo family, “sorry, he’s just salty they lost.”

“Let’s put the blame on Leo since he wants to act like a baby here,” Minami’s voice raising on purpose, “must suck losing.”

“Well I hope you fucking lose,” he responded, the urge to fight with Minami fumed, but he could feel Kageyama’s hand tighten on his arm. Hinata must have said something, but they couldn’t hear it, the two of them continuing to walk in different directions, neither bothering to look back at one another.

The silence in the car was stifling as Leo watched cities turn into small towns. Kageyama told him to get in the car, but other than that, neither of them spoke ever since leaving the gym.

A few minutes from leaving, Kageyama received a call from Hinata. His voice blasted out from the phone, telling Kageyama that he was going to continue staying with Minami throughout Interhigh.

“Are you gonna come back or stay with Leo?” his body stiffened up at his name.

“I’ll stay at home with Leo, so tell Minami I said good luck.”

“Okay, get home safe, and Leo?” Hinata said. Leo didn’t speak despite the glance from Kageyama through the rearview mirror.

Hinata sighed through the phone, “Hopefully you can talk it out with dad but, I know you probably don’t want to hear this right now. You really did good in the game, really.” The click of the call ending was the ball that knocked over everything within himself. Regret and shame flooded every part of his body.

All he wanted to do was disappear.

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyū!!#haikyuu AU #hinata shoyo #kageyama #kagehina #tsukishima kei #yamaguchi tadashi #tsukiyama #Karasuno #volleyball #writing #Anime OC #anime au #anime #fanfic #angst

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whateverittakestoavenge · 6 years ago

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The Deserter (Part 3)

Pairing: Avengers X Stark!Reader

Part One Part Two

Tony Stark had spent the past month looking for his daughter. He had the whole team running facial recognition around the world, looking for her. Every time they thought they had a lead, Tony and Pepper would hop on a plane to bring her home. So far they had been to Minnesota, Alaska, and Sweden.

Every time they came back heartbroken because it wasn’t her. Just someone who looked eerily similar.

Tony had considered making a big press campaign to find his daughter, Steve and Pepper had to talk them out of it. “Listen, Tony, she went into hiding for a reason, let’s try to find her on our own,” stressed the Captain.

His Fiancee had tried to soothe him but, it was of no use. The man was in absolute agony over his missing child.

“Pepper it’s been three years, she twenty now. My little girl’s all grown up. And I have no fucking idea where she is.” All the billionaire could do was cradle his head in his hands and take deep breaths. His daughter was out there somewhere, he just had to find her.

----

Natasha spent three years thinking both Stark and his daughter were dead. And if she learned anything about Starks in the past two months, unless there is a body, don’t believe them to be dead.

She enjoyed looking for people. It took her mind off of the Thanos situation. She found Clint two years ago, staying in Japan under a pseudonym, and convinced him to come home. She was positive she could do the same thing for Y/n Stark.

Natasha had been conducting her own investigation into Y/n’s whereabouts. Tony had come back heartbroken every time, so she decided to find his daughter for him. She had used her various connections to try to find a lead. Natasha had been skimming through a crowd photo in Venezuela, that an ex-shield agent had sent her when she received a text message with coordinates from an unknown number.

35.6870° N, 105.9378° W, Y/N Stark’s Location

Natasha saved the coordinates and borrowed a helicopter. She was going to bring Stark’s daughter home. She didn’t tell Tony where she was going, as far as everyone was concerned, she was clearing her head. ---- Y/N hadn't stuck in one place for very long the past three years. She changed locations sporadically, leaving whenever people started to ask questions about her past.

She changed her hair color every new place she went to. She had an assortment of colored contacts to further alter her appearance. She didn’t need people to make connections. The only thing that she couldn’t change was the dark circles under eyes. They had become her signature trademark.

She was returning back to her small apartment in Santa Fe, after leaving to gather up supplies to move to a new location. The first thing she noticed upon entering her apartment was that her door was slightly ajar. She always locked her door when she left.

“Looters”, she thought to herself. The world was now full of them. She had come into contact with several over the years so, she tapped her father’s watch ready to scare them off.

When she was first on her own, the familiar whir of her dad’s technology made her reminisce on the past. She didn’t think about the past at all anymore. She didn’t think about the future. She didn’t think about anything except surviving. And now she was thinking about the thief in her home.

Y/n came around the corner with the iron gauntlet blaring, ready to scorch the thief. She was a little shocked to see who was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Nat! What the hell, h-how did you find me?”

“Y/N,” - she said as she scooted off the kitchen counter to embrace the girl, ”you have to come home.”

“I can’t.”

“And why not?”

“I just can’t, okay.” Y/N glanced around the room and took a deep breath. “I miss everyone, Nat. Really I do. I just can’t go back. I just can’t face everyone after what I did.”

“Y/n, we are gonna reverse this, trust me.” Natasha was only trying to soothe the young woman. She hadn’t seen the girl in four years and she was no longer a wide-eyed teenager, she was an adult who had to grow up too quickly.

“I know you guys are gonna try to fight Thanos again and what if you guys just make it worst. Nat, I saw so many people disappear outside my bedroom window and I-I-I can’t watch anyone else die. I don’t want to lose anyone else”

“Y/N, have you been on your own all these years?”

“I can’t get close to people anymore, Nat. Not after what happened”

“There is something you should know-”

“I mean, I don’t even think Pepper could look at me. I made her think I was dead. And if my dad knew that I abandoned Pepper, he would just be so disappointed” Natasha could see that Y/n was spiraling.

“Y/N,” Natasha demanded the young woman's attention, “he’s not dead.”

“What the fuck did you just say?” ----

Y/N had never been so still. The entire ride back to the compound she didn’t say a word. Natasha, never one for small talk, only giving her worried glances.

Y/N knew she was in the wrong. She was so upset over the people that she lost, she ran from the people she still had. Sure, she missed them and thought about going back every day, but they’ve would’ve called her a coward for running away. She couldn’t return, because she abandoned them, because they were brave and she was scared.

“Does he know you found me? Did he send you?” Y/N asked as Natasha descended onto the Helipad.

“He’s been looking for you, but I wanted you to tell him you were back. He needs to see it in person,” replied the spy.

Y/N was shaking as she exited the helicopter. She was terrified to see everyone, especially Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey. They mourned for someone was never dead. She would apologize to them later but there was sh=omeone she had to see first.

--- He was sitting in his lab staring at the wall. Friday interrupted his thoughts by saying, “Sir, you have a visitor.”

When Tony Stark turned around, a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“Hey, dad,” said a voice he wasn’t sure he’d ever hear again.

When he saw his daughter he wanted to burst into tears. She was no longer the happy teen he last saw 6 months, no, three years ago. She was a young woman who had been through too much. He had noticed she had inherited the under eye circles from him. “She didn’t have those last time I saw her,” thought the man.

The Starks both ran to each other, meeting in the middle to embrace. Two people who had always hidden their emotions from others broke down together. Once the tears had dried, the pair caught each other up on their time apart.

Tony was heartbroken after learning his daughter had migrated around the country by herself for three years. His daughter was equally mortified over learning her father was starving in a space a little more than a month ago. Although it was not said, all they could think was the time they had lost together.

“You should’ve gotten a chance at life. Not had to spend three years by yourself. I’m gonna fix this,” Tony assured his daughter.

“Dad, don’t.” Tony was not expecting to hear that reply from his daughter.

Y/N was about to finally voice her fears to her father. Whenever asked, Y/N would always say something like heights or spiders was her greatest fear. But in reality, her biggest fear was losing the one constant in her life. Her father.

“I watched you fly a nuke into a wormhole and ride a flying donut into space. Sit this one out. I can’t watch you put yourself in harm’s way again.”

What Tony never understood, was that he was her hero long before he was Iron Man. So, Y/N begged him to let it be.

“Dad, I love you, please don’t do this,” pleaded the young woman.

“Y/n I don’t have a choice. Peter died in my arms, everyone I was on that planet with died. And I come to find out three years have passed, and no one is able to move on. We have to do something. I don't have a choice.”

“You always have a choice Dad,” she replied with a bit of anger dripping from her words. She didn’t want to be mad at him for trying to save the universe, again. But she was selfish. She didn’t want to have to hand him over again.

"When you can do the things that we can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of us,’ Tony’s choice of words gave the younger Stark a sense of responsibility that she hadn’t felt before.

“Ok…. Fine. But, I’m helping out too. I’ve been watching you guys from the sidelines for years now. It’s about time I get in on the action too.”

Hell Hath no Fury like Two Pissed Off Starks.

---

A/N so I’m probably gonna wait to finish this after Endgame comes out. Let me know how you guys feel the story is coming along!

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sailorsolar12 · 6 years ago

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The Item Website - Avengers - Part 1/?

Hey everybody! So more than likely this short fic will only be two parts three at the most. I am trying to do a lot more writing done right now and have a crap ton of ideas that I wanna do. I have a prompt list coming soon...hopefully within the next day or 2. There are going to be 200 prompts on it so please guys send me requests.....

Anyways this was kind of short compared to what I typically do.

Title: The Item Website

Part: 1 of ?

Words: 977

Rating: T for mild cursing

It wasn’t noticeable at first when small things started going missing from the Avengers’ tower. Small things like a pen here, a screwdriver there, a coffee mug…..small things like that. None of the Avengers had no idea. That was...until Tony discovered the link from Peter. This started a huge spiral that wouldn’t be good in the long run. Slowly more noticeable things started going missing….like sweatshirts, shirts, the occasional watch, even on of Steve’s sketchbooks from the 1940s went missing. The only reason that Clint and Natasha even noticed something of his was missing was when Tony came into the lounge room with Clint’s favorite black hoodie on and Natasha’s favorite mug. Everything went to hell from there.

Natasha analyzed the site’s components, but came up empty which was saying something because if neither Tony nor Natasha could get into the backdoor, then this website was much bigger than they thought it was.

*Flashback*

“I can’t get into it,” Natasha said in shock as she slumped back in her chair.

“What do you mean you can’t get into it?!” Tony exclaimed in slight shock. He was trying to think of ways that he could break into the backdoor of the website’s server, but nothing new he hadn’t tried came to mind. He knew that Natasha was actually very good at hacking and had hoped that she could break into the backdoor, but now he knew that neither of them could it. That must mean that the server was made with something that not even a super spy could crack. He groaned softly and poured himself and Natasha a drink knowing she would need it. They needed to find some way to break into that backdoor.

*End Flashback*

Everyone in the tower did their best to keep an eye on all of their things, but somehow their belongings kept appearing on the sight. Steve was shocked when one of his current sketchbooks sold for over 5 million. There was no possible way that someone could want something of his that badly….but then he realized that someone could. Steve frowned slightly as he studied the user name of the winner. Someone with the username CoulMericaFan had won the bid, but it was the spelling of Coul that made his mind start turning. “Tony look at this user name….How did Phil spell his last name again?” Steve asked the billionaire which cause the rest of the original 6 Avengers to look up from what they were doing.

“C-o-u-l-s-o-n I believe...why? You think you got something Capsicle?” Tony asked as he looked at the username that the super soldier was pointing to. Tony blinked. “Well son of a bitch.” Tony set to work tracking down the person behind that specific username….and it was not surprising to see the face of Agent Phil Coulson pop up on their screen. Tony smirked at Steve. “He must e a really hardcore fanboy to pay that much for just a simple sketch book of yours,”Tony said making the super soldier turn a brilliant red color.

Clint frowned slightly. How on earth did Coulson know about the site and not report it to S.H.I.E.L.D.? The archer went wide eyed as he stood rom his spot. “Guys….what if part of the reason we can’t get into the server is because the person who made the website is partnering with S.H.I.E.L.D.?!” he asked slightly alarmed. Why would Fury allow something like this to happen? Unless Fury worked out a deal with the mastermind behind the website…. The very thought made Clint pale more as he looked at Natasha who had the same exact thoughts as he did in the moment. They needed to find the person behind this website and fast.

*Meanwhile in a secured location*

You hummed to yourself as you typed on your laptop with not a care in the world. You had just gotten back from another meeting with Fury. He hadn’t wanted to admit it at first, but the auction website you ran was a great way to get a bit of extra money for the organization and a tad but of money in your own pocket. You didn’t take a lot of the money...not even ten percent of what was paid, but everything that you did get immediately went into a savings account that you wanted to save for when you could start over with a new identity from S.H.I.E.L.D. because you had been on the run from HYDRA when they resurfaced because your great-grandparents had deserted the organization during WWII. You had grown up with a tough life, but you had grown strong because of it. You were a very good hacker and a go to tech consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. when they had found out about the website. One of your best buyers was actually Phil Coulson himself, and it made you laugh because he was such a Captain America Fanboy.

Your body froze as you heard your computer beep. Someone had tripped your silent alarm. Someone had found you. You cursed as you shut your laptop off and grabbed out the handgun that Fury had registered to your name making sure the clip was full. You proceeded to shut down all the lights and technology hiding in one of the far corners of the room. You closed your eyes calming your heart rate and made sure to breathe silently as to not attract attention. You were not anticipating...however...for the Natasha Romanoff to drop down next to you and get you in an unbreakable hold without choking you. You cursed repeatedly in your head….The Avengers had found you. How the hell were you going to explain this to Fury?

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There it is. Please leave feedback and let me know what you think.

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@silvermoonfox @lolabean1998

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kimnamjooonz · 6 years ago

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Blank Space - Episode 9

PBlank Space

Showing up in this episode:

Karlie Kloss

Tom Holland:

Taylor Swift:

Chris Evans:

Basically everyone is here.

Songs that inspired this chapter:

Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m bored - Ariana Grande. (Morgan’s song)

I’m a Mess - Bebe Rexha (Also Morgan’s song)

Don’t Hurt Yourself - Beyonce

I Did Something Bad - Taylor Swift

Hands To Myself - Selena Gomez

Mambo N. 5 - Lou Bega

Dancing Queen - Abba

Africa - Toto

Hey Ya - Outkast

Blank Space - Taylor Swift.

Okay, this is a hot mess but I had a lot of fun writing it.

''Oh my God, who is she, I get drunk on jealousy, when you come back is time you leave, cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like daydream.''

After the Madison Square Garden outing, the two weirdest weeks followed. Morgan and Sebastian had rescued a cat and almost kissed but after that, Sebastian came back to his senses and Morgan went into a spiral of anger without any precedent. The thing was that for a moment she had thought that she had achieved something after the moment they had shared while rescuing Thirteen so, it was a disappointment of the size of the Empire State when on the next day pictures of Sebastian and his girlfriend splashed the Internet. Morgan was as livid as the majority of Sebastian's fans. But, just like in the old times, she kept her emotions to herself and went on with her life. Only Taylor noticed that something was off and that Morgan was ready to snap. Not of stress or pressure but of anger. But Morgan was taking revenge in the best way she could: by landing her first Vogue cover, being invited to every show at the New York fashion week and hanging out with the most popular models afterwards. And being loved by apparently everyone on the Internet. On set, everything was as normal as it ever was. Morgan and Sebastian kept their outstanding chemistry but when the cameras stopped rolling, they went back to their brooding selves, hardly sharing a word. At least they weren't shouting at each other anymore even though Sebastian could see a shadow of anger in Morgan's eyes every time she looked at him. There were only two people that knew the reason why Morgan had been like a chained monster the last couple of weeks: her assistant Lucas and her new friend Karlie Kloss. She had met Karlie at the New York Fashion Week and they had immediately clicked. They were often pictured together leaving events or hanging out around the city. Morgan hadn't had any other option but to tell Lucas as he had found her smashing a glass of water to the floor after a new set of pictures of Sebastian and his girlfriend had surfaced the Internet, this time kissing. Lucas was a bit alarmed by Morgan's attack of jealousy and decided to call Karlie to help him handle her. He decided to not tell Taylor who was going to give Morgan an earful, without any doubt. Together decided to distract Morgan with an sleepover and a Harry Potter marathon. Taylor joined them, even though she found the situation curious. Morgan just lied and told her that she had had a bad day at set and they were helping her to relax. But Morgan needed help to release that anger. The best solution was to get over Sebastian but everyone knew that this was not going to happen any time soon. Morgan's solution was to run him over with her Porsche but Lucas had pointed out that this was probably getting Morgan to prison and would end her career in a heartbeat. Luckily Karlie proposed Morgan to do kickboxing with her and she had liked the idea. She already knew how to do rugby tackles and now she was learning to punch and kick. Lucas and Taylor were a bit reluctant. The were starting to fear for Sebastian Stan's well being. Taylor still remember the words that Clint had told Morgan at the airport: 'If they break your heart, you break their necks.'. She prayed that Morgan didn't took that piece of advice to heart. But after a week doing kickboxing, she could feel the difference. Anger wasn't clouding her thoughts anymore and she could feel her wits getting sharper and more calculating. Or that was what she thought. Many others had noticed too. Taylor, Lucas and Karlie were proud of her as she was in a much better mood. Even Sebastian had noticed. There was no anger in her eyes anymore but sometimes she caught her staring at him in a way that made him wonder if she knew something he didn't or if she was planning to give him an slow and painful death. That Friday evening Morgan was with Lucas and Karlie at the gym. Don't Hurt Yourself by Beyoncé was blasting and Morgan was punching a punching bag with all the force in the world, and the song was motivating. They were even singing some lyrics. ''I am the dragon breathing fire, beautiful mane I'm the lion, beautiful man I know you're lying...'' Punch. Karlie was impressed. In a week Morgan's workout was noticeable. She looked even more stunning, if that was possible. ''Morgan, sing the next part because it's absolutely epic.'' said Lucas, laughing.

''We just got to let it be, let it be, let it be, baby'.. HEY BABY'' Punch. ''WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK ARE YOU?'' Punch. ''I SMELL THAT FRAGANCE ON YOUR LOUIS V BOY'' Punch. 'JUST GIVE MY FAT ASS A BIG KISS BOY'' Punch. ''TONIGHT I'M FUCKING UP ALL YOUR SHIT BOY'' Punch. Punch. Punch. Punch. Morgan was punching that bag as it had personally offended her.

''This is so cathartic'' said Lucas, who was lying on a mat, tired. ''It is'' the song had stopped and Morgan was on a little break to drink water and rest. ''Brilliant, Morgan, brilliant'' said Peter, Morgan and Karlie's personal trainer. He was a lovable big guy, who was always flirting with Lucas. And Lucas shamelessly flirted back. Morgan always thought that he was the reason why Lucas kept going to the gym with her and Karlie. ''I wouldn't like to be the person you're angry at.'' ''You're right. You wouldn't like to.'' Morgan looked at her reflection on the big mirror and she loved what she saw. Her back was more muscular and her arms more defined. ''Are you sure you're not training for an action movie?'' he asked. ''Something Marvel related? After all, you work with Sebastian Stan and he's from Marvel.'' Thinking of the DEVIL, there he was, mentioned again. ''Not at all. Maybe I take on the mantle of Captain America now that Chris Evans is leaving.'' she said with sarcasm. ''It seems that you're enjoying being Stan's partner way too much that you want to do it again.'' Karlie teased her again and Lucas laughed out loud. Peter was the only one that didn't understand. ''Keep teasing, you two'' Morgan rolled her eyes at him. ''Let's do something else.'' ''Let's try to combine your kicks with your punches, okay?'' Karlie was searching for another song to motivate Morgan. Taylor Swift's I did Something Bad was the chosen one. Morgan was thinking exactly the same. Peter was guiding Morgan in everything that she needed to do, and of course that the song lyrics were helping her. They say I did something bad, why does it feel so good? Punch. They say I did something bad why does it feel so... Punch. ...good? Kick. Most fun I ever had and I'll do it over and over and over again...'' Punch. If I could... Kick. It just felt so... Punch. Kick. ...good. Punch. Kick. Karlie and Lucas were having a lot of fun, watching Morgan kick and punch, totally possessed with the song. ''LIGHT ME UP! LIGHT ME UP! GO AHEAD AND LIGHT ME UP!'' they sang, trying not to laugh. She finished basically submissing Peter. ''Okay, okay, you were good Morgan. Anger motivates you.'' he ruffled her hair. ''See you newt week and don't punch anyone, okay?'' She just nodded. She was so tired that she was lying in a mat, breathing heavily and trying to get some energy and get up. ''So... ready for tonight?'' Karlie asked. That night there was going to be a cast party but everyone knew it was more than that. Many people was going to go, and they weren't related to the movie at all but Damien had invited them for publicity. Morgan herself had invited Taylor, Lucas and Karlie. Everyone knew that Sebastian was going to bring his girlfriend and everyone was asking if Joe Alwyn was going to bring Taylor Swift. For all of these reasons, Morgan was excited. ''More than ever'' she was still lying on the mat, moving her hands sensually at the rhythm of Selena Gomez's Hands To Myself. Lucas jumped from the mat with Morgan's phone in his hands. ''Can I film this for your Instagram? This is too priceless. Post workout Morgan Llewellyn lip synching and looking devastatingly sexy. Perfect.'' ''Perfect to PornHub'' commented Karlie. ''Shut up, Kloss. Now, do what you were doing, Morgan. Remember, you can't keep your hands to yourself. Taylor is going to kill you but not before you kill a certain someone of a heart attack. Now, action.'' At the other side of Manhattan, Sebastian was opening the new Instagram notification from Morgan only to end up weak on the knees with his eyes almost bulging out of his skull. He had to sit down to call himself a little and watch the video again. ''Damn'' was the only thing he could mumble.

''You are absolutely out of control.'' Taylor reprimanded Morgan once they were at home getting ready for the party. ''I told you not to post sexy stuff.'' ''It was good.'' Morgan was ready and she was sitting on the table, looking bored. ''Did you see how many likes it got?'' ''Yeah, including one from your co-star.'' Taylor kept curling her hair. Lucas giggled. He was straightening the front of his shirt. He and Morgan knew that they had achieved their purpose. And it was just he beginning. Lucas couldn't wait to see what else Morgan had in store. She looked spectacular, with a metallic short, loose dress, that had a star in the middle with an inscription in Welsh. It highlighted her long legs to perfection. She accompanied the look with high heels, snake themed jewellery and her signature red lip. ''Beth bynnag y mae'n ei gymryd, rwyf bob amser yn ennill.'' Taylor read the inscription in Morgan's dress. ''Isn't that a bit threatening?'' ''It depends how you take it. And no one except you understands Welsh.'' ''What does it say?'' asked Lucas. ''Whatever it takes, I'm always going to win.'' Taylor translated the sentence. ''Childish.'' however, Taylor was a bit weary of Morgan, who was not going to give up in whatever she was planning. Taylor didn't want to know. So, Morgan was going to go there making statements and no one was going to understand. ''Let's go, remember we're picking up Karlie on our way there.''

Sebastian was already in the place accompanied by his girlfriend and his friends. Damien Chazelle was around as well as some of the cast, pop music was on the background and the place was peaceful only because Morgan Llewellyn hadn't arrived yet. ''Are you sure she's not here yet?'' Florence asked. ''Yes. If she were here you'd notice that. She's chaotic and this place too peaceful.'' Florence wanted to meet the infamous Morgan Llewellyn once and for all to see if she was as bad as Sebastian said she was. Sebastian glanced at the windows. A horde of paparazzi were outside that didn't pay much attention to him when he got in. They most asked questions that were asked went like: ''Are you and Morgan dating? Because you should, you look gorgeous together'' (and they had asked that IN FRONT of his girlfriend), ''What do think about Morgan's latest Instagram video?'' or ''What do you think about the rumour of Morgan Llewellyn leading the live action Wicked movie?''. They just wanted to ask stuff about Morgan. Suddenly there was a commotion outside and there were flashes everywhere. ''What the hell...'' Florence mumbled. ''There she is. I told you she was chaotic.'' Florence suddenly wanted to leave. She hadn't even seen Morgan yet and she knew that she was whatever but good news. She was too overwhelming and she hadn't entered the building yet. And her feelings were justified when Morgan entered the place. Immediately, Sebastian's group knew that he had been right: pictures didn't do her justice. Morgan in person was ten times more gorgeous and with that metallic dress that exposed her long legs she looked like an exotic flamingo. In Florence's opinion she looked like a beautiful snake. ''I think I lost my ability to breath'' Chace mumbled. ''If you don't want her for you, set me up!'' ''Shut up, Chace!'' Sebastian desperately hissed. But he was with his eyes fixed on Morgan in a not so subtle manner. But Florence was staring at Morgan too. She was built like a Victoria's Secret Angel and she walked like one. She was pacing the room with feline steps, like she owned the place. She was vibrant, magnetic, full of life and absolutely chaotic. Morgan wasn't looking at them but Karlie Kloss was and Florence didn't like her expression. When Florence finally took her glance off of Morgan she saw Sebastian, Toby, Will and Chace staring at her with their mouths hanging open. ''Snap out of it!'' Florence reprimanded them but none only Will took notice. Morgan walked straight to Damien who was waiting for her. ''My dear Morgan! I was waiting for you! Finally the star of the show is here! I want you to meet a couple of people...'' In five minutes she was surrounded by a circle of influential people. From Greta Gerwig, Patty Jenkins, Kevin Feige (that no one knew what was he doing there) and many more. Only after half an hour she was free. ''I think I'm meeting my cast mates'' she said to Karlie and Lucas (Taylor was still talking to Greta Gerwig). Firstly she went to greet Michael and Alicia and then Emily and her husband John Krasinski. They talked for some minutes until Morgan decided that she couldn't keep avoiding the inevitable and approached Sebastian's table before she had any chance of chickening out and running away. Florence felt a pit in her stomach when she saw Morgan approaching. But there was no way to avoid her. But Morgan wasn't looking at her, she had her impressive blue eyes fixed on Sebastian. ''Nice co-star you make. You're here hiding while I have to deal with everyone.'' Florence was surprised. She was expecting Morgan Llewellyn to hiss or to speak Parseltongue. Instead, she had a silky voice that combined with a standard British accent that made it sound completely irresistible. ''What's the deal with you, mate? You always act like you don't even want to be here.'' Florence absolutely detested her. She just needed a couple of seconds next to Morgan to see that she was even worse than what Sebastian said she was. ''You have the whole stage to yourself, Llewellyn. Go and shine.'' Florence wondered if that was banter or if they really were used to say snarky things at each other. ''It tears me apart to say this, doll, but you may be right. With that sour face you won't charm anyone. Why don't you leave? TacoBell is having discount night. You can have a nice dinner there.'' Wait a second... since when Morgan Llewellyn called Sebastian 'doll'? ''I told you two weeks ago, princess. I'm not leaving, I'm staying.'' Florence was about to blow up. He was shamelessly calling Morgan 'princess'. He didn't even called her like that. What was the game they were playing at? ''That's on you, Stan. Have fun if you like or do whatever the hell you want, I don't care. Remember we're on the public eye and we're supposed to be friends so at least smile when you're talking to me. I don't want a Madison Square Garden 2.0, believe me, doll'' Florence couldn't stand it anymore. ''Hello, I'm Florence. I'm Sebastian's girlfriend.'' she had to intervene before Morgan tore Sebastian apart with her words. And she couldn't stand her calling him 'doll'. ''Oh, hi'' Morgan looked at her with a sweet expression. Nothing on her beautiful face revealed a drop of animosity but her eyes told a complete different story. They were cold as ice. ''Sebastian talks a lot about you.'' Sebastian couldn't believe that Florence was saying that. But his girlfriend was still angry because he had called Morgan 'princess'. ''How nice'' Morgan said with an unemotional voice. ''Can't say the same, but we almost never talk, so don't worry.'' Florence was reading the words on Morgan's dress. They were in some strange language that she didn't know. It wouldn't surprise her if it was a curse. Nothing would surprise her about Morgan. ''What does it say?'' she asked with a fake smile, pointing at the dress. ''To be or not to be, that is the question'' she lied without wincing. The message was to Sebastian, not to Florence. ''Shakespeare's Hamlet in Welsh. Balmain customised this dress for me with this quote.'' ''So you are Welsh. I thought you were British.'' Florence meant to say 'English' but she couldn't think clearly with Morgan in front of her. Morgan blinked a couple of times in confusion. ''Wales is part of Britain.. but maybe I'm not the best person to explain this... you can always go to the Wikipedia. It's pretty clearly explained.'' she turned around, making it clear that the conversation was over. Then she noticed Chace. ''You're Chace Crawford! Oh darlin'! I love you since Gossip Girl!'' Sebastian almost dropped his glass to the floor. He could see that Chace had got numb. ''Thank you. That is... a wonderful compliment.'' ''I have to go now, see you later.'' she smiled at him in a nice way, not flirty or anything of the sort. They all watched Morgan leave and take a seat in a table with Lucas and Karlie. ''She hates me'' Florence said, out of nowhere. ''She doesn't'' Toby showed up out of nowhere after he and Will had vanished when Morgan appeared to the scene. But they had been listening to everything. ''She hates Sebastian, you're just collateral damage. And she was pretty nice to you.'' Will laughed out loud. ''She literally said 'Can't say the same' and sent her to look up stuff in the Wikipedia. In which world that counts as being nice? Sebastian was right, she's a snake.'' ''She's not!'' apparently Chace was caught in the Morgan spell. ''I don't know what did you see. But she's really nice. She's just angry at you because you got two hours late to the first read through and invented she was on a date with you, Florence'' Sebastian wanted to punch Chace on the face. That was one of the things he wasn't supposed to tell anyone. But apparently justifying Morgan was more important to him. ''But you weren't! Sebastian!'' Florence looked at him with anger. ''Thank you very much! She was right after all! Where were you by the way?'' Sebastian couldn't think of an explanation that made sense. He had had a mental breakdown that fateful morning but he was not telling that to Florence. ''It doesn't matter'' ''Yes, it matters because thanks to your stupid lies now Morgan Llewellyn loathes me and wants me out of the picture'' Sebastian, Chace and Toby looked at her with their eyebrows raise. ''C'mon! You can see it all over her fake sweet face.'' ''You're just paranoid'' Sebastian kept his eyes glued to Morgan's back, who was with her friends and some other people. ''If she hates someone here, she hates me.'' ''The thing is...'' Will looked at him, straight in the eyes. ''...she doesn't hate you, Sebastian. And you know it.'' Many more people had arrived and some of them had joined Morgan and her friends who were just talking about harmless stuff like pets or what was going to happen in the next season of Game of Thrones. Between Morgan's new company were Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon and Harrison Osterfield. No one knew why they were there but their funny personalities gave life to the group. Tom Holland started to tell anecdotes that had everyone in tears. Sebastian couldn't kept his eyes away from her for a second. And she hadn't looked at him once. He got distracted only when Chace stood up. ''Where are you going?'' he asked. ''With them.'' he pointed at Morgan's group. ''They're a young and lively bunch.'' ''So you're on her side, now. Wow, thank you, Chace.'' ''I'm in nobody's side, stop being so immature. They look like they're having a great time and we're here in silence watching them have fun. I'd rather be there.'' And without any more words he left and second later he was installing himself between Zendaya and Karlie Kloss, being all smiles. The only thing Sebastian wanted was to follow him. After a while Toby's loyalty to him was over and he followed on Chace's footsteps. Morgan received him with a huge smile. Only Will and Florence were still with him. ''I'm getting a drink'' he almost ran to the bar. Michael Fassbender was there and Morgan was near, mysteriously talking with Karlie and Tom. Maybe they were talking about him or maybe he was as paranoid as Florence. He asked for a beer and was going to get back to his table when Michael approached him. ''Finally I get you alone... I'm going to be direct with you because you look painfully unhappy... just, once and for all, make up your mind'' ''What?'' he knew that what Michael had just said made perfect sense but he was not going to admit it. ''Don't try to deny it. I've been watching you and you could take your eyes off of her for a second.'' it was pretty clear who 'her' was. ''Just...clear that head of yours. Once you do that, you'll be a happier person, trust me.'' Michael went back to his table, in which his wife was talking to Morgan's agent. He was still processing Michael's words and looking at Morgan, who was talking only with Karlie, who after getting a drink was going back to the table. It was now or never. Without overthinking too much he approached her. He knew that what he was doing was wrong but he didn't care. Suddenly he was feeling reckless. ''So, you've been working out, Llewellyn?'' Morgan looked at him with suspicion. ''Glad you watched my Instagram video. I guess you enjoyed it.'' ''Yeah, half the world enjoyed it.'' he got one step closer to her. ''But that's not how I noticed. You look different. Stronger.'' Morgan had a side smirk on her face. ''Thanks for the compliment. There's nothing better than strength in this world. Physical strength and strength of character get you ahead in this universe. You feel powerful.'' He got even closer to her. ''What the hell are you playing at?'' Morgan looked at him with a side smile, without no hint of shame. ''My own game, Stan. It's not my fault you're bitter because you're not involved in it.'' He looked at her with the same smile. ''Are you sure of that? I'm pretty much sure I'm well into your game.'' ''Why don't you... prove it?'' she said the last words very slowly. She knew he couldn't. She was never evident about her feelings in front of anyone, let alone, him. He got so close to her that they were almost touching. Morgan needed all her self control to keep herself level headed. ''I thought something had changed between us after MSG. But no. You went back to being the insufferable person you were before.'' ''Look who's talking! I didn't see much of a difference in your behaviour, Stan.'' He had his eyes glued to her. Even though the room was full, this moment was just theirs. ''We shared a moment, Morgan.'' ''And? You come here talking about moments, when your girlfriend is right there looking at you. You have no shame, Sebastian. You thought we shared a moment but, I'm sorry to tell you that nothing of what I told you was of much importance''. But he didn't give up. He closed the space between them, placing her hand softly on her shoulder and leaned in order to whisper something on her ear. ''Keep lying to yourself, Morgan.'' his lips were almost brushing her skin. ''It meant something for you and it meant a lot to me.'' he placed a short and soft kiss just below her ear, leaving Morgan absolutely disarmed. He left with a smile and winking. The bastard knew that her had won this round. At least Morgan had the consolation that his girlfriend was going to give him hell and erase that winning smile from his face. But she was needing all her self control because her insides were screaming. She was obviously very shaken. ''What did he tell you?'' asked Karlie when she was back at the table. ''Nothing of importance.'' she said with all the calm in the world. ''Some crap about my Instagram video. Idiot.'' she didn't know why she was lying to Karlie. Maybe because there were many things that she liked to keep to herself. Like the sensation of Sebastian Stan's lips brushing against her skin for less than a second. Sebastian kept the winning smile for a good while. The magic lasted until Florence spoke. ''Are you going to explain what happened with your co-star? You two were pretty close.'' ''I was just telling her something about Tom Holland. Nothing serious'' he wasn't very focused on giving a strong excuse. The only thing that ran around his head was the softness of Morgan's skin and how good it'd feel to place more kisses in that neck of hers... Will, who had spent the night basically in silence, noticed Sebastian's absent minded and dreamy expression. ''Sebastian!'' Florence said in a loud voice that scared him a little. ''I was talking to you.'' ''Yeah, I know and I wasn't hexed by Morgan, we were just talking.'' once again, he was talking before thinking. '' She's a person by the way, not a creature from Mordor...'' then he noticed Florence's expression. ''Do you think I'm having an affair with her? Trust me, I'm not.'' ''I don't trust you'' she blatantly said. ''But I trust Morgan's ego. She'd never accept to be anyone's side chick. She has to be in the spotlight, she demands full attention, she has to be the one and only. I kind of pity the poor guy that ends up with her.'' Sebastian didn't share that view. ''She's not that bad, you know.'' ''Sebastian!'' he got yelled for the second time in ten minutes, this time by Will. ''You were the one that told us that she was a snake and we believed you. We're on your side, not like Chace and Toby, who are there laughing and having fun.'' But they couldn't finish what they were talking about because someone was making his way into the place: the one and only Chris Evans. Before Sebastian could even wave at him, Damien had already caught him and a second later he was introducing him to Morgan Llewellyn. ''What the hell Damien!'' he hissed. The only thought he had on his head was 'Not Chris, not Chris, not Chris, anyone but Chris.' He had to control himself for ten minutes while watching them talk. Thankfully someone had got the idea of dancing and Morgan had grabbed Jacob's arm and jumped to the dancefloor. Sebastian was starting to hate the Mambo Number Five only because he just wanted to be in Jacob Batalon's place so hard it hurt. Some minutes later she was dancing to Dancing Queen with Chace. But the worst was yet to come. It seemed that the world was testing how much jealousy he could bear before snapping. The first notes of Africa by Toto started to sound and he was absolutely scandalised when he saw Chris inviting Morgan to dance this particular song. And she accepted. Of course she was going to accept. Who on earth would reject dancing with Chris Evans? ''I can't believe it!'' he hissed. ''This is our song!'' ''What? Do you have a song with Morgan Llewellyn?!'' Florence just couldn't deal with this situation. She was discovering a side of Sebastian she had never seen before. The side that was very similar to Morgan's chaotic personality. And she didn't like it one bit. ''Just ignore him'' Will answered for him because Sebastian was too concentrated looking a Morgan and Chris. ''He's bewitched. It seems like that woman's exclusive fragance was poisonous after all.'' ''Well...'' Florence said bitterly. ''I don't see Toby, Tom Holland and his friends or Chris Evans bewitched. Not even Chace looks like a dreamy idiot anymore. Only Sebastian is acting like a fool. What does she have anyway?'' ''What she doesn't have'' it seemed like Sebastian was listening after all. The song ended and Morgan and Chris stayed a bit further apart from the rest of the group, sitting alone in a table. Sebastian was fuming. ''I have to stop this.'' he stood up and went towards Chris and Morgan. ''Sebastian, don't!'' Florence was getting desperate. ''Just don't do it!'' but he didn't listen. Chris and Morgan were having a normal conversation. None of them was flirting, that was absolutely out of the question. They were just talking about their pets. Chris was telling Morgan all about his dog, Dodger. ''...I love him. He's like my son. He's so unique... do you have dogs?'' There was nothing that Morgan liked more than talking about her animals. ''I have two corgis. Well, one is actually my brother's. We named them after Doctor Who characters. Mine's Doctor River Song and Clint's Captain Jack Harkness. I also have cats.'' ''Oh, I like cats too, no more than dogs but they can be nice. Are yours named after fictional characters too?'' ''No. I named them after Elizabethan people. I have Sir Francis Drake, William Shakespeare and Lady Elizabeth Tudor, who was Queen Elizabeth's name when she was Henry VIII's bastard daughter. It's impressive the amount of history you can learn through Shakespeare plays. Oh, and I rescued a cat here in New York. I named him Thirteen because of the thirteenth Doctor, who's finally a female, and I was born on a thirteen.'' She didn't mention Sebastian in the story. He had been the one that had actually found Thirteen after all. But Chris, or anyone else, didn't needed to know that. ''I was also born on a thirteenth. But of June.'' And also Sebastian, Morgan thought. But of August. Great. The triumvirate of the Thirteens. ''And I also have a sheep'' she added before making the mistake of blurting stuff about Sebastian in front of Chris Evans. ''Lady Macbeth....'' she was about to explain why she had chosen that name when she was interrupted by Sebastian. ''And here comes the Grinch.'' ''Chris, we need to talk.'' Chris was as surprised as Morgan by his attitude. ''Well, hello Sebastian. I had no idea that you were here. I haven't seen you yet.'' ''Yeah, yeah, we need to talk'' he basically dragged Chris away from Morgan, who wondered if he was jealous of her as she was talking with his beloved Chris Evans. ''Seb, are you okay?'' Chris was a bit concerned. ''What are you doing talking to her?'' he asked with bothering to answer Chris' question. ''Sebastian, are you drunk?'' Chris grabbed Sebastian's face and looked at his eyes. ''You're not. Not on alcohol at least. On jealousy, maybe. What the hell is wrong with you, Sebastian? You have a girlfriend and you're being a jerk to me because I was talking to Morgan about pets! Be honest, do you like her?'' Sebastian was a bit ashamed. He had gone there with the intention of call out Chris but the tables had turned in a second and Chris had got him straight in the wound. ''She's my co-star'' ''And? Do you think you're entitled to control her life just because she's your co-star?'' Chris laughed. ''Please, do me a favour and calm yourself down. I know you like her and you're conflicted so I'm letting this one pass as it never happened but... make up your mind.'' Sebastian found it weird that he was told the same by two different people, Michael and Chris. ''Do it sooner rather than later because you'll lose your girlfriend, Morgan Llewellyn and who knows who else, okay?'' Chris patted his shoulder with tenderness and a bit of pity. ''Chris, one more thing...'' he looked as if he was fearing the answer. ''Do you like her?'' ''I met her half an hour ago. She's a nice woman. Interesting to talk to, very charismatic. Now I know why the general public likes her so much.'' Defeated, he went back to his table. Chris went back to Morgan who was very intrigued to know what the hell Sebastian wanted. ''He was jealous'' said Chris before Morgan asked anything. ''What an idiot. Does he fear me to be a bad influence on you?'' ''He wasn't jealous of you. He was jealous of me talking to you.'' Morgan looked at him with her eyebrows raised. Her face remained unemotional. ''That is even worse. The guy has a girlfriend.'' Chris didn't believe her for a second. Maybe her unemotional voice, relaxed body language and the expression of her eyes were pretty convincing but Chris was absolutely sure that there was something else between these two. ''Whatever Sebastian feels for you, is mutual, isn't it?'' There was no need to keep lying. Chris had caught her. ''How do you know? Nevermind... look, it's weird. We hardly ever talk let alone touch if it's not strictly scripted. So, I have no idea what the hell is going on.'' She was being honest, there were days that she was really confused about what the hell was going on. ''There's something implicit between you two and you'll never admit it to each other because you're too proud for that. And he also has a girlfriend, which complicates things even more. And he's scared to leave her because what if everything backfires and he ends up staying alone. And he's probably very confused. Nice situation he got himself in.'' ''Wow, you're good in this. Anyway, I won't do anything as long as he has a girlfriend. Cheating is always wrong and he should know it. And I'm no one's second choice. Well, maybe the second woman to play the Doctor after Jodie Whittaker who's amazing. Anyway, I won't ever be 'the other woman'. That's simple humiliating.'' and she wasn't counting on the fact that she had been his fan for years. Embarrassing stuff to the limit. ''Of course it is. You deserve...'' He was about to say 'better' but Morgan wasn't listening anymore. She was looking at the door, where Joe Alwyn was making his entrance (late, by the way) accompanied by a woman that everyone in this room knew. Taylor Swift. ''Oh my God.'' she mumbled, looking at Joe talking to Damien and introducing Taylor to him. ''I've loved this woman since 2009, and I can't believe she's in front of me.'' ''I saw her live once'' Chris commented. ''She's really good.'' She was going to tell something to Chris but it was too late because Joe was already there. ''Hey, Morgan!'' he cheerfully exclaimed. ''And... Oh My God, Chris Evans. Captain America. Wow.'' he was a bit dumfounded for a minute and he wasn't the only one. He was fangirling with Chris just like Morgan was fangirling with Taylor. The difference was that Morgan didn't let it show and Joe's eyes basically shouted 'I LOVE CHRIS EVANS'. ''Hi, I'm Taylor!'' Morgan was surprised that bloody Taylor Swift was introducing herself in such a simple manner. ''Joe told me a lot about you. Believe it or not I've seen you before! I saw Lady Macbeth with Joe in 2016. I had to put on a wig just to pass as a normal person. But you were fantastic, really moving and wonderful. When Joe told me who you were I basically clapped like a seal.'' Morgan was sure that she was looking as starstruck as Joe. And she had performed in front of Taylor Swift in 2016 and she was learning about it in 2018. Nice. ''I've admired you since 2009. I know all of your lyrics, they've helped me out so many times to count.'' They were praising each other for a while and then went on talking about whatever that crossed their minds. Acting, cast mates, Hollywood, childhood stories. Anything. On his table Sebastian was with a wide smile. She had never loved Taylor Swift as much as at that moment. He wanted to stick a poster of her in his room. Thanks to her, Morgan had moved away from Chris. ''Someone should call Lord Voldemort to come and pick up his people.'' said Will, pointing at Morgan and Taylor with his head. ''They kind of look alike except from the hair colour.'' Sebastian disagreed with everything he had said. ''No. They don't look similar at all.'' once again he was making the stupid mistake of talking before thinking, ''Morgan has no comparison. She's the most beautiful woman in the world, hands down.'' He knew immediately that he shouldn't have said that. At least not in front of his girlfriend. ''You know what?'' she asked with coldness in her voice. ''Enjoy the rest of your night.'' Without saying a thing more, she stood up and left. ''Florence, wait, I'm sorry!'' ''Just, stay here, okay?'' Will was taking the situation under control before Sebastian made more of a mess causing a public scandal. ''I'll drive her home and make sure she's okay. You screwed this up.'' On the way out Florence didn't want to look at Morgan Llewellyn because she was sure that she had her signature sarcastic side smile, buy she did it anyway. And she had been wrong because Morgan was immersed into a conversation with Taylor Swift and hadn't noticed anything at all. Florence hated that harpy more than anyone she had ever met. Sebastian was looking around, making sure no one had noticed that fight with his girlfriend. But there was only Harrison Osterfield on a near table, typing something on his phone, not aware of anything. Morgan only noticed that something had happened when she had got a text from Harrison with all the gossip. And Taylor had also noticed something. ''I think your co-star is in trouble'' she said. Of course that Joe had told Taylor all about Sebastian and Morgan's constant bickering on set. ''I think he is'' Morgan was still looking at her phone. ''Are you two still fighting?'' she asked and Morgan wanted to laugh. Not even in her wildest dreams she could have imagined that someday she was going to be a topic of conversation for Taylor Swift and her boyfriend. ''Sort of.'' she simply said. She glanced at Sebastian who was looking a bit miserable and lonely. And she felt pity for him. Curse the fangirl feelings. ''I don't know why I'm doing this but... do you want to meet him?'' she asked Taylor who simply nodded. She made her way towards Sebastian's table with Taylor closely following. When they got there, they sat at Sebastian's side. ''I don't know what's happening to me, Stan but... I feel sorry for you.'' ''I didn't know you were capable of feeling, Llewellyn. This is a nice surprise.'' ''Oh, and... Sebastian, this is Taylor Swift. Taylor, this is Sebastian Stan.'' For some reason Sebastian wasn't very excited at meeting one of the most famous persons in the world. He was more busy guessing why Morgan had decided to talk to him at all. ''Nice to meet you. I really like your songs.'' it was the most stupid thing he had ever said but luckily for him, Taylor didn't seem to mind. ''And I saw you in I, Tonya. You were absolutely fantastic. It was outrageous that the Academy snubbed you. As outrageous as Morgan not getting nominated to the Lawrence Olivier.'' ''And Red deserved a Grammy'' Morgan and Sebastian said at the same time. It was the first time in his life that he admitted to liking that particular album. Morgan kept her intense gaze fixed on Sebastian. ''Look, I'm going to be honest here'' she suddenly said. ''I mean it when I said that I was sorry for you. You look so unhappy and lonely here that it makes me feel bad. You should be with us, dancing, talking and having fun. Make up your mind, Sebastian.'' this was the third time he was told of this in just one night. And somehow Morgan Llewellyn was more convincing than Michael or Chris. ''It's time for you to do what you want, not what you need. Just like I do.'' He looked at her with raised eyebrows. But what Morgan had just said made perfect sense. ''And does it work?'' he asked with genuine curiosity. He couldn't believe he was planning to follow Morgan's life advice. ''Just look at me! I've always done whatever the hell I wanted and look where I am!'' she got closer to him. ''I think it's worth a try.'' she whispered on his ear. ''Let's take a picture together! For sure it'd get attention! Can we kiss you on the cheeks?'' ''Go ahead'' he tried to keep calm. Morgan placed her head on his shoulder and he almost got dizzy with her fragance. She smelled like diamonds, fun, excitement, the city after dark and passionate nights. Before he knew she was 'kissing' him on the cheek, but barely touching him. Taylor had just wrapped an arm around his shoulder and making a face. And that was the picture. Just in this moment, Hey Ya by Outkast started to blast throughout the place. Even Damien was dancing. ''This song!'' Taylor exclaimed with a big grin. ''We have to dance!'' ''This song is my childhood'' Morgan and Taylor stood up at the same time. Sebastian thought that Morgan was exaggerating when she had said that this song was her childhood as he had been in his early twenties when that song came out. Then he remembered that Morgan was just twenty five and she was like ten or eleven when she was listening to Outkast. Yeah, that song was her childhood. He saw Morgan making her way to the dancefloor but she stopped in the middle of the way and came back to where he was. ''Come'' she suddenly said. He was expecting anything from Morgan but not this. ''What?'' he blinked a couple of times, confused. ''Come with us and have fun''. She extended her perfectly manicured hand and without thinking it twice he took it in his, with a smile on his face.

Morgan Llewellyn during this whole chapter:

P.S. my Morgan is painful to deal with but I love her.

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tilltheendwilliwrite · 7 years ago

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Sledgehammer

Chapter Seven

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader | Word Count: 2709 Warnings: Angst, swearing

Song: Hurts Like Hell by Fleurie

Feeling better after your short talk with Clint, you headed toward your office and smiled when you ran into Garry in the corridor. “Hey. Where you been?”

“Around,” he shrugged, smiling at you.

“Well, would around be up for an afternoon of target practice?”

“Hell yeah!” he cheered, offering you a high five.

As you laughed and made to slap his palm, the two of you rounded the corner only to come upon Steve and a beautiful blonde woman. You came to a complete, dead stop. “Oh,” popped out on an exhalation of breath, causing Steve’s head to whip toward you.

A flush of red built in his cheeks and his smile appeared… guilty. “(Y/N), dollface, come meet Agent Sharon Carter,” he called out, motioning you closer as he eyed Garry.

Knowing you were stuck, you nodded to Garry to stay put, and made your way forward, a smile plastered on your face. “Nice to meet you, Agent Carter.” You held out your hand, and she shook it warmly, a genuine smile on her lips.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, looking to Steve. “You’ve been part of the Avengers for a while now. I’ve seen the reports. You’ve saved Cap’s butt a few times.”

“He’s saved mine just as many,” you chuckled quietly, smile softening.

“It must be nice to have such a dependable teammate, right Steve?” Releasing your hand, she placed it on Steve’s arm.

“(Y/N)’s the best,” Steve smiled at Sharon, patting the fingers on his arm.

The entire exchange soured your stomach, and you turned to go. “Nice meeting you, Agent Carter.”

“Likewise!” she called.

Hurrying away, you didn’t notice the concerned frown on Steve’s face or the way Garry watched you with smug satisfaction. Pressing a hand to your stomach, you made it only as far as the closest bathroom before you ran inside and were violently ill.

The way they’d looked at each other, the familiarity with which she’d touched him. The way he hadn’t corrected her when she’d assumed you were only another of Steve’s teammates. The whole of it set you off in another round of gut heaves.

“Hey, (Y/N)?” Garry called, pushing open the door a crack. “You okay?”

“No,” you croaked as the tears started and you leaned your head against the arm you had draped over the bowl as you flushed the sick away. Too bad you couldn’t flush the despair as well.

The door shut and you assumed he’d left only to have a hand come down on your hair. “It’s going to be alright,” he murmured, stroking your hair and rubbing over your back soothingly.

“No, no it’s not!” you cried. “She’s beautiful, she’s smart, and everyone likes her. Even Bruce told me she was better than me! Then Tony called me useless.”

An unseen grin flashed swiftly over Garry’s face. “You’re not useless. You’re great! I think you’re great at least.”

Slumping over your arm, you sighed. “Thank you. Would it be alright if we reschedule target practice? I think… it would be best if I just went and laid down.”

“Sure. No problem, teach,” he quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

You smiled a little. “You’re a good guy, Garry. I’m sorry I never gave you the benefit of the doubt before.”

He helped you to your feet, wiping the tears from beneath your eyes. “I’m always here if you need me, alright? Night or day. Anything you need. You’re the only one to give me a chance, (Y/N). I’ll do whatever I can to repay that. Whether it’s beating some sense into Steve, or… I don’t know… helping you run away. Whatever you need.” He squeezed your fingers.

“I appreciate that, Garry. Really.” Thrusting your hand through your hair, you gave him another small smile and trudged out of the bathroom.

***

Waiting for the door to swing shut, Garry turned the lock with a quiet click and pulled out his special phone.

“Report.”

“Things are progressing faster than expected.”

“Explain,” demanded the gruff voice on the other end.

“Three are out of the picture, and Stark did my job for me.”

“And the Captain?”

“Carter’s in the building. It’s only a matter of setting the stage.”

“You’re so sure she’ll rabbit?”

“I’ll make sure she sees no other choice. Good thing half the teams away. Made my job that much easier.”

“Good. Inform us when it’s done, and she’s running. We’ll be ready.”

“Yes, sir.” The line went dead. Tucking the phone back in his pocket, Garry sauntered out of the washroom, unaware of the hard eyes of the metal-armed super soldier who watched him.

****

“No good, boss. I can’t seem to… wait! Another call was just made.”

“Where?” Tony snapped. “Show me!”

The screens around him shifted, changed, whizzed through the compound and landed on the washroom not far from his lab. “Cameras?”

“Not there.”

“Why the fuck don’t we have cameras there?” he muttered. “Biometrics?”

“Three bodies. Bucky, (Y/N), and Garry,” Friday told him. “Steve and Agent Carter were also in the vicinity, but they were farthest from the signal.”

His fingers tapped out a rhythm on the consul to his right. “Garry….” he muttered.

“Sir?”

“Yeah, FRIDAY?”

“I’m not sure if it’s relevant, but I believe I have a glitch.”

“Glitch?” Tony snorted. “I designed you. That’s as likely as the Hulk taking tea with the Queen. Explain.”

“I seem to be… seeing double.”

***

Steve stared after (Y/N) with a worried frown.

“You should go after her,” Sharon urged. “She didn’t look well.”

Scrubbing his hand over his face, Steve sighed. “I didn’t want to spring you on her like that. She was already asking weird questions.”

It was Sharon’s turn to frown. “What kind of questions?”

“Just… foolish questions.” He shook his head, unwilling to talk about it with Sharon when his ex already made his girl uncomfortable.

“Steve… you’d better go talk to her.” Sharon gave him a shove. “I need to get this stuff to logistics so they can get that mission planned. Don’t leave it.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, walking away, heading the direction she’d gone. “Thanks, Sharon. See you later.”

Sharon waved and headed the opposite direction.

He was worried, how could he not be.

Ever since (Y/N)’s falling out with Bucky, things had been spiralling out of control. She was moody and depressed. The confidence and snark he’d found so sexy and appealing were suddenly non-existent. She’d become a shell of her former self, jumping at shadows, asking crazy questions.

How could she have ever even asked if he’d leave her for Sharon? The very idea of it was laughable. Sharon was sweet, but she wasn’t his girl. His girl was fire and bravado, backed up with skill and talent. She may be a normie as the enhanced and Inhumans called them, but she was a damn fine agent and an incredible woman.

He’d give anything to figure out what the hell was going on with her. Things were getting out of hand.

Lost in thought, he rounded the corner and ran smack into Garry, knocking the man right to the ground. “Hey, sorry.” Holding down his hand, Steve helped the guy up. “My fault.”

“No harm done, Cap. You look… worried. Everything alright?”

He eyed the man warily. (Y/N) liked him, Steve still wasn’t sure why. He was smug, arrogant, and a shit disturber. Something about him set Steve’s hair on end. “Yeah, fine. You seen (Y/N)?”

“She went to her room. Something about not feeling good. A headache or something. Probably best you leave her be.” Garry shrugged.

The old itch that preceded a firefight when he was in the army was suddenly zinging at the back of his neck. Something about this wasn’t right, but he wasn’t going to tip his hand. “Maybe I’ll give her an hour and check on her later. Thanks, Garry.” Plopping his closed fist down on the man’s shoulder, Steve tried not to smirk too wide when Garry grunted in pain.

“Anytime,” he wheezed, trying not to groan as he rubbed his shoulder.

Waiting a few feet before chuckling, Steve made his way toward the private quarters after glancing back to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Just before he got there, a hand shot out of another open doorway, dragging him inside. “Jeez, Buck! Give a guy a warning. I nearly clocked you one!”

“Like you could hit me, punk.” Bucky snorted, waving off Steve’s protests. “We need to talk, pal.”

“About?”

“(Y/N),” he nearly growled. “What the fuck is going on?”

Steve thrust a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

“Well, you’d best find out. Garry’s got something to do with it. I can almost smell it on him.” He flexed his metal hand. “And you’d best do something about your girl. She came out of the bathroom looking like someone had died, and shortly thereafter Garry wandered out looking pleased as fuck.”

“What?” Steve asked, voice cold.

“She was crying, punk. Red-eyed and puffy, and it’s not the first I’ve noticed. Why haven’t you?”

“I…” Steve opened his mouth only to close it and sigh. “She’s shutting me out, and I don’t know why. Two weeks, Bucky. We’ve been together two weeks, and I feel like I’m losing her.”

“Then you need to get your ass to her room and talk this shit out, cause she looked like hell. Worse than hell. She looks liked death, pal. And a woman only looks like that when someone dies, or someones broke her heart.”

Feeling sick, Steve nodded. “You’re right.”

“And find out what the fuck I did, for god sake! It’s driving me insane!” Bucky growled.

“Yeah, yeah I will.” Before he could reach for the door handle, his phone rang. “Tony?” What was the Iron Man doing calling him when he could just have FRIDAY inform him he was needed.

“I need you to haul ass to the lab, now.” He hung up without another word.

Bucky’s phone rang next. “What the hell, Stark?”

“Just get here. You and Steve. No one else and don’t tell anyone else.” The line went dead.

“Guess we’re going to the lab,” Steve muttered, looking longingly in the direction he wished to go instead.

“You could still go,” Bucky said.

Sighing, Steve shook his head. “Garry said she wasn’t feeling good. Had gone to lay down. I’ll do this thing for Tony first.” Opening the door, they headed down the hall and past the common room where most of the newbies, including Garry, were chatting about the latest round of mock missions.

Garry looked up as they passed, but Steve pretended not to notice.

***

Bruce walked into Tony’s lab, into a storm of swearing and muttering. “Tony?”

Freezing in place, Tony said only, “FRIDAY?”

Bruce jumped when three different beams shot from different parts of the lab, scanning him thoroughly. “Ugh… Tony?”

“He’s good, boss.”

Straightening, Tony rounded on Bruce. “We’ve got a problem. Maybe little, may end up being a huge one, but we need to figure this out.”

Frowning, Bruce headed for the computer screens, reading as he went. “Unauthorized phone calls? Could it just be someone snuck in a personal cell phone?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Tony snapped.

“Don’t be a dick. I’m just asking,” Bruce huffed.

“Well, it was a stupid question.”

“Not as stupid as (Y/N) sending Garry to help me out in the lab today,” Bruce grumbled, picking and pulling at information, sorting through the ridiculous amounts of data.

“Huh?” Tony glanced at him. “Why would she do that? She likes helping you. Says she learns new stuff all the time.”

“I don’t know, but I showed up, and there was Garry. He even fed me some cock-o-mammy story about (Y/N) considering breaking up with Steve because she didn’t realize what she was getting herself into. I almost believed him, but it’s Garry,” Bruce scoffed. “She’s so head-over-heels for Steve… that’s not happening, not in a million years.”

Tony slowly turned to look at Bruce. “Uh…”

“What?”

“She was in here earlier. I kind of… chased her out with my mood. FRIDAY said she was upset.”

“Oh… shit,” Bruce hissed before he grunted and rubbed his temple, something he only did when the Hulk was actively participating in the conversation. “What time was that?”

“Don’t know. Hour ago. Maybe?”

Again Bruce frowned. “Why would she be in here with you, when she was supposed to be with me when Garry said she’d had something come up?”

“Garry....” Tony muttered, turning back to his computer. “Why does your name keep coming up?”

“Boss?”

“Speak, oh benevolent one,” Tony quipped.

“I found a discrepancy.”

“Show me!” he commanded.

“Here and here. Sergeant Barnes seems to be in two places at once.”

“What?” Bruce asked, confused.

“Keep looking, FRIDAY.” Digging in his pocket, Tony pulled out his phone.

“Tony?” Steve asked, sounding more confused than usual.

“I need you to haul ass to the lab, now.” Tony hung up and dialled again.

Barnes was quick to answer with a snarled, “What the hell, Stark?”

“Just get here. You and Steve. No one else and don’t tell anyone else.” He hung up and turned to frown at the computer screens.

“Good thinking,” Bruce muttered.

“Should be the right ones if I phone them,” Tony murmured.

“Right ones?”

Tony’s frown deepened. “Think we have an imposter in-house… and I bet I know who.”

***

The text chimed on your phone, and you picked it up only to see a message from Steve. You’d kind of hoped he’d come after you, find you, force you to spill your guts and unload everything. But at the same time, you didn’t want to speak your fears and have them become truths.

What if you told him you were terrified he was going to leave you for Sharon, and he sighed and did it? It would break you right in half. You’d never recover.

Looking at the message, you read, 'Hey, doll. We need to talk. Meet me in the lounge in ten minutes'.

You frowned at the message. It was rather abrupt, not Steve’s usual style, but you hauled yourself up and went in the bathroom to splash water on your face. There was no helping how horrible you looked. You looked like you felt. Tired. Drained. Sick. Heartbroken.

Two weeks. That’s how long it took for your world to go from heaven to hell. Three of your four in-house teammates had turned on you. You weren’t sure yet about Steve, but he’d turned on you in other ways.

Not saying anything, was that the equivalent of not denying it as well? Was this meeting to tell you he was done? That it had been fun, but he was getting back together with… her?

Feeling frozen, you grabbed a jacket, stuffed your feet in your boots, and headed for the lounge. It was a quiet space, big comfy chairs and a shitload of windows. It was a calm space, private. Great place to get dumped as any scene you happened to make would go unwitnessed.

Walking through the doors, you paused at the voices already present. One was Steve, but the other was too soft to make out. Sure you were early, but not that early. Creeping forward, you peered around the corner and slapped a hand to your mouth to hide your cry of distress. Steve was standing with none other than Sharon, his hand on her waist, another on her cheek.

“I’ve really missed you,” he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“Steve?” she frowned, appearing confused.

He smiled that smile, the crooked one, the one you loved, the one that never failed to have you smiling back. “I think… I think we made a mistake… when we broke up,” he said.

She gasped, gaped at him. “What?”

“I should never have gotten together with (Y/N), not when I still have feelings for you, Sharon,” Steve pulled her in, but you’d seen enough.

With your heart breaking, you turned and ran. That was it. It was over. You’d lost… everything.

Next Chapter

#sledgehammer #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #avengers #avengers au #avengers fanfiction #fanfiction

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breath0ftheglacian · 8 years ago

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A Man Of No Consequence, chapter 7

A Man Of No Consequence - Ardyn x fem Reader (NSFW) COMPLETE. All chapters may contain spoilers!

CH 1: Into The Lion’s Mouth CH 2: Famous Seafood CH 3: The Covenant CH 4: Blind Spot CH 5: The Revelation CH 6: In The Lap of The Gods CH 7: Across the Seas CH 8: In The Lap of The Gods, Revisited CH 9: Callings CH 10: Hand of a King, Heart of a King CH 11: Into the Dark CH 12: Breath Of The Glacian CH 13: Redemption CH 14: Cure for Insomnia CH 15: A Gentleman’s Agreement

Chapter 7: Across the Seas Running through the narrow streets, you squeeze your bags in your hands. I'm late. I'm gonna be too late, and he's going to leave me here, out of spite... You turn a corner, bumping into an elderly man casually walking down the alleyway.

“Hey watch where you're going!”

“So sorry! I'm so sorry!” you shout in passing, hurrying down the stairs on the alley that leads towards the main road.

The sun is high up in the sky and you feel droplets of sweat run down your back as you make it out of the maze of little streets into the steamy road, panting, trying to see if there's any trace of Imperial troops. Looking up, you see a magitek engine drift away in the horizon.

“No, no, no...”

You try running after it, realizing the futility of your attempt. Abandoning the idea, you drop your bags on the pavement, and sit down on the bigger one. Here I am again...

You were given a time by the Chancellor, to board the magitek ship with him, your only viable way of reaching Altissia. You exhale, remembering that's the least of your troubles. It's only started to sink in, what happened within the last few days.

Your friends back home, dead. Your home, destroyed. There's no going back. And you've fallen hard for the man who's responsible for everything. He has bewitched you, told you stories of legends and prophesies, made you believe you're somehow part of it all, part of his master plan, and that it's your destiny. Letting out a despairing sigh, you look at the passing cars and the dust rising off the road.

“Miss! Hey, Miss!” you hear a familiar voice calling behind you.

Turning to look, you see Wedge running down the stairs, dressed in his full Imperial uniform.

“Miss,” he stops, finally reaching you, trying to catch his breath. “There... there you are.”

“Wedge, what's the matter?” you get up from your suitcase. “And why are you wearing a leather coat on a day like today?”

“Haha, very funny... trust me... it's not out of choice...” he responds, still out of breath.

“I've been looking for you, miss. I saw you leave the hotel, but the Chancellor sent me to escort you to the ship. Ship's gone now, miss, we've missed it!”

“I know!” you respond in an annoyed voice, instantly realizing you're being rude. “And thank you. I'm so sorry I made you run around.”

“It's ok. Lady Aranea's coming to pick me up soon. I reckon we can drop you off at Altissia, was it?”

“Yeah,” you nod, “Altissia.”

Seeing the Captain's face is a real relief. “Welcome on board,” she smiles, offering you her arm and pulling you up the ramp. Wedge and Biggs insist on carrying in your bags. You feel embarrassed with all the help they're giving you, and can't even keep a serious face talking to Aranea.

“Thank you so much,” you chuckle. “I'm such an idiot.”

“No problem, doll,” she responds with a wink. “Still running errands, huh?”

You purse your lips together, nodding.

“Fine, if that's what you guys call it,” she responds.

The magitek engine takes to the sky, the familiar humming engine growing louder as you see the city of Lestallum getting smaller below. Fastening your seat belts, you take your place next to Aranea again.

“So tell me,” she turns to you, talking over the humming engine, “Not that it's any of my business, but... well you know, are you looking after yourself?”

You feel a sudden burst of emotions take over, your eyes welling up. It's been too long since anyone asked that, since anyone cared. Biting your lip, you stare at her glassy-eyed, doing your best to remain neutral.

“Uh-huh,” you nod.

You feel an urge to tell her everything. You haven't been able to speak about this to anyone, the Chancellor has isolated you and spun you in his web so tight you can't even remember when you last had a heart to heart with someone who cares.

She seems to be reading it all in your face. Placing her hand on yours, she gives it a little squish.

“It's ok,” she leans in, speaking more quiet. “You can tell me later.”

You give her a nod and can't help but smile, wiping the corner of your eye.

“Thank you.”

Altissia is the furthest away from home you've been for years. The former plan to visit your cousin has flown out the window, as you don't want to involve any of your family in the mess you're in. By the time you reach the city, it's already nightfall. Watching the beautiful waterway entrance below you, you feel a strange pressure in your chest; a longing you'd rather not feel. I can't wait to see him.

The Captain has offered to escort you to the Imperial Residence downtown, where all the Empire officials stay on their visits. Walking you up and down the staircases crossing the canals, she finally leaves her men behind to wait at the airship. She doesn't waste any time getting to the point.

“Ok sweetheart, if you need help, you better tell me now. I can make a few moves to get you far away for a while if you need.” “No - ” you protest, taking a moment to observe her concerned expression. “I'm... I'm fine.” “Really? You don't seem it,” she replies. Of course, she's right.

Summoning all the courage you have, you decide to confide in her. You can't tell her everything, but you tell her of how the Chancellor has given you a very important task, a task you don't know how to fulfil. You tell her that you're involved with the Chancellor, but she responds she already gathered that. You tell her you're worried about the Empire and where the world is going. While you let everything out, like a free flowing river that has been held back too long, she slows down as you reach the Imperial Residence.

Before taking you inside, she turns to you, looking at you like an old friend, with concern and care.

“Look, I'm worried about all of that, too,” she confesses. “Truth be told, I'm leaving the service, but that's a secret for now. If you ever need to get away, you can reach out. I'm sure we could help each other out in one way or --”

She's interrupted as the double doors to the residence are opened, with two officials you don't recognise walking out to the street.

“Stay smart,” she sighs, padding you on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

The Captain takes her leave, and you take a deep breath before carrying your bags into the building.

First thing you see as you enter is Ardyn standing in the lobby, leaning on the ornamented wall.

“You're late...” he states, greeting you with a smile.

“I'm so sorry...” Is this all I can say anymore? Sorry, sorry, sorry.

“Come, let me show you to our room,” he offers, grabbing your bags.

“With you...?” you follow him, up the spiral stairs covered in a soft red carpet.

“Of course, my dear. I couldn't bear it any other way,” he responds, looking down at you grinning.

The residence is an extensive building, with high ceilings, and many corridors. You pass a few larger rooms with dining tables, parquet floors and massive paintings on the walls. Finally you reach the eastern wing of the building, Ardyn leading you into a suite at the end of a small corridor.

“Wow.” You enter the room, decorated with large vases of red and pink lilies, the tall windows open to a view over the street and canal outside. The room is enormous, the bed is enormous, everything covered in embroidered, heavy fabrics.

“I hope you like it,” he says, laying down your bags.

“Of course!” you respond, walking around the room, touching everything. “It's gorgeous...”

“Now you better get changed,” he continues, watching you take your time examining the room. “There's a small reception being held in honour of the Empire. Formalities, I'm afraid...”

“You want me there?” you ask, stopping as you're smelling the lilies.

“Do wear that dress of yours,” he smirks, walking to the door. “I shall await at the end of the corridor.”

Making sure not to keep him waiting, you find the borrowed silk dress you have kept with you ever since that fateful night. Dressing up, you feel a strange joy at being where you are. Your whole life, you've been nobody, you've never experienced luxury like this. Screw it, might as well enjoy it while I'm here.

Inspired by the flowers, you give yourself a few sprays of a lily-scented perfume you found in the bottom of your bag, and head down the hall.

As you approach Ardyn, you find him around the corner, holding his fedora in his left hand, talking to a tall man dressed in a white Imperial costume. The man seems upset about something, talking in a raised voice.

“Let us not worry about it tonight..” you hear Ardyn mutter, as you reach the pair.

“Ah, my dear,” he says, turning to face you. “Stunning as always.” He takes your hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on the back. His amber eyes burn right through you.

“Allow me to introduce, Lord Ravus Nox Fleuret, of the Tenebrae family.”

You give a slight bow, smiling at the man. “Pleased to meet you.”

As Ardyn theatrically introduces you as his 'very dear friend', you run the man's name through your mind once again. Nox Fleuret. Lady Lunafreya's brother?

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he responds, forcing a smile. “If you'd excuse me, I believe we're expected at the reception.” With that, he gives a hasty bow, and turns to walk down the staircase.

“I'm afraid he's got no manners with the ladies,” Ardyn muses, lifting up his fedora, placing it on his head and turning to you. “Well, shall we?”

The reception is held in a bright ballroom, with many representatives from both the Empire and Altissian municipality. Wearing his fedora and all his charm, Ardyn truly becomes the Chancellor of Niflheim; the politician, the face of the Empire. You observe him as he moves with ease from conversation to conversation, introducing you to half a dozen important people whose names you instantly forget. You cunning snake, you lying daemon, you think, sipping on yet another expensive champagne you could never afford on your own. You're all smiles outside, complete emotional mess on the inside.

Feeling your confidence build with the time spent at the reception, or perhaps with the alcohol, you decide to breach the subject that has been pressing on your mind all evening.

“Could I have your attention just for a moment?” you request, taking Ardyn's arm while he's mid-conversation with an elderly woman. “It won't take a minute.”

Apologising to the woman, he walks you to a quiet corner of the room.

“What is it my dear? No need to be so rude,” he smirks.

“This is important,” you insist. “You said I can have an audience with Lady Lunafreya.”

“Ah, about that...” he starts.

“No, no. You promised. This is too much for me. I've had some time to think, and I've decided. I can't do this.”

His expression becomes pensive, his eyes studying you, trying to call your bluff.

“I would advise against making any hasty decisions, while you're under the influence.”

His arrogance is infuriating.

“Under the influence? How dare you!” you respond, trying to keep your voice down through your annoyance.

“My dear, let's sleep on it,” he suggests, already turning and walking away, not giving you a second look. You stare at him in disbelief, returning to the conversation he was having earlier.

Suddenly you start to feel like you were never going to get that audience.

You scan the room, for more champagne, for an escape, for something to take your mind off things. Your eyes find the tall man in white, standing alone in the corner, looking deep in thought. Ravus Nox Fleuret.

Once again putting on your best charm, you approach the supposed former Prince of Tenebrae.

“Excuse me, we were introduced earlier,” you greet him with a friendly smile.

“Oh, indeed. Apologies for my hurried departure,” he responds. The man looks sad.

“No, by all means. May I ask you, if I understood correctly,” you continue, “Are you in fact related to the lovely Lady Lunafreya?”

“I am. I am her brother.”

You feel you've already reached a small victory. Now to take it home.

“I had the pleasure of meeting her once,” you tell the Tenebraean Prince. “I'm a photographer, and I had a chance to photograph her with a friend of mine at the reception in the citadel – in Insomnia...”

You pause as the memories of that night flash trough your mind. My friend. My home.

“I see,” Ravus responds, seemingly unimpressed.

“Do you know where I might find her? I would love to share the photographs with her. They hold a special significance, especially with all that happened after. My friend... he didn't make it.”

“I am sorry to hear that.” Ravus is short in his correspondence.

“Please,” you approach him, reaching for his hand. Feeling the cold metal against your palm, you realize your mistake, nevertheless determined to get him to help you.

“I implore you,” you whisper leaning closer to him, “It's not just the picture... it's very important.”

The tall man's face seems concerned, but curious. Before he has a chance to respond, you feel a hand wrap around your arm, wrenching you back and away from Ravus.

“I do apologize, is she bothering you?” the familiar voice is low, without the usual melodic tone.

“Not at all --” Ravus tries to respond, but you're already being walked away and out of the ballroom. The strong grip around your arm hurting you, you try to wriggle away as Ardyn walks you to the now empty entrance hall.

“What do you think you're doing?” he asks calmly but with a low, serious voice, pushing you against the wall.

“What do you mean?” you reply, bursting out laughing. “You're crazy,” you laugh, trying to free your arm and push him away. He doesn't budge.

“I thought I told you not to make any hasty decisions.” The resolute golden gaze remains on you.

“Let me go,” you try to laugh it off, starting to realize the tragedy of the situation. You're his puppet, you have no free will. “Let me go,” you repeat, with words choking in your throat. It's not funny anymore.

His eyes travel down to your lips, your throat, to your rapidly breathing chest, peeking inside your dress, then slowly back up.

“Don't forget who you are,” he snarls, letting go of your arm, taking a step back. Walking backwards, he tips his fedora theatrically at you, then turns around an disappears down the hallway to the ballroom.

You take a moment leaning against the wall, catching your breath. I can't go back there. I won't.

On a whim, you grab a long black coat that's hanging on the stand in the reception room. Pulling the coat over your shoulders, you open the double doors, heading out to the rainy street. - - - - - - - Guys, I love you all. ;____; Please rescue me from this Ardyn hell. To alleviate the pain that is the Trashking, I’ve completed chapter 8 as well and will be posting it here in the near future. I promise, Noctis is coming with is Princely charms!

#a man of no consequence #ardyn x reader #ardyn izunia #fanfic #fanfiction #ffxv #aranea highwind #ravus nox fleuret

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