#Thor’s gonna be so guilty after the horrors

[worstloki]

LMAO Thor would have such heavy trauma from having a morning wood while sleeping next to Loki

It’s going to haunt him. Loki will ask which forest their next quest is in and Thor’s going to spit out his watered down mead.

[pugh-bug]

Scott Lang x reader slow burn Chapter 10

Warnings: none really just more angst and swearing but less than last week because i wanted to do a more light hearted chapter (this is just that by my standards lmao) I hope you enjoy … there is going to be smut VERY soon

The last week had been harder to manage than any ‘villain’ or threat to humanity that your friends had faced. Of course the physical and global destruction was lacking but your heart felt broken beyond repair. It had been a fucking disaster from start to finish and was not getting much better.

‘Come on Y/N, it’ll be okay.’

But Thor was wrong, it wasn’t. You had had to form a set of strict rules to get through each day. Number 1 (pretty obvious) :avoid Scott like the plague. Number 2: drink less and Number 3: try and stop crying over IT. None of them were proving easy and not at all fun but they did make you look a little less unhinged to your friends. Of course Thor and Tony knew how upset you were with Nat not far behind. The constant sympathetic ‘poor you’ looks were growing patronising and getting old. If they couldn’t treat you like a stable person how could you act like one?

Contact with Scott had been incredibly brief and tense to say the least. You just missed him. Who were you meant to fool around with? Who was going to hold your hand while you slept or make fun of Parker or drive you home to keep you safe? When you were alone and closed your eyes you could hear him: ‘I’m sorry if I’ve lead you on in anyway.’ But by Friday it didn’t make you cry anymore to recall it. It wasn’t sad it was frustrating. ‘Lead you on’ of course he’d lead you on and you wanted to call him out for it. Call him what your heartbroken self wanted to, a-

‘Prick!’

It was Monday: Thor’s weekly game night with ‘Noobmaster69’ and he was losing. Horrifically. Asgardians weren’t exactly fond of losing and there was, you had to admit, a lot of joy in witnessing someone so powerful fail so badly. Well you had to find relief in something. Although you did have one thing to be proud of: finally washing your greasy hair only to hear Peter singing as he got out. And you didn’t poke any fun at him because Scott wasn’t there to hear.

After deciding to stay on the couch with Thor, watching him being competitive, you continued your silent ‘soul searching’ that was so tiresome. You had become an expert on analysing every Scott interaction you had and without new ones to ‘study’ you were spent. Bored. Bored of waiting for nothing. Occasionally, you’d press pause on your self pitying to smile at Thor. Being so preoccupied with Scott had made you more neglectful of his friendship. All of your friendships really. You couldn’t remember the last long conversation you’d had with Tony that wasn’t about Scott.

‘Die! Die! Oh come o-ah Scott!’

You tried not to turn to look but it was unavoidable. Scott was stood beside the tv all of a sudden, looking dishevelled and out of place. It had been torture not to ask anyone and everyone what exactly he’d been doing the last week. ‘He’s out.’ ‘No ones seen him much today.’ ‘I dunno, maybe he’s partying.’ Fucking torture to hear. Although it was probably best he was out doing ‘things’ and away from you. At least you wouldn’t have to try and make eye contact without fighting tears. Except for that night. Of course he had to be in that night.

‘Thor…Y/N.’ Scott was almost worse than you for subtlety, his green eyes darted from Thor gaming happily to your pained eyes. And his were pained too. There was a guiltiness pressing down on him but Nat would have thought that was good. You didn’t want to be awkward around him or continue this ‘avoiding each other at all costs’ thing so you tried to end it the best way you knew how.

‘Did you hear Peter’s singing?’

It was the first thing you’d said to Scott that wasn’t ‘er’ or ‘hi’ in so long you could see relief wash over him. And you felt it wash over you in a smooth satisfying wave because his reply was:

‘Yes! It was Britney, so I had to listen.’

You both laughed, still feeling the need to to stay on opposite sides of the room for safety reasons. Thor looked amused for a moment but was invested in his game. Sweet.

‘Well,’ you leaned across the couch craving your neck closer to Scott. ‘If you like Britney maybe we should have a 00s themed party!’ Was it out of pocket? Probably. Did it feel forced to say? Yes. Did Scott look confused? Absolutely but he played along for both your sakes. It felt silly to suddenly be discussing pop star icon: Britney Spears to the man you’d been crying so heartedly over for so long. You couldn’t help feeling that he knew this wasn’t the two of you going back to ‘normal’. Not really. You had admitted far too much to ever have a ‘normal’ friendship. However it was a start.

‘Can the two of you discuss whatever nonsense Britney Spears is somewhere else?’ Thor looked as annoyed as you could be over something unimportant. Still the two of you shared a look meaning ‘Let’s leave him to it’ and walked together out of the living room. It didn’t hit you that this was the first time you had been alone with Scott since the car ‘incident’ until Nat saw you both and walked away.

‘Wow.’ You both scoffed at his strong words against Britney. ‘To speak of our lord and saviour in such a distasteful way.’ Scott dramatically put his hand on his heart and ‘fell’ backwards in agreement. ‘The horror!’ He exclaimed before you both chuckled.

‘Hey guys?’ It was Peter and he looked confused at the sight of you and Scott laughing. But who wouldn’t be after all the avoiding? You were just as confused as a participant. ‘Everyone’s kind of busy and I wanted to see B-‘

‘Back to the future playing in IMAX yes I’ll take you.’ The look in Peter’s face- bless him- he looked so pleased. Such a child. ‘Pff.’ You couldn’t help but laugh at how much of a dad Scott had just become (and the twisted part of you brain did find it a bit hot).

‘There’s a showing at 2:45-‘

‘Right. Well we’ll go to that one.’

‘Um,’

Whilst Scott was buying tickets he didn’t notice Peter’s anxious eyes flitting towards you in hopes you would offer to come. The truth was you didn’t know if one brief Britney discussion guaranteed an invite. It didn’t seem like enough but Peter looked concerned for you. Did he not want to be alone with Scott or did he not want you to feel left out? Which was it?

Your eyes moved from Peter’s to Scott’s but he chose not to give a verbal response so you let it be. ‘Enjoy yourselves,’ you smiled, overly enthusiastic as you walked away backwards. Something that didn’t escape your notice as you left was the sign of relief from Peter. There was your answer.

Mirroring Peter you let out a sign of your own, that Scott probably heard, and went to your room- but not before passing Wanda. ‘What’s wrong?’ Before you could think of a response she grinned and grabbed your hand. ‘Tony’s taking us to his pool. He’s had it redone- come on let’s go, come with us.’ Hmm. Swimming. Interactive. But she looked so excited- bless her- so you caved and returned her smile before getting changed.

Less than 15 minutes later you were sat in the passenger seat of Tony’s favourite car (you’d called shotgun of course) listening to Eminem. Poor Wanda was crammed in between Sam and Thor behind you, probably wishing she had just flown there. ‘Sam why couldn’t you have flown- to make room for Wanda?’ You asked. ‘I’m not gonna risk getting them wet. Do you know how difficult they are to re-‘

‘Look at her she’s squished though.’

‘I’ve not had enough sleep for this.’

‘I’m not arguing with you I’m just say-‘

‘Children children!’ Tony commanded the car, to no ones surprise. ‘This is not about flying. This is about getting Y/N to cheer up and for all of you to appreciate my architectural skills.’ He was driving over the speed limit but who was going to tell Tony to slow down? The man was overly caffeinated and overly theatrical.

Another 15 minutes later and you were in the ridiculously fancy changing rooms Tony had had built. ‘Why did you build so many if it’s private?’ You yelled over the door.

‘It was a strange week! Inspiration struck!’

Thor seemed to be struggling with the term ‘modesty’ because-

‘Jesu- fuck! PUT PANTS ON!’

The sound of Wanda being flashed by a God was enough to make you almost pee from laughing. They were all such children. That was a clear explanation for why you had admired Scott as soon as you’d met him. Yes he was silly but he’d actually been married. He was mature in other ways. You tried not to picture him in the cinema with Peter because what did you have to be jealous of? Peter was still dating MJ as far as you knew and Scott saw him the same way you did. You still wanted him there with you all even if it was going to be uncomfortable.

And then sadness clung itself to you like a rope with no slack. You forgot why you were even where you were in the first place. Why had you come? Oh for Wanda. But Tony said this was to cheer you up? You’d even forgotten how to swim properly, it had been so long. It had been too long since anything normal.

Tags: @supraveng @thottio @wandamaximoffshoe @aliceblxck @merleisapartygod

[mostly-marvel-musings]

Corn Maze

Request: Thor’s first time at a pumpkin patch and corn maze by @marvelgirl7​ I SO want to visit one. Thank you my dear for requesting this, hope you like it!

Fall Prompts Masterlist

Pairing: Thor Odinson x Reader

Warnings: All fluff and humour.

Word count: 1000ish

Thor Odinson Taglist – @raspberrymama​  @bitchycherryblossomlove​ @jennie22feona​ @innerpaperexpertcloud​ @thorfanficwriter​

Everything Taglist – @godofplumsandthunder​  @ladyacrasia​ @agustdowney​ @swaggysposts​ @littlegasps​ @little-baby-vixen​  @another-stark-sub​ @supraveng​ @kahlanmars​ @marvelgirl7​ @disappointmentofthefam​  @pandaxnienke​ @tom-hlover​ @just-the-hiddles​

…

Glancing up at the fiery orange sky, you watched it change colors as you walked beside the God of Thunder down a grass-filled pathway. Darcy and her new boyfriend were a few feet ahead, with Darcy yapping away excitedly about your plans.

Ian, who was from London hadn’t been to a corn maze ever, and Thor well, hadn’t heard about the concept until a few hours ago. This officially was your first date with Thor after he’d returned to Earth after a much too long absence. You had second thoughts initially about how Thor would react because this was essentially a culture-shock for the man, however the curiosity in his eyes after you pitched the idea reassured your decision.

A while later, you arrived at a pumpkin slinger stand that stood right at the entrance of an empty field, with a few pumpkins of varied sizes lying next to the sling.

“Is that a swing, Lady (Y/N)?” Thor enquired, putting his large hand inside the sling as if to check if it would take a human’s weight.

“No you sling pumpkins across the field with those. Here I’ll show you.” you giggled before picking a smaller one for a demo. As you flung it, the pumpkin launched into the air and landed several feet into the field, rolling on the grass a few times before giving up and breaking into pieces.

“See? It’s fun. You try it.” gesturing to the largest pumpkin of the lot, you stepped aside to watch the demi-god attempt this very Midgardian tradition.

Of course Thor picked the vegetable up with one hand as if it weighed nothing, placed it in the cloth sling and pulled it way back as you, Darcy and Ian watched on.

There was a definite crack you heard which came from the sling and just as Thor flung the pumpkin, it snapped, sending the slinger flying into the air along with the pumpkin, going way beyond your line of vision and disappearing somewhere into the trees lining the field. All you could do was pray there wasn’t a house or a person on the receiving end before bursting out laughing.

“I thought it would be strong enough.” Thor wondered out loud, a frown adorning his features.

“I have a feeling nothing’s gonna be strong enough for the God of Thunder here on Earth. Let’s go before the owner finds out.” you extended your hand for him to take, glancing around the deserted neighborhood before dragging him away dismissing his attempts to contact the owner to apologize.

The four of you finally made it to your desired corn maze seeing as it was twilight by the time you reached and a few stray stars littered the rapidly darkening sky. This was far from the kid-friendly, cheerful looking ones and had a definite creep factor to it.

“Ready?”

“Of course my love.”

Thor’s little term of endearment sent butterflies in your stomach into overdrive as he gave you a wink before you stepped into the maze together, Darcy and Ian following a few feet behind.

Your body wasn’t really on high alert as you were expecting predictable jump scares, probably a talking scarecrow and other typical tropes but so far it was eerily silent. Looking behind, you didn’t find Darcy or Ian assuming they’d taken another route you turned back only to shriek in horror as a man with torn clothes holding a bloodied axe stepped out of the grass right in front of you.

Thor wasted no time in knocking the poor actor unconscious in one mighty punch that made him fall on the ground like a leaf.

“Holy fuck Thor, what did you do?” you sighed, kneeling before the man to check if anything was broken.

“He was attacking you.” he fumed, fists still balled up.

“That’s his job, he’s being paid to do this to everyone who walks in here.”

“I don’t understand.” He frowned making you feel guilty for not having told what to expect.

The man regained consciousness and immediately scrambled away from you both and ran towards the exit clutching the side of his head where he’d been punched.

“Now he’s gonna get us thrown out of here.” You mumbled quietly.

“I’m sorry my love, I shouldn’t have—” Thor began but you quickly interrupted him.

“No it’s my fault really. I didn’t warn you before and I knew this wasn’t a good idea. You’re not used to all of this and I like a fool assumed everything would be fine. I’m sorry for this Thor, really I a—”

Your rambling apology got interrupted when Thor silenced you with a kiss. Initial surprise forgotten, your hands went around his neck and you stood on your tippy toes to return the kiss, the delicate, full of love, we’re-both-terrible-at-making-decisions kiss.

After it ended, foreheads still touching, you both kept grinning like idiots before being rudely interrupted by Darcy.

“You know you can celebrate after we get through this goddamn maze right?”

“You just know how to ruin a moment Darcy.” You rolled your eyes, cheeks still warm and brain still a little fuzzy from the kiss.

Once you made it to the other side with no further scares – you assumed the bloodied-axe man told the others not to mess with your group, you found a cute photo-op booth. Darcy and Ian raced inside leaving you and the God waiting outside the door.

“Should I expect anyone launching at me in there?” Thor asked seriously, though you could see humor dancing on his face illuminated by the faint yellow light emitted from the bulbs hanging above.

“No just some boring old pictures to commemorate this evening.” Laughing, you leaned your head against his massive bicep, closed your eyes and hummed.

“I had a wonderful time.” He whispered before kissing the top of your head.

“So did I. Just didn’t expect anybody to get beaten up by the God of Thunder on a date.”

[lokidrabbles]

Pleasant Feels (Loki x Reader)

Loki walks reader home and discovers his deep liking for them

A/N: Next part for my Loki x Reader Winter Series! Gender Neutral Reader!

Warnings: None! Fluff towards the end!

“Walk me home?”

Your words continued to replay in Loki’s head. The simplicity of your request caught him off guard and it made him briefly reflect on how often he was unaccustomed to being treated like this. While his brother’s companions were working their way towards being ‘fine’ having him around as a team member, their disdainful looks would say more than their words. And sure, you were a bit withdrawn towards him the first couple of weeks, but maybe this was a sign of...trust?

“Perhaps you would feel more confident if you were to ask your other companions.” Loki replied, sounding colder than he intended to. The underlying truth remained with the notion of his uneasiness with humans, especially with the ones he’s wronged in the past. He didn’t want to be placed in a situation where someone felt forced to ‘get along’ with him, and he didn’t want you to feel obliged to interact in any way.

He had sunk very low, he thought.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” You said, furrowing your brows. “But if I am honest, I’m not too confident about walking home by myself at this time at night, even if I only live a couple of streets down.”

“Again, you’d feel safer if you asked someone else.” Loki still was unable to ride along the wave, the opportunity open for him to provide help. It was bizarre, and he wasn’t ready for it.

“So you’re really going to just let me go out there by myself, in the dark, in the dead of winter.” You retorted mockingly.

He didn’t say anything, avoiding eye contact with you if possible.

You shrugged. “I asked for a reason you know. I suppose I’ll have to walk my merry self back home, I sure hope I don’t get mugged or stabbed along the way.”

A certain word rang in Loki’s ears as your childishly skipped out of the building, peeking behind you to make sure he would just feel as guilty as you had intended to do so. He was dumbfounded at how you could casually throw the possibility of being hurt because of his own selfish reasons, and cursed at himself the moment his legs began to sprint towards you.

“Thought so.” You chuckled to yourself, watching Loki catch up with you at the front of your building. He glared daggers at you and you grinned knowing damn well what you had done.

“Don’t say anything.” He said threateningly, his breath visible in the cold air. “I am not going to carry the blame with Stark if something were to happen to you.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it!” You exclaimed, clasping your hands together. “I know it’s stupid but I do get really paranoid down these streets at night.”

He briefly pictured you by yourself, probably scared and shaking, vulnerable to any attack from questionable individuals. You worked with Stark but you had no battle prowess, or any means to protect yourself. Again, he wondered why you didn’t request any assistance from your boss instead.

“Why not ask Stark to provide you with one of his guards to send you home?”

You rolled your eyes. “For crying out loud, because I wanted you to walk me home Loki.”

“I beg your pardon?”

You chuckled yet again, unable to control your smile from forming at Loki’s unhinged face.

“Because my dude, you’re extremely intimidating. And no one’s gonna mess with me if you’re by my side.”

“You cannot be serious.” He replied. This is what he was reduced to. A scarecrow to ward off any ill intending individuals. While the notion of being intimidating tickled him good, this wasn’t what he exactly had in mind. Actually, he wondered how he wanted to present himself to you. You were certainly nice, so the implication of this would suggest you had another way of viewing him.

“I am serious.” You said, beginning to walk and Loki justly following. “You do all that cool magic stuff, summon your pointy things, it’s pretty threatening.”

“Pointy things.” He began to process the words, uncovering what the hell you exactly meant. “Wait...you mean my daggers?”

“Yeah! Those things!”

Norns. “As much as I resent my abilities being referred to as ‘cool magic’, I try not to display them out in the open as often. So don’t get your hopes up.”

“That’s a bummer.” You replied. “It’s always fun seeing you do that. I always try to get a view of when you’re doing it.”

A naturally silent man, Loki remained quiet, hands shoved into his coat pockets. His mind continued to make sense of your words to him. Again, your implication of his seidr suggested your observation of him while at the facility. In the broader sense, you had noticed him, and had watched him from afar, awed at his abilities. He knew you lingered a bit while he was there on occasion with his brother, but he swore it was solely because of Thor. His brother’s cockiness, while laughable, was backed by facts. The people of Earth loved him, and there would always be an admirer or two lurking around the corner for him.

He pondered if you had lurked around the corner to peek at him instead. The idea was charming.

“Sorry if that made a little uncomfortable.” You said, breaking him out of his trance. He sensed some guilt in your voice.

“No, that’s alright.” He said lowly. “I forget humans are naturally attracted to abilities like this. I didn’t take you for one of them.”

Loki didn’t notice the tinge of red forming on your cheeks. “I really liked that one thing you did a couple of weeks ago when you were talking with Thor. You waved your fingers kinda like this, ”  You mimicked him, wiggling your fingers over the palm of your other hand. “ And this really pretty blade appeared in your grip. That must come in handy, huh.”

He had conjured a dagger during an argument he had with Thor, to which Thor had promptly told him to put it away before someone got the wrong idea. Apparently him and his brother weren’t the only ones present in that area.

“How often do you observe me human?” He asked boldly. Your quick movement of cupping your hands in towards your chest said it all.

“Sorry, that’s really rude of me.” You said dejectedly, focusing on the ground below.

“Observation is a natural tendency for many individuals, myself included.” He mentioned, his voice smooth and calm. “Though my curiosity begs to know why you have eyes for me.”

You laughed nervously. “Can you read my mind or something?”

“I could. But it’s more satisfying when you have the other admit to it.” 

The air had suddenly felt colder, and the both of you fell quiet again, with only the sound of footsteps echoing the streets. Something lingered on Loki’s tongue, curious to see how you would react with him admitting he had developed a liking to you during these past months as well. You kept to yourself but you weren’t fully reserved like he was, making you fairly unnoticeable for a while. However, once you had spoken and demonstrated your inventiveness and mental sharpness, his attention quickly caught. You were welcoming when he was around, and you didn’t seem to make efforts to excuse yourself out of the room he was occupying. He found it foolish that a small tinge of kindness would bring him this far deep with a human.

A wet droplet of ice landed on your cheek, prompting you to stop and look upwards. Your mouth soon began agape and you reached out to halt and shake Loki’s arm.

“It’s snowing again.” You pointed out. Loki looked up along with you, catching sight of the white dust soon forming around the both of you. The snowflakes fell heavy, prickling coldness upon your already red face and cheeks. Your breath was visible in the air, excited at the spectacle.

“Are you...cold?” Loki asked, not sure what to do.

“No! But I do love this type of scenery.” You replied, continuing to gaze upwards welcoming any drops of ice to land on your skin.

The snowflakes continued to float around the air, not necessarily catching Loki’s interest. He followed some of them mindlessly, and then caught up them landing on you. You had appeared like a child with a toothy smile plastered on your face. Your eyes darted between flakes and shone brightly against the city lights. Your cheeks were reddened from the cold, a certain glow coming from around you.

He thought you looked stunning, as if you had fallen in love with the snow.

You quickly caught his fixed look at you and brought yourself back to the present. “I look stupid huh?”

He laughed quietly. “Not at all. You’re beautiful.”

Your eyes widened in horror and the smile quickly dropped. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. I am not repeating myself.” He said, a much smug smirk appearing on his face. “And no one will ever believe you.”

You scowled at him, absolutely upset at his arrogance. “That’s a little messed up don’t you think?”

“I am the God of Mischief and Chaos my dear, it is what I do.”

This was the first time Loki had used his moniker ever since New Asgard had formed over a year ago. His title, holding much importance and sentiment to him, was reserved after its long implications of dominance and control during the past decade. For a while, he had long forgotten the meaning of it, or what it suggested about his nature. For a long time it meant destruction and absolute chaos, leaving  a desolate trail of death and disappointment, something he had wanted to keep buried for years and years to come.

Now, after almost losing everything, he had used it on you, as a means to make you laugh.

After walking along a couple of more streets, you both arrived at your building, the snow continuing to glide along the soft wind.

“Thanks again Loki, I really do mean that.” You began, fiddling around for your keys.

He nodded, still fixated on your face and your expression. “Anytime.”

He noticed the hesitation in your hands, almost as if they wanted to reach out to him. As a master of observation, your body language had told him everything about what you intended to do. You bit your lips and your legs wobbled slightly. Your eyes  would flutter up at him, but then immediately look down in shame. Again, very charming for a human. At the same time, quite impulsive.

Needing to tip toe, you reached up towards Loki and planted a quick, meek kiss on his own thin lips. It was instant, and you lips brushed away too quickly for him to experience the feel of your skin on his own cold one. A jumble of words escaped your mouth and you quickly made your way inside your home, leaving Loki out in the cold. He traced his lips with his fingers, feeling a soft smile form slowly. He began to wonder if it wasn’t too much of a bad idea to continue teasing you as such.

[anika-ann]

Hands Too Cold, but Heart of Gold - Pt.8 (S.R.)

The Date Night

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader, one-sided Matt Murdock x reader 

Word count: 1850

Summary: Avenger!reader AU, love triangle. You got yourself a date, went there and... it turned out rather interesting. Probably not the way Steve and Natasha think.

Warnings: swearing, fluff, angst

Story Mastelist

────── ·❆· ──────

“I honestly don’t know why I’m freaking out about my outfit. He won’t even be able to see it! Why am I freaking out, Tasha?” you asked her on a verge of desperation, smoothening your dress for the millionth time.

As you got to the hem of the dress, all you wanted to do was to pull it over your head and change. Again. You stared at your reflection in the mirror, honestly considering it.

Natasha, standing behind you, put her hands on your shoulders to keep you in place and raised her eyebrow.

“Hey. You have every right to be nervous. How long has it been since your last date?” she asked gently, surprisingly so for a super-spy.

You bit your lip guiltily – of course, she found the root of the trouble. It had been too freaking long. The fact you were going out with Matt – an amazing human being – was not helping to sooth your nerves either.

“Almost two years.”

“Well. I think you’re entitled. But you’re gonna be fine,” she reassured you and you caught her honest gaze in the mirror. She squeezed your shoulders. “That guy? He fell hard – I hope you figured that out already. Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.”

You took a deep breath. “Thanks, Tasha. I really should go or I’ll be late. The taxi might even be here already.”

You picked up your coat, leaving the dresses you didn’t even want to count – Natasha had supplied you with too many of hers and still, you took the only dress you owned yourself – and grabbed your purse on the way.

You were insanely grateful to Natasha for her help – yet, your heart was fluttering nervously and ached a little. You wished Steve was here too, but you understood this was more of a ladies thing. You were sure he wished you the best for your date even if you hadn’t heard him say it.

You opened the door only to meet with Steve’s surprised face. His eyes measured you from head to toe and you fought the urge to hide – god knew why. That was until his gaze returned to your face and a smile appeared on his lips.

“You look beautiful, Snowflake,” he whispered, checking you out shamelessly once more. “He’s a lucky guy.”

You bit your lip, feeling the rush of heat colouring your cheeks. You lowered your gaze, examining your shoes; they had heels, you were about to kill yourself in them, why were you wearing them again…?

Steve chuckled at your reaction. You couldn’t help but feel like there was something foreign in that supposedly happy sound, something you couldn’t decode.

A hand appeared under your chin, fingers tucking a strand of your hair that fell in your face behind your ear. He kissed your forehead lovingly and you inhaled deeply, trying to calm down your rapidly beating heart. You knew he was trying to help, but it didn’t really work.

“Hey, Snowflake. Hold your head high, you look wonderful. It’s gonna be fine. If he upsets you, you not only can let him go, but you have five– no, six pissed off friends actually, I’m sure Thor would stop by for that – to punch Matt in his face. Understood?”

That finally made you relax and the tension in your shoulders eased with a huffed laughter. Steve’s eyes twinkled for a moment and you couldn’t but laugh again.

“Did you just say ‘pissed off’?” you asked incredulously and Steve shrugged it off – except a hint of a blush appeared in his cheeks too and hell, you could not miss that. You feasted your eyes on his embarrassment and only then gave Captain Language a proper hug, which was reciprocated tightly.

“I guess I’m nervous for you that much,” he murmured over your shoulder and the statement melted your heart.

“Thank you, Steve.”

He squeezed your waist once more, caressed your back and released you from his embrace, uneasy smile on his lips.

“Go. We wouldn’t want you to be late.”

You just nodded and made your way to the elevator. You sparred one more glance at Natasha, who joined Steve in the hallway, couple of dressed folded over her forearm. She grinned at you.

“Not to make you nervous, Frosty, but just because he won’t be able to see you with his eyes, it doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate your appearance! And other stuff! Considering all of his senses are heightened!” she called after you and you felt you face turning into a mask of horror.

All of his senses. Shit. What perfume did you use? How much could he— would he be able to tell you hugged-- did Steve just hug you to make Matt jealous and possibly make him think you were wanted, so he would value the fact you were going out with him more?

No, wait, you were the one who hugged Steve, which--- this was so going to be a disaster. You whined and slid into your coat, hoping it would make you invisible. And undetectable in any other way. This evening started swimmingly…

With you going down in the elevator, Natasha and Steve were left alone.

“Smooth, Rogers. Very subtle,” the spy exclaimed, patting his arm patronizingly. Steve shot her an unreadable glare.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“About the fact Mr. Hot and Devilish wouldn’t even have to make her unhappy. It’s him making her happy that you want to punch him in the face for.”

Steve grinded his teeth, his look turning murderous. “That’s not true. I want them to get together.”

“Sure,” she agreed, shrugging. “That’s why you marked your territory like a goddamned dog.”

The rush of irritation and shame at being caught hit him stronger than excepted. Natasha knew exactly how to push his buttons and it drove him crazy.

“I didn’t-“ he protested lamely, only to realize he indeed hadn’t. “She was the one who hugged me.”

“Yeah. Keep yourself telling that. She did hug you, but what happened before that, that was on you. I’m surprised you didn’t kiss her on her mouth. I don’t understand how one can be so blind— eh, sorry-”

Steve’s hands curled into fists and he paced to his room to change into something more suitable for workout. He needed to punch something and as much as he was pissed at Natasha for mocking him, he liked her too much to hurt her – the punching bags would have to suffice. Bags, definitely plural, because he would tear some today, no doubt.

“Have a good workout, big guy!” she shouted after him almost cheerily and he slammed the door with such force that dust of plastering snowed down around the doorway.

Snowed down. Fuck. That would be more than one ruined bag today.

────── ·❆· ──────  

Natasha was standing in her room, staring out of the window as snowflakes slowly descended. None of them stuck, melting as soon as they collided with the surface, but there was no denying it really was snowing. And given the fact that the temperature needed to drop significantly for this to happen, there was no doubt whose doing was that – deliberate or not.

Apparently, your emotions were running high.

“Hey, Steve. What are you still doing awake?” she heard your astonished voice from the hallway and she bit her lip. This was definitely your excited voice; the date went well. The snow was a good sign.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

Natasha’s heart ached for her friend, simultaneously wondering if you could hear the subtle hint of pain in his voice. She suddenly felt guilty for helping you to get ready for the date – but it felt like the right thing to do.

“So you went to a gym? It’s after midnight. You’re making us all look like couch potatoes.”

Natasha could easily imagine that the soldier ‘casually’ shrugged.  

“Felt like working out,” he explained easily. No shit. How many punching bags did he destroy this time?

“Is everything okay? I know it’s not the first time. Something troubling you? Talk to me, Steve,” you pleaded softly.

Natasha sighed. That would be your placing your hand on his forearm in comforting gesture, your eyes screaming ‘you can trust me’. You always did that, because it was the thing you two did and you two were so utterly hopeless it hurt.

“It’s nothing, Snowflake. Nothing you need to worry about. You look happy. I take it the date went well?”

His voice was strained and the spy had no doubt you could tell. Yet, you answered him, voice wavering as if you weren’t sure how much you should share. “Yeah. It did.”

“One more reason for you not to worry about me,” Steve offered kindly and Natasha just gritted her teeth. Rogers was such an ass. Noble, maybe, but bozhe, such an ass. “I’m happy for you, Snowflake.”

“Thank you. But we’re talking about you, soon. I need you to be happy too, Steve. You’re too important to me and too good not to be.”

Natasha agreed wholeheartedly, glancing at the flash drive on her nightstand. She had downloaded the conversation she had with Steve, him confessing his feelings for you, but now, it seemed worthless.

While she wished for you to be happy, she was hoping you could do that with the supersoldier who was head over heels for you. She had been sure you felt the same, but now she had doubts. You could easily fall in love with Daredevil, he was charming enough, and she had no right to interfere with your love-life.

“Okay. I promise I’ll tell you later.”

Natasha scoffed. Yeah, sure. On your deathbed, maybe.

“ ‘kay. Love you, Steve. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Snowflake.”

Natasha heard your footsteps trailing off and slowly went to open her door for a slit.

“Don’t say a word,” Steve warned her icily, heart-breaking crack in his voice.

“I was gonna offer you a drink, an ‘I’m sorry’ and a hug.”

She heard him inhale and exhale shakily and she stepped out to find him resting his forehead against the nearest wall. His eyes were squeezed shut and she would swear it wasn’t sweat what gleamed on his cheeks. She pressed her lips together, hesitantly bringing her palm to his arm. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“I’m really sorry, Steve,” she whispered tentatively, surprised when he bounced off the wall, looking her straight in the eye. His own were indeed glassy, but he wasn’t crying.

“You don’t have to be. She deserves the win, I’m happy for her.”

He said it with such conviction that if she hadn’t known him well enough, she wouldn’t notice how fragile the façade he had hastily built up was.

“Good. But you should know you don’t have to be, macho man. It’s okay to be angry, not just with yourself, but also with her and especially with him. You can be sad and you can be hurt. I know I’m not exactly the most open person when it comes to emotions, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel. And you can feel too.”

Steve escaped her gaze, but she could see his tiny nod. She took it as a victory and encouraged, she took his huge arm.

“Come on, Cap, let’s find out where Thor stocked the good booze.”

────── ·❆· ──────  

Part 9

────── ·❆· ──────  

Tags:  @mermaidxatxheart​, @murdermornings​, @elisaa-shelby​ @ask-hellbent-tweek

────── ·❆· ──────  

(The chapter is very similar to the other version, only leaves details on the date night with Matt. Buckle up for the next parts y’all. Roller -coaster of emotions coming in 3, 2, 1…)

Thank you for reading :))

[blissfullylostinarabbithole]

Outsider Pt. 20

Pairing: Step Dad!Tony Stark x Teen!Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Summary: Everything’s going to be alright now that Reader’s free, right?

Warnings: Implied mild torture (?)

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Bucky had been sitting in one of the chairs, and shot to his feet when you stepped out of the bathroom. 

“Hey. Your ma and Tony are talking to the doctor right now. Want me to call ‘em?”

You wanted to say yes. You should’ve said yes. But you shook your head, and slowly walked over to the bed. He had offered to help, but you were determined to make it on your own. 

He watched you settle into the freshly made bed, and found himself at a loss when you turned to him expectantly. He cleared his throat, and placed the chair he’d been sitting in next to your bed.

“Before anything else, I promised Pete I’d ask you if it was ok for him to come see you.”

You thought about it for a moment, and while you didn’t want Peter to feel sorry for you once he saw you, you wanted something to feel normal. Peter could talk for hours and not tire, and you decided it would be a welcome distraction. 

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

Silence filled the room again, but unlike before, it was awkward and full of tension. Bucky saw the fresh bandages on the table, and gestured to them. You nodded, and he carefully started to redress your wrists.

“I’m so sorry,” he finally said. “It’s my fault.”

You were glad he was the one to start talking, but you were confused by what he’d said. “What? How?”

“I knew somethin’ was goin’ on.” He took a shaky breath as he wrapped the bandage, unable to look you in the eye. “I shoulda told someone, but I didn’t.”

As Bucky explained, his strange behavior and his hostility toward Dean began to make sense. As it turned out, Dean also had his suspicions about Bucky.

If it hadn’t led to what it did, you might have found it funny.

Whatever good the shower had done you was ruined when he told you about the bombing. Sam could have died. Many others did. 

“I know I can’t even begin to make it up to you, but I-”

“Promise me.”

Bucky finally looked up, brow furrowed as your own determined eyes bore into his. “Huh?”

“No more secrets, Bucky. From now on, if something’s happening, you tell me. Promise me.”

A lump formed in his throat, but he swallowed it down and nodded. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” You bit your lip, knowing your next question wasn’t going to go over well. “What happened with Kasady?”

Bucky shut his eyes and sighed. “Don’t, please.”

“I need to know.” Your voice cracked, but you continued on. “Mom won’t tell me and I’m sick of being kept in the dark.”

“You don’t have to be afraid of him anymore.”

“He said he’d come back for me, no matter what,” you quavered. 

“He won’t.”

“He will!” you slammed your fist on the bed, angry that no one was listening. “If he got away, he could still be nearby! If he got caught, he’ll escape! He’s done it before, he told me so!”

“Y/N…”

“But if he’s held somewhere far, I’ll have time before he makes it to New York!”

“He’s not gonna hurt you again.”

“You don’t know that! You don’t know what he’s done, what he’s capable of! He said I was his, and that-”

“Stop!” Bucky hissed, quieting you. “I promise you, he’s not going to bother you ever again.”

 “But…” you paused, his expression willing you to understand; something he wasn’t saying. “Oh… oh my god.”

This time, it was you who couldn’t couldn’t look him in the eye. After everything he’d done to separate himself from the killer he used to be, and all the crimes he’d atoned for, he’d become what he wanted to leave behind again. Kasady was a civilian; a terrible one, but a civilian nonetheless. 

You hadn’t seen him reach for you, so when he tried to comfort you, you jerked away from his touch. He pulled his hand back and stiffened.

“Sorry.”

“Bucky, I… I don’t even…”

“It’s fine,” he said through a strained smile as he stood from the chair. “I get it. I’ll send the kid in.”

Deep down you knew it wasn’t your fault Cletus became obsessed with you, but you still felt responsible for the setback in Bucky’s progress. You wanted to apologize, but everything you could think to say paled in comparison to the deed he’d done. 

Instead, you watched quietly as he walked out of the room.

You’d been lost in thought, tracing the scar on your chest as you wondered if your friendship with Bucky would ever recover, and didn’t notice Peter standing by the door, or the stuffed bear in his arms.

He didn’t know many details of what had happened to you, the others had been careful not to speak about it when he was around, but he still picked up on a few things here and there. His throat tightened when your hand pulled the front of your gown down enough to reveal part of the ‘K’, and he hoped that what he’d heard about you having his whole name on you wasn’t true.

“Y/N?”

Your hand dropped onto your lap, and despite how awful you were feeling, you couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Hey, Peter.”

“How are you?”

You looked down at your hands and shrugged. “I don’t really know.”

Peter approached slowly, looking for any sign of disapproval to his taking the seat beside you. When you didn’t object, he handed the bear over. You thanked him, and held it awkwardly in your arms. You still felt dirty, and you didn’t want the smell you thought lingered on your skin to transfer to the bear, but you didn’t want to voice those thoughts in order to spare Peter’s feelings if you set it aside. So you held it.

“Ned’s on his way,” he said, breaking the awkward silence. “I was going to get you flowers, too, but then I realized that probably wouldn’t be a good idea.” 

“Good thinking,” you grimaced. “Hey Pete, do you know where I was?”

“No, they wouldn’t tell me much of anything. Don’t you know?”

“No, there weren’t any windows or anything.”

Peter frowned, recalling something he’d heard the Winchester brothers talking about. “Wait, but you sent a letter, didn’t you? How’d you know you were still in the area?”

You reached to scratch your cheek, careful not to press against the bruises. “He let slip he’d been to Brooklyn. Figured we couldn’t be too far off. So, you don’t know where I was found?”

“No. When Thor said he knew where you were, he wouldn’t let me come.”

“Thor?” Your hand dropped, eyes widening in horror. “How did he know?”

“He said Heimdall saw you,” he answered, unsure as to what was wrong. “While he came to get Cap and Sergeant Barnes, his brother went to where you were, but they told me to let the others know they were going to get you. Are you ok? You look like you’re going to throw up.”

When Bucky left, you didn’t think you could feel worse. Now you not only felt guilty, but humiliated as well. You knew someone had to have found you, but didn’t want to think about who that could’ve been. Your body felt as if it were on fire, and if you had been attached to the heart monitor, you were sure it’d be going crazy. It would’ve been alright if it had been some police officers or paramedics that came to your rescue, but to have people you would have to face on a semi-regular basis see you in such a state was too much to handle.

Concerned, Peter reached for your hand, but you snatched it away and lifted the bear to cover your face.

“Y/N? Do you want me to call someone?”

“No,” you whimpered. “Can I have some water, please?”

Peter scrambled from the chair, grabbing the small plastic pitcher from the table and ran out to fill it. While he was gone, you forced back the tears that wanted to escape, swallowing the sobs that tried to crawl up your throat.

You didn’t know how’d you’d ever be able to look them in the eye again, when just thinking about it filled you with shame. Avoiding them was out of the question so long as you lived under the same roof. Relief flooded over you when an idea struck: maybe you could ask to go home. 

Peter returned, pitcher full and looking pleased that you seemed to be feeling better. Ned followed in, struggling with the biggest bunch of balloons you’d ever seen. Peter poured you a cup while Ned tied your balloons to a table where they wouldn’t be in the way and pulled up a chair.

“You look great!” he began, looking away in embarrassment as he realized what he said. “I mean, I thought you were gonna be worse.”

“Ned! God, I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

“Well, I did!” he defended. “Hey, do you feel any stronger than before?”

“Ned…”

“What do you mean?” you asked.

“Well, Captain America donated the blood for your transfusion. Does that mean you’re all super-y now?”

You couldn’t stop the laughter that followed, no matter how much strain it put on your body. “I don’t think it works that way.”

“It might. I mean, Peter only got bit by a spider.”

“It wasn’t just a spider!” Peter scoffed. “It was radioactive!”

Ned rolled his eyes. “And she wasn’t given normal blood. She has Captain America’s blood. It could give her powers, too.”

You watched the two bicker, the smile slowly falling from your face as you realized how much you would miss them if you left.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Peter and Ned left when your mom returned, and you decided against having any more visitors. Actually, Steve had asked to see you, but even though his blood pumped through your body, you couldn’t face him. Instead, you said you didn’t want to see anyone. It would make things easier in the long run if you were going to leave, anyway.

Tony noticed you’d barely touched the snacks he brought, and frowned when you declined his offer to bring you something else. He’d also noticed how tired you looked, yet when the nurse asked if you wanted something to help you sleep, you declined that, too. When your mother tried to protest, he reassured her it would be fine, and offered to stay up with you if she wanted to doze off. 

“You’ll heal a little faster if you sleep, you know,” Tony offered once your mom fell asleep. You only shrugged, keeping your attention on the old sitcom playing on the tv. “Your body needs rest.”

“I don’t want to sleep,” you snapped, “I want to watch tv.”

Though Tony was a genius, it didn’t take one to figure out why you didn’t want to sleep. It was the first time you’d woken without screaming, after all. 

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll make you a deal. I won’t hound you about sleeping, but in return, you have to eat something.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Cletus,” you whined, squeezing your thighs as tightly as you could. “Please, I’m sorry.”

“Are you?” he mocked. “You know the rules, sweets. You don’t get the bucket until I can see again.”  He grinned at you, knowing what was coming. He was livid when you’d run your ceramic blade across his eye, but was alright. He only needed one good one to watch you cave in on yourself. “Trickle trickle tickle goes the stream!” 

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” you begged. 

He only laughed, egging you on. You couldn’t hold it any longer, and you felt the ground beneath you grow warm and wet. He howled with laughter as you started to cry, embarrassed that you’d soiled yourself yet again.

“You’re disgusting,” he said. Though the laughter was gone, he was still grinning. “If only your friends could see you now. I bet they’d throw up as soon as they stepped foot in here.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You woke up with a gasp. It had felt so real, you were still feeling it.

“Y/N?” Tony whispered from beside you. “Are you alright?”

“Oh god!” you grit your teeth. “No no no!”

“You’re safe.” He tried to calm you quietly, not wanting to wake your mother unless he had to. You looked over at him with wide, panicked eyes, which quickly filled with tears. He wasn’t sure what to do when you buried your face in your hands and your body started to shake, until he noticed the wet spot spreading on the thin hospital blanket. “Woah, hey, it’s ok.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you muttered. 

Tony called your name, but you didn’t seem to hear him. “Pumpkin,” he implored. He could see the shame in your eyes as you slowly met his gaze. “This, it’s nothing, alright? Just go and clean up, and I go and get you some clean stuff. See? No big deal.” 

You swallowed thickly, hands shaking as you pulled the blanket back. Staring at the floor, you climbed off the bed and practically ran into the bathroom. You turned the water on, and quickly discarded your clothes before stepping into the shower, not caring the water wasn’t hot yet. 

Again, you washed your hair, convinced you haven’t completely cleansed yourself of the foulness of your captivity. You knew Tony wouldn’t rush you, so you scrubbed and scrubbed until the soap wore down to nothing.

You hadn’t heard anything outside of running water, so you were slightly surprised to find clean garments on the counter and your dirty ones gone. You were careful around your stitches and scabs, but some of them had begun to bleed regardless. Your skin also stung in places where you ran your towel over yourself. Yet somehow, you still didn’t feel clean.

Your mom was still asleep when you stepped out of the bathroom, and a chemically smell assaulted your nostrils. Underneath that, though, you could smell the urine.

“They didn’t clean it,” you said to no one in particular.

“They did,” Tony said as he approached. “I was here the whole time.”

“I can still smell it. I can still smell me.” You covered your nose with your hand, turning away from the bed to the window. “It fucking stinks.”

“Y/N, I swear, they cleaned it.”

‘You’re disgusting’

“God, this is disgusting,” you muttered to yourself. “I need a shower.”

“You just took one,” Tony soothed. “Sweetheart, you just took one.”

“No, everything reeks.”

‘Filthy, nasty little thing’

“Y/N, stop!” Your attention snapped to Tony’s grip on your arm. You winced at the contact, and while he loosened his hold, he didn’t let go. “There’s no smell. At all.”

Your short breaths began to steady, and as you breathed deeper, slower, it faded. Now all you could smell was the faintest hint of disinfectant and the antibacterial soap from your shower. You turned away, embarrassed over the whole thing again, and nodded in submission.

Tony didn’t speak as he gently led you back to your bed, lifting the blanket for you to crawl in. He frowned when you turned your back to him, despite that side of your body having the worst injuries. Knowing you had to have been in pain, he wanted to say something comforting, but nothing came to mind.

“Tony?” your mom yawned from her chair. “How is she?”

He noticed the way you curled in on yourself, and his hand brushed over your head softly.

“Fine, Honey. Sleeping,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep, I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

Your mom hummed tiredly, taking no time to drift off again. When her breathing slowed, you relaxed, eyes welling with tears of gratitude.

“Thank you.”

He moved his hand to your shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Neither of you spoke for the rest of the night. The old sitcoms played in the background, occasionally making Tony chuckle as he continued to stroke the top of your head. You lay quietly, slowly finding comfort in the contact, if for no other reason than it was keeping you from falling asleep again.

Permanent -  @melconnor2007 @ria132love @psychicwitchphilosopher @sireennotsiren @silence–in–the–library@thefridgeismybestie@hymnofthevalkyrie@abbybills22@mvasquez492@ek823@nicky10876@sophiealiice @madeof-ink@dugan365 @magnitude101999 @way-ward-whale @i-am-the-fandom-warrior @seabasstiantrash @eden-the-human-garden

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[iusedtoknowwhatawishwasfor]

My fic is done!!

For the X-Files Spooky Exchange, organized by the lovely Nicole, @gaycrouton

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21094859

For: Jen/Underworld_vanpires

Full notes are in the Ao3 link. 😀😀😀😀

Phobias of the Heart

Scully cradled her glass of Reisling in one hand and the remote in the other, having settled on “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” She smirks as she remembers watching it as a child before they all headed out for trick-or-tricking on whatever naval base they were living on, at the time. Her eyes slip shut as she remembers she and Charlie running on short legs after their bigger siblings, with their mom yelling in the distance for them to “watch Day and Charlie!” 

She tried not to let any sadness overtake her at the thought that she would never be the mom telling an older sibling to watch a younger one. 

Her melancholy was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. She set her wine glass on the coffee table and grabbed her bowl of assorted candy bars. “Earlier and earlier every year…” she muttered, glancing at the clock and heading to the door. “It’s only 3…” She looked into the peephole to see a very large child standing in front of it. He backs up and gives her a megawatt smile.

“Hi, Mulder.” She said with a smirk after opening the door. 

“Trick,” he starts, holding up a deck of cards in his right hand. “Or Treat,” he says holding 2 cellophane-wrapped caramel apples in his left. 

“Definitely treat,” she stepped aside for him to come in. He throws his coat on her rack and plops down on the couch like he owns the place. He set the candy apples on the coffee table.  “Wine? Beer?”

“Either is fine, thanks. Whatcha watching?” 

“Linus extolling his ideas about the Great Pumpkin.” She walked back into the room with a glass for him and settled in about a foot away from him on the couch. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I just thought you’d like some company to battle the horde of children.”

“Admit it, you just came for my candy stash.” She treated him with a bright smile.

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” He waggled his eyebrows at her and chuckled at her quirked eyebrow. They settled into a comfortable silence as Linus and Charlie argued on the screen.

“Do you know what the fear of pumpkin is?”

“No, what?” She smiles.

“Pumpkinophobia.” He grinned wickedly and she feels a flutter deep in her stomach. 

“Liar,” she chuckled. 

“Alright - I don’t actually know what it is. However… sometimes when I’m around you I have Venustraphobia.” At her furrowed brows, he confessed “Fear of beautiful women.”

She snorted but he could see her cheeks flush. “It’s also good that I don’t suffer from Iatrophobia, fear of doctors, or I couldn’t be near you. It’s also also good that you don’t have hemophobia, being a doctor. What about you? Any coulrophobia?”

“I’m not afraid of clowns, Mulder. But I do know you have pyrophobia.” 

“That fear has died down a lot. I think Phoebe actually scared my fear of fire out of me. Among a lot of other things.” His eyes are wide and he has a vague look of horror on his face. “Judging by the impeccable state of your apartment, you clearly have mysophobia.”

“I’m not afraid of dirt… I just like things tidy. So, if anything I have ataxophobia. You’re one to talk with your chromophobia.”

“Hey! I just light neutral colors at my place.” He threw his hands up in defense. 

“Neutral… sure. Or, you know, boring. You also have a pretty severe cases of heliophobia because I can barely see 2 inches in front of my face when I come to visit.”

“Guilty as charged.” He chuckled. He glanced at her and was taken in by the small smile on her face. Her cheeks were rosy thanks to the wine and the fire burning in the heath. Just when he thought she couldn’t be more beautiful, she knocks it out of the park again. 

“I definitely don’t need to have any Cacophobia around you.” He gave her a soft smile. “Fear of ugliness.”

At that she laughed. “You certainly don’t have a fear of throwing flattery at me. Whatever that would be called.” 

“No idea.” He laughed. They both turned and absent-mindedly watched the tv for a bit before he spoke again. “I assumed you’re going to be bombarded by a lot of kids who definitely don’t suffer from Samhainophobia. And I just… I know kids can be overwhelming, sometimes.” He said tossing a small smile her way.

She narrowed her eyes and lowered her tone. “Mulder, why are you really here?”

“I just didn’t think you should go through this alone.” She caught the double-meaning and sighed. “The IVF was so recent…”

“I told you I’m fi-”

“Don’t say it! Don’t say it because it’s bullshit!” He barked out making her shoot her eyes up to meet his. “I am so sick of you acting like you’re alone in this. Like I didn’t want this too!”

Her eyes went from shock to welling up with tears and his voice softened. He leaned back against the sofa cushions, sighed and looked straight ahead. “I wanted this maybe just as much as you. I never really thought about being a father. What with my shitty childhood and dangerous job. Phoebe wasn’t cut out to be a mom by her own admission, and Diana wanted an established career before anything else. It was always something mentioned in passing but never seriously discussed. Until… you. You are just so undeniably good. You deserve all of the things you could ever want in life. The second I started seeing you as someone who wants kids, as a potential mother… I realized that I wanted desperately to be the father.”

“I never had any expectations for you… with the IVF. It was something I wanted and I didn’t want you to feel obligated or forced…” 

“Scully, just so you know, nothing you could ask of me will ever be an obligation. It’s not a chore for me to love you.”

She sucked in a breath as he realized what he said. “You really feel that way?”

He looked her straight in the eye, nods slowly, and continues. “The idea of having kids with anyone but you is absurd. But you have to know - you ARE enough. You and I are a family now, kids or no.”

She let a small smile creep to her lips as her eyes widened. “We are.” she croaked out. “We are a family.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “But… I can’t give you the chance to be a father. I would just disappoint you.” 

“Not possible.” He said firmly, shaking his head, moving closer to her on the couch. He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips. He then held both of her hands in his and gave them a squeeze. “There is no way in hell you could ever disappoint me. You are the one person who has never let me down and I know you never will. If you want kids, there are more ways - we could adopt. There are plenty of kids who need a home and they wouldn’t get a better mom than you.”

She sniffed and reached out to pull him into a hug. “You’re amazing,” she whispered into his ear.

“Nah, I’m just a man in love.” he said, then immediately froze stiff in her arms. “Uh…”

She pulled back to look into his eyes. “Did you mean that?” 

“Uh…” he stammered and then slumped his shoulders, sick of lying. “Yes… I meant it. Head over heels, baby.”

She barked out a wet laugh and sniffed again. “Me too.” 

He was on her in a split second pressing a fierce kiss to her lips. She gasped into his mouth and he took the opportunity to glide his tongue along her bottom lip. Her tongue shot out to touch his own and he took the hint, exploring her mouth and drinking her in. She wound her arms around his neck and slide further down under him on the couch. When her hips met his, he couldn’t hold in his groan. Her nails played lightly with the soft hairs at the nape of his neck, driving him wild. 

She could feel him growing hard against her belly and she felt a rush of arousal. She trailed her fingers down his sides across his ribs to scratch his back as she thrust her hips into his. “Jesus, Scully…” 

He had just started to move his fingers under the hem of her shirt when there was a knock at the door, followed by a multi-kid chorus of “Trick or treat!” 

“Oh you have GOT to be kidding me,” He said resting his forehead on hers as they both struggled to catch their breath. “Um - I think you need to get that… I’m in a bit of a condition here.” 

He caught her eye and they both started laughing. “Down boy.” She said, getting up to grab the candy bowl. 

“Don’t listen to her,” he muttered to his lap as she let out another laugh.

She swung open the door to a Spiderman, a Thor, and a Sanderson sister. “Wow - you guys look great! Very spooky.” She heard a snort from the couch behind her as she dropped some candy bars in each plastic pumpkin. “Happy Halloween!” she called after the chorus of thank-you’s. She shut the door and waited a second before turning around, taking the moment to contemplate what was about to happen. She turned to face her destiny, now leaning casually against the back of the couch. 

She looked at him through heavy lids as she made her way back to the couch. She paused in front of him and then lowered herself to his lap, straddling him. “Is this ok?” 

“Is it ok? It’s been a while - this might actually be more than ok.” He moved his face towards her and she lowered her mouth to his. She started grinding her hips into his as the kisses became frantic. “Oh my fuck…” he muttered in between kisses. He steadied her hips. “This is gonna be over way too quickly if you keep doing that.” 

Instead he started peppering her neck with kisses and nips as she threw her head back to give him as much access as possible. At a particularly sharp bite she let out a gasp and held his head to the space, letting him know that she was definitely not opposed to his ministrations. He started running his hands under the hem of her sweater again just as there was another knock. He let out a mock sob as she moved off of his lap with a sigh. 

She distributed candy again and then made her way back to the couch. “Mulder?” 

“Yeah?” as she lowered herself back onto his lap.

“I turned my hall light off.” She flashed him a wicked grin.

Incapable of words, he just pulled her into another deep kiss. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

“Me too… I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want you or love you.” She whispered against his lips. She moved in for a kiss and this time he finally got to touch the soft skin under her shirt. She hummed into his mouth and he knew if she wasn’t ready, this had to stop now before the point of no return.

“Scully?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you ready for this… now? If you want to slow down just let me know.” He gave her his most sincere look. 

“Mulder, we have waited way too fucking long enough.” She bent down to nip and lick at the tendons in his neck, revelling in the burn of his five o’clock shadow against her lips. He groaned and couldn’t contain the jerk of his hips. 

“You are a goddess.” He picked her up and carried her off to the bedroom to prove just how much of a goddess she was. 

-----

Later, after they both came down from the best sex of their lives, Mulder pulled her sweaty and sated into his arms. “You know, with you, I never have Autophobia.”

“Not this again.” She laughed. “What is autophobia?”

“Fear of being alone.”

She pouted at him and moved up to give him a kiss. “I promise I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never have that fear again.”

“Me, too.” He kissed each of her eyelids. Before they both drifted off to sleep, she was glad to close the book on the best Halloween of her life.

[lakinda5654]

~~~~A Girl and A God~~~~ Chapter 10- Tragedies and Skittles

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A Girl and A God is a RATED M Loki Fanfic with an original character, Alexa, who is taken in by Tony Stark after the revelation of abilities of her own. There’s sex, romance, heartbreak, action, fluff, angst, all that good stuff. Full description in blog, and a jump-to-chapter list if you just want the smut or the cuteness bits. Enjoy <3 

Chapter Summary: Alexa brings Loki into her room for the night once more, only this time she doesn’t immediately leave...

Contains: cuteness, romance, adorableness, hints of lust

Word Count: 1,937

~Previous Chapter~~Next Chapter~

~~Beginning of Story~~

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That night, her new power started to fade in. Telekinesis. Alexa always liked to give some random object a celebratory fling across her room whenever this one started to phase in. This one not only gave her a powerful ability for her protection, but it also allowed her to be amazingly lazy, sending objects around her at her will. One thing she hadn’t told Loki in the cell that day was that her “telekinesis” went beyond just the movement of the items, she could bring inanimate objects to life, essentially giving them commands and leaving while they did the tasks she wished. As a child, she remembered getting a beating for “playing belle” and making dishes dance in her kitchen.

She hadn’t heard anything from Tony yet and wasn’t sure if Thor had even spoken to him. She’d been as observant as she could with figuring out when she could safely move Loki, seeing when everyone preferred to go to their rooms for the night. She’d found that the one who stayed up the latest was Natasha. Her maximum appeared to be midnight. So she held it together and waited.

Practically staring daggers into her clock, Alexa waited for midnight to come, killing time on spider solitaire. Finally, 11:59 hit and she crept out of her room, not caring to wait any longer. Loki was waiting up for her this time, sitting with his head leaned back against the wall. He looked bored until the keypad started beeping and his eyes brightened. Alexa smiled brightly at him and motioned him to follow her. They made their way to her room unseen, and the door closed quietly behind them. She told him her good news.

“I was going to wait till I heard the news of the result to tell you this, but I convinced Thor the other day. He said he was going to try to convince Tony tonight to give you a chance. I’m aiming for you to be allowed to eat with us for now. If we get that, you could probably get more freedom as they get used to your presence and all that, but hey at least it’s progress!”

Loki smiled warmly at the girl so desperately trying to help him. It gave him a sort of power trip, how she spent so much of her time assisting him, but he simultaneously was genuinely grateful to the girl and felt guilty for taking up her time.

“Thank you” he responded in the warmest and most kind voice she’d ever heard come from him.

She smiled and immediately became nervous, sensing a tension between them with him standing so close. She stepped back. “I um, I brought snacks, if you wanted to stay up a little and um... watch something this time?”

Loki raised his eyebrows at her, trying to hold back his smile.

“Or we don’t have to, your probably exhausted and all, I’m sorry it was a stupid idea…”

I’m flustering her… Loki thought. He loved the rush that the power he had over this girl gave him. He hadn’t had control over anything in a very long time.

In an instant, he made himself appear in front of her, causing her to jump and stumble back. “Jesus Christ why do you do that!”

“To see your reaction,” he said with a chuckle. 

“Well I’ve reacted are you happy now?” She raised her eyebrows at him and laughed. 

“Very much so.”

That smile. Alexa couldn’t help herself from getting lost in it. It was intoxicating.

“I’d love to watch something with you. What do you have in mind?” His voice was low, he was looking in her eyes, and tilting his head.

Fuck. Alexa had to devote all her energy into answering his question. “Let’s just look at Netflix and see what looks good.”

“Netflix?” He looked at her quizzically.

Oh. She realized he probably doesn’t know much about how “Midguardians” live their everyday lives. Especially if he’s lived in a cell the whole time.

“Oh, it’s like a streaming platform. It has a whole bunch of movies and shows and stuff.”

Alexa flicked her fingers and the remote flew to her hand. Loki looked at her, surprised at first, then remembered that she had many other powers. She began to scroll through a span of pictures, he assumed they were each a film to watch. One picture caught his eye.

“How about that one?” He pointed. He knew exactly what he was doing, and played innocent.

“Oh… um, that’s…probably not that one.” She said. “It’s called fifty shades of gray. Its good but I kinda wanted to show you something different.”

“Oh, alright.” He said, pleased that he’d flustered her once more.

“Have you seen any of these?” She asked him.

“No, I haven’t seen any Midguardian anything. I think I’ve heard of a few from Stark’s references but I couldn’t name them”

She looked at him and realized she was right. There is so much I will get to show you... she thought.

“Ok, what are you in the mood for? I’ll show you something I know is good. There’s comedy, tragedy, romance, action, horror…” she looked at him waiting for a response, praying it wasn’t horror. Alexa despised horror movies.

“What do you mean by tragedy?” He asked.

“Well, they’re tragic. Like terribly sad stories usually out of the main character’s control.”

“What are the things these mortals find tragic other than their bleak existence?”

Alexa rolled her eyes. “I think you believe very little of us. We are not that boring. Each of us you see has fought different battles. Ours just don’t involve swords.” She looked at him. “Most of the time anyway.”

He shrugged at her, clearly not convinced.

“You know what...I know what we’re gonna watch”

Loki watched the screen as she chose a movie and it loaded up. As it did, she then turned around and got on her knees, her thighs leaning against the backrest of the couch. Before he could ask what she was doing, she was moving her hands as if she was directing a symphony. Cupboards flew open and candies poured themselves into bowls. A bag of popcorn flung into the microwave and with a beep, it started heating it up. A bottle of a fizzy drink flew from the fridge and poured itself into two glasses. She spun back around and sat facing the TV once more, and everything had piled itself on a tray and smoothly floated its way to land on the coffee table in front of them.

“Wow…” Loki stumbled. “I can’t even do that. I can move objects but, that was so many individual pieces and.. you didn’t even have to look at them the whole time.”

Alexa smiled smugly, glad she had impressed him.

The movie began with a girl’s voice speaking of the story to come before the title appeared.

The Fault In Our Stars

Loki watched but asked frequent questions. Alexa explained the medical equipment and why she was wearing it. She also explained Cancer, which had been a foreign concept in Asgard for hundreds of thousands of years.

As the movie went on, Alexa turned to look at Loki’s face. He looked so concerned at parts... like the movie was really affecting him.

When the end of the movie neared, she even thought she saw Loki shed a tear. She had the first time she saw the movie too, but held her composure this time.

The credits rolled onto the screen.

“Did you like it?”

“Like it? Was I supposed to? It was terrible. Why would anyone want to see that?” He scoffed as if trying to insult his feelings away.

“Well, it causes emotion.” She explained to him. “It’s sad but it’s true, stories like that are very real. It makes us grateful to be alive, and want to hold those we love closer, and appreciate every moment of life we get because we don’t get all that many.”

He looked at her. He seemed to be lost in thought but was looking directly into her eyes. He thought about how the girl in front of him had a short life with few moments, and it stirred feelings in him he couldn’t shove down this time.

She had hoped the movie would affect him, but not this hard. “Hey… it’s ok” she then looked down and realized they hadn’t even touched the snacks she’d prepared. She was too focused on him.

“Wanna try some? Have you tried candy before?” He eyed the tray. “I have had Asgardian sweets, but not these.”

She reached down and picked up a handful of skittles, holding it out to him. He looked skeptical.

“They’re called skittles. They’re like sour, kinda.” He took some in his hand but didn’t eat it yet.

“Here I’ll turn on some music. I’m assuming you’ve only heard Asgardian music as well?”

Loki nodded.

“Well, you’re in for a treat. This world is pretty shitty. I’ll give you that. But the one thing about it that is beyond perfect…” she said while finding a playlist on her phone. “Is the music.” The playlist was peaceful. What she liked to listen to while looking at the city from the helicopter pad.

She popped a skittle in her mouth and watched him do the same.

He looked confused, then excited. “I like this,” he said. “It’s different”

“Yeah… here try this too, it will go good with it” she said, handing him a glass. He held it to his lips and took a sip.

His eyes widened as he swallowed and he stuck out his tongue and opened and closed his mouth as if trying to remove something. “OH have you ever had anything carbonated?” Alexa laughed. “That’s what that popping feeling is!”

Composing himself, Loki looked at her and set down the drink. “I do not like that.”

“Sorry, I should’ve warned you”

Loki ate another skittle.

“It’s alright Petal,” he said with a soft smile.

Petal. That name again. Why did hearing his voice say it make her want to never stop looking at him?

Their eyes were locked. His face was no longer grinning, but serious. Not angry, just intense.

___________________________________________________________________Here is the music for the next part if you’d like to listen to what they were.___

________________________________________________________________Then the song came on. It was a song that always made time feel slower to Alexa. “I love this song.” She whispered. Even though the lyrics were sad, the song was mystically beautiful. Loki broke the eye contact to focus on the sounds. As the first verse began, he listened closely to the sound of the music this girl loved. Alexa closed her eyes and took it in. They let it play, both of them listening without speaking for a minute.

“What is this called?” He said as he watched her open her eyes, his voice filled with admiration.

“The Night We Met. By Lord Huron.”

Loki eyes re-locked with her’s. As the song played, he leaned closer to Alexa, until they were so close she could feel his breath on her lips. Her heart was racing and she couldn’t think straight. “Loki…”

Her sentence was cut off by his lips. They softly collided with her’s as if they were dancing. Alexa felt herself melt. Everything about this moment was perfect. The music in their ears that perfectly somehow put their feelings in this moment into sound, his warm hand that gently held the side of her face, she felt her heart physically ache as if it only just now learned to properly beat, the fact that he tasted like skittles.

It was perfect. Completely and utterly perfect. 

[hollands-poppet]

Dancing With Our Hands Tied Prologue// Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: Tom Holland is your best friend and your roommate, but you both have undisclosed feelings for each other. 

Word count: 1.5K 💛

A/N: I don’t know why I’m starting another fic when I haven’t even finished my Big Brother one but I got inspired listening to Taylor’s reputation album and this idea was born. I’m kind of still iffy about my BB fic but I’m gonna continue to write it. Honestly, I missed writing about Tom so this was nice to write, can’t wait to see where this goes. 

Warnings: some fluff and hesitation but future parts will def include cussing, smut, drama, fluff you name it.. 

-

-

Tom lay in his bed as he tosses and turns, this is the first time he has been alone in his bed since his break-up with his ex. It was one of the few nights that he hasn’t been able to get sleep in a while, and sleeping was his favorite past time. He faces the large scale window in his room that shines a light cast from the moonlight onto his face, how could something so far in the sky be so bright?

He deepens his face in the pillow hoping that it will get him into the mood to sleep, and it was sort of working until he heard a faint noise coming from the living room. He slowly got off of his bed and sort of stumbled through his dark lit room, tripping over some shoes and his luggage packed for tomorrow. He opened his door slowly, and peaked through the crack of his door. And there you were.

Y/N sloppily laying on the couch, the brightness from the screen shining a light on her as she flips through some channels on the tv. She had been his roommate for about a year now, after Harrison moved back home to England his good friend Zendaya had a friend that was looking to rent a place. Y/N had been working as a freelance makeup artist in Hollywood, and had met Z through a couple of gigs.

Tom finally decided to exit his room and walk towards the living room, “Oh my god, did I wake you up? I’m sorry, my tv isn’t working-” He continues his way next to the couch as he lets out a light chuckle, “No worries, love. I couldn’t sleep anyway.” She sits up and makes a space for him to sit, “Are you sure? I know you’re flying out to London tomorrow morning-”

“I promise Y/N, it’s alright,” He takes up her unspoken invitation and sits next to her on the couch, “Now what are you watching?” She looks back at the tv and continues to flip through the channels, “I don’t know, I can’t find anything good to watch..even HBO isn’t playing any good movies.”

He takes the remote from her hands, and lightly brushes his fingertips against hers causing Y/N to remember the butterflies that had gone away to come back. She and Tom had grown close over the last couple of months but her yearning for him that was more than a friend was buried deep down in her feelings, locked away. Even now that he and his girlfriend were over, it was never going to happen.

If you and Tom were going to be anything, it was only to be best friends. A month into moving in, he had started dating his ex and you were always Tom’s shoulder to cry on. You heard every detail in their relationship from his perspective, and you always felt so guilty because your feelings for him always lingered but you always hid them deeper and deeper as time went on. He’s never caught on to them and never will, well that’s what you thought.

As he took the remote in his hands, he pressed the Netflix button and started scanning the website, “Mm, what about Thor: Ragnarok?” You roll your eyes and take the remote out of his hands, “I’m tired of Marvel movies.” He is taken aback as he playfully puts his hand on his chest as he pretends to be offended, “You do know who you’re talking to right darling?”

You look back at Tom, the light from the TV casting a soft glow on the side of your face “Yes Spider-Man, it’s okay to watch something other than a Marvel movie.” You continue to scroll as he laughs, “I’m just joking, you can put whatever you want... just no scary movies.”

Y/N’s jaw drops a bit, “What?! You chicken.” He scoffs, “Tom Holland is no chicken.” You purse your lips and lift your arms, “Prove it, Spidey.” He takes the remote from you again and puts on one of the first horror movies he sees, “You’re on.” The movie he put on was The Strangers, and you knew he was bound to get freaked out because the movie was about two couples that get terrorized while alone.

Since the moment the movie began, Y/N could feel Tom’s hesitation to get closer. From her peripheral vision, she could see his hand flinching to get closer every so often a jump scare would happen. She finally decided to turn to him when she could tell he was getting more scared, “You know, uhm..” His attention fully turned to her, his palms a bit sweaty from being so anxious from the movie. “You can get closer to me, Tom. I know you’re scared.” You tease him a bit but you weren’t expecting how quickly he would swing his arm around your waist and pull you closer into him.

He kisses the side of your head as he turns back to the television, “I didn’t realize how scary this movie was going to be.” Your heart rate speeds up faster, you’ve never been close to Tom like this before. Of course, you’ve given him hugs but you’ve never been in his embrace, it’s never been this intimate. This was new to you, being this close to Tom was new. You weren’t sure how he felt about you but he did love you, he loved you so much as a person but he never knew how nice it was to be this warm with you.

He sort of stopped paying attention to the movie when the scent from your hair started to distract him, your head was lying right on his shoulder but your cheek almost resting on his chest. The scent from your hair made him feel some type of way, it smelled like vanilla and honey, and he didn’t realize every time he came back home from wherever he came from that it was your specific scent that he was coming home too. He just thought that’s what the flat smelled like but it was you, and he didn’t realize how close to home he really was.

“Darling?” He says as his left hand runs through his hair while your bring yourself to look at him, “Are you too scared? I can change it.” You chuckle as you bring your feet onto the couch, your knees almost hitting your chest while his arm is still wrapped around your waist. He licks his bottom lip, “I’m really going to miss you while I’m away filming Far From Home.” You let out a light cackle as he rest his hand on your knee, “You know I’m only a facetime away, and anyway I’ll be flying out in two weeks to do Z’s makeup on set for the rest of the shoot.”

But you were sad too, you knew that Tom being away was going to be lonely but what could you do? This was his job. And you had jobs to full fill out here too before you could go to London and you had rent to pay, so staying behind was the only option right now. He doesn’t even respond, he just brings you in for a hug, your knees moving from your chest to the couch. His arms around your waist as your arms wrap around his neck, and you’re both taking in this moment in before he leaves in a couple of hours.

As he pulls away, your lip slightly brushes against his cheek and your hands rest on his collarbones. You bite your lip as you look into his brown eyes, you’re tempted.. You want to kiss him but he’s newly single and he’s your best friend/ roommate.. You can’t. So instead, your lips find his cheek and you leave a mark  because of your tinted chapstick. And before you could even sit back, his hands are on your cheeks and pulling you in for a kiss, and your brain is telling you this isn’t a good idea but your heart wants this...His heart wanted this too.

Y/N wanted to stop because she was afraid to be his rebound but when you’re feelings are locked away, it felt so nice to play with this newly lit fire. She had a bad feeling that you both were dancing with your hands tied. Tom has always loved you but was he in love with you? That was something he was going to have to figure out but in this moment, you wanted nothing but each other. Your tongues find each other in your sloppy kisses, your hands tugging at each other’s clothes, what was to come next was a surprise to both of you.

-

A/N: The ideas for this fic are so big that I’m so excited to see how this story unfolds for Y/N and Tom. Also feedback is WELCOMED, whether it be positive, negative or even constructive-criticism.. I’m all here for it so please, please shoot me your thoughts. Alright loves, goodnight/goodmorning. -Amy 💛

[imagine-loki]

Monsters and Magic

TITLE: Monsters and Magic CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 16/? AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine you’re a vampire who helps the Avengers defeat an evil seethe of other vampires, and Loki befriends you after you end up in their custody RATING: T (so far) NOTES/WARNINGS: Also on AO3 click here

     “Wake up, Striga, it’s almost dark, and I’m tired of your boyfriend kicking my ass at chess. You could’ve let me win once,” Bucky told you as he shook you awake, though he addressed the last part to the raven on the floor, who was preening as the chessboard vanished. Showoff. You groaned, still exhausted. A little sleep didn’t combat the hell you’d been through, but you woke quickly enough when you remembered help was on the way, you were getting the hell out of here. You sat up quickly and tossed the blanket aside. You quickly threw on your combat boots and leather jacket.

    “We’re above the compound, love. I’ll see you properly as soon as you’re outside. Stay with Bucky when the alarms go off. The team is on the lookout for the pair of you and their priority is to get you on that jet,” Loki reminded you both from the raven. It perched back on your shoulder once you had the leather jacket in place.

    “What about the obedience disk?” you asked, nervously. That thing hurt like hell when it went off, and was one of the main reasons you hadn’t escaped on your own.

    “I’ll steal a remote on our way out. I know who carries them,” Bucky reassured you quickly. “Is the team ready?” he asked the bird, finally used to talking to the bird after playing chess with him for hours. Though you still had the impression he thought he might be going crazy.

    “We’re ready,” Loki replied. Bucky took your hand in his metal one and led you out of the room. He wasn’t risking losing you in the upcoming chaos. The hall was nearly empty; the guards on you had lessened. They assumed that Bucky could keep you under control on his own. Bucky was the image of a perfect soldier, so they didn’t know you’d repaired his mind and that he was really in there.

    “There,” Bucky told you and gestured to a room empty of people. It looked like a server room. You nodded and called your power to fill the room with flames. You had to be careful with fire, as vampires were susceptible to it, but you’d been working on your powers with Loki, so you had no reason to be afraid. Loki was also covering you and Bucky with magic, hiding you from the security cameras. They didn’t want anyone to know you’d caused the fire and chaos. They couldn’t know they were being tricked until the trick was sprung. Loki would have burned down a room full of people, but you weren’t him and he and Bucky both knew that, so you were lighting a fire in a room without people. Even with what they did to you, you wouldn’t stoop to being a monster.

    “C’mon,” Bucky told you urgently when the room was engulfed. He went to the nearest fire alarm and calmly pulled it, starting the alarm throughout the whole building. “Tell the calvary we’re coming out the south entrance to the compound,” Bucky told the raven. His grip tightened on your hand and he started running, dragging you with him. You ran with him, letting him use his size to clear a path through the panicked Hyrda agents and employees.

    “Soldier!” A higherup called. Bucky stopped and turned to face the man, shifting his grip to your wrist, to look like he was dragging you outside instead of escaping with you. “Get Scarlet outside. Make sure she doesn’t escape,”

    “Yes, sir,” Bucky replied in his deadpan zombie way. He turned and started leading you toward the exit again. “He doesn’t have a remote,” Bucky explained to you softly as he strode quickly for the exit. You had to run to keep up with his longer stride, even though he was moving at a slower pace than he had been. He couldn’t draw attention, but could follow his orders to get you outside without anyone questioning.

    It was chaos trying to get out of the building. There weren’t many entrances to the compound and people didn’t know how to leave in an orderly fashion, though you were sure they’d all be taught in kindergarten like you had.

    Bucky gave you his other arm and lifted the metal one in front of him, almost like a shield. “Hold on and keep up,” he told you and surged forward to barrel his way through the panicked crowd blocking the door. He didn’t care who he trampled or injured, shoving them out of your way. Bucky was huge and with a metal arm as a battering ram, you quickly made it outside. All you had to do was keep hold of his arm and not fall. The raven flew off of your shoulder when you were outside and flew away with it’s pair. Its job here was done.

    Right as you made it outside, your heart would have skipped a beat, had it actually done the thing with the beating. The entire team was landing on the ground in front of you, either by parachutes or under their own power. One lone figure appeared in front of the others, materialzing in a shimmer of green magic.

    You dropped Bucky’s hand and ran straight to Loki.

    “Soldier! Stop her!” A voice yelled from behind you. Bucky turned, raised the gun he had acquired on the way out of the building and began shooting at the Hydra agents instead of stopping you. They tried to give him more orders, but he was blatantly ignoring them now.

    You saw Bucky and Steve share a mid-battle head nod of a greeting. Their proper reunion would come after the battle was over.

    The moment before your arms wrapped around Loki’s neck, even as the rest of the team was surging forward to fight the Hydra agents, the obedience disk in your neck went off. You shrieked in pain and dropped to the ground, shaking uncontrollably when the device wouldn’t stop. Loki was there, kneeling next to you, holding you and cradling your head in his lap, soothing you while he growled in helpless rage. He couldn’t stop the device or get it out of your neck.

    “Loki, the guy in the suit!” Bucky called, gesturing with his gun to a man holding up a remote. Loki roared in rage and grief at your pain. A clone of him appeared directly in front of the guy in the suit, killed him viciously and violently, and picked up the remote. A moment later, the obedience disk fell from your neck. Bucky stared, shook his head, mumured something about being crazy, and going back to his job of shooting things.

    You finally relaxed and started actually breathing again. “There now, you’re safe now, sweetheart. It’s almost over,” Loki told you softly, warmly. He stood, lifting you in his arms as he did. He turned to look for someone, but Thor, his usual goto, was already in the middle of battle. “Bucky!” He called. Bucky retreated to your position. He dropped his gun as Loki passed you into his arms. “Keep her safe for me. I have a promise to keep to my lady,” Bucky nodded once, though the didn’t undestand Loki’s words. Loki kissed your forehead.

    “Loki, no, you can’t-” you protested, reaching an arm out for him. He couldn’t just kill an entire compound full of people.

    “They hurt you, my love. I promise, I very much can and I very much will make them all pay for hurting what is mine. Relax, darling. You’re safe now, and they will never hurt you or anyone else again,” you squirmed to get out of Bucky’s arms, but he was huge and just as strong as you, so he held you firmly in his arms. “Keep her safe, army-man,” Loki told Bucky and disappeared into the fray. He didn’t have a good nickname for Bucky yet, but even the term army-man instead of Bucky’s name was enough of a nickname to tell Bucky just how much Loki trusted him with your safety.

    “Your boyfriend is terrifying,” Bucky informed you as he watched the carnage of an engraged Loki. You watched in shock as Loki made his way through the mortals, slaughtering the ones who had hurt you. He was viscious and violent brutally slaughtering them with daggers, mostly daggers, but a little magic as well. You had no idea how he knew who had harmed you and who were innocent, but you could see even from where you were that it was only the guilty who were being slaughtered.

    “Yeah, well, he’s a god,” you replied dryly. Sometimes humor was the only coping mechanism anyone had. “You can put me down,” you added dryly when Bucky hadn’t set you back on your feet.

    “No way in hell I’m risking pissing off that boyfriend of yours,” he reminded you as he stared in shocked horror at the dying Hyrda agents. “Steve’s gonna be pissed. He hates killing as punishment. Though in this case, even he might turn a blind eye. He doesn’t like bullies or people harming the innocent,”

    “I’m hardly innocent,” you reminded him. “I killed an entire village, on top of being a vampire,”

    “That wasn’t your fault. And you’re the least vampiric vampire ever. Did you even own a black aritcle of clothing before they took you?” Bucky teased. You flushed.

    “I think I had a black sweater,” you grumbled. He laughed, yes, sometimes humor was the only way to survive. “Buck, I’m going to be just as safe on my feet, plus you can actually fight if you have to if you have use of your arms,” you reminded Bucky patiently. He finally set you back on your feet, but kept his metal arm around your shoulders so you wouldn’t do something stupid like try to run off to stop or help Loki. Bucky didn’t much like being touched either, but he could handle it if it was his metal arm.

    It was only minutes before Loki reappeared in front of you. You were surprised by the lack of blood on him, and grateful for it. You got out of Bucky’s grip and wrapped your arms around Loki’s neck. His arms were around you, holding you safely against him while his fingers ran through your hair. “You came! You came!” you told him, not quite beliving that this was finally over.

    “I promised you I would. I’m only sorry it took so long, and sorrier still that we allowed you to get taken from us in the first place. It’s alright, you’re safe now, sweetheart,” he told you. You kissed him, still not quite beliving it was real. He was real. You were safe. You broke the kiss, but held onto Loki too tightly, laying your head against his chest to listen to his heart beat, your arms around his slim waist. Loki kept an arm wrapped around you, tucking you safely against his side and extended a hand to Bucky. “Thank you for watching out for her. Words aren’t enough, but you have my deepest, most sincere, gratitude, for all of your help,”

    “Your girl is a sweetheart, anyone with a heart would have kept her safe, especially in a place like this where she had no right being. I only wish I could have kept her safer,” Bucky replied and shook Loki’s hand. Amazing how those two had become friends. It seemed a very unlikely friendship indeed.

    The rest of the team was on their way back as Jarvis landed the jet nearby. You turned and waved at them and they rushed over faster. Loki let you go to go greet the others, though he kept a close eye. Cap went straight for Bucky with a head-nod to you. You weren’t offended in the least, Bucky was his oldest friend and he hadn’t seen him since the 40s. They clasped hands, hugged, and did that ‘I’m not gay’ back smacking things guys did when they hugged.

    Clint ruffled your hair with a grin and a “Kid, you’re ok!” and gave you a quick hug.

    You nodded to him, all brightness and sunshine and saw the relief in his eyes. You went to Nat next and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re safe sestrichka. We were all worried and heartbroken when you were taken,” she told you as even she held you in too tight of a hug. Nat wasn’t usually a hugger or liked being touched, excepting Clint who could get away with it. Apparently you had made the list too.

    “Nat, I did terrible things. I have blood on my hands-” she would understand. Nat of all people would understand. She would understand having blood on your leger, of having to do terrible things to survive.

    “No, sestrichka. Those men did terrible things to you,” she told you and stroked your hair. “None of it was your fault. It was mind control and doesn’t count. You should remember that from boyfriend,” she reminded you lightly. “But we can talk all about it when we get you home.”

    “Sestrichka?” you asked her when she let you go. You’d picked up a few Russian words from Bucky, but mostly just curse words. This one was new.

    “Little sister,” Bucky translated. He came over and hugged Nat too. “Good to see you again, Natal’ka,” he told her warmly.

    “You do remember,” she teased. “I was just a kid the last time I saw you. Hydra sent him to teach us in the Red Room,” she explained to the others quickly.

    “I remember everything, thanks to Striga here,” Bucky said and gave you a smile.

    You looked over at Tony, surprised he hadn’t come to see you yet. He actually cared about you, you knew and had since he’d given you the scholarship before you’d been turned. He had stepped out of his Iron Man suit. You saw the heartbreak in his expression, the self hatred, doubt, the guilt. You went to him and despite Tony’s thing about being touched, hugged him tightly. You felt tears hit your hair as his arms tightened around you as well. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, for all of this. I should have kept you safe. I should have done more,”

    “It’s not your fault, Stark,” you told him firmly. “None of what’s happened is either of our faults.” You said the words to reassure both of you, though you weren’t sure they helped either of you.

    “Thank god you’re ok, Tinkerbell-“

[buckykingofmemes]

Force of Chaos

Or, Bucky Barnes Is Definitely Not The Sane One.

(On AO3)

Bucky was sitting at the kitchen island when Steve wandered in, looking for a mid-afternoon snack. There was a heap of black leather on the granite surface in front of him, and he was working vigorously at the lining with a needle and thread. It was just a touch too glossy to be Nat’s catsuit, and too big to be one of Bucky’s motorcycle jackets, which left only...

“Is that Nick Fury’s trenchcoat?” Steve asked, with open horror. He’d thought the therapist was making headway on Bucky’s latent self-destructive tendencies. 

“Yep.” Bucky replied, tying a knot and snipping the thread away. He stood and shook out the coat. 

It jingled. 

Like a Christmas stocking.

“And you say I’m the reckless one,” Steve shook his head. “Well, it’s been nice knowing you, Buck. I hope Fury kills you quickly.”

“You are the reckless one. I’ll be wearing a parachute when I jump off the helicarrier to escape.”

Steve couldn’t argue with that.

 He wondered if Bucky had a plan to evade the Quinjets after he jumped. 

kingofmemes posted:

i may spend the rest of my life in boat jail, but at least the pirate king cant sneak up on me anymore.

worth it.

posted at 8:23, 3053 notes

(Read more)

Clint was napping on the common-room couch, blissfully ignorant to the absolute garbage coming out of the newscaster’s mouths on TV. Steve, on the other hand, was tapping furiously at his tablet on the opposite couch, his Letter to the Editor growing longer by the minute. Tony kept telling him to just not watch the news, but Steve liked to be informed. Besides, sometimes they interspersed the fury-inducing news coverage with cute stories about animals. Steve liked that. 

The elevator doors whooshed open quietly, and Bucky ambled over to see what Steve was watching. Steve felt a slightly guilty tingle on the back of his neck; Bucky was half-convinced that Steve was going to have a stress-induced heart attack while getting worked up watching the news, even through Erskine had fixed his health problems. The super serum had cured a lot of Steve’s ills, but nothing on earth could trump Bucky’s I’m Concerned About Your Health, You Suicidal Idiot lectures. Or, these days, his  I’m Concerned About Your Health, You Suicidal Idiot glares. He’d really  mastered the art of the silent conversation.

Bucky’s gaze slid from the television toward Steve, who could feel the This Again, You Dumbass? glare building. He hunched his shoulders a bit. But instead, Bucky’s gaze caught on Clint’s outflung arm. He had one of his legs hooked over the back of the couch, but had somehow twisted to lie face-down, and had managed to ruck his stained white tee up to his armpits in the process. 

For a long moment, Bucky stared at the sprawled archer while Steve held his breath, waiting to see if he’d dodged a (hopefully) metaphorical bullet. It escaped in a relieved sigh as an ominous light appeared in Bucky’s eyes and a smirk lifted his mouth. It was an expression Steve was all too familiar with.

Bucky darted silently out of the room, reappearing moments later with large slip of paper. He balanced it on the back of the couch, then dashed towards the kitchen. Steve heard the sink turn on, and sat, poised, waiting to see what mayhem was about to begin.  

Bucky returned with a pair of washcloths: one damp, one dry. Steve watched as he knelt beside Clint’s couch and peeled a layer of plastic off the paper slip. With surgical precision, he laid the paper against the exposed small of Clint’s back, then layered the damp washcloth over it, and then settled back to wait. Steve had seen him defuse bombs with less delicacy.

(To be fair, Bucky’s usual method of ‘defusing’ bombs involved putting them somewhere where no one would be hurt by the detonation and then shooting them so they exploded. But still.)

Bucky glanced over at Steve, who was by now thoroughly distracted from the news. Steve raised a conspiratorial eyebrow. Bucky smirked. 

Bucky lifted the washcloth away from Clint’s back, then peeled the soaked paper away. He patted gently at the damp skin with the dry washcloth, and Clint snorted and twitched in his sleep, but didn’t rouse. 

With a final smirk, Bucky slipped away with the evidence of his crime, and Steve craned his neck to see his handiwork. 

There appeared to be an elaborate purple butterfly inked at the small of Clint’s back. 

Down the hallway, Bucky slammed a door loudly. Clint jerked awake and tumbled off the couch.

“Whaddisit? Whaz’happenin’?” he slurred drowsily.

“Nothing, Clint.” Steve answered, and smiled. Clint snorted muzzily and fell back asleep, face buried in the rug.

kingofmemes posted: 

purple really is your color, buddy.

Posted at 2:30 pm 3729 notes

“You ever think maybe Tony gets lonely down in his lab by himself all the time?” Bucky mused as he braced the heavy bag for Steve. Steve snorted noncommittally in reply, focused on the rhythm of his fists. After a few minutes, he glanced up at Bucky and caught sight of the curl at the corner of his mouth. Steve froze. 

“Buck. What’d you do.”

“Why so accusatory, Stevie? I’m as pure as the driven snow. ‘S why they called me Winter.” He shot Steve a suspiciously bright smile. 

“They called you Winter because of your strong resemblance to an icicle and you know it. What’d you do to Tony, Buck.” 

It wasn’t a question. Steve was using his Captain America Voice. He knew it wouldn’t work--it was only a pale shadow of his Ma’s Do As I Say voice, and Bucky had been defying that tone to smuggle Steve sweets for about a century. Predictably, Bucky wrinkled his nose at Steve. 

“Watch who you’re calling an icicle, Rocket Pop. And you know Tony and I are buddies now.” 

“I know you and Tony seem to be in an ongoing competition to see who can be the bigger asshole to each other.”

“Language, Stevie! ‘Sides, I was being helpful. Now his lab’s a little less lonely.”

“Oh no.”

“D’ya think Tony likes cats, Steve? I think he will.”

In the brief silence that ensued as Steve considered the multitude ways this would go poorly, a loud metallic clatter filtered up from the floor below, as though some heavy metal object had just toppled over. It was promptly followed by a familiar voice yelping “What the fuck is that?!” in an embarrassingly high pitch, and the distinctive sound of a cat yowling. 

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did you think to tell Tony about the cat you stuck in his lab, Buck?”

The overly-bright grin was back. “May have forgotten that bit, Stevie. Whoopsie.”

A muffled explosion sounded below. 

Steve sighed.

kingofmemes posted:

no, @dick-shaped-tower, i dont think ‘fucky barnes’ is a good name for a cat. 

besides, he already responds to ‘mr stank.’ 

posted at  4:53 PM, 6482 notes

“You’re the worst person, Buck.” Steve announced, while Bucky slid jalapenos into Thor’s sandwich. 

“No, that’s Sam.”

“Sam’s a war hero.”

“Still the worst though.” Bucky gave the sandwich a dissatisfied frown.

Steve crossed his arms. “What did Thor ever do to you?”

“He called my hair ‘limp.’ Limp, Stevie.”

Steve considered the severity of the insult.

“There’s wasabi paste on the top shelf. Thor’ll probably be back in about two minutes.”

“Thanks, Steve!”

kingofmemes posted:

fun fact: milk will soothe your mouth if you eat something too spicy, but if you dump a whole gallon on your face, your hair is gonna look stupid.

real stupid.

posted at 12:03 PM, 4729 notes

Steve rested his elbows back against a chunk of rubble, trying to shift some weight off his aching feet. It’d been a rough day. A doombot attack had been compounded by the unexpected arrival of the Wrecking Crew, and while the whole thing had been wrapped up quite neatly for a good half hour now, the Avengers usually waited for Dr. Banner to de-Hulk before trying to get him on the Quinjet. Nat’s lullaby hadn’t worked, but instead of going on a smashing spree, the Hulk had plopped down on an overturned police car and was idly turning cinderblocks into powder. The Winter Soldier had wandered over to watch a few minutes ago.

“Oh no.” 

Steve glanced at Tony, who had shucked the Iron Man suit several minutes ago and started poking at the insides with a screwdriver. Now, the tool was limp in his hand, and his horrified gaze was directed at the Hulk. Steve turned to look.

“Are they...about to have a thumb war?” Steve wished he sounded more surprised. 

Across the road, Bucky and the Hulk finished the rhyming chant and began to battle. Immediately, there was a metallic crunch, a soprano squawk, and a bellow of triumph from the large, green victor.

Tony ran his hands through his hair. “Well. Guess I get to field-test that new prototype arm a little sooner than I planned.”

kingofmemes posted: 

i may only have one finger left, but at least it’s the middle one.

self expression is very important.

posted at 3:46 PM, 5682 notes

Steve panted as they started their sixteenth lap of Central Park. “You haven’t pranked Nat yet, Bucky.”

Bucky shot him a glower. “I don’t want to die, Steve.”

Steve said nothing. Bucky made a good point.

kingofmemes posted:

there’s a line between stupid and suicidal, and that’s where i live. 

posted at 6:32 AM, 8529 notes

It wasn’t unusual for heads to turn as Steve passed. It’d taken him a while to get used to being what Dum-Dum called “A prime specimen of American Manhood, assuming American Manhood is really in to tights.” But these days it wasn’t something he noticed much. 

He was noticing it now, because heads weren’t just turning--eyes were going wide, mouths dropping open. Was there something on his face? He’d just gotten out of the gym shower, he should be perfectly clean.

Steve hitched his duffel a little higher on his shoulder, darting into the elevator and punching the button for the residential floor. He tried not to make eye contact with the shocked-looking people outside as the glossy doors slipped shut.

And then he caught sight of his reflection in the doors. 

Steve was pretty sure his hair wasn’t always that...blue.

He dug in his gym bag and popped the cap on his shampoo. Sure enough, it was dyed blue.

The elevator doors opened on the residential floor.  Bucky stood beyond them, cell phone camera upraised and shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Steve rolled his eyes, then propped his hands on his hips, Star-Spangled Show style, and smiled toothily into the camera.

“Admit it, Buck, I make it look good.”

“Never said you didn’t. You’re an incredibly good looking smurf.”

“Thanks. That’s so kind of you. So genuine. Jerk.”

“Punk.” 

“So what did I do to deserve this spectacular new look?”

“This is revenge for making me fish your unconscious ass out of a dumpster after you messed with the tracksuit mafia last week. You gotta spend less time with Matt and Clint. I think they’re contagious.”

“They got in a lucky hit!” Steve protested.

“Only because you weren’t wearing your helmet. I figured if your hair was bright blue you’d be more inclined to cover it up.”

Steve snorted. “Shows what you know. Hey, you think Nat has red dye and bleach? I wanna do stripes.”

“If you ask nicely, I bet she could even do stars.”

kingofmemes posted:

who’s strong and brave, has to shave the american flag?

posted at 9:51 PM, 6829 notes

Author’s Note: No cats were harmed in the making of this fic. Some genius billionaire playboy philanthropists, on the other hand...

[astridthevalkyrie]

Axe to the Heart: Chapter 20

Astrid Hofferson/Steve Harrington. “Maybe I hate a lot of things here in Hawkins but I suppose you’re not one of them.”

Chapter 19

The Camping Trip Part 3

Requested by @thewarriorofberk on Tumblr.

By the time they got out of the car, Astrid’s limbs were sore and stretching seemed like Thor’s gift to man.

She loved her friends beyond anything - but she still valued her sanity, and spending four hours in a car with six people and a cat wasn’t the most ideal (it helped that Stoick had stayed in the driver's’ seat). Now that they were out and at the campsite, it promised to be a lot more fun.

Except for the fact that she hadn’t told Steve where she was going. That was one setback. A major setback. She had...had forgot him?

No, she hadn’t forgotten him. She was just caught up in all the excitement. And Steve would find out, eventually, from Nancy or Jonathan or the kids. Not that he would be happy finding out but -

Hadn’t she proved she was a good friend? That she lo - liked him enough? One mistake didn’t mean she didn’t care about him.

Fishlegs’ hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality as everyone started taking their gear out. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she said but it was him - he saw right past her. So she didn’t elaborate on the lie, but rested her head on his shoulder. “I should have told him.”

“Yeah,” Fishlegs said, as always well-meaning but insensitive. “That would have been smart, since you said he seemed to have love issues -”

“Thanks, Fish. That’s just what I had to be reminded of.”

“Sorry.”

“Is Astrid brooding again?” Tuff called out, and Fishlegs gave her a grin before answering.

“More like pining!”

“Jesus Christ,” Astrid hissed, scowling at the both of them. Out of nowhere, Ruff’s arm was around her neck and the girl was whistling.

“Look at that, she’s not using Norse curses anymore.” She grinned and pressed a kiss to the other girl’s cheek. “Are you still our Astrid or have you become Hawkin-anized?”

The made up term was more insulting than what Ruff had actually said about her. “That is so not a word.”

“Definitely still our Astrid,” Hiccup chimed in, leaning against a tree with an amused look on his face.

There was something that was beyond pleasant about them calling her theirs. Whatever it was, it brought a nice heat to her cheeks.

But that nice feeling was replaced with the one she knew she would have once Steve asked why she hadn’t bothered to tell him before she went.

No. She was not going to throw away three days to relax with the gang just thinking about Steve. She was going to be happy, she was going to have fun, and she was not going to feel guilty over Steve Harrington. She wasn’t even going to think about Steve Harrington.

She was going to have fun.

There was many reasons that Astrid wished that Stoick Haddock was her father. And one of those reasons was that he was perfectly content to just let them go off on their own once they had set up camp.

So the first thing they did was hit the water. Literally.

Six cannonballs later, and they were splashing around, just like old times. Toothless hissed in displeasure when some of the water splashed on him, but he still stayed next to it, walking around as though he was their guard.

Hiccup pulled her down under, and she held in a laugh, tackling him. Snotlout joined at some point, and the three were soon engaged in an underwater brawl, which ended with all of them having a coughing fit after resurfacing (they stayed down for quite awhile, since all of them were too stubborn to come up first - Hiccup eventually conceded).

After drying up, they changed, and then Astrid had the pleasure of laying her head on Tuff’s head as they set up a fire and told stories. Toothless thought it was fun to walk all over her face at one point.

The best part of that was watching Hiccup scowl over how they decided to make it a competition to see who could tell the best scary story (“it’s not always a competition, guys!”).

She definitely won. And not just in terms of the competition. She was with the gang - and winning was kind of their thing.

The next day started off wonderfully lazy, which was a nice contrast from her dreams, which had been unpleasant even though she had slept next to Ruffnut.

They weren’t about Steve, weren’t reflecting the guilt that her subconscious was filled with. No, instead it was something out of a horror movie - creepy, borderline terrifying nightmares.

Whatever. As long as they weren’t real.

Ruff was still sleepy, so she was resting her head on Astrid’s shoulder as they ate breakfast. It consisted of fish and chicken - the latter of which Tuffnut refused to touch. She vividly remembered his pet, but instead of asking why she hadn’t come along, decided she didn’t want an hour long rant about it.

“Sleep well, Hiccup?” Snotlout asked all of a sudden, with a grin.

The auburn haired boy raised a brow. “Yes, I did?”

“I bet. You too, Fishlegs?”

Tuff snorted in his food, and all the teens surreptitiously looked at Stoick to make sure he wasn’t listening. Hiccup frowned, leaning in.

“Keep your voice down,” he hissed, “and, for the record, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Neither of us were sneaking around last night.”

Tuffnut glanced at Astrid with a confused look. “Was it you, Hoff?”

“No,” she said at the same time as Ruff, who must have known the question would be directed at her next.

They all shared apprehensive looks, and then Hiccup, not taking his eyes off them, called out, “Hey, Dad! Were you out of your tent last night?”

Stoick came over to sit with them, humming lightly - unaware of the tense faces surrounding him. “No, I don’t think I was. Why, did you guys hear someone?”

As they shared quick glances, not wanting to alarm him, Snotlout hastily said, “Oh, hang on. I completely forgot I went to the bathroom last night. Sorry, guys.”

Stoick didn’t notice the lie - besides Hiccup and Fishlegs, the gang was very good at lying - and Stoick began to eat.

Astrid locked eyes with Hiccup, and they nodded at each other, not needing words.

“I mean, are you sure you guys heard something?”

“Listen,” Tuff snapped, crossing his arms, “just cause you guys are tired from looking around all day doesn’t mean you get to doubt Snotman’s and my hearing. There was something creeping out last night, around our campsite. Maybe Hiccup and Fishlegs just don’t wanna admit that it was them -”

“Me and Fishlegs were not sneaking out!” Hiccup exclaimed for the umpteenth time. Astrid sighed, holding his hand in the dark.

There was a light shuffle and they all turned their flashlights at the source in a scared frenzy. But it was only Toothless, staring at them in a way that was rather disapproving for a cat.

“Dad just said he was going to bed, he didn’t say we had to,” Hiccup said defensively, as though Toothless was going to scold them. The feline merely scuttled over, nuzzling against his owner’s leg until Hiccup picked him up and started stroking him.

“Shh, it’s okay, bud. It’s okay.”

Fishlegs was staring at something, his eyes narrowed. Astrid put a hand on his shoulder and he mumbled, “Hey, what is tha -”

It leapt out and jumped at them.

Fishlegs screamed as Astrid pushed the both of them down. She heard the others yelp too, so she scrambled up wildly to stare at -

A demogorgon. But smaller than the one near Steve’s house.

Demodogs! Dustin’s voice called out in her ear, and she could swear her heart stopped beating for a moment.

It turned on all fours to face her. They were now all standing in a circle, backing up with Hiccup holding Toothless like his life depended on it. They all looked downright horrified.

The demodog growled at her, pawing its foot.

Had it...followed her here? Astrid’s heart started beating a mile a minute. What was going on back home? The gate was closed. It was closed.

But if one demogorgon could sneak out somehow, so could more.

Oh gods. The kids, and Nancy, and Steve -

The demodog jumped, everyone else screamed her name, and she ran forward and punched it.

She punched it hard enough to go flying in a tree above Fishlegs’ head, and it went limp afterwards, falling to the ground.

Trying to threaten the gang, her family, and implying that Steve or the kids might be in danger must have been the most idiotic thing the little monster had done in however long of a fucking lifespan it had.

“What was that?” Snotlout screamed hysterically, his eyes wide as he looked at Fishlegs, who usually had the answers.

(None of them looked surprised in the least that she had just punched a dangerous animal).

Fishlegs opened and closed his mouth, but it was Astrid who answered, with a snarl.

“We need to get back to Hawkins. Now.”

oKAY oh boy I am so looking forward to the next chapter because all the characters are gonna come together and i am so eXCITED -

Also I did not plan to take it this way at all (and I don’t think you did either, Erna). But one train of thought led to the other and now shit’s gonna go down.

[margarethelstone]

It’s Vanaheim

fanfiction.net

I blame @ashleybenlove​ because honestly, this story would have never been brought to life if it wasn't for her.

Then again, this story would have never been brought to life if it wasn't for her, and even though I’m sure you’re all gonna hate me for it after you finish your reading, I’m still pretty proud of writing it.

So, Ashley, thank you. Consider this story being dedicated to you :)

If you’re still wondering what on Thor’s name I’m talking about, just read on, and I’m sure you will understand ;)

Hiccup woke up with a scream.

Again.

At first, he didn’t even know where he was, incapable of recognising the familiar surrounding of his own hut. As a matter of fact, all that he was able to acknowledge at that specific moment was that he was sitting on something hard, hand pressed to his chest, breathing heavily as he rested on his other arm. Nothing felt real at the moment – nothing except his bed, his palpitating heart, and the horror he’d just seen.

Tears were sparkling in his eyes.

He lowered his eyelids, and continued to inhale, trying with all his might to calm down his shattered nerves. Toothless twitched anxiously in his sleep.

It was just a dream, Hiccup. A very bad, very realistic, very painful dream.

The young leader cursed underneath his breath, and slowly opened his eyes again. How many times would he wake up like this? Scared, shocked, with the cold sweat streaming down his back? Almost crying, because of some stupid, improbable nightmare?

“It’s not improbable,” he muttered, rubbing a hand against his face. “That’s what makes it so awful.”

The Night Fury moved again at the sound of his voice, and this time decided to raise its head, fixing its gaze on the miserable Rider. The dragon’s green eyes were filled with concern, and suddenly Hiccup felt guilty for voicing his thoughts out loud.

He smiled weakly at his winged friend, and slightly shook his head.

“It’s alright, Toothless. It’s just a bad dream. I’m fine.”

The room was definitely brighter than it had been when they went to sleep, and Hiccup easily deduced that it was just about dawn; he groaned quietly at the realisation. With the light stealing in, he was sure he wouldn’t get any more sleep.

But then again, he probably wouldn’t have anyway.

He reached for his prosthetic, and with few simple moves attached it to his leg. The noise he caused when he rose to his feet made Toothless look at him again, however, the boy only waved a hand at him.

“I’m going down, Bud,” he explained warily. “I need some fresh air to help me clear my mind, or I’ll be even more tired than if I hadn’t went to sleep at all. Don’t worry, I’ll be right before the front door.”

Having said so, he made his way downstairs, pushing away the unpleasant memories that were springing into his head. He approached the entrance, and quietly left the dwelling – only to lean on one of its walls right after, tipping his head back, so it would touch the wooden surface as well.

He closed his eyes, and sighed.

Get it together, he ordered himself for the hundredth time that morning. It is not what had happened. It is not what we saw. It’s just your unrestrained imagination, playing tricks on you with some dumb, meaningless -

“Hiccup?”

The Rider almost jumped at the sound, turning abruptly towards the person who owned it. Oh, right.

It had to be her.

“Astrid? What are you doing here?”

Oh gods, why did he even ask?

“I heard your… I heard you,” she responded uncertainly, as if she didn’t want to disturb him with her presence. “I thought it’d be better to check if everything is fine.”

Hiccup sighed again, before he asked, “I woke you up with that shouting, didn’t I?”

“What? No, no, you didn’t.” She shook her head vigorously. “I was getting ready for my morning flight with Stormly, when that… noise came from your hut.”

He laughed shortly, and yet, there was not a trace of mirth in it. “You heard a scream, Astrid. That is what it’s called. I screamed. You may as well say it out loud.”

The blonde warrior frowned, dissatisfied with an answer she’d just received, but decided not to dwell on it. She hadn’t come here to lecture him – she’d come here to help.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter what it’s called. What matters is why I heard you scream in the first place.”

The dark-haired boy slouched as another memory flickered in his mind, and winced, when the other followed. He rested his back against the wall once more, letting his arms hang along his body.

“It was just a nightmare, Astrid. Nothing serious, really.”

“The same one that’s been haunting you for the past week?”

Hiccup froze.

How do you know?

“Don’t look at me like that, Hiccup,” she responded gently to the astonished glare he’d shot at her. “It’s not the first time you left your bed at an hour at which you usually stay there fast asleep. Today it’s the dawn, yesterday it was midnight. Two nights ago it was probably some other hour. So would you please tell me what it is about?”

Her betrothed looked down at the ground, biting his lip in anxiety. Should he really answer her question? It wouldn’t change anything. It was his struggle, his fears he had to deal with… there was no reason for which he should burden Astrid with his own problems.

“How did you figure that out?” he mumbled, hoping to at least gain some more time before he made his final decision whether or not he wanted Astrid to know the details of his trouble. “You must have heard me or -”

“I hadn’t until last night,” she answered immediately. “If I had, I would’ve talked to you about it earlier; but I did notice some things. Like, when you came to the clubhouse a few days ago, the bags under your eyes were even darker than usual. You were silent during breakfast, and even more so during the day. Look, as much as I’m used to seeing you tired or under-slept, I know when it’s something more serious. So please, forget your pride for a moment, and tell me what it is you’ve been dreaming about.”

“It’s not about my pride, Astrid. It’s about the pain.”

He pulled his head back again, assuming the same position in which he’d been staying before the girl had joint him. She didn’t respond this time, and Hiccup felt grateful for that. He inhaled deeply.

“It’s Vanaheim.”

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Astrid blink in surprise; had it been at any other time, he would at least smile at the sight, but not now. He swallowed, setting his teeth, trying to force himself to actually start talking.

Why, if even thinking of that dream made him feel like fainting.

“It’s about Vanaheim,” he repeated after a moment, closing his eyes as if it was easier to go through all that without having to look at the world around him. “My trip to it with Dagur those few days back. I keep dreaming of it. It’s all just the same – we walk around the island, we find a huge skull, we go through a long tunnel hidden behind it. The Grim Gnashers attack us. We fight back, and scare them off. But it’s not just the events that mirror the real-life situation, but also the colours, the scents, the light. Everything is perfectly as it was back then. Every single detail is true to what we saw.”

Astrid remained silent, and only the sound of her quiet breathing reminded Hiccup that she was still there, listening carefully.

“And then there’s the hut. For some reason, it doesn’t have the Berserkers’ seal on the door, but we don’t care. Dagur hesitates before entering, and I urge him to do it. So he does. But then -” he paused, unable to go on, feeling his heart bang against his chest again. He clenched his fists. “Then it all changes. There are no signs of Oswald. No drawings on the wall, no shield on the floor, no letters for Dagur or Heather. There’s just one letter, addressed to me… and my father’s helmet lying on the ground.”

A tear escaped his eye, leaving a wet trace on his skin, but he paid it no mind.

“Every time I see that scene, I tell myself it’s not true. It’s Oswald who’s gone, not Stoick. It’s Dagur and Heather who must grieve, not me. Still, it is all for nothing; because a part of me knows that my Dad won’t be here forever, either, and that makes me want to scream so much more.”

He lowered his head, so his chin was now touching his armour.

He squeezed his eyes tighter.

“I know it may not happen for a while. My father is a strong, healthy man, and even in danger, he usually knows what he’s doing. But he’s a Viking, right? It’s an occupational hazard to throw yourself into some mess or another, no matter if it’s necessary or not. My Dad is a wise man, and a Chief, so he won’t act recklessly – but we both know that if there was a need for that, he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life in order to protect Berk. And yes, he’s been through a lot worse that some nasty Hunters, and still is in one piece. It may not be for another twenty years before he’s… you know,” Hiccup’s voice trembled a little. “- but I can’t be sure it will be that long, can I?”

Another tear appeared on the Rider’s cheek, and once again, it was disregarded. Hiccup was still breathing deeply; he raised his eyelids a little, just to make sure Astrid was still standing next to him.

“When we’d buried Oswald, I tried to convince Dagur he shouldn’t be too harsh on himself. That he really couldn’t have helped his father, having no idea how and where to find him… That even if he had neglected some things, it didn’t really matter, because Oswald had cared for him as for his son. I told him not to let guilt consume him – but Astrid, if anything ever happened to my Dad, and I knew I could’ve prevented it… If I knew it wouldn’t have happened if I had acted differently, I don’t think I could ever forgive myself.”

He wasn’t looking at her any longer.

For all of this time Astrid had remained silent, refraining from making even the slightest noise. She didn’t dare to interrupt the young man’s confession with her answers, knowing that the best way to make him speak was to just stand next to him, and make sure he feels listened to; besides, what was she supposed to tell him in the first place? How could she advise him in a matter so difficult when she’d only heard his tale for the first time?

Still quiet, the girl kept her gaze fixed on him, following his every move, every change of feature, every nerve on his unhappy, tired face. Usually, when he was distressed she tried to ease him with her touch and gentle words; yet, this was different. It wasn’t a time for meaningless pep talks; the casual gestures wouldn’t have worked here. She couldn’t just cup his face and smile at him, or distract him with a peck on his lips. This was serious, and she had to act seriously as well.

At the same time, it felt so wrong to just stand there, so close to him, and do nothing. Even if she knew what to say – and gods knew she didn’t – it would still seem cold and reserved, and if there was one thing she knew, it was that at this point Hiccup needed anything but cold.

After a moment of hesitation, she shifted a little, and reached for his hand, cautiously taking it in hers. To her surprise, Hiccup reacted immediately, gripping it, and making their fingers intertwine. She smiled.

Here goes.

“Your father is a great man, Hiccup,” she whispered, hoping that the boy would answer to the sound of her voice, and turn in her direction; indeed, even though he was still hunching, he had opened his eyes and gave her an uncertain glare. Astrid squeezed his hand. “You’ve said so yourself. He’s not a brainless soldier, who’d risk his life for nothing. He’s smart, and he’s skilled. I’m pretty sure that if we hadn’t managed to back him up with dragons at the Red Death’s island, he would have taken the beast down with his own bare hands.”

Hiccup finally grinned, remembering the day they had defeated the dragons’ Queen. It was a very small grin, but for Astrid it meant more than all the laughter she could get.

Hiccup sighed.

“It still doesn’t make him immortal,” he answered. “I just… I don’t know. I’ve never really thought of it, and now I’m so… overwhelmed by the idea. Just to think that one day I may wake up and find out he’s not there, it feels absurd. I can’t… explain it… But it hurts so much.”

Astrid gave him an understanding smile. “Hiccup, I almost lost my parents once. I can relate.”

That was when he straightened up, and finally looked at her properly.

She’d almost lost her parents.

Of course. How could he not think of that?

“The point is,” he stammered after another long moment of silence. “that I can’t even imagine a life in which my Dad isn’t present. Even considering how bad our relation was for most of the time… I would never have anyone else for my father.”

“And it’s the most natural thing. He’s always been there – you literally don’t know the life without him.”

“Yes, but also… Astrid, when he… goes… with my Mum gone, I will be on my own. I’ll be alone. And I’m not ready for it.”

“You will never be alone, Hiccup. Never. I promise.”

When she said that, she certainly didn’t expect her betrothed to let go of her hand, and fling himself into her arms as a result; and yet, that was exactly what he did. One moment he’d been standing next to her – the next he was burying his head in her shoulder, with his arms wrapped around her petite figure. Again, it was different from any hug they had shared so far; there was no whispering into her ear, no cuddling, no rubbing her back. Just this firm, steady embrace tightening with every passing second.

Taken aback at first, Astrid soon understood her role. She moved her own arms, embracing Hiccup’s neck, and resting her chin on his shoulder. Her hand found its way to his hair quite easily, and Astrid stroked it affectionately.

“Thank you,” she heard him mumble a moment later. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

She smiled again, and ignoring her previous doubts, she kissed the back of his head.

“Any time, Hiccup. Any time.”

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

Hiccup blinked a few times, trying to fight the tears that were once again welling up in his eyes, feeling one of them flowing down his cheek already. He could hear his friends sniffing, sighing, shifting uncomfortably while wiping their own tears. He could feel Astrid’s stare at the back of his head.

It was so much more than he could bare.

“I’m not the Chief that you wanted me to be. And I’m not the peace keeper I thought I was. I… don’t know...”

It was all his fault. It was him being so foolish, so stubborn, so childish in his belief that he could change the mind of a man such as Drago Bludvist.

After everything he’d been through so far, he should’ve known better than to try.

His mother approached him from behind, and brushed her hand against his hair. He had to do his best to focus on what she was saying, so huge was the heartache he was battling right now; but even if he didn’t believe that her words would change anything for him, he couldn’t just ignore her. He owed her that much.

She spoke about his birth, about how weak he was during his first days; she admitted she was scared, fearing he wouldn’t survive; and finally, she told him what he’d been yearning to hear for as long as he could remember.

“Your father… he never doubted. He always said you’d become the strongest of them all. And he was right.”

She probably didn’t realise how much those words meant to him. Especially the first part.

He didn’t feel any less guilty at this point, and was perfectly aware that he would feel guilty for the rest of his life. It was his fault that his father was no longer there, and nothing his mother would say could take the qualms away. However, it did remind him that no matter how broken he was at the moment, he could not forget about the lot of his people.

Stoick had not only been a father. He’d been a Chief as well.

And the needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few.

The young heir took a few steps forward, fixing his gaze on the flamed ship that was slowly fading from their view.

“I was always so afraid of becoming my Dad. Mostly because I thought I never could. How do you become someone that great? That brave? That… selfless?”

He paused.

“I guess… you can only… try.”

He might have been devastated, but he knew what he was supposed to do. He knew what he had to do.

“A Chief protects his own.”

They had to go back.

As his friends were preparing to leave the island, Hiccup walked down to the misty coast again, staring at the spot in which Stoick’s ship had been. He didn’t want to go just yet. It felt unfair to abandon his father like that, even if there was a great cause for them to do so.

Of course, the reasonable part of him was telling him that the best he could to at the moment was to take care of his tribe, just like his Dad would have done. And he knew he would listen to that part, taking off to Berk as soon as they were ready.

Yet, Hiccup was determined to use every second he had left.

He felt a hand slipping into his, and gentle fingers squeezing it slightly. He turned, and faced Astrid, who was looking at him steadily, with a sight that only bore one message.

You are not alone in this.

“I know I’m not,” he smiled at her weakly, his voice barely a whisper; he tightened his grip on her hand. “Come on, M’lady. Let’s go home.”

[cubedcoffeecake]

Guilty as Charged

Months. It had been mere months since the psychotic “god” Loki had attacked New York, and the Avengers had become worldwide heroes. Worldwide heroes by defeating the army of Chitauri and disposing of their leader.

“Disposing” of Loki hadn’t been pretty. When they found him lying in a crater in the Tower, he had already been mercilessly beaten by the Hulk. But the Avengers had all agreed: he needed to die.

Clint was kind enough to awaken the would-be-king before repeating on Loki what had been done to the man in Stuttgart. After that, Thor informed his companions that even near-immortals couldn’t live without their head.

Tony, Natasha, Bruce, Thor and Steve had all ignored the twist of guilt they felt as they watched Loki be killed, and continued to ignore it even now, as the city was being steadily rebuilt and their lives were relatively peaceful. No one was able to tell if Clint regretted it or not.

They all stayed together in Stark Tower, which Tony had reluctantly renamed Avenger’s Tower. Steve was slowly adjusting to the future’s culture; Thor was learning the ways of Midgard; Tony, Natasha and Clint were learning how to work with others better; and Bruce was beginning to see himself as a man, and not a monster.

Several holidays had come and gone since the battle, but none of them had caused Tony to be this excited. He had been talking about the wonderful fun of “Halloween” for weeks. In fact, he seemed incapable of shutting up about it.

“You’ve never bobbed for apples?!” he said to Thor in absolute horror. “We are totally bobbing for apples at my Halloween party.”

“What do you mean you’ve never dressed up for Halloween?” he asked Natasha. Before she could reply, he continued, “I’m going to make sure you have a totally amazing costume. You know what? I’m gonna make sure that you all have totally amazing costumes.”

When October 31st finally arrived, the other five Avengers were quite near dreading it. Costumes, candy, and an enormous Stark party…. Yes, this event appealed only to Tony—and, to an extent, to Thor. He thought it would be relatively like the feasts held for holidays on Asgard, and was almost looking forward to it. Plus, Tony had assured him there would be plenty of Poptarts. Poptarts made everything awesome.

Tony had somehow managed to drag Natasha into a very form-fitting catsuit and ears—she was apparently catwoman. Clint was, to his horror and everyone else’s amusement, Legolas from The Lord of the Rings. Bruce and Steve had dressed themselves as a scientist and a marine respectively. “You—you murderers of holiday spirit!” Tony had been less than pleased. Tony was a pirate. Well, he insisted he had dressed up as Nick Fury, but the others ignored him. Thor was wearing a Captain America show-suit from the 40s, and looked downright creepy.

The party had all of the traditional games: pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, etc. The Avengers had all been enjoying themselves for several hours, despite several members’ adamant pleas earlier that day to not be required to come.

It wasn’t until about 11:00pm that anything noteworthy happened.

“Do you have anything here to eat that isn’t 100% sugar?” Clint asked—okay, he was pretty much yelling—Tony.

“Nope! It’s Halloween! The Day of Candy! Don’t be a dud and eat normal people food!” Tony exclaimed loudly. “I’m not even having any alcohol! If I can live without that for a night, you can live without potato chips.”

“Um, newsflash; alcohol isn’t potato chips,” Clint said, walking off. “I’m gonna go grab my sustenance. Be back in a few minutes.”

“DUD!” Tony called after him, glaring. Steve snickered, and Natasha shook her head.

“Steve? Would you mind going to get some actual food?” she asked him. “Clint won’t share his potato chips, I assure you, and that’s not really even real food either.”

“Sure thing,” Steve agreed. “How about sandwiches? I think I saw some sliced chicken in the kitchen this morning.”

“Sounds great.”

“Would you get me one too?” Bruce chimed in. “I’m pretty hungry, and getting the Other Guy on a sugar rush sounds like a really bad idea.”

“DUDS! You are all DUDS!” Tony whined. “At least Thor’s with me. Right, Thor?”

“Of course, Friend Anthony! What more does one need than Poptarts and candy?”

“Thank you.”

Natasha and Bruce shook their heads. They were beginning to talk about the team’s latest mission when Steve burst into the room, white as a sheet. “You—you guys need to see this. Now.”

Everyone else glanced at one another for a moment, eyes widening, before they jumped up to follow him, Thor and Tony knocking over the chairs they had been sitting in in the process.

Steve led them through the Tower to the kitchen. At first, everyone was confused… Then, they saw the door to the pantry. Written in green across the door in an elegant scrawl was written:

Have you missed me?

The others stood staring, the blood drained from their faces. “Loki,” Thor whispered. “Loki.” His voice cracked the second time. Whether it was from horror or grief was undiscernible.

“He—he took Clint,” Tony said quietly, still in shock.

“How?” Natasha demanded. “He’s dead! There is no such thing as ghosts, and this isn’t a horror movie! And—and it’s Clint! He would’ve fought! There would be evidence! This—this is just Clint’s messed up revenge on Tony for making him go to the party. He’s lying in some air vent somewhere laughing at us.” She sounded so confident, so certain, that the other Avengers nodded and started back to the main room, laughing weakly at themselves for having fallen for such an obvious trick.

They re-started the festivities, resuming the games and quietly eating candy. Everything was rather half-hearted compared to before, and they were all anxiously waiting for Clint to drop out of the air vent and laugh at their overreactions, but they weren’t freaking out.

After an agonizing half hour, Bruce received a phone call.

“Really, Brucie? I don’t think I’ve ever even seen you with a phone, but you manage to get a call during my party!” Tony teased. Bruce laughed slightly.

“It’s just an old colleague I haven’t spoken to in ages. I’ll step outside for a minute and take it in the hallway.” The others nodded and went back to their game of bobbing for apples. The apples had been painted in butter, and were nearly impossible to get ahold of. Even Natasha was having trouble, and she was the queen of bobbing for apples.

Just as Thor managed to grab an apple, the four Avengers heard a crashing sound come from the hallway. With a sinking feeling of terror, they dashed out the door, praying Bruce had simply dropped his phone by accident…

When they got there, they found a cracked phone on the floor and a message on the wall.

Do please apologize to the doctor’s friend for my interrupting their conversation.

“This is a bit much, Clint. And really, Bruce. I’m ashamed. I never thought you, of all people, would encourage this,” Natasha said. The slight waver in her voice betrayed her confidence.

“He wouldn’t,” Steve murmured. Louder, he continued, “Something is going on here. I’m going to go search the Tower for the two of them. JARVIS? Where are Clint and Bruce?”

The others scolded themselves for not having thought of that earlier. “I apologize, Mister Rogers, but I do not know where Agent Barton and Doctor Banner are. The video recordings blurred when they vanished, and I am unable to locate them.”

“Well then,” Tony said hesitantly, “they must be here somewhere. JARVIS would have detected them leaving. Every door and window to outside is monitored.” The other three nodded, still shaken.

“I’ll take Natasha to check the lower—50 something floors,” Steve said. “Tony, Thor, you two take the upper half. Does everybody have their cellphones?” Everyone nodded. “Good. If you find them, call the other group. Understood?”

He received mumbled affirmations from everyone. Tony bit back a snarky comment about the army-like way Steve had given the “orders,” and gestured to Thor to follow him. Natasha and Steve took the elevator down to the ground floor, while Thor and Tony began their search in the kitchen.

The first thing the two men noticed upon entering was that the message on the pantry door was gone. They glanced at each other uneasily before beginning to look around. Thor called Clint’s name into the air vents, while Tony looked inside the cabinets. Yes, he seriously thought that Clint might be hiding in a cabinet.

Neither of them found anything, so they looked into all of the closets on the level before moving up to the next floor. Thor’s nervousness was terrifying Tony; if the god of thunder was scared, who in the world wouldn’t be?

About three empty floors later, Tony’s call started ringing. “Thank heavens, they found them!” Tony exclaimed in relief as smiles broke out on both his and Thor’s faces. “I’m going to kick those two jokers out of the Tower for this! I was getting seriously freaked out!”

Thor was agreeing with him as Tony pulled out his phone, answered the call and put it on speaker. Before he even had a chance to greet Natasha, she started frantically whispering across the line.

“Tony! Thank heaven you’re still there. Is Thor still there?” she asked, rapid fire.

“Uh, yeah, we’re both still here…” A feeling of dread was building up in Tony. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Steve’s gone.” The news hit both Thor and Tony hard. Their eyes widened, and Tony was about to start drilling her with questions, but she kept talking. “We were in one of the storage rooms on floor 14. I turned my back for less than a minute, and when I looked back, he was gone, and there was a message saying

You will not find them.

The message was written on the crate he had been standing by. Guys, he was there and then he just wasn’t. No noise, no fight, absolutely nothing. I’m on the elevator headed up to—what floor are you on?”

“We—we’re on 74. Natasha—"

“Ok. I should be there in a moment. Tony, something is wrong. This isn’t just a joke.”

She hung up on them after that last comment, leaving a thoroughly terrified Thor and Tony running to the elevator to meet her.

They got there just as the elevator dinged. As the doors opened, Thor said, “Lady Natasha! Thank Valhalla that you…” He stood next to Tony staring in complete horror at the empty elevator and green message.

Admirable attempt.

“Thor…”

“No! Perhaps—they must simply be hiding! We must have nearly found Friends Barton and Banner, and they are trying to distract us!”

“Natasha? Steve? Bruce? They would never agree to something like this!”

“Friend Stark—we must at least look.” Thor’s normally booming voice had been gradually quieting all evening, but now, it was practically a whisper.

Tony’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah… We gotta at least try,” he agreed.

Reluctantly, the two remaining Avengers got on the elevator and went down to the ground floor, slowly searching every floor for any sign of their fellow team members—of their friends.

It was 3:00am by the time they were done. They hadn’t let the other out of their line of sight during the entire search. While neither Thor nor Tony had disappeared, the messages had. There wasn’t a trace of anything having happened to the four, besides Bruce’s cracked phone.

The two had tried calling Clint, Steve, and Natasha’s phones, but none of them even rang. The phones were probably destroyed.

By the time they had given up their search and returned to the room the party had been in, Tony was beyond ready for a strong drink.

“Hey, Thor. Want some scotch…” Tony turned around with the bottle of alcohol he had picked up to face his companion—to find that he had no companion.

Glass shattered across the floor as Tony caught sight of the nearest wall and dropped the bottle.

Looks like you are the only one remaining. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Thor gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. He looked up and felt his blood run cold. He was no longer standing in Avenger Tower with Tony. The land around him was dark, and appeared to be dry and rocky. There wasn’t a plant or living creature to be seen, no matter what direction he turned. He could hear the wind hoarsely moan as it swept over the desolate landscape, but other than that, there was nothing.

Nothing, that is, until he looked up.

The sky was alive in a way Thor had never seen—not even in Asgard. Entrancing multi-color nebulas spun above his head, accompanied by comets swiftly flying closer to the ground than he had ever imagined. They seemed to fly less than a mile above him. There were millions upon billions of stars, all shining brighter than the brightest ones visible in Midgard. The sky was as alive as the land was dead.

“Beautiful, don’t you think?”

Thor’s heart stopped. Slowly, he turned around to look at the all-too-familiar bearer of the voice. Only, he didn’t look familiar at all. He looked nothing like Thor remembered him in any of his memories, happy or not. Then again, he was dead.

“Are you not happy to see me, brother?” The way he lowered his voice to an icy whisper on the word brother sent chills down Thor’s spine.

Loki was barely visible, and by no means corporeal. He wore his Jotunn skin. Thor had never seen his brother’s true form. Dark cobalt skin decorated with tribal markings, long black hair, and a smirk that chilled him to the bone. The worst of it was how Loki’s form was transparent and flickered.

“Not quite what it used to be, is it?” Loki asked tauntingly, following Thor’s gaze and looking at his flickering form. “Enough to do the job, though.”

Those words didn’t help calm Thor’s panic at all. Then again, they probably weren’t meant to. “Br—brother… What is going on? What…?” He didn’t understand. Loki was dead. He had killed him. Taken off his head.

His smirk grew as Loki guessed from Thor’s expression—confusion and horror mixed with repressed guilt—what he was thinking about. “How can I be here? Living? If you actually call this form living. I cannot even touch you. Ah, but I should not even be able to haunt you, should I? No, not since you watched as Barton… “removed” my eye. No, not since you took my head from my shoulders as I screamed and begged you to stop. No, I should not be able to be here. I am no longer your problem, am I?” he questioned, his manic smirk growing.

“N—no! Loki, I—“

“But that is all in the past now, is it not?” Loki continued, cutting Thor off. “Now, it is my turn.”

“Loki! What is this?!” Thor exclaimed. Confusion was quickly giving way to terror. He was defenseless, in some strange, very uninviting land, with what appeared to be the ghost of his little brother, whom he had killed. “How are you doing this? Why?” he cried.

Laughing, Loki replied, “You never did understand me, did you?” He began to slowly circle Thor. “Surely you cannot have forgotten you own niece.” He had. “My precious girl, whom the All-Father banished to Helheim. Well, she did quite well there, you see. Took over the entire Realm and became queen, in fact. Queen of the dead. Well, she did her very best to make me feel welcome when you sent me there. Even told me about this remarkable holiday. All Hallow’s Eve, the mortals used to call it. A day when the border between the Realm of the living and the dead was so weak, spirits could go back to their old homes and haunt any who had wronged them. Few do it anymore, but I thought it a beautiful opportunity to ensure that you never forget about the “brother” you murdered. May you hold on to your guilt for eternity, you forað!” he yelled, disappearing into a mist.

Thor stood, shaking in fear, shock, and guilt, for what could have been seconds or hours. There was no way of telling in this… place.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but Thor refused to allow them to spill. He took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes to clear the tears, and began to walk. He didn’t know where to go, but he needed to go somewhere.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this scared. He doubted that he would be able to use his fists to get out of this, but his fists were all he had. Not only that; Loki’s words haunted him. “No, not since you took my head from my shoulders as I screamed and begged you to stop.” “…haunt any who had wronged them.” “…to ensure that you never forget about the “brother” you murdered.” “…hold on to your guilt for eternity, you forað!”

It felt like he had been traversing this barren wasteland for days, but Thor doubted it had been much more than an hour, if that. He still had not seen any sign of life here besides himself, and he was beginning to feel a gnawing loneliness. Lonely. Like Loki had always claimed to be.

Thor roared in frustration. Every thought he had was somehow twisted to involve Loki. He felt cold; Loki learning he was a Frost Giant had started all this. The blue nebulas visible when he looked up to the kaleidoscope that was the sky led to similar thoughts. Dead trees reminded him of the people Loki had killed in New York. The rocks on which he walked were nearly identical to the dreary landscape of the shore on which Loki’s meager funeral had been held. It was a never-ending cycle that he thought might drive him mad.

To his immense relief, a sound suddenly reached Thor’s ears across the wilderness. “Thor!” He stilled, straining to hear the voice again over the soft moaning of the wind. “Thor! Can you hear me? It’s Steve!” Relief flooded over him. He hadn’t thought about his friends until now, so preoccupied was he in thinking about his… “conversation” with Loki, but now he was incredibly relieved to realize that they were not only alive, but were here with him.

Horrible images of his friends meeting their ends on this forsaken rock came crashing into his mind, but he shoved them aside, focusing instead on the fact that he was no longer by himself. “Steve! Friend Steve!” he bellowed, shouting significantly louder than Steve had been. Thor squinted in the direction he thought he had heard Steve’s voice come from, and saw three wraithlike figures moving quickly toward him.

His first reaction to the sight was to step back and prepare to defend himself against foes, but he ceased his instinctual action, realizing, on closer inspection, that the figures were very clearly Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, and Bruce Banner. The land, he thought, must be wicked through and through, to the extent of disturbing one’s mind to find problems where there are none. That idea did little to dampen his spirits, however, as he began to run toward his fellow Avengers as fast as he could. He was significantly faster than all three of them—he was struck with the memory of how Loki could always beat him in a footrace—, and they quickly crossed the difference between one another.

“Thor! Thank goodness! We were so worried! Are you all right?” Steve asked, only a slight bit out of breath from the run.

“Yes, I am—quite shaken, but all right.”

Steve winced, as if, for a moment, he had forgotten about why they were all there in the first place.

“Did Loki—“talk” to you, too?” Clint asked, coming up behind Steve, a bit out of breath, but still able to speak.

“Yes. He—he had quite a bit to say.” Thor’s gaze dropped to the ground, and both of the other Avengers understood the words he hadn’t said: That Loki had had a lot of blame to place; to correctly place.

“Y-yeah,” Bruce panted, coming up behind Steve and Clint as they turned to look at him, “I guess we were all guilty as he charged us-s.” The others nodded grimly. Even Clint looked haunted by whatever Loki had said to him. None of them asked, though; there was a silent agreement between the four that their conversations with Loki were a taboo topic.

They all stood in silence for a few minutes—or was it hours?—before Thor spoke up once more. “How did you find one another? I have been wandering alone for quite some time.”

“We just kinda happened upon each other, I guess,” Bruce replied. “I was wandering around, trying not to panic and Hulk out, and Steve and Clint found me.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “I found Clint pretty much right away. I headed toward the nearest landmark I could see—this enormous tree—and Clint had already climbed it and was creepily staring at me when I noticed him.”

Thor smiled half-heartedly at Clint’s attempt at mock indignation, before commenting, “Do you think the others are here?”

Steve frowned. “Aren’t Natasha and Tony at the Tower?”

“No. Lady Natasha disappeared on her way to meet Anthony and me,” Thor informed them. “We then searched the entirety of the Tower for you, but you were gone. As were the messages. It unnerved us greatly.”

The others nodded. “They told me about the messages,” Clint murmured.

Thor sighed. “Yes. Loki has always had a way with dramatics. As for Anthony, I think it is safe to assume that Loki has brought him to this strange land, as well.”

After a few more moments of tense silence, Steve suggested they continue searching for their friends, and the others agreed.

Natasha was discovered fighting terrified tears some short time later. Clint held her for a few awkward minutes, before she calmed down enough for them to continue. Loki had clearly known exactly where to strike. Though she continued to cling to Clint, she soon recovered.

It was a very, very long, silent trek later that they found Tony, curled in on himself at the base of a rock protruding from the landscape. Whether Loki had found a sensitive spot, or Tony just hadn’t recovered from his mental prodding yet, they couldn’t tell. He quickly managed to pull himself together enough to tease Natasha about when her and Clint’s wedding would be, so the others decided he was good enough to move on. To where, though, no one had the slightest idea.

As they passed a tree a little while later, Tony commented in a bored tone, “We’ve passed that tree before.” He then began to say that about every tree or other landmark they passed, until the others were about ready to abandon him.

Just as he began to speak up again, Bruce exclaimed, “Look!” He pointed a bit to the west of a nearby tree… and the others froze when they saw what he was gesturing to.

It looked like a doorway, opening right in the center of the dead landscape. The soft, warm golden glow that shone through it was a sharp contrast to the bright vibrant lights of the sky above them.

“Is—is that—?” Steve stuttered, his eyes adjusting more quickly than the others’.

“That looks like a doorway crossed with a magic portal,” Tony observed. “I wanna go through it.”

Clint rolled his eyes, and was about to snap at Tony for being ridiculous at a time like this… But Tony was actually walking toward the doorway. The others quickly yelled for him to stop, and ran after him when he ignored them.

The closer Tony got to the doorway, the more it looked like you could see the skyline of New York through it. The image was so clear and sharp, though, he could barely look at it long enough to tell.

After a few moments, Tony reached the doorway and walked through it, the others following in their attempts to stop him. One moment, they were in the starry wasteland, and the next, with seemingly no transition, they were all standing on the roof of the Tower.

Natasha instantly spun around, and saw the doorway, clearly showing the land they had just left. The others slowly turned around too, and were left speechless at the sight of it.

As the first rays of morning light rose over the city, the doorway faded out of existence, and the Avengers were left standing on the roof of Avengers Tower, as if nothing had happened.

“I… that… Guys, please tell me that was not just the creepiest, most scarring nightmare of my life. That really happened - right?”

“Y- yes, Friend Stark, everything you believe happened truly happened,” Thor replied.

After a few more minutes of dumbstruck silence, Steve sprinted across the roof to the door leading inside, and the others followed. They ran to the elevator, and took it down to the level the party had taken place on, ignoring JARVIS’ questions about their wellbeing, and found the room to be void of any sign of the party that had taken place the night before.

The only thing the Avengers saw out of the ordinary was an all-too-familiar shade that was smirking at them from the corner, before it faded away.