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bellezaycafe · 9 months ago

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sunsets and self doubt (and words left unspoken) - 3

Main AO3 tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, 2024 Formula 1 Season

Sadie's Faceclaim: Maia Mitchell (but you can visualise her howver you want :) )

warnings: lots swearing, major car accident, mentions of broken bones, blood and hospitals. A lot of shit happens. Limited knowledge of Silverstone or how the structure of their emergency response on track works.

comments: ...prepare for pain. I'm not sorry. I did speak to a doctor friend, and Sadie continuing with her injuries is plausible.

“Fuck me, it’s a bit cold,” Sadie complained to the middle-aged paramedic beside her.

“Is it too cold for the Australian kid?” Mark laughed.

Sadie turned to him, looked up and frowned. “Not a kid, fuck you.”

Mark laughed again and tried to pat her on the head, which Sadie swatted away.

“Let’s just hope today’s race is dry,” he said after a moment.

Sadie nodded, stray wisps of her dark brown hair loosely flying around her face in the breeze.

Silverstone, in June, was the same temperature as Sadie’s home town in September, just leaving winter into spring.

“This is not summer weather,” she whined.

“You volunteered, kid,” Mark reminded her.

“I know, I know.”

“Where have they placed you?”

“Medics at turn 13. That’s Stowe, right?”

“Yeah. It can be a dangerous one. But you’re with my older brother Keith, so you’ll be fine.”

"How is it in the wet?"

"Worse, but the drivers are in safe hands."

----$----

Sadie paced as she watched 18 -Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri had sent each other out early in the race- of the best drivers in the world speed past.

“Sadie,” Keith called, “you should sit down.”

“I’m more anxious when I sit,” she replied without taking her eyes off the track. The track that was getting wetter and wetter as the minutes passed.

"Mark said to let you pace and I will, but nothing is going to happen," the grey-haired man reassured.

Sadie sent him a kind smile but didn't reply out loud.

It was a good thing she didn’t. They might have missed it.

Two Red Bulls, the McLaren and a Mercedes flew into view. The McLaren, Lando Norris' McLaren, clipped the back wheel of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, sending a shower of debris into the misting rain.

Lando's car spun twice and then slammed into the wall side on. Lewis spun once but managed to pull his car to a stop in the gravel before it could collide with anything.

Sadie was out the door, pulling on her mandatory helmet and grabbing a first aid kit before Keith was out of his chair.

"Go to the McLaren!" Keith shouted to her as he followed with another kit. "I'll take Hamilton!"

She didn't acknowledge his order but followed it without hesitation. She jumped the barrier, her gaze locked on the fluro-yellow helmet. The helmet that was barely moving.

"Norris," she shouted as she reached the car. "Are you okay?"

"No!" His voice came as a strangled croak, barely loud enough for her to hear him.

She dropped the first aid kit and grabbed the steering wheel he was holding out.

"You will be, we're here." She stated. "Can you get out?"

Sadie didn't breathe as Norris cried out. "My foot!" he wailed. "My ankle!"

"Okay, take a deep breath, Norris. Push yourself up with your arms. You're strong, mate. Push."

She didn't know what she was saying. She was running on instinct and adrenaline. Purely, instinct and adrenaline.

Get them off the track, Mark's voice rang in her head. Get them somewhere safe.

The driver hoisted himself onto the halo and Sadie saw his ankle bent at an unnatural angle. She couldn't let it show on her face.

"Alright, Lando swing to me. Swing around."

He did so, wobbling dangerously.

"Drop onto your right foot, I'm here."

Cars sped past, the flag only yellow.

Lando didn't drop onto his feet, he fell from the car and into Sadie. She was lucky she had braced herself as she caught him.

He screamed in pain as his ankle hit the ground.

"Lando, my name is Sadie. I've got you now, do not put your left foot on the ground. I'm gonna get you to the medical tent."

"Sadie? Melbourne Sadie?" He whimpered. He couldn't stop making small sounds of pain.

She opened his visor, met his watercolour eyes. She knew her helmet had no visor, knew he could see her eyes.

"Yes, Lando, it's Melbourne Sadie. I've got you now, we've got to get you off the track."

She hauled his left arm over her shoulders and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Walk with me Lando. That's it, with your right foot. Good. You're gonna be okay, mate. It's just a scratch."

Sadie still hadn't registered what she was saying, or the fact that Lando was leaning almost all of his weight on her.

Her head snapped up at the sound of approaching cars. With hands firmly on his waist, Sadie slipped out from under his left arm and placed herself under his right.

She put herself between him and the oncoming cars. She didn't know what might happen, hadn't thought about it. She hadn't thought at all.

It was Yuki Tsunoda’s RB that struck the McLaren or Mercedes debris. More debris flew through the rain, something off all three cars. Sadie pulled Lando tighter into her and shielded him as she continued to pull him towards the closest exit.

Pain tore through Sadie's adrenaline. Her right side, both arm and leg. She stumbled, barely, but right herself and Lando cried out in pain again.

She knew two things and two things alone; do not stop and do not let the pain stop you.

"I've got you Lando, you're going great. Keep going!"

"Sadie," he whimpered. "Fuck. My ankle, Sadie, my car."

"I know, Lando, I know. You're going to be okay. Your car will be fine, you will be okay."

"Fuck," he whimpered again.

"Keep going, pretty boy. Don't put that left foot on the ground. You're gonna be okay."

More hands joined hers and pulled Lando over the barrier. She didn't register who it was, only that he was on the other side and being treated. She heard a lot of swearing, she heard someone call her name.

She looked up to see Lando staring at her leg. He was lying on an ambulance stretcher.

"Sadie," he croaked, his eyes rising to hers.

She didn't look down, a part of her knew she didn't want to know. Sadie kept his eye contact as she tried to stand upright. "I'm okay, Lando. I'm okay." She reassured.

Someone stepped into her line of sight and she lost view of his face. They hauled him into the waiting ambulance.

"Fuck, kid." She recognised that voice.

She turned, limped around to face Mark.

"Mark, Lando he's -" He recognised her voice, just as she had his. She was still wearing the medic's helmet.

"Sadie, your leg. You've-" He stepped forwards and pulled a chair with him.

"I don't know," she whispered. She couldn't be louder, she tried to say it louder but it was the same whispered, "I don't know. I haven't looked."

The paramedic rushed to her, placing the chair beneath her as her right leg gave out.

"Don't look," he muttered. "You're gonna be okay, but you can't look."

Someone handed him gauze and bandages. Another handed him saline and scissors.

Lewis, instantly recognisable in the black suit, stepped into Sadie's quickly narrowing line of sight.

"Oh my god," he exclaimed.

When Sadie saw him, she remembered what she'd done. She thought about what she'd done.

The crash. Catching Lando. Essentially dragging him off the track. Putting herself between him and the cars. Her leg. She didn't know the damage but her leg was on fire.

"Sir," she breathed. "Lewis, my helmet, please."

"Oh my god, kid. They're gonna look after you, okay?" He dropped to his knees next to her, leaving his own helmet in the dust.

"I know," she croaked as he undid the straps at her chin. "It's not that. The media- Lewis, hide me from the media. Please."

That's when Lewis recognised Sadie. Her brown hair was plastered to her pale face. Her dark eyes were wide with fear.

"Oh shit. Okay kid, yeah. They'll never know your name, they'll never see your face. I swear it, Sadie. I promise."

Someone handed her a green piece of plastic. The green whistle. Pain relief, and a very strong one.

Her last words before the high kicked in were, "Lewis, please. No reports, no one can know it was me."

Needless to say, the rest of the day was a blur. She barely remembered the ambulance ride, getting the piece of Formula One car embedded in her thigh taken out or the stitches in her arm and leg.

It was all over the news.

Medic gets stabbed with shrapnel while helping driver Lando Norris.

Norris out of Silverstone GP: The Medic Who Saved Him.

Two in hospital after dangerous crash at Silverstone.

But Sadie's name was never written. Every reporter was baffled at the disappearance of her identity.

----$----

Lewis had gone to Max that evening, before the winner had the chance to go out.

"It was the Melbourne volunteer," he'd told him in his hotel room. "The medic in hospital, it was Sadie."

Max's face snapped towards Lewis. He'd been making Lewis a coffee, but it was abandoned.

"What happened? Is she okay?"

Lewis shrugged, shadows passing over his face. "I don't know, man. I- Her leg was bad."

"Fuck," Max muttered. "How did it happen?"

Lewis rubbed his face with his hands. "I don't know that either. I didn't see it. It's what happens now that I want to talk about. I need your help."

Max froze. Lewis knew why, he'd never asked Max for help before. They were friendly, finally, but they weren't close.

"She begged me, Max, begged me, to keep her name out of the media. So far, so good but I need your influence in the paddock. You still have the unpredictable 'Mad Max' reputation to some people. I need you to use it."

He nodded and there was an understanding between the champions. Sadie had protected their friend, maybe saved his career if some of the initial reports were true, and it was their turn to protect her.

"I don't know why she was so desperate. She was begging me. She had a piece of fucking metal sticking out of her goddamn leg and she was begging me to hide her from the media."

"It doesn't matter," Max stated. His eyes were dark as he searched his contacts for a name. "It doesn't get out. Her name appears nowhere."

They would protect her.

My laptop is being weird with letting me tag people. Let me know if it didn't work and I'll see what I can do :)

credits to saradika-graphics for the banner

Masterlist | Series Masterlist | AO3 link

Taglist: @snubug @cmleitora @izzy-marvel @aquangxl @morenofilm @viennakarma @simpingcorner @randomgirlnumber-13 @leilanixx @spookystitchery @itsjustkhaos

#f1 #formula 1 #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 x oc #lando norris #max verstappen #lewis hamilton #f1 2024 #sunsets and self doubt

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iblameashley · 1 year ago

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Whispered Promises (Pt 2)

Male | Gay

2,895 words Content: Confessions (Cont.), Anxiety, Kissing

Follow up to: Whispered Secrets

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley | John 'Soap' MacTavish | Ghoap

!!!SFW!!!

Thirteen hours. It had been thirteen hours since exfil and since Soap had made his confession to Ghost. Not much else had come from that confession since, though. There was no privacy to talk on the plane back to base with Price, Gaz and the whole flight crew within earshot.

Tag List: @a-sleepy-dissapointment @imcoughing

Then there was the debriefing immediately when everyone had disembarked. The men were shuffled off to a conference room where Laswell waited for them. Ghost felt the weight of Soaps confession through the whole debriefing; though hardly anyone would have noticed considering his curt replies were standard fare.

Ghost did spend a majority of the meeting flashing glances as Soap, who sat across the table from him returning the stares with his usual smile; that somehow felt warmer now, causing a knot to form in Ghosts stomach.

“Soap, are you listening?” Laswell barked, sparking Ghost to turn his attention to Laswell.

“Aye, Ma'am.” Soap nodded. “Jus' a wee bit shaken up still. Apologies.” Soap replied respectfully with a soft nod.

Laswell let out a gentle sigh and her eyes softened as she looked at Soap.

“I suppose I can't blame you for that, it was a close call, after all.” Laswell nodded. “I'll make this quick so you and the team can go relax.” She added with a kinder tone. She knew it was rare to see Soap shaken up.

Her eyes turned to Ghost, noticing his usual stare boring into her skull, but she said nothing.

“Alright, lets get this meeting over with, then.” She commanded, getting the briefing back on track.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Neither Ghost or Soap had an opportunity to talk after the meeting either. Price and Gaz insisted on having dinner as a group in the mess, so off the four of them went.

Ghost was relieved to see that the mess hall was mostly empty when they arrived. He was exhausted, hungry, and his mind was spiralling from the mission. He had never felt so off-kilter and it was testing his limits.

Ghost grabbed a tray and made his way into the buffet-style offerings of the mess. Tea, a couple sandwiches, some fruit and some biscuits. It wasn't long before Soap pulled up next time him as they moved along.

Soap is and was the only person Ghost allowed to be so close to him, so no one was surprised to see Soap violating Ghosts personal space; and thought nothing more of it as the Scot pressed his shoulder against Ghosts and was chattering away.

“How ye doin', LT?” Soap grinned as he bumped into Ghost.

Ghost grumbled as he looked over the selection of sandwiches. He ignored Soaps question, fighting the knot in his stomach and the demons in his brain telling him to drop everything and leave. This was wrong. This was a mistake. This would end badly.

'No one could love you.' The voices said in cruel whispers, 'You'll fuck him up just like you are,' and 'He only said it because he thought he was about to die.' They continued.

Soaps grin dropped to a smile.

Ghost reached for chicken-avocado sandwich and placed it on his tray.

“Ghost...” Soap fretted. He reached out and placed his hand over Ghosts, thumbing the back of his hand cautiously. “How are ye' doin?” He asked again.

Ghosts hand tensed, and he clenched his jaw, but made no effort to move. Despite the whirlwind of feelings inside him, the sensation of Soaps thumb though his gloves was comforting.

After a moment, Ghost reached for another sandwich before moving on to his next selection.

“Fine.” Ghost finally replied, clearly lying.

“No ye aren't. Stop being a slag anne just tell me.” Soap remarked with a raised brow.

“Why...” Ghost began, his voice dropping as low as his gaze.

“I meant it.” Soap reassured him in an equally low tone. He bit his lower lip and gave a quick glance over his shoulder. “I love you.” He whispered again.

“Johnny...” Ghost grunted back.

“Simon...?” Soap questioned with a cheeky tone.

Ghosts head spun so fast, Soap thought it was about to twist off his neck. 'Simon'?

“I'm...”

“Lovable.” Soap nodded, not letting Ghost finish his self-deprecating comment. “...and smart, dedicated, loyal... kind.” Soap ensured to emphasize the last word.

Ghost actually let out a guttural laugh. 'Kind.' His brain tossed around.

“Always knew you were a fucking idiot.” Ghost said, still laughing a bit.

“Aye, but I want to be your idiot.” Soap jested, pushing Ghost down the line so he could grab some more food.

All Ghost could do was sigh.

“You already are my idiot.” Ghost finally said as he grabbed some biscuits.

“I wannae be the idiot ye love. I want... more.” Soap mumbled.

“This isn't the time or place for this conversation, Johnny.” Ghost huffed.

He stared Soap down, and Soap understood the conversation was over. For now.

Soap gave a nod and watched as Ghost walked away to join Price and Gaz at their table.

A long hot shower definitely helped Ghost relax, as much as he ever allowed himself to relax, that is. Letting his mind just wander while his body was drenched in steaming hot water always felt nice.

It was a way to remove the grime, both physical and emotional and allow him to process the relentless stream of events from the most recent mission. The water pounded on his marred skin, each drop helping to wash away the sweat, dirt, and gunpowder from the field. His mind, on the other hand, was not so easily cleansed. It never was.

Soap's confession echoed in his mind like a haunting song, It stirred emotions Ghost had kept locked away for far too long. A tiny box in his heart, chained and caged to protect himself from the world. The stoic and distant facade he had constructed to survive life was cracking, all because of one annoying, chatty, Scot.

How could he have ever expected to maintain that facade after Soap's declaration? His heart, which he felt had turned to stone long ago, now pulsed with a warmth he hadn't felt in years. It was nearly enough to bring him to tears.

“I love you too, Johnny...” He choked out under the shower head. “Why the fuck can't I just tell you I love you, too?” He hissed as he rested against the tiles of the shower.

He couldn't give Soap the normalcy, the love, he deserved. That was truly the problem. Soap deserved someone who could be there, someone who could share their life without the constant threat of death lurking over their shoulder. “I can't give you that.” Ghost mumbled to himself. “...so why the fuck do you love me?”

He had no solutions, no answers, only a overwhelming sense of vulnerability. Ghost knew that he would need every ounce of his strength to push Soap away, to protect him from the storm that raged within Ghost's heart. But could he really do that to the man he loved as well? No... probably not. Either way, this was eating him alive.

With his mask pushed up to the bridge of his nose, Ghost sat on the cold stone half-wall outside the base. He sucked on a cigarette mindlessly as he looked out over the airfield as the golden rays of sunlight began to disappear behind the hills to the west.

“Fuckin' hell.” He groan in a raspy voice.

He inhaled sharply and held the smoke in his lungs for a long moment before slowly breathing out and watching the smoke curl in the cooler air.

“I can't do that to him.” Ghost grunted.

He took another puff from his cigarette and leaned back. The sounds of the base; men and machines still working tirelessly away somehow managed to sooth him. Not that his life had been normal, so why wouldn't the only life he had known bring him a bit of piece while it also tore him apart at the seams?

“Evenin', LT.” Called a familiar, chipper Scottish voice.

Ghost leaned his head back to see Soap steadily approaching him.

Soap was by no means an lean man; but his tactical gear tended to hide just how defined Soap's body was. Ghosts chestnut eyes scanned Soap with a new perspective. The tight tee and fitted jeans looked different on him now. It made Ghost nearly choke at the sight.

“Johnny.” He managed to fumble out after a moment.

Soap took a seat beside him, leaving no room for interpretation. Soap was being intimate as he leaned his thigh against Ghosts. Their shoulders touched, and Soaps hand quickly moved to cover Ghosts hand.

“Now seems like the right time and place to talk.” Soap asserted, looking over to Ghost with tender eyes. “...and we're going to.” He added bluntly.

Soap squeezed Ghosts hand.

“I love you, Simon.” He sighed. “And I am committed to making this work with you somehow.”

Ghost tossed the butt of his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out.

He sat there for a moment in thought, his mask still propped up and his eyes fixed on a point in the distance that seemed to only exist for him.

“You deserve...” Ghost began.

“Fuck off.” Soap hissed, cutting Ghost off. “Ye don't get to decide for mae what I deserve, Simon. I've had months tae think this over, months tae understand what I felt deep down. Aye, I confessed in the heat of the moment, when I thought I was gonnae die... but I meant every word of it. I'm dedicated tae ye, I love ye. I can do the heavy lifting until ye feel comfortable expressin' your feelings if need be...” Soap nodded with confidence and determination laced in his words.

Ghost swallowed hard.

“I'll even transfer if ye need.” Soap added. “If worrying about mae safety on a mission is too much for ye tae handle... I'll ask to move tae 'nother team.” Soaps heart sank even as he said the words. “I promise I'll do anything tae make this work.” He whispered.

Ghost head turned to face Soap and his usually flat expression fell. A scowl framed his scarred face as he took in the words Soap was saying. His eyes softened, bringing him near tears, knowing Soap was serious. This wasn't something he could push down, Soap wasn't a man he could just push away.

“No.” Ghost whispered back.

He reached over to Soap and grabbed the man by the jaw, twisting his head so they were looking longingly at each other. “You will not transfer. That would not make it easier and it wouldn't... it wouldn't make me happy.” Ghost confessed. “I feel...” The words caught in Ghosts throat. A hard lump. Another defence mechanism to keep him safe for the world.

Ghost pulled Soaps face in and planted a rough kiss on his lips. His grip on Soaps jaw tightened, his fingers trembling as they dug into Soaps skin.

The kiss slowly softened, their lips moving like waves on a beach. Soap tasted good, the gentle cucumber flavour of his lip balm and the subtle hint of scotch teased Ghosts tongue as he slowly push inside Soaps mouth.

Every chain, every lock and nail that held Ghosts heart safe broke as it was conquered by an army of warm – no, searing – feelings. He felt like he was burning alive, and simply craved more as Soaps tongue invited him in with playful flicks.

Ghost reluctantly pulled away from the kiss after realizing he needed to breathe. He let out a long, smokey breath over Soaps mouth as he lingered close to his Sargent.

“I feel the same way about you.” Ghost mumbled, still not able to say the actual words.

“Aye.” Soap smirked. “Gathered that from the kiss.” He teased.

He grabbed Ghosts hand and pulled it from his jaw and brought it up to his lips to kiss the gloved fingers.

“Take yer time, Simon.” He continues, reassuringly. “I'll bae here.”

Ghost took a long moment to think, pulling slightly away, the frown now replaced by the beginnings of a smile. 'I'm so fucked.' He thought to himself.

“We still haven't really talked about this, Johnny.” Ghost finally pointed out. “My quarters in twenty minutes.” He ordered. “...and I do mean a talk.” He noted.

Soap beamed with happiness as Ghost withdrew and stood up.

“Aye, sir. Yer quarters in twenty minutes tae talk.” Soap affirmed.

Ghost lowered his mask over his face and gave Soap one last look. Fuck if Soap wasn't a beautiful man. Ghost gave him a nod and walked away.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' Ghost thought with every hesitant step. 'This is stupid. So stupid...'

Nineteen minutes later, there was a knock at Ghosts door. He stared at it for a moment as his heart rate spiked. He licked his lips under his mask, he could still taste Soap on him and it made everything so much worse.

“Come.” Ghost commanded in gravelly voice.

The door clicked and swung open, and there was Soap. He stood there with that stupid fucking smile on his face like usual. “Evenin', LT. Ye wanted tae speak with mae?” He teased as he entered the room.

Soap closed the door behind him and locked it. “Privacy.” He muttered unconvincingly.

Ghost gestured to the empty seat at his desk, and Soap wasted no time in marching over and making himself comfortable.

“Soap.” Ghost began. His eyes flickered to the desk and then back to Soap. “Johnny.” He corrected.

“Yer scared.” Soap stated bluntly. “I get that, LT. I'm willin' tae still take the plunge with you.” Soap replied reassuringly. His eyes narrowed and he smiled with that familiar warmth Ghost was used to; at least from him.

Ghost nodded.

“I'm a fucked up man, Johnny.” Ghost responded. “I don't want to promise something I can't deliver on.” He explained with a healthy dose of vulnerability.

“I'm not asking ye tae make promises ye can't keep.” Soap explained. He slid his hand across the table, intertwining his fingers with Ghosts. “I'm asking ye tae either give this a shot, or tae shoot mae down now.”

How could Ghost shoot Soap down now? He had kissed the man. Soap had confessed his love. In his own way, so had he. They had already bombed every logical, rule-abiding alternative. Ghosts armour was gone; at least with Soap. He was in his rawest state, his most vulnerable and scared and yet, looking into Soaps eyes, he felt like there was one man in the world who wouldn't let him down.

Ghost shook his head. “I can't shoot you down, Johnny.” He mumbled as his fingers played at Soaps. “But... are you sure I'm worth the effort? The work?” He inquired with sad eyes.

“Absolutely.” Soap stated as if it was an obvious, undeniable fact. “If you aren't going to shoot me down, then all I am asking if that you will try. Promise me you will give this,” Soap used he free hand to gesture between them, “...a chance. A proper chance.”

“It will take a lot of work, Johnny.” Ghost mumbled.

“I know. I've been working on ye for a while now, ye fucking potato.” Soap laughed.

Even Ghost had to chuckle softly at that.

“Is that so, Johnny...” He remarked with a smile. “How's that gone for you.”

“I got the man I love tae kiss mae. So good. Aye.” Soap nodded, his smile widening.

“I'm not good at this...” Ghost continued.

“Ye sell yerself short. I know it won't bae a typical relationship, Ghost. I know we'll have tae be private, discreet and it'll bae slow... but I'm committed.

“...and if I decide to break it off?” Ghost inquires sadly. Already dreading that inevitable moment.

“Then mae heart will bae crushed.” Soap admits. “But I'll move on. I'll let ye go if its what ye really want.” He says unconvinced.

Ghost takes some time to think about it. Its trouble from every possible perspective. Its a mistake. Its wrong. If foolish.

“I promise.” Ghost mutters before his brain can catch up to the words that fall from his lips.

His eyes widen with shock. Too late to take it back now.

“I promise I will give this my all, if you promise to accept that I am going to fuck this up badly.” Ghost offers. His chest rises and falls with anxious breath.

“I promise.” Soap agrees as he scoots closer to Ghost. “I promise tae accept you and give you my all as well.” He whispers as his fingers find the hem of Ghosts mask.

He pushes the fabric up to expose Ghosts lips once more.

Ghosts hands tremble and Soap give him a comforting squeeze.

“I promise you'll be fine.” Soap said soothingly.

He presses his lips to Ghosts once more and melts into to the warmth of the man he loved. Soaps mind was made up, this would either work, or they would both destroy each other in the process.

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coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe · 4 years ago

Text

Bloody, Beaten, Bruised or Maximum Effort

Quick Tag List: @kuruumiya @spacelizardtrashboys @enigmaticandunstable @nattinngrst @amyofaquitaine

This passage contains potentially: scenes of one (or more) characters swearing, blood, self-harm (unintentional) and scenes of a violent nature. whump content and potential tear-jerking moments.

Summary: In this 'chapter' Kirby has her first fight in New Jersey, and stay in New Jersey for a week, leading to some heavy whump content by a certain someone.

Kirby's POV:

Standard match, one on one with a ten minute time limit. Not much for a debut but it's made into a big deal upon learning the opponents were male and female and not the standard male on male.

Jobber VS Newcomer.

Andrew Strong VS Kirby 'Gluttony' Lucifarian.

The bell rings and the fight starts.

"Strong throws the first punch and misses."

"The Ogress capitalises and hits him with a Feeding Frenzy."

"Strong is backed into the turnbuckle but the Ogress continues her attack."

"The referee is forced to separate them and Strong gets The Ogress in a lock-up."

"A swift knee to the stomach and Strong is staggered."

"The Ogress hits Strong with the Organ Grinder and it looks like it's all over."

"She covers Strong and … one … two … three. She's done it! The Ogress has won!"

Walking back to the locker room, I caught a glimpse of Moolah as she sneers at me and I shrug her off, focusing on getting into some clean clothes and going back to the hotel. I change and walk out of the dressing room with my bag slung over my shoulder.

"Good work out there, Kirby."

I recognise the voice and turn to see André, "Thank you, Drey."

"Moolah, doesn't seem to like you girls."

"We're stealing the hag's time in the sun. She always hates people who do that, even if she brings them in. I'll see you soon Drey."

"See you soon, Kirby."

I start walking back to the hotel when I start hearing a voice behind me, gradually getting closer.

"Hey, Miss, I think you dropped this." A distinctly masculine voice called out.

I turned around to see what the person wanted. To my surprise they had picked up my wallet, "Huh, I didn't feel it fall out of my pocket, thank you."

The man handed it to me before introducing himself, "Paul Orndorff. I saw your match earlier, you're fast for a giant, tough too."

"Thank you, Mr Orndorff."

He looked over his shoulder, "Oh, well, I have to go, Piper's waiting for me."

"Uh well, bye Mr Orndorff."

He left without another word and I unzipped my bag slightly to place my wallet inside, zipping it back up and continuing back to the hotel. I spent the night in a cramped hotel room and went to the gym the next morning.

Setting myself up at a heavy bag and practicing as per usual, no interruptions, no one else near by to talk to.

It was as if my mind just drifted away and I went into this mental fog, no gloves on but punching as if I did, breaking through the skin on my knuckles and only stopping after I noticed smears of blood on the heavy bag.

I wiped it down and bandaged my knuckles before moving on to doing push ups, lunges, squats and other exercises that wouldn't leave me covered in blood.

I was alone for the rest of the day, so I ordered some pizza (simple, pepperoni) and relaxed in the hotel, I pulled out a sketch book from my suitcase and began sketching.

I didn't plan on sketching anything too important so I just went with what was on my mind, which happened to be Roddy, Jeez it's like I'm becoming emotionally attached to this idiot.

When I see him next I'll give him the drawing if I have it with me. I close the sketchbook and go back to the gym for around an hour, before coming back to the hotel and getting some rest.

I woke up the next morning (January 9th) and had a day much the same as the last, got up, did my morning routine, went to the gym, came back, ordered Chinese food and started drawing. It was just a shitty little thing, but once again, the Rowdy one came to mind.

What is it with Scottish men and me, is it because I'm a quarter Scottish, is it maybe because I believe in the folk tales and stories of old, of knights on white steeds, saving fair maidens and living happily ever after, while the monsters they kill or maim lie in a pool of their own blood and wish they could've had a different life?

I have no idea, and the idea of my own mind comparing me with those monsters makes me regret ever reading those stories while growing up, rather I should have stuck my head into scientific textbooks instead of tales of heroism and fantastical ghouls, then I would have never become and wrestler or met the amazing people in my life.

I look back down at the paper and decide to let Roddy have two final full page drawings on the other side of the sketches I've already drawn of him, I add in a small note on the page under a picture of Roddy that Sam had found.

The more I looked at the drawings and that lone picture, the more I realised the small details of Roddy's features, the strong jaw with a cleft chin, his hazel eyes? or are they dark blue? either way they intrigue me. And that musculature, Roddy's not slim but not a big man either, he's at that almost perfect weight to body fat ratio. Good lord, listen to me calling … Piper, Roddy, Him, perfect. I think I want to be sick, just to be rid of those thoughts.

Right as I run into the small bathroom I hear a commotion in the hallway and someone being thrown or more accurately, hurled into the other side of the bathroom wall. I take a deep breath, re-fix my mask into it's usual position and dart out into the corridor, right as the commotion ends.

The obvious victim of the bout was on the floor face down with a long, not to deep cut down the back of their left leg and was breathing heavily when I reached them.

"Woah, hey, hey buddy." I whispered to them in an effort to calm them.

"Kirby?"

FUCK

…

That Glaswegian accent, fuck, He's not even supposed to be in town, or is he?

"Piper?!" I whisper-yelled, more to myself than to him.

"Hey…" his voice trailed off, I heaved him over my shoulder and went back into my hotel room, tossing him down on the only bed and grabbing his left foot, reaching over to my suitcase and getting my personal first aid kit, nothing too fancy, some bandages, plasters, the bare essentials. I cleaned the cut and bandaged it, taping the bandage in place.

I glanced up from Roddy's leg and saw that he had passed out, "Shit." I muttered to myself, louder than I thought and his eyes flickered open.

"Kirby? Is that you?" His voice weak but still understandable.

I stood there, frozen to the spot, unable to move, I wanted to cry as I realised how badly he had been beaten up, his eyebrow cut, coming close to his eye, his hairline a mix of matted brown hair and blood that was starting to coagulate and then I started to notice more things wrong with Roddy's visage.

His shirt (a Piper classic, yellow with a wild cat graphic) was torn in several places, showing bruises and nicks in his flesh. His kilt, however, was fully intact, including his belt and sporran, though all of it was scuffed with little scratches, but no cuts.

"Kirby? Kirby talk to me, please?" He spoke so carefully and it broke me.

I dropped to my knees, weeping, and Roddy shot to his feet, before dropping down on his left side and leaning on the bed, getting only a couple of steps closer to me.

"Kirby, are you okay?"

"Roddy, look at ya," I took a deep breath in, "How can you be so beat up and worried about me? How is that possible?"

"Kirby? look at ya, you're crying over me? I thought you didn't care about me that much?"

I wiped the tears from my face and got Roddy back on the bed.

"Stay there, Piper."

"Oh, feisty."

"Roddy! Stay on the bed and don't move."

"Yes Ma'am."

I trudged into the bathroom and ran a long cold shower, and I heard him move off the bed before swearing and sitting back on the bed.

"I thought I said, DON'T MOVE Roddy!"

"Alright, alright. … feisty"

After the shower, I dressed in the bathroom after drying myself off and exited the room. I instantly noticed a sleeping Piper.

"I guess I'll sleep on the floor then."

"C'mere." He lazily waved his arm to try and beckon me over.

"No, Roddy, get some rest."

"Come here and get in the bed." He rolled over and picked up the duvet, lackadaisically blowing a joking kiss in my direction.

"Jesus, Roddy, fine."

I climbed into the bed and felt Roddy's arms curl around my waist and his face between my shoulder blades.

"Rod, get off."

"Wha'?"

"Get off of me."

"Why?"

"Aren't you married, get off."

"if I was married, there would be a ring on my finger," He waved his left hand in front of my face, "No ring, no wife."

"Oh. Still, get off."

"Now, would that be 'get off' in the, leave me alone, way or the 'get off' in the, I love you take me now, way." The latter a clear joke but it annoyed me even more.

"Leave me alone, Roddy."

He slid his arms off and rolled to face the other way.

"Small bed, Kirby."

"I wasn't expecting company, Piper."

"Your tattoos are nice."

"Sleep, Piper."

"I'm just saying."

"Roddy, you are injured, sleep."

"I looked through your sketchbook earlier, y'know, when you were in the shower, just flicked through it, and wow, you're a great artist."

"For the love of God, Roddy! would you please just get some sleep."

"Alright!, alright. No need to yell."

"One more word and I'm chucking you out the nearest window."

We both fell silent and managed to get some sleep, it wasn't until sunrise that either one of us awoke. As I stirred from my slumber I was face to face with the Scottish idiot. I yelped and, without realising his legs were intertwined with mine, fell off the bed with him falling on top of me, waking Roddy up in the process.

"Oh, well, morning sweetheart, did I wake ya."

"Rod, get ya damn 'Loch Ness Monster' away from me."

Rod's cheeks turned pink and he quickly looked down between our bodies before sheepishly standing up and hurrying to the bathroom, I took the chance to change into a graphic tee and some black jeans, not noticing that Piper had left the bathroom door wide open, until I heard his voice.

"Woah, so uh, all of you is bigger than normal?"

I yelped and threw one of my shirts at his face, before realising that I had thrown the shirt I was planning on wearing at him, "Wait, Roddy, I need that shirt."

He laughed before handing me back my shirt, "Uh, thank you … for …saving me last night."

"Were you even supposed to be in town?"

"Well no, but I …" He trailed off

"I can't hear you, Roddy?"

"It's nothing, really."

I continued on with my normal routine, mindful that Roddy was in the same room as me and injured. It wasn't until the phone rang that I had a problem, before I could reach the phone Roddy had already answered it.

"Who is this?"

I could hear a loud, angry voice on the phone and Piper got defensive.

"You think you're a hard man do ya?!"

Damien. That's got to be Damien, which means I am in some real trouble now. Thanks Piper, ya dafty.

"I'll get her to call ya back once you've calmed down."

He slammed the phone back into it's place and breathed out a hefty sigh.

"Kirby, is Damien your boyfriend?" He seemed instantaneously calm

I almost choked on air for a moment, "No! He's my manager, and he's like double my age. He's Vic," I paused for a moment, "He's my dad, as well as the other members of the D.O.D. We're not all his biological daughters though, just Vickie."

"So, he adopted you?"

"I guess you could say that." I avoided looking him in the eyes.

"Tell me the truth. Now!"

"Promise you won't tell anyone first."

"I won't tell a soul, now, why are you so, uptight, about who he is to you."

"First things first, my name isn't Kirby Lucifarian, it's actually Kirby Trevor."

"Oh, so Damien's not you're adoptive father, either?"

"No, my real parents are Heaven and Eric Trevor. Damien's Vickie's dad and only Vickie's dad."

"Are either one of your parents giants? or is it just you?"

"Just me, the closest person to me in height, family-wise was my uncle Rory. He's the reason I have the tattoo on my wrist."

I walked up to Piper and showed him the 'R' tattooed on my right wrist.

"So, he passed away?"

"Yeah. He died, eleven, no no, twelve years ago now, when I was Seventeen, My uncle Vaughn died a couple months later, he's why I have the lighter on my left arm, my uncle Vaughn was best known for being, in the nicest terms, a layabout smoker, and the smoke took him in the end."

"So, you have a lighter to remember a man who died by smoking?"

"Dark, I know, but uncle Vaughn would've laughed at it. Erik laughed at it when I explained it to him."

"Eric, your dad?"

"No, no, Erik, with a 'K', my old tag partner before I joined the D.O.D. I think you would've liked him."

"Really, now why would I like a guy I know nothing about?"

"Well, Erik's Scottish, He's from Edinburgh. He's tall-ish, then again I am a giant, so who am I to say what's tall, he's six-foot-five. He played the bagpipes when he was younger, he quit playing when he was twenty-three, same year we lost the tag titles."

"Rough," He interrupted "Continue, please."

"Uh, well. Erik's strong, very strong, he would compete in the Highland games and well, �� I guess back then I thought I'd never leave him, until Damien gave me an offer I couldn't refuse and I left him. I had a whole life with him planned inside my head and I left it all behind, for what, cramped hotel rooms and breakfasts with André."

"You had breakfast with André the giant and you didn't tell me … You, You had a good Scottish man, and you left him, for," He gestured to the room, "all this?"

"Well I jus-"

"No," He held my jaw and looked me straight in the eyes, "You had a life, a man who obviously a close relationship with you, and you gave it up for breakfasts with André and shitty hotel rooms."

"I know I'm stupid."

"But you're not stupid, you saved me, I could have died in that hallway and you brought me in here, you stopped that bastard from killing me. I could kiss you."

"Please don't."

Sorry for cliff-hanger ending, but … END OF BLOODY, BEATEN, BRUISED or MAXIMUM EFFORT.

#Lucifarians #wrestling fic

7 notes · View notes

babeyvenus · 4 years ago

Text

Revival(BNHA OC)

Chapter 4: Something Bad's About To Happen

Keeping herself hidden from her villainous father, and studying to be a hero for the sake of her and her deceased mother, Sunako Homura pushes her way through countless challenges in her highschool years. Will she lose it all, or lose herself?

Story Genre: Fluff, Angst, Romance, Family/Comfort

Tags/Trigger Warnings: Gore/Blood, Suicidal attempts, Alcohol, Language, Panic Attacks

_______________________________________________

Everyone was silent, but looked at me with wide eyes.

"I KNEW IT! I knew you had to be something!", the smaller boy yelled, pointing at me.

"Something....?", I asked, sweatdropping.

"You're a girl....?", Kaminari asked surprised.

"Why are you wearing the male uniform?", Midoriya asked.

"Because, I've learned to hate skirts and dresses and frilly, unnecessary things like that.", I explain.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with what you like. If you don't like skirts and dresses, trust me, I don't either, but it's nothing wrong with that.", Jirou said.

I gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

"Well, why did you come dressing up as a guy in the first place...?", Kirishima asked.

I sighed, rubbing behind my neck. “Its...confidential. Let’s just say, I have Daddy Issues.”

I looked at everyone and some of them looked concerned, some of them even looked shocked.

Everyone got up at the sound of the lunch bell and Mina gave me a look as if to tell me, 'we'll talk about this later.'

I started to follow the rest of the girls until I got pulled back by Bakugou.

"Somehow you cease to surprise me so far.", he says with a glare.

"Should I take that as a bad thing?", I ask.

"Damn straight.", he says, letting me go and walks out.

I sighed and left for the cafeteria too.

As I got something from the vending machine, I thought back to everyone's faces.

I didn't mean to make them feel down... What a good way to start the year…

Right about the time I was gonna go see Mina, the alarm went off and panic rang out in the cafeteria.

What now....?

I headed out toward the exit, which led me to be practically drowning in a crowd of panicked teenagers.

It wasn’t long before I found myself partially pinned against a wall and being jerked around.

Right before I was gonna explode on someone's ass for thrashing me, I felt someone grab my arm and pull me hard through the crowd to a less dense area.

"You okay?", a familiar redhead asks.

He blocked me against the wall in a protective gesture, grunting every time someone bumped into him.

"Do you know what's going on?", I asked throughout all the yelling.

"It's just the press! Someone must've gotten in!", he yells.

I nodded. No wonder.

Iida somehow managed to get everyone to calm down and stop moving.

"Its over with....", I say. Kirishima backs away with a smile. "Yeah. Have you eaten yet?"

I shrug. "Just a bit before all the commotion." That made him frown a little. "Well a bit won't do. Gotta eat before training. Let's go.", he says, leading me to the cafeteria.

After the commotion with the press, I started to get a bad feeling...

"Hey, Kirishima....", I say walking behind him.

"Yeah?", he answered, looking back at me.

"What if it was actually a real villain using the press as a cover-up to get in...?"

He rubbed behind his neck. "Nah, I don't think they'd let us walk around if that happened."

"I guess so. I just got this weird feeling something's gonna happen.", I say. "Well don't jinx it", he jokes.

A few days later, we were assigned to go to USJ for a training exercise.

"Line up accordingly to your class seats. Fill them up in an orderly fashion." Iida waved in a weird way.

"Dude, chill.", I say. This class rep role is really serious to him...

He turned to the inside of the bus, much to his disappointment. "No...! It's that type!"

We all looked inside the bus and snickered at his disappointment. The front part of the bus had seats on both sides of it facing each other like two sofas.

I sat next to Kaminari as everyone else followed through.

I tuned in and out as Mina, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Midoriya started talking about their quirks.

"I generally say what's on my mind, though... Midoriya," Tsuyu announces, making us all look at her.

"Your quirk reminds me of All Might.", she says and he flinches. Huh...now that I think about it...

"Now, hold on Tsu.", Kirishima says. "All Might doesn't get hurt by his quirk."

"Yeah, that's right.", Midoriya says.

"You got a flashy quirk, Midoriya. Mine on the other hand," Kirishima raises his arm and hardens it. "Not so much."

"Aw, don't say that Kiri. It's plenty useful. I like it because it makes you seem unbreakable!", I say with a smile.

He gives me a wide sharp tooth grin. Guess he's over the issue from yesterday.

"Now if you wanna talk flashy,", he points toward Bakugou and Todoroki. "Those guys are the best bet.", he turns to me. "I've yet to see your full quirk, Homura."

I looked out the window. "And it's gonna stay that way."

"Aw, c'mon! I wanna see how you work it.", he muses.

"Yeah!", Kaminari cheers on the side of me.

I shook my head fast. "Nope!"

"Well Bakugou could never be popular, not with that temper of his.", Tsuyu chimes in.

"What the fuck!? I'll kick your ass!", Bakugou yells.

"See?", she says pointing and making me laugh.

"Well, it makes sense. We just met you and we can already tell you got the personality of burned trash filled with sewage.", Kaminari says.

"Oh wow.", I snickered.

"Fuck you! I'm gonna make your life a living hell, you little shit!!", Bakugou yells, scaring Jirou.

"Bakugou, calm down!", I say laughing.

"I'll give you something to laugh at, you Spawn!", he threatens.

We all laughed until the bus came to a stop.

We stopped right in front of the USJ as Aizawa-sensei started to speak.

"This is a different part of training. Rescue.", he looked at all of us. "It's nothing serious compared to real natural disasters, just scenarios of what could happen. Uh, 13 explain."

Uraraka and Midoriya gasp in astonishment. "13....!"

The short astronaut suit came walking up to us. "Hey, you guys! 14, 15, 18, 19....21! Okay! So, welcome USJ!"

"In our super powered society, the use of quirks are heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem that our system is a stable one, but we must never forget that it takes only one wrong move and someone's dead.", he says.

With that, he led us inside.

"Holy crap, this is like an amusement park!", Kirishima exclaimed.

"As you may know, my power is Black Hole. I can suck up anything and it turns into dust.", 13 explains. "Just like your quirks, they do not exist to hurt people."

I grimaced. "Don't worry about it, Sunako.", I hear Tomohiro say, turning my head to see him by my side. “You’ve been quiet for a while.”, I say, making him chuckle.

"With that being said, be careful and have fun!"

Aizawa-sensei looked at us. "Alright, go in there and-"

I shivered. I got a bad feeling....

"Uh...is this part of the practice....?", Kirishima asks looking down, making everyone do the same.

"Villains...!", 13 yelled. I looked down to see multiple portals opening, giving a passageway to let them in.

I saw Aizawa pull out his goggles and put them over his head.

"Aizawa-sensei, you're gonna attack!? What about your quirk limit!?", Midoriya asks.

"A hero always has more than one trick up their sleeve. Huddle up and stay back! 13, protect the kids!", Aizawa yells, putting on his goggles and launches into action.

I looked down at a certain figure who stayed by the purple portal. He had hands all over him and even on his face.

"What's his problem....?", I whispered. "They're here for something. Keep your guard up.", Tomohiro says.

"We, the Villains Alliance, have only come for one person. The symbol of peace.", the blue haired figure said. "I wonder if he'll come if we just....kill these kids..."

"These guys are idiots...", I said.

Aizawa jumped to the villains and fought like they weren't nothing.

"We gotta go!!", Kaminari yelled.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that."

I got a shiver again as a black purple mist appeared in front of us.

I knew something was gonna happen...

"I am Kurogiri...I apologize for the short notice. We took it upon ourselves to enter UA, the base of heroes."

We all stare up at the mist hearing the voice. "Was Mr. All Might not able to attend...?"

It moved and sighed. "That aside, this is my role.", I looked up to see Kirishima and Bakugou rushing toward the mist and attacked it.

"Bet you didn't expect us to do you in before you got the chance!", Kirishima exclaims.

"To be expected. The hero world's golden eggs."

"Run you two!", 13 shouts as the mist expanded and surrounded us.

I got pushed back and lit my hand on fire to see. What did we get ourselves into...!?

"Demon Brat!!", I heard Bakugou's voice and saw him reaching for me. I reached for him but ended up transporting somewhere.

I woke up in front of the Ruins Zone to hear chuckles behind me.

"Fresh meat....", countless villains muttered.

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance. I bared my fangs, changing my form into an Oni.

"If anyone's meat, it's you idiots. I'll give you a 5 second head start to leave before I kick your asses.", I snarled, my knees wobbling as I stood.

Some of them back up but they still stay.

"Brave motherfuckers, aren't you? Fine.", I say, smirking but it quickly falls into a glare, the atmosphere grew tense. "That was your mistake."

I stomped the ground making large layers of platforms rise and fall on to them. Thank god, we were around an area where I could use dirt.

I stalked toward the rest, they backed away in fear. "Aw, don't run now...we're just getting started."

They all paled and ran away. "Punks.", I slipped out of the form, turning back. I looked around for any of my classmates nearby but no one was.

"I gotta find someone....", I muttered. Then I hear rumbles and blasts from above and I sweatdropped.

"That's gotta be Bakugou.", I say and fly up the stairs.

"SAY GOODBYE!!", I ducked out of the way of a villain being thrown my way and looked at Bakugou and Kirishima panting heavily with many villains surrounded around their feet.

"You guys okay?", I asked, walking toward them.

"Homura!", Kirishima notices me with a smile, knocking a goon out.

"You don't have a single scratch on you, Demon Brat.", Bakugou says.

"They all ran.", I say, shrugging and touching his arm, letting the heat on my hand heal his scratches and did the same for Kirishima.

"Your power's amazing, Homura. It doesn't even burn.", Kirishima grins widely, making me smile.

"Thanks.", I say, looking around at all the goons.

"We gotta have a plan to get out of here.", Kirishima says.

"You idiots can do whatever you want, I'm going after that warpy bastard.", Bakugou says, walking away.

"Huh...!? Our attacks didn't do nothing against that guy!", Kirishima says.

"And you're going alone? I think you're the only idiot here, Bakagou.", I say.

He looked over his shoulder to glare at me. "What was that...?"

"I said you're an idiot. Do I need to say it a little slower? If you go by yourself, you'll get yourself killed.", I say.

"That's the thing!", he says turning to me. "That bastard was their way in and out. So, I'm taking him down first before anything."

I felt someone's presence behind him and felt off. "Uh..."

Before I could say anything, he sent a blast downwards and revealed a knocked out enemy.

"If they're sending in weak shits like this, there's no way we can lose.", he says.

He looks so calm... "He's reliable despite being a little shit." , Tatsuo says in approval.

"So, that's what you meant. Also, when'd you become so calm and rational....? Usually you're all," Kirishima made an impression of Bakugou. "Die! Die! Die!!"

"I'm always calm and rational, you shitty haired punk!!", Bakugou yelled.

"There he is.", I say smiling.

"Both of you, fuck off!", Bakugou says.

"Okay, so, what you're saying is you believe in our classmates. That's good thinking, and that's thinking like a man, Bakugou. I'm with you.", Kirishima says excitedly.

I sigh and smile. "I guess I am too. I just hope you know what you're doing, please."

I looked outside to the rest of the USJ area to see a big creature holding a bloody Aizawa down.

I tensed and gasped softly as Kirishima put his hand on my shoulder. "You okay...?"

I just pointed down to the sight. "These sick sonuvabitches are gonna die....!", I hear Tatsuo growl.

They widened their eyes and backed away from the window.

I backed away and walked out the area and back to the middle of USJ.

"You got a plan...?", Bakugou asked.

I turned to him. "Just do what you normally do."

He just grinned widely, but that expression dropped as soon as we looked up to the entrance. And in the entrance stood All Might. He's... frowning? "Have no fear. Because I am here."

"I had a bad feeling in my stomach while I rested, but to think it was this bad....", he says coming down the stairs.

"I heard from young Iida that there were villains. But, it's all right now. Because I am here."

He rips off his tie and it flutters to the ground.

He came toward the fallen Aizawa and picked him up, carrying Midoriya, Tsuyu and Mineta away from the villains.

After ordering them to get Aizawa, All Might attacks the creature, doing a German suplex on it.

I saw how bad All Might was getting hurt and how Midoriya was rushing towards him.

"Get ready to fly.", I say to the two in front of me.

"Uh, what?"

I stomped the ground, launching them both toward the fight but they went in different ways.

I saw Midoriya reaching for the blue haired villain, but missed as Bakugou got in his way.

"Get the hell out of my way, Deku!!"

Bakugou attacked Kurogiri when Kirishima missed.

"Damn you!!", the hand villain exclaimed and I glared at him.

"I almost had him!", Kirishima yells after missing the villain.

I saw that part of that creature's body was covered in ice and I looked to my right seeing Todoroki.

"Fancy seeing you here.", I say.

"Likewise," he replied and looked toward the villain. "I heard about you bastards' plan and each of your roles. Also a scheme to kill All Might. The symbol of peace won't go down as easy as you fools."

"You guys made a big mistake.", I say smiling.

"Let's just kill them!", Tatsuo says. Let's not do that.

That being said, All Might pried himself out of the creature's hold and dashed away.

"You pinned down our revolving door..."

"This prick was never that sharp! That metal clasp you got on your body, you used to get all misty and shit just got sealed, you sneaky fuck!" Bakugou exclaims with a grin.

"That attack was never dangerous, was it? You just used that as a decoy to hide the real body!"

Kurogiri moves a little but stops as Bakugou uses small explosions on him.

"Don't you move!", Bakugou chuckles glaring down at Kurogiri. "You move so much as a twitch and I'll blow your ass up so bad that they'll be piecing you back together for weeks."

"Not very heroic, bro.", Kirishima grinned nervously.

"You've got us cornered....I have to hand it to these kids nowadays. At this point, the Villains Alliance will be a laughing stock.", the villain turns to the broken creature.

"Nomu, take care of Explosion Boy for me...."

I widened my eyes as Nomu regenerates its own body and goes after Bakugou.

"Bakugou!!", I yell, running towards it but I ended up right next to Bakugou who was also on the ground.

"You're okay...wait, how'd you get here?", I asked.

"I don't fuckin' know.", he says still on the ground, probably in shock.

I look back to see All Might had taken a hit from Nomu.

"Are you crazy...? Have you no mercy...? These are children.", All Might says.

"Mercy....?", the hand villain looks over to us and points at Midoriya. "That plain looking boy almost killed me but I need to give mercy!? Who gets to decide what's right or wrong...? Society! And that's what irritates me. You're the symbol of peace....? You gotta be kidding me. You're just the same. You’re only here for your kicks."

"That's enough.", I say.

"It's a 6 vs. 3.", Todoroki says.

"No! You all need to leave.", All Might says.

"No can do, All Might. Can't be heroes if we just left you here.", I say.

"Yeah and you're bleeding!", Midoriya said.

"If I hadn't froze that monster, you would've most likely died.", Todoroki interjected.

"It's fine.", All Might insisted.

"Fine, let's settle this! Nomu, you go after All Might. I've got the children.", the hand villain says running towards us.

I started walking toward the hand villain but Bakugou pulled me back.

Dammit, Bakugou!

My eyes illuminated a bright scarlet color and I shot a fiery blast toward the villain.

"Dammit, Brat!!", Bakugou shouted at me avoiding the heat.

"You're the boss, right?", I ask looking at the villain. "I'll just take you down first!!", I yell running towards him, feeling myself change into a form of an Oni.

I sent a roundhouse kick toward the hand villain's face, making it collide with the hand on his face. He fell to the ground and touched my leg.

I yelled in pain after seeing the aftermath of what remained of my leg.

My pant leg torn and my calf broken and bleeding out.

I got knocked over by the sudden blast of air because of how hard All Might and Nomu were fighting.

I pulled two metal rods from the ground and threw it at the villain but missed due to All Might's fighting.

With all this air and wind going everywhere, there's no telling where my blasts could go....

"Plus....ULTRA!!!", All Might yells, finally getting rid of Nomu.

"Alright!!", I exclaimed but felt a burning sensation on my shoulder and hip.

"I told you to keep your guard up!", Tomohiro yells in my head.

I saw that the villain had his hands on me and my skin broken, leaving muscle showing. I felt an overwhelming feeling of numbness as I fell to the ground.

"You bastard!!!", I heard Bakugou's voice and gunshots before passing out from the numbing pain.

I woke up to loud, slow beeping and looked around to see that I was in a different area.

I'm in the hospital....? No... Its the nurse's office...

I looked over to my right to see Kirishima asleep in two chairs, slumped over.

"You're finally awake.", I see Tomohiro walk over to my bed.

"Yeah....", I say, startling Recovery Girl.

"You're awake."

"How long have I been out...?"

I sounded so hoarse, it hurt to even try to talk.

"6 hours. Your wounds closed up quickly." she said.

I nodded and looked over to see the sleeping duo.

"He carried you in here.", the elder woman said, pointing to a sleeping Kirishima.

"Really...?", I asked.

As expected of Kirishima to do that, but why...?

That was kinda hard to believe. "The boy's... chivalrous...", Tatsuo says, appearing at my side.

Just then, the said boy stirred and woke up.

Kirishima jumps awake and looks at me. "How're you feeling!?"

"Like I've been walking in a desert for hours. I'm dying.", I hoarse.

Recovery Girl brings me water and I sit up to down it dry.

"What about you? Is All Might okay? Is everyone okay?", I asked.

"Everyone's doing fine. Well, Midoriya still has to let his legs heal and Aizawa-sensei... he's still healing too but everyone's fine.", Kirishima says.

"Good...", I rasp, staring up at the ceiling.

He frowned a bit in worry. "Do you think you can move?"

I winced and looked at my hip that had a small scar on it.

Still sensitive... "That villain wasn't any ordinary villain.", Tatsuo says.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry I worried you."

You guys too, I should've been more careful.

"Don't worry about it.", Tomohiro says as Tatsuo grunts in agreement.

"No biggie. Just get better so we can train again!", Kirishima says with a sharp tooth smile.

I smiled back at him and got out of the bed, wincing again and gripping on to the bed sheets.

"My leg...my shoulder and hip hurts. Great.", I mutter.

"Hm...", Kirishima hums. He turns around, crouching in front of my feet. "Get on."

"Kirishima-"

"No complaints. It wouldn't be very manly of me if I let you walk home hurt, so get on.", he says.

I sighed and got on his back, careful to not hurt his back.

I held on tight as he got me right and took my bag, carrying it under me as he walked me out of the nurse's office, getting me home.

_______________________________________________

A/N: plenty of dumb mistakes were made, oh well¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Taglist: @xartisticmdx @dakotacecily @moonfairy-h @weird-dere @afuckingunicornn @dee-madwriter

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hoopdiddies · 6 years ago

Text

I'm Not Over You// Ben Hardy x Reader (10.1)

A/N: The last part! Here you go! Thanks for supporting the entire series, guys. Means a lot ♥ ♥

Summary: A wedding brought you apart and it will be a wedding that will bring you back together

Warnings: Microscopic angst and FULL ON FLUFF

WC: 3k

Tags: @haendel-me-with-care

@mrsdoradominguez-barnes

@mickmoon

@lakef

@mrsmazzello

@valeriecarolinaw

@queen-turtle-boiii

@loveandbeloved29

@hazme2

@boherahpsody

Parts: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

"What- I thought Gwil- never mind, did I hurt your shoulder?" You stumble over your words and he chuckles, the curve his red lips are sporting making your insides melt.

"No, you didn't."

"Oh thank heavens. Sure I didn't add to your injuries? " You had to say it but luckily, he shakes his head good-naturedly and seems to have shrugged off the issue. "I'm okay now. I've been for so long actually." At least you've got the conversation going, against the odds of you doubting that it might've ended up awkward with how long you haven't been in touch. You smile crookedly and rub your arm, sighing profoundly to say another word but as you open your mouth to do so, Ben beats you to it. "What about you? How've you been?"

You shrug. "Same old but tortured...and pissed...at Joe...for doing me injustice like that." He rubs the back of his hair and cocks his head to one side. "Oh? Tell me about it."

You give him a brief, speculative look– thinking that it's a miracle you're talking normally like you haven't kissed each other the day you left him lamenting on a hospital bed, been in contact for an entire year and made love with your eyes during the ceremony– in that order.

You snap out of it and look around the busy reception. "I- well-"

"To make it easier, let's head out for a walk on the beach, shall we?" Ben steps aside to let you leave before him and you tuck a tendril of your hair behind your ear, nodding as you walk ahead. He follows you out and you glance over your shoulder, looking past him and seeing Joe wiggle his brows at you from their table– to which you widen your eyes in annoyance and a little gratitude.

Your walk has been graced with the twinkle of a thousand stars and the calm splash of the evening waves against the shore. You've let your hair down from the tight bun you've put it in and taken off your sandals to traipse along the water while Ben remains along the dry sand to stay practical– not that you aren't. He just has his shoes on while you're holding onto yours.

You haven't strolled far from the party with the lamps spanning from the vicinity within the reception still present as you tread along. You've told him all about Barcelona and your studies and everything else concerning your life there; so far it's been good and jolly. He's taken a new project and is in the process of filming, something you've congratulated him on as well– the previous one being his full recovery and you didn't bother to bring up the prior events to that, it might just lead to something you'd lose your voice to talk about. It's a relief that you are able to share a few laughs in between, something you thought wouldn't be possible anymore. You haven't talked to each other like this is ages.

"I guess we're both working our fingers to the bone." He chuckles and stops in his tracks to enjoy the breeze. You involuntarily mimic his stance and stand semi-still on the water, tossing your sandals onto the driest part of the sand. "I guess. Business before pleasure they say."

"Well my business is my pleasure so it seems like it only applies to you." The smile on his face widens thoroughly and you scoff underneath your breath, swinging your leg back and forth, creating mini splashes. "Excuse me, it applies to neither of us. I love working for something I know will finally lead to my dream."

He hums and bends down to pick up a pebble, casting it smoothly against the water and makes three skips. "It just occurred to me that you never once told me anything about your dream to become a doctor or anything." You give him a fleeting smile and shake your head, crossing your arms as you begin admiring the sky. "If I had told anyone, it wouldn't come true."

"Seriously?"

You raise your hands up briefly in defense and let out a chuckle, bending down to pick up a pebble to skip as well. "I'm living proof that it's effective, you should try it sometime." While you cast your pebble and watch it skip, he studies you intently and with great focus, drawing in a sharp breath before taking off his shoes to join your spot in the shallow water. He sets it aside and stands next to you, lifting his gaze up to the sky and then to you as you take in the cluster of stars dotting the heavens.

The gleam in your eyes as you beam at the starry view puts him under a spell and you sense his piercing stare, encouraging you to catch his fixed look. "What is it this time?"

He gulps, his mouth going dry. "I've sent you a message a couple of weeks back. Never got a response from you..."

You angle your head to one side amusingly. "I replied? Maybe you just don't check your inbox that much- and wait, I changed my number, how did you-"

"Our boy, Joe."

Of course. Joe really needs a new girl in his life, he must be exhausted from being such a mediator.

"And yes, I don't check my inbox a lot. Busy as a bee lately." He adds with a defeated smile present. You weave your fingers together, keeping your vision limited to the horizon yet sensing his eyes penetrate through you.

A little shy to let him see your blush creeping up your cheeks, you tear yourself away from his gaze and sigh inwardly. "I know that look somehow."

"For the third time asked in this lifetime, would you care to finish the dance we had at the after party? A dance to satisfy all the dances we never had the chance to finish. "

Your mouth shamelessly hangs like an attic door with loose hinges at how he was able to remember that. You recall his attending physician say that there would be no risks of amnesia or any sort of memory loss, although he shouldn't be able to recall minor details.

But then your dance wasn't a minor memory.

Ben's still waiting for your answer and you recompose yourself from the jaw drop, stuttering in the slightest as you speak up. "Uh y-yeah. I mean, we never get to finish dances, am I right?"

Without tethering himself from taking your hand in his, he draws you close to him, the movement of your legs making small ripples and swishes in the water. You can't keep a firm eye on him and as he understands your uncertainty due to how long it's been since the pair of you have closed a distance, he manually positions your arms around his neck, putting a little forethought into snaking his hands around your waist to ease you into it again.

"Hey, like old times, right?" He cajoles softly and you look up at him.

"Like old times." You repeat after him and find it easy to stare into his eyes again, once more submitting yourself to the metronomic beat of your heart. He initiates with light sway, feeling the crashing waves beneath your feets put an effect to how you're moving. With you studying every detail of his face adoringly, you notice the small yet noticeable scar on the near left of his forehead; a small residue of his injury. You frown as you reach up to trace your finger smoothly across his scar, your heart breaking at the memory of that night.

Ben takes notice of your flitting expression and cups your cheek to alleviate the worry you've put yourself in at the sight of his scar. "Hey, hey. Don't worry about it, I'm okay now."

You hang your head apologetically, chewing on your bottom lip with the urge to bring up what you wanted to suppress out of guilt.

"I'm sorry if I left you like that. At the time you really needed me the most, I scrammed and ghosted you for an entire year. I broke my promise, your arm and a small fraction of your skull," as inappropriate as it is to laugh a little at it, you let it slip past your lips anyway to give it a stretch and lighten the weight on your shoulders, "and it's all thanks to Joe for making up that worst case scenario."

Joe did say you'd hurt him on every possible level– ranging from physical to spiritual. Though you didn't afflict him physically per se, your carelessness on the highway did. "I'm so sorry, Ben, for letting my emotions get in the way of what we had. Our friendship. You loved someone else then and being in a way cursed with unrequited feelings, I-I had to distance myself."

He assures you with a loose smile, twirling you under his arm and leisurely pulling you back to his body. "Every bit of it is alright. I had sworn on the day we met that I'd protect you with every fiber of my being and I should be the one that's sorry. All you ever did was love me," he stares down at you intimately, lifting your hand to his lips and kissing your knuckles, "though how clueless and unbearable I was," a kiss to your wrist, "through all my complaints and nasty fits," a kiss to your cheek, the sensation making you giggle slightly, "through my clumsy tendencies, " a kiss to your nose, "through all my mood swings after a bad day on set," an elongated kiss on your forehead, parting away deliberately before flicking his eyes to your lips and back to your Y/E/C orbs. He gulps audibly at how he's asking you for permission to do it. "When I couldn't return that love to you because I was blind enough to let Rosy stay. For loving me...in both my lowest and highest."

He's risking a few inches in but you can tell he's holding back. You slacken your arms from his neck, little by little dropping them to your sides as his green eyes finally overwhelm you.

The corner of his eyes crinkle as he smiles, breathing out the words you've long waited for. "You've held my heart in your hands even when you were miles away and though you won't be staying for long, I'll always be waiting." In the same way you had when you left, you tip your head back to let his lips meet yours only this time it doesn't take him by surprise. Your lips don't move against each other for a few seconds and you pull away, breathless.

His green eyes are wide yet flecked with awe, unruly brows lightly creased together with small strands of his combed back, blond hair falling into them but they soften as the smile on his face widens. "You're not with Joe, are you?"

You chuckle, shaking your head and heaving out a defining exhale. "I never was. You're not with Rosy anymore, are you?"

He shakes his head as well and it appears the blissful grin on his face won't be coming off anytime soon.

"Long done. I love you, and you alone."

You'll be blaming him later for the ear-splitting grin now etched on your face.

"I love you too, Benjamin."

He throws his head back in relief and lifts you up in his arms, tilting his head back as he savors the full feeling of your lips on his, the kiss gradually becoming open-mouthed.

As if on cue, the fireworks meant for Rami and Lucy come launching up into the sky and bursting into bright colors, the sparks raining down and vanishing into thin air shortly after. Cheers of the people emanate from the party as Lucy and Rami share the same kiss from outside at the same time you and Ben are. You pull away with unridable grins on your faces and share the magical sight of the fireworks lighting up the night sky with no other disturbances to ruin the moment.

"You think they'd start wondering where we are?" You hum with your head rested against his chest. He kisses your hair and smiles as he tightens his hold around you, revelling deep in the moment.

"They'd get the idea, babe. They'd get the idea."

Lucy was right, Ben has always been your soulmate; the three dances you've had in your lifetime somehow always brought you back to each other. Hopefully the one you just had will be the one that will never tear you both apart ever again.

You've yet to thank Joe for tricking you into thinking that it was Gwilym he wanted to spin you off to.

How magical is that tape you used to stick the polaroids together?

It somehow pieced you and Ben in the same manner and stood the test of time.

-Fin-

#borhap #queen #ben hardy #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy x reader #borhap cast #borhap cast x reader #borhap imagine #ben hardy fanfic #imagine #fanfic

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takadasaiko · 5 years ago

Text

Second Chances: Chapter Eight

FFN II AO3

Summary: Steve has every intention of returning the Infinity Stones to their correct place in the timeline and heading back to his own. His problems start when he makes an impulse decision to jump over to 1946 and Peggy decides to go back home with him. It only gets more complicated from there when Howard tags along with them to 2023. Tony lives fix-it fic. Pepperony.

Chapter Summary: Things don't go as planned when Tony and Steve visit Hank Pym.

Chapter Eight

She'd missed his call while in one of the five back-to-back meetings she had set up for the day, and when Pepper managed to find two minutes to call him back she heard jet engines in the background. Well, that hadn't been what she expected. Of course, neither was the fact that Steve Rogers had brought Tony's father into their time from 1946. No, she was pretty sure that there had been no way to prepare for that one.

"So why are you getting on a plane?" she asked, motioning at the impatient board members that she would only be a moment more.

"Because Cap used the last of the Pym Particles up getting them here," Tony answered, sounding tired.

"Howard coming was not intentional," she heard Steve argue and the smallest of smiles perked her lips.

"Tell Steve welcome home. Are you going to San Francisco then?"

"Yeah. Might be late for dinner."

"Just a little."

"We should have it all wrapped up by tonight though."

"Don't go jinxing yourself."

"Ha."

She adjusted the phone in her hand, risking a glance at the men waiting on her. "How are you doing with it?"

"I feel fine, Pep. Promise, I —"

"I mean with Howard," she clarified, her voice barely above a whisper. He'd struggled so much with the ghost of his father over the years. Every time she thought he had finally been able to put it to rest something came along to reopen old wounds. This last time, when they'd traveled to find the Infinity Stone, it had seemed to help heal them just a little more. She hoped that this wouldn't undo the closure he'd gotten.

She heard a small sound of acknowledgement. "Get back to you on that?"

"I'll hold you to it."

"Listen, hon, we're about to take off. I'll grab a car here when I'm done, so don't worry about me getting home. Could you…. when you're done with everything, could you send Pete over to Cap's place?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Uhh… just left Howard there and he —"

"He doesn't trust Bucky with him," Steve's voice filtered through. "What? You thought you were keeping that a secret?"

"Play nice, boys," she chided softly. "And yes. I'll make sure the kid stops by after I release him from Morgan duty."

"Thanks, Pep. What would I do without you?"

"Oh we've seen it. There tends to be a lot of wallowing. Pretty sure you still don't know your full social."

"I love you."

"You too. Be safe." She ended the call and loosed a long breath. One more meeting, then she had to handle Tony's father. Things were never dull around the man she loved.

___________

Steve had spent over a week just trying to navigate through the web that made up Pym Technologies to get to Hank Pym. He'd even tried to reach his daughter a couple of times, but he'd been blocked at every attempt. That was when he had sent Sam out to find Scott, but even that was turning up empty.

Tony, on the other hand, had them on a private plane, flown across the country, and walking through the front doors all in the same day that he'd discovered the problem. As Steve followed behind he was reminded that he'd taken a step into a world Tony navigated well. He should have just told him. It would have saved them both a lot of headache.

"Hey?" he called out. The younger man paused mid-step through the lobby, but it took a long moment before he turned. Steve shook his head. At least some things never changed. Tony did love making a show of things. "This is my fault. I know you and Pym don't exactly see eye to eye, so I'll—"

"I have literally never met the man."

"Really?"

"Rea…. no wait. No. There was one time when I was really young. Like… four. I don't know. It was before I went off to boarding school. It's fine." He stopped as if he were trying to recall a specific memory. "Mostly fine. I'm sure he's over it."

Steve wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. Even if he did, Tony didn't seem to be interested in telling him. Instead he barreled forward again and Steve had to quicken his pace to catch up.

The security guard at the elevator stopped them until Tony removed his sunglasses and flashed a smile, leaving the guard sputtering and apologizing. He hadn't recognized him. "Hank still up on the top floor?"

"Yessir. He didn't mention —"

"Okay, thanks."

"Mr Stark, you'll need a key card to get up there," the guard managed as Steve passed by.

"No I won't."

He was already pulling his phone from his pocket as Steve followed him into the elevator and the doors snapped shut. Tony pried open the pannel and he was in the system faster than Steve could follow his fingers flying across the clear screen of his Stark phone. "Well, this probably isn't going to garner any good will."

Dark eyes flickered up from the screen and over to him. "I'm sorry, how long did you wait on hold with his secretary?"

"I didn't make it to his secretary," Steve admitted quietly.

"My point exactly." The chime sounded as they reached the top floor. "And if he used Stark Industry security, nobody'd be able to do this."

Steve quirked an eyebrow. "Not even you?"

"Oh, I always can. He just made this too easy." He looked over to the approaching, frenzied secretary. "You use Hammer Tech for your security, don't you? Explains a lot."

"I'm sorry, Mr Stark, but Dr Pym is very busy. You don't have an appointment."

"Don't need one."

"I'm afraid you do."

Tony snorted, amused. "Why don't you ask Dr Pym what it was like to be snapped out of existence one second and back in five years later? Oh yeah. He can tell you because we got him back. I think he can spare ten minutes."

The woman stared at him, and she was at a loss for a response even as the large office doors behind her opened and Hank Pym stepped out, chuckling the whole way. "It's okay, Vicky. This won't take long. Tell Bryan I'll be on the call in ten."

She nodded and Pym motioned for them to follow.

Tony moved immediately, and Steve found himself eyeing every corner of the large, expensively decorated office. It was different than the ones at Stark Industries or even at SHIELD. His attention immediately snapped back to Pym as he spoke, dark blue eyes fixed on Tony.

"You do know how to make a stir. You always have." Pym turned to Steve. "Pleasure to finally meet you in person, Captain. I hear you've been trying to get ahold of me."

"For over a week now," the blond confirmed. He knew he'd been reaching out but hadn't bothered to answer. That didn't look good.

"Listen, Hank. We won't take up too much of your time," Tony started in as Pym circled around his ornate desk and took a seat in the chair, steeping his fingers.

"Or any of it, really. I'm sorry you came all the way across the country to leave empty handed, but you're not getting what you came for."

"You know what we're here for?" Tony asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well I know your patriotic friend there isn't here to return the Pym Particles I loaned him to make sure he got home in one piece. I hear he wants more. Or you do."

Steve's expression hardened a little watching the CEO who looked like he thought he was sitting on a throne rather than in a desk chair.

"Alright. You know what we want. You know why?" Tony asked after a long moment.

"Why doesn't matter," Pym huffed. "Listen, I appreciate what you kids did. I know you… sacrificed to bring us all back. To beat Thanos." His gaze flickered to the visible scars that the Infinity Stones had left Tony with. "But I'll be damned if I let my tech, my life's work, fall into the hands of a Stark."

The two men were locked in a silent battle of wills that Steve could only watch. He had known that Pym hated Howard and likely held a grudge against Tony for it as well. They had both hoped for a better reception than this. Granted, neither of them had known what Pym knew until that moment. If they had, they might have taken a different approach.

If they had known, it could have changed their minds. He pulled in a breath. "You hate Howard Stark that much -"

"He and SHIELD tried to steal my research."

"Then you're going to want to lend us a vile."

Tony turned to look at him, a warning silent but clear. Steve ignored it. He knew Tony would want to keep the number of people that knew his father had jumped into their time as limited as possible, but this was the only way Steve could see winning Pym over. "I went back to 1946. Howard Stark hopper a ride back with me."

The room fell silent and Pym sat back. He hadn't known that piece of the puzzle. Good. Maybe the gamble would pay off.

"Pre-SHIELD Stark?" Pym confirmed, his voice thin.

"Yes."

"We just want to send him home," Tony added quietly. "We don't want to steal your tech, Hank. We just want to set things straight."

"Maybe you already have."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked carefully.

"He's here. He can't start SHIELD. Can't add his influence to it."

Tony sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose in the first real sign of stress Steve had seen since they'd entered the building. "You're not going to change your past. That's not how —"

"You think I don't know that?" Pym snapped. "But Rogers here opened up a branch timeline. There's another me out there that will never have worked for SHIELD, never have to deal with your father. From the look you gave him, you're trying to keep him underwraps. I can live in a world with him hidden half a country away if it gives another me that chance."

"You've got to be kidding me," Steve managed.

Tony took a step forward, leaning against the desk, his fingers curling around the outer edge. "You're taking petty to a dangerous level here, Pym. The intention was never to bring my dad forward. Having him here—"

"What were you doing in '46?" Pym asked Steve with an irritating smirk. "I mean, that wasn't one of the stop off points, was it?"

"So you're not willing to help us?" Steve asked tightly.

"Nearly anything else, gentlemen, but not this. Security will see you out."

Steve looked to Tony who gave the smallest shake of his head. Not until they were out. They remained quiet as they were escorted downstairs and out the front door. It wasn't until they were halfway down the street to where they had left the car that Tony reached up to his glasses. "FRIDAY, be a dear and activate the decryption program from the little present I left in Pym's office."

If the AI system acknowledged him, Steve couldn't hear it, but if the amused look on Tony's face was anything to go by, she was doing just as he asked. "So what? He doesn't give it to us and you'll just take it?"

Tony shrugged. "I'd rather not, but we need his tech to get Howard back. Don't look at me like that. I have no interest in keeping his formula. I'll crack the code, cook up a vile, and send him on his way. Everybody's happy."

"You're not a chemist."

"But I am a genius. I catch on, and for what I can't, the kid can help. He's got a knack for this sort of thing."

Steve watched him for a long moment before finally nodding. If Tony thought he could safely recreate the Pym Particles, he'd trust him on it. He'd have to.

___________

Peter liked to think he took things in stride. Sort of. Kind of. Most of the time. It was really all about perspective. Compared to hopping onto an alien spacecraft and flying to some other galaxy to fight a big purple dude who snapped him out of existence for five years, he couldn't think of much that should be hard to wrap his mind around. Even Captain Roger's sudden appearance back, while surprising, had to have some sort of explanation that made sense. He just hadn't thought that explanation would include two other people from the past coming back with him and Mr Stark on a plane with Cap flying cross-country.

"I, uh…. so is there anything I should know about his…. dad?"

Pepper - who had called Happy to watch Morgan so that she could go with him to Brooklyn - glanced over from the driver's seat. "Tony was worried about his safety."

"Because of Bucky?" Peter tried, and at the look he received for it he shrugged. "I mean, I know that he and Cap got into it over something having to do with his parents' death and Sam said Bucky had moved into the spare bedroom in the apartment that he went back to so…. Am I right?"

"Yes," she admitted softly, the car hitting the slight bump that signalled the end of the bridge.

"But Captain Rogers said he's not brainwashed anymore, so he wouldn't hurt him, right?"

"It's really just to give Tony some peace of mind."

"He wouldn't want you there if he thought it was going to get dangerous."

"Probably not, but I doubt it will."

Okay. So Mr Stark wasn't sending his wife to babysit him. Good. That was good. Peter pursed his lips, struggling to find the right way to ask without it coming across as rude. "So, uh… why are you going?"

"For my peace of mind," his mentor's wife answered tightly, and that focused look she wore left him fairly certain that he shouldn't push any further on it.

He didn't know a lot about Howard Stark. He and Tony had had a strained relationship when the older man had been alive, but Tony seemed to care about him even if it was complicated. There was a painting in the lobby of the Stark Industries building they were just coming from and apparently he'd been the one to start the company from scratch right around World War Two. He'd known Captain Rogers and had been killed by a brainwashed Bucky Barnes. That was it. All the knowledge the teen had on his mentor's father, but that was still more than the man himself would have, from what he heard. Cap had pulled in from the 1940's.

"So, uh…. did you ever meet him?"

"He was gone by the time Tony and I met," Pepper said as she pulled the car over and allowed it to parallel park for her.

Peter stepped out and looked up at the building. "This place must cost Captain Rogers a fortune."

"Not too much. His landlord has a soft spot for him, no matter how angry they get at each other," Pepper said, amusement lining her voice.

"Mr Stark owns the building?"

"Don't tell Steve. Tony'd never forgive us."

Peter flashed her a grin and followed her up. She seemed to know just where to go, but if he were honest he couldn't recall a time when Pepper Potts had been anything but prepared. They stopped at the door and she squared her shoulders back, pulling in a deep breath. She didn't knock though.

"Are you nervous?" he asked quietly and she turned to look at him, her expression softening a little.

"No, more worried."

"About what?"

"Tony," she answered and tapped her knuckles against the door without further explanation.

There was a beat. Then another. Finally Peter heard the sound of locks being undone and a woman he didn't recognize opened the door. "Yes?" she greeted them in a British accent.

"You must be Peggy Carter. I'm Pepper. Tony's wife."

The woman looked her up and down as if she weren't immediately ready to believe her. Finally her expression softened a bit. "Steve mentioned the boy."

"I'm Peter. And, uh, I'm fifteen."

Those soft brown eyes came to rest on him. "Are you now? I'd have wagered younger."

The teen gaped as Peggy Carter stepped aside. "Won't you come in?"

Peter scurried after Pepper, feeling more than a little intimidated by the woman that stood only a couple of inches shorter than Pepper, both taller than him in their heels.

"I wanted to drop by. See how things were going," Pepper offered, her voice pleasant.

"Sergeant Barnes isn't here," Ms Carter said stiffly. "Steve hasn't told the full story yet, but I got the distinction impression your husband isn't fond of him."

"The disagreement over him landed Tony with several cracked ribs and a fractured arm. Not to mention a rift between him and a good friend that had only just started to heal when he went away."

Peter blinked hard. Pepper's voice was ice cold, almost dangerous. Maybe there was more to the whole fallout than he knew. Probably. He hadn't known that Cap - or maybe Bucky? - had hurt Tony during the fight. Maybe it was after he'd been delivered back to Queens. It wasn't like Mr Stark had given him a followup on everything that happened.

"A valid reason then," Ms Carter acknowledged and Pepper backed down ever so slightly.

"Howard Stark…"

"Tinkering with something in the back room over there. There's no pulling him away when he's fixated. He'll come out eventually."

"Like father, like son."

A small smile tilted the British woman's lips. "From the brief few moments in which I met him, I'd say so."

Pepper's gaze swept the apartment. "I know Sam and Bucky were staying here…"

"It's been a full house," the other woman acknowledged. "I had my share of tents and close quarters in the war, as everyone in this flat has. I suppose if they're successful, though, we'll be down an occupant."

The sound of a door opening drew their attention and a dark haired man sauntered out. He looked a lot like Mr Stark, but somehow less like his older self that Peter had seen by way of photos and the painting. That man was stiff and stern, while this one bounced a little when he walked, a curious look at everything his gaze touched. His smile broadened when he caught sight of Pepper. "Well hello."

"Howard, this is Tony's wife," Ms Carter said pointedly.

The smile didn't falter, even if it turned a little sheepish. "Ah. My future-present daughter-in-law. Pleased to meet ya. Howard Stark, but I'm sure you know that."

"I do," Pepper said, reaching out to take his offered hand.

Instead of shaking it, he pulled it to his lips. "My son has great taste."

Pepper looked like she was trying to talk herself out of popping him upside the head. "Howard — If I may?"

"I insist."

" — this is Peter. Tony's been mentoring him."

"Are you as clever as my boy?" Howard Stark asked, and Peter couldn't help but think he looked genuinely proud at the statement, absurd as it was that a man that he was certain couldn't have been as old as Mr Stark - and from everything he was hearing had come from a time long before he'd been born - was owning any sort of influence over the man Mr Stark had become.

"No sir, but I'm learning a lot from him." There, that seemed like a safe answer.

And apparently one that Howard like. He cuffed Peter in the arm. "Ha! Good kid." He turned back to Pepper. "So, you two here to make sure I don't go running off, because you don't have to worry about that. Peg's been keeping me on lockdown."

"We just wanted to stop by and see how things are going," Pepper answered diplomatically.

"Ah. Well, better if I could leave this tiny little place. Stuff five people into a two bedroom apartment. Who does that?"

"Plenty of people," Ms Carter answered sharply.

Pepper's cell phone rang and she offered a quick excuse meas she stepped away. Those dark brown eyes that looked like carbon copies of Mr Stark's latched onto Peter. "So, kid, how'd you get wrapped into this? You seem a little young to be in the super hero biz. Even in our day you're s'pose to be eighteen to serve your country."

"Oh, I, uh…. intern for Mr Stark. I'm just learning from him."

"So no fancy costume for you, huh?"

"Well….." He swallowed hard, turning back to Ms Carter. "How are you liking New York?"

"I've actually been in New York for a while. It's the twenty-first century I'm getting used to."

"I busted her trip," Howard chuckled. He looked like he thought it was all a joke, while Ms Carter thought it was anything but that.

"So are you on your way back?" Pepper asked, cradling the phone to her ear. "I can…. oh. Should I let the lawyers know or not? Okay. I know nothing. Fly safe. I'll see you when you get here." She ended the call. "The boys are on their way home."

"How did it go?" Ms Carter asked.

"They didn't get what they wanted in the way that they wanted it, but Tony is nothing if not creative. It'll just take a little longer this way."

It didn't take Peter's Spidey Sense to catch the wave of disappointment wafting off Ms Carter, nor the pure excitement radiating from Howard Stark. Pepper didn't seem to miss the former either. "You know, it's awfully crowded here, and we have a spare room at our place. It's a couple hours out of the city, but I know it'd help Tony not to worry if he knew Howard was safe and —"

"We couldn't impose," Ms Carter said quickly.

"You think he'd be alright with me coming out to your place?" Howard asked, his tone more hesitant than Peter would have thought he had in him.

"I think it might be the best solution we have with the hand we've been dealt," Pepper answered. "What do you say?"

"Sounds perfect."

"Howard," Ms Carter warned softly.

"Peg," he said, his voice so quiet that only Peter's advance hearing picked it up, "please. Give me a chance to make this right before I gotta go?"

She shot him a conflicted look, but finally caved. "It would open up some space here."

"Then it's settled," Pepper said firmly. "Howard will come home with us."

___________

Tony had known something was wrong - or at the very least not going the way he would have liked it to - the moment that Pepper met them on the tarmac, and it hadn't taken her long to let him in on what that was. He listened, holding his tongue and his potentially hasty feelings of betrayal as in check as he was capable, as she walked him through her thought process. Barnes was living at that apartment. That was his home, and they were overcrowded as it was. Taking Howard outside the city would limit his exposure and keep Tony from hiking in and out until this was resolved. He could work from home - less likely to alert Pym to what he was doing - and they could keep an eye on Howard. She knew it wasn't ideal. This whole fiasco was anything but ideal. From where she stood it did appear to be the -

"Okay."

Those beautiful blue eyes turned on him. "I thought you'd fight this harder."

"I don't have to like it for it to make sense. We should probably get straight what we're telling Morgan though."

"She'll be sound asleep by the time we get home."

"Right." He was exhausted, the day weighing on him. Well, at least he got to go home to his own bed. That was something.

Pepper reached up, her fingers against his cheek. "You're not facing this alone, you know that, right?"

A small smile tugged at his lips and he leaned in, feeling her meet him halfway. "I know."

She nodded, offering him a smile of her own and he wrapped an arm around the small of her back to walk with her. "Hey, Cap? You need a lift?"

"Wrong way, isn't it?" Steve asked. "Hi, Pepper."

"We're taking Howard with us. So says the missus."

Pepper rolled her eyes at the teasing tone and popped him lightly on the shoulder. "We thought we'd open up some space at your place."

Steve caught Tony's gaze as if he were searching for some indication that this was alright. Tony shrugged. "When have you ever seen me do something I wasn't willing to do?"

"Fair," Steve chuckled. "I'll take that ride as long as Pepper drives."

"What are you trying to say, Rogers?" Tony groused as they started for the car.

"I'm trying to say that I've faced the worst of the worst and your driving terrifies me more."

Pepper snorted a laugh as she released her hold on him to aim for the driver's seat. Tony shot her a look of pure indignation. "Traitor."

"I can't help it if Steve's right."

He gave them both a melodramatic groan as he circled around to the passenger's seat, pausing as Steve pulled open the door behind him. "Hey." He waited for the older man to look over. "Good to have you back…. even if you brought the chaos with you."

"That's not going away anytime soon, is it?"

"Nope," Tony answered cheerfully and hopped in the car. The trip hadn't gone as planned, but nothing had that day. They'd take Howard home with them and regroup in the morning. The sooner he could get what he needed from his decryption programs, the sooner he and the kid could start synthesising what they needed to send Howard home. He just had to be patient and this would all be over soon.

___________

TBC

Notes: I feel like these chapters are getting longer.... Originally I was planning to keep them around 2K or so to write quickly. This one is over 4K. Ah well. The chapter wants what it wants. Who wants to start placing bets on if Hank is going to figure out that Tony's in his systems? :P

Next Time: Howard tries to gather some information while Tony struggles to focus on the task at hand.

#Endgame fix it fic #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #Pepper Potts #Peter Parker #Howard Stark #Peggy Carter #Hank Pym

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flip-flop-lover-will-byers · 3 years ago

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Alright so i was gonna put this in the tags but then i reached the tag limit. That's a new low

Anyway so yes. For me it's-

1) I like the way Will's sexuality hasn't been explicitly confirmed but is being treated like a foregone conclusion by the cast and the show. From what we know for now at least. That's how queer people ARE. Just existing- not verbally announcing their queerness every time they enter a new room. There's this stupid concept people have that if a character doesn't say they're queer then that means they're definitely not. Regardless of ALL the evidence to the contrary- as in Will's case. So David Harbour going all "If you'Ve bEEn watChiNg the ShoW" is hilarious. It's good. It's as it should be. Shame those idiots who need to keep being told every time that yes. Gay people exist. In the year 2022...they need it.

2) this goes for Mike too. I keep saying he's that character who never gets clocked as gay, and who never clocks himself as gay either until he's absolutely forced to confront it. I'll come to how relatable that is in a minute, but first- about those people who think all characters are straight until proven gay? Yea. In Mike's case, on the surface he's pushing the straightness so hard all of S3 that it's no wonder most people don't think beyond that. I didn't either (my expectations were too low). But. Even when characters aren't so obviously gay, there is literally no reason for us to not have the freedom to interpret them as such. Characters are characters- FICTIONAL. I hate how all queer interpretations of characters are automatically seen as lesser. Fetishising and sexualizing and annoying and just- wrong. Of course fetishisation is a problem in fandom, but I haaate that it's the label that gets slapped on nearly all non-canon queer characters. It's that assumption that queerness is inherently sexual somehow. You know what I'm talking about. Kids in straight love are cute, but kids in gay love are *ugh stop sexualizing them*

I got off track, but my point is- Mike is that sort of character. The kind of character who many queer people will interpret as queer because we can relate to him, but who in the past- in most shows- would NEVER be made canonically queer. The subtext would remain subtext. And the belief that actually... gay people don't exist until they're visible, it just gets reinforced. Mike being queer is amazing, because for once, the queer interpretation that's based on the most subtle of hints (that I think mostly just queer people picked up on) gets validated by canon. That's crazy. That's amazing.

3) They're relatable. I can't speak for Will much. He's my favourite probably because I don't relate to him lol. Mike tho.....oof. He's got a special brand of self-aware denial that is so familiar. He refuses to look at what he knows is there- and I relate to that shit ok? I was a dumbass too. My friends were all dumbasses too. I can give whole lists of people who I know have pulled Mike Wheeler moves because they were trying to figure themselves out. He's THAT relatable to me. And we don't have a single demographic in common. That is some queer character right there.

4) El really needs to explore the world beyond Mike. I got into the fandom for Byler, but I watched the show wayyyy before that. And at that time, having no clue about Byler at all, I was so sure that they weren't gonna get together again. El had too many good reasons to remain broken up. "He's my first boyfriend"?? "How do I know what I like"??? Come on. I was really rooting for her to get a character arc beyond Mike, and I'm glad she's getting it.

Sooooo yea. That's my rant. I care about Byler because it makes sense, and I'm tired of being told I should care more about some minimum effort het ship based almost entirely on one 'pretty' (sorry).

(Sorry for hijacking your post)

Why do Byler shippers care?

For me:

I’m queer and I’ve been in Will’s shoes falling for a close friend

I’m queer and I’ve been in Mike’s shoes struggling to understand my sexuality

I think stories portraying confusion over sexuality deserve to be represented, to provide a window into many people’s real-life experiences

I find Mike and Will to be well-written and compatible characters with a lot of buildup to their relationship

I already loved Stranger Things before seeing Mike and Will’s bond as potentially romantic

Mike’s character makes more sense to me if I don’t view him as straight

I think El will have more interesting character development outside of a romantic relationship at this point in her story, and I look forward to seeing her grow as an individual

I see potential for a meaningful depiction of platonic love after a breakup in Mike and El’s continued relationship

I think Byler connects thematically to the rest of the show in several ways

I think romantic relationships have just as much of a place in sci-fi shows as in other shows

I think queer romance has just as much of a place in mainstream shows as straight romance, and that includes its depiction with two major characters

Feel free to add your own. If you’re new to the tag, I hope this helps shed some light on where many of us are coming from.

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