#about his feelings and danny became Steve's safe place

[herveiwfromthefloor]

Of course this is the first post I read on Tumblr today, I wasn't expecting to get hit by mcdanno so hard. 5x07 is such a gem of an episode and it amazes me how with every rewatch people have more thoughts and metas. My favorite type of episode is a super whumpy and emotional one with lots of family stuff mixed in and that's basically 5x07 in a nutshell. I'm always so amazed with Alex's acting, he leaves me breathless.

I started writing in the tags and then I couldn't stop so they get quite rambly. Sorry to anyone who reads this. 🤣

Tonight they broadcasted episode 5x07.

Huh. Been a while since I last watched it.

I'm not here to state the obvious, since there are better meta around here. I'm not even entertaining the thought of why Steve chose not to redeem Kamekona or Jerry.

No. It's another idea that's obsessing me since the first minutes of the episode (as always, I'm ignoring the only thing in canon that I allow myself to ignore, i.e. P*L existence. Things go like this bc reasons, not surely their writing).

The thing is, since when I remember existing, I've always been a lucid dreamer, meaning I'm almost always aware of being asleep and dreaming, and most of the times I'm also able to shift, change and control what happens inside the dreams, wake up at command if things get horrible, or in case they're good or interesting (very rare eventuality) and I'm suddenly awakened, I can go back and resume the dreaming from where it stopped.

See my point? I suddenly understood that, drugs or not, there was no way Steve could've been awakened, tortured, drugged, and then start dreaming/hallucinating exactly from the moment he had stopped, keeping the story continuity. He was subconsciously steering the dream. He had some sort of control over it, despite his conditions.

Not just this. He was given drugs to tell the truth...so what I implied, is that Steve was specifically imagining something he believed so strongly inside his head, that his subconscious had subverted reality and translated it into this new one.

Which means....how many times Steve had already daydreamed about this alternate reality? How many times had he indulged in these sort of reverie, sitting alone on his chair at night, on the sand, listening just to the ocean waves? How long had he refined this fantasy of his, carving details and sceneries, choosing words and actions, settings, characters? How many times had this alternate universe he wanted so desperately to be reality, come visiting him in his dreams, and how many times had he changed some subtle detail until his story and Danny's were perfectly never-endingly happy, and yer together?

Steve has spent his whole fucking life being the savior, the protector, the defender, the self-sacrificing lamb. Steve has always been the one never allowed to fail, except for Freddie, and his dad. He couldn’t save Freddie, because it was his oen fault and his own alone, and nobody could've prevented Freddie's death except Steve, and Steve failed.

Not his dad. Listen, in this universe he could've saved Victor's brother, and so also his dad. But Steve is fucking tired of saving everyone and everything and never fucking up, so in this universe he fucked up too. It wasn’t Steve changing fate: it was Danny. Danny is Steve’s valorous knight in shining armour. Danny is Steve’s savior, Steve’s protector, Steve’s defender. Danny's the one saving his father, capturing Hesse, gaining the intel from him with questionable methods thus sparing Steve from always staining his hands, finding Wo Fat.

Danny here has Steve's back in many ways, much more than usual. Danny saves Steve from falling deeper into the pit he's nevertheless fsllen after his father death. Danny's changed Steve’s fate, even more than in reality: not for nothing, Steve’s and Danny's scene drinking beer on the beach at the end of the day is replaced with Steve and John drinking the same beers in the same spot at the same hour. Danny's become Steve’s father figure after John's death, but in a universe where John was saved in time, it's been Danny, Steve’s hero, the father who's replaced his own, saving John....not Steve.

Of course Danny is happy, of course he's chosen Ohau over Jersey (because Steve still fears Danny will flee away), of course he's married with an adored Rachel (because Steve is still heartbroken after Danny's hook-up with her after the sarin, and of course he cannot believe he could ever beat her for Danny's heart), of course Danny drives Steve around (because Steve unconsciously would love so damn hard to let Danny take control and chase every worry away), of course it's Danny asking Steve to stay and work with him.

And so on. Every little detail is hurting even more if you think that maybe Steve was just reliving a fantasy he'd honed and polished for years, night after night, daydream after daydream, waiting for his brave knight to barge in and save him from himself and his fate.

I'm not ok.

[h50bigbang]

Title: The War You Left Behind Became Mine   Author: Merlin_Wolfgang_Trades_Hale Artist: whateverfandomworks Relationship(s): Danny "Danno" Williams/ Steve McGarrett Rating:  R   Genres: Romance, friendship Warnings: References to Depression/Depression Spoilers: Post-canon finale  Summary:  The ache left behind by Steve felt like a second pulse. One that rang through his mind, body, and soul that seemingly kept him trapped in a feeling of weakness and vulnerability that he’s come to heavily dislike. Danny tries to silence that ache by pushing himself to his limits in getting better, getting back into the thick of it, and all while upholding and keeping safe the place Steve could still call home. Danny didn’t doubt Steve would come back, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t taken stock of how much his leaving has left him feeling…lesser. And empty.

When Steve returns the island is still standing. Heck, it’s thriving even. And it’s clear to see how and why.

Whatever pride he feels, it’s eclipsed with worry about the strain Danny’s taken on because of his departure. That worry itself is somewhat shadowed by the worry about his place in Danny’s life now. When he walked away to heal, he didn’t think of it as walking a different path from Danny.

As wounded as they’ve been over the decade…can they ever fully heal? Especially this last divide that he himself has caused them?

Wordcount: 13,128 

[raineydays411]

So warm and tender

Tony Stark x Daughter!reader

A/n: Hello! finally the last part of Ember. I hope you guys like it and sorry for making y’all wait so long for the confrontation lol)

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

Y/n’s POV

“Aunt Pam?!” you say in shock as you stop struggling against the vine wrapped around your body.

“Y/n, is it really you?” your aunt said as the vine loosened its grip and gently lowered you on the ground. “ Where have you been? Everyone has been going crazy looking for you”

You don’t answer as you look at your aunt. You didn’t realise you missed her as much as you did but now all you want to do is throw yourself in her arms. So you did.Pam, sensing you needed comfort rather than an interrogation, wrapped her arms around you. “I missed so much my Petal.” 

With those five words, all the hurt and pain you bottled up came out. and you cried.

As you cried, your aunt looked at the girl she hasn’t seen in eight years, and wondered what she’s been going through and if she did the right thing by giving you to your father all those years ago.

“Petal, I think you need to explain what’s going on”

You look up and sniff, “ Yeah, i think an explanation is well in order.” and you tell her everything. From the years of being ignored by your father, your last argument, the two weeks you spent in captivity, and your new powers. 

“ And that’s when I found you.” You finish looking at the grim faces of Pam and the other woman, who now that you think about it looks really familiar. 

“Oh, you poor puddin’!” you found your face being squished between two ands and then you were comically pressed against a body in a tight hug. 

“Don’tcha worry bout a thing, me and Pammy will take care of everything, you just sit here and---”  This seems familiar...

“ Harley, I don’t think she can breathe.” “Oh right, now you remember, it the blonde woman who used to sneak into the apartment”. You think to yourself as you struggle to get loose from her grip. You hear someone snicker and see Danny looking at the commotion. 

“ Shut up Danny, where have you been?” You say, forgetting that you’re the only one who can see him. 

“Exploring, do you thing she could hug me like that too?” 

“ If you weren’t already dead, I’m sure they would kill you for that comment”

Pam and Harley look at each other in concern as it seems like you’re talking to yourself. 

“ Hey kid, if you’re gonna talk to yourself, try an’ do it when other people can’t see you, like me.”  The blonde says as if someone talking to themselves was a daily occurrence for her.  You explain that with your powers, you were basically dead and can speak and see other dead people. Hearing that, Pam’s expression darkened

“He let you die?” she said in a grim tone. All the vines and plants in the room started whipping around angrily as if they were looking for the person who wronged you. It was then when you realized it wasn’t your Auntie Pam who taught you how to plant petunias you were looking at, this was Poison Ivy. 

“ Men, you can never trust em’. Well, whadda say little flower, ya up for a little premeditated murder?” and that was the infamous Harley Quinn. 

“ It would’ve been nice to know that you’re related to scary criminals y/n....” Danny said in a fearful voice. And if you were being honest you just found out that your aunt Pam was also the Poison Ivy but to be fair you haven’t seen her since you were like eight. 

“I don’t want to kill him” you finally say. “ I don’t want anything to do with him. Nor his precious Spiderling.” The plants calm down as Ivy calmed down and was your aunt Pam again. “ What do you want to do?” she asks.

You think to yourself and say,” I want him to know how he made me feel, and then I want to stay with you.”  Your aunt and Harley froze when you said that. 

“Petal, there is nothing I want more than for you to stay with me again,” She started, “ But it isn’t safe for you to stay.” Your eyes started to water

“But I-I have powers now, I can defend myself! I won’t be any trouble, it’ll be like I’m not even here” At this point, anything was better than going back to being invisible. “Please...I don’t want to go back...” 

Hearing the desperation in your voice broke Pams, Harleys, and Danny's heart. Pam because this was the daughter of her closest friend. She vowed to protect you from anything the day you came to her after losing your mother. Seeing you like this just reminded her how she, in her mind, has failed you. Seeing you so desperate to get away from the man who broke your heart reminded Harley of herself. The nights she would sneak into the tiny apartment you shared with Pammy, in hopes of escape only to get drawn back with empty promises. So yeah, she had a small soft spot for you. And Danny, you were the only person who saw him after months of being invisible. He felt like he needed to help you in your mission to get your father regret ignoring you.

“Hey Pammy...maybe we should call him...” Harley started to suggest. 

“NO, I’d rather drink weed killer than go to that...orphan collector for help.” the red head spat. “ No. We’ll figure it out but she can stay here for now.”

Hearing that you had a place to call home now, gave you the motivation to go and confront your father. Not only for ignoring you, but for leaving you in that..cell for two weeks. He didn’t even attempt to look for you as far as you knew. You’d have thought at least one of the other Avengers would have came to save you. But no one came. After all those years, no one came.

“Y/n.. your eyes” Danny whispered, his cold hand touching your arm snapped you out of your mind. The neon glow of your eyes faded to your normal e/c. 

“ Aunt Pam, Harley is there any way you guys can get me to New York and back?” You ask, finally ready to confront your father. 

“ Well....” Harley say as with a smirk

~~~~~~~~~one terrifying ride on a stolen batplane later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon arriving to New York you made Pam and Harley wait a few blocks away from the tower, as you really didn’t want the Avengers to find out your aunt was a wanted criminal. You “went ghost” as Danny like to call it and snuck into the Tower with ease. You then snuck into your room, seeing everything covered in a layer of dust as no one has been in there for over two weeks. You packed a bag and filled it with some clothes, books and a picture of you and your mother. You took that bag and walked to the door, looking around at the room that was both you prison and safe space. It was decorated with multiple trophies, medals, and ribbons all from the multiple sports and clubs you joined to impress your father. Not like that ever happened. Danny wander around looking at the multiple teams photos you had hung up.

“ You’re a volleyball girl?” he said, “ Huh. I’d never have had guessed.” 

You rolled your eyes as you finished packing. “ Hey I have a job for you.” you say turning to him. “ I need you to go to the control room and turn off the power for thirty minutes. Then turn it back on and come find me in the common room.”

“ Yes ma’am” Danny says, saluting and disappearing through the wall before he comes back. “Ummm, wheres the control room?” 

You roll your eyes and explain how to get to the control room and wait. When the lights go out and you’ll make your move. Your father would have to pass through the common room to get to the control room from his lab, which you assume he’ll be. There you’ll be waiting for him. 

The lights go out. It’s showtime.

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

Tony's POV

The team spent three more days searching for you. They followed every lead and half of the team even flew out to the building that collapsed an hour ago. Tony, Steve, and Natasha stood behind to look at more clues. It was a little past midnight, and both Steve and Natasha went to bed leaving Tony to tinker in his lab. Tony was making improvements to a certain spider suit as he thought about what his daughter said to him before she went missing.

“Sir, there seems to be someone in Y/--” FRIDAY started to say when the power cut out.

“FRIDAY??” Tony questioned as he walked out to check the control room, making sure to get his nano bracelet just incase. As he walked down the hallway he thought about waking up Steve and if he was brave enough to wake Natasha when he heard it.

“Hi daddy.”

Tony stopped dead in his tracks as he looked up in disbelief. The lights turned back on to reveal his daughter. Wearing a black halter top, spandex leggings, grey boots with elbow length gloves. She looked skinny, as if she hadn’t had a proper meal in the weeks she was gone. And for some reason the air was cold in the room. But there she stood.

‘Y/n” Tony said breathlessly. 

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

Y/n pov

As you wait for Tony to walk in,you look around the common room and reminisce. You think about the time when you first moved in, and you got lost trying to find the bathroom and accidently walked into Natashas room. YOu thought she was going to kill you but ended up walking you to the restroom and back to your room. Or when you made the volleyball team way back in eighth grade, and you ran home to tell your dad but ended up telling the whole team, who were rarely all together, and they all took you out to get ice cream, minus Tony. You had to admit, even though your dad didn’t pay attention to you, Nat and Steve did. As well as the whole team, but those two really became the parental figures in your life. That’s why it hurt when not even they came for you. Even they had forgotten you.

“Hi daddy” you said in a mocking voice. Your father stopped dead in his tracks, as he looked you over in disbelief.

“Y/n”, he said in a breathless voice. 

“Oh, you remember my name?” You say in an sarcastic tone. “ Didn’t seem like you did when you left me in a hydra cell for two weeks.” 

Hearing that you were a prisoner of Hydra made Tony’s blood freeze. 

“Hydra? Oh Y/N are you okay? What did they do to you?” He asked frantically as he walk towards you with the intent of checking if you were injured. You jerk away from him, avoiding his touch and say

“ Oh, I’m wonderful. Just so fucking fantastic. I was just experimented on and injected with various liquids that caused excruciating pain. No big deal” 

“ Y/n..we spent days trying to look for you. Me and the team--”

“You and the team what Tony? I was there for two weeks. TWO WEEKS I WAS POKED AND PRODDED. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE.” You scream, anger filling your heart as you remember the agony you went through. You think about the scratches on the wall of the cells, the taunts from the guards, and screams of the undead.

“ You have no idea what I went through. What I’m going through.” You say, feeling your body grow colder as you lose control and start to shift. “ You don’t care about me. If I were Parker, you would have saved mem within SECONDS.”

“That's not true. Y/N you have no idea how much I love you.” Tony tries to say. He’s filled with the need to tell you everything he didn’t tell you before. “I know I haven’t always been the best father. Trust me I know that now. But if you give me a chance, I want to make everything right. Please.” 

You didn’t think it would go like this. In fact you were not at all prepared for Tony to say this. You expected to walk in on him continuing his life as normal, tinkering in his lab and such. You had always yearned to hear him say those words to you. But now, they just fill you with anger.

“You think you could just tell me what I want to hear and what? I’ll just act like nothing happened?? I know you’re not that stupid.” You spit, the room growing colder as you get angrier. “ It’s too late for all that Tony. I’m not the same girl i was two weeks ago.i won;t take it any longer.” 

“Y/n..your eyes” Tony says as he slowly starts to put his gauntlet bracelet on, realising that you are becoming a threat. 

“ Oh do you like them?”, You ask “ This is what happened when they injected me. I can also do this.” You shift, shades of blue taking over brown skin. Tony stared at you in awe and a bit of fear. 

“ Y/n this isn’t you. I know you’re angry but--” “ Isn’t me?” You interrupt.” You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m like. And even if you did the old me died in that cell. Literally I died” You and Tony stared at each other. and that's when you heard the doors open. Two sets of footsteps started rushing to the commotion. 

“Y/N some red head and beefy blonde are on their way” You hear Danny say as you realize you had to wrap it up. If anyone can convince you to stay, it’s Steve and Nat.

“ It doesn’t matter anymore Tony.” you say as you start walking to the window. “ I can’t stay here anymore. There’s nothing for me. You win. Peter can be the child you always wanted cause from now on, consider me dead.” and with that, you phase threw the window and let yourself fall, knowing that you won’t actually fall as you can fly. 

Tony freaks out and calls for his suit, only to see a blue blur shoot up and across the sky. Then he just sits there and stares. The footsteps reach the common room and he hears someone ask 

“ Stark..what was all the yelling. What's going on?” 

“she's gone” He says, and that's when he truly realizes his mistake. He became what he never wanted to become. He became his father. And now you were gone.

Taglist: @vxidsti1es @big-galaxy-chaos

[merlin-wolfgang-trades-hale]

McDanno Proposals #1

For @mcdannoangelwolf who asked for McDanno proposal involving Charlie somehow. I did a few McDanno proposal scenarios and they can be found in my fic here! 

"Uncle Steve!" Grace ran into Steve's open arms.

Steve hugged her and even spun her around. "Hey, Grace. How was school?"

"Good. Nothing exciting to report though. What are you doing here? Where's Danno?" Grace asked as they walked over to Steve's truck.

"Your aunt's birthday is coming up, so he went with Eric to go do a bit of shopping. I told Danny I'd pick you up," Steve replied.

Grace smiled, "You didn't have to. I could have gone to the Grover's with Will."

"What? You're not beginning to get embarrassed by me too are you?" Steve asked with mock hurt. And okay, maybe actually hurt. He knew he teased Danny when he moped about Grace entering her teenage phase and didn't want to hang out with her parents much anymore. Steve could handle it because he knew Grace really, deep down, loved her parents...and that she thought Steve was cool.

She rolled her eyes. "Only when you start acting like a dad. But you know I love hanging out with you."

Steve smiled as he took off. It made him a bit worried about the subject he wanted to talk to her about though. He pushed it to the back of his mind. Right now, it was time to spend time with his girl. "Well, there's something I actually wanted to talk to you about, but I also think it's been a while since we've had one of our Steve-Gracie days."

"True. So where are we going?"

"I was thinking of getting some shaved ice?" Steve suggested.

"Always a classic."

~~

They spend a good hour just catching up. Grace tells Steve about school, college choices, her and Will. Steve, in turn, tells her about the things he can tell her about Five-Oh. The whacky shenanigans, crazy bets, and wild stories that are on the family-friendly side.

"Are you and Danno okay?" Grace blurted out.

When they first got together, no one was really surprised. They apparently tried to keep it a secret, but that only resulted in some hilarious moments in the building. Once it was out in the open, they were no different...other than people could tell when they did it because Steve would have the biggest and stupidest smile. Or that their protectiveness was fiercer, as well as their jealousy.

Grace knew that they had a bit of a relationship problem when Joe passed and then the thing with Greer. But they worked through it and it seemed like it was back to normal.

"What? Yeah, yeah...we're fine. We've...we've worked it out. Sure some days we have moments but they pass." Steve reassured her.

She sighed in relief. Out of all of Danno's partners, Steve was the best for many reasons. He was strong and resourceful and helped keep Danno safe. Steve was also witty and sharp and kept Danno interested mentally, and loved him so damn much. Sometimes though, that love leads to them making bad decisions. In recent events, Steve leaving without keeping in touch with Danno. Grace had given Steve an earful, that's for damn sure.

"So...what is it then?" She asked as she sipped from her milkshake. Steve seemed to want to talk about something serious, so when the shaved ice was gone, they stayed and ordered something else.

Steve fidgeted for a moment, but Grace didn't hurry him. It wasn't every day that Steve acted like this...unless he was in trouble. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, even though her mind jumped from one crazy scenario to another. With Uncle Steve...it was all too easy.

Grace was pulled out of her thoughts when Steve pulled out a ring box and showed it to her. Her eyes widened comically as she reached for it, "No way!"

Steve blushed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, yes way...well, hopefully. I...I love him. I know we've talked about it not mattering, ya know. It's just a piece of paper and our love was bigger than that but...I want to. I want to legally call him my husband. I want to be given rights in case anything happens. I'll try to make sure they don't but...I don't want to be pushed aside if they do."

"Not to mention if you guys ever get arrested, you can't be made to testify against each other," Grace said teasingly.

Steve chuckled, "Yeah, there's also that."

"Oh my god! This is amazing!" Grace said happily.

"You think so? Cos...I'm kinda here asking for a blessing."

"Really?" Grace cooed, it was so cute.

"You mean the world to him, Grace. You're his baby girl and your opinion matters. Your opinion also means a lot to me too...I want to ask Charlie too but more towards when I actually ask Danny. Charlie-"

"He's not the best secret keeper, no." Grace agreed. She scooted over and hugged Steve tightly. "I love you and I love you guys together. You make him happy and you've always been part of our family. You have my blessing. But if you hurt him...just know that I have enough blackmail to get Eric to get rid of evidence for me." She said very seriously.

Steve laughed and pulled her into another hug. "Mahalo, Gracie."

"So! How are you going to do it?"

~~~

"Hey Charlie, how's it going?" Steve asks and holds his hand in a high-five.

Charlie high fives him and smiles, "Hey Uncle Steve! Where's Danno?"

"Oh, he went to go pick up Gracie from practice today. I told him we'd stay here and get some homework done, yeah?"

"Okay. It's not hard. Just gotta practice some spelling." Charlie said as he grabbed his backpack and pulled out his workbooks.

Steve helped him set up and let Charlie explain to him what his teacher said and what was needed for today. They settled in and Steve helped Charlie when needed. He knew he had some time. Grace would distract Danny for at least an hour.

"So Charlie...you know how much I love Danno, right?" Steve began.

Charlie nodded. "Danno loves you too...even if sometimes you make him lil mad."

Steve chuckled, "I know. It's part of why I love him...and you know that we're dating right. That I'm Danno's boyfriend?"

"I've seen you guys kiss, even if there's no mistletoe." Charlie snickered, as a kid talking about 'love' would do.

"That's right. Well, I can't help it. I just love Danny so much...and I was wondering...what do you feel about having another daddy?"

Charlie furrowed his brow, confused. "Like Stan?"

"Eh...sort of. Kinda...I mean me. Do...would you like if I became your other daddy?" Steve asked, not wanting to really get into the whole Stan thing.

"But you are already, right?"

"Well, I do love you like a son. And I help you with homework, and I tuck you in with Danno...I do a lot of dad things. But legally, I am not...but I want to be. I...I want to marry Danno."

"You do?" Charlie asked happily.

"I do." Steve nodded. "But I need your permission...can I be part of this family?"

Charlie chuckled as he leaned over and kissed Steve's cheek, "You already are. But if ya wanna marry Danno, you should!"

"Really? Oh thanks, Charlie...then can I ask you for a favor?"

"What?"

"Can you draw up a card for me to give to Danno, asking him?"

~~~

"I can't believe I'm indulging it," Danny muttered as he served pancakes for dinner.

"It's once in a while babe. And you promised pancakes for breakfast but we didn't have time." Steve said.

Danny rolled his eyes before cutting up Charlie's pancakes in manageable pieces. Charlie was a bouncing ball of energy, so Danny said, "Little syrup...you're so hyper today. What? Did you eat your weight in sugar?"

"No..." Charlie chuckled, looking between Steve and Grace.

"What? What's with the look?" Danny asked with suspicion.

Steve knew that if he wanted this to work the way he wanted to, it would have to happen now. "Charlie's made you a card, and he can't wait to give it to you."

"A card? What's the occasion?" Danny asked.

"You need an occasion to get a gift from your kids?" Steve teased.

"No, but...that smile was really suspicious. What are you plotting?" Danny 'demanded'.

"Go get it and put Danno out of his misery," Grace told her brother, trying and failing, to hide a smile herself.

"Kay!" Charlie wobbled off his chair before running to go get the card he made with Uncle Steve. He ran back and handed it to Danny.

Steve made sure he was sitting in the right place. So the moment that Charlie gave Danny the card, he could reach into his pocket and grab the ring box and be prepared to drop down on one knee.

Danny grabbed the card and opened it. He stared a bit at the writing, not because he couldn't read it but because he was a bit confused by 'Will you let Uncle Steve become Papa Steve?'. Danny put the card down, ready to ask Charlie what he meant when he gasped. Steve was on one knee, ring box held out to Danny, a shy smile on his face. "So? Will you marry me?"

"Yes!"

Steve placed the ring on Danny before kissing the hell out of him. The kids get up and hug them. Danny complains, but not really, about all his loved ones ganging up on him but...he's so damn happy right now he could burst.

[five-stages-of-gris]

Welp, @sadghostgirl001 here it is. Nearly 4K of salt and fluff. I hope you like this.

Warnings: omegaverse, Team Cap being dicks, some feminization but barely noticed

Stephen could say he understood both sides in this rift, as much as he hates to admit it. He still thought it was awful, as it didn’t affect both parties at all.

Let’s recap, to see why our soon-to-be Sorcerer Supreme was getting real tired of his workmates’ bullshit.

It began when Tony Stark proposed Peter Parker, one of his formers students at M.I.T. when he graduated with honors within five years, both undergraduate and graduate programs. He could understand why Tony was attracted to someone as brilliant as him, even though the young man wasn’t older that 23.

And yes, that was the factor that broke tensions between the Avengers. Stephen massaged his temples while waiting for his coffee to be over as his workmates sent the others murderous looks. Why, why did they were fighting for something so banal. Especially when neither Tony, nor Peter Parker where in the Avengers.

That caught you off ward, right?

Well, let me explain something first. After Tony was fatally injured in Siberia, he had to abandon the Avengers’ initiative because of his injuries, as he couldn’t pilot the Iron Man armor any more. He was offered a position as a consultant, but he refused, as last time he was just giving advice to projects he didn’t have control with ended up with three helicarriers crashing on Washington. Also, it was the best time for retiring, and focused his time both in his relief charities and reviewing projects from Stark Industries. It seemed new workers felt safe when he was around, so he was happy to see those fresh spirits making new stuff, and he was glad to mother hen them all. A few years ago, he also accepted a proposition in M.I.T., as part of the engineering department.

Peter was just a college student. He was majoring in Chemistry and Biology, and was assisting to a graduate program Stephen couldn’t actually remember. He wouldn’t have met Tony if the ex-avenger didn’t look forward to meet him, as Peter was currently one of the big gossips between the professors because his brilliance. And after that, as those pink press magazines Wong keeps around said, everything was history. Tony proposed Peter after the graduation ceremony at a restaurants that would probably cost more than the Sanctum maintenance. It was an open mic night, so Tony decided to dust off his musical skills and proposed to the young man while playing the piano, someone recorded it, and it went viral. Maybe that was the intention.

Of course, it became known for the Avengers too, received with different reactions. Rogers and his merrymen got the most visceral reactions: ranging from saying that Tony was a complete pervert for marrying someone nearly thirty years younger than you to saying that Peter was a temptress probably from Hydra who was seducing Tony to steal his new weapons, no mattering that neither Tony nor SI made weapons anymore, the closest to making weapons was checking and repairing War Machine equipment from Rhodes’ personal request, or that Peter PArker was completely clean, as he was a close friend from Gwen Stacy, their friendly neighbour spider sentinel. They met in a ballet academy since they were five and they quickly hit it off, even going to the same major and minoring in ballet studies. Gwen couldn’t understand how Peter could finish college so fast, but the young omega told her she could do the same if she weren’t getting any of her extra “night runs”. She was static after the notice and she was going to defend his friend with tooth and nail.

Alongside Gwen there were others, like Captain Marvel and the Asgardians who didn’t see the age difference as an obstacle, with Carol’s aging being slowed down by space and the Asgardians living for millenia. With them there were others, like Danny and Bruce, who, even though not outwardly supportive, preferred to leave Peter and Tony alone, as they didn’t have any business with the Avengers’ Initiative.

And so those were the sides, with Luke, Jessica and him at the middle, wondering for the one thousand time why did they decided to join.

“Is everyone here?” Asked Rogers on his usual “mission” face. For Stephen, he looked like he just sucked a lemon. As seeing how the rest made a hum of approvement, he began his speech.

“Avengers, we can celebrate that thanks to us the world is at peace. And we can thank all of that to our training and discipline…” Stephen wondered if anyone else had drifted off already. He just sipped his coffee from time to time, drifting some glaces to Rogers to look like he was listening when Gwen got up from her seat, at Stephen’s side, like pushed by a spring.

“LEAVE PETER AND TONY ALONE FOR FUCKS’ SAKE!” she shouted, and if it wasn’t for Jennifer and Stephen she would have thrown a punch to the face of America.

“Sit down, Stacy” Rogers ordered, and for a moment Stephen wished to free Gwen. She didn’t stopped in her accusations though.

“DON’T TRY TO GIVE ME ANOTHER OF YOUR MORALISTIC BULLSHIT! YOU KNOW SHIT ABOUT THEM! I’VE BEEN THERE! I’VE SEEN THEM! THEY LOVE EACH OTHER, AND THAT’S IT!”

“Gwen, I know you’ve seen them, and that Peter’s your friend” Steve tried to placate, something that didn’t work because he used the same tone someone would to a toddler. “But sometimes, we don’t know our friends as good as we think. Sometimes, they might be hiding dark intentions and we just can’t see it because they’re our friends”

“What. Like your friend Bucky, you say?”

The room fell in silence. If Khamala or Miles were there, surely they’ve just blown on screams.

“Ghost Spider. Out” Rogers said, and Gwen stormed out of the room, closing the door with a slam. Stephen leaned into Jennifer and whispered.

“I think I’ve chosen a bad moment to space out, what it’s going on?”

“Steve want us to make an “intervention” on Tony”

“What?”

“He wants to go to Tony’s home and convince him out of marrying his fiancée”

“You can’t be serious”

“He just asked for voluntaries to go to the mission. All his friends offered”

“Of course” Stephen frowned, this wasn’t going to end well. “Someone needs to go with them and keep an eye for problems”

“Yeah, sure, but who? Don’t look at me, I’m not going to bother Tony Stark with those headless chickens”

Stephen sighed. “If you want to do something you need to do it yourself. Hey Rogers! I’m coming”

“W-What?” said Rogers, and his surprise was contagious. Everyone turned their head at him, and Stephen began to regret already his decision.

Peter felt a tickling sensation on both of his sides and nearly threw the pot because of it.

“Tony!” the omega protested, turning to see his fiancee behind him with the biggest grin he could make. “You were supposed to help me with the dinner! Not to distract me!”

“Sorry baby, but you know that the kitchen is my mortal enemy” said Tony, picking a spoon. “By the way what are you cooking now? It smells delicious”

“Oh no, take your hands away from the gravy!” Peter ordered while swatting Tony’s hand with the wooden spoon.

“Ok, ok I’ll stop,” Tony giggled raising his hands in defeat. “What a poor destiny of mine, not being able to taste my fiancée’s delicious cuisine”

“Oh please, Tony. You eat what I cook every day! Nothing’s bad gonna happen if you wait ten minutes”

"Awww, but I'm hungry now!" Tony's hands traveled downwards to his top's end. Peter squirmed, trying to get away from the alpha.

"Please Tony!" he said before going back to the pot, the sauce began to boil, alarming the omega. "Tony, please, can you be a dear and get me one of the casserole plates?"

"Everything for my Prince" he said. He gave him a quick peck while putting the vegetables on the plate, despite Peter's protest. He wanted to help after all.

"Alright, so we have the potato salad, the green bean casserole and the pork chops with gravy, anything else?"

"What? Just that?" Peter closed the oven and looked at the kitchen. "Shit I forgot the croquettes!"

"Croquettes? Peter isn't it too much?"

"And the mashed potatoes! Fuck, fuck this is a mess, sorry Tony!"

"Hey no problem, it's just our Honeybear with Gwen and some friends, there is nothing to worry about"

"...Alright" said Peter with a huff. "Can you get the croquettes out the refrigerator please? I don't have time to make the mashed potatoes myself but there is some of the other somewhere"

In the end, they managed to prepare both the croquettes and the mashed potatoes before the doorbell rang. At the other's side there were Rhodes, Carol, Gwen, Luke and Jessica. Gwen and Peter hugged each other, the spider-woman lifting him and a King a whirl.

"Careful Gwen or you'll make Tony jealous" teased Rhodey, which the billionaire dismissed it.

"Sorry, Tony. I just missed Peter so much!" she said as Peter gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you too, Gwen. Tell me, how has been your summer?"

With that they moved towards the dining room, staring in complete awe at the banquet Peter has prepared. The dinner was amazing, talking and laughing. It was such a nice evening, those at the start of the summer when the soft breeze cooling the place.

After they finished the dessert, three chocolate ice cream cups with caramel syrup, they began to stream a Spanish movie, something about a bunch of priest joining a soccer tournament, when the doorbell rang again. Peter looked at his guests, asking if someone else was supposed to come. When they answered that no, anyone’s going to come, Tony decided to be the one to get to the door.

He certainly didn’t expect Steve and his gang at the other side of the door, dressed in full costume that made Tony harden his grip of the doorknob.

“Rogers! Guys! ... What a surprise” he mentally chastised himself for the poor rhyme. “What… What are you doing here? There is a mission and you came to pick them up?”

“... Yes. There’s a mission” answered Steve, his expression softening. Tony had a bad feeling about it. “But it’s here, we don’t have to pick up anyone?”

“What? Here? Shit! PETER! GO TO THE BASEMENT!” Tony was about to get back to the living room when Steve’s grabbed him by the shoulder. Tony choked on his breath, he was going to have a long therapy session next Monday…

“Tony, the mission is here, in this house” surely Tony’s expression must have alarmed Steve as he quickly proceeded to further explain. “Tony, we need to talk”

“Wait,” Tony shook his head. “Are you telling me that your supposed mission is coming to talk with me? Steve, it has been years since I left the Avengers Initiative. Not because I want, but because I can’t pilot my armor after Siberia” He said. Someone could read between the lines that last phrase was a quip at Rogers, but that Captain was a bit dense when he was on a mission. More like, he didn’t pay attention to anything else but what it could affect it.

“Tony, is not about that…”

“Yeah, sure. Then why are you coming to my house close to midnight and saying you want to talk to me?”

“Well, technically, we’re not in your house…” commented the Ant-guy he didn’t remember the name.

“If you only came here to blurb ridiculous remarks like the last one, then you can go and kindly fuck off”

“Wow, so much for old friends” said Clint, winning a tired scowl from Rogers.

“Tony, I know we had been bothering you about returning to the Avengers in the past, but today’s different.” Natasha came to the front and leaned on the door frame, letting Tony see her feminine figure. Strange, at the back of the group, did his best to not to roll his eyes as the ridiculous scene. Wanda looked at him with her eyes narrowed, but he was sure the mind repelling spell was working.

“Yeah, right, like it will not jump to that after today’s pathetic excuse is over. Listen, if you came for anything else, I’d probably would have let you in! Really! Anything else! But no, for you I’m only Iron Man. Tony Stark is only a minor inconvenience as long you have my suits. But listen to this words very carefully: I. AM. RETIRED”

“Tony, I swear, we didn’t come to ask you to rejoin the Aven…”

“Tony? Is something wrong?” asked Peter from behind. Tony turned to see his friends behind his fiancée, and he circle a hand around him. For Peter to feel safe. For him to feel safe. “Are these your friends?”

“Well, you can say that…” smiled Steve before Tony could have the time to answer. Peter looked at Tony and frowned.

“Are these your friends Tony?” he asked again, at which Tony answered with a concerned look, like he was afraid of their reaction if he said no. Then, Peter turned to the others, whose were entertained by giving mean sideyes to Steve and his guys. Deciding to be the adult here, Peter put the most natural smile he could.

“I’m sorry guys. I wish we could invite you in but after today’s dinner we are nearly out of food!” something not completely false, as he was surprised to see how much their guests could eat. And the few left-overs that remained were packaged and ready for their guests to take, he was glad they liked how he cooked. “Why don’t you come next weekend so we have time to go grocery shopping?”

“Like Stark couldn’t call and get a supermarket right here in less than twenty minutes” scoffed Clint again, and this time it was Natasha who scowled at him.

“But it’s true!” Clint protested, and for Peter, it sounded like the neighbours’ toddler when she asked for a popsicle when she had already cookies for the afternoon snack. “Look at that ring! It probably costs more than my arrows”

At that commentary, Peter hid his left hand behind his back, feeling ashamed of his expensive gift. Yes, Tony loved to spend money on him, and Peter loved to wear his gifts to show how much he loved them, like that day’s outfit which were composed of a white, green patterned shirt, high-waisted cropped jeans and red and black espadrilles, all from the designer brand Fendi. Tony’s grip tightened, and Peter could smell the faint scent of his alpha, that citric, woody floral smell emerging past his cologne and the remains of motor oil. Peter surely must have been releasing pheromones too, as Tony got him closer, letting Peter’s head on his chest so he could secretly smell his fresh and fruity scent hidden beneath the smell of the kitchen and his perfume.

“I like to give presents my people I love, and my fiancée specially deserves those presents, no matter how expensive they are” said Tony with a possessive growl.

“That’s what we want to talk about!” exclaimed Steve, like Tony had finally gave the correct of an incredibly easy test. Tony didn’t like the other’s tone at all.

“What? That you don’t like how I spend my money?”

“No! not that. Well, it’s related but…”

“They want you to leave Peter” Carol interrupted, while Gwen was already on a defensive stance.

“Wait what?”

“It’s not what you think Tony!” Steve quickly began. “But, can’t you see? Tony, Peter’s way younger than you, don’t you think that there’s a reason for him to get closer to you?”

“What?” That was Peter’s turn to be confused. What was that man talking about?

“Steve, if you’re implying what I think you’re implying…”

“Tony, please, listen to me. I know what you’re thinking”

“No you’re not”

“Please Tony, let me talk for once. What we’re trying to say is that is not normal that a young man like him came to your life after you retired from the Avengers. How can you trust him?”

“Oh shit. Here we go again” complained Gwen before putting herself between the couple and Steve. “Listen I don’t fucking care you’re my superior because the President decided to get you back to being the public after your tantrum with the Accords. But hear me out when I say that Peter’s not, neither was nor will be a bad influence for Tony. Peter’s true to the bone so please stop this before you get himself in a even more embarrassing position”

“If Peter’s so good then why is he spending all Tony’s money?” asked Wanda. “He’s wearing designer clothes everyone can see that”

“She’s right Tony,” Steve squared up his shoulders, liberating some of his hormones that for Peter they smelled foul and rotten, burying his head on Tony’s chest.

“See? That’s one of his tricks Tony�� accused Natasha this time, passing a hand through her hair so she could free some of her pheromones too. For tony they were sickeningly sweet, receiving Peter’s fresh smell like water on a dessert. “He’s playing the helpless deer in front of you to occupy all your time, so you can’t pay attention to most important things”

“And what are those more important things supposed to be?” Tony asked, nearly growling.

That question got them without words. Tony was almost impressed, seeing how suddenly everyone shut up with that question. Of course, Tony knew the answer, and he was sure the others knew it too.

“Hmmm…” Steve began, trying to win some time. “Hummh… Your work with SI…”

“I’ve been reviewing and checking SI most important projects since I retired, and I even get them done myself if there’s a request. I just took a step behind to let new talents grow”

“You? Getting out of spotlight? The world is ending” Wanda scoffed, getting a furious glare for Sam, the only one who didn’t talk, but he barely ever talked besides being Steve’s “yes man”.

“I do it for the people who deserve it, dearie” said Tony with such a saccharine tone that even the pet name sounded like an insult.

“You…” Wanda took a step closer but Steve rushed to calm her.

“Tony please…”

“Please what? You are the one who came into my house asking me to leave my fiancée who is, in fact, the person most important to me” Peter could see how Steve winced at the last sentence. “And, by the way, you didn’t answer my question. What are those “more important things” I need to take priority over Peter?”

“Well…” There was the uncomfortable silence again. “... You were a professor at M.I.T. wouldn’t dating with a former student be bad for your career?”

“Not if I don’t teach him, which I didn’t” Tony said in a matter-of-fact tone. Peter turned to see Rhodes’ barely concealed giggle. At least someone was amused with that situation.”

“And… what about your personal projects? ...Or private requests? ...You can’t take as much requests as before before you spend more time with your… with him” ooh goddammit, that was the last straw.

“What? If they are my personal projects I’ll take my time with them since I have no deadlines or whatsoever. And private requests? Are you serious? I don’t do private requests anymore. Now, if that absurd intention of getting my fiancée, my Peter, away from me is over, get away from my sight. And don’t come back, even if it’s not Avengers business related”

“Tony, I…”

“Leave, just leave Rogers. Please”

“I can’t leave Tony. We can’t leave. Not with Peter’s still at your side”

“Then I’ll have to kick you out”

“Please, Stark, like you can do something to us” Wanda sneered. Something completely foolish, as the other Avengers squared up.

“We’ll be happy to help Tony. I think it will be nice to throw out the trash after that dinner” Luke said.

“Guys, just get out please. I don’t want my house to turn into a battlefield”

“Too late Stark” said the Witch with a bright smile as the rest mist began to circle her, but before any of them could take a step, Stephen made a swift sweeping motion and the portal where they came from engulfed them one by one.

“I’m sorry of their number” apologised the wizard. “And to interrupt you, it seemed you were having a good time”

“Oh! It’s nothing. To be honest, we should thank you” said Peter. “Do you want to enter? I wasn’t lying with the food, but I can make tea and we have some pastries if you want”

“That would be great, actually” Stephen said and all went inside the house. Ster the tea the drinks went, and it was nearly four in the morning when they stopped talking.

“Stephen” Rhodey called before he entered the portal to his room. “Thank you for keeping an eye on them”

“Oh, it’s nothing”

“Seriously, thank you. You always seemed so neutral with this situation, I was impressed when I saw you sweeping them into the portal”

“I wasn’t going to let them hurt two civilians you know? Besides…”

“Yeah?”

“When Peter appeared, I saw their auras. I’ve been in many dimensions and worlds, Rhodey, and I can assure you, few times I’ve seen two auras as combined as theirs. It’s like they were…”

“Soulmates?”

“... Yes, you can say that”

“Keep that for the wedding speech, I’m sure Peter will love it”

“Do you think they’ll invite me?”

“After you saved Peter from Steve and his merry men? I should be afraid of you stealing the best man’s position” Rhodey joked before stepping to the portal. When Strange closed it, he took a last look to the cabin. The was a room light up, and Stephen could imagine them in the kitchen, Peter drinking an infusion while Tony cleaned the dishes. He sighed, wishing for them the best of lucks before going back to the Sanctum.

[mymcdanno]

Fic: Love, Danny (2/?)

Summary: McDanno AU based on the movie Love, Rosie.

Author note: Here’s the second chapter!! Really hope you guys enjoy it, and please let me know what you think :)

read first chapter here / AO3

The thoughts swirling around in Danny’s head were starting to make him feel dizzy, so he sat down with his head in his hands as he tried to calm down. Everything that had happened in the last few days - the happiness he’d felt when he got the acceptance letter, the exciting thought of leaving this place and starting over somewhere new doing what he loved with Steve by his side - it all went away with a simple text. I’m pregnant.

No matter how he looked at it, Danny had a choice to make and this was something he had to do on his own. He picked up his phone where it had dropped down on to the floor, took a deep breath, and called Rachel.

After the awkward phone call he drove over to her house and they talked for hours. Eventually they decided to really give this a try, and there was a part of Danny that already loved this baby with everything he had. In the end it wasn’t really a question - he would stay to help Rachel.

Now he only had to tell Steve.

**

Steve came running into the restaurant where Danny was waiting for him, and it felt unusual. Steve was never late. Not until he had actually started dating Catherine at least.

“Sorry, sorry, Catherine was- well, anyway-” he panted as he fell down into a chair at their table, lifting up the letter in his hands so Danny could see. “I- I’ve got some news.”

“Me too,” Danny said, trying his best to smile, fidgeting as he suddenly became very interested in the table between them.

“Read it!” Steve said happily, handing him the letter, obviously too excited to notice the tone in Danny’s voice or how unlike himself Danny was being.

Carefully Danny took the letter, reading it over, his jaw dropping. “Scholarship to Harvard! Steve, that’s- that’s so great, congratulations!” he said, so happy for Steve, but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes and he felt a deep pang in his chest. This made everything so much more difficult.

“It’s unbelievable, right?” When Danny just stared at the letter instead of answering, Steve slowly tilted his head. “You heard from Boston University yet?”

“Uh, no,” Danny lied, as he put the letter down on the table between them. Now wasn’t the right time. “I haven’t heard from them.”

Immediately a concerned look flashed over Steve’s face, but it went away quickly. “Oh, well, you’ll get in. I’m sure you’ll hear from them soon.”

Danny couldn’t bear to hear that, so he changed the subject. “So- what about Catherine, have you told her?”

“Ah, she’ll be fine,” Steve answered, waving a hand like it didn’t matter, and wow. What was that supposed to mean?

“Don’t you care what she’s going to think about you rushing off like this?”

Steve watched him curiously, like he’d never seen him before. His voice was gentle. “Okay, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“What?”

Steve chuckled. “Well, you’re defending Catherine. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing is wrong.” Danny tried his best to sound sincere, but it didn’t look like Steve was buying it. He didn’t push it, though.

“Well, we’re on our way to Boston! Come on, we did it,” Steve said, playfully pushing Danny’s shoulder. “My flight is in three days. You need to go ahead and book your ticket.”

“Sure. I- I’ve got some stuff to sort out first, but... I’ll be there.” Danny didn’t know why he said it, this wasn’t at all what he actually needed to say. But at least it seemed to make Steve relax.

**

The next three days went way too fast.

Leaving Steve at the airport was the hardest thing Danny had ever had to do, but this was his decision. It was too late to change it now. Before he knew it Danny was rambling, one hand on Steve’s arm so he wouldn’t run away. “Be careful. Don’t get blown up, or fall out of the sky, or fly into a flock of birds-”

“Danny, I can delay if you need me to. It’s okay.” Steve chuckled.

Danny stopped for a full second, but then just shook his head. “No. No, you’re getting on that plane.”

Suddenly Danny was being pulled into the tightest hug, and he closed his eyes as he hugged Steve back with everything he had. Their foreheads were touching when they finally pulled away, and it would have been so easy to lean in and kiss him, Danny thought. But now really wasn’t the right time.

Danny had thought he’d figured it all out. He’d move to Boston, study, get a great job, come back at 27 and open a hotel. Then get married and have kids. Now, that had all obviously changed and on top of that Steve had to go. Life was funny like that, sometimes.

**

A month went by, and somehow Danny managed to come up with an excuse to tell Steve for every time he didn’t get on the flight to Boston.

One thing he couldn’t do, however, was lie to his parents about what had happened. They were surprisingly excited and supportive about the whole situation, and wanted to know everything as soon as it happened. When Danny came home after taking Rachel to her midpregnancy ultrasound he was immediately flooded with questions.

“Oh, is it a boy or a girl? Do you have a name yet?”

Danny didn’t try to hide is smile now, feeling how proud he already was of this little baby. “It’s a girl, and we’re naming her Grace.”

**

After that everything happened so fast. The months flew by.

Danny had gotten a new job at a coffee house where he quickly became friends with his coworker, a badass but wonderful girl named Kono. She was supportive of his situation, and having someone his own age to talk to about all of this (including everything with Steve) meant so much to Danny.

Then suddenly his baby girl was here, and she was everything to him. It was all he could do to try not to cry when she cried, keeping her close as he promised to keep her safe from every mean thing in this world.

**

Danny was folding laundry and putting piles of baby things into bags to bring to Rachel when the doorbell rang. Figuring it was the postman or something he went to open the door, smile on his face, but when he saw who was actually standing there he froze.

“Steve?”

to be continued...

i’m tagging some people who seemed interested in the first chapter, hope that’s okay!! and if anyone wants to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know!!

@joannereads @mcdannoangelwolf @nanitaire @cowandcalf @stephmcx @surewouldbeinteresting @yoko787878 @mcdanno-love-marvey @themcinebcnd

[scientifically-strange]

Haunt me for drabble prompt? It feels very danny

It had been almost three years since they lost Danny. They thought about him every day, and set up a memorial every year for him, save for Thor who went to Valhalla to praise Danny for his heroics. He had been one of the best, not because he was big and powerful, but because despite having all of that he kept his humanity. The one thing he feared he would lose overtime.

Danny was kind, and funny, and calm. He was cold-natured, and Steve was pretty sure he cheated at poker. He was also a huge nerd. About NASA, space in general, ghost engineering, comic books, and poetry, oddly enough.

He had a knack for getting really close to everyone, not just a few of them. He opened up to Steve with ease about his worries as a hero, talked to Thor about ghosts and mythology and pastries, talked about movies and comics with Clint, past missions and fighting styles with Natasha, cars and inventions with Tony, and music and if he needed a session, with Sam. He was one of them, and when they had lost him, well...It wasn’t pretty. People mourn in different ways, despite how unhealthy they are. Nobody here was safe from that, not even Steve. The only thing saving him was that he couldn’t get drunk.

It was that time of year though, when they all got depressed, and he was pretty sure that the pain in his chest was making him hallucinate. Down the hall, he saw a familiar figure flicker in and out of existence. Maybe he was just seeing things. Maybe it was the pain in his heart that made him want to see him. Maybe it was the sleepless nights as of late.

Either way, he got another one of those when he went to bed, staying up and starring at his ceiling, wondering when the blissful numbness of it all would wash over him again.

-----

It was two days later, the day before his memorial, when Steve say Him again. He was in the gym with Steve, watching from the corner as Steve let out his frustrations and sadness into the bag. The day Danny died kept playing in his mind, over and over again, and the only thing that helped was the real feeling of his knuckles being split open. It grounded him. Or at least, he thought it did. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

He caught sight of the figure from a couple of night ago, and his stomach jumped into his throat.

Green eyes blinked back at him slowly, as the rest of him slowly became visible. He flickered for a moment, his form unstable. There was an open wound, and Steve noted how it was the same exact wound he had died from. It was stained with blood and ectoplasm.

Steve dragged his eyes up to meet Danny’s, who was starring at him fearfully.

“S...Steve?” He asked. Steve nodded, numb. That was Danny’s voice bouncing off of the walls. When he spoke the lights flickered for a moment. Somehow he knew it wasn’t because Stark had an electricity problem. “Is...Is that you?”

“Y-yeah, Danny, it is me,” Steve replied, trying to calm his own nervousness down. Danny was obviously scared, Steve’s own nervousness would just make it worse. “Why are you here?”

“I haven’t been able to move on since...Since I died. I don’t understand what’s keeping me here.”

“If you’ve been here the whole time how come you’re just now showing yourself?”

“I was weak. It took me a while, but I finally got enough strength to finally let you guys know I’m still here. But Steve, I need to move on.”

“What happens if you don’t?”

“The ectoplasm holding me together will get rotten, and I’ll...I’ll become vengeful. Just-Can you try to get a hold of Clockwork?”

----------

“Peculiar, indeed,” Clockwork spoke. All of the Avengers were in the gym now, as Clockwork inspected Danny. Danny was smiling up at his old friend, like in a few seconds he would finally be able to rest. He looked absolutely exhausted, more so than he ever did when he was still alive.

Clockwork hugged the boy before placing a hand on his chest. A glowing light blinded them, and in a flash, Danny was gone.

“His own grief is what tethered him here,” Clockwork said. His voice sounded neutral, just like always, but the way his hands squeezed his staff, and the way his eye was twitching, Steve knew he was only a second away from having a breakdown. “He was worried about leaving you all; you’ve been so good to him. He wanted to help you feel better, whether he realizes it or not. That almost ended him, but it’s also what kept him sane.”

“What do you mean?” Tony asked.

“Most spirits, when they cannon pass into the Zone or one of the Heavenly Realms, stay here on Earth. However, the ectoplasm they are made of, the very substance that keeps them alive, so to speak, would fester at the same rate as the mind. Most spirits don’t last more than a few months, if they’re lucky maybe a year. But Daniel lasted three.”

“He always was the strongest one out of all of us,” Clint chimed in.

“Indeed. Well, if you would like, I will have him visit once he heals and...Adjusts. It might take some time.”

“As long as he’s okay,” Steve replied.

Clockwork nodded before opening a portal and going home.

[bolontiku]

"The Impossible Girl”

Crossover: Dr. Who x Avengers

Bucky Barnes x Clara Oswald

Word Count: 1,593

Part 4

Summary: You cannot change a fixed point in time. Clara Oswald meets Bucky Barnes; the Winter Soldier.

******

She left.

Clara left with the Doctor. 

Bucky felt at a loss, she had been his only constant in this place, in this time. Why? Why had he felt connected to her? Why did it hurt so much?  

Clara had to move on, Bucky was safe. They kept out of sight, they kept hidden, they kept an eye on him. After a month she agreed to leave again with the Doctor. Everything became hectic after that.

She traveled to new worlds, met different alien races, fish that flew through the mist. She argued with the Doctor, they made up, she went home. She became a teacher. Time passed, she thought of blue eyes and a certain broad smile...

She met Danny Pink.

Danny Pink made her smile. He made her feel normal again.

The Doctor came, he took her off to new words again. Danny Pink told her he loved her, she admitted she loved him, life was perfect. Every so often she would think of him, the man she had left behind. Of blue eyes, strong hands, dancing and science.

Danny Pink mentioned, family, a home for them...marriage.

Then she lost him.

Clara was speaking to him over the phone, he was only five minutes away. He was telling her he loved her, she had decided to stay, to forget a certain soldier for this one, no more traveling with the Doctor. She was going to make a life here with him...

She lost Danny Pink and Clara Oswald did what she thought she could never do. She threatened to take away the Tardis, lock it up forever. The Doctor could go back, he could save Danny, he could change it. They could be together, but the Doctor wouldn’t do it.

She was broken, numb, her heart was void. Why did this happen? Why Danny?

Then the Master came, followed by the Cybermen. And Danny Pink came back as a Cyberman. He saved her again, he left her again.

The Doctor looked over as Clara sat, defeated, he opened his mouth to say something and it didn’t seem right. He never was good at these kind of things. “Tea?”

“Right, a cup of tea will set it all right,” she answered curtly.

The Doctor pursed his lips, he needed a win. She deserved a win... The Tardis hummed as he pressed buttons and pulled levers, it agreed with him. His Clara deserved a win. 

The Impossible Girl needed something.

“Where are we?” she asked as he led her through the busy city streets.

“New York,” he answered bluntly.

“All of time and Space and you bring me to the States? For tea? Just doesn’t seem proper, American’s are not particularly good at proper tea..” she was grumbling as he led her into a shop. “Biscuits maybe? Chocolate..” Clara knew she was talking, about what she wasn’t sure exactly. She wasn’t really seeing where she was going. Looking up she realized she had lost the Doctor.. “Doctor?! Doctor!!”

Bucky had been through so much, it felt like a lifetime ago that he had woken up in that dingy little room. That he had held her, kissed her.

“Ready bud?”

Bucky looked up as Steve clapped him on the shoulder. He had come a long way since then. He had never thought he would be accepted by the others. He had thought he would never stop running. Never dreamed of coming back to the states as a free man.

Steve and he were adjusting, being able to walk among the civilians of New York like they had while growing up was a perk. He would recognize some places but it had changed so much. They were relearning the city, it was almost fun.

Steve dragged him into a small coffee shop, they were in the middle of the crowd waiting when he heard her. He caught a hold of Steve, something he had done when they first got back. If it became too much he would catch the edge of Steve’s jacket and Steve would get him out.

Steve didn’t hesitate, though it had been months since he had last done it, he caught a hold of Bucky’s wrist and led him towards the front door. “’Scuse me,” he was easily making way through the crowd when Bucky stopped dead in his tracks. “Bucky?”

“DOCTOR?!”

Bucky stared at the brunette who was making her way through the crowd. “Its you.”

Clara froze, there he was. After all this time, after everything that had happened. A slew of memories came back and she took one step back, a small noise escaping.

“It’s you,” he breathed again, Steve confused looked between the two.

Her brows snapped together, his words making her pause. Clara had been ready to run, run as always. The Doctor always ran, running towards danger unlike many others and in that moment she chose to follow in his path as she had before.

She stepped forwards, fear causing her heart to skip a beat, fear that he would turn her away. Yet, he didn’t turn away, Bucky mirrored her and stepped forwards, both rushing the last steps, both hesitating before she threw herself into his arms.

Clara felt the world pause, her heart had been broken over and over again. She had suffered alongside the Doctor, suffered in ways he had been unable to help with and she laughed, the sound shocking her as she buried her face into his chest, his cologne still the same.

“Clara..”

She pulled away shaking her head, “what? What are you doing here??”

“Me? What are you doing here? In the states?” he asked incredulous. Steve cleared his throat, “Oh, oh, this is Steve, Steve this is Clara.”

Steve looked at them and took a step back, “I got to meet with Tony..” he said the words but knew they went unheeded and smirked as he shook his head and walked away.

The two took a seat in the small coffee shop, silence followed. “What have you been doing?” Clara finally asked. 

Bucky licked his lips, “well, there’s been a lot that happened.”

Clara offered a small laugh, “I understand that. Been watching the news. I was,” she looked away, “just a little surprised to see you on the news.”

He felt his chest tighten. “I’m not what they said about me. I was on the run but, it wasn’t, I wasn’t me.”

Clara reached over the table, hand falling him his, her thumb grazing over his glove, “I know, is everything okay now?”

Bucky felt his heart hammer against his chest as he met her gaze, still soft, still kind. When most people said the believed him he felt the hesitation behind their words, but not her, not his Clara. He knew she believed him. 

He remembered dancing with her, but the memory fuzzed. When had he first met her? Bucharest? No, that wasn’t right. Her laughter bubbled up in his memory and he struggled, “Clara,” he hummed her name quietly, blue eyes slipping over to the people.

She stood, tugging on his wrist till he stood and followed. Outside was a bit more forgiving, it wasn’t as cramped, but she seemed to understand he needed more, she was leading him to the park. There the bustle of people was relatively less and he took in a breath. 

“What do you remember about me?” she asked, her hand falling from around his wrist.

Bucky chewed on his bottom lip as they walked along. “I want to say Bucharest,” he shook his head. “I feel that’s wrong though?”

Clara wondered what she could tell him, “I travel with the Doctor who calls me the impossible girl-”

“Because you wish for the impossible sometimes,” he finished for her. How did he know that? How did he know the impossible girl? His head hurt, he remembered dancing with her, but that hadn’t happened in Bucharest, he was sure of it.

“Bucky? Bucky?” Clara was worried about how pale he looked just then, he reached up and rubbed at his temples, “don’t think about it...is.. is there someone I can call for you?”

Bucky pulled out the cell phone Tony had given him, he had hardly used it, but his head throbbed as he remembered her scream tearing through the air before she toppled onto him, making him miss his mark, “Steve..” he managed.

Clara cried out as he doubled over, “Bucky?!” she could hear a few people coming over concerned. Grabbing his phone she let out a squeak as his knees gave out from under him. Wrapping her arms around his waist she managed to keep him from out right crashing into the ground. 

The phone was relatively easy to use and she dialed Steve’s number even as she heard the ambulance sirens. Someone had called, there was a small group of people now and she was beginning to panic even as EMT arrived. 

“Hey Buck-”

“Steve?”

Steve sat up at the sound of her panicked voice, why did she have his phone? Why was she calling him? “What happened?”

“Uhhh,” she was moving beside the men, they had put him on the gurney and were rushing towards the ambulance. “We’re headed to the hospital... he passed out!” she held onto Bucky’s hand, this time she wouldn’t run.

******

A/N: There is one part left to this series, IDK when I will get to it, but thank you to all of those that have stuck around for this!!!!

Perma tags:@shamvictoria11 @hellkat2 @the-great-irene @mo320 @magellan-88 @lostinspace33 @tamianich @incadinkadoo @aquabrie @dustycelt @yknott81 @arwa-alii @alyssaj23 @insideoflit @debbielovesbucky @swtwtrgin @saysay125 @rda1989 @xxxprettydeadgirlxxx @whenallsaidanddone @s7sense @vaisabu @the-witching-hours12-3 @anotherotter @learisa @goodnightwife @buckybarnesappreciationsociety @roselock20 @everybodycriesonce @pegasusdragontiger @suz-123 @lostinthoughtsandfeelings @50shadesofyes @iamwarrenspeace @strange-intricate-dysfunction @lloeppky @feelmyroarrrr @red-writer13 @crystalsnow0304 @badassbaker @sebstanchrisevanchickforever19 @supernatural-girl97 @honey-bee-holly @patzammit @oswolfpack @the-real-kellymonster @wildefire @abbessolute @neurotic-narwhal-deactivated201 @sarahp879 @mummy-woves-you

[221bshrlocked]

Meant to Be (3)

Meant to Be Masterlist

Pairing: Prince!Bucky X Servant!Reader

Words: 1404

Warnings: More angst....

Summary: As the news of the King’s death spreads throughout the land, lords and ladies from the nearby countries swarm the castle to offer condolences to the queen and her son. As the prince mourns his father, he is met with the reality that he must now choose a wife and begin his reign.

A/N: Because I was feeling nice and wanted to waste more time and not study Hieroglyphs. Let me know if you want to be tagged HERE.

As the words left your mouth, the Prince couldn’t help but smile, telling one of his guards to bring him your sister. Seating her in front of him, he gave her his gloves to play with before telling one of your brothers to fetch your basket as well as everything else they might need from your home.

You were surprised by the way he was acting all of a sudden.

More importantly, you were amazed by how tender he suddenly became as he played with your sister. You waited in silence next to him, not saying anything and opting to wait to see what he would do.

Your brother came out with the everything and gave it to Sir Rogers, the knight looking for the ruby and looking up to the prince when he didn’t find it.

“Where is it?”

“It is in the safest place I could think of my lord. Would you allow me to bring it or will you keep me tied up?” You asked, waiting to see what his response would be. He unbound you and told you to bring it. As you went inside the house, James asked his most loyal guard to speak with him.

“What are we doing here?” Steve looked at him, knowing very well there was something that James was not telling him.

“I will explain everything once we are with my mother. Just wait.” You came out and gave them the ruby, presenting your hands again to Steve.

“Did you change your mind?” He sarcastically responded before taking your wrists and tying them once more.

“If it means they will be safe, then yes.” You avoided the prince’s gaze, keeping your eyes to the floor and waiting until they started moving.

As you made your way through the village, you were met with different responses. Some people apologized while others laughed at your predicament.

Once you stepped inside the castle, you couldn’t help but look around you and marvel at the beauty of the architecture. It truly was magnificent and the paintings in the market did it no justice.

“Tell my mother that I need to speak with her.” Prince James asked one of the guards to inform the Queen of his arrival along with something you couldn’t quiet hear.

Getting off the horse, he asked Steve to do something and told the rest of the guards he’d take it from there. Motioning for you to follow him, he carried your sister and joked with her while asking your brothers what their names were.

How was this man the same as the one who not an hour ago asked for you to be arrested?

Making your way through the hallways, you were mesmerized by the colors and shapes of the columns and paintings, not noticing the way James kept on stealing glances at you and smiling. Upon arriving to one of the rooms, he asked the guards to leave and not have anyone in the vicinity once the Queen arrives.

Before walking in, Sir Rogers approached you with an elderly woman behind him.

“Your grace.” The old woman curtsied before him.

“May I ask you a favor?”

Did he just ask if she can do him a favor? He’s been ordering around everyone since you met him. What was wrong with him?

“Of course.”

“Can you look after these children for me? This is important. Do not let them out of your sight. Do not tell anyone else to take care of them. They must be with you at all times.”

“Is something the matter?” She took a step forward, placing her hands on his shoulder and looking down at his hands when he motioned for her to take a folder paper.

“This will explain everything. Burn it after you read it.” She nodded and motioned for your siblings to come along. They all looked at you, almost asking if it was okay to go with her. You smiled and mouthed that everything was going to be okay, thanking her before turning around and entering the room.

As Steve shut the door behind him, James walked over to you in a hurry and took hold of your hands, cutting the ropes as quickly as possible before rubbing at your wrists.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“What?” It was the only word that kept on repeating in your head.

Before he could reply, the queen entered and looked around, her eyes falling on you and looking almost as confused as you were.

“My lady.” You kneeled down, your head spinning from what was taking place around you.

“James what is going on? And who is that lovely young lady you brought?” He grabbed your shoulder and pulled you up to stand next to him.

“I have no proof yet and I do not expect you to believe me, but I believe father was killed.

“What are you talking about?” The queen asked, her voice breaking as his words registered in her mind.

“I believe one of my guards killed him. I asked all of you to meet here and no one else because I do not trust anyone.”

“But why am I here? You falsely accused me of robbing you.” You couldn’t help but cut him off.

“I asked you here because I need your help catch him.”

“And how exactly will I do that?” He ignored your question, turning to his mother before speaking again.

“Mother, you told me I needed to find someone before the court resumed the meeting. And I did.” He pointed to you.

“James are you sure this is what you want?”

“As certain as I am that the moon will shine tonight.”

“Your majesty forgive me but I am confused. How am I supposed to help you?” You wanted to know what they were speaking of and how you could help him.

“By becoming my wife.”

“What?” You and Steve almost yelled the question at the same time, shocked by what you just heard.

“Once I announce I have found a wife, I will be coronated and become the king. The man who killed my father...I am certain he did this for money. We have many enemies...they are all waiting for us to weaken so they could attack. If I am married, this will prove to them that we are still a strong country.”

“So if you announce your marriage, he will try to kill you or her.” Steve finished the sentence, turning to you before telling James that this was a dangerous idea.

“It will work. We will catch him.”

“With all do respect your grace, my life is not yours to do with as you wish. I understand if you want to put yourself in danger to find this man but me? How is that any fair?”

“You told me you’d do anything to keep them safe?”

“I did. And you told me to be your servant. Not your wife!”

“The question still holds.”

“So why the theatrics? Why come to the village? Why arrest me?”

“Will my answer change yours?” “Considering the fact that I have no choice but to obey you, no.”

After a moment of silence, he approached you slowly before looking into your eyes.

“Because I am sure he saw me placing those ribbons yesterday in your basket. If I hadn’t done what I did today, he might have found you sooner and hurt you.”

“And you expect me to believe you somehow care about my well being?”

This is not how he imagined this going.

Unfortunately, the assumptive side of his brain took over, his mind telling him you would never accept him as your husband. He wanted to tell you how you affected him from the first time he saw you. He wanted to tell you how he felt.

Instead, he quickly turned around and gave Steve a paper, whispering something to him before taking his mother outside the room and speak to her.

When he came back into the room, he shut the door and locked it, turning around and striding towards you. As you backed into the wall, he cornered you with his hands, his eyes never leaving yours even for a second.

“You will become my wife whether you like it or not. You will help me catch him. And until we do so, you will remain in these chambers with me.”

some tags aren’t working!

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[aion-rsa]

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 Marvel, Captain America, MCU Easter Eggs

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This article contains The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 spoilers and potential spoilers for the wider MCU.

Well, it’s finally here. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 6 was an action-packed, but rather messy season finale for the show. Hopefully it isn’t a series finale, and we’ll see it continue in season 2 as Captain America and the Winter Soldier, but that’s an argument for another time.

For now, we’re here (as usual) to dig in to all the Marvel Comics and MCU references the show gave us this episode. We’ll be honest, it was relatively light on those, but there’s still plenty to speculate about. And if you spot anything we missed, be sure to let us know in the comments!

The New Captain America

Sam’s incredibly sharp-looking Captain America costume is a perfect live action translation of the version he wore in the comics. That costume was designed by Carlos Pacheco, and first hit the pages of Marvel Comics in October of 2014, in All-New Captain America #1. Even then, it felt like a perfectly movie-ready design, but to see it translated to beautifully to live action is a real treat, and this is an immediate contender for “best superhero movie or TV suit” right now. The additional stars and stripes motif added to the underside of the wings here seems to be an MCU flourish, but that’s just one little way they managed to improve on perfection.

It’s safe to assume that Sam’s new wings are vibranium, or at least vibranium laced, just like his shield, considering that it was made for him by the tech geniuses in Black Panther‘s Wakanda. There’s something to be said here about how America is stronger when it works with and accepts help from its allies, as opposed to going it alone. Just witness how much better Sam’s wings hold up under pressure than Walker’s homemade shield.

Similarly, Sam primarily uses the shield and the wings for defense. Compare that to how Walker wields his shield, as a slashing/bludgeoning weapon for offense. It’s a nice illustration of two different interpretations about how best to utilize America’s power.

Bucky

Bucky’s leap from a barrier-crashing motorcycle in episode 6 is a nice callback to Steve’s very similar move in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. As a voice barked “stand down” from a SHIELD quinjet, Steve hit a barrier on his bike and was thrown forward into the action. 

We also see Bucky straining to open the back of the van with his vibranium arm, but he doesn’t flex as hard as Steve did when he stopped Bucky taking off in a helicopter in that same movie. Both Sam and Bucky reflect elements of what made Steve an exceptional Captain America in the finale, and prove to be a terrific team.

Bucky gives Steve’s notebook to his therapist as a thank you gift. Honestly, she deserves less. It belongs in a museum.

U.S. Agent

John Walker manages to control the effects that the super soldier serum is having on his psyche when he gets a second chance to prove himself, dropping his damaged makeshift shield and realizing he needs to prioritize human lives over vengeance. 

Val says that people will need a “US Agent” soon, and not a Captain America, as things are about to get “weird”. US Agent, of course, was the codename Walker took on after he stopped being Captain America in the comics. Speaking of which, Walker’s new costume is basically identical to his Marvel Comics US Agent costume and it looks really great here.  We wrote more about the Marvel Comics history of U.S. Agent here.

Why are Val, Walker and his wife back in the courthouse where Walker got court martialed to try on his new US Agent costume? Feels like pandemic-related restrictions forced the show to film all those scenes at the same time, doesn’t it?

Isaiah Bradley

Sam returning to properly make sure Isaiah Bradley gets his due once again mirrors the excellent Truth: Red, White, and Black story by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker. There it was Steve who made sure that Isaiah’s deeds were finally known to the world.

Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Isaiah, but you can bet we’re going to get more of Elijah down the road. Between introducing two members of the Young Avengers in WandaVision with Billy and Tommy, and the impending arrival of Kate Bishop on Hawkeye later this year, young Elijah is due to get himself some red, white, and blue duds of his own.

Sharon Carter is the Power Broker?

Yes, Sharon Carter is the Power Broker. No, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. She took Sam, Bucky, and Zemo to see super soldier serum scientist Dr. Nagel in his lab. He was working for her! She let that dangerous shit play out, which was very much against her interests! What! No. What! The man must have been confused as hell in his final moments.

Sharon uses the same tech that Natasha Romanoff used to disguise her face during the climax of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

We find out that Sharon was indeed behind Karli’s initial rise to Flag-Smasher power, after taking her in and giving her a chance in Madripoor. Sharon is willing to forgive the betrayal if Karli and her friends come back to the fold, but Karli’s too far gone for that.

Sharon gets a pardon from the US government. I guess it wasn’t that hard after all. Maybe you could click this link while you’re here.

Is this the first time Sharon has been called Agent Carter in the MCU? And is there some way to bring Peggy back to kick her narrow Power Brokering ass? How dare you besmirch the Carter name, girl.

Sharon’s “mercury vapor” bomb that takes out that poor dude kind of feels like the dust that the Red Skull used to use during the Mark Gruenwald era of the comics to kill people…which left them looking like red skulls. Uh-oh…this brings us to the next question…

Who was Sharon calling at the end? Val? Nick Fury? Her Skrull bosses? Alexander Lukin? Something is definitely wrong here. It’s possible that she’s working with Val to put together a team of Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts, but nothing makes a lot of sense with Sharon’s arc in the MCU in general, let alone this show.

Zemo

That is indeed Zemo’s butler Oeznik (played by Nicholas Pryor) who kills the fuck out of the Flag-Smashers in the police van with a remote controlled incendiary device. What an Evil Jarvis. In any case, Zemo got at least some of his wish, as now there are a few fewer super soldiers running around the MCU.

Among the books that Zemo is reading in his cell is Alexander von Humboldt’s Views of Nature – the German polymath, geographer, naturalist and explorer was the first person to truly make note of human-induced climate change. But we can only assume that the book Zemo is holding close to his heart as he hears the fate of the Flag-Smashers is the Machiavelli tome that Bucky rudely interrupted earlier in the series.

Despite the news saying that there are no suspects in the Flag-Smasher bombing, Val knows straight away that it was Zemo who had “the last laugh”. Huh. “Couldn’t have worked better if I planned it myself,” she jokes. “Oh, well, maybe I did. No, I’m kidding, I didn’t. Or did I?” Who the hell knows, Val.

Batroc

Is Batroc dead? Batroc had better not be dead! We demand more Georges St-Pierre in the MCU! Ze Leaper has managed to escape certain death multiple times in the MCU so far, and we’d like that trend to continue. He’s such a great all-purpose, kinda hapless baddie, that we’d love to just see him show up for the occasional slugfest. Or hell, maybe a Batroc fight can be a kind of “right of passage” for anyone else who has to wear the Captain America costume down the road!

And hey, he even did some leaping in this episode!

The Flag-Smashers

Sam’s face-off with Karli Morgenthau is a lot like Steve’s final face-off with Bucky in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when he tries to talk her down instead of fighting back.

The Raft

The Raft was first introduced to the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, but the fact that they’re going out of their way to mention it multiple times in this show, and the fact that the Flag-Smashers were destined for there (after all, they’re super soldiers) should be an indication of just how important that place is going to be to the MCU going forward. I think we can safely expect both Val and Sharon to be doing some recruiting out of there.

The New Falcon?

We only get a brief moment with Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres, as he gazes adoringly at the TV broadcast with Sam as Captain America, but hopefully we get more of him in the future. After all, Joaquin became the new Falcon when Sam wore the red, white, and blue in the comics, and he DOES have Sam’s old wings.

Where is Steve Rogers?

You know, if they keep making that joke about Steve being “on the moon” maybe there’s gonna turn out to be some truth to it. Is this how the MCU will introduce the “man on the wall” concept from the Original Sin story in Marvel Comics? OK, fine, probably not.

The Bridge

Sam having his first big public moment on a bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, where New Yorkers see him, cheer him, and implicitly accept him as a hero feels like moments in Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man movies, particularly the Brooklyn Bridge scene in the first one, and the subway car scene in Spider-Man 2. This is decidedly less heavy-handed, though.

Ayla

GRC representative Ayla is not from Marvel Comics. We don’t get her last name, and she shares a first name with extremely obscure Nightstalkers villain Rotwrap. Look, there’s not  a lot going on in this episode, we’re trying.

Speaking of things we don’t have a lot on…

“Government Official”

Can you believe that despite appearing in nearly every episode of this show, Alphie Hyorth’s bearded senator is still only named as “government official” in the credits? What are you hiding Marvel?!? Maybe he’s actually Mephisto! (sorry, a little WandaVision humor there) 

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But for real, why would you have a recurring character who ends up central to so many elements of this story and NOT name him? Is he a Skrull? Is he Senator Robert Kelly? (look, we miss all the mutant speculation from the WandaVision days)

Spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 Marvel, Captain America, MCU Easter Eggs appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Please with Jambalaya on Top Part 5

Steve McGarrett x Paisley McGarrett

1550 words

Christmas this year is very different for the McGarrett family. With the loss of their baby, things just aren’t the same.

H50 Tags: @t-w-hiddlestoner @loveisfriendship @supergirl000983 @givemelifeorgiveme @goldkhator

Christmas is a time of celebration, a time for family and friends to get together, eat, drink, and give out presents. It’s a time to be happy and thankful, time to reflect on the year gone by and dwell on the good times. Besides eggnog and candy canes, the whole reason behind the season is love. And in the Hawaii Five-0 ohana, there was no shortage of love.

This holiday the McGarretts needed all the love and support they could get. Instead of being a joyous occasion, Paisley found it to be the worst time of her life. They were supposed to be celebrating the life living inside of her, looking forward to the birth of a tiny baby to carry on the McGarrett name. But instead, it was just Paisley and Steve. Not that the blonde didn’t love her husband, it’s just her heart was breaking. His was as well but he tried to remain strong for his wife.

They didn’t decorate this year, the idea of seeing all the tinsel and holly around only made Paisley feel worse. She didn’t leave their home, refusing to go out whether it be to work or even to get groceries. The outside world was happy and ready for Christmas and she wasn’t ready to face that yet. Steve was forced to watch the strongest woman he knew, break and shatter, wither away into someone he didn’t even know. She became distant and silent, choosing to only speak when necessary, only get out of bed when she had to.

It was safe to say, she wasn’t dealing well with the loss of her baby. Steve grew worried as time went on. He had gone back to work, did all the shopping, took care of her as best he could but when days turned to weeks, he was starting to panic. He had never seen her like this and no matter what he did she wouldn’t snap out of it. He was afraid he was never going to get his wife back.

Christmas had always been a big thing in their ohana. Even before they were married, Paisley spent every Christmas with the five-0 family. She was always a bubbly life of the party with her ugly sweaters and reindeer ears and little elf shoes. She was a vision, the spirit of Christmas embodied. It was the time of the year when she was the happiest, the most lively. Her first Christmas on the island, the way she danced about and laughed, her blue eyes all aglow, he knew then and there that he was going to spend the rest of his life with this woman.

Now eight years later, there was no sign of Christmas, no glimpse of that old Paisley. There was no carols, no jingle bells. Steve actually missed that stupid Grinch mask she made him wear when she thought he wasn’t in the spirit. He would take the mockery of Danny and the others if it just made her smile again. He hadn’t seen that smile in weeks. The silence in the house was deafening, the tension suffocating. He would hold her in his arms all night, listen to her cry or feel her twitch during nightmares. He felt so helpless.

The team could see the weight it was laying on Steve. He wasn’t on top of his game. He was tired and broken, becoming complacent and losing all energy and desire for his job. They picked up the slack where they could but when their leader suffered, they all suffered. He spent more time just sitting alone in his office than going out in the field. His heart just wasn’t in it anymore. His wife was slipping out of his grasp and his whole world along with her.

The day before Christmas Eve. It was quiet at the Palace, everyone making last minute plans for the holidays. There wasn’t any hustling or bustling, no big case they were working on, just silence as everyone sat at their own desks taking care of their own business. Soon they would all be leaving the office, going somewhere else this Christmas. Whether it be to the mainland, a different island, or just home, anywhere but to the McGarrett’s house like every other year. Steve sat silently at his desk, his finger tapping on the wood of his desk as he rocked slowly. His mind was elsewhere so he hadn’t been paying attention to anything going on outside his office. It wasn’t until his door opened that his eyes lifted and he was brought out of his trance.

“Beth. Hey.” At the sight of Dog’s wife, Steve stood to his feet and greeted her with a hug. She returned the hug lingering with a sad smile. “What can I help you with?” The commander asked as he pulled away and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I know Pais isn’t doing so well right now with everything.” The older woman frowned knowing that neither of the McGarretts were at their best. “So we’re sending you both to Louisiana.” This made Steve’s hands drop to rest on his hips and his forehead wrinkled. “Now, before you protest, just think of it as our Christmas present to the both of you. It will be good for her to go home. And you need a vacation.” Sifting through her purse, she pulled out a pair of tickets and handed them over to the SEAL.

His eyes were misty as he took the paper from her hands. He gave her a soft smile when his blue eyes lifted once again. His head nodded and his gratitude was clear. “You have no idea what this means to me. To us. Thank you.” His arms lifted to bring her in for another hug and Beth just smiled patting him on the back.

She wiped a few stray tears off her face as she pulled back. “Get outta here. You need to go get you two packed up. That flight is tonight.” Steve’s eyes grew wide and she chuckled. Placing a kiss to his cheek, she then made her leave offering him a wave.

For the first time in weeks, he found a genuine smile pulling at his face. He wasted no time in gathering up his things and informing the team that he was leaving. The look of hope on his face made the tension in the office ease for once and they were all happy to see that spark of their boss back. Steve didn’t even wait for the elevator but jogged down the stairs, wasting no time. He needed to get home to his grieving wife and tell her the good news.

The reaction he received was the last thing he had expected or hoped for. She seemed angry, yelling when he showed her the tickets given to them. She refused to pack, refused to release the tears he could tell she was holding back. She mumbled as she paced while she was giving any and every excuse she could not to go on this trip. A hand rested on her stomach, still out of habit as the other hand flailed in gesture.

Steve could only take so much of her pacing, her voice cracking as she tried to hold herself together. With a few short steps, he took her in his arms. She fought him at first but he only squeezed her tighter against him until she allowed tears to fall. Finally, she fell into him, her arms wrapping around his middle and she let it all out while she clung to him. His lips kissed into her hair as he held her, holding his whole world. They stood like that for what felt like an eternity, two heartbroken people finding comfort in each other.

The tears eventually dried and when Paisley pulled away to look up at her husband she took in a deep breath. The faintest of smiles curled the corner of her mouth and he felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. His hands cupped her face as he offered a warm smile in return. “We’re gonna be ok.” He assured her before he pressed his lips gently against hers. The first time they had kissed in what felt like so long. And he savored it, made it last as long as he could.

“Ok, Casanova. We still need to pack.” She muttered as she pushed away, patting a hand against his chest. A light laugh escaped his lips as he pulled back wiping a hand down his face. There was just that little bit of his wife shining through and it sparked his hope once again. They were silent as they packed their bags but it wasn’t a heavy silence for once it was comfortable. And once the bags were packed and they learned they had time to kill, they joined again to revel in each other’s embrace, stealing a few more kisses. “I hate flying.” She muttered breathlessly and Steve only laughed squeezing his arms tighter around her.

“I’ll be right beside you, baby. I’m always right beside you.” And he could feel the tiny blonde relax against him, a sigh passing her lips as she rested her head against his chest. They were going to be ok.

[macgyvermedical]

NERVE AGENTS

WARNING: This post is about chemicals frequently used in acts of war and terrorism- particularly acts that have recently made headlines and been a very real, terrifying, and deadly part of people’s lives and news cycles. This post does not explicitly reference any particular real-life attack. That being said, it does present information aimed at writing the human response to exposure to nerve agents in a fictional and/or whumpy context, and does mention several uses of nerve agents in fiction. If you’re not comfortable with reading about such things, or don’t feel comfortable reading them in those contexts, feel free to keep scrolling- if you do want to read it, the rest of the post is below the cut.

Guys, I am on so many lists now. Like so many. I have googled so much sketch stuff for this blog I’m going to have to ask my sister to order a new humidifier for my snake’s tank because if I order one on Amazon the NSA is gonna send a SWAT team to my apartment... But anyway...

It’s been a while since Hawaii Five-0 S1E23 “Until the End is Near” premiered, and yet there’s a gifset that hasn’t stopped circulating in the whump community: one of Danny Williams, struggling to breathe, sweat covering his face, sliding slowly down a stone wall as the rest of the team runs towards him in panic. Later in that episode, it would come out that Danny ingested (or rather absorbed through skin contact with the episode’s victim) sarin, a chemical weapon well known for its longstanding applications in war and terrorism. 

What "Nerve Agents” Are:

As explained in the episode, sarin belongs to a group of chemicals known as nerve agents. Medically, nerve agents are called acetylcholineseterase inhibitors. Some common ones include:

“G-Series”- These were pre-WWII-era, and probably the most well-known nerve agents. They were originally invented as highly-effective pesticides, but were realized as chemical weapons when the scientist and lab assistant testing tabun both accidentally came into contact with less than a drop and became severely ill for several weeks.

Sarin (GB

Tabun (GA)

Soman (GD)

“V-Series”- These were invented during the Cold War for the express purpose of creating chemical weapons. They stick around in the environment for longer without degrading than G-series agents, making them more useful as weapons. The most well-known is denoted “VX,” but there are many others named with “V’ and then a second letter.

Organophsphate Pesticides- today in the US, about 50% of pesticides can double as nerve agents. They come in very dilute concentrations and degrade very quickly, making them less useful as poisons. However, farm workers with long-term exposure have had significant health problems as a result. In fiction, the pilot episode of Royal Pains features a case of organophosphate pesticide poisoning, and (though this is not explicitly stated) Mac is poisoned by some variety of these in the MacGyver episode “Bitter Harvest”. The most well-known of these include the substances malathion and parathion. Since 2001, it has been illegal to use these substances in residential areas in the US because they tend to stick around in the environment long enough to potentially harm humans. They also reek.

How They Work:

Normally, when the brain wants something done in the body, it sends a signal via nerve to the muscle, gland or organ responsible for it. The end of that nerve then releases a neurotransmitter, and molecules of that neurotransmitter bind to receptors on the tissue, triggering the intended effect. When the job is done, the excess neurotransmitter is either slurped back up and recycled for next time, or degraded by an enzyme so it can’t hang around and make stuff happen when it shouldn’t.

There are many neurotransmitters in the human body, but the most important one for this post- and one of the most active in the body- is called acetylcholine. Presence of acetylcholine at receptor sites triggers secretion of mucous, tears, and sweat, causes muscle to contract, modulates memory and attention, and helps control digestion. Now, in order for these things to happen correctly, only very precise amounts of acetylcholine can be available to the receptors for very precise amounts of time. Once acetylcholine does its job, it immediately gets broken down by an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase.

This acetylcholinesterase stuff is super important. If is didn’t exist, or was, say, inhibited, acetylcholine would just hang around and build up in the areas where it does its work. This would cause all those things above to happen continuously and inappropriately. Which is exactly what happens when nerve agents, which are, as I said, very potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, end up in the human body.

What They Do:

People (and by extension characters) unlucky enough to be exposed to a nerve agent will typically show symptoms of severe acetylcholine poisoning. “Classic” symptoms include:

Pupil constriction

Headache

Difficulty breathing (from contracting muscle and excess secretions in lung passages)

Profuse sweating

Weakness

Excess tear formation

Fasciculations (muscles contracting inappropriately)

Nausea/vomiting/abdominal pain/diarrhea

Urinary frequency/incontinence

High heart rate and blood pressure

Higher doses will show symptoms progressing to:

Seizures and coma

Paralysis

Low heart rate and blood pressure

Respiratory arrest

Most people end up dying from paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

How quickly symptoms show up has to do with how the chemical got into the body- breathing a nerve agent may cause the onset of symptoms almost immediately, while absorbing it through the skin can delay onset of symptoms up to 18 hours.

How They’re Used:

Nerve agents are colorless liquids that can enter the body by ingestion (eating or drinking a substance containing them), absorption (through skin, eyes or mucous membranes), or inhalation (breathing a vapor or gas).

While nerve agents are poisons and can certainly be used to target a specific individual (as in the H50 episode), they are particularly well-suited to war and terrorism because of the ability to poison many people at the same time- and poison them quickly and repeatedly.

Spread by aerosol, they can persist in an environment (and continue killing people) for up to three days (three days in colder, wetter environments- in hotter, dryer environments they may last less than 24 hours). 

Only a very, very small volume of any nerve agent is required to kill a person. A normal-sized drop of sarin placed directly on skin (and not washed off) is more than enough to kill an adult. If breathed, death requires considerably less.

Surviving Them:

If your characters have no access to drugs, people can survive very small exposures without them- particularly skin exposures. Since the main deadly issue is respiratory arrest, getting control of their airway and forcing air into them is probably the most important intervention (I say “forcing” because given the airway constriction and the excessive secretions, this won’t be easy. Like, good luck if they’re not intubated).

After their airway and breathing is taken care of (if you have to get to circulation, meaning CPR, its too late in a mass-casualty/drugless situation, but that’s a whole other post), getting them cleaned off is really important. This is both to protect people taking care of them, and to make sure they don’t continue to absorb the agents. Nerve agents degrade when exposed to alkaline solutions, so plain old soap and water (or bleach) works pretty well as a decontamination solution.

Now, if they do have access to drugs, the above holds true, but...

In the H5-0 episode, Jenna tells Steve that Danny needs a drug called pralidoxime in order to survive. Pralidoxime is a nerve agent antidote that works by chemically reactivating the inhibited acetylcholinesterase. Unfortunately, it only works if given within a specific time frame after exposure (2 minutes for soman, 5 hours for sarin, 13 hours for tabun). Pralidoxime also doesn’t work immediately, so other drugs must be given to mitigate the effects of the nerve agent and keep the person alive until the reactivated enzymes can bring acetylcholine down to safe levels.

The first drug given for this is atropine. Atropine works by blocking some of the acetylcholine receptor sites. If there’s only a few receptor sites available, it matters less how much excess acetylcholine is around because it can’t do as much harm.

Another drug given is diazepam. Diazepam can stop or decrease seizure activity related to nerve agent exposure. Like atropine, it is not an antidote, but it can help manage life-threatening seizures until the pralidoxime works.

Now, none of these drugs can be effectively given orally. They’re best given IV, but since the poison works so fast, most people don’t have time or resources to start an IV to administer them. The solution to this is the “Mark 1 Kit”- a case with two auto-injectors (think epi-pens), one containing pralidoxime and the other containing atropine (this was the type of kit featured in the Royal Pains episode mentioned above).

The auto-injectors are designed to be given simultaneously or one immediately after the other, as soon as possible after symptoms appear, by the exposed person if at all possible (one of those “help yourself before assisting other passengers” things).

Another type of kit is also available, called the duodote, and contains both drugs in one auto-injector. Duodote kits are also available in bulk for response to mass-casualty events. Though specific drugs carried in the national stockpile are not published publicly, pralidoxime, atropine, and diazepam are likely included.

As it stands, Ambulances (and, I’m assuming law enforcement vehicles??) in major US cities carry Mark 1 or duodote kits for the medical and rescue personnel serving inside them. Military personnel serving in areas where nerve agent attacks are a potential hazard may carry up to three. In the case of an attack, if exposed and symptomatic, rescue personnel can self-administer the kits, or provide “buddy aid” to unconscious personnel. These kits are not for use, typically, by civilians. 

Note that people do not get immediately better when treated. These are primarily life-saving drugs, and repeated doses and medical care may be needed for weeks to months after.

Protecting Against Them:

For your characters who may be called into service to respond to a nerve agent attack (or who may be going in after a character exposed to nerve agents), there are a couple of options for keeping them safe(r).

There are a few options for detecting nerve agents in the environment. These range from “M8″ or “M9″ paper pads (which detect agents by changing color when exposed), but that only work on liquids, to more sophisticated and very expensive machines that pull air through special detectors that can identify chemicals that have been vaporized or turned into gas. 

Currently, “Level A” personal protective equipment is recommended by OSHA for any potential exposure to nerve agents. For reference, that’s this snazzy suit:

In addition to this (or instead of, if your characters are feeling lucky), there is a chemical option for preventing nerve agent poisoning. A drug called butyrylcholinesterase is currently in development to bind any nerve agent before it has the opportunity to cause problems in the body. This could be given to law enforcement, medical, and rescue personnel in the event of a nerve agent attack where they would need to be fit enough for duty to respond and have a high likelihood of becoming exposed.

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[merlin-wolfgang-trades-hale]

Danny watched as the men with guns approached Steve while the building around them trembled and threatened to collapse. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t going to end well. He felt scared and worried....and something familiar down deep inside of him. Something he thought he lost long ago and hasn’t thought about in decades. He doesn’t have time to think and he acts on instinct. He holds out his hands and yells, hearing and feeling that buzz in his ears whenever he used to be able to use his powers. The men’s guns fly away from their arms, and they themselves are thrown in the opposite direction. As parts of the ceiling fell in, Danny’s anger increased and tapped into a force he hasn’t felt in too long. He’s shoving the pieces away from Steve, some of them actually shatter into smaller piece...almost into rumble...leaving Steve safe from harm. 

His ears are ringing and he’s on his knees now. His vision is blurred and he feels exhausted. 

“anny! Danny! Hey Danny!” 

Danny blinks and Steve’s above him, looking worried. Out of an old instinct he thought was forgotten, he wipes his nose...there’s blood. So it was back. He looked at Steve...part of him should be worried about Steve finding out but he’s too tired. 

He passes out. 

When he wakes up, he’s not in a hospital but on Steve’s couch. He tried to get up but Steve’s pushing him down. “Whoa...whoa...hey, none of that. Lie still.”

“‘m fine...” Danny muttered as he tried to get up again, but Steve kept him down. 

“No. You’re not. You’ve been out for two days, Danny! I...I had to call in favors to keep you out of the hospital while worrying if it was the right decision because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing!” 

“Steve, bud...calm down. You’re kinda panicking here.” 

“Am I? I haven’t noticed! Danny, you...you killed those men with your mind! You stopped the ceiling from crushing me...with your mind! And then you were bleeding from your nose! And then you wouldn’t wake up!” 

Danny takes a deep breath and then takes Steve’s hand in his. He reassures him that he is fine...he just hasn’t used his powers in a long time. He tells Steve he thought he lost them. 

Once Steve seems calm and reassured that he wasn’t in fact going crazy and that he hadn’t endangered Danny’s life by keeping him out of the hospital, Danny began to tell Steve about...his life. His real life. 

He shows Steve his arm with the tattoo of 010. He tells him that he was a twin. He had a sister named Jane and that his birth mother wasn’t Clara but she was the one who found him after he had escaped. He tells Steve the earliest memories he has about being an experiment and helping the government look for what he assumes were spies with his abilities...about Papa...he was kept away from the other children, but being a twin he kept a connection with his sister for a while...but it faded. When he saw his chance, he escaped and was a terrified but powerful kid...who came across a kind woman who saw him and brought him home...after realizing how special Danny was she and her husband did their best to protect him and eventually...it all became history. He got a new name...a new family...and along the way he used but lost his powers but they didn’t seem to matter as much. 

Steve believed him. And he was incredibly more protective of Danny afterward, especially around the government. Steve wasn’t sure about Danny’s powers. They were awesome yes, but the nose bleeding made him worry about brain damage and things like that. Danny himself didn’t want to become reliant on his power again but he couldn’t ignore them either. 

Which brings them to the present. During a kidnapping, he’d been blindfolded and the place they were keeping him was near the ocean, which served as white noise. He managed to tap into his powers and he saw how Steve was worried about him...he tries to talk to him but his powers weren’t strong enough to make a connection yet. But he tried...he yelled and he told Steve where he was. 

In that dark void, where it was only him and Steve...suddenly there was someone else. 

“Ten?”

Danny turned and he was frozen for a moment. Then he replied as he got flashbacks, “Eleven...” 

The young woman looked around and then nodded to him with a determined look. “I’m coming.” 

Danny wasn’t sure why he knew to trust that...but he pointed at Steve, “Go to Steve. You can trust him.” 

She looked at Steve and nodded. Then it all faded away and Danny went back to reality. He wasn’t sure if it was real or if help was truly coming. But he didn’t spend that time peacefully. Memories he didn’t have before came bursting into the forefront. Memories of running away after an argument with Stella and finding his sisters in Chicago, going back to Hawking with Eleven and helping her and her family and friends with the creatures of the Upsidedown. Sticking around and being raised for a year with Jane and Hopper, bring a protective brother when it came to Mike...hanging out with Dustin and crushing on Steve Harrington cos of his pretty hair. The Russians...the Mind Flayer...being hunted and losing power with his sister...and after what happened to Hopper, going back to the Williams...A lot of pain...and then losing Billy Selway...it was too much and he repressed it. 

When he’s freed, Steve’s there...and he’s pulling him into a tight embrace. El is on the side waiting patiently for her turn. When they embrace...it’s too much for Danny and he passes out again. 

----

El stays a bit and she and Danny bond. They retell their life’s stories ...when El learns about Steve she smiled at Danny, “You and your thing for Steve’s...”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve asked. 

“He used to have a huge crush on Steve Harrington when we were teens. He liked his hair...and his sailor costume.” El said with a smirk. 

“Sailor costume?” 

“He worked at Scoops, it was sailor themed and his hair was amazing okay?” Danny defended himself with a blush. 

Steve frowned and said, “Couldn’t have been that amazing. And I’m a real sailor.” 

“Your boyfriend is jealous. That’s cute.” 

“I am not!” Steve argued but pouted as he reached for Danny’s hand. “I bet he’s bald now anyway...”

“His hair is still great,” El told him honestly. 

“Hey, you may not have Harrington hair but you have something he doesn’t,” Danny told him. 

“What?” 

“Danny, duh,” El told him with an eye roll. Then told Danny, “He has Steve’s brain though...maybe it’s a Steve thing.” 

Danny chuckled. “Maybe. But I like my Steve better.” 

“Damn right you do.” Steve said as he pulled Danny close and held him protectively. “So you guys really took on the Russians?” 

“Yeah. We were bitchin’.” El said proudly.  || Lol, I couldn’t let it go. Something small||

[youngeditor1999]

Why Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams Deserve Everlasting Happiness Together: An Essay by a Hardcore Shipper

Ok, so before I begin this, you should know that I am a hardcore McDanno shipper. Aside from Kono and Adam, they are my number one O.T.P. on Hawaii Five-0. I am literally so obsessed with Steve and Danny and their relationship, and I'm not ashamed of it, either. Therefore, this comment I'll most likely come off as biased, but I have very good logic behind what I'm about to say. (Also, I can already tell that this post is going to be verrrrrryyyy long, so buckle up and get comfy if you are planning to read everything I've written.)

To start, I see many comments reading, "They have great chemistry, they should still be together, they are endgame..." etc. while all of this is true, to be honest, they are better suited off as friends. They tried to make a relationship work, but usually, it did not.

"But they were together on and off for five seasons!" Is what some of you are probably already thinking. This is true, but unfortunately, it does not mean that they are forever meant to be together.

Remember Billy, Catherine's ex from season 3? Just to clarify, he died in the middle of season 4. However, before he died, he was trying to get back together with Catherine. She had chemistry with him, too. The only problem was that she was legitimately already with Steve at that time. To be honest, I always liked her better with Billy then I did with Steve. They just went better together, in my opinion.

So Catherine and Steve were together. Then, in season 5, she and Steve went to Afghanistan (or some other, terrible, Taliban filled town) in order to save somebody that had helped Catherine when she'd been in the military. If you'll recall, at the end of that episode, Catherine decided to stay behind to help the people get their son back. Steve went back to the United States, heartbroken and crying.

All of this made me still think that Steve and Catherine still had a slight chance to make it. But then.

BUT. THEN.

Catherine returned in the season 5 finale to attend Kono's wedding. Ok, cool. Steve has a date for the wedding of the century. That was all fine and good. Obviously, that was the same episode when they broke up. To be frank, I always thought it would be Steve that broke up with Catherine, obviously so he could go FINALLY be with Danny, his one true love. But instead, Catherine broke up with Steve, citing that she decided to go do some good, volunteer work in a foreign country. I remember her saying to Steve, "Five-0 is your thing. Please, let this be mine."

Then her car to take her to the airport arrived, and she got in. She made a phone call.

Now, to the viewers who had history with this show, they knew that as SOON as she punched in a code before speaking that it was no good. Steve's mom, also a spy, had done the same thing in previous episodes, so they knew what was up. The real slap in the face, though, was when she said to the voice on the phone who she was-badge number, name, the whole nine yards. Then, we hear a male voice on the other end of the line ask, "Is he fooled?" (Or something similar). Catherine's reply came sharp. (Again, not an exact quote, but pretty close. I think you'll get the memo). "He doesn't know anything. He thinks I'm volunteering," she said.

It was then that I officially stopped wanting them to be in a relationship. I get why she couldn't tell Steve, but still! She fucking choose that same life/lifestyle that his mother had had; a lifestyle that she knew he hated. If she truly loved and cared for him as more than a friend, then she would've rejoined Five-0, or at LEAST have found a cool, different job in Oahu.

But no. She literally betrayed Steve, and for what, anyway? We never did get a good understanding or explanation of why she decided to join the C.I.A. It is a concept that stills boggles my mind to this very day. Most recently, Catherine came back for the 150th episode, which is where this clip is obviously from. But this point, I was beyond done with her. I was so irritated when she came back, especially because she interrupted Steve's date with Lynn. Oh, right. And she never told Steve that she became a spy, so he was clearly shocked when she divulged this piece of information.

This brings me to my next point. Steve, his mom, and Catherine had to fight off some bad guys after his mom, and then hide from them. When the doorbell rang at the safe house, it was the rest of the Five-0 team, minus Danny who was in New Jersey to be there for his dad who'd just had knee surgery. (In real life, Scott Caan was busy with his new family and couldn't schedule to film the 150th episode). Steve had called Danny earlier that day to tell him what was going on, and Danny decided to call the rest of the team to help him.

Yeah. Danny called the team. Not Catherine, who probably knew that they were gonna need backup. Danny, who wasn't even there, called the team and made sure they were there for Steve.

That's just one example of why Steve and Danny are so important to each other and belong together; much more so than Steve and Catherine. Let's go back few years, to season three. Danny had accidentally stepped on a bomb. The bomb would explode if he stepped off, killing everyone in the vicinity, himself included. Steve know this, but he stayed anyway. Even at Danny's persistence of him to, "Just go, Steve. Go me there for Grace. Get out of here, save yourself!", Steve did not budge. He insisted on staying and they talked and tried to get Danny to forget why he was even there in the first place. His persistence in not wanting to go proves that they have more than friendship, especially when he knew exactly what to talk about or get Danny calm enough so that he would momentarily forget about the bomb.

Fast forward to season four. The episode where the building collapsed had to have been the most dramatic episode of season four. To refresh, Steve, Danny, and the rest of the team were in a paring grange, looking for a victim. I don't speak exactly remember why, but the rest of the team left the garage, except for Danny and Steve. They investigated until they found a man bound and gagged, tied to a chair in a separate room. Just as they were figuring out what he was saying, which was, "BOMB!" the bomb went off, collapsing the building.

That episode was solely focused on Steve and Danny and how they were gong to get out of their predicament. Danny was also badly hurt, his leg trapped under a cement pillar. Steve didn't give up. After freeing Danny, he temporarily managed to fix his wound, and then created a mini-bomb that would let the people looking for them where they were. It worked and they were free. Once out, they exchanged their first ever "I love yous" while hard-core hugging. This was no "hey bro!" hug. This was an "I am so serious about this, I really do love you," hug. And I don't think I'm wearing shipper goggles for that moment. I genuinely think that that meant what they said. They embraced for a really long time, surprisingly longer then what I would've thought producers would've liked.

After that epic bromance scene, season five was filled with plenty more bromantic/ shipper-O.T.P. feels. That was the season when they went to therapy! Ok, fine, true, it's because they are "work partners" and it was mandatory, but you can't tell me that they weren't acting like a married couple throughout all of those scenes. There is one episode from that therapy time period in particular that I am thinking of, and it has everything to do with undercover work. It's the part of the episode where there is a huge bank heist and Danny and Steve decide to head to an apartment across the street from the robber so they can spy on her and see what she is planning on doing next.

The Five-0 team (but more importantly, the production staff and possibly Peter Lenvok) could have had anyone do this. They could have had cousins Kono and Chin watching out or even the odd combination of Grover and Chin. But no. They choose Steve and Danny. Shippers all across the globe rejoiced.

The best part of their stay in the place (besides, of course, seeing how Danny and Steve would live with each other if given the real chance to) was when it was nighttime and one kept a lookout while the other one slept. Steve decide to watch first, so Danny slept, and he randomly woke up in the middle of Steve's shift. He noticed that the "Perfect Partners" workbook the therapist had given them had been moved, which he thought was funny, because Steve already made it a known that he didn't want anything to do with the book. So he said something about it, and Steve didn't confess to moving it, even though we all know that he did.

Steve then told Danny a story about his youth; a salty that made him seem more human in Danny's eyes. He started it of by saying, "Music. I'm into music," when Danny asked why his hobbies were. "So?" Danny had retorted. "That's a cop-out. Everyone is into music." "No, I meant I'm into playing it," Steve responded. He then told Danny the story about when he was a junior in high school and was in the school talent show to play his guitar. But he had had major stage fright and hadn't actually gone through with it, getting off the stage before he even began. He said to Danny, "That is the reason why I still don't play the guitar to this day," Steve had finished the story. He also add that he had previously never told anyone that story before, which is why it was an important plot point in the McDanno tale. Once he was done, Danny laughed at him. "A little bit of stage fright stopped you from forever playing the guitar?" He'd asked. They then had one of their cute little arguments over the whole issue, and right before Danny went back to sleep, he said, "You know, after all we've been though together...your father...my brother...I would be thought you would've opened up to me more by now." Steve causally responds, "I just did." The McDanno universe (myself included) lost all chill, reblogging that moment over and over.

Later, at the end of that same episode, Steve, Danny and everybody else were at Kamakoahs to eat. Steve and Danny had to leave early, in order to go to their thereby appointment. Ruth, who we met earlier in the episode, was really confused. Remember, she was the old lady who thought that Danny and Steve were gay and living together, to which Steve responded, "We're not gay, we're Five-0." Later, after she left, Danny said, "You know, I would've just vine with the gay thing." So that happened, which does is why Ruth was so confused. As they left, she said, "Wait. I thought they weren't gay." The rest of the team didn't even deny it, they just joyfully laughed, as if to say, "Yeah, girl, we know. They're just faking it. We know they are gay together."

So they walked to Danny's Camaro, and that's when a fan fiction moment happened. You possibly know what I'm talking about. In case you don't, fanfiction moments are those little things in which you think, "Yeah, this can definitely only and will only happen in this fan fiction universe. Sigh." But then the thing from the fan fic actually does happen on the real show, and life suddenly becomes magical. Anyway, this fan fic moment was when Danny revealed that he'd gotten Steve a gift. After telling Danny that he didn't do his part of their assignment, joking that the dog ate his homework, we find out what the gift is. In the trunk of the Camaro, Steve pulled out an elegant black guitar case. Steve had asked, "What is this, Danny?" Danny, his usual snarky self, responded, "It's a tuba, you schmuck. Just open it and you'll see." Inside the case was a beautiful, new guitar which Danny had purchased specifically for Steve. As Danny looked on proudly, Steve muttered, "Danny, Danny, DANNY," with a small smile on his face. He strummed a few strings, and they had a little back and forth conversation about Steve's new instrument, including some things about why Danny had purchased it in the first place. I don't remember what exactly was said, but I do recall that Danny had gotten it for Steve so that he could get back into playing again. Then, Steve put the guitar back in the case and looked thoughtful for a moment. He slammed the trunk of the Camaro and tossed the keys to Danny, saying, "You know what? You drive." Danny caught the keys, a look of pure shock on his face. "I drive. Wow," a stunned Danny said as he accepted the gesture. "Don't get too excited," Steve had replied as he climbed in the passenger seat for the first time in a long time. "I'm still controlling the radio." Driving away, Steve did exactly that, messing around with the switch from the passenger seat.

Ok. That scene was very important for many reasons. Let's start with guitar. Danny didn't have to get him that. Steve never asked him for it, he simply told Danny a story. A story which he had never told anyone before, ever. This obviously includes Catherine, which doesn't make sense. If they were so close, wouldn't Steve have trusted her enough to tell her this about himself? But he never did. He chose to tell Danny instead. Danny went above and beyond what any purely platonic friend would, and it showed. I'm not saying that friends can't buy friends nice gifts for no reason, but it just felt different, in that case. I know that whenever my friends tell me something about themselves, I don't immediately rush out to buy them some thing hella expensive for no reason at all. And it wasn't even the fact that he bought Steve a gift for no reason. It was the fact of what it was, combined with the fact of the story (as mentioned above). It also didn't hurt that Danny could see that that life experience really affected Steve, and that he missed playing his guitar. Steve was extremely touched by the gesture, and Danny was so proud of himself for buying that expensive instrument for Steve. I don't think Danny had ever done doe thing like that for anyone before, not even the people in his family. It was especially worth it to him when Steve admitted to loving at first touch. The smile on both of their faces when the guitar was revealed says enough about this topic, in my opinion. It proves that A) They care enough about each other to listen, talk, and reveal information about themselves without getting made fun of (at least not too much, anyway) and B) they are willing to go the extra mile just to make each other happy.

The other reason that end scene was crucial was the whole "Danny is driving " thing. For those who are casual watchers, it is important to know that basically, ever since the day they met, Steve has been driving Danny's Camaro. This fact has been brought up many times before in the script, and it is the main source of their many "carguments" (I'm not telling you what that is. You can look it up yourself if you don't know). It was even brought up in one of their therapy appointments from earlier in season five. For Steve to actually let Danny drive for once was a huge milestone on his part. He was so affected, surprised, and touched by the gift of the amazing guitar that he felt like he had to let Danny drive after that. It was a compromise he was willing to make. It also shows the progress that they made in their relationship that day, and it was just more overall proof that they are the endgame couple.

I could clearly go on and on forever about these two. Another really good example of their relativity is when they have to go to couple's counseling as part of their mandatory therapy. Do you all remember that? Just for a refresher, that was the one where Steve literally signed them up for couples counseling; as in husband-and-wife couples counseling. Anyway. That episode is "feels worthy" in its entirety (especially the ending where they were just chilling at a table, eating lunch together. Also, Steve round Danny's arm to "feel the effects of the lotion". Sure, Steve. If that excuse works for you...).

Beside those specific examples, there have multiple hugs and touches that have lingered for far too long. Danny calls Steve "Babe"; a nickname he rarely calls anybody else, and Steve calls Danny "Danno". True, this is mostly to annoy him, but as Danny gets to know Steve better, he slowly realizes that he actually doesn't mind it. "When I say 'Danno'...it's a term of endearment," Steve said in season one when Danny was protesting it. Much to Steve's surprise, Danny responded, "Do it every day, then. I like it." Steve smiled all goofily, and it was worth it for all those times of Danny yelling at Steve to not use it. Another point to bring up-they are the few people to ever use each other's full names; Steven and Daniel, respectively. The only other people who occasionally call them by their full names are the few times their parents (sometimes not even that, but a parent-like figure) have been on the show. Whenever they call the other by their full name, it's usually to prove a point, to get the others attention, or even just to subtly let them know that they are different from what everyone else knows. Again, this is just my opinion.

Then there are various innuendos that refer to Danny and Steve in a non-bro/non- platonic way, including the amount of times they say, "I love you," to each other. The one after the building collapse made sense, but every time they say it after that is just to mess with shippers. They really do love each other, though. In fact, at the end of one particularly memorable occasion, Danny combined nickname with an I love you. He was talking to Steve about something, and at the end of their conversation, he looked up at Steve and said, "That's why I love you, babe." All of the McDanno shippers died a little bit that day. (Well, I know I did, anyway.) Also, side-note: Remember the "air hearts" from season two?! Oh! And that time in season three where they went fishing together and then got stranded for almost the whole episode? Tell me that wasn't one of the greatest things to ever see on Hawaii Five-0, and in the McDanno world...! My point is that they have all these endearment terms that they say to each other, sometimes for no reason at all. They are saying them because they want to, not because they feel like they have to. To me, it doesn't feel forced onto the characters, either. It just seems natural and easy with them. Even people who don't ship them (yes, there are some) raised eyebrows at the amount of times they are unusually sweet on each other.

I also want to mention episode 8 from season 7, specifically the ending. (SPOILER ALERT. Duh.) It was an emotional episode all around, but after the Five-0 team arrested all or the bad guys, and all of the hostages were free again, they all individually hugged it out with one another. Steve and Danny were a good space apart from each other. They were smiling and looking at each other, clearly enjoying the fact that they were both ok. Finally, Steve broke the silence by saying, "What, no hug?" Even the casual viewer would be able to tell that he was disappointed and slightly sad about this fact. And then Danny Williams said the most scream-worthy thing he's said in a long time.

"If I hug you, I might kiss you, and then where would it stop?"

ASDFGHHJKLLKJFFDSAA. That was literally my reaction to that quote, aside from screaming and jumping up and down. True, people could say that they were just so relieved that both of them were safe, and that's why he said it, but honestly? I don't think so. First of all, they looked at each other, goofily smiling for way too long, as they usually do. Next, Danny said, "then where would it stop?" If he had left that part out, it would be less scream-worthy. In that one sentence, everything Danny Williams has ever actually, truly wanted was finally made clear. He wants Steve.

Catherine has never done anything like this for Steve. Honestly, she was always too busy playing the damsel in distress and worrying about herself rather than Steve and trying to fix the problem at hand. Even though she was in the Navy, same as Steve, Danny somehow understands this fact better than she does. The funny thing is that Danny was never in any sort military whatsoever. To clarify, I'm not even talking about all of the times where Danny has casually made fun of what branch Steve served in. In my opinion, Danny understands the things that happened to Steve while he was over there, and he can relate to the trauma he went through. Catherine, on the other hand, never wanted to talk about serious issues with Steve, even if he brought it up. Most of the time, unless it involved a problem she was in, she gave no care to what Steve's past experiences had been. However, I know that this argument is, as my Algebra II teacher would put it, "weak sauce", so you can come after me for that if you'd like. Anyway, back to the point. I just think that Catherine was a poorly developed character from the moment we met her. Aside from occasionally helping Five-0 with some cases, she didn't really add any substance to the story, especially when it came to matters involving Steve. In fact, the only real, solo plot lines she ever really got was the things with Billy, her ex, and then of course the would "I'm going to stay in Afghanistan" Taliban thing. She also got the spy story line, which was bitter to many, and it didn't do a great job on making me believe that she and Steve could ever be in a real relationship. It was lazy acting, especially on Michelle Borth's (the woman that plays Catherine) part. She could have done a lot better, including trying to convince the writers and producers to come up with a better story for Catherine. Ok, to be fair, I think that if that dumbass spy storyline was better, it could've possibly saved their sinking relationship. But alas, it didn't, and in all honesty, I thought it was a dumb plot twist. To me, it wasn't even a plot twist, but I regress. To get back on topic...even when she was with Steve, actually in a relationship with him, there were still things with Danny that made her side–eye and question them. Obviously, I have examples, but that would take too much time to write all of them down. Trust me, though, there's many examples of this.

Overall, given all of the great evidence I have provided, it is clear to see why Steve and Catherine do not belong together. They will never be my personal endgame, anyway. Danny and Steve have something special; something more than friendship, or even a silly, fun bromance. I will 100% stand by the McDanno ship until the day I die. Even if it has absolutely no chance of ever legitimately becoming canon, I will not give up. Fuck, when the show eventually, ends and if they are STILL not together, I will be shipping it. (And also writing letters/making phone calls/leaving messages on all of their social media's to the production staff and writers questing why the hell they baited us after all of those years and then never followed through on it.) It is my belief that if two people are meant to be together, they will find a way to be together. Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams clearly are these two people. They have gone above and beyond on showing the world what love really is. Catherine and Steve have not. Sure, they've had a lot of fun together, but that does not begin to compare to the amazing relationship that Danny and Steve have built for themselves. I will never lose hope about McDanno.

Catherine is just another thing standing in the way. Danny and Steve WILL be together one day. For real. Forever. It's just a matter of time and bravery. The fans are more than ready, and the writers have been leading up to a real relationship between them for years. I don't care who you ship, you absolutely cannot deny the fireworks happening between those two. Mark my words and take this long-ass...thing I've written as proof. But until everyone (writers, actors, fans, literally everyone involved with Five-0) gets their shit together...well, at least there's a fanfic for that!

If anyone would like to discuss post this with me, feel free to message me directly. I'd be thrilled to talk to you about McDanno. And of not, that's cool too. I'll always be here, though, if you need to desperately drop a line(:

[mymcdanno]

Fic: You changed my world

Summary: Danny doesn’t like how the people at the bar are looking at Steve.

Author note: Hi guys!!! This fic was written for my beautiful angel @themcinebcnd, because she’s amazing and her birthday was two days ago :D I would also like you to know that English is not my native language, so all mistakes are mine and if you have any advise or criticism for me please let me know! Oh, and if you would like to see jealous!Danny on the actual show go watch season 1 episode 9 – it’s amazing!!

**

Sometimes after the team had solved an unusually hard case, they liked to go out for a drink or two to celebrate. That had never been a problem before, because to Danny they were like a family and he enjoyed spending some time with them outside of work. This time something felt different, though.

Kono was telling them a story that Adam had told her, and Steve and Chin were both laughing but Danny was too distracted to pay attention to what she was saying. The reason for that was simple – there was a blonde girl sitting at the bar, the same one that had tried to get Steve’s attention a few times this evening. She was currently eyefucking Steve from afar, even though he had already turned her down twice, and Danny couldn’t help but glare at her.

“Hey, Danny?” Kono asked, looking at him with concern in her eyes. “You’ve been spacing out a lot tonight. Is everything okay?”

“What?” Danny asked, looking at Kono again. “Oh, yeah - yeah. Sorry, everything is fine.” But it was too late. Steve turned to look at what Danny could have seen, and then back at him. He had this look on his face, like he had just figured something out. Shit.

Steve didn’t end up saying anything about what just happened, so the evening went mostly well after that. The four of them enjoyed some free time together, laughing and telling each other stories, but Danny couldn’t get this out of his head.

**

The next time it happened, it didn’t go as smoothly.

Danny had realized that Steve got hit on pretty much everywhere they went, and the part of him that had a huge crush on Steve wasn’t having any of it. He realized that it wasn’t ideal, or professional, but it was how he felt and he couldn’t do much about it.

The thing that got to him the most, Danny thought, was the fact that Steve looked and acted so differently when he wasn’t working. At work he was always so focused on every single case, doing whatever was necessary to keep everyone safe, that he sometimes didn’t look completely human. It was almost like he had switches in his brain that he could flip, probably something he had learned during his training in the navy and couldn’t let go of.

But right now he looked so soft, laughing and smiling with everyone else, that Danny couldn’t help but look at him fondly. So when he realized that the guy who was currently trying to buy Steve drinks was running his hands down Steve’s back, it suddenly all became too much.

Danny put down his own drink on some random table, leaving Kono and Chin alone and very confused. He hurriedly made his way towards the bar and to the other side of Steve to get his attention, wanting to drag him to somewhere quiet so they could talk.

**

“- the hell is going on with you? You’ve been acting weird all night, and now you’re taking me to the bathroom of all places - “

Steve was talking, but apparently Danny didn’t care. He didn’t look very happy either, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Is there something I should know about this guy you were so obviously flirting with at the bar?”

“… what?” Steve couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he was so confused that he didn’t even have a proper answer for any of this.

“That guy at the bar, Steve. The one who’s been buying you drinks and stroking your back all night?”

“I’m - what about him? I mean, yeah, we flirted a little bit, but I don’t - “

“Yeah, well, I don’t like him.”

“What do you mean you don’t like him?! And why should that matter to me anyway? I’m old enough to make my own decisions about these things, you know.”

“Oh, okay. So what, you two are getting married now or…?” Danny asked, his clearly disapproving glare making Steve very uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to ask Danny again what the hell was going on, but then it finally hit him.

“Oh my god, you’re jealous!”

“What?! No, of course not! That- that’s stupid, why would I be jealous?”

“I don’t know, but you are. You so are!” Steve answered, his smirk only getting bigger.

“This isn’t about me, okay? You just-“ Danny was blushing now, and he didn’t dare to look at Steve. He muttered something under his breath and turned to walk through the door, but Steve grabbed his arm and stopped him – looking serious now.

“Hey, Danno. What is this really all about?”

Danny sighed, looking up from the floor and trying to decide what to do. Maybe he should just tell Steve, then at least he would know he had no chance. It would hurt, but it would get better eventually. He took a deep breath, and suddenly it all came out at once.

“Okay, this seems so stupid when I say it out loud because you obviously don’t feel the same but something about you has changed for me, and for whatever reason I have actually started to really like you, even more than just friends you know, and it’s hard because I don’t know what to do about it when you get so much attention from everyone else -“

Steve was smiling now, his grin only getting bigger the longer Danny went on, and he slowly moved closer to where Danny was standing.

“ – and I know you don’t feel the same way so I shouldn’t even be saying this, but I really have feelings for you and for some reason tonight really got to me and I’m sorry, I never should have said anything and-“

“Danny, look at me.”

Danny stopped rambling to finally look up at Steve, afraid of what he might find there after what he had just said, but he found nothing but a soft smile and bright eyes. Then Steve was talking again.

“You are wrong, okay? You’re so wrong, and I can’t believe it took us both so long to figure this out but I really have feelings for you too. Danny, I – you have changed my world so much. I completely fell for you when I first saw you, but I just… I didn’t want to say anything, because I was afraid that it would ruin things.”

It didn’t happen often, but Danny was absolutely speechless. They had now moved even closer to each other, so their lips were almost touching.

It was Steve that closed the gap between them, and then they were finally kissing.

When they eventually pulled away they were both panting, breathless from the intensity of the moment. Steve moved his hand so it held the side of Danny’s face, brushing his thumb softly over the cheekbone. “You believe me, right?”

Danny leaned into the touch, smiling softly and looking up at him. “I honestly have no idea why, but yeah. Yeah, I really do.” Then they were kissing again, both smiling into it, and for the first time in a while everything felt right again.

[scientifically-strange]

Winter

The Winter Soldier was a lot of things. He was merciless. He was cruel. He was compliant. He sent a chill down the spines of his handlers every time he so much as looked at them, despite the fact that he was always at their mercy. 

Luckily, though, the Winter Soldier no longer existed.

Bucky Barnes did, and he was fixing all of the things Hydra made him do. He had taken out almost all of the Hydra bases he remembered on the western seaboard. The one he was currently checking out now was his last one. He remembered being here briefly, he thinks. Or maybe it was just one like it. But wither way, the shipments that were coming and going didn’t look good next to armed guard that were dressed in pristine, white suits. 

He gripped his rifle a little tighter, fingering the trigger with his flesh hand. He pulled the scope up to his face before slowing his breath and blowing the brains out of one of the guards. The other one next to him now had red on his suit, and a panicked look on his face under his sunglasses. Bucky climbed down from his hiding spot and slipped in during the confusion, ready to tear apart every single agent in there. But when he got inside, he found a large, empty room. Not a swarm of guards. 

The base had a lot of hallways ahead of him, but if this storage room was empty that meant that those weren’t shipment trucks, those were moving trucks. He growled and whirled around, shooting the back tires of the three trucks closest to him. He had a sinking feeling in his gut. It was a knot of doubt, that maybe this wasn’t a Hydra facility. Maybe his Intel, his own brain, had been wrong. It wouldn’t surprise him if it was. But he could swear he could remember those halls.

He quickly shook his head, getting refocused. Take down the base with everyone in it. Burn it to the ground. That was his self-proclaimed mission. He had to do it. Get any information on him in the process.

He crept through the halls, peeking in several doors. If anybody was inside well, they wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Not with how fast he was. 

He finally found the computer systems, all backed up with rare information about him. He sifted through the main computer, pulling out a flash drive before plugging it in and typing furiously. 

But he didn’t find anything on him. Instead, he found information on someone called P-42. He narrowed his eyes and clicked on the files.

He was almost sick.

Bucky knew he had been through a lot of bad, crazy shit, but to see a teenager go through all sorts of experiments while awake, well, it made him angry. If he didn’t control his temper he was going to be seeing nothing but red here in a few moments. 

He was scrawny, white hair and blazing green eyes. They called him Phantom when they spoke to him, but in the reports it was strictly P-42. He sifted through some more, because wherever this kid was, whatever bad he had ever done, Bucky knew deep down nobody deserved that kind of torture. 

He looked to the cameras, checking the hallways. There were guards running back and forth, but another thing caught his eye. Right under the guards and next to the empty storage room was the live feed of the white haired kid, curled up in the corner of his cell. He had glowing green shackles and green and red-stained hair. His head was in his knees, and Bucky couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or cowering. 

He was here. He could help. 

There was obviously nothing about him on the computers because this wasn’t a Hydra base, Bucky concluded, but that didn’t stop him from transferring all of the information on the kid onto the drive before packing up and heading to the cells. He was gonna enjoy taking these guys out. 

It didn’t take long for him to get there, what with his speed and quick firing. And there weren’t many cells in this place, so that was also helpful. He slowed to a walk as he gazed into each cell, looking for the teenager. He found him at the very end on the right side, still curled up into a ball. What Bucky couldn’t see from the camera is that the kid was trembling harder than a leaf. He knocked on the glass, and the boy shrink in on himself, mumbling something Bucky couldn’t pick up. It sounded vaguely like static. Bucky blamed it on the glass. 

He knocked again, still no answer. He sighed, tightening his hold on his rifle as he quickly looked behind him to make sure he was still clear. 

“Hey, kid!” He said. The boy;s head snapped up, eyes wide with fear. His face was sunken in and if Bucky really wanted to he could probably count almost all of his ribs. 

“Who are you?” He asked. The bravado in his voice didn’t match his trembling figure one bit, and Bucky had to give the kid props for trying. 

“Name’s Bucky. Watch out for the glass.”

Phantom was in the middle of responding when Bucky quickly broke the glass with a few strong punches with his left arm. The first four punches made it spiderweb. It was the fifth that was his lucky shot. 

“Why are you here?” Phantom asked, unraveling a little bit. His shaking had stopped, but he was still eyeing Bucky warily, as if this was all a trap. Bucky couldn’t blame him for that.

“Came here for answers,” Bucky answered truthfully, but vaguely. “Found you instead.” 

As he spoke he walked towards Phantom, who backed away, running into the wall. There was a spark of defiance in the kid’s eyes, and Bucky felt his lops twitch up just a little. Nice to know he wasn’t a broken shell of himself like Bucky had been. 

He skillfully flipped his knife out of the sheath on his thigh and cut through the green chords holding the boy to the wall. 

“Why are you helping me?” Phantom looked at him with confused eyes, but there was a spark of hope in them. Bucky shrugged.

“I was in a similar situation. Nobody deserves this shit.”

He pulled Phantom’s arm around his shoulders to help him walk. He doubted those strings he called legs were going to do much. Phantom sagged against Bucky, and Bucky briefly thought about just carrying the kid instead of just supporting him. 

“Bucky,” Phantom grit out. This kid must be hurting all over. Bucky huffed as he pulled Phantom up a little more. “Bucky, I’m-”

He stopped short, falling to the ground on his hands and knees before a bright, white light suddenly enveloped the boy, turning the white hair and green eyes to a shock of black hair and dull, icy irises. 

Phantom went sideways, unconscious. 

Looks like I’m gonna have to carry him anyway, Bucky thought as he managed to get the kid in a fireman’s carry. This way he was still able to use his gun. 

Nobody would hurt this kid as long as Bucky was with him, that was for damn sure.

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

Bucky grunted as he set Phantom down, taking note of the slow rise and fall of his chest. They were five miles away from the base Bucky had burned down, and now he was hot wiring a car. He needed to get this kid somewhere safe, and he only knew one place where he had a chance of being accepted.

The car started without a hitch and Bucky strapped Phantom into the backseat before he got back in and drove off.

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

Phantom woke up when they were maybe an hour from Stark’s ugly ass tower. He hadn’t really known how to contact any of them. He hadn’t really tried either, but he was sure Steve would be over the damn moon at seeing Bucky’s ugly mug again. Especially since the last time they saw each other Bucky beat Steve’s face in. 

Good times.

“Where are we?” Phantom groaned. 

“New York,” Bucky replied ,not sparring a glance Phantom’s way. “What’s your name, kid?” He asked, because there was no way in hell his name was actually Phantom. 

“Danny,” he answered. Bucky nodded and stopped at a red light behind three other cars. “Where are you taking me?” He asked, worried. 

“Old friend of mine. You ever want to meet the Avengers?”

“You’re with the Avengers?!” Danny asked, excited. It was like a switch had been flipped, and now he was talking ninety miles an hour about superheroes and comic books and Captain America, and how he would kill to have a hammer as sweet as Thor’s. 

Bucky just nodded his head as the kid talked his ear off.

Bjkcy parked the car two streets down, so they would have to walk the rest of the way. Danny didn’t seem to mind though. He looked glad to be stretching his legs a little bit. And while he was still thin and pale, he looked significantly better than when Bucky had found him two days prior. If it hadn’t been for the steady breathing Bucky would have thought he was dead. And really, that would have been a fucking shame. 

Nobody really looked at them twice, except one guy in a suit. He was broad, with short dark hair and a serious look in his eye. He walked up to them, and Bucky wanted to curse his luck as he pulled sleeve of his left arm down a little further. He couldn’t have this guy ruining everything when the Avengers were the lcosest thing Danny would have to safety. At least until Bucky was sure it was safe for him to go home, wherever the hell that was. 

“Who are you?” He asked. Bucky steppe din front of Danny defensively, automatically. Bucky figured it was because that’s all he ever did with Steve, even when he became 240 lbs of All-American beef-cake. 

“Steve is expecting us,” he told the guy. “Tell him Bucky is here.”

“Right, okay,” the man said. He pulled out his cellphone though and tapped a few buttons before putting it up to his ear. 

He told the other person on the line what Bucky had said, and then there was some nodding and a few facial expressions that would have been comical if it were a different situation. He nodded one last time before hanging up. 

“Jarvis will take you all the way up to the living room floor,” the security guard said. “And if you need anything else, feel free to call. The name is Happy.”

“Right,” Bucky said with a nod. “Thanks.”

They stepped into the elevator, Bucky standing on one side and Danny on the other. They sat in a comfortable silence until they got to about five floors away, when Bucky stepped in front of the doors in case anybody decided to shoot at them. After all, he was sure nobody was going to welcome him with open arms. 

The elevator doors dinged and opened without any annoying screech sounds, and the next few things seemed to happen all at once.

1. Bucky was tackled by a large, blonde human with the personality of a lost puppy.

2. Three guns were pulled on him, and he made sure they were only on him. 

3. Danny stepped forward, tripping over himself trying to see which Avengers had decided to meet them

4. Danny almost got shot from surprising everybody because nobody expected to see him.

And really, that last one was Bucky’s fault. But he didn’t think about that. No, he just gave Steve a small smile when he pulled back, clapping a hand on the recovering Danny.

“This is Danny,” he said, eyeing Sam, who still had two guns trained on him. The third came from his little spider, Natalia. She lowered her gun, but didn’t put it away.

“I thought you said you were friends with them,” Danny said. Sam snorted, and Bucky glared at him. Yeah, the last time they aw each other Bucky had destroyed his wings and Sparta-kicked him off of a hellicarrier, but that was hardly an excuse for him to be an ass. 

“Sort of,” Bucky replied. “Listen, kid, with these guys you’ll be safe. I have some unfinished business to take care of,” Bucky said, aiming that last part towards Steve. He had been following Bucky around the world with Sam for the past year, and he couldn’t have that anymore. No, he needed to finish what he had started, and he couldn’t have Steve, Sam, Danny-anybody in the way. “So be good, yeah?” 

“Okay, Mom,” Danny replied with a roll of his eyes. You would think he’d be more of a mental case only two days after escaping whatever facility that was, not some snot-nosed brat with a mouth on him. But Bucky couldn't help the wry smile that spread across his face. Danny reminded him of a certain kid from Brooklyn who was to stupid to turn the other way.

Bucky clapped Danny on the shoulder and pushed him forward a little bit, towards Natasha, and stepped back inside. But before the doors could close, Steve stepped inside too, and then they went down. 

Danny looked around, stuffing his hand sin his pockets nervously. His fingers hit something small and plastic. He gripped it and brought it out, confused. When did this flash drive get there? 

He looked back at the elevator, but Natasha had already taken it from his hand. Before he could protest, Sam stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

“So,” he said easily. “Wanna see Thor’s hammer?”