#also I’m once again in old avengers fics

[whynotlol9]

you know what? I really miss Thor 1 gang :’(

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

The House Guest 1

Warnings: non/dubcon, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: Bucky Barnes

Summary: an old acquaintance calls in a favour, leaving you with an unexpected house guest.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

“When I said I owed you,” you whisper and look over your shoulder. 

“Talk as quiet as you want, he’s got super hearing. Can’t even squeak out a silent but deadly with this guy,” Sam chuckles. 

“Wow, that’s gross,” you crinkle your nose. 

“I can be a nasty boy.” 

“Not better,” you give him an apprehensive look as you face him. “I saw him on the news.” 

“Hey, I was there too,” Sam chirps. 

“I know that but...” 

“He got a bit trigger happy. We’re just waiting for things to blow over. He needs a calming personality.” 

“So not you,” you retort. 

“No, not me. I’m into choking but not by him,” he snickers. 

“I can hear you,” the man leaning on the car hood snaps back as the sucker in his mouth hits his teeth. 

“Oh, I know,” Sam shoots a finger gun in his direction. “Also, he’s giving up smoking so he’s a bit testy.” 

“No, I spent eight hours in a car with you so I’m pissed off,” the grumbly sidekick hurls back. 

You look between them. Sam Wilson, the new Cap, superhero, avengers, comedian, and Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier, assassin, and... mystery. You should refuse. You owe him but that much? A near-fugitive in your house? 

“Sam, I don’t exactly got a guest room,” you cross your arms. 

“Look, if the dame don’t wanna take me, don’t twist her arm,” Bucky sneers and bites into the sucker, scraping the stick with his teeth. “I can figure myself out.” 

“That’s what you said before the explosion. I’m not falling for it again, man,” Sam shoots back and shakes his head. He puts his hands on his hips and faces you. “You’re not just doing a service to me, but to America.” 

“Yes, okay, but this is Canada.” 

His eyes drift in realisation and his lashes flutter, “right, but we’re allies.” He looks at you again and smiles, “I thought Canadians were nice.” 

You roll your eyes. “Goddamnit. Fine.” 

“Like I said,” Bucky approaches, “I can go somewhere else. I don’t wanna be a burden.” 

“It’s not you,” you assure him. “There isn’t much space, that’s all. If you’re fine with that, so am I.” 

“I told him, it’s not a big deal,” Bucky huffs. “But he insists.” 

“I have to insist. I’m the Captain now.” 

“You keep saying,” he turns on Sam. “So why don’t you get that shield and we’ll see if you’re really up to that title.” 

“Alright, alright,” you step between them. You’re not a fan of conflict. Sam knows that and that’s why he brought him here. “No need to argue. You got a couch,” you look at Bucky then turn to the other man, “and you have a long ride home.” 

“Wait, you’re kicking me out?” Sam says. 

“If you stay any longer, I won’t stop him. I said he could stay, I said nothing about mediating whatever this is,” you wiggle your finger between them. 

Bucky snorts. He’s just as bad as Sam. They seem to only know how to goad the other.  

“Fair. I mean, you don’t want this guy getting any grumpier. He’s already such a treat,” Sam smirks. 

“Enough, I just told you,” you wag your index at him. “Well, nice to meet ya,” you turn and offer your hand to Bucky, “welcome to Canada.” 

“Thanks,” he says, though you can sense him staring down the other man. 

“Sam, have a safe trip. You need water or anything for the road?” You offer over your shoulder. 

“Nah, I think I’m good. A nice ride home alone. With good music. Think I’m set.” He cackles. 

“You wouldn’t know good music if it shot you in the face,” Bucky growls. 

“Dude, go get your bag out of my car,” Sam snips. “Good riddance, is what I say.” 

“Drive safe,” you shake your head as you walk toward the house. “I was in the middle of something.” 

You climb the porch steps and leave the inner door open as the screen door snaps shut behind you. Out of sight, you stop to shake off the adrenaline. You only realise then how the unexpected rival stirred you up. You weren’t ready for Sam but especially not a houseguest. Still, the only reason you have this place is because of that man. You can do this. 

You take a breath and go back to the kitchen. If Sam trusts Bucky, you can too. You’re not one to welcome in strangers, especially men, but this is different. And even if he asked, it wasn’t much of a choice. 

You wash your hands and dry them before pushing your sleeves back up. The striped button-up isn’t exactly your Sunday best. You add breadcrumbs to the bowl of raw beef as you hear footsteps on the porch. The door opens slowly and gently hits the frame. You listen to your guest as he sighs in the entryway. 

The house is small. One-floor, a single bedroom, a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen with a small dining table that doubles as your workspace. It isn’t much, but it’s yours. And it’s history. Your family’s. 

You sense him hovering just outside the doorway. You glance behind yourself and hang your hands over the brim of the bowl. You still need to chop the veggies but that can wait. It isn’t his fault Sam decided this would be the balance in the scales. 

“Let me show you around.” You cross the kitchen as he peers through.  

His beard is dark, his hair overgrown and pushed back behind his ears, and tugs at the bottom of his denim jacket. He looks skittish as you approach. He has a duffel bag in his hand. 

“Look, sorry if I came off short. You know how Sam can be,” you say. 

“I do. He assumes a lot,” he mutters. 

“Sure does. So, like I said, it’s not a big house. Kitchen here,” you point over your shoulder, “living room behind you, bathroom down the hall and the bedroom. There’s a back door. Yard’s bigger than the house.” 

“Got it.” 

“So, you’ll have to camp out on the couch but good news, it’s from 1987 so it folds out,” you squeeze by him and lead the way into the front room. 

“Beats a full barracks,” he comments. 

You nod and peek over at him. “Guess that makes sense.” 

He sniffs, “thanks. Really.” 

“Again, not too much,” you gesture to the room. “I gotta finish the meatloaf.” 

“Think I can handle it,” he affirms. 

[just-dreaming-marvel]

LEGACY ~ 12

LEGACY MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,240ish

Summary: Steve worries about you. Tony opens your files.

Warning(s): Talk of torture / abuse

Notes: We're going to continue to see major differences from my original character fic LEGACY. I hope you all are enjoying them!

Over the course of the next few weeks, you felt like Tony was pulling away from you more and more. He seemed to have a lot more Stark Industries meetings than normal and a lot less time for you. There were many times when you asked FRIDAY to get a hold of Tony or tell you where he was, and the AI refused. You also began to notice that security at the Tower and the new Avengers facility–mostly when it came to you–was getting more and more intense. This made you angry. You decided to channel your anger into school work, training, and your Stark Industries work. You started to spend half of your week at the Tower and the other half at the update facility. The Team members at the facility could tell that Tony was seemingly pushing you away, but none of them could get you or Tony to talk about it.

One night, you were up late in the facility kitchen, finishing up some classwork, when Steve walked in.

“Hey,” he greeted. 

“Hi,” you responded, not looking up from your work.

“It’s a little late for homework, don’t you think?”

“And it’s a little late for you to be up, old man.”

“Ouch.” Steve leaned against the counter, watching you as you worked across the kitchen island. “Y/N?”

“Mhm?”

“What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re almost… manic. It seems like you’re constantly go, go, go. Always trying to keep busy.”

“I just have a lot to do.”

“You and I both know that’s not the reason. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Steve, I’m fine.” You didn’t see him reach across the kitchen island before he had pulled your classwork away from you. “Hey!”

“You can get it back once you start talking.”

“There’s nothing going on.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

After a short staring contest, you gave in. You explained how you lost the flash drive with your files on it. How you knew that you could reach out to Fury for them, but hadn’t convinced yourself to just yet. You then talked about how you felt like Tony was pulling away and how security seemed to be tightening around you.

“It’s beginning to worry me, Steve,” you admitted. “What if–” You cut yourself off, squeezing your eyes shut to try and stop the threatening tears.

“What if what, Y/N?” Steve asked after a few moments.

“What if he doesn’t want me anymore?” You whispered, voice cracking. “I mean, my real parents didn’t want me. So why would he?”

Steve moved quickly around the island, his hands going to your upper arms as you hung your head. “Y/N, don’t ever speak like that again, you hear me?” You met his gaze and all the seriousness that it held. “Of course Tony wants you. He loves you. You are his daughter, his favorite person. Tony just… well, he’s Tony. He struggles show that he cares.”

“He’s never had that problem with me…”

Steve sighed. “I’m sure that he’s going through something. I will try to reach out. I need you to promise me something though, Y/N… Promise me that if you ever start doubting if you are wanted again, you come to me. Immediately. No matter where I am, I’ll answer. Alright?”

“Alright.”

“Good.” He leaned in and kissed your forehead, his lips lingering a bit longer than they probably should have. “Now, let’s get you off to bed. And I expect you to sleep in, no early morning training for you.”

You nodded and slowly stood up. The exhaustion was finally hitting you. You took a few steps before stumbling and almost falling. Steve was quick to catch you, hoisting you up in his arms.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered, almost like a promise.

You closed your eyes and leaned into his chest as Steve carried you to your bedroom. He kindly tucked you into bed and kissed your cheek before leaving. You quickly fell asleep after.

~~~

Tony hadn’t slept in three days. He was reading over your files for the hundredth time. His eyes were skimming the pages, skipping from line to next random line, not able to focus.

1996 

The fetus was injected with the serum mixture. Both the fetus and the host are showing no signs of symptoms.

The subject was born healthy. So far no signs of any abilities.

1997

Today the child manifested remarkable strength for being one year old. The child is now showing signs of super strength.

The child fell while trying to walk, resulting in a few bleeding scrapes. Before the child could be taken to medical, the scrapes had been healed. The child was then cut with a small blade to further test the occurrence. The child completely healed within minutes.

The host agent finally decided upon a name: Y/N.

1998

During today’s lesson, Y/N didn’t get her way. The instructor suddenly changed their mind as Y/N continued to fight. A new instructor was brought in with the same result.

Y/N was put through trials to test her mind control. During the trials, multiple instructors began feeling emotions that weren’t their’s. As the trials continued, instructor’s started to notice that other instructor’s emotions were being manipulated. 

1999

Despite her age, Y/N has started daily education courses on math, science, technology, and languages. The languages that will be focused on first will be English, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin, and French. After full mastery of those languages, she will undergo instruction on other languages. 

Y/N’s education will be closely monitored to ensure high standards and so that she will be able to seamlessly blend into any environment HYDRA may need her to.

We have begun to do regular studies on her brain. We are using any method available.

2000

The Winter Soldier was brought in to help instruct Y/N on weapons and fighting styles. The Asset has been instructed to not take it easy on Y/N. Her age does not matter.

2001

Y/N has begun to grow defiant. Y/N will begin to have her memories routinely wiped, like the Winter Soldier.

2005

Alexander Pierce came to inspect Y/N for the first time. She exhibited most of her abilities: strength, healing of the Winter Soldier, and mind control. She attacked Alexander Pierce. The Winter Soldier had to stop her. Pierce was impressed, ordering for her memories to be wiped and her training to increase.

2011

A female HYDRA agent has begun teaching Y/N the art of seduction.

Y/N’s art of seduction lessons went as planned for the first week.

Y/N has been fighting her instructors. As punishment, her memory will be wiped and she will be kept in the cage for a week.

Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, and SHIELD broke into the facility in which Y/N was being held. She was taken.

Y/N has been placed with a foster family in California. She will be closely monitored.

An agent disguised as a SHIELD social worker paid her a visit to her school. She claims to not remember anything before her rescue.

2012

Tony Stark has adopted Y/N.

2013

Y/N moved to New York City with Stark. She is living in the Avengers Tower. She is no longer attending public school, she is taking online classes.

A HYDRA agent on assignment as a SHIELD agent got a hold of Y/N’s SHIELD file. She does not remember her past.

Y/N has been regularly training. It is clear that her subconscious remembers some of the HYDRA training on fighting techniques.

Tony pulled his eyes away from his scattered reading. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the tears from coming. HYDRA was still watching your every move. And the things they did to you… Tony wanted to wipe every member of HYDRA off of the face of the planet. That was his goal. 

Unknown to everyone else, Tony had been rerunning background checks on every person that worked for the Avengers Initiative and Stark Industries. He had fired every person that looked even remotely suspicious but couldn't find anyone that was actually HYDRA. Tony was even going out on secret missions, trying to finish off HYDRA loose ends. He knew that he should tell someone—tell you—about your files and what he had been doing, but he didn’t know who he could trust anymore. Including you.

Tony’s chest tightened, his breathing started to become laborious, and he began shaking. 

“Shit,” Tony muttered. “Not now.”

“It seems like you are having a panic attack, sir,” FRIDAY stated.

“You—You th–think?”

“Do you need me to call someone for you?”

“Nnnn—nnnoooo…”

Tony believed that he could handle it. All of it.

~~~

“I’ll come with you. Maybe someone else needs to talk some sense into Tony.

“That’s what Pepper’s for, Steve,” you responded. The two of you were walking out toward where the quinjets were parked. “I’ll be fine. I’m only going to be gone for a few days, then I’ll be right back here.”

“Let me just fly you.”

“Steve, you taught me how to fly the quinjet, besides FRIDAY’s going to pilot the whole 30 minute flight because I want a nap before I need to work.”

“Y/N.” Steve got in front of your path and stopped. 

“I appreciate the concern, but I’ve got this. Okay?”

He waited a beat before responding. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you in a few days.” You walked past him and turned around to walk backwards. “If I remember correctly, there was some mention of a birthday party.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Your friend Sam doesn’t do well with surprises.”

“Clearly. Call me when you land.”

“Will do.”

You turned back around and headed for the quinjet. You got it off the ground, waving to Steve, before turning on autopilot. You honestly had mixed feelings about going back to the Tower. The Compound was feeling more like home than the Tower now. You knew that Tony would be okay if you moved into the Compound full time, but you didn’t want him to feel like you were abandoning him. And you didn’t know if you were ready to be away from your father for that much. Though, it did seem that Tony was okay with it since he was pushing you away.

You set up a cot in the back of the quinjet and curled up for a nap. You needed to sleep, especially if you were going to do what Pepper needed you to do and if you were going to run into Tony.

“Miss Stark, we’ve landed,” FRIDAY announced, waking you from your nap.

“Thanks, FRI,” you yawned, sitting up with a stretch. “Is, uh, is Dad home?”

“Mr. Stark is home and in his lab. I have already informed him of your arrival.”

“Great,” you muttered.

Grabbing your things, you took a deep breath before walking off the plane and heading inside. You leaned up against the wall of the elevator upon entry and watched the floor numbers move. You groaned when you realized you weren’t being taken to your floor.

“FRIDAY?”

“Sorry, Miss. The Boss told me to drop you off at his lab.”

You sighed. You were hoping that there was going to be a few hours before you ran into Tony. But if he wanted to see you, maybe something was going to change. You left your bags in the elevator and stepped out into Tony’s personal lab. Tony’s head spun towards the sound of my footsteps.

“Hey, kid!” He greeted you with a smile. You noted that his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Not to mention, the dark circles that seemed to have grown since the last time you saw him.

“Hi, Dad,” you replied. You glanced at the holograms he was working on. It was a watch, in which he had a replica of it on his wrist. “What are you working on?”

“Some new nanotechnology.” He turned off the holotable and gave you his full attention. 

You nodded. “Well, FRIDAY brought me here on your request. I’ve got a lot of things to do for Pepper so if we could hurry this along that would be great.”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. I feel like we haven’t seen too much of each other lately.”

“Well, that’s not exactly my fault now, is it?”

Tony was a bit taken back by your tone, but not by your words. He had been busy trying to protect you. “I admit I have been busy. But you have been spending more time at the new facility so it’s really both of our faults.”

“Are you serious?” Tony didn’t immediately respond. He looked away like he was nervous. “What are you hiding from me? Why are you hiding from me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything’s fine.”

“Bullshit.”

“We’ve both just been busy, kid.”

“Usually people aren’t too busy for their kids… You know what?” You shook your head. “Nevermind. I can’t do this right now. I really need to go to work.” 

You turned around and headed for the elevator. You wished that your dad would call after you, to stop and talk about whatever was going on with him. But he never did, letting the elevator close between the two of you.

next chapter >

[aziraphales-library]

Hellooo!! Tysm for all the work you do mods this blog is acc amazing :)

I wondered if you know about anymore mcu (marvel/avengers) crossover fics cos I noticed there was only one post under the mcu tag and it’s rl hard to find good marvel crossover fics with GO lol

Thank you so much !!! <333

We have a couple of posts on our #marvel crossover tag. I don't read them, so don't know how "good" they are, but here are more that had interesting sounding summaries...

Shakespeare (Nerd) in the Park by ThePandaFangirl (G)

Aziraphale notices a certain actor in the park who suspiciously looks like a teen he met in the 1600s… and the man who tried to invade Earth 7 years ago OR a one-shot of the times when an angel of God (capital 'G') saw a particular Norse god (lowercase 'g')

Guardians of Alpha Centauri by I_llbedammned (G)

Set in the post Almost End of the World from Good Omens and the Post Infinity Wars from the MCU, Crowley and Aziraphale are living their lives as normal when suddenly they are summoned halfway across the galaxy to help deal with the pressing problem of one Galactus trying to consume everything in his path. However there is a small problem in the fact that the act of summoning cut them off from the source of their power. Will they gain their powers back in time to save the world yet again?

Angel of God, my Guardian dear by savorvrymoment (M)

Meanwhile, the angel sighs, soft hands brushing through Bucky’s hair. “Oh, don’t say such things about yourself. You are beautifully human. Dear boy, would you look up at me?” The angel has to encourage him further with his hands, but Bucky eventually does meet the other’s gaze. He has a cherubic face and soft, aqua blue eyes. His gentle smile is comforting and heartrending all at once. “Please forgive me,” Bucky begs. “Please, Lord, forgive me…” “Shh… You know something? You remind me of a friend of mine,” the angel tells him. “He was a great and righteous warrior. He stood for goodness and passion and devotion. But he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he fell from a great height…” “You’re so very funny, Angel,” Crowley interrupts. Though Bucky doesn’t look away from the kind face in front of him. “They tried to burn away his spirit and his light and his love. But they failed,” the angel continues. “He was too strong of heart to truly be broken.”

Iron Serpent by prettybirdy979 (T)

'What should I call you then?' 'Crowley. Anthony Crowley.' Tony has to beam at Mr Crowley. 'My name is Anthony too!' Mr Crowley smiles, a quick grin. ‘What a coincidence Kiddo.’ He stands, offering his hand to Tony. * Or four year old Tony means Anthony Crowley, demon of Hell and Serpent of Eden. It's the start of something that might, somehow, one day, be called a beautiful friendship. It may also save a life.

Guardian Demon by these_violet_delights (T)

“Think of me as a sort of… guardian demon.” “PFFFFTTT-HA!” Jessica did an actual spit-take and burst into laughter, first at Crowley, then at herself, shaking her head in disbelief. “Guardian demon! Leave it to me to have guardian demon! Did the angels just give up, or…?” “Jessica Jones, I can think of only one angel who might be qualified to be your celestial guardian,” the demon teased, “but he currently has his hands full shooing customers away from his bookshop. Face it, I’m the only being, celestial or infernal, who is not only capable but also willing and intrigued enough to put up with your bullshit.” “Fair enough,” Jessica smiled.  *** Or, what happens when Crowley shows up after Jessica accidentally kills her third victim? Whether from Heaven or Hell, Jessica Jones could use all the help she can get. Disposing of a body is a bonding activity, right? Starts at the very beginning of S2 Ep11 AKA - Three Lives and Counting.

Is This Heaven? No, It's Brooklyn by heyjupiter, volunteerfd (T)

After supervising the wrong child for 11 years, Crowley and Aziraphale discover that the Antichrist is actually in Brooklyn, and they have one month to avert the Apocalypse. Although they still need to figure out a few minor details (like how to stop him, and what name he's using), they book an Airbnb and head across the pond. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner, the last living descendant of Agnes Nutter, is also figuring things out, like how can he best answer his curious mentee, Adam Young’s, many questions about the planet? Why couldn't his ancestor's prophecies have been less nice and more coherent? What role will Stark Industries play in causing the end of the world? If he took down his Airbnb listing months ago, how did two strange Englishmen rent it out? And is he really destined to live the rest of his life with the asshole who plowed him over with a Bentley? The combined forces of science, religion, and coincidences--plus the hyper-competent Pepper Potts--might just be enough to avert the Apocalypse and give everyone a happy ending.

- Mod D

[spideyzgirl]

hii! I don't know if you have requests still open, if you don't just ignore this <3 how about a fic where reader is the one with powers and her and Peter are together & he works as a nurse maybe or not, and he always patches her up when she's super hurt? Peter gets a call from reader that she needs help and he goes to her? or she comes to him? just really fluffy and angsty? again if you're not taking requests just ignore this. have a lovely day/night <3

doctor doctor, give me the news

A/N: so sorry this took me so long to write! i also changed it to doctor instead of nurse if that’s okay :)

warnings: mentions of blood, angst, fluff

pairing: doctor!peter x avenger!reader

wc: 1508

note: assume the reader got bit by the spider instead

masterlist | taglist

the fast pace and constant demands of the hospital often left peter with little free time for himself. on the rare occasion that he found himself with some down time at the office, he scrolled through the endless amount of notifications that he missed on his phone.

his eyebrows knit together when he finds the series of missed calls from you. he dialed you back, the concern only growing as he listened to ring after ring. his mind raced with possibilities of what could be wrong. you finally picked up, he let out a sigh of relief. “baby, you okay? i’m sorry i missed your calls, what’s going on?”

there was a brief silence on the other end before you spoke in a weak voice, “it’s nothing major, just wanted to let you know i’m...” you trailed off, muttering curses to yourself when you accidentally pressed the gash on your stomach. “i’m bringing you chinese! can’t imagine how hungry you are right now, hm?”

“that didn’t sound good. what’s going on?” peter bounced his leg anxiously.

“nothing, it’s just been one of those nights. i’m sore from dodging bullets.” you sigh.

“oh yeah, you stopped that bank robbery over in brooklyn, didn’t you?”

“uh huh. and i helped an old lady cross the street! i think that was the highlight of my night.” the more you spoke, the more winded you felt. you gasped when you found that your hand was coated in blood now.

“that’s great honey, but you sound like you’re about to pass out. why don’t you hurry on over? i don’t like the idea of you walking around by yourself, avenger or not.”

once you ended the call with peter, you released a pained moan you’d been holding through your entire conversation.

a stab to the stomach was no joke. you knew if peter were here right now, he’d tell you to keep pressure on it until you could get proper care. but there was almost no use for that anymore, you could still feel the blood seeping out.

every step you took sent a jolt of shooting pain up your side, and it was getting harder to catch your breath. you knew if you didn’t get to peter soon, you’d have bigger problems than a gash.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

“hey,” you breathe out, leaning against the door frame of his office. “before you ask, no i didn’t get you chopsticks. i’m tired of you claiming you know how to use them, and then tell me they’re broken when you have trouble with them.”

“they are broken. why do you think i can’t use them…” he trailed off when he noticed your teeth sinking into your lip. your eyes looked weak as well, and your forehead was damp with sweat. “either you’re severely constipated, or you had a rough night out there.” he smiled sympathetically.

“no, just severely stabbed. check it out.” you stumbled into the room and set the food on his desk before you slowly uncovered the wound, showing off the bloody mess.

“oh my god.” peter gasped. “you never told me you got stabbed!” he bent down to get a better view of the gash. as he examined your wound, his mind raced. he had seen his fair share of injuries in his line of work, but he felt a more extreme amount of concern for you.

“remember when i told you i helped that old lady cross the street? well, she actually thought i was trying to rob her, so she stabbed me and took off across the street and honestly? good for her. you never know who’s out to get you on these streets.”

“you didn’t think to lead off with that? ‘hey babe, i got stabbed and i’m damn near bleeding to death’ just happened to slip your mind?” he fussed. peter quickly got you situated on the patient bed and rolled on some gloves. he cautiously removed the top half of your suit, mindful of the pain you were experiencing.

“i thought if i bought you food it’d lessen the blow. i guess i forgot to mention i got stabbed.” you winced as he began to clean your wound, the pain was almost nauseating. his heart sunk at your desperate fight to keep your eyes open.

“you’re alright, you’re gonna be just fine. i just need to stop the blood. i just know you’ve lost a lot.” he muttered, more to himself than you.

“oh. that can be bad.” you responded anyway.

“can be? it is bad. how are you not taking this seriously? your life might not be a big deal to you, but it’s a pretty big one to me.”

“i still see this as a win. she crossed the street faster than she would’ve if i wasn’t there. really, you should seen those little legs take off-“

“would you shut up? i don’t see this as a win at all. you could’ve died tonight. my girlfriend, the woman i love, nearly escaped death tonight, and you just think it’s a big game.” he scoffed, shaking his head as threw away blood-drenched gauze.

“hey, cut me some slack. when i’m out there, saving lives is my priority. i can’t save people and myself at the same time. it’s either i save them or die trying.” you defended, squeezing his shoulder when he wipes a little harshly.

peters anger falters when you do this, and he turns his head to kiss your fingers as an apology. he sighs but continues to dress your wounds.

“i know, i’m sorry. i don’t mean to tell you how to do your job but… this is happening way too often now. every other day you’re coming in here with something broken or bleeding, and you just don’t care. i know you’ve got abilities, but what happens when someday, someone gets the jump on you and you can’t protect yourself?”

“then i’ll have my sexy doctor patch me up.” you wink at him.

“sure,” peter nods his head. “and what happens when i can’t get to you? what happens then?” his voice was gentle, but firm enough to make your smile fade and tear your gaze away from his intense one. “do you know what it does to me when i see you like this? i mean, i’ve seen a lot of injuries as a doctor, but when it’s you i have to see hurt like this… it’s something entirely different.”

you were quiet as he finished cleaning you up. you didn’t realize how much this affected peter. if he knew the truth, he’d know that every time you’re out there, you fear that every night could be your last.

“sometimes i don’t have time to care, pete. as long as i get the job done, i don’t really care what happens to me. take tonight for example. did that old lady stab the shit out of me? yes, but she also crossed the street successfully. its always a job well done if people walk out safe, even if that doesn’t include me. you can understand that, right? our jobs are almost similar in that way.”

“yeah, i feel you on that,” he gently pushes his way further between your legs, his hands caressing your thighs soothingly. “but still, if you’re dead, you can’t really save them, can you?”

you nod in agreement, fully understanding where he was coming from.

“just please try to be a little more careful? what am i gonna do without my little web-weaver?” he smirks playfully.

“oh, is that what you’re calling me now? what happened to web slinger and web-head? or, my personal favorite, webs?”

he chuckles, lightly pressing his nose against yours. “promise me you’ll be more careful. i’m serious.”

“i promise i will. but i really wasn’t expecting that lady to stab me. it’s not like i was throwing myself in harms way there.” you shrug.

he cups your cheek, caressing it softly before pulling you in for a gentle kiss. you hum into the kiss, and laughed when his free hand found home on your side.

“hm, you must enjoy me being in pain. i didn’t peg you for a sadist, baby.” you teased.

“nah, that kiss was to make up for the fact that i’m gonna have to stitch you up. i know you hate needles.”

“stitches? no, don’t do this to me!” you throw your head back and whine.

“i know, i know. but your wound is really deep. it won’t heal properly without stitches, webs.” he pouted, running his thumb over your cheek. “don’t worry yourself. i’ll numb you up and be done in no time.”

“i can’t believe this.” you shake your head.

“ugh, i know right? i have to save your life. this is such an inconvenience to my night.” peter sassed you, making you roll your eyes at him.

throughout the entire ordeal, peter did everything in his power to ease your pain and make sure you were comfortable. peter was a doctor, but he was your boyfriend first.

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[that-gay-guy-from-hell]

Bound by Blood: Reader & Sparda Bloodline (Platonic)

SUMMARY: It all started on that fateful day, the day everything went up in flames. You’ve been forced to walk a life you’d never imagined. All in the name of avenging your brothers; Dante and Vergil. Who, unannounced to you, are still very much alive and are wandering the endless wasteland called Hell; the endless wasteland you’d called “home” for over three decades.

EDIT AS OF 7/12/2023: I am re-writing this entire fic. I don't really like how it turned out plus all of the half-finished/patrial story bits I have in here are kind of not up to my standard. Please still give this a read, it took me a REALLY long time to finish this, but just know that this is going to be redone. Thanks for understanding, have a great day/night!! :)))

Requested by @loshpen! :))) 

*Slams this down like a dictionary* HERE TAKE IT. THIS IS OVER 25,000 WORDS; HOLY SHIT-- *dies*

BEGINNING NOTES: ⚠️Please read these, they are important⚠️

➖➖➖ ⧳ It is EXTREMELY encouraged to read the “General Headcanons” before reading this story; it helps things make more sense. Otherwise, you get lost and/or confused. VERGIL IS WEARING HIS DEFAULT OUTFIT FROM DMC 5 NOT THE DEVIL HUNTER ONE; he does have V’s tattoos though. ⧲Universe typical violence: Blood, guts, gore, (mentioned) throwing up, bruising, broken bones, etc.  ⧳Talk of the reader eating raw meat (idk if I need to warn about that or not, rather be safe than sorry) ⧲Talk about abuse/manipulation/torture from Argosax towards the reader; it is not super in-depth, however, it is mentioned and talked about the reader basically having Stockholm syndrome.  ⧳Switches between 2nd and 3rd person; I tried to make it seamless but it is a little rough. ➖➖➖ ⧲ G/N Reader & Sparda family; the reader is the younger sibling to Dante and Vergil, making you Nero’s “Pibling” (which is the G/N term for aunt/uncle) ⧳The reader is a year younger than the twins; born in the fall.  ⧲Little less ambiguous than I typically try to write. I needed to have something to work on for the reader’s personality and stuff, so sorry if it doesn’t line up with you per se--I tried lmao ➖➖➖ ⧲Sparda is a soft old man--just let me have this. ⧳Vergil has emotional outbursts because of what happened with V/Urizen. ⧲Dante’s amulet is silver and Vergil’s is bronze; I’m using DMC3 as canon colors, not DMC1. ⧳Since you are a part of the Sparda family, you are in the painting from the mantel. You’re placed front right--the observer’s right--next to Sparda.  ⧲I know the reader wouldn’t get over things so quickly, but (again) just let me have this. ⧳MINOR SPOILER: The Sparda when you are younger is not “Force Edge” because the proper owner, who at the time was Sparda, has control of it. So when everything happens and you don’t have your sword, it goes into its dormant state, which it then has to be forced out of (or it would’ve had to reunite with you.). ➖➖➖ ⧲I don’t personally have a good relationship with my sibling; in fact, I don’t consider them to be my sibling. So, I don’t know how siblings interact. ⧳I also didn’t have much of a relationship with either of my parents until I was in high school (because I live in America where parents are worked to death and their kids never get to see them). ⧲I ALSO have the ‘tism so I don’t know how kids typically act.  ➖➖➖ (I will remove this section once I get my Argo/Mundus H/Cs out) ⧳Argosax’s personality (or lack thereof) has been scrapped. I think them being a psychopath (in the medical sense) makes for a much better character. Argosax can easily convince others to follow their orders--opposite Mundus who does everything through force.  ⧳Bolverk has been retconned to be Argo’s bodyguard/general (basically Argosax’s Nelo Angelo but willingly or Pre-woke Sparda).  ⧲Argo’s stronger than Mundus, but Mundus’s army is more substantial than Argo’s.

THE ENDING IS NOT PROOFREAD, I JUST WANTED TO UPLOAD THIS (I’ll come back and fix it up later.)

STORY START:

“Shhhhh--” Eva weakly reached out for the crying child that was in the midwife’s arms, “It’s alright."

     After a few minutes of her rocking the new child, the room fell completely silent. Despite how joyful Eva should feel, she couldn’t help but stare somberly at her newborn. 

     A quiet creak came from the door as a large platinum-haired devil entered. It was her husband and the child’s father, Sparda. His typically brash loud voice was beyond soft and gentle as he slowly shut the door behind him, “Eva?” 

     Her eyes flicked up to him before they returned down to their newest baby. 

     Sparda moved into the room, standing next to the bed with a dejected look on his brow, “Their… condition has not gotten any better I take it?”

     Eva gave a small slow side-glance to her husband; giving him his answer.

     A loud slam caught everyone’s attention. The door that Sparda had gently shut was now wide open; so much so, that the knob was digging into the wall behind it. In the frame of the door were the couple’s first children, Vergil and Dante. Before anyone responded to their sudden appearance, they bolted into the room. 

     Dante squealed in excitement, “See! I told you, Verge!” The two were intercepted by Sparda, who picked them both up by their shirt collars.

     “Why are you out of bed? I thought I told you to stay in your room,” Sparda’s voice was sharp but still quiet, not wanting to upset Eva or wake the baby. 

     Vergil pouted, “But--” 

     “It is alright, Love,” Eva’s voice was soft as she gave a meek smile, “If they can behave then they may stay for a moment.” Although it pained her to admit it, she knew that this might be the only chance for the twins to see the baby alive. 

     Sparda hesitated before releasing the boys. As quickly and quietly as they could, they ran to the edges of the bed. Sparda waltzed over and held up Vergil while the midwife held Dante. 

     After a minute or two, Vergil spoke as he tilted his head in confusion, “Why does it look like that?” 

     “Vergil!” Sparda growled at his son.

     Eva sighed and looked down to watch the sleeping newborn as it wiggled slightly, “They are unwell,” her voice cracked as she spoke. 

     Dante smiled, not understanding what she meant, “Well, when are they gonna be better? I want to play with them!”

     Eva swallowed audibly and gave a pained smile, “Soon, hopefully…”

     Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and soon it had been a year since the child had been born. Despite all the odds, it continued to live. There were of course several days and nights spent watching with great concern, but the child always managed to pull through. Sparda had begun to equate it as the “runt” of the “litter” and referred to them as such. It wasn’t meant with ill intent, however, Eva wasn’t exactly fond of it, but the name wasn’t far off from the truth.

     Unlike the twins, their third child’s development was closer to that of a human; both physically and mentally. Not a single glimpse of a sign of having any devilish heritage or urges had been seen. In stark contrast to the two older children who, at this age, were nearly burning down the house whenever they threw a tantrum or didn’t get their way. This child was rather amicable, putting up little to no fuss; never even throwing a tantrum to begin with. Which would reflect the way the child would deal with things later in life; the way you would deal with things later in life. 

     When you turned two, your “slow” development sparked a very important conversation between Eva and Sparda; how should they raise you? At this rate, you wouldn’t be able to start learning things until you were of the correct human age, unlike the twins who were only three and learning at a second-grade level. 

     You had also shown a severe, borderline unhealthy, attachment to Eva and were very afraid of Sparda. He hadn't done anything that would cause you to be so terrified. Admittedly, he was a little hurt that his child won't let him anywhere near them. The couple figured that perhaps it is because you seemed to be more “human-like” that it caused you to inherently fear devils and demons.

     After many long discussions and some mild arguments, it was decided that you would be raised like a human. That you would attend human schools and human activities. To be treated as such just in general life around the house and town--which meant no training or lessons from Sparda. Once they laid out what they were going to do, the twins were informed of the decision; which was rather important, since the pair were already trying to get you to tussle or adventure with them. 

     Vergil and Dante were confused about their parents' choice; why were you going to be treated so differently? Sure, you weren’t exactly like them but you had the capability to play alongside them. This was dismissed by both of your parents, as they insisted that you weren’t like the twins--that this is how it has to be. However, when your parents weren’t looking; your brothers taught you what they could. Vergil taught you basic reading and math while Dante taught you more hands-on things, refining your motor skills.

     When you turned six, the twins decided to teach you things that Sparda had taught them. Dante taught you more hand-to-hand based things while Vergil taught you about proper weapon usage. You did well, much better than the twins were expecting after what they heard. If your Father or Mother won’t teach you then they feel that it was their responsibility, as your older siblings, to do so. 

     One night after everyone was in bed, the silver-haired twins unintentionally eavesdropped on a conversation about your upcoming seventh birthday. Underneath their bedroom was a large library that Sparda often visited late at night, however, it seems that Eva decided to join him. Currently, they were lightly arguing about what they were going to give you. 

     You were already past the age that Sparda gave the twins the heirlooms from his side, which the bronze devil wasn't exactly thrilled about. Sparda continued to insist upon giving you a weapon because, “--even if you were to be raised human, you are still his kin; devils and demons alike will want, and try, to kill you.” 

     Eva, however, was well within her right to be concerned. You still weren’t showing any signs of demonic heritage and most of Sparda’s gear is too heavy for you to lift or use. Besides, "If something were to happen, Dante and Vergil will be there to protect you.” All she wanted was for you to be raised a normal human child which doesn’t include demonic weapons; especially the one that Sparda was talking about. Before the twins could hear the verdict of the conversation, they both fell fast asleep. 

==

     Time seemed to fly over the next few months and it was finally your birthday. Although none of you knew it, this would be the last of your birthdays that you spent with your entire family. 

     “Tag!” Dante’s index finger jabbed your shoulder as he pivoted around, sprinting through the leaves. 

     “Hey!!” You ran after him, stumbling a bit; however, you continued nipping at the red devil’s heels. 

     “Tch,” Vergil sat on the porch stoop. He looked up from his book, raising a sharp brow at the two of you, “How childish--!”

     A wide toothy grin decorated your face as you poked his shoulder, “Tag! You’re it!” Then you took off, high-fiving Dante in the process.

     He stared for a moment, deciding if he was going to participate; since it was your birthday, he decided to swallow his pride and play along. With a heavy sigh, Vergil shut his book with a loud thump and placed it inside the front door. A small happy smile unknowingly tugged at his lips as he shook his head, taking off after the two of you.

     The three of you darted throughout the yard as Sparda watched from the window. 

     “Our Runt is keeping up well with the twins,” Sparda turned to his wife who had just finished placing dinner in the oven, “Perhaps we are wrong to assume--”

     “Sparda,” Eva sighed, “The boys are probably holding back so they can play together.”

     He opened his mouth but decided to keep it to himself. His lips turned to a thin line as he turned back to watch. 

     “You’re it,” Vergil’s voice was monotone as he tapped your shoulder.

     You let out a surprised sputter, “How?!” 

     Both Dante and you stopped as you stared at the eldest sibling. 

     “What?” Vergil tilted his head to the side and folded his arms.

     Dante smiled and laughed, “Since when can you do that?”

     Vergil’s brow furrowed in confusion, “What?” In a cocky manner, he teleported to right in front of the two of you, leaning forwards, “Surprised?”

     The two of you nodded before you reached out slowly and poked him, “Tag.”

     Vergil’s eyes went wide, “Wha..?” 

     Dante busted out into loud laughter with tears springing to his eyes. 

     Vergil frowned in irritation and aggressively “tapped” Dante on the head, “Tag.”

     The three of you resumed your scampering (and teleporting in Vergil’s case) around the yard, slipping and falling in the leaves several times. Despite what your parents thought, the twins never held back or handicapped themselves to play with you. They were just as rough and fast with you as they are with each other… Well, maybe not as rough but definitely as fast. The game finally ended when Dante fell face-first into a large muddy section of the lawn, taking an unintended mud bath. 

     The three of you came back inside. You all left your muddy dirty clothes and boots by the door and made your way to the kitchen. Dante ran in to give both your parents a hug but was promptly stopped by Eva sticking out her hand to stop him.

     “Dante,” Eva let out a small laugh, “What happened to you?”

     “I fell,” Dante gave her a wide goofy smile.

     “You need to get washed up,” she shook her head and patted his mud-encrusted hair softly, “Definitely your Father’s child.”

     Before Sparda could question his wife, she walked off with Dante. Then he turned his attention to his remaining children. 

     The two of you sat next to one another on the living room couch. Vergil had grabbed the book that he was reading outside earlier and had picked up where he left off. This wasn’t uncommon for Sparda’s eldest to immediately jump back into whatever literature he was reading before being interrupted. However, this time was different, this time he was reading aloud.

     “ ‘Here alone I in books formd of metals/Have written the secrets of wisdom/The secrets of dark contemplation/By fightings and conflicts dire,/With terrible monsters Sin-bred:/Which the bosoms of all inhabit;/Seven deadly Sins of the soul.’.”

     “Vergil?” Your voice was soft, not wanting to upset him by interrupting.

     “Hm?” He watched you point to a drawing next to the poem.

     “Who’s that?”

     “The author’s rendition of what they think Urizen might look like. Urizen is the subject of this section of poems,” Vergil felt something on his shoulder and looked over. Only to find that you had leaned against his arm and were nodding at his answer.

     The eldest continued through the collection of poems as you intently listened along; telling you the tale of Urizen. 

     “Vergil?”

     “Hm?”

     “Is Egypt a real place?”

     Vergil laughed quietly, “Yes, it is quite far away. Maybe someday we can visit there together.”

     “I’d like that,” you smiled, “We could read this again there, too!”

     “Sure, if that is what you wish.” 

     You nodded vigorously, excited at the idea of traveling the world with your brothers--especially if you get to hear Vergil read more. 

     Vergil leaned his head atop yours and waited a moment before whispering, “Hey…”

     “Hm?”

     “I…” Vergil’s brow furrowed as he thought for a moment, he sighed, “I’m glad you are still alive.”

     If you hadn't known about your odd illness as a baby, this comment would've seemed rather menacing. However, you were well aware of how sick you were and knew he was trying to be nice.

     Your voice was loud and laced with an overflowing, almost sickly, amount of love, “I’m glad too!” You removed yourself from his shoulder and yanked his head down to yours, kissing him on the cheek, “I love you lots, Vergie.”

     He stared at you for a moment before sheepishly looking away, “I love you too.”

     The loud pitter-patter of running footsteps, made Vergil lightly push you away. Suddenly there was another sibling on your other side, jumping onto the couch with a bounce. 

     “What are you doin’?” Dante had his signature smile across his face.

     “Nothing,” Vergil answered before you could.

     “Aw, were you two waiting for me~~” Dante’s voice was laced with a knowing smugness.

     “I was!” You chimed in, managing to beat Vergil to the punch.

     Dante grabbed you and gave you an aggressive noogie.

     “Dante,” Sparda folded his arms and raised his brow.

     He stopped, “Sorry..!”

     You grabbed him and did the same, ruffling up his just brushed and cleaned hair. 

     “I don’t know how you three still have so much energy,” Eva shook her head as she entered the room.

     Vergil looked up from his book, confused about why he was grouped with you two. 

     “Now,” she gently placed two boxes on the coffee table, “Would you like to open your gifts?”

     You looked up at her in confusion, releasing Dante from your grasp, “Gifts? … Oh! Yeah!” In all your fun, you had forgotten that it was your birthday.

     Eva laughed softly before handing you the first box. It was heavy-ish and rectangular. The wrapping on it was crude and chaotic, with enough tape on it that it may as well have been wrapped in tape instead. In complete contrast to an intricately and well-tied ribbon surrounding the outside of it. A warm smile spread across your face, knowing immediately who this was from; Dante and Vergil.

     The twins watched intently as you carefully undid the ribbon and the seventy layers of patchwork gift wrap. Your smile faded upon seeing what it was, but not in a bad way; no, rather, you were taken aback. It was a photo album.

     You ran your fingers delicately across the cover which had a family photo of all five of you together. Underneath it, there was a small note neatly written in calligraphy, “ ‘Pretty joy!/Sweet joy, but two days old./Sweet Joy I call thee:/Thou dost smile,/I sing the while;/Sweet joy befall thee!’ Infant Joy; William Blake.”

     A small bittersweet feeling tugged at your heart as you gingerly opened the scrapbook. Inside there were dozens upon dozens of photos, drawings, newspaper clippings, stickers, and other miscellaneous things. Most of them had dates or small snippets of information next to them, explaining why they were placed there.

     Dante whispered to you as you flipped through the book, “You know, it was Verge’s idea to make this for ya--been workin’ on it since you were born,” his voice was playful and, yet, had a sense of pride to it. Of course, this was a teasing remark in an attempt to rile Vergil up, but you knew that deep down Dante was glad that he listened to his twin for once. 

     You tilted your head in curiosity, halfway through the book the pages became blank, “Why are these empty?” 

     Vergil huffed contently, “It is so you can fill out the rest as you grow up.”

     With a small hum you turned to give him a wide close-eyed smile, “As we grow up,” you corrected him and looked back down at the gift, “Thank you both. I love it; almost as much as I love you! I'll cherish this forever.”

     Eva and Sparda shared a small laugh at your enthusiasm over, what the twins’ would’ve considered, such a "boring" gift. 

     With overly cautious gentleness, you set the heavy book down on the coffee table in front of you. Eva then handed you the second, and last, box. It was a small square box with rounded edges. The wrapping on it was excellent and it had a small bow wrapped around it; it was from your Mother, Eva. 

     You quickly ripped through the wrapping and stared at the uncovered item. The box was a black velvet color and was unlike any other box you’d seen. Upon opening it, you (and your brothers) raised a curious brow at the contents. Inside, there was a well-taken-care-of palladium chain that had a sapphire pendant; one that is similar but much smaller than the twins’ (not yet received) necklaces. 

     “That necklace,” Eva started in, catching your attention, “has been in my family for several generations and now I'm entrusting it to you,” she smiled, “I know you’ll take good care of it.”

     You got up and went to hug her, squeezing her tightly.

     “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” she placed a small kiss on your cheek.

     As she helped you put the necklace on, the twins noticed that Father had left the room. Before they could question it, however, he returned.

     “Runt,” Sparda smiled widely, “Can you close your eyes and come here?”

     “Sure!” You did as he asked, guided towards him by your Mother. 

     Sparda knelt in front of you, “You may reopen them.”

     You stared in confusion and furrowed your brow, “Huh?”

     Held between his hands was a large, over six-foot-long, blade. His right hand was on the grip of the sword and his left hand was grasping the back edge on the other end, “Happy Birthday.”

     “What!” Dante shot up from the couch, “Not fair!”

     “Dante!” Vergil elbowed Dante in the gut, making the red devil sit back down.

     You turned back to look at your brothers before your Father spoke again, “Although you may not have a use for it now, I thought it best that you get the same treatment as your brothers.”

     “What is it?” 

     Sparda looked at you with parted lips before they curled into a smile as he laughed, “It is--or, rather, will be--your sword. Just as Vergil and Dante have Yamato and Rebellion; you will have The Devil Sword Sparda.”

     A nervous shake found its way to your hands as you reached out and placed your hands on the flat side of the blade. Admittedly the weapon was rather intimidating; I mean, Father doesn’t expect you to be able to lift that, right?

     “Dad?” You meekly looked up at him.

     “Hm?”

     “Why is it named that?”

     Another laugh emanated from the large devil, “Because it is my sword.”

     “Weren’t Yamato and Rebellion yours too?”

     “Rebellion and Yamato, were mine yes. However,” he looked down at the sword, “this is my pride and joy, the one that I still use.”

     “Then why aren’t you keeping it?” 

     “Because,” he took one of his hands and patted the top of your head, “Someday you’ll need a sword too and I believe this one suited you best.”

     “Oh,” you nodded and smiled at him, “Can- Can I ask one more thing?”

     “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

     Your fingers moved closer to the spine of the sword, making you cringe slightly at the fleshy feeling, “Why is this one so… scary looking?”

     Eva laughed this time, even letting out a small snort of surprise at the odd question.

     “I…” Sparda had a baffled look as he stared at you, “Are you asking why it has organic material?”

     Once more, you nodded and gently grabbed one of the bony spines.

     “Because,” he pursed his lips in thought, “Because it is most closely related to me and I come from a place that has a lot of organic materials like this.”

     “You’re home..?” Neither you nor the twins knew much about your Father’s past, only bits and pieces, and you had always wanted to learn more about the strange man, “Can we visit there someday?”

     Sparda shook his head ‘no’, “It isn’t a place that I want any of you to see, it is…” he pursed his lips, not knowing exactly how to explain things without frightening you, “it is not a nice place…”

     “Oh…” You pushed down on the blue-grey scales, “Then how are you from there?”

     “Par-Pardon?” 

     “You’re really nice and kind to everyone,” you pushed down on the large emerald stone that was nestled in the scales, “So how are you from there if it isn’t a nice place?”

     Sparda didn’t respond.

     You looked up at your Father and saw that he was staring at you with an odd expression, “Dad?”

     “Sparda,” Eva moved next to you and gently placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder, “Is something wrong?”

     The room became uncomfortably quiet. Both twins were staring at the three of you and you had removed your hand from the sword, opting to hold Eva’s hand.

     Without a word, Sparda got up and left, taking the sword with him.

     “Did I say something wrong?” You looked up at your Mother.

     “No, sweetheart. I'm not sure what that's about,” she looked down at you, placing a hand on your head with a small pat, “Why don’t the three of you go play for a while? I’ll come to get you for dinner and cake later, okay?”

     Although you all were uneasy, the three of you went to the twin’s room to play for a while. Eva made her way to Sparda’s office and found him sitting at his desk, staring down at nothing in particular. 

     “Dear?” Eva’s voice was soft as she entered the room, shutting it behind her, “What’s wrong?”

     The large man looked up at his wife, “It is nothing.”

     She moved further into the room and stood beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder, “I wasn’t born yesterday, something’s wrong.”

     “It’s just,” Sparda removed his monocle and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh, pushing the corners of his eyes, “that they used to run and hide when I’d enter a room and then to tell me that…” 

     Eva gently ran her fingers through his hair and had a sad smile tugging at her lips, “They have come a long way. Is that why you are upset?”

     His voice cracked a bit, “I know that it is rather stupid but it makes me sad…” he let out a wet huff of a laugh, “I never thought I’d have a family let alone,” his shoulders tensed as he leaned forwards, removing his fingers from his face, “let alone have children who see me as a good and kind man.”

     The petite woman watched as Sparda let out a shuddering breath and placed his elbows on his desk as he pressed his palms into his eyes; doing his best to suppress his emotions.

     “After everything I’ve done,” Sparda’s voice was quiet, shameful, “that I did…”

     “Sparda…” Eva’s fingers tightened on his shoulder.

     He looked up at his wife, tears welling up in his eyes, “Have I truly earned such words?”

     The blonde woman held her husband close, doing her best to comfort him, "A thousand times over, my love."

     They sat together for what seemed like a lifetime, intertwined within each other's arms. Neither you nor the twins were told about what happened; rather, everyone acted as if nothing odd happened in the first place. However, Sparda made sure that he tucked you in that night, gave you a hug and kiss, and told you that he loves you. A memory that you'd never forget.

==

     Over the next year or so, you began to flourish more and more. The twins were able to outright treat you the same as they do each other without having to worry about your parents getting as upset. Along with that, the townsfolk that saw you three thought that you were a set of triplets; even though you didn’t look like your older brothers. The three of you did everything together; sparred, played, ate, slept--you were inseparable. 

     “That’s not fair!” You pouted as you lay on the ground, face up, “You promised you wouldn’t do that!”

     Dante and you had been sparring, while Vergil was on the lookout in case your parents showed up.

     The younger twin laughed a bit and offered you a hand, helping you up, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

     Recently, he had developed a new ability, one which he called “Royal Guard” and he just absolutely blasted you with it. 

     “You alright?” Before you could respond, Dante gently moved your head to the side, “Uh-- Hey Verge,” he looked over to his blue brother, “Can you come ‘ere?”

     “What?” Vergil raised a brow and noticed what Dante was looking at, “Really, Dante?”

     The red twin removed his hand from you, only to have Vergil replace his hold on your face. You pouted a bit in confusion, “What? Is something wrong?”

     “Yes,” Vergil glared at his twin as he removed his hand, allowing you to turn back them, “Dante managed to leave a large bruise across your neck.”

     “What if I said I fell..?” You tilted your head to the side and watched Vergil think.

     “That might work, however--”

     A loud crash and an even louder yelp from you caught the twins off guard. You were currently pinned face down underneath something really really heavy and were unable to move. Dante being Dante started to panic and sprinted off to find Mother; only to have Vergil chase after him and try to stop him--leaving you completely alone. Admittedly, things could be worse--you could’ve been blasted by Dante’s new godforsaken ability again; however, you weren’t exactly thrilled at the moment. 

     Every muscle and tendon in your body felt as if it were on fire as you pushed up. A loud shouting cry left your lips as you finally push whatever it was off of you--at least enough that you could worm your way out.

     Your brow furrowed, “What..?” In front of you was the behemoth of a weapon, The Devil Sword Sparda. 

     Carefully, you ran your fingers along the flat part right by the sharp edge of the blade. You hadn’t been allowed to see it (let alone touch it) since it was gifted to you. Mindlessly, you grabbed the handle and tugged a bit. Sure, it was heavy when it was on top of you. But now? It felt like you could lift it. Before you were able to test it out, your Mother and brothers were right next to you.

     “How did you get this?” Eva’s voice was stern but had a very light trace of fear pricking at the edges. 

     “I-” you shook your head and looked at her, “I didn’t-- I mean, I don’t know how--”

     “It just appeared out of nowhere!” Dante chimed in, which Vergil then socked him in the arm; mumbling about how Eva wasn’t talking to him. 

     Her lips parted as if she were going to say something, but she said nothing. After a minute or so of silence, Eva cleared her throat, “We need to put this back in your Father’s office. Can you… lift it?”

     You moved to the end of the blade and picked up. Seeing that you weren’t quite able to fully pick it up, Vergil and Dante helped; which was enough to lift the gigantic blade. The three of you, guided by your Mother, carried it to Sparda’s office and placed it on the floor of the room. 

     The incident was never brought up again.

     A few weeks following, Dante and Vergil had their eighth birthday. It was an absolute blast as far as you were concerned. The three of you went ice skating, had a snowball fight, and then made snowmen; it was the most “human” fun you’d ever had as a family. When it came time for presents, Eva gifted them two semi-matching ruby amulets; the only difference was that Dante’s was silver while Vergil’s was bronze.

     However, Vergil and Dante asked a question that had been on your mind as well, “Where’s Dad?”

     Eva simply brushed it off saying, “He’s away with work right now; he’ll be home any day now.”

     Looking back on it now, you know Eva was fully aware of your father's death and was just sparing the three of you from the painful terrifying news. 

     Things were fine for a while; the three of you continued to learn at home with Eva as your teacher and trained as a trio, waiting for Sparda to return. 

     It was late spring the last time you saw your Mother. 

     Her, Dante, and you were inside baking cookies together; while Vergil was outside playing--since he didn’t care for cooking. 

     “Can one of you go get Vergil? I’d like him to come in and help decorate these,” Eva smiled warmly.

     Before Dante could even process what was said, you sprung up from your chair with a shout, “I’ll get him!!” and then sprinted out the door.

     One moment, you were happily sprinting through the house thinking about what color frosting you wanted to use; and the next, you were engulfed in flames. Your eyes widened with horror as you gazed upon horrific monsters that you’d never seen and, quite frankly, never wanted to see again. 

     The front door was closer to you than running back to the kitchen, so you continued forwards and did your best to avoid both falling bits of building and whatever these creatures were.  

     “I just have to reach Vergil. He can protect me,”  you repeated this thought to yourself as you sprinted as fast as you could. A half-choked sob left your lips as you felt your chest being to tighten from the smoke. In the end, your struggle was all in vain; you never made it down the hallway, let alone to Vergil.

==

     The twin’s swords clashed as they darted around each other; enjoying their long-awaited reunion. Vergil hit Dante square in the gut and made him fly back several feet, leaving the red devil belly up and laughing heartily.

     After a minute or two, Dante sat up with a small content sigh, “So… Not that this isn’t fun but, you got a plan to get us out of this place, Verge?”

     The eldest twin straightened his coat and looked at his brother, “I do.”

     “Well,” the red devil stood and cracked his back, “Why didn’t you say so.”

     “As you said…” Vergil avoided Dante’s eyes, “you were enjoying yourself.” 

     “And here I thought you were all work, no play.”

     Vergil glared at Dante for a moment then stood with his eyes closed, listening.

     “So, now-”

     “Silence-” Vergil’s face scrunched as he focused harder, before gesturing off to his left, “That way.”

     “O-okay..?” Dante followed his brother, “So, what was that about?”

     “Yamato can only create a portal at the highest points of the Underworld-”

     “Where would we be closest to the human realm..?”

     “Exactly.”

     “That doesn’t explain the weird thing you just did.”

     “I had to locate such a spot,” Vergil’s tone was flat, not wanting to have to explain the specifics; especially since Dante knows what he's talking about.

     “Ah, gotcha,” No, Dante didn’t have a goddamn clue as to what the fuck his brother meant.

     The two of them walked for what seemed like forever, only stopping to fight miscellaneous hordes of demons. Although it was unintentional at first, they used this time to talk about many difficult topics; starting from the freshest things and working their way back. Vergil’s mind was still a scrambled mess which caused him to have a rather difficult time recalling things the further back they went, so it took longer and longer with each topic.

     Despite that small hiccup, they reached back to where this all truly began. Admittedly, neither of them wanted to talk about it but it was important--and it’s not like they had much else to do anyway.

     Dante went first and explained what happened; how Eva hid him away and left to find Vergil, her then dying in the process.

     The blue devil raised a brow at Dante’s words which didn’t go unnoticed by the red devil, “What?” 

     “Nothing.”

     “No,” Dante shook his head, “No, we talked about this; we agreed to be upfront with each other,” at this point, the red devil sounded more akin to a parent scolding a child rather than a concerned sibling; because of how much he had to strong-arm his brother into talking.

     The eldest moved his jaw side to side in thought before speaking, “Last you told me, you portrayed a very different tale.”

     “Oh yeah? What did I say?”

     Vergil’s response was beyond quiet and Dante was unable to make out what was said.

     “Verge,” Dante carefully placed a hand on his twin’s shoulder.

     The blue devil flinched from the action before stiffening his entire body, “You heavily insinuated that Mother did not care for me; that she had no intent to…” He clenched his jaw and broke from Dante’s stare.

     Dante’s expression fell, “I know and… I’m sorry,” Vergil glared at Dante from the corner of his eyes, “but, if I’m honest, I was just doing that to piss you off,” he sighed softly, “It made it easier for me to fight you, because-- because if I refused to admit that I cared about you then I didn’t feel as bad about the whole thing... About fighting you…”

     “Tch,” Vergil slicked his hair back, an action that Dante noted Vergil did when uncomfortable, “I doubt you needed extra reinforcement with that; you seemed to be just fine with fighting me.”

     “Hey,” Dante grabbed Vergil’s shoulder, forcing him to turn to him, “You listen here,” he firmly grasped both of Vergil’s shoulders, much to the eldest’s discomfort, “I never wanted things to end like that. I never thought that you’d-- that we’d--” Dante let out an aggravated sigh as he unintentionally tightened his grip, “Don’t you think for a fucking second that I wanted to lose you or hurt you like that Vergil.”

     The blue devil did his best to avoid Dante’s eyes.

     “You are my brother, even if you did some stupid shit,” Vergil’s eyes snapped right back to his brother upon hearing that, “I mean, I did stupid shit too; but, I never thought things would turn out as they did.”

     Vergil sighed softly, “You are a fool.”

     “What’s that supposed to--” Dante let out a surprised ‘oof’.

     Vergil had pulled his brother into a hug, albeit a rather aggressive one but it was still a hug. 

     Neither of them spoke, they just stood there for a moment; holding one another. However nice things can never last as they became engulfed by another swarm of demons. It didn’t take long for the twins to have the large horde taken care of and they were back on the road. 

     After some time, Vergil decided to give his side of what happened. How he was attacked and experienced his first Trigger; how it tore his body apart and he nearly died by doing so. Only to run as far away as possible, thinking that “-both Eva and Dante were dead.”

     Dante’s brow twitched at his twin’s words, or rather, lack thereof, “Hey, uh, Vergil?” Dante’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

     “Hm?”

     “Aren’t you missing someone?”

     With a confused shake and furrow of his brow, Vergil stopped walking and turned to Dante, “No, Father was gone by then.”

     Dante’s lips parted slightly as he looked with great concern, “Are you sure?”

     Vergil raised a brow, “What are you on about?”

     “Verge…” Dante swallowed hard and placed a hand on the back of his neck, “We had a little sibling that you completely neglected to mention…”

     Vergil squinted, “What..?”

     “Holy shit,” the red devil’s shoulders, and overall posture, dipped with sadness “You really forgot?”

     “If this is your attempt at a joke, I do not find it funny.”

     “I’m serious Vergil,” Dante shook his head as he continued, “They were like a year younger than us--were super sick when they were born, which you very bluntly pointed out,” the red devil desperately looked for any sign of recognition in his brother’s face, “Father wouldn’t train them because Mom wanted them to be raised like a human-- Anything ringing a bell?” Dante stared at Vergil.

     “I…” Vergil’s jaw moved in thought, “I don’t know…” Before Dante could speak, Vergil put a hand up, “Just give me a little bit.”

     “Sure,” after which Dante just continued to ramble about things that the three of you did as kids or random information about you. 

     “Did we… make them a book..? Vergil scrunched his face in confusion at, what he thought, was a stupid suggestion.

     The younger twin’s head nodded quickly, “Yeah that’s right.”

     Vergil’s brow twitched as he tried to remember more, “I believe I used to… read to them?” 

     Once more, Dante nodded, “You did.”

     “I see…” the older twin’s expression was rather forlorn compared to normal, “You will have to forgive my confusion, everything is still a bit foggy.”

     The twins continued forward for another few minutes before Dante piped up again.

     “So, you didn’t see them during the fire then..?” Dante pursed his lips, “I never was able to figure if they…” Dante gestured at nothing in particular, “Ya know.” 

     The blue devil sighed, “As much as I’d like to think otherwise; if you haven’t heard from them, then they are most likely dead.”

     The younger twin nodded, “I figured-- I mean,” he sighed heavily, “I had hoped that maybe you’d seen or heard about ‘em when you were under… well, ya know-- Prince Dickwad’s control.”

     Vergil let out a small laugh before freezing at his own reaction. After a moment, he recomposed himself with a nod and returned to his monotone self, “No. I don’t believe I did, anyway…”

     The red devil nodded and swallowed his emotions. 

     Admittedly, Dante had hoped that Vergil would’ve known something about what happened to you. Hoped that, maybe, you had reached the older twin before everything happened; but that was wishful thinking. After all, you were treated like a human, it only made sense that you would have died like one as well.

     They continued forwards in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Vergil was mulling over his memories; admittedly, he was rather perturbed that he didn’t recall you until Dante reminded him. In hindsight, perhaps splitting himself using Yamato did more damage to himself than he had originally anticipated. However, that was for him to worry about at some other point; if at all.

     Dante, on the other hand, was doing his best to come to terms with everything. He had been living with the false hope of you still being alive. The only thing that was running through his mind was how he almost lost both siblings. Thankfully, Vergil was still with him; which, admittedly, only added to the fear of losing his brother again.

     A small discontented huff from Vergil caught Dante’s attention. Before he could ask his brother what was up, Dante saw what Vergil was staring at. In front of them was a large desolate building that absolutely reeked of gore--worse than they’d encountered thus far.

     “So, let me guess,” Dante half-ass pointed at the sight before them, “That’s where we need to go, huh?” 

     “It would appear that way,” Vergil took a deep breath. The blue devil wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to set foot in a structure like this; one so similar to the ones from all those years ago.

     Dante noticed his brother’s apprehension, “You gonna be alright?” 

     “I’ll be fine!” Vergil’s answer was much snappier than intended. Before moving forwards, Vergil mumbled to himself, “It is only a building, it isn’t that big of a deal.”

     Before Dante could try and comfort his brother, Vergil was nearly at the entrance. The two cautiously pushed the heavy doors open. The outpost had seen better days, that much was apparent; with every step forward Dante felt as if the pair were going to go straight through the floor--or worse, the building would collapse atop them. Despite the abhorrent smell of death and fresh kills, there wasn’t a body to be found--not even a single drop of blood. 

     While they made their way up the stairs, Vergil began to take note of how eerily quiet it was. Hell is far from a quiet place, constantly having the sounds of demons screeching and other miscellaneous sounds; here, however, you could hear a pin drop from five rooms away. It made him feel uneasy, only adding to how on edge he was. 

     Dante had also noticed and began to mindlessly whistle to himself. The unexpected noise made Vergil flinch heavily. The red devil stopped for a moment, waiting for Vergil to say something. After a few moments with no response, Dante continued to fill the silence with any sort of noise he could, unknowingly providing a little comfort to the eldest twin. As the pair ventured onwards and upwards, they both began to look around in a paranoid manner; awaiting the inevitable ambush.

     Dante decided to make small talk, “So… can I ask somethin’?” He looked over to his brother who was standing in front of a large decrepit, nearly shattered, mirror.

     “Hm?” Vergil’s eyes didn’t leave his reflection.

     “Is this, like, one of Mundus’s outposts?”

     Vergil shook his head and tilted his head to the side toward Dante, however, the eldest’s eyes never left the glass. He ghosted his fingers along the surface, “No--not his territory.”

     “Then who--”

     “Argosax… and this isn’t an outpost,” Vergil huffed and turned his full attention to his sibling, “This is, or was, one of their main strongholds; this one, in particular, is only a step below the main fortress”

     “You don’t say…”

     Vergil raised a brow at Dante’s odd reaction, “Don’t tell me you have forgotten about Argosax? After all, you are the one that killed them.”

     “Eh,” the red devil shrugged, “Can’t say I remember ‘em much--they were pretty boring. Plus Argo didn’t put up much of a fight.”

     The blue devil scoffed and continued forwards, Dante following a few paces behind, “Perhaps we are the only two people that would consider fighting a ruler of Hell an easy feat--no?”

     “You got that right,” Dante playfully shoved Vergil’s shoulder and had a sheathed Yamato placed right against his throat for it, “Whoa--” he put his hands up with his palms facing Vergil, “easy there tiger.”

     The eldest twin coldly eyed his brother for a moment before he took a slow deep breath and removed the sword, turning back around and continuing forwards.

     “Sorry, I uh,” Dante jogged lightly and stood beside his twin, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

     Vergil didn’t answer but just kept walking. 

     Dante pursed his lips and stuck his hands in his jeans pockets. He wanted to say something, to continue talking, but it seemed like Vergil was done conversating for the time being. 

     Another set of stairs later, the twins came upon a large long hallway. Random bits of broken furniture and glass decorated the filthy marbled floors. The partially dilapidated ceiling was elegantly decorated with arch supports that had lavish latticework; which had large roots weaved within, destroying some of it. The walls had old craters that ranged from being small--almost fist-sized--dents to entire walls missing. Along the way, the walls were also filled with easily over a dozen doors; some were open, some were barricaded shut, and others were far from the hinges that they belonged to. 

     “This place seems much more refined than everywhere else,” Dante tilted his head to the side.

     Vergil nodded mockingly, “Yes, very good; I’m glad that you can still see.”

     “Hey,” Dante punched Vergil’s shoulder, “I just meant; like--Why is it nicer?”

     The blue devil hummed in thought for a moment, crouching to get a better look at one of the large shards of glass, “I’m not sure; but, if I had to guess,” Vergil carefully picked up the piece, moving it around and watching the reflection, “These were the living quarters for whatever devil’s served Argosax.”

     Dante made a surprised huff, “Really? I didn’t think that devils were into that whole thing,” he approached one of the normal-looking doors, “Figure they would be too focused on destruction and killing things,” he opened the door, but didn’t enter; opting to just stand in the doorframe.

     The eldest twin raised a brow, placed the shard down, and walked over to his sibling, standing behind him, “What’s wrong?”

     “I-” Dante stood with his mouth agape, a clear look of confusion across his brow, as he turned to Vergil, “You saw that, right?”

     “What are you talking about, Dante?”

     Dante looked back at the room, pausing a moment before speaking, “Nothing; guess I’m just tired.”

     The youngest twin took a step into the room before being stopped by Vergil grabbing his shoulder, keeping him from moving further.

     “Verge..?” Dante turned to his brother, who seemed paler than normal.

     “Let’s keep moving,” Vergil’s voice had an odd shake to it and his fingers were tight enough that they were digging into Dante’s shoulder.

     “S-sure..?” Dante turned and began to walk down the hall to the upward-climbing staircase, before finally asking, “What was that about?”

     Vergil looked over to Dante but said nothing.

     “Verge..?” 

     “Don’t worry about it,” Vergil looked back in front of them.

     “Was that supposed to be comforting?”

     “I didn’t think that I had to be.”

     “What a wonderful older brother I have.”

     Vergil glared at Dante before shaking his head with an eye roll.

     The pair continued forwards, the feeling of unease only intensifying with each deserted story. Vergil stopped within the confines of one of the stairwells, “Dante,” 

     “Hm?”

     Vergil looked around before looking at Dante, “Do you feel like we are missing something?”

     “What?”

     Vergil’s brow furrowed as he pursed his lips before turning his gaze back in front of them with a small shake, “Never mind.”

     The two continued to the next floor. Once at the top of the stairs, Dante stopped and looked around, “Well, now that you mention it,” Vergil looked over to him, “I do feel kind of odd; like we shouldn’t be here.”

     “Well… that’s a given; however,” the blue devil walked further, peaking inside different rooms, “that is not quite what I meant,” finally, Vergil seemed to find a room that fit whatever he was looking for, “Let’s rest here for a moment.”

     “I uh-- okay..?” Dante walked into the room. Vergil followed suit, shutting and barricading the door with a nearby cot; piquing the red devil’s curiosity, “So what’s with the sudden break time, Verge?”

     The blue twin looked around the room, “This one is safe.”

     “Huh?”

     Vergil sat on the edge of one of the dirty and tattered cots, “Sit.”

     The younger twin hesitated a moment before sitting beside his brother, putting one leg up on the bed to sit facing his sibling. 

     “Do you recall how I first confronted you when under Mundus?” Vergil’s voice was soft as his eyes mindlessly stared at nothing in particular on the floor. His forearms were resting on his legs as he rapidly tapped his thumbs together--tapping one foot in the same fashion.

     The red devil’s face contorted as he thought for a moment. Admittedly, Dante has a hard time recalling events from that time in his life. In the gap between Vergil’s fall and meeting Nero for the first time, Dante was beyond a depressed alcoholic mess leaving those memories a completely jumbled mess. 

     “Dante,” Vergil turned his head slightly, staring at his sibling from the corner of his eye, “Do you not remember?” Although his voice was still monotone as normal, there was a distant sadness to Vergil’s words.

     “I do, kinda,” Dante’s shoulders fell as he placed a hand on the back of his neck, “everything from back then is kinda hazy--just give me a second.”

     “I can just--”

     “No-!” Dante’s voice was unintentionally stern. Quickly he added in a softer voice, “I want to-- I can remember, just give me a second.”

     Vergil turned to fully stare at Dante; watching his brother’s contorted expressions as he was deep in thought. After a minute or so Dante’s face relaxed as he met Vergil’s eyes, “You used a mirror, right? Walked right out of it..?”

     “That is correct--”

     “Yeah, you were the first bastard that actually had some guts to give me a real fight…” Dante laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

     A small smirk ghosted Vergil’s face as he returned to stare at the same spot on the floor, “Surely you noticed the abnormally high amount of glass here, right?”

     Dante shrugged, “I did notice but… uh- I got no idea what these places are supposed to look like; didn’t know it was weird.”

     Vergil frowned slightly, “No devil is that obsessed with themselves that they’d have that much glass--it must have been placed on purpose.”

     The younger twin’s brow lifted with confused curiosity, “So, you--or, well, Nelo--traveling using glass wasn’t some exclusive thing?”

     Vergil shook his head ‘no’, “It is a skill that can be taught; however,” Vergil’s shoulders tensed as he turned to look up at the door, “it is extremely difficult to learn and even harder to master.”

     “Vergil,” Dante sighed, “I don’t want to sound rude; but, what’s your point?”

     The eldest twin sat upright and looked over at Dante, with a harsh squint and clear scowl, “I am saying someone or something is here with us; watching us.”

     “Okay. Counterpoint,” Dante folded his arms with a raise of his brow, “What if those are all from someone who used to be here but left when Argosax died? Or are already dead?”

     “You aren’t that stupid, Dante,” Vergil stood up, his grip tightening on Yamato, “I know you can feel it, too.”

     “So what if they can do some fancy glass shit?” Dante stood up and cocked his head to the side, “We’ll just defeat them like everyone else.”

     “In our current state,” Vergil sighed, “I’m not so sure…”

     “Our current state?” Dante folded his arms, leaning back a bit, “What’s that supposed to mean..?”

     The blue devil’s eyes slowly turned to stare at Dante, “Tell me, Dante; how long do you think you or I can hold our Devil Triggers? Or better yet, our Sin Triggers?”

     Dante huffed, knowing that Vergil was right but not wanting to admit it.

     Vergil continued, “Whatever or whoever this is, they aren’t to be taken lightly. Neither of us can take on something much more than Behemoths or Lusachias right now; so, it would be very unlikely that we could survive a fight with a real devil.”

     After a minute, Dante let out a soft sigh, “Man,” Dante scratched his chin, “It’s that bad, huh?”

     Vergil squinted, asking Dante to explain.

     “I mean,” the younger twin moved his jaw in thought for a moment, “If you of all people aren’t confident about winning; then we really are fucked.”

     “I-- I do not know if you are trying to insult me or not.”

     The red devil laughed, placing a hand on his twin’s shoulder, “Let’s go find out who’s been spying on us; what do you say?”

     Vergil shook his head with a quiet sigh and a small smile, “They are most likely at the top of the stronghold; where we are going.”

     “The news just gets better and better,” Dante moved the cot from the door, “What’s next; you gonna tell me that they are immune to our swords or something?”

     “Don’t jinx us, Dante.”

     The younger twin laughed as they left the room, continuing onward and upwards. It only took two more staircases for them to reach the top.

     Both twins pushed hard against the large double doors at the top of the steps, opening them just enough for the pair to slip by. They found themselves in a large waiting room of sorts. Directly across from them was another huge set of double doors. 

     The room was in an odd mixture of both good and poor condition; the room itself was relatively undamaged--no holes or what not, however, it was inundated with corpses and blood--which is what caused the rotten stench.

     Marble flooring covered the space, which was so covered in filth and gore that it was impossible to tell what color it was intended to be. The walls were plain and relatively similar to the rest of the building; except for the one that housed the unopened doors. That particular wall was covered in rocks and miscellaneous gems. Which seemed rather out of place, as if someone had stuck them there after the wall was built. 

     Vergil’s eyes flicked up to the ceiling. Its base was covered in cracked grimy tinted glass which was broken up by several dome vaults. In each dome, there were different murals. As he looked harder, he realized that: A.) it was also not original and poorly done, and B.) the “paint” was demons' blood. The different murals were crude interpretations of different events, but he couldn’t quite make them out.

     As Vergil tried to get a better view of the artwork, Dante was looking at the extravagant furniture and decor that littered the room. In the middle of the right side, there was a large stone table with several wooden chairs--a few of which were broken; both the table and chairs all seemed to be hand-carved, covered with various creatures and symbols. On the far left of the room was a large wood desk; that, once more, seemed to be hand-carved--it looked similar to Dante’s. This was enough to pique the red devil’s curiosity. 

     Dante sauntered over to the desk. Once he got closer, he noticed that there was an odd stack of thin paper-like items on it. Carefully, he moved the items around and tried to make out any of the scribbles.

     “Hey Verge,” Dante turned over his shoulder, “Come take a look at this.”

     Vergil slowly looked down from the ceiling and strutted over to his sibling.

     “Does any of this mean anythin’--or are these just someone's failed art project?”

     The blue devil pushed Dante out of the way and spread out the items of interest across the entirety of the table. He leaned forwards with his hands on the edge of the desk and began to pick through the papers.

    After a few minutes, Vergil answered,  “These are all made on dried demon hide,” Dante gave Vergil a look of surprise, “They are all very well done, some of the best work I have seen...”

     “I didn’t know you could make paper from demons.”

     “It’s more akin to leather rather than paper.”

     “Still is weird.”

     Vergil hummed in acknowledgment and moved some of the pages together before sighing, “There is a small paragraph here,” he ran his index finger along the area with writing, “However, the diction is very broken and the language isn’t consistent; using both Greek and Latin.”

     “Is it anything important?”

     Vergil hesitated, “I’m unsure.”

     “Can you try and read it?”

     The eldest sibling nodded then cleared his throat, stopping every few words to translate more, “ ‘ "Father, father,/where are you going?/Oh do not walk so fast!/Speak, father, speak to your little child,/Or else I shall be lost.". The night was dark, no father was there,/The child was wet with dew;/The mire was deep, and the child did weep,/And away the vapour flew.' .”

     The red devil raised a brow, “Isn't that--?"

     "William Blake's work? Yes."

     "You didn’t by chance write these, did you?”

     “No,” Vergil shook his head and stood up straight, “I never wrote this one down; not to mention I was never allowed to accompany Mundus to any “meetings” with Argosax--none of my belongings would be here.”

     “Hm, wonder why?”

     “Why what?”

     “Well,” Dante placed a hand on his hip, “If you were Mundus’s prized knight, then why didn’t he take you with him? I mean, I would’ve if I were him.”

     “I-” Vergil’s face contorted with sudden confusion and realization, “I don’t know.”

     Dante shook his head, “Anyway, so why is there random poetry here? Argosax just decided to learn about human literature?”

     “I don’t know that either; this is the first time I have seen human works that weren’t written down by myself,” Vergil’s eyes peered over the table, “It is rather off-putting that it is Blake’s work as well; there are hundreds of thousands of poets to choose from…”

     “Yeah… I mean- I don’t want to sound mean but are you sure Urizen or V didn’t visit here?”

     “Urizen and V did not visit here; I assure you,” the blue devil looked over to the unopened doors, “I think our break time is over.”

     The younger twin looked over at the doors, joining Vergil’s stare, “You feel it too, huh?”

     “Mn,” Vergil gave a curt nod, “Whatever is behind that door; is what’s been spying on us.”

     “Welp,” Dante traipsed over to the doors, “Little help?”

     Vergil shook his head, “I am going to get a peak at what is on the other side first; then we will decide our course of action.”

     “What?!” Dante’s face scrunched as his mouth was agape in confusion, “Vergil, you are the one who keeps preaching about how powerful this thing is. You going over there by yourself is-- is--” he pinched the bridge of his nose, “stupid!”

     “Us just breaking down the door without understanding what we are up against or what we are releasing is impetuous,” the eldest folded his arms, “I will be fine, it is just a peek.”

     “But what if--”

     “If I am not back within a minute,” Vergil went to place a hand on Dante’s shoulder but stopped, opting to lightly punch him instead, “Then break down the door.”

     “Verge this is a little too heavy for--”

     “You are a son of Sparda; a devil imbued with the fire of hell itself,” Vergil gave Dante a smug smirk, “A wooden door shouldn’t be much of a challenge.”

     The red devil sighed, “Alright- Alright… Just, hurry back.”

     Vergil gave him a small nod before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

     Once on the other side, Vergil was met with a muddy bronze-colored devil--just sitting in the middle of the room. The devil’s eyes were closed and its hands were placed on its thighs; as if it were meditating. The moment Vergil tried to move, however, the devil’s eyes snapped open. They were of a bright magenta hue and had streaks of the same color running down their face which joined up with a line that went across their throat--mimicking a slit throat.

     It stood up, locking eyes with Vergil. Their body was riddled with battle scars and had a mixture of browns, blacks, and purples throughout. Its entire form was much more akin to Vergil's or Dante’s Sin Trigger’s, making Vergil scrunch his face in bafflement. 

     The more he looked, the more strange this new devil became. Notably, the devil had cloven hooves; a feature that Vergil had only ever seen on one other devil. His eyes widened, taken aback at the sudden realization of what he was looking at; however, before Vergil could return to his twin, the eldest was teleported to an unfamiliar location. It was akin to that of Malphas’s void that V had been placed in; however, there were no gates, no menacing feeling, just a room filled with junk..?

I couldn't decide what I wanted the reader's SDT to look like, so here is a compilation of all the different sketches/two fully rendered works.

     Dante paced uneasily behind the door, tapping his fingers against the grips of Ebony & Ivory, grinding his teeth together, “He will be fine; I just--!”

     He froze and his eyes widened, he could no longer feel Vergil’s presence, “Son of a Bitch!” Dante holstered his side arms and Triggered then crashed through the doors--making them fly off their hinges. 

     The bronze devil caught one of the airborne objects and threw it back at Dante; who sliced it clean in two. He de-Triggered and looked around the room for any sign of his twin. Panic began to set in as he tried to figure out what happened; Vergil wouldn’t have left Dante here, right?

     Before Dante could delve into those thoughts, the feeling of his feet leaving the ground brought him back to reality. The bronze devil had hit the red devil far off into the doors that lead into the waiting room he had just been in.

     With a groan, he sat up and got to his feet, “Damn it, Verge,” his eyes met with the devil’s, “Where’d you go?”

     Crouching down slightly, Dante readied his Devil Sword and dashed at his attacker. The devil curled both sets of its leathery wings around itself, using them to take the brunt of Dante’s Devil Sword’s power; before expanding them back out, sending Dante flying back once more. 

     “Tch,” he quickly caught himself and sprinted at the devil once more, cracking the ground in his wake. 

     It grabbed Dante’s blade, which sliced into its palm. It looked at the wound in confusion, as if it didn’t understand what happened. Using their free hand, the devil tried to grab Dante but he managed to teleport out of reach. The bronze devil stared down at their injured hand, seemingly enamored by the pooling blood. 

     Not wanting to let up, Dante attacked again--using Trickster to get closer and take the devil by surprise. This, however, didn’t go as planned. His opponent flicked their head toward the direction Dante had teleported and, using one of its forward-facing horns, skewered him through the thigh.

     “Shit,” Dante pushed away on the devil’s head, attempting to break free; however, an odd blue glint caught his eye and he stopped.

     Before the younger twin could get a better look at the odd object, the devil yanked Dante off its horn. In a flash, they slammed him into the floor, creating a large crater with Dante’s body. They attempted to gut Dante using its claws; however, they were stopped by Dante’s Devil Sword being laid across his body. Using his free hand, Dante grabbed Ebony and shot his attacker between the eyes--at point-blank range.

     He waited for the devil’s body to go limp but it didn’t; no, it just sat there, looking down at him. The bullet was lodged deep in its head and was bleeding but they were still alive. Getting frustrated with this fight, Dante triggered. 

     The bronze devil hissed quietly and jumped up in reaction to the sudden molten hot temperatures of the red devil, which allowed Dante to do the same. The bronze devil grabbed the bullet from its forehead, looked at it with an odd curiosity, and then flicked it at Dante; with the same velocity that it would have if it had been shot from a gun. 

     Of course, it missed the younger twin. Shaking off his confusion, he re-engaged with the devil. Dante’s wings flew out behind him as he lunged at the devil. It put up its forearms and caught the sword with them. Although it wasn’t as deep as it would’ve been against any other devil or demon; the sword sliced into the meat of the arm. 

     A strange huff of a growl came from the devil, as it locked eyes with Dante. Despite the fact the devil had no lips, the younger twin couldn’t help but feel as if it were smiling at him--mocking him. In frustration, Dante pushed harder into the devil’s arms and that’s when he felt it.

     “What..?” Dante sprung back and looked at his forearms; large deep cuts that mirrored the ones on his opponents decorated his arms and were bleeding heavily, “That’s a new one.”

     The bronze devil cocked its head slightly and flared its wings outwards; now it was definitely mocking the younger twin. 

     With a small growl, “Fine,” Dante stuck his sword into the ground and pulled out Ebony & Ivory, “Let’s try this on for size.”

     The red devil kicked up into the air, hovering several feet above the bronze devil, and rattled off several rounds. If it had been any other devil or demon, Dante knows that all of his shots would’ve landed; however, only a handful of the bullets managed to knick the devil’s hide. Despite the devil’s sheer size, it was much more attentive and more of a contortionist than he’d anticipated. 

     Dante shot off Ivory several times in hopes to distract the devil from the slowly charging Ebony in his left hand, “Here’s a lil’ somethin’ for ya’,” Dante yanked up Ebony and fired--not allowing his opponent any time to react… or so he thought.

     The moment he pulled the trigger, his target disappeared. A chill ran up Dante’s spine and, before he could process what was going on, the devil was behind Dante and grabbed him by the wings, holding them by the base. The devil spun around in the air and threw Dante into an upper part of a wall. The younger twin let out a strangled gasp as he felt the air leave his body and de-triggered. He fell from the high-up spot face down onto the floor. Slowly he stood back up, stumbling a bit and taking deep uneven breaths. He tossed his coat off to the side--not that it mattered much since it was pretty tattered at this point--and revealed that his entire back was raw. Large slices ran along his spine where his wings were attached and were bleeding profusely. 

     Not knowing what else to do and steadily becoming more and more exhausted, Dante summoned his sword back to his side and used his Sin Trigger--healing his wounds. The bronze devil took a step back and tilted its head in confusion before Dante was back upon them with blinding speed. He stabbed the sword through the devil’s middle; not caring that it made his own insides burn. They let out a sputtering gasp and grabbed at Dante’s neck and face; wedging their claws in between his scales, pulling them off. The two struggled for a while before the son of Sparda was finally tossed off to the side. 

     The bronze devil looked around for a moment quickly concluding that it was outmatched. They stuck out its hand to the side and waited. Although Dante is only a few short steps away from feral when in this form, he froze upon seeing what was within the bronze devil’s grasp.

     Their fingers tightened around the sword’s dingy crimson grip as they placed the back edge on their shoulder. However, the sword wasn’t the only thing that Dante was in shock over; no, there was something else. Hanging onto the grip was Vergil, who teleported to his twin immediately upon returning. 

     Dante was in such shock that he could no longer hold his Sin Trigger. The bronze devil lunged at the pair, missing only by a hair because Vergil grabbed his twin and teleported to the story below. 

     “Are you alright?” Vergil looked over his visibly exhausted twin.

     With heavy breaths and a half-hearted laugh, Dante smiled, “That’s supposed to be my line.”

     “They seem to have given you quite the hassle.”

     “Eh, I’m just tired.”

     “Tch,” Vergil shook his head, “We don’t have much time-”

     “Verge,” Dante’s voice cracked, “Why does that thing have The Sparda?”

     “Not just that,” Vergil reached into the edge of his coat and pulled out a large book that had an old faded happy family pasted right on the front cover, “They also had this.”

     “What-” 

     “I don’t know exactly what’s happened; however,” Vergil looked up and saw cracks beginning to form, “We need to figure it out and fast.”

     Dante copied his brother’s stare before returning to him, “So what-- They were “Nelo Angelo-d”?”

     “Do not call it that,” Vergil snarled at his sibling lightly, “If it were that easy then I would’ve taken care of them myself.”

     “Then what happened to--!”

     The ceiling caved in and both brothers jumped back. Vergil quickly tucked the book into his coat and readied Yamato.

     “Wait, Verge,” Dante grabbed his brother’s shoulder, “Careful what you do,” his eyes locked with the magenta hue of the bronze devil’s, “I got stabbed by myself when attacking.”

     Vergil side-eyed Dante, “How odd, that--!”

     The bronze devil lunged at the twins, who split apart in two different directions. Dante pulled out Ivory once more. The bronze devil snapped their attention to the red assailant and swung The Sparda. Dante rolled out of the way and knelt at the end of it, firing a few shots. However, the bronze devil wasn’t done; it followed through and pivoted around on its hooves. This opened The Sparda into its scythe formation, which was perfectly in line with Dante’s body. 

     “Shit,” Dante leaned back and hit the floor with his shoulder blades, still having his knees in a kneel. His turquoise eyes watched as the blade just barely missed his body.

     Dante spun up around and onto his feet. Wondering what the plan was, he looked around for Vergil, only to find that he had disappeared again. Another aggressive lunge came from the burly opponent which Dante swiftly sprung upwards, landing on the (now-closed) Sparda’s spine. 

     A smirk tugged at Dante’s lips as he squatted down, placing his forearms on his knees, “Man you’ve gotten big, huh?” The devil pulled The Sparda back up, forcing the red devil to dismount, “You know, it took me forever to learn how to properly use that thing; surprised you already figured out how to open it--!”

     He instantly reacted to the devil’s teleportation by doing so himself and stood with a hand neatly placed on his hip.

     “I don’t want to fight you,” Dante’s brow twitched, using his free hand, he summoned his Devil Sword, “You don’t have to do this.”

     A small, but noticeable, hesitation came from the bronze devil before it re-engaged with Dante. The two exchanged blows. Dante noted that it was almost eerily similar to how the two of them used to spar as kids. Suddenly, he got an idea. 

     He made sure that he was correct about the pattern that the bronze devil was using before dodging at a very particular point, the same one he used to take advantage of when you were kids. 

     “How’s this?” Dante unleashed Royal Guard, sending the devil flying back onto its ass. 

     It laid there for a moment as it stared at the ceiling. 

     The younger twin’s brow scrunched as he tried to remember what he’d say to you after accidentally hitting you with his ability, “Sorry… You alright?” Dante pursed his lips waiting for a response.

     The bronze devil slowly leaned up, tilting its head at Dante. After a brief moment, they stood up with a shake of their head and readied The Sparda again. 

     Dante squinted as he readied his sword, thinking to himself, “Where the hell did Vergil go? He’d better have left for a good reason, I’m getting sick of this.”

     The two of them exchanged blows again. It seemed to go on forever until Dante, in his exhaustion, slipped up and got slammed by the back edge of The Sparda; flying off into a nearby wall. 

     “Damn,” he groaned as he sat up, “I’m getting too old for this.”

     They walked over to Dante, staring down at him with their wings flared out; debating what to do next.

     Blood splashed onto Dante’s face as he watched Yamato peirce right through the devil’s hide. Vergil yanked Yamato downwards before removing the blade, causing the bronze devil to hunch over and hold its middle. 

     “I see,” Vergil wiped the blade against the wrist of his coat, cleaning it. Carefully, he placed it back in its scabbard, “You can only reflect attacks that you see coming, how enlightening.”

     The bronze devil turned its head to the side before teleporting. Vergil pivoted around and blocked the devil’s attack. The eldest twin jogged over to his younger brother, tossing him the book. In return, Dante tossed Vergil Ebony before the blue devil turned back to the problem at hand.  

     Vergil reapproached and snapped his fingers, summoning his doppelgänger. The pair separated, Doppel shot upwards while Vergil did his best to keep the bronze devil’s attention. A grimace found its way to Vergil’s face as he used Yamato to block a heavy-handed swing from The Sparda. Sparks flew from the blades as they slid across one another.

     Doppel attempted to repeat the same attack that Vergil had done before; however, the bronze devil dodged it and grabbed Doppel… or would’ve grabbed them if Doppel wasn’t an apparition. Vergil used the distraction to skewer the devil once again, this time pushing even harder into them with Yamato. The blade was deep enough that the tsuba was against the devil’s spine. Vergil’s feet were placed on the legs of the devil and he was leaning his whole body weight into the attack. 

     The bleeding devil flailed about, shaking its body vigorously and trying to claw at its back to grab their attacker. Unable to shake the annoying blue devil, they fell backwards, attempting to crush Vergil. Although it was unexpected, Vergil had enough time to use his Sin Trigger. This, in turn, protected his body; however, the floor was a different issue. The pair went straight through the structure and were now a few stories lower. 

     Vergil shoved the bronze devil off him, removing Yamato. The two stood staring at one another, waiting for the right moment to-

     “Hey! Assholes!” Dante jumped down, fumbling his landing slightly, “You trying to kill me?”

     Vergil’s eyes didn’t leave his opposer, however, the same cannot be said for them. Currently, its eyes were fixated on the book in Dante’s hand which the red devil noticed. 

     He held the book up in one hand, “Lookin’ at this?”

     It tilted its head.

     “Verge found it in the little pocket dimension you stuck him in- That’s what it was, right?”

     The bronze devil looked away from Dante, staring at a random point in the room. Although he couldn’t be sure, from the odd reaction, Dante felt as if the bronze devil was confused--perhaps even trying to place the book or the twins.

     “Let’s see,” Dante licked his finger and began to thumb through the pages, selecting one at random. With a loud cough, he began to read, “ ‘Today, we all went to the beach. It was fun-’,” The devil snapped back to attention and lunged at Dante, only to be stopped by Vergil. 

     Seeing this violent reaction, the red devil stopped only to have Vergil yell back at him, “Keep reading.”

     The younger twin nodded, “ ‘-and I learned how to make a sand castle. Vergil kept making them with me and Dante kept destroying them; so mean.’,” Dante snickered to himself. 

     Vergil’s hold broke, allowing the bronze devil to continue its course. Dante managed to teleport out of the way and onto the opposite side of the room, using Vergil as a mid-way blockade. 

     “ ‘I asked if mom wanted to swim and she said ‘no’. Then I asked Dad, he told me he couldn’t swim. So my brothers and I offered to teach him. Mom laughed.’.”

     A low guttural growl emanated from deep within the devil’s throat.

     “Keep going, Dante,” Vergil and the bronze devil traded blows again, all the while, Dante kept reading. 

     He flipped to a new page, “ ‘Vergil and Dante came to get me from school today. They got to meet all my friends. Tristen said that they were weird and I punched him in the nose. There was a lot of blood and Dante told me to ‘beat his ass’. We all got yelled at when we got home. Worth it.’.”

     The devil swung The Sparda and nearly sliced Vergil’s tail in half. 

     “Let’s see, uh…” Dante flipped further into the book but stumbled upon something unexpected; entries made after the fire, “Vergil, give me a minute.”

     Although the eldest wanted to banter with his sibling, he was much too focused on the fight. 

     Dante’s eyes widened as he scanned the later pages. Things continued as normal, however, there was a turning point about ⅔ of the way through. There were no more drawings, no more newspaper clippings, no more stickers. The once-happy thoughts and quippy comments were replaced with ramblings about how much they wanted to go home; how much you wanted this to end. Dante’s eyes rapidly flicked across each section, a mixture of both despair and anger becoming more and more apparent with each entry. 

==

     You had been wandering for what seemed like days on end. In the beginning, you’d tried to summon The Sparda or call out to your Father, in hopes that he’d save you. Days on end were spent screaming and crying out for someone to find you--to wake you from this unending nightmare. But no one ever came, no one could even hear the whimpering lament of this lost child.

     Your body was growing weary and your limbs felt like lead as you began to meander slower and slower. At one point, you found a small out-cove and stopped in hopes of getting some rest but found yourself quickly attacked by those creatures again. So, you’d run until you lost sight of them. The incessant sounds of snarling nightmarish demons filled your ears, only to be broken up by the calling out of your long empty stomach.

     Everything hurt: your eyes, your lungs, your head, your legs; every single inch of your body was exhausted. The lack of water only drained your muscles further, adding painful cramping to each inch of your legs; but you had to keep going. However, despite this sentiment, you couldn’t pick your feet up anymore and collapsed on the ground.

     A burning sensation brought you back to. You tried to flip yourself over but found that you were unable; something had a hold of you. Panic quickly spread through your body as you struggled against whatever had you. With each movement, the pain became worse and worse; all you wanted to was scream but nothing came out. 

     What happened next was a blur. You remember feeling both as light as a feather and as heavy as a boulder. Whatever had a hold of you no longer did, rather, you had a hold of it. When you became fully aware again, you had a rock in your hand that was coated in blood. Pinned beneath you was a dead (Riot) demon. Its head and neck were barely distinguishable from the ground underneath it, smashed into a thick red pulp with bits of scales and other organs inside. 

     Terrified and revolted, you threw the rock at the mangled corpse in fright and stumbled upright, taking a few steps back; only to fall on your behind from a growing agonizing pain in your middle. Slowly, you looked down at your body to see what type of damage had been done. Your fingers shook as you lifted your tattered shirt.

     Deep dark bruising had covered your entire body, however, it seems that your ribs and abdomen had taken the brunt of the damage. Each breath felt like someone was carving up your innards, making your chest tighten. If you’d had any food or anything within your stomach, you would have thrown up from how painful everything was; however, you were running on empty. 

     With a shaky and unsteady hand, you slowly touched your middle and winced. All you could think about was wanting to go home; curling up in bed with your siblings or with your parents. You began to cry once more and curled up into a fetal position on the ground.

     After some time, you calmed back down and found yourself blankly staring at the nearby corpse. Slowly, you inched towards it; not standing but rather scooching over to it. Cautiously, you poked it and waited for it to spring back to life or something to happen; however, it just laid there. You grabbed its hand and looked at the claws on it. 

     If you couldn’t summon The Sparda, you needed a weapon. Despite your fear and the putrid feeling inching its way up your throat, you twisted the creature's fingers. Loud cracking and popping filled the air until you had several of the claws separated from the body. 

     You then had a horrible thought, “Is this edible?”

     A grimace of disgust found its way to your face as you looked at the dead demon. You were starving, sure; but were you really going to eat that? Loud growling from your stomach answered your question for you. Closing your eyes, you used one of the claws to slice open the creature’s bicep and obtained several strips of flesh. 

     You opened your eyes cautiously. Your arms and hands were stained a sticky dark red-black and you had obtained what you needed. Another loud impatient growl came from your gut. A part of you wanted to just eat the raw meat but you were much too repulsed to do so. With your prize in hand and your repurposed claw-daggers, you slowly stood up and wandered off; trying to find one of the many open flames of this strange place. 

     Upon finding a small flame, you used one of the claws to hold the cutlets to cook. The environment smelt of brimstone and rot, however, the smell of the meat was quite pleasant. Perhaps it was because of how starved you were but you swear that it smelt of something between a steak and fresh chicken that had been seasoned with copious amounts of various peppers. Your mouth began to water, it smelt so good.

     With a deep breath, you closed your eyes and placed a piece in your mouth--gagging instinctively. After several attempts, you managed to eat a full piece. It was tough and rubbery but it at least tasted as good as it smelt. After finishing your few pieces, you rested a while; letting the food settle. Once again, you found yourself crying and wanting your family; your Father in particular kept coming to mind.

     “Why did he leave us?” A hiccup left your trembling lips as you held your painful middle, curling back up into a fetal position on the ground, “Why wasn’t he there to protect us?”

     You cried for some time before taking a blackout nap. When you woke up, thankfully, nothing was trying to eat you and your middle seemed to have healed to some degree. With a deep breath, you stood and continued your aimless meandering. 

     Nothing interesting happened for some time. You had become quite the vagabond. You’d quickly learned how to survive in the harsh environment; living off of demon flesh and hell ice (for water). Although you never forgot about your family or the human world, you’d become rather comfortable here; a distant part of yourself wondered if this was where Sparda grew up. 

     As time went on, you began the early stages of--what could only be described as--a metamorphosis. From your elbows down, you had several rows of thick bronze scales, the same with the skin from your knees down. At first, you were scared and tore them from your skin. This quickly became much too painful for you to bare and you stopped trying to get rid of the re-growing scales. 

     Around ten you had developed scales throughout most of your body. Your hands and feet were completely covered in them now and had sharp claws instead of nails. You’d given up on clothing--or, rather, had none. After which, your body quickly developed scales on your chest, lower back, and entire hips; protecting you. 

     Your teeth had become much sharper and seemed much too large for your prepubescent mouth and would regularly cut your, still human, lips with them. The upside was you no longer had to cut the meat from corpses or had to cook it; you could consume it straight off the bone.

      Finally, after almost three years of wandering, you’d found something. A large building that was crawling with demons. Despite your uneasy feeling, you had an intuitive feeling that this could be your way home, at least, maybe provide an idea of how to do so. 

     For a few weeks, you watched, waited, and schemed. Every few days, the demons would leave in mass and then return no sooner than a day later. So, you used that time to break in. Of course, there were still guards but that wasn’t an issue. You quickly killed every demon that crossed your path; from Empusas to Sargassos to Plasmas; nothing was too difficult for you to kill. 

     You’d made it to the deepest parts of the building, it was a throne room of sorts. There was a large seat in the middle of the far wall that was covered in scorched burn marks. The room itself was decorated rather elegantly and was tidy--something rather hard to come by in the Underworld. None of this concerned you, however; you just wanted what you came for. Making quick work of the room, you pillaged the entire space, digging into every nook and cranny. There was nothing. Frustrated hot tears welled up in your eyes as you realized this was a huge waste of time. Before you could leave, another horde had entered the room. 

     You turned to them and gave the group a once-over. It was a fairly large pack of random demons, nothing you hadn’t seen or couldn’t handle; but, there was something else--something nearby that felt much stronger than anything you’d faced so far. 

     Fearing the oddly dangerous presence, you made quick work of the demonic horde and bolted out the door. Upon reaching one of the lower rooms, the evil you felt earlier made itself known. A large grey skeletal devil stood in your way. In his right hand, was a large Viking sword, and on each side of him there were twin white wolves that had heavy chain collars. A chill ran up your spine and your stomach began to turn. For the first time in a long time, you were afraid. 

     As you tried to scrabble for a way to escape or a way to get past him, one of the wolves lunged at you.

     Quickly you dodged out of the beast’s way only to find the second to be right in your face. You sliced at its face with your nails and cut it through one of its eyes, but it didn’t flinch. A loud crunch echoed through the room as you felt its teeth tear into your arm, right through your scales--breaking your bones. You grimaced and, in your anger, used the hand of said broken arm to grab the chain around its neck. With all the might you could muster, you threw the wolf into the first; knocking them off to the side. 

     Feeling the same terrifying devil’s power right behind you, you teleported out of the way and watched as the bony devil’s sword struck the floor where you had been standing. Your mind was reeling. It had been a long time since you had teleported and you were unable to control it. So, despite your best and most desperate effort, you couldn’t replicate it again to escape. 

     The wolves had stood back up and went for you once more, but you managed to sidestep both of them and used one as a jump pad; springing yourself at the skeleton. If you couldn’t leave then you are going to die trying. This action took the devil by surprise and allowed you to wrap yourself around his back. Your hands dug at his skull as you tried to pull it from his body; which, despite it not having a physical representation, was stubbornly strong. 

     Growing tired of these games, he grabbed you from his back and held you up; reading his sword. You struggled and growled, scratching at his arms and kicking wildly, waiting for the end of your journey. However it never came, rather, you found yourself stumbling forwards. It seems you had teleported again and, this time, you were right where you needed to be to run for the exit.

     Confused as to what just happened, the devil did a double take before sicking his wolves upon you once more. The entire time you ran down the hall the twin wolves were practically nipping at your heels. Distantly you found yourself wondering if they were toying with you, enjoying the thrill of the hunt as you had done many times before--perhaps this is a sick form of karma? 

     Things came to a head when you reached the foyer of the building. In the room stood a fiery devil. You froze, inadvertently allowing the dogs to catch up with you. They tackled you to the floor and began to bite at your body while their claws dug into your middle. You shouted loudly as you did your best to fight against them, biting and scratching at them in return, but you were unsuccessful. 

     Unexpectedly, the dogs stopped, looked to the side, and removed themselves from your body; leaving you face up on the floor.  

     A part of you thought you had died, that this nightmare was finally coming to an end. In reality, however, the fiery devil had dismissed the dogs back to their owner and was standing above you. Although you know you should’ve been afraid, between the large wings and the gentle warm feeling their body gave off; you felt as if you’d met an angel. Then they began to speak in a language you didn’t understand. 

     “Bolverk,” they turned to look at the bony warrior from before, “Where are the others?”

     “Lord Argosax, I-” he turned to look down at you, “I had sent a troop in to dispose of this vermin, but none returned.”

     Their voice tilted in disbelief, “Really now?”

     Your heart was racing as you sat up, a part of you wanted to run and hope to make it but you knew that this flaming devil was different somehow. Besides, you needed a moment to heal your wounds. 

     “You,” they turned to you, speaking in a tongue that you did understand, “What were you even attempting to gain by breaking in here? There are easier ways to die, I assure you.”

     An aggressive furrow decorated your brow as you tried to speak, unsure of yourself since it had been many years since you’d done so, “Fuck you--!”

     Instantly, you were kicked across the ribs and into a nearby wall. Blood dribbled out of your mouth as you fell back to the floor, laying face down.

     “Such a shame,” a sound of footsteps and slight sizzling told you that the fire devil had moved beside you, “You would’ve been quite the addition to my cause.”

     Everything went dark. Then you took a deep gasping breath, despite your current situation of being impaled, you were still very much alive.

     You slowly got up, moving to a push-up, sitting on your calves, kneeling, then stumbling to a stand leaning against the wall. A glint caught your eye as you looked down, the bony devil’s Viking sword had been plunged through your chest cavity, straight through your heart. With a grimace and a groan, you pulled the blade from your body and held it at the fiery devil’s neck; a crazed look in your eyes and a thunderous growling from your chest.

     You’d expected a fight or some sort of violence, however, that couldn’t have been further from what happened. 

     Rather, the fiery devil lightly ran its finger along the blade, “What a feisty brat,” if they’d had a mouth, you’re sure they would’ve been smirking, “No wonder you managed to make it in here; a power like that is quite rare,” they grabbed the sword and melted it, “To make others feel the attacks that are done against you... I only know of one other devil that could pull that off.”

     Although you were radiating confidence, you couldn’t have been more doubtful of your skills. Right now, you were completely and hopelessly outmatched. As the fiery devil melted the sword, your shoulders tensed as you heard a noise to your left; dodging instinctively. 

     One of the wolves had been sent after you again. You grabbed the wolf’s scruff and bit down through it; piercing its hide. It yelped and thrashed about but you dug your teeth further into its flesh, gripping onto it hard enough to pull its front paws off the ground. 

     “Bolverk,” the flaming devil stood and looked to the swordsman, “Call off your dog; I wasn’t in any danger,” they turned their attention to you, “Can you release Geri?”

     Your lip twitched as you let out a low rumbling growl. After a moment of thought, you did as you were asked. 

     “Good, you are smarter than I thought,” they moved in front of you, “Now, what is a child of Sparda doing here?”

     Another low growl left your lips at that name, Sparda. You’d conditioned yourself to hate your Father, blaming him for everything that you’d been put through. 

     “This is Mundus’s fault, isn’t it?” They took their forefinger and placed it underneath your chin, tilting your face up to look at his, “You’ve been here since Sparda’s demise, haven’t you?” 

     You recoiled your head from his touch and took a few steps backward.

     “My name is Argosax; I’m sure Sparda told you a story about how evil myself and Mundus are, didn’t he?”

     “I don’t know and I don’t care,” your voice was low and your eyes remained on their face, unblinking. 

     “Well then,” Argosax took a step towards you, “If you’d allow me, I would like to know more about you and what has happened; perhaps I can help you attain your revenge--that is what you are seeking, right?” Their voice was gentle however it had a sinister feeling deeply woven beneath it.

     “Revenge…” your brow softened ever-so-slightly, “No.”

     They sighed, “If you are looking for your family then I’m sad to say but,” they placed a hand on your shoulder, “they are all dead.”

     Your gut dropped and your eyes widened as you shook your head ‘no’ backing up till you hit the wall, “No, you are wrong; they are still alive, I just need to get to them.”

     Argosax clicked his tongue quietly, “I am afraid that they are all gone; the fire took them. The fire that happened because of Sparda--for Mundus to send a message.”

     You ground your teeth and clenched your fists tight enough that your palms began to bleed, “Because of…” your lip twitched as you felt a hot burning sensation fill your body. 

     “Mhm,” Argosax bent down slightly and was at face level with you, “Don’t fret; I can help you obtain all that you desire,” your eyes snapped open, noticing that the room had become engulfed in magenta-colored flames--courtesy of your angry outburst, “All I ask in return is for you to swear your servitude to me,” they stuck out their hand, waiting for you to seal the deal. 

     Admittedly, you were hesitant but you weren’t stupid; it was either accept this deal or Argosax would kill you. What choice did you truly have? Cautiously, you reached your hand out and grabbed theirs. Marking the worst mistake of your entire life. 

     Over the years you had lost all of what little humanity you had retained; you couldn’t even remember how to speak anything besides basic Greek or Latin. The training was harsh, borderline unbearable, but you kept going. Your intense hatred for Sparda pushed you over the edge and there was no returning. 

     Quickly you had become the strongest devil in Argosax’s ranks, only being surpassed by them and, their right-hand knight, Bolverk. Your heritage was quite apparent even just by looking at you. No human parts remained, you were fully outfitted in your (Sin) Devil Trigger. Although it wasn’t exact, your form had many similarities with your Father’s, many distinctive things--such as his hooves, knees, or horns.

     Because of how strong you’d become there wasn’t much left for you to learn, so Bolverk and, to some degree, Argosax began to train you. The brutality from the two was like nothing you’d even been through. Perhaps it was because they wanted you to be a perfect warrior or perhaps it was rooted in their deep-set hatred for Sparda; regardless, they tortured you more than they taught you. 

     Any little mistake would put you in what was nicknamed “The Chamber”. Within those four sound-proof walls many vile things happened to you, from things as simple as being starved for weeks on end to much more physically abusive things; you’d been through it all. During this time, Argosax did most of the more extreme punishments. 

     However, despite that, you retained your respect for Argosax; whether it had to do with the deal or an odd form of Stockholm syndrome, you weren’t sure. Every time they’d punish you, you’d almost get off to it; it was as sickening as it was alluring. In your endless torment, you’d convinced yourself that Argo was doing this out of love, out of compassion, for you and your situation. Something that they played into. Telling you that they loved you and that you loved them; however, none of that was true. It was all just to keep you within their pocket and use whenever they needed.  

==

     “Dante!” Vergil shouted at his twin, snapping Dante out of the horrifying implications in the journal before him, “Any time now-!” Vergil rolled out of the way, barely missing the bronze devil’s attack.

     “R-right, sorry!” The red devil shook his head and shut the book, “Vergil, you know Greek right?”

     “Of course,” Vergil growled loudly, shooting Ebony at the aggressor's eyes; unsure of what else to do at this point. 

     “Well, I think--”

     “Just get to the point!” 

     “They don’t know English anymore.”

     Vergil let out a low nearly inaudible whine as he landed near his twin with a small stumble, “So what, you want me to read?”

     “Not read, just talk.”

     “If you don’t think I haven’t tried that--”

     “Tell them Argosax is dead.”

     A small confused tilt adorned Vergil’s brow before he shook his head with a sigh, “Fine. Not like we’ve got much else to go on.”

     The bronze devil waited for the twins to attack again; radiating a sickly amount of cocky confidence. 

     Vergil slowly approached and spoke calmly, “Are you waiting for Argosax to return?” It took a step back in confusion at Vergil’s words, “They are dead and have been for a very long time.”

     With a loud huff, the devil responded in a low, rough voice, “No, they will return; who are you to tell me otherwise?”

     The eldest twin shook his head, “As far as I or anyone else is concerned, Argosax has been dead for nearly two decades; they’re nothing but ashes in the wind.”

     “No!” Its voice reverberated throughout the structure as it slammed The Sparda into the ground, “They can’t be-- No one has that kind of power.”

     Vergil raised a brow and folded his arms, “Really now? Are you aware that any of us could beat Argosax or Mundus? The three of us are much stronger than any of them; surely you knew that you could’ve defeated Argo yourself..?”

     The devil took a step back and looked between the twins, “You speak as if you know about me; when you have no clue who I--”

     “ ‘So Fuzon call’d all together/The remaining children of Urizen:/And they left the pendulous earth:/They called it Egypt, & left it./And the salt ocean rolled englob’d.’. Does that ring a bell?”

     It took another few steps back, “I-- How,” it shook its head, “Are you mocking me?”

     “I don’t mock, I only wish to remind you of yourself; of your humanity.”

     “I am no human,” it placed a hand back on the grip of The Sparda, “Humanity has no place within me, Lord Argosax told--”

     “Then where did your items in your pocket dimension come from? Where did the book that Dante has come from?” Vergil gestured to the devil’s forehead, “Where did that sapphire pendant come from?”

     It said nothing.

     “I understand if you have taken issue with our Father but,” Vergil sighed, “Our Mother, Eva, had nothing to do with that day; it wasn’t her fault. So why denounce her side?”

     The devil yanked The Sparda back out from the floor and spook in an aggressive manner, “You do not know anything, I was shown the truth,” it lunged at the twins, who split apart and dodged the attack.

     “By whom? That manipulative bastard Argosax?” Vergil’s voice became louder, “Perhaps I could tell you the truth that Mundus showed me? The fabricated story of how Sparda was responsible for our Mother’s death and for us three being split apart.”

     It swung the sword wanting nothing more than for Vergil to shut up, “Silence!”

     The eldest’s voice was filled with an ever-increasing aggravation and vexation. Now, lost within his own thoughts he had stopped speaking in Greek, “How that traitor Sparda shouldn’t have sullied demon blood with a human womb?! How he could’ve used a child with some grit?!”

     Dante’s eyes widened upon hearing what his brother was saying. All he could do was stare in disbelief and with mouth agape in shock, this was no longer aimed at their youngest sibling; no, Vergil was being swept away by his own memories.

     Vergil darted at the devil, leaving a cloud of dust and cracked tile where he stood, “Do you honestly think that Argosax wanted anything more than a puppet? A pet with the name Sparda attached to it?”

     The pair interlocked swords and ground against one another in a hold. The blue devil’s eyes had a crazed expression; a mixture of a primal devilish wickedness and a deep-rooted terror that sent a very distinctive chill up Dante’s spine--the same feeling he got seeing what happened to his brother after Mundus.

     In Vergil’s anger, he unintentionally used his Sin Trigger and snarled at the bronze devil, “Argosax was no different than Mundus; they were playing savior to a disgraceful weak half-human offspring,” Vergil stood eye to eye with the bronze devil, “Tell me, do you still remember yourself or have you lost it with all that putrid shit Argosax told you?!”

     They froze at Vergil’s sudden overwhelming anger, giving the blue devil a chance to tackle them to the ground, pinning them.

     “I know you can understand me,” his wings flared out behind him as his tail flicked around, “Answer me!” His claws dug deep into the bronze devil’s arms.

     The pinned devil opened its mouth but said nothing. Despite Vergil piercing their hide, it didn’t use its power to make Vergil hurt; no, it just laid there and stared. After a few minutes, Dante slowly crept closer and peered over Vergil’s body to see what was going on. 

     The blue devil’s claws had dug far enough into the bronze devil’s flesh that his fingertips were inside their arm. Despite this, the pair just were just staring at each other. The bronze devil wasn’t struggling or trying to move; the only thing it did was wince when Vergil shoved his claws further. 

     Another few minutes passed. Dante had begun debating if he needed to step in and separate them, however, this was quickly answered.

     A loud snarl of a cry came from Vergil as he de-triggered. His eyes were filled with tears and he had enough running down his face that they were collecting at his chin, dripping down onto the pinned devil. He wanted to say something, anything, but only managed a weak, “Please,” that was followed by a voice crack. 

     Dante placed a gentle hand on his twin’s shoulder, “Vergil…”

     “Ver-gil?” The twins could see the gears turning in the devil’s head as it tried to place the name before its gaze slowly turned to Dante, “You are Da-nte then..?” It turned its gaze back to Vergil, and with a slight pause, it let out a low exhale, “My brothers..?”

     Vergil’s fingers tightened on the devil’s arm, making it flinch, “Yes.”

     The younger twin grabbed Vergil’s shoulder again, this time sternly, “Verge, stop--”

     “How-,” The devil’s gaze flicked between the two, “How are you still alive? More importantly,” the devil sat up, making Vergil sit on its lap in the process, “What are you doing here? If Lord Argosax truly is dead then the Underworld will be in ruins; you two are in immense danger.”

     Dante stared at Vergil for translation, but only got to hear Vergil’s response… That was also unintelligible to the red devil, “Who do you think killed such vermin? We aren’t in danger, only lost.”

     “Lost..?”

     With a nod, he let out a heavy wet sigh hoping to re-compose himself, “Yes,” Vergil carefully removed his fingers, a thick line of blood connecting him to the open heavily-bleeding wounds, “We are trying to get home and Yamato can do so but-”

     “You need a place close to the human world?”

     Vergil nodded and stood up, assisted by Dante. He looked up, “I don’t know if this place will work anymore…”

     The entire top six floors were missing and you all were staring at the open sky.

     “Ah, sorry about that,” you sighed, “I can escort you to another pinch-point if you would like?”

     “There aren’t any others close by.”

     You laughed and stretched out your wings, “I am faster than you’d believe.”

     “Ehem!” Dante put his free hand in his pocket, still holding the scrapbook in the other, “Care to share? Or are you two like shit-talking me or somethin’?”

     You stumbled over your words a bit, still struggling on how to say your brothers’ names, “I first want my book back, Dante,” you stuck your hand out, waiting.

     “Uh…”

     Vergil wiped his blood-stained fingers off on his coat, “They want their book back.”

     “Oh! Sure thing, here,” Dante placed the book in your hand; which you held up and it disappeared, returning to your small dimension of valuables. 

     “So…” Dante walked over to his coat that, thankfully, had fallen with the floors but wasn’t any more damaged than it already was, “What’s the plan?”

     Vergil straightened his coat, “They are going to take us to a new place; this one is no longer suitable for Yamato to work.”

     The younger twin sighed, “So, how long is this walk going to be?”

     You scooped up both brothers, holding one in each arm, as they wrapped themselves tightly to your neck. 

     “Verge,” Dante looked to his twin.

     “Hm?”

     “We sure this is a good idea? I mean, they were just beating the shit out of both of us..?”

     Vergil did a slow turn to the red devil, “I destroyed an entire city and threatened the entire human race, again… Then you decided to come down here with me… How is this any different?”

     “Fair, I umphf-!”

     You abruptly turned to the left, making both twins jolt violently within your arms, “There,” your wings stretched out wide before you neatly dug your heels into the ground, “Hold on tight.”

     With that, you flew straight up and felt both brothers tighten their grip tenfold. You took a moment to stabilize yourself since you aren’t used to having all the extra weight. Then, there was a thunderous clap. Both twins flinched at the ungodly loud noise, especially since neither of them was used to such noise from flying. Although you’d told Vergil that you were fast, breaking the sound barrier wasn’t exactly what he imagined. 

     It didn’t take long for the three of you to find the new pinch-point. Once again, it was a structure within Argosax’s domain. You landed on the roof and placed your siblings down. Both of them were dazed and Dante actually had leaned over to throw up (which he had nothing to purge so he just dry heaved). 

     You gave them both a curious look, “Are you alright?”

     Vergil looked at you and unknowingly yelled in response, “What?!” 

     “I see, never mind,” you waved a hand in dismissal and waited for the twins to return to normal; however, the three of you were paid some company.

     Both brothers readied themselves but, once more, you raised a hand, “Allow me, the two of you need to return to a stable condition before you leave.”

     The horde was nothing more than a sneeze of a challenge to you. You didn’t even need to use The Sparda; no, all you needed was your hands. It was times like these that you had grown to cherish during your time here in the Underworld; times where you could let loose, to rip and tear without any repercussions. You took only a minute to desolate the horde, finishing by ripping out a Fury’s throat with your teeth. 

     You turned to your brothers, gore still hanging in your mouth, and waved shyly. The expression on both of their faces was a mixture of impressed and horrified--Dante was mostly just horrified. You sucked the bits of flesh that were in your teeth into your mouth, eating them.

     “That’s,” Dante stared at the floor unable to look at you, “I’ve seen some gross shit but--”

     “It is the way of the world down here,” Vergil ran a hand through his hair, “Eat or be eaten.”

     “You ever have to..?”

     “No,” Vergil shook his head, “Nelo did not require food.”

     “Huh, really? How’s that work?”

     Vergil turned to his twin, “Perhaps I can explain more at a later date. For now, we have a more pressing engagement.”

     Dante nodded, “ ‘Suppose you’re right.”

     The twins walked over to you, who was currently gnawing on the last Fury’s corpse. A quiet “Ehem” from Vergil caught your attention and you stopped eating.

     “Sorry,” you stood up, “Are you two ready to go?”

     Vergil raised a brow with folded arms, “You mean us three? If you think we are going to leave you down here then you are mistaken.”

     Your eye flicked between the pair, “I do not know if that is--”

     Vergil huffed lightly, “This isn’t up for discussion, as the oldest child and the one who is making the path home; I have the final say,” his arms relaxed to his sides, “You are coming with us.”

     In an almost shy manner, you wiped your face using one of your forearms; doing your best to clean yourself, “Can you make a portal that can handle all three of us? Yamato’s original use was only for one at a time.”

     A confident smug smirk tugged at Vergil’s lips, “Trust me when I say,” he removed the blade from its scabbard, “I can do much more with Yamato than anyone knows.”

     Dante moved to stand next to you, grabbing your hand, and he mumbled quietly, “You’re gonna like the human world, I promise.”

     Before you could respond, Vergil sliced open a large plus-shaped hole; opening a large portal. He looked at the two of you before grabbing Dante’s free hand, “Tread lightly and keep close to me.”

     The two of you nodded, making sure to keep hold of one another, and traversed through the portal. 

     Once on the other side, the three of you found yourself in the middle of a snowy pine forest. You hissed loudly at how ungodly bright it was and covered your eyes. Dante stretched his arms up with a loud groan and then flopped face-first into the thick snow.

     His voice was muffled as he laid, unmoving, “Nap time.”

     Before Vergil or you could protest, Dante was already snoring. 

     Vergil let out a content sigh, a small smile adorning his face, as he sat down in the snow. You joined him, cautiously sitting in the snow. After a few moments, you tried to relax and allowed your wings to lay flat behind you on the snow, sending a shiver up your spine.

     After some time, Vergil ended up curling up in the snow; which, a half-asleep Dante proceeded to smother by wrapping himself around his twin. If this had been any other situation or context, Vergil would have gutted Dante on the spot--that is if Vergil allowed himself to sleep in the first place. However, both of them were exhausted from who knows how long they’d been traveling. 

     You, on the other hand, were wide awake. Sleep had become something you couldn’t afford to do when working under such circumstances. A small sad, almost envious, feeling pricked at the edges of your mind as you watched the fast-asleep two-person pile. 

     They slept for several hours and Dante at one point even offer (and beckoned) for you to join their cozy pile; however, you shook your head. Keeping them safe was all that you had in mind; something you’d wanted to do since they were taken from you. 

     Once fully healed and mostly rested, the twins decided to figure out what the next course of action would be. 

     Dante sighed, “What I wouldn’t give for some food right about now--”

     You stood up, “I can get something! I’ll be right back.”

     Vergil snickered slightly, “That’s not what he means, however, that is a nice--”

     It was too late, you’d already run off into the woods.

     “Hey!” Dante went to chase after you only to be stopped by Vergil grabbing his arm.

     “They are going to bring back food,” Vergil shook his head and spoke quietly, “What that food is or what that means, I’m not sure.”

     “Let’s just hope that doesn’t mean that they are going to hunt humans…”

     After a moment of silence, Vergil reached to his lower back and pulled something out, “Here,” he held out Ebony, “I do not wish to use this any longer.”

     “Alright,” Dante grabbed the gun and put it back in its holster, “If you ever wanna use ‘em again,” he winked, “Just lemme know.”

     Vergil rolled his eyes. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Dante resting his eyes and Vergil looking over Yamato for any damage or filth to clean. 

     “Hey, Verge, why can’t we just use that again,” he gestured to Yamato, “to get back to Red Grave.”

     “I need to know where we are to use Yamato correctly,” Vergil mindlessly tapped his fingers on the scabbard. 

     “So we need to find a town or something then…” Dante sighed as he flopped face up into the snow, arms spread out, “Wonderful.”

     Vergil turned over his shoulder to look at Dante, “I do not see what the problem is with that?”

     The red devil’s brow furrowed, “Really?” The eldest gave no response, “Verge, we look like shit, we are covered in blood, and who knows what else-- we probably smell horrid- and we are traveling with an over seven-foot tall devil,” his eyes went back to staring up at the sky; however, instead of the sky, his gaze was met with a dead Elk. To say Dante jumped would be an understatement.

     The blue devil raised a brow, “I see you’ve returned?”

     You nodded. The dead creature was supported by your arms, however, your teeth were still deep within its neck.

     “Dante,” Vergil turned to his now calm sibling, “Can you make a fire?”

     “Sure, I--”

     Instantly, there was a small magenta fire in front of them and they turned back to you; who, even if you couldn’t properly emote it, they could tell was smiling.

     The twins helped you cut apart the meat, you’d long forgotten how to properly process an animal. Then using The Sparda’s spines, you hooked the meat up over the fire to cook. 

     “Alright, I gotta ask,” Dante looked at you as he cocked his head in curiosity, “Why didn’t you have The Sparda before..?”

     “Because I couldn’t summon it between realms, my pocket dimension is different and transcends such physical limitations.”

     Dante stared at you in confusion before Vergil translated for him, “Ah, I see.”

     As the meat cooked, the twins and you shared stories; both good and bad. Admittedly, this was the most you’d spoken since your last time seeing the twins; the most you’d spoken in over three decades. 

     The venison was unseasoned and cooked unevenly but was still rather tasty. It took you a few tries to get it down, not because it was bad or anything, but because it was much different than a demon’s meat.

     It was nearly midnight by the time you’d all finished eating. Dante and you ate most of it, Vergil isn’t used to eating more than a few scraps but he made sure to eat a decent chunk. You snuffed out the fire and put The Sparda away, as you did so the twins had curled back together and were sleeping. All you could do was stare at them. 

     As the weeks went on the three of you hadn’t found any sign of where you were, only seeing a few unoccupied hunting tree stands and abandoned campsites. Dante and Vergil had begun to re-teach you how to speak English (or rather remind you.). It took a while for you to re-grasp the language but you were able to finally communicate with both siblings, no longer relying on Vergil to be your translator. 

     At one point the three of you found a small lake. In a blink, Dante was nude and was easing his way into the cold bath. His arms were held close to his body with his fists in front of his chest, shivering heavily and saying various things; such as, “Holy shit that’s cold,” 

     “Are you going to join him?” You asked a very unamused Vergil.

     “Are you?” 

     The question caught you off guard, “Am… I?” You paused in thought for a moment, “It has been so long since I’ve seen water like this,” you let out a low growling laugh, “I don’t know if I remember how to swim.”

     Vergil began to strip off his blood-soaked clothing, placing it in a neat pile next to Dante’s disheveled mess, “Then that makes two of us.”

     Your head moved back a bit in surprise, before you could question him, Vergil moved to join Dante in the lake. 

     The blue devil’s shoulders shot up to his ears as he hissed from the freezing temperature. Dante was already comfortable enough that he was swimming around. A wicked smirk decorated his face as he snuck over to Vergil and splashed water up at him. Vergil’s body arched from the sudden icy feeling, cursing Dante in the process. 

     The younger twin’s laughter died down when he got a better look at Vergil’s bare skin, “Hey,” his fingers lightly touched Vergil’s back, who instinctively flinched away, “What..?”

     Without meeting Dante’s eyes he mumbled, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

     Unsure how to help, Dante grabbed his twin into a vice grip of a hug; despite the eldest’s protests.

     All the while you watched from the shore. Slowly you’d inched your hooves into the water, but you hadn’t moved since then. A part of you wondered what Vergil had meant by telling you that he might not know how to swim either; combine that with the abhorrent scarring on his back, and you were more than confused. 

     “Hey!” Dante yelled over to you, “You coming in? The water’s nice~!” He let out a hardy laugh.

     You looked down at the rolling liquid, unsure if you should. That’s when you felt something push you. When you whipped around, you saw that Vergil’s doppelgänger was behind you and it pushed you again. 

     Dante noticed and began to laugh harder as Vergil had a warm smile tugging at his lips. Slowly but surely the apparition made you enter the water. It wasn’t warm per se, but your body was hot enough that the temperature of the entire lake shifted up several degrees. The twins both washed themselves as you played with the water like a small child. You’d set your hand on the top and slowly push it down, feeling the surface of it give way to your scaled digits. 

     Having already finished cleaning himself, Dante swam over to you and splashed you. In shock, you shot downwards; submerging yourself. Under the water, you saw so much that you’d never seen before. Little fish that were playing with each other, small crabs that you put your hand out to and they pinched your fingers, several different types of vegetation, and many colorful stones. You felt something tug the end of your wing and resurfaced, seeing that Dante and Vergil were staring at you.

     “Thought I made you drown, heh…” Dante placed a hand on the back of his neck, “Sor--!”

     You used your wings to splash him--and Vergil by accident. The three of you engaged in a water fight, splashing and rough-housing with one another. It was fun, right up until the three of you heard a loud crunch from the embankment.

     A large polar bear was standing at the edge, watching you. Curious as to what it was, you got up and out of the water; despite both siblings telling you to stop. Upon reaching it, you stuck your hand out to pet it when it bit you. Enraged at the sudden act of aggression, you killed it. Then, you stared at the body horrified at what you’d just done. You flipped your gaze to your brothers who stared back, Dante was the only one that had any expression and he was just as horrified as you. 

     Vergil walked out of the water and placed a hand on your shoulder, “It is alright, accidents happen.”

     Without another word, you placed a hand on the dead bear, petting its soft blood-stained fur. Carefully, you incinerated the carcass. The twins got dressed and the three of you headed back on your way, never bringing up the incident again.

     Another week passed and the three of you finally found a small town.

     “Alright,” Dante said, getting up off the downed tree that he’d been using as a resting spot, “You two stay here and I’ll go get some info.”

     “Are you sure you do not want me to accompany you?” Vergil raised a brow.

     “Nah, I’ll be fine. Besides,” Dante looked over to you, “Someone needs to stay with ‘em.”

     Vergil’s gaze joined Dante’s and watched as you were intently watching a caterpillar as it inched along, your wings flapping a bit in excitement. The two smiled softly. Although you were a rather twisted version of the child they once knew, seeing you partake in such innocent things made them both feel happy.

     A short pause later, Dante slapped Vergil on the shoulder, “Alright, I’ll be back later,” he leaned over and whispered just loud enough for Vergil to hear, “Try to keep them from killing anything or anyone, yeah?”

     “Of course,” the blue devil folded his arms, “I am still the eldest, I know how to take care of my siblings.”

     “Had me convinced otherwise--”

     Vergil jabbed Dante in the gut with his elbow. 

     The younger twin left, waving goodbye to you--who was much too enamored with the small bug to notice. 

     “That is called an Arctic Woolly Bear caterpillar,” Vergil meandered over to you with his hands folded behind his back, “They are quite common in North America.”

     You looked over at him, “Is it dangerous?”

     He shook his head, “No, they are harmless,” gently, the blue devil picked up your hand, “Open your palm and do not shut it,” you watched as he placed the small fuzzy bug in your hand.

     A quiet purring could be heard from you as you watched it crawl on your hand, Vergil still holding the underside in case you accidentally shut your fingers. 

     “They do not have these in Hell… I wish they did.”

     Vergil laughed softly, “I know, I am quite knowledgeable about how things work down there.”

     “How?”

     The eldest twin’s face fell into a somber frown, “Here, let’s let the little creature go first,” he grabbed it from your hand and placed it back where he had grabbed it from. He sat on the ground, gesturing for you to do the same, “I cannot tell you everything just yet, however,” he paused and stared at the ground in front of him, “I can tell you about my time serving Mundus.”

     You tilted your head, “I remember you mentioned something about that when we were fighting.”

     He nodded, “I was forced to serve Mundus after I foolishly tried to defeat him, alone,” you watched as Vergil’s brow furrowed further and further with each sentence, “I knew it was a bad move but what other choice did I have?”

     You grabbed one of his hands, giving it a gentle squeeze.

     He gave a small half-hearted smile and took a minute before continuing, “In my arrogance and desire for power, I ended up being defeated by Mundus. Who proceeded to take my humanity from me, entombing me within armor made by Machiavelli…”

     Your body stiffened, “In the Nelo Angelo?” 

     “You know of it?”

     “I was taught about Devil Arms and Machiavelli’s work was somewhat of an obsession of Lord Argosax.”

     “I see,” Vergil’s posture slumped forwards a bit, bringing his shoulders to his ears, “I spent nearly ten years trapped like that.”

     “I am surprised that we never met.”

     “Mundus was smarter than that,” Vergil’s voice was quiet, almost meek, “Seeing Dante and his amulet half nearly broke the hold it had on me, but after so long I…”

     He went silent. You wanted to know more but you could also see how distressed your brother had become, even if it didn’t look like it from an outside view. So, not knowing what else to do, you manhandled him into your lap and embraced him; holding him tightly and wrapping your wings around the two of you--cocooning you together. 

     Although you couldn’t fully understand the pain and suffering that the eldest son of Sparda had gone through, you could relate to some degree. At first, he pushed you away and tried to escape, which he could’ve done if he had wanted; however, he didn’t. No, Vergil wanted to be comforted--to be held--but was much too proud to admit it, especially to Dante. 

     Vergil’s cursing slowly turned to soft sobs. His shoving turned to a vice grip, grabbing you as tightly as possible. All the while, you were purring and telling him that things will be alright now. You made small circles on his upper back, mimicking what Eva used to do when any of you were upset. Underneath the fabric, you could feel the scarring you saw earlier; the deep chasms that turned his once identical body into something so far off from his twin--something that secretly pained the eldest twin. 

     After some time, Vergil’s cries ceased and he just quietly sat within your gentle hold; relishing in an affection he had long since forgotten. He quietly murmured something against your chest, “I’m glad you’re still alive.”

     A pang of bittersweet shot through you, those words that were said to you many times when you were young. Words of endearment. 

     Softly, you whispered back, “I’m glad too,” you gently squeezed him, “I love you lots, Vergil.”

     He let out a wet half-hearted laugh, tears welling at the edges of his eyes, “To think this was something any of us could only have merely dreamed of for so long,” his fingers gently grabbed your hand, intertwining them, “to be back together as a family.”

     “I wouldn’t trade you both for the world,” your voice was low and soft, doing your best to sound as human as possible, “All I wanted was to have my brothers back…” now it was your turn to let out a huffed laugh on the verge of tears--or what would be tears if you could cry in this form, “I threw everything away in the pursuit of avenging the two of you--and Mother.”

     “It’s almost poetic that the most hot-headed of the three of us would be the only one not to blindly follow something to the point of destruction,” this, of course, was in reference to Dante; a child who would regularly get in massive trouble for doing things he shouldn’t be doing. 

     The two of you shared a small laugh before a third voice broke the conversation.

     “Hey! I’m back!” Dante waved to you as you unfurled your wings, letting Vergil out. 

     “Well,” Vergil stood, folding his arms, “Where are we then.”

     “Here,” the red devil handed him a map, “Up in Northern Canada, I guess.”

     “I see,” Vergil looked over the large North American map, finding Red Grave, and sighing heavily, “The trip through the portal will be rough and long, it is quite a distance to travel.”

     “Eh,” Dante shrugged, “I’m sure we’ll all be fine.”

     Vergil looked back at you, who had stood up as well, “Are you ready to go home?”

     You looked at the ground for a moment in thought, “Home…” Before nodding slowly.

     “Alright,” Vergil looked over the map one more time before handing it to Dante, “I will take us back to the house.”

     “Why not Devil May Cry?” Dante raised a brow, stuffing the map inside an inner jacket pocket.

     “Because I don’t know where that is,” he unsheathed Yamato and took a deep breath. 

     As the blue devil opened the portal, you moved towards Dante and grabbed his hand, whispering, “I don’t want to lose you.”

     The red devil’s eyes widened as he turned up to you, unsure how to vocalize the sudden warm feeling in his heart; so, he squeezed your hand hard and smiled.

     Vergil slid Yamato back into its scabbard, “Let’s go,” he stuck out a hand, which Dante grabbed tightly. 

     The three of you walked through the gap in dimensions. A portal created by Yamato is essentially a pocket dimension with extra steps; however, it can be used to transport the one who opened it as well--not just the items within. 

     It took what felt like a few minutes for the three of you when, in reality, it took nearly an entire day to traverse such a wide span. Once on the other side, the three of you stood within the destroyed remnants of your childhood home. You were the first to let go of your siblings and began to wander towards the mantle. 

     Upon it was the family painting. It was burnt beyond recognition. Although Eva was almost perfectly preserved and the twins’ were semi-damaged, Sparda and yourself were tattered to the point of not knowing what you looked like. You carefully reached toward the canvas and placed your fingers on the place you used to be. Perhaps it is some sort of pathetic irony that the only one who died in that fire is the only one whose portrait wasn’t damaged. The only one who was truly a saint amongst devils. 

     “Hey,” Dante gently touched your wing, making you flinch and pivot around, “Are you okay?”

     You froze at the odd question. Were you? After everything that’s happened, are you still truly the same sibling they used to know? The same child that was eternalized in those oil paints? Or are you some sort of out-of-place and unwelcomed creature? Do you really belong up here with humans or should you still be in that crumbling building, waiting to be rescued by someone who will never come? 

     Dante grabbed your hand, “Let’s go to my shop, it is where I’ve been living since I was a teen,” he smiled softly, “I’m sure you’ll like it.”

     A small whimpered huff came from you as you tightened your fingers around your brother’s. 

     “Wait,” Vergil folded his arms, “Perhaps it would be best for Dante to go first and see who is all at the shop? I do not wish for your first interaction with your nephew to be one of violence.”

     Nephew?

     Dante nodded, “Fair point, alright-- Fine, I’ll go make sure the ol’ beaut is shining and perfect.”

     Vergil rolled his eyes, “If it is anything like it was when you first moved in,” he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “It is a disaster.”

     “Hey, it wasn’t that bad and besides,” Dante let go of your hand, “It was your fault it got trashed in the first place, Verge.”

     “Are you sure about that, Mister “Let me kick down my own doors”?” 

     “The shop was ruined already-- Look we can debate this later, I want to go get this done and finally get some good rest.”

     “Fine, just,” Vergil grumbled, “be careful.”

     “Aw, what was that oh sweet big brother of mine? Urk-!” Dante grabbed his shoulder which had a small blue sword stuck in his bicep.

     The youngest twin waved goodbye and, once he turned back away from you both, used his Devil Trigger to get to the shop faster. 

     Once he got within the city limits, Dante de-Triggered and began to sprint down the sidewalk. The air was nice and cool, making Dante’s run feel rather rejuvenating; plus, it had begun to rain. It was late and not a soul was in sight, so Dante used Trickster to move even faster. He couldn’t wait to get home, to show both Vergil and you the shop. He joyfully hopped up the stairs and knocked on the doors.

     No response.     “Huh…” He peered around the corner and saw that the foyer lights were on, so he knocked again. This time, however, it was fast and hard; making sure to be as loud as he could without breaking the door. 

     The door slowly opened just a crack and a sleepy man's voice simply said, “We’re closed.”

     Dante laughed, “Well, then, guess I’ll have to come home tomorrow then.”

     There was silence. The door didn’t move, staying open just a crack. Dante could hear the heart rate of the man spike upon hearing those words. As if he were afraid to see, the door inched open; revealing a very disheveled-looking Nero. 

     “Man, I thought that I needed a haircu--umphf-!” Dante felt the air leave his lungs.

     Nero grabbed his uncle into a tight hug, gripping handfuls of Dante’s jacket. Hot bitter tears ran down his face as he sobbed into the red devil’s neck. 

     Dante lovingly clasped his arms around the young man, “I missed you too, Nero.”

     “I thought that,” his voice cracked, “that you weren’t going to come back.”

     “And leave you to carry on the family business all by your lonesome? Not a chance,” he pulled back out of the hug, firmly holding Nero’s shoulders, “Look, I know that I have no right to ask you but, can you do me a favor? Just for tonight.”

     The teal devil’s voice was apprehensive, having a feeling as to what was going to be said, “What?”

     “Verge is with me,” he heard Nero sigh, “The two of you can settle things tomorrow… I need the shop to be calm tonight, please?” 

     “Why?” Nero didn’t mean to be so blunt but he couldn’t help but be a bit salty.

     “Because,” Dante smiled, closing his eyes, “I’ve got a surprise family member for you to meet; I think they’d be called a ‘Pibling’..?”

     “You and Vergil have another sibling? Since when?” 

     “Since they were born.”

     Nero punched Dante’s shoulder harshly, “Very funny asshole.”

     “Just promise me you’ll be nice? Please?”

     “Alright, alright,” Nero sighed and wiped the few stray tears from his face, “So where are they?” 

     “I gotta go get ‘em. Unlock the garage door, yeah?”

     “Sure,” Dante turned to leave before Nero called out to him, “Wait!”     Nero stepped out of the shop and stood face-to-face with Dante. 

     They stood in silence for a moment before Dante softly sighed, “I promise I’ll be right back,” Dante ruffled up Nero’s hair.

==

     Vergil sighed, resting on the partially still intact staircase, “It was an accident.”

     You gave Vergil a sorrowful stare, “Have you told Dante about--”

     “No,” the blue devil’s voice was sharp, “and you are not to tell him either,” he sighed and placed his forearms on his thighs, “Nero has been through enough, knowing that his mother did that… It would only make things worse.”

     With a small nod, you looked up at the sky. It had begun to rain. The water was cold as you watched it fall, this had been the first time you’d seen rain since returning to the human world. You flinched for a few minutes from the droplets hitting your scales, however, you got accustomed to them bit by bit. After some time, you stood up and spread out your wings, watching the water roll off the tips and onto the desolated flooring of your childhood home. 

     Vergil watched from his seat with an amused smirk. Once again, the fact you seemed to be so innocent and child-like despite what happened piqued his interest. Upon seeing you shake off like a wet dog, he couldn’t help but laugh. 

     Noticing your brother’s odd reaction, you stared at him and watched as his face became flushed with embarrassment, turning away. Much to the blue devil’s ease, Dante appeared before you could question him. 

     “Alright kids,” Dante was standing in his Triggered form, his hands on his hips, “Let’s go, shall we?”

     Both Dante and you stared a Vergil, waiting for him to Trigger. 

     After a few moments, Vergil stood up, “Fine…” A flash of cornflower blue filled the room and there stood Vergil in his regular Devil Trigger.

     Dante wolf-whistled, “Been a while since I’ve seen you like that--Lookin’ good tiger,” he winked just to top off the corny line.

     “Silence,” he glared at Dante, making you laugh slightly.

     The three of you took off, the red devil leading the trio. It was difficult for you to travel at such low speeds, which made you almost hit both brothers several times during the flight. Often you’d find that you’d need to stop and wait before continuing, giving yourself small gaps to fly in. The twins found it rather amusing and even made a few jokes about how “Everyone has issues with finishing too fast” or things along that line--even Vergil made a few, much to Dante’s surprise. 

     The three of you landed in the back alleyway behind DMC. Both brothers de-Triggered and Dante bent over to pick up the roller shutter door. 

     “Welcome home, kids,” he smiled widely and placed his hands on his hips.

     Nero stood in the garage, leaning against one of the workbenches, but stood up straight upon seeing the three of you. 

     Vergil was unable to look Nero in the eye, a strong feeling of guilt eating at his mind. You didn’t take all of two seconds before walking into the garage, ducking under the door, and walking up to Nero. Curious, you bent down to look at him closer. His eyes were wide and he was fighting the urge to grab Blue Rose from his side. 

     You curiously tilted your head and stared at him, “You’re smaller than I thought you’d be.”

     Nero’s brow furrowed as he sputtered, attempting to figure out a response. 

     Carefully, you reached your hand out and ruffled Nero’s hair, “Soft…”

     Dante snickered loudly, reveling in the embarrassed expression on Nero’s face.

     The teal devil finally managed to say something, “What the fuck?”

     “Hm?” You titled your head to the other side, still petting the top of his head.

     “H-Hey! Knock it off!!” Nero unintentionally stuttered as he tried to look angry, which was completely ruined by the bright red tint of his cheeks. 

     “Oh! Sorry,” you removed your hand and stood back up straight.

     “It’s fine, I guess,” he cleared his throat and regained his regular composure, “So, your Dante and Vergil’s sibling then huh?”

     You nodded, “You’re Nero, right? Vergil’s son?”

     “Tch. Right,” he glared at the blue devil from the corner of his eye, “His son.”

     “I’m sorry-- maybe, your donor would be better? I didn’t mean to upset--”

     Dante wheezed super loud and doubled over in laughter, making you turn to view your brothers.

     “What is so funny?” You tilted your head.

     “It’s nothing,” Vergil shook his head, “Dante is just immature.”

     “Hey,” Dante stood back up, wiping tears from his eyes, “That’s harsh. You can’t tell me that isn’t funny.”

     “It’s not,” Vergil’s tone was flat.

     “Ehem,” the three of you turned to Nero, “Can we go inside? It’s late and I have a contract in the morning.”

     “A con-tract?” You cocked your head to the side, “For what?”

     “Uh… I don’t know if I should tell you. Seeing as your all,” Nero gestured up and down your body, “like that.”

     “Like what?” 

     “I--”

     Dante cut in, “Nero’s got a demon hunting job in the morning, it’s what he--and I--do for a living.”

     “Ooo!” Your wings fluttered a bit in excitement, “Can I come?!”

     “Can you-- what? Shouldn’t that be--?”

     You laughed softly, “If you are worried about offending me, I assure you,” you leaned down and made eye contact with him, “I have killed more demons than any of you in this room and, moreover, eaten their corpses,” you tilted your head and had a happy tone to your voice, “Only good demon, is a dead demon.”

     Nero stood with a pale expression. 

     Your elated state fell, “Did I say something wrong?”

     Dante grabbed your shoulder, “Nope, he just thinks that you’re gonna kill us three too.”

     “Oh no,” you shook your head, “We aren’t demons-- we are devils, there is quite a large difference.”

     “R-right,” Nero swallowed hard.

     “Welp,” Dante smiled widely, “Why don’t we go inside and relax for a bit?”

     Coyly you nodded, embarrassed that you’d just freaked out your own nephew. The red and teal devil both went in the door, leaving you with Vergil.

     Using one of your wings, you nudged him and gestured to the door with a nod, “Come on, let’s go inside.”

     He went first and you followed, ducking under the frame. A sudden overwhelming melancholic feeling shot through your body. The shop was relatively clean; which, compared to how Dante left it, the shop may as well have been spotless. Both twins and Nero had moved further into the shop and were talking amongst themselves; you, however, were standing at the dividing line between the main section of the room and the small off-shoot that had the bar. 

     All you could do was stare, unable to move from your spot. Perhaps if you had the ability to, you would’ve cried. 

     “So,” Dante put a hand in his pocket, “How long have we been gone anyway?”

     Nero pursed his lips as he stared at Vergil for a moment, “Nearly two years.”

     “Holy shit,” the red devil stood in disbelief, “I-- I gotta call Trish and Lady in the mornin’... They’re gonna freak.”

     “Yeah,” Nero’s eyes finally left Vergil, “They are supposed to stop by in the morning to pick up a contract Morrison left tonight, you could surprise ‘em then..?”

     “Good idea pipsqueak,” he ruffled Nero’s hair, getting some venomous cursing in response, “So, my room still mine or you’d move into it?”

     The teal devil gripped Dante’s forearm, trying to pull him off, “I didn’t touch your shit.”

     “Ah, alrighty,” the younger twin removed his hand and placed it on Vergil’s shoulder, “Let’s go, Grandpa, it’s way past your bedtime.”

     Vergil frowned but said nothing, much to Dante’s disappointment.

     “What about them?” Nero pointed to you, who had moved ever-so-slightly into the foyer and were playing with the jukebox’s buttons (thankfully it still didn’t work fully).

     “They’ll join me and Vergil,” a devilish smile filled Dante’s face, “Actually, you two wait down here--I’ll be right back.”

     “Wait-- and he’s gone,” Nero pursed his lips and sighed. He turned to Vergil who still couldn’t look him in the eye, after a short pause, the young man walked over to the desk and opened the top drawer, “Catch.”

     Vergil grabbed the object that Nero threw, it was Vergil’s poetry book.

     “Been keeping it in case you two decided to return,” now it was Nero’s turn to not be able to look at the other, “Figured I should after what V told me about you.”

     Vergil pursed his lips, “Thank you, Nero.”

     “Yeah, whatever,” he scoffed, doing his best to keep his emotions in check, and walked over to you, “What are you trying to do?”

     “I remember always wanting one of these when I was a kid,” you tapped the silver decoration on the top edge, “Sparda used to talk about jukeboxes quite often,” a bittersweet feeling filled your heart at the thought, unsure how to feel about your Father, “Told me for my sixteenth birthday that he’d get me one that I’d always fixated on,” you sighed, “But that was a long time ago, I doubt you care for stories like those.”

     Nero leaned against the bar counter, “Actually, it is funny hearing about how much of a normal guy Sparda was after being raised in a cult that obsessed over the old man.”

     “A Sparda-based cult? How stupid,” you laughed and turned to Nero, “He was just a devil, nothing more.”

     “That’s what I thought,” Nero smiled.

     A loud thump caught everyone’s attention. At the bottom of the stairs was a large pile of blankets and pillows. Dante was trotting down the staircase with a juvenile excitement on his face.

     “Dante,” Vergil raised a brow and folded his arms, “What in the world is this about?”

     “Well,” Dante walked over to the couches and grabbed the cushions from them, placing them on the floor, “I always wanted to have a sleepover when we were kids, but,” he grabbed some of the pillows he’d thrown, “was never allowed to or able to.”

     “You’re joking, right?” A skeptical brow adorned the eldest’s face.

     “Nope,” the red devil smiled and began to fold some of the blankets, continuing to make the nest of plush on the foyer floor, “I just spent two goddamn years in Hell and almost died countless times,” he closed his eyes and smiled wider, “and I would’ve died without having even one sleepover. So,” he tossed the last few blankets near the pile, “before I kick the bucket, I am having one.”

     “And you are expecting Nero, myself, and them to join you?”

     “E-yup!” Dante placed his hands on his hips, “Come on it’ll be fun.”

     Nero’s lips turned to a flat line, “I don’t want to agree with Vergil, but, what the fuck?”

     “I’ll do it,” you raised your hand slightly, “Although, I don’t sleep,” you began to mumble a bit, “The two of you always looked so cozy, but I didn’t want something to happen to you so…”

     The red devil walked over to you and grabbed your hand, “Well then let’s change that, hm?”

     He led you to the center of the nest and gestured for you to lay. Carefully, you did so and laid face-up with your wings tucked behind you, trying to give the others as much room as you could.

     “This is pointless,” Vergil grumbled, moving his jaw in thought, pouting ever-so-slightly.

     “No,” Dante smiled, “This is comfortable,” he flopped onto you, laying flat across your body

     You laughed and placed an arm around Dante’s shoulders, holding your brother close.

     Eventually, Vergil broke. With a heavy sigh, he hung his coat on the stair railing. He laid down beside you, his back facing you, to which you grabbed him and pulled him close.

     Nero shook his head, “Nope, sorry, I’m gonna pass.”

     “You sure?” Dante looked up at him, very obviously half-awake.

     “Yeah. I’m sure alright,” with that, the young hunter turned off the shop lights, “I’ll see you all in the morning,” he stood with mouth agape before closing it with a shake and going up the stairs. 

     A few hours passed. You were feeling tired, at least, you think you were feeling tired; it had been so long since you’d slept that you weren’t sure if that’s what it was. Both twins were fast asleep and Vergil had turned to face you in his sleep, grabbing onto you tightly. 

     A deep bittersweet melancholic happiness tugged at your heart. Deep inside, you feared that this was all an elaborate nightmare and that, soon, this would all disappear; making you lose your family once again.

     Creaking from the staircase pulled you from your thoughts. Before you could react, you saw Nero standing over you.

     “Hey,” his voice was quiet and meek, “I uh…”

     You removed your hand from Dante and patted the empty space beside you, which Nero immediately laid in. 

     Another hour passed and all three of the white-haired men were asleep. Nero’s actions echoed that of his father’s; starting with facing away from you and now he was gripping onto you as if he were going to be ripped away from you. Your eyes felt heavy and you were fighting the urge to close them, but you couldn’t help it. The loud purring from your family and the warm bundle that the group of fire devils created was enough to push you over the edge into a deep sleep.

     The sound of a phone ringing woke you up, slowly blinking awake. A groan left your lips as you felt something (or rather someone) heavy laying on you. 

     Dante was still on top of your chest but he felt heavier for some reason. He felt much taller too. Both Vergil and Nero were still latched onto you, however, they’d settled to grab your arms instead of your chest. They, too, felt much heavier and larger.

     An unexpected loud voice rang through one of your ears, “What on Earth?” The eldest shot upright, “You..!”

     “Mmm, Verge,” Dante mumbled, his warm cheek was placed against your chest and he had drooled in his sleep, “What are you shouting for?”

     “Dante, open your eyes.”

     When the red devil did, he pushed up and stared down at you with wide eyes. 

     Quickly, he stood up and grabbed a free blanket, “Here, wrap yourself in this before the kid wakes up.”

     Confused, you tried to pull your arm free, only to have Nero grip you tighter. 

     “Here,” Dante leaned back down and wrapped your body in the cloth. 

     That’s when you realized what had happened. Your skin was no longer covered in scales --your teeth were no longer too large for your mouth --your hands were no longer clawed.

     No longer trapped in your state of survival.

     You were what you once were all those years ago.

     Human. 

ENDING NOTES: Poems quoted:  ❥The Book of Urizen; Chapter II, IX, Preludium: William Blake ❥Infant Joy: William Blake ❥The Little Boy Lost: William Blake--changed slightly; replaced “boy” with child. ➖➖➖ I hope y’all enjoyed this. It took me SOOOO long to finish this. Not sure if I’ll do something like this again, I couldn’t switch between writing this and then writing some “x reader” stuff (because it would bleed into one or the other.).  Please let me know if y’all liked this or not! I’d love to hear feedback!  Thanks again for the request and I hope everyone has a great day/night! :))))

Want to see more like this? Check out the book on AO3 or check out the Masterlist for Tumblr!

THERE IS ALSO ART THAT GOES WITH THIS BUT I AM TOO FUCKING TIRED TO DEAL WITH THAT RN LMAO IT IS SO LATE AND I HAVE SPENT SO LONG ON THIS (Not that I'm complaining, I enjoyed writing this; it just took so damn long lmao)

If anyone is interested, there is a chapter on my AO3 of all the scrapped content from this fic. As you could/can probably tell, there was so much stuff I wanted to put in this and just either didn't because of time or scrapped because it became too overly saturated with the stuff. Please give it a read, it actually explains some stuff that I left in (like the ceiling paintings for example).

[mimbotomy]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by the amazing @aeide 💕

How many works do you have on AO3?

Nine! Eight AC Odyssey fics, three of which are crossovers and only two of which are completed, and a six year old Miraculous Ladybug fanfic we don’t talk about and will never speak of again 🤫

2. What is your AO3 word count?

531,641 😳

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I’m just writing AC Odyssey fics right now, but I also LOVE LOVE LOVE crossovers so I have theoretically also written for the MCU, Hades, and Harry Potter. AND I have WIPs for Odyssey crossovers with Percy Jackson and God of War and AC Valhalla. They’re still all Odyssey fics in my mind though 😂

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Rebirth - 799 Assassins, Atlantis, and Avengers - 230 The Children of Kephallonia - 185 Not a Malákes Ravenclaw - 113 To Live by Another Name - 98

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I am unfortunately not as good at responding to comments as I would like to be 😬 I just get busy and then I feel like it’s weird to comment like a month later and I don’t know I get anxiety about the weirdest things. But I love all my comments and I should be a thousand times better at showing my love for my wonderful readers than I am 🩷

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Well, only two of my fics have been finished and they both had happy endings so. . . But one of my WIPs is angsty as hell and slow going because it’s hard to write through the tears so that will probably be it 😭

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

As said above, only two of my fics are done and both have happy endings! If I had to pick though, I would argue that my Hades crossover There Is No Escape. . . has the happier ending, but maybe that’s just because it was so fun to write and its eventual sequel the Electric Boogaloo is also super fun to write.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The only one I can think of was this shockingly angry comment someone left on Rebirth years ago that accused me of being homophobic and told me I should kill myself because I said I wasn’t a fan of Kyra x Kassandra, but either I deleted it or they did because I can’t even find it anymore. Kinda made me hate Kyra x Kassandra a little bit though 😬

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No full on smut, but I have noticed that my work is definitely getting 🔥 spicier 🔥 as time goes on.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

As mentioned, I have three posted and even more in Google Docs purgatory! I think my Odyssey x MCU and Odyssey x Hades fics make sense within the context of canon, as do my unposted crossovers, but I still have absolutely no idea where the idea for my Odyssey x Harry Potter crossover came from. Probably a minor manic episode fueled by mix of weed and sleep deprivation, if I’m being honest. But it’s super fun to write so I’m glad I had such a weird idea!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, and please don’t steal any of my fics! I will cry 🥺

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Once again, not that I’m aware of, and if someone did translate one of my fics I would cry, but they would be tears of joy.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I think that would be an amazing challenge if anyone wants to collab!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Kassandra/Brasidas, followed closely by Kassandra/Daphnae and Kassandra/Alkibiades. I feel very guilty picking one over the others because I truly do adore all three of them, but Brasidas kinda reminds me of my husband so. . . 😍

15. What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh god, I hate saying this because I truly do love the story and saying it makes it true, but Assassins, Atlantis, and Avengers. It’s such a fun fic but I got stuck in a rut writing the Age of Ultron arc and even though I am far more excited for everything that comes after, I just don’t have any motivation to write even the stuff I’m excited about. I’m just more than a little over the MCU these days - it was just too much to watch all the movies and shows and everything built on everything else and it was all lowkey a little bad too so. . . Maybe one day I’ll come back to it but despite the update I posted earlier this year I don’t see any new chapters coming anytime soon 😭

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I am pretty good at getting in characters’ heads and the nuances of their relationships with others, or at least the important relationships. I also like to think that I’m pretty good at filling in the gaps of a character’s history and relationships, because god knows Ubisoft gave us the bare minimum in a lot of cases, while still being true to the characters we all know and love. And I don’t think I’m half bad at fight scenes too!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

More often than not, I get too wrapped up in a character’s internal dialogue/thoughts that the actual action/conversation/scene gets lost in the sauce. And maybe this isn’t completely a weakness, but my chapters can get WAY too long. Pretty sure the last chapter I posted was the longest to date at almost 30K words 😳 But as hard as that might be for someone to read, I don’t like cutting my chapters shorter either or splitting them into two! I try to write each chapter as their own mini story and unfortunately that means they sometimes end up a lot longer than planned because I get excited about a conversation or a scene or go off on a bit of a tangent that I didn’t expect but don’t have the heart to cut. All this to say that I’m so sorry to everyone who reads Not a Málakes Ravenclaw, but you should probably expect another 30K chapter at some point.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

My senior year of high school, after four years of Italian, my teacher told me, “I know that you are trying so hard, but you are so bad at this.” Unfortunately, I am truly terrible at languages no matter how hard I try, and trying to write dialogue in another language would be a disaster. So I use google translate and hope for the best 🤞🏼

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Miraculous Ladybug. I also wrote some Gravity Falls fanfic in high school but I never posted any of it.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

I love all of my fics but The Children of Kephallonia has a special place in my heart. I started writing it almost exactly two years after Rebirth, my first big Odyssey fanfic, and those two years not only made me a better writer, they also gave me a better grasp of these amazing characters and their relationships and the confidence to be a lot bolder than I was with any of my other fics. And working on it also inspired me outside of fanfic! Writing this fic somehow helped me rediscover my passion for character design, which encouraged me to go back to my original works that I had stopped working on during the pandemic. So I have a lot of love for the Children of Kephallonia and I personally think everyone should read it and hopefully you will love it as much as I do 🩷

As always, I'm sure everyone I would tag has already been tagged, but if not and you see/want to do this, consider yourself tagged and let me know for the future!

[tofiveohfive]

Do you maybe have any stevetony fanfic recommendations?

why, yes, i do! to be fair, i haven't read any stevetony fics in over a year, but i still have my ao3 bookmarks and my old marvel blog haha. also, just a warning before anything else: i'm a big, big fan of angsty fics, so, yeah.

my absolute favorite piece of writing in the marvel fandom is the series what we share (and what we hide) by @machi-kun​​. the 1st part is set right after CACW, before IW, from steve’s POV, and the 2nd part is still a work in progress, post-IW, from tony’s POV. despite it not being finished, i can't recommend it enough. just trust me. you haven't seen writing like this.

Hating Steve Rogers: my second favorite piece of writing. the angst in this one gave me butterflies. 

An Infinite Number Of Monkeys At Typewriters (Or, Steve and Tony Finally Get It Right):  After the events of Civil War, Tony and Steve wake up in bed next to each other in an alternate universe. It goes about as well as you’d expect it to.

Lost With You (Might Be All I Need): Tony and Steve fall through a portal just after defeating Thanos and his army. Stranded in another dimension, the two have to finally face what happened—and what could have been.

All Roads Lead To: After Obadiah’s betrayal, Tony hides in the depths of the Midwest to become a mechanic. The Avengers come into his life anyway.

The Jar:  The Avengers are ridiculously competitive people, and what starts out as a silly late-night team discussion quickly becomes a contest: their names. Not the code names – the nicknames. Who can go the longest without using them?

Lost Together: Being trapped in a horrible world where some things are like home, and some things are terrifyingly not, is bad enough. But when it becomes clear that the people here come in pairs - and unpaired people are a threat - Steve and Tony are forced to pretend that they’re a pair too, if they ever want to make it home alive.

Binary System: Tony tends to be tactile with people he trusts. These days that list of people includes Steve, which is a good sign of the progression of their friendship. 

Stick With Me, Baby, I’m the Fella You Came in With: During the final battle with Ultron, Tony kisses Steve for the first time. Afterward, he makes it clear to Steve that he was just running on adrenaline and not thinking clearly. (this whole series is AMAZING, tbh)

Take Care, I’m Easily Broken: Tony isn’t the type of person to pine quietly.

Someone to Love: What does it matter that it’d been because of Loki and his damn magic? He’d fallen in love with Steve once. He can do it again.

Take Two: Steve loses his memory but he gets the feeling he’s lost a lot more. Who exactly is Tony Stark to him and why won’t he come out of the basement? (AMNESIA AU, i can’t scream this loudly enough)

Love’s Such an Old-Fashioned Word: Steve gets the very brilliant idea that he and Tony should date, but Tony needs some convincing.

Rebirth: this is the 1st part of a series. if you really like angst, i strongly recommend this one. the comment i wrote in my bookmark for this is literally “WHOEVER YOU ARE, YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THIS ANGST” lmao (unfortunately, the 2nd part is not as good, but that’s another issue).

when i run out of road, you bring me home: my comment on this bookmark is: “tony owns a farm, steve shows up, lots of kids show up, FOUND FAMILY” fhsdjhfjk

The Butterfly Effect: While fighting with Loki, Steve Rogers from 2012 hears the two simple words: “Bucky’s alive.” And the whole universe ripples with the aftershocks.

A Hundred Times, Once: The shrill tone of his SHIELD beeper pulls Steve out of sleep and into battle. He fights robots, he fights Tony’s shameless advances, he fights the exhaustion that threatens to take over him, drown him. And then the next morning, he wakes and does it again. Exactly the same. And again. And again. And again.

As Sharp As Any Thorn: It’s four days to Christmas, there’s a city in shambles, and the nation is in mourning because of the actions of a single man.

dreaming through the decades: “S-soulmates aren’t supposed to share dreams until they’re teenagers.” “Teenagers,” the boy repeats after a moment, like Tony had just spoken another language. “We’re too young,” Tony tells him. “I’m- I’m only eight.” “Me, too,” the boy says. His face keeps flickering from hope to something like fear. He takes an uncertain step forwards, but stops when Tony’s back becomes even more rigid. “I’m Steve Rogers.”

and he looks up: the steve/tony Titanic!AU with a happy ending for the Avengers.

most ardently: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a genius playboy in possession of the world’s largest tech conglomerate must be in want of a skinny little artist with an attitude problem. (pride and prejudice AU)

oof. these are a lot, but, on the bright side, you can pick whatever tickles your fancy? 😅

[galaxyostars]

Oof, recommending some stuff to one of my favourite fanfic writers. My day has come!

Cause I'm Gonna Make This Place Your Home by Seito [FFXV]

“Noct, I think I moved in with Ignis.”

“I would say I’m not jealous, but I’m totally jealous.”

Or Ignis is a master tactician and Prompto won’t ask Noctis (or Ignis or Gladio) for help. Clearly the next step here is to lure the boy home with good cooked food and make sure he never leaves.

Disaster Dad by TheWritingSquid [Devil May Cry]

Some days, Vergil thought he should have let himself fall into Hell.

He had caught Dante’s hand by reflex, against his better judgement, against his pride. But once his brother held on, it had turned impossible to let go. The humiliation of defeat had tightened his chest with every step of their way back to the human world, filling the silence between them, burning away any words they had left. It stayed with Vergil long after he’d vanished, leaving Dante and the scorching memories behind.

None of it compared to the utter hopelessness of watching a three-year-old child throw a tantrum on the floor while wearing pants stained from his diarrhea. And not just any three year old, his.

Heavy is the Burden by fayth [FFXV]

Noct's avoidance of his royal obligations sets off a chain of events no one could have foreseen, culminating in him falling through three stories of an abandoned building. Unfortunately, no one knows where he is, and as his condition worsens, it soon becomes a tense challenge to find him in time.

Charity Case by avianscribe [FFXV]

When an embargo traps Prompto's parents (and any money they can send him) overseas, he has to rely on the help of others. It's a good thing he has some really good friends! (Until they take it a little too far!)

Ace in the Hole by staircased [DA2]

Hawke spends most of his time getting rich and getting drunk (not necessarily in that order) while playing cards in taverns. While away from Kirkwall, he ends up playing against an overly confident Danarius who bets his slave, Fenris, as the main prize. (AU with canon setting)

-----

I know you weren't looking for MCU fics, but it'd be a tragedy if I didn't recommend Arc Tremors from MountainRose -- it is the ultimate sick!fic/hurt-comfort set directly after Avengers 2012.

Tony's light had flickered out in the aftermath of the fight with the Chitauri, but his team was there and, hey, he'd just been to space, give a guy some slack. The next morning they accepted, but when he collapses weeks later, they're not going to let him brush it off again, and neither is JARVIS.

This fic is coming up on ten years old and does not reference anything from later Marvel films.

-----

Also, I suppose I should plug my own works in the Devil May Cry fandom with my DMC collection of short fics.

Hey all! I’ve been in a bit of a fanfic slump lately and would love some new things to read! I love fics with hurt/comfort and angst with happy ending, but am willing to give anything a try :) Please give me your favorite fic recs for any of the following fandoms:

Resident Evil

Greedfall

Devil May Cry 

Prototype

FFXV/FFVII

Star Wars Jedi Survivor/Fallen Order

Mass Effect (M!Shepard/Kaidan mostly)

Dragon Age (M!Hawke/Anders mostly) 

or if you follow my blog and know what I post a lot, anything you think I’d enjoy! :D

[lcvernat]

Doodles | Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Summary: Natasha has a habit of drawing on your hand whenever she’s bored.

Word Count: 692

Content Warnings: fluff, so much fluff, too much fluff actually

A/N: i’ve returned. probably. hopefully. maybe. thought i’d come back with a bang aka a very very short (writing over 1k words rn is frankly impossible i’m sorry) but sickeningly sweet little fic. i got this idea from a cute gif i saw and thought it was cuteee so… enjoy! also happy international lesbian day to my fellow lesbians, we rock.

Natasha Romanoff was many things. A complex woman of many layers, and very few got to uncover all of them. Even you were still constantly finding out new things about her. A recent quirk that you had discovered was her love for doodling on your hand. She’d only started doing it recently: during meetings when she was bored, on the Quinjet to get rid of the post-mission jitters, and generally anytime you were near her.

A few months ago, the team was sat in a particularly boring mission. So boring, in fact, that you would have much rather been in your room tackling the mountain of paperwork on your desk than sat listening to Steve blabber on about God knows what (you’d stopped listening about halfway through). Someone lightly taking ahold of your hand and the tickling sensation of a pen gliding across your skin was what brought you out of your daydream and into the present.

You looked at your girlfriend, Natasha, to find her occupied with drawing a little heart on your hand. “What are you doing?” You whispered, briefly glancing up at Steve then looking back at Natasha when you were satisfied that he wasn’t looking.

“Doodling,” she said simply, the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated on drawing various little stars, hearts and smiley faces all over your hand. You smiled at her, even though she couldn’t see it, before entering your daydream again, more than content to let your girlfriend busy herself with turning your hand into her own personal canvas.

That was when it had started, and it kept happening more and more frequently to the point that your hand was constantly covered in various little doodles and you had started to carry a pen around with you at all times incase Nat ever needed it. The team had started to take notice of Natasha’s little habit but no one dared question her on it. Steve had tried once, to reprimand her on not listening during a meeting, and she had sent him such a withering stare that you swore you quite literally saw the 6’1 super soldier shrink into himself in fear. She returned to drawing her cute doodles as if she hadn’t nearly just sent Captain America running as Steve awkwardly regained his composure before picking up where he left off in his speech. No one ever mentioned the newly gained habit after that.

Day after day, new drawings would appear on your hand. Old ones would get washed away, only to instantly get replaced by fresh doodles. They started to get more eccentric after time: stick figures of the two of you, funny drawings of various Avengers (she’d drawn a surprisingly good drawing of Clint sleeping once with drool at the side of his mouth. You had to try your hardest to cover that up for the rest of the day), and she’d even started to leave little messages on your hand that ranged from ‘I love you’ to ‘Tony’s hair looks weird today’.

You found it completely adorable, and you cherished the various drawings she done and the little messages she left you. Even though the redhead had already enraptured you, mind body and soul, letting her draw on you was your way of telling her that you were hers and she could do whatever she wanted with you. Natasha could draw on every inch of your skin and you’d let her.

Natasha Romanoff was many things, and you had never painted her as an artist before, but you had quickly learned to never be surprised when she unveiled another part of herself to you. You love her, everything about her, all the little quirks that only you notice because you pay just that much attention to her and all of the quirks about her that you haven’t yet discovered. Everything about her is a masterpiece that you can’t tear your eyes away from, and you find you don’t want to. You want to untangle every part of her, learn everything you can possibly learn about her, because she’s yours. Forever and always.

tags: @sheneonromanoff @olicity-boo @r4nd0mgir1 @tigerlillyruiz

dm me, send me an ask or reply to be added to my taglist!

[alotofpockets]

Peekaboo | Natasha Romanoff

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Summary: You're patrolling your old neighborhood with your girlfriend Natasha. Splitting up when you walk into an old friend. Once you're back at her side your eyes meet the most adorable sight ever, Natasha playing peekaboo with kids.

Word count: 1545

A/n: I got the idea for this fic after watching this adorable tiktok:  https://vm.tiktok.com/ZML2Andq2/

masterlist | requests: closed | taglist

Within a couple of weeks multiple houses in the same neighborhood got robbed. The police said they were coincidental and decided on not investigating further. But it didn’t sit right with you, especially because it was the neighborhood you had spent a lot of your childhood in. So, you stepped to the team to see if there was anyone willing to help.

Most of the team agreed to help you. Together you set up a plan to patrol the neighborhood for a couple weeks. In groups of two you would patrol, a morning, day, and night shift. You were grateful for their help in making the residents feel safe in their own homes.

For today’s day shift you and Natasha patrolled the streets. It was a nice way to spend some time with your girlfriend, while also helping the local people. You were both in full attire walking down the streets, changing up the route you took each round.

With your usually quite busy schedules you weren’t able go on dates that often. Not that patrolling your old neighborhood was a date, but I was time spend together where you weren’t in high-risk situations keeping you from conversation.

You told her about your childhood. A topic neither one of you discussed often. This neighborhood was the place you had spent the longest amount of time, as a kid you had moved from home to home, never staying anywhere long. The family they put you with here felt like it was going to last forever, up until one day the social workers came and took you away once again. Still, some of your favorite memories were spend in these streets. You were telling Nat all about them when a voice from behind you caught your attention, you turned around when you heard the voice say, “Y/n?”

Realisation hits, “Jules?” When the woman nods a smile appears on your face. “Hey, Nat I’ll be right back. This is the girl I was just telling you about. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.” You kiss her cheek when she tells you to take your time.

You walk over to Jules, “Wow, it has been a long time. Do you still live here?” You ask as you are just a couple steps away from her. “It sure has, it’s good to see you again though. You know like besides on the news and stuff.” She smiles like she cannot believe that her childhood best friend became an Avenger and was now standing in front of her again. “I moved out, but my parents still live here. I try to visit as often as possible. My mom mentioned that the Avengers were keeping an eye out on the neighborhood, but I didn’t expect to actually run into you.”

Jules and you share a short conversation since you are still at work and have to get back soon. So, mostly you talked about the night the social workers took you away, the reason you weren’t able to say goodbye to her. You decide to exchange numbers so you can meet up to catch up on each other’s lives some more.

When she hands you her phone to put in your contact you saw a picture of her with a little kid, “Is she yours?” Her face lights up, “Yes, that’s my little girl, y/n. I named her after the best friend I ever had.” You felt the tears fill up your eyes. “Oh Jules.” You say quickly wiping away the tear that escaped, “I hope I’ll get to meet her one day and I want you to know you meant a lot to me too. I’m so happy to run into you here. I was just telling Natasha about some of my best memories here with you. I can’t wait to have you back in my life again.”

Jules pulls you in for a hug, when you part she says, “Talking about Natasha, I can’t wait to hear the story of how you met ­the Black Widow, and you know how you got together.” You smile, “So people do know we’re together.” You chuckle, “Well, you did just kiss her, but yes I knew. We might have spent a long-time apart y/n, but I can still read those eyes like a book.”

You and Natasha never hid your relationship from the public, but you just also never publicly announced that you were in a relationship. You went on dates in public locations and everything, that the public seemed to think you were just best friends hanging out was on them, you just never felt the urge to publicly announce what the two of you had together. You had both agreed to just be and do whatever you wanted, and they could believe what they wanted. It was nice hearing that Jules could see from just your eyes that the two of you were a couple.

When you said your goodbyes with the promise to meet up soon, you turned around and jogged away to catch up to Natasha. The sight when you rounded the corner melted your heart. Nat was crouched down on the floor in front of a family’s front yard. She was playing peekaboo with the little children that were playing there. The parents were smiling while taking pictures and videos as one of the Avengers took time out of her day to entertain their kids.

The kids were giggling, but when they saw you walk up next to Natasha their jaws dropped. “Mommy, another superhero!” One of the kids squealed. You smiled and waved at them, “Hi kids!”

“Hey baby” You whisper when Nat got up. She smiles and greets you back and turns to the kids again, “We’ve got to go back to work, but it was very nice meeting you all, and remember to eat your veggies to grow strong, just like me.” She flexed her muscles a bit while saying it. You shook your head, you loved this woman with your whole heart. You both wave bye to the kids before you go on your way again.

You started walking through the streets again. “How was seeing Jules again, my love?” You tell her how amazing it was and that you’ll be meeting up with her soon to catch up some more. “It was like continued right where we left off. Like not as kids, but it felt like we were still us, you know?” Natasha nods in understanding. “Oh, and she named her little girl after me, that’s so crazy right!”

“Wow, that’s so cool! It seems like you made just as big of an impact on her life as she did on yours. I’m glad you found her again.” She says giving your hand a quick squeeze.

You continued patrolling the street for another hour, where Natasha shared memories from her time with her family in Ohio. How her time with Melina, Alexei and Yelena was truly the only time growing up she considered family time. You had met her family many times now, and even got to see some pictures of her at that age. “I had blue hair at some point.” She shared. “What? How have I never seen a picture of that. I bet you looked so cute! I’m going to have to call Melina to send me a picture.” You say nudging her shoulder.

“No need.” She smiles and pulls out her phone. Removing her case to reveal a torn photobooth picture of her and Yelena as kids. “I was right, you look so cute. Adorable even.” Nat smiles as she puts the picture back. At the same time her phone dings.

Bucky: We’ve got it from here, go take your girl on a date.

Attached is a picture of him and Sam doing some weird pose. “Bucky just texted, he said him and Sam are here for the next shift. So, we can go home.” Nat smiled putting her phone away. “Since we have the rest of the night off, would you maybe like to go out for dinner with me?” You take her hand and smile, “Yes, I would very much love to go on a date with you.”

Back at the compound you both take a shower and get ready. When Natasha knocks on your door wearing the leather jacket you loved on her so much, your stomach filled with butterflies. “You look amazing.” You say taking her held out hand. She pulls you in for a soft kiss, “You look beautiful, y/n.”

Natasha drives you to a small local restaurant, you take a table outside and order your drinks and meals. You’re enjoying each other’s company when your mind goes back to earlier when Nat was playing peekaboo with the kids. Natasha notices a smile appearing on your face, “What’s up?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about earlier when you were playing peekaboo with the kids. You’re going to be a great mom someday.” Nat smiles and reaches for your hand over the table, squeezing it once she takes hold of yours. “Thank you, Detka. You’re going to be a great mom too, our kids will be so loved.” Butterflies fill your stomach once again. With a smile you answer, “Yes they will.”

~

Main taglist: @yellowvxbes // @xxromanoffxx // @wandanatvoid // @wandanatvoid // @wandaswifeyforlifey // @marvelwomen-simp // @snooy245 // @peggycarter-steverogers // @wandas-slut-heart // @nats-dreamland // @annephobic // @laaurrel // @catasha // @t00manyfand0ms // @multifandomlesbianic // @bandit2029 // @avengerswriter4eva // @gigistylestomlinson // @snowdrop1026 // @sylvies4ever // @youreatotalposer // @mellowladyangel // @milfloverslut // @natasha-danvers // @lyak12 // @smallestavenger // @when-wolves-howl // @svftpetker // @la-reine-des-enfers // @official-chaotic-wandamaximoff // @b0r3d-s1mp1ng-b1tch // @bubblensqueak002 // @imabee-oralizard // @rafecameronswhore // @be-missed // @romaaa28 // @youresuchamom // @youralphawolf72 // @maia-lightwoood // @rootbeerfaygo // @elliesayshello869 // @vllowe // @princessprudy // @nightingalexx // @hallecarey1

Natasha taglist: @strangegardentaco

[oswildin]

Into The Chaos ~ Peter Parker x F!Reader (Part 3 in the ‘Bittersweet’ Series)

Summary: With the fabric your universe on the brink of falling apart, you visit an old friend and teammate to ask for her help…

Warnings: Spoilers for NWH!!! Uses elements of WandaVision, Loki & Multiverse of Madness trailer.

Pairing: Andrew Garfield Peter Parker x F!Reader

Characters: Wanda Maximoff, Dr Strange, Peter Parker

Chapter Index: https://oswildin.tumblr.com/post/671144112696754176/bittersweet-series-masterlist

a/n: Part 3 is here!!! I may be ill and struggling to stay awake (hence why it’s a shorter part) but I managed to write little bits at a time. If there’s any mistakes, I apologise! I’m trying to piece things together as I go and with a migraine it’s difficult 💀 Thank you for all the support on this fic! ALSO, obviously we don’t quite know the plot of MOM so I’m kinda just using the trailer for ideas and I imagine Strange & Wanda would probably remember Peter cause of their abilities. Anyway, on with the story!

“Contain it?”

You raised a brow, laughing slightly in disbelief. Strange’s hard stare bored into you as Peter watched from the sidelines.

“I don’t mean to laugh, but how do you plan to do that?” You folded your arms. “As far I was concerned earths mightiest heroes have scattered.” You paused. “We can’t deal with another threat like Thanos.” Peter noticed the slight change of tone in your voice. It was panic. Fear.

“I know it sounds impossible-“ Strange began. “But I think I may know someone who can help.” He told you, pacing round, almost stalking you. You narrowed your eyes, before shaking your head.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried.” You told him. Peter furrowed his brows, lost at who you were referring to.

“Er-“ Peter interjected, causing you both to turn to him. “Sorry, who are you talking about?” He questioned, curiosity lacing his words. You shared a look with Strange before returning to face Peter once again.

“Wanda Maximoff.” You told him. “She has these powers, she’s stronger than most supers.” You paused. “But she’s been through a lot.”

“She’s the only way we can do this.” Strange told you sternly. “We need her help.”

~

You were stood by the hologram, inspecting the image that was before you. There was so many questions you had, as thoughts raced through your mind. Everything suddenly seemed bleak.

God it was a mess.

“Hey-“

You were pulled out of your thoughts by Peter, standing beside you. You hadn’t noticed him approach you, too busy in your head to realise. You turned your head to face him as he gave you a small smile, almost as if he was trying to offer comfort.

“Hey.” You responded quietly. You both stood in silence for a moment before you both went to speak at the same time, causing you both to apologise.

“No you-“ “You go-“

Both of you laughed lightly.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Peter finally asked, raising a brow.

“You’re gonna need a lot of pennies.” You joked. Peter started patting his sides, groaning as he clicked his fingers together.

“Damn-“ He sighed. “No pockets.” He threw his head back. “I knew that was something I should’ve included in the suit.” He joked as you shook your head at his antics.

“Yeah-“ You smiled tightly, scrunching your nose slightly. “Maybe stick to swinging and don’t take up a career in fashion design.” He mocked a fake hurt look as you pursed your lips, trying to fight your smile at the man. It was weird. You didn’t know him, but he felt… Familiar?

“This Wanda you mentioned…” He began. “Was she apart of the Avengers?” He asked, curious. You nodded.

“It’s a long story, but yeah, she was. Or is.” You corrected yourself. “I don’t really know anymore.” You mumbled to yourself. “We were like a family.” You told him honestly. “A weird, messed up superhero family.” You smirked. “But it worked. And like every family we had our fights.” You looked at him. “It was the only stable thing I had. What does that say about me?” You joked, he gave a small smile as he stayed quiet, listening to you. He was looking at you like you were the only person in the universe. “I worked for a man, called Tony Stark, he was the one who kinda led the Avengers, with another guy called Steve Rogers. But they had a disagreement, and for a while the Avengers fate was up in the air… Until Thanos.” Your features hardened at the name as Peter noticed the way your body tensed. “And then after that… Half of them were gone…” You looked down, as Peter instinctively reached out his hand, placing it gently on your shoulder, letting you know he was there.

“I’m sorry.” He told you softly as you shrugged.

“That’s life when you save the world.” You turned to peer into his eyes. “You would know.” His eyes stared into your own, almost as if he was searching for a sign of… Something… Recognition? He swallowed the lump in his throat as he pulled his gaze away, bringing his hand back to his side.

“Yeah…” Peter gave you a sad smile. “I know how it goes.” You could feel the sorrow radiate from him, and you for some reason wanted to reach out and hug the man next to you. “For a long time I didn’t think there was hope.” He paused. “Not for people like us.” You tilted your head slightly at his words. “I mean-“ He looked down at his feet for a second. “The world can seem so bleak through our eyes. We often come face to face with the bad and rarely with the good. But when we do have a brush with the good, it reminds us why we do this.”

You remind me why I do this. He thought.

You stared at him in silence before hearing a familiar noise, you turned to see Strange had opened a portal. On the other side was a sunny field, as you furrowed your brows. Putting two and two together, you realised Strange must’ve summoned a portal to Wanda’s location. You knew she wanted to stay hidden, but at this point, it felt like there was no other option.

“We have no other choice.” Strange told you, his eyes almost sympathetic, but his tone still authoritarian. You bit your lip before nodding at his words. Turning to Peter to give him a ‘let’s do this’ look, you both headed towards the portal, following Strange through it. Around you was silent, the only sounds were those of nature. It was beautiful. You could see why Wanda hid away there. In the distance was a house, as you all headed towards it. The closer you got, the clearer things became, and you could see a figure, seemingly tending to the surrounding garden.

You couldn’t help but smile slightly as you realised it was Wanda. Someone who you hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Wanda.”

Strange spoke, as she paused what she was doing, her back to you all. She slowly turned, an unsure stare at first.

“I knew sooner or later you’d show up.” She told the man, as he gave her a small smile. Her eyes eventually trailed over to see you, as she raised a brow, before looking ashamed. “I made mistakes.” She began, talking to you. “And people were hurt.” She paused, seemingly regretful of her actions. You couldn’t help but feel for the woman, you stepped forwards away from Peter as you gave her a sympathetic stare.

“Wanda… We aren’t here about that.” You told her softly.

“Then what are you here for?” She asked, her features softening, turning into confusion as she looked between you three.

“We need your help.” Strange told her as she eyed him up and down, turning away as she began to walk back towards her home. You shared a look with Strange as you all began to follow.

~

All three of you were sat in Wandas kitchen, as she began making you all drinks. You and Peter sat opposite each other, as Strange sat at the head of the table. There was a slightly awkward silence between you all as you didn’t quite know what to say to Wanda. She’d been through a lot, more than the average person.

“How are you?”

You blurted out, eyes trained on her. She paused, almost tensing for a moment, before forcing a smile.

“Better.” She nodded at you, bringing the drinks to the table. “And you?”

“Same old, same old.” You shrugged, thanking her for the drink as you pulled it towards you. “Oh, this is Peter by the way.” You gestured to the man in question. He gave her a small awkward wave. Wanda turned to look at Strange, giving him a confused look.

This wasn’t Peter. At least not the Peter Parker she knew.

“Nice to meet you, Peter.” She went with, slight caution in her tone.

“Er, yeah, um, likewise.” He awkwardly replied, as you noticed the look between Strange and Wanda.

“So, what brings you here?” Wanda asked Strange, sitting at the other end of the table so she was opposite the sorcerer.

“What do you know about the multiverse?” He asked her as she tilted her head slightly at his question. She sighed before looking down at her own drink, playing with the handle.

“I know that it is infinite.” She said. “And dangerous. It isn’t just as simple as what it appears. There are many layers, and each one correlates to another.” She told you all, peering back up. “But that’s all I know.” She shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “I can feel there’s been a shift. This world is vulnerable.”

“That’s why we’re here.” You leant forwards, eyes on the woman. “Long story short, Stephen did a spell a few months back but it went wrong, and our Peter Parker was wiped from everyone’s minds. It was the only way to stop the destruction is this world.” You told her.

“But in the process-“ Peter chimed in. “It appears to have caused the fabric of reality, i-in every universe, to become weak. Tears are forming in time and space, allowing things and people to bleed into one another.” He explained as Wanda listened intently.

“It wasn’t just my spell that caused it.” Strange spoke. “There are other events, the biggest traced back to 9 years ago…” He paused. “And the latest to a year ago.” He told her as she realised what he was hinting at. She tensed her jaw, pulling her gaze away from you all. Silence fell between you all as Wanda began to think about her actions from that time. She knew what he was implying.

“We need your help to fix it.” You told her softly. “We can’t do it without you, Wanda.” She looked up at you at the mention of her name. She pursed her lips.

“So, what is the plan?”

~

Strange and Wanda carried on their discussion, trying to come up with a way to fix the mess that was unfolding. You were outside, stood on the porch of the house as you took in the view. It was stunning. You hadn’t been in such a quiet place in years. Your life had been consumed by noise and chaos since meeting Tony Stark. Unbeknownst to you, Peter was watching you from the door, his mask in his hand as he fiddled with it. It still hurt that you weren’t his (Y/N), and that you had no memory of him at all from his last visit into your universe.

“Staring again Parker?” You called back, sensing someone was behind you. He felt heat rise to his cheeks as he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Just admiring the view.” He breathed out as you turned, raising a brow at him. He instantly realised what he had said, spluttering: “I mean- The er, the view of the land, it’s- It’s um, pretty.” He settled on as you smirked at him.

Nice one Peter, real smooth.

He walked towards you to join you on the porch.

“What if we can’t stop it?” You thought aloud. “What if this is it?”

“We’ll find a way.” He told you calmly. “That’s what we do.” He wore a small smile as you hummed in thought.

“There’s only so many times that luck is on our side.” You conquered, pursing your lips. Before he could say anything, his expression hardened. Something was wrong. You turned to look at him, seeing him staring out, eyes narrowed as he looked concerned. “What is it?” You asked. Suddenly, the ground shook, a low rumble travelling through the mountains. You snapped your head back to the landscape before you as you instantly became alert.

“Get inside.” He told you, putting on his mask as you furrowed your brows. Before you knew it, Strange and Wanda had appeared beside you, as they also stared out. “(Y/N), go inside.” Peter urged you, trying to usher you in as you frowned.

“Stop Peter!” You fought as you pulled back from his grip that he had on your wrist, trying to lead you back inside the house.

“I’m trying to keep you safe!” He exclaimed, exasperatedly.

“I don’t need you to!” You argued back, but before he could respond, a large crack could be heard as you all hastily turned to see a large tear forming in the ground, as it quickly began splitting the ground in two. “Shit.” You almost gasped. It was similar to the one you’d witnessed in New York, except this one was larger.

“We need to get out of here!” Wanda cried, turning to Strange as he began to form a portal. The ground was shaking violently now, as you held onto Peter for support. Without hesitation, you all ran through the portal, landing on the other side as Strange quickly closed it behind you all. You took a deep breath, trying to steady your heartbeat as your adrenaline was pumping. After you all got over the shock of what you’d just witnessed, Peter turned to you.

“You ok?” He asked, mask still on as you nodded, scanning the other three you were with to make sure they were also ok. It took a moment for you to notice that you were back at Strange’s residence, but the room was darker, greyer. It felt wrong. Looking up, you saw a swirling grey cloud vortex in the large round window. Strange obviously noticed, as he furrowed his brows, taking a step towards it.

“It’s never done that before.” He muttered, Wanda also looking at it, before she spoke:

“It’s happening.”

~

Taglist: (CLOSED!)

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(I couldn’t tag everyone so if your name is missing I’m very sorry! :( )

[buckys-bitchhh]

Okayy Request #2 lol sorry

Can I request a TFATWS!Bucky x Reader where reader is Steve’s sister and she is Bucky’s wife (she’s also a supersoldier) and when their son Steve who is 3-5 years old wants to do something dangerous, reader says no but Bucky goes behind her back and little steve gets hurt doing it and goes to the hospital (broken bone) and when they get home reader gives Bucky silent treatment. Angst with fluffy ending💝

Prompts #59 and #67

hiii bestie thank you again for sending sooo many great requests! I feel like I say this with all of them but I really love these two prompts paired together! Once again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated (:

im sorry this took me literally 3 or 4 months to writing! But here it is now and I truly hope everyone who reads it, enjoys it!

☝🏼lastly do not repost, copy or translate my works nor post them anywhere else. minors and ageless blogs do not interact with my blog or my fics. 18+ only.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Word count: 3.3k+

Prompt #59: stop ignoring me. Its driving me crazy."

Prompt #67: "please don't give me the silent treatment, I need to hear your voice."

Steve Rogers was never a topic to avoid or brush over in your household. You and Bucky have always made sure your son remembered his Uncle Steve, your brother. A little over 4 years ago you and Bucky had your son and named him Steven Greyson Barnes. Little Steve did get to meet his uncle and I think we can all guess who his favorite Avenger was. He loved spending time with his uncle whether it was playing Baseball in the yard or sitting down together to sketch. But after they defeated Thanos, Steve had to go into hiding which meant you and Bucky were trying to find the right time to re-introduce them. When Little Steve asks about your brother and when Uncle Steve is coming back, you both look at him and tell him that Uncle Steve is doing an important mission on the moon.

So, when Steve passed down the shield to Sam, your little boy was beyond excited his entire family was superheroes.

Sam ended up inviting all of you to come to Louisiana, so you and your little family made the road trip down there. Was the drive long? yes. But let's be honest, if you took a plane Bucky would have set off the alarms while going through TSA and you knew that would draw unwanted attention. Besides, you would get to cherish the memories of a road trip, butttt keeping a five-year old entertained was harder than you thought. Movies worked for a bit but with movies comes snacks, and with snacks comes drinks, and with drinks means more bathroom breaks. So, then you resorted to I Spy and Disney sing-a-longs, even getting Bucky to sing a few. Once that stopped working Little Steve was getting antsy.

“Mama are we there yet?” He would ask.

“Uh we have a few more hours Bub, you ok?” You ask looking back and checking on him.

“I need to go potty.” He replies as Bucky parks the car at a rest stop.

“Alright, you and Mama head to the bathrooms and I’ll grab more snacks?” Bucky asks turning to the both of you.

“M&MS PLEASE!” Little Steve all but yells out excitedly, bringing small smiles to the both of your faces.

“Can you just grab some chips, please” You ask before giving him a small kiss and then getting out of the car.

“Whatever you want Mama Bear.” He says watching you help Little Steve out of the car.

You all handle your business and meet back up at the car. Little Steve running right into his dad’s arms and Bucky scoops him right up. You looked at your son and saw he was the perfect mix of you and Bucky.

Bucky is putting Little Steve back into the car as you go into the trunk to grab a blanket for him, hoping he would fall asleep for a bit. You go to get into the driver's seat until someone stops you.

“And what do you think you’re doing Mrs. Barnes?” Bucky asks you.

“I’m driving Mr. Barnes” you say with a smirk. You love your husband and how much of a gentleman he is, but he needed rest and you knew he wasn’t going to take it.

“No, you’re not.” He replies.

“Hun, you need sleep, or at least take a nap.” You answer not moving from your spot. He goes to speak up, but you cut him off and he then narrows his eyes at you.

“Buck it’s a 20-hour drive and you barely slept last night.” You say as he gives you a questioning look. “You were tossing and turning last night.” You add as he wraps his arms around your waist. He kisses your forehead and apologizes for keeping you awake.

“Bub you know it doesn’t bother me; it lets me know my old man didn’t croak in his sleep.” You reply giggling and push him towards the passenger side of the car.

“You asshole..” He mumbles while smiling.

You get into the car and hand Little Stevie the blanket but as you’re about to put the car into reverse you hear him speak up.

“Papa can you sit back here with me?” He asks with a little yawn.

“I’d love to buddy!” Bucky says has he switches from the passenger seat to the backseat. After everyone settles in, Bucky puts on a movie for Little Stevie, and you get back on the road. They were talking for a little while but after about an hour it got really quiet. You looked in the rearview mirror and you swore your heart was going to melt. Your boys were fast asleep, Bucky leaning against the car seat while holding Little Stevie’s hand.

You made sure no one was in front of you or next to you on the road before quickly snapping a picture of the two.

***

You drove for about 5 more hours and the boys slept the entire time up until a few minutes ago. You heard whimpering from the backseat and when you checked the rearview mirror you saw Little Stevie with tears in his eyes. Bucky tried calming him down, but more tears just fell down his face. Luckily there happened to be another rest stop so you pulled in and as soon as you put the car in park, you jumped out. One of the things your boys had in common? Nightmares. Bucky got out of the car to stand near the door, and you unbuckled Little Stevie and pulled him into your lap. You rubbed his head as Bucky rubbed his back trying to calm him down.

After about 10 minutes you both finally got him to calm down, but you figured it was a bad one because as soon as you moved to get out of the car, he clung onto you tighter. With Bucky’s help you somehow managed to get out of the car with Little Stevie in your arms.

“Hey Bub, I’m going to give you to Papa ok? Mama has to go to the bathroom, but I’ll be out here as soon as you come out ok?” You say handing him over to Bucky. He whimpers but clings onto Bucky. You all go your separate ways, but you make sure to be back at the car before they are, just like you promised. You put him back in his car seat but hold his hand as you turn to Bucky, and he pulls you in for a hug.

“Are you ok to drive the rest of the way?” You ask looking up at him.

“Of course, love, it’s only a few more hours.” Bucky replies as he lets you go. You let go of Stevie’s hand to close the door and get in on the other side. Bucky follows you around the car and opens the back door for you.

***

By the time you pulled into Sam’s driveway, Little Stevie was back to his old self and swinging his legs excitedly. Bucky parked while you unbuckled and let your son out of his car seat. You both exited the car to Sam, Sarah and the boys making their way outside. Little Steve ran straight into Sam’s arms while Aj, and Cass ran straight to you. Everyone greets each other before making your way into the house. The boys went to go play in the other room, you and Sarah caught up in the kitchen, Sam helped Bucky unload the car and moved everything into the guest house. It wasn’t huge but you didn’t mind, it was actually quite cozy, it was more of a mother-in-law suite, but it was perfect for you and your little family.

The rest of the night was very chill, you helped Sarah make dinner and later on in the night you all went outside to have a small bonfire.

***

The next few days were going well, Bucky was helping Sam with something on the boat and the boys hung out on the dock with them.

The little ones were all taking turns holding the shield when you and Sara came down to bring them lunch. Little Steve was trying to hold the big shield in his tiny hands, barely being able to lift.

“Look mommy I’m like Uncle Steve!” He says with a big smile.

“Aw Bub you look so cool! But why don’t you put it down, I don’t want you to get hurt.” You reply trying not to break his little heart. Aj extends his hands and waits for Stevie to hand it to him, which he does while pouting. Cass tried to distract him with other things on the boat.

Hearing other voices, Sam and Bucky come onto the side of the boat that faces the dock.

“Of course, you two come out as soon as you smell food.” Sara says teasing.

“Excuse me, we are working real hard trying to catch tonight’s dinner.” Sam answers sassily.

“No offense Sam but I think that requires you to take the boat away from the dock and a little farther into the ocean.” You butt in and Sara is trying to hold back her laugh.

“Wow, all the hard work we are putting in and look how underappreciated we are.” Bucky replies sarcastically as you raise your eyebrow at him.

“Oh really? It seems like we brought too much food. Sara didn’t you say there was a rather good-looking man who owns a boat a little farther down?” You ask turning to Sara.

“You know what, you’re right!” Sara says going along with you and then pulls you in the other direction.

“Pump your breaks.” You hear Sam call out, stopping you and Sara stop where you are trying to not laugh.

“Alright alright! C’mon boys time for lunch!” You call out to the kids as you set out the plates for them.

Cass and Aj came over first and you noticed Little Stevie hanging back while looking at the shield.

“Stevie, c’mon bud! leave it alone and come eat.” You say as you watch him come over with a heavy sigh.

Bucky watched and looked over confused but didn’t want to question anything in front of the boys. After lunch the kids went back to playing at the front of the boat and Sam went to show Sara something down near the engine.

“What was that?” Bucky asked and wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

“What was what?” You also ask as you wrap your arm around his torso.

“You wouldn’t let Stevie touch the shield.” He says.

“Oh. Yea well he was playing with it earlier and he was barely lifting it, I don’t want him to get hurt.” You answer looking up at him.

“Mama that’s how he learns, even though we both want to, we can’t protect him from everything.” Bucky replies pulling you closer to him.

“I know I know it’s just.. maybe in a year or two we can show it to him again.” You answer laying your head on his shoulder. Bucky didn’t really say anything afterwards both of you enjoying the time in each other’s arms.

Until out of the corner of your eye, you see a small tug on Sam’s line and then you see it again and again before lightly tapping Bucky on the chest. Bucky then calls out to Sam to get back out here on the deck.

**

Later on, and after Sam pulled his line from the water only to find a small fish on the line, you and Sara were just chatting on the back of the boat. Little to your knowledge Bucky was talking to Little Stevie. Watching Little Stevie look at the shield with sad eyes, Bucky couldn’t take it anymore. He pulls Little Stevie to the side and kneels down.

“So, Bubba, why don’t you take the shield to the front of the boat! It will be our little secret.” Bucky says holding out his pinky finger. Little Stevie squeals before wrapping his little pinky finger around his dads.

Little did anyone know things were about to take a turn for the worst.

Cass and Aj were confused because they remember earlier you said no but it didn’t take long for them to go back to fishing when small tugs were felt on their fishing pole.

Little Stevie managed to keep the Shield out of your sight, but you could see him running back and forth. You could hear him making noises and would turn every few seconds to check on him.

Stevie was getting tired and with his arms in the arm holders of the shield he tried to lower it as he was walking. But he tripped over the bottom of the shield and when he fell, his arm twisted the opposite way.

You heard the thump and Sara stopped mid-sentence. You turned in his direction to not see him anywhere and you got up. Not even a second later you heard him wail and start to cry. Everyone rushing over and once you got to him, your heart shattered.

Your poor baby laid out on the ground, tears running down his face, and his arm twisted at an angle it shouldn’t be.

Sara took Cass and Aj onto the other side of the boat to give everyone space.

Fighting back your own tears you sit down near his head and start running your fingers through his hair. You turn to Sam and Bucky for them to already be bent down trying to remove his arm from the Shield with minimal amounts of pain.

“Mama!!” Little Steve yells wanting to be in your arms.

“Your okay baby, Mama is here. Papa and Uncle Sam are going to try to help you alright? Just keep looking at Mama, Bub.” You say as his eyes kept bouncing from yours to the men trying to maneuver his arm.

“Buck any way we try to move his arm it is going to hurt him. Y/n you keep him focused on you, Buck try to hold him down, and I’ll get his arm out of the Shield.” Sam says trying to get his arm out as soon as possible so you all could get to the hospital.

You look up at Bucky and he had this look in his eyes that you couldn’t understand. You were about to ask him when Sam counted down and everyone did their own jobs.

**

Finally in the car, Stevie hadn’t stopped crying and refused to leave your lap. You put the seatbelt around the both of you and tried to calm him down.

“Hey Bubba, can you tell me what happened?” You see Bucky snap his neck in the direction of the two of you.

“B-but I p-pinky promised Papa.” Little Stevie said in between tears.

“Stevie, you gotta tell Mama, Papa won’t be mad.” You answered and looked up at Bucky, but he had his head in his hands.

“A-after you s-say no, P-pa-pa say I can p-play with the shield.” Little Steve says hiccupping.

“He say it’s o-our secret” He adds on as more tears fall down his face.

“Hey it’s okay, it’s okay! Mama isn’t mad. Did you fall and twist your arm?” You ask still looking in Bucky’s direction as he wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Yea the s-shield was heavy.” He says in between sniffles.

You guys pulled into the front of the hospital and got out as Sam went to go park. Little Stevie wanted his Papa so you both switched.

“Sugar..” He looked at you like a kicked puppy.

“No” You reply as you did not want to fight in front of your son and with his arm being broken, you needed to get inside and get inside fast. You turn and walk through the entrance and straight to the front desk.

You filled out paperwork and then they took Stevie back to get X-rays as you and Bucky were waiting in the Pediatric Waiting Room.

You sat there looking straight ahead and bouncing your leg while fighting back tears. Bucky was doing the same except he was looking straight at you.

“Doll..”

“Sugar..”

“…Darling..”

“..Honey..” Bucky tries for the last time as his voice cracks.

“Please don’t give me the silent treatment, I need to hear your voice.” Bucky whispers.

You never liked to talk things out when you were anger, you did not want to say things you did not mean.

Bucky then grabs your hand within his and you let out a shaky breath. You look at him before getting up and heading to the vending machines.

You barely made it over there before you started bawling. You felt like it was your fault your son was hurt. You thought maybe if you paid more attention to him you wouldn’t be in this situation. But with Bucky going behind your back like that, it hurt.

One part of you was hurt your husband would go behind your back and undermine you, and the other part felt like you always played good cop, bad cop.

You constantly being the bad cop, and Bucky being the good cop.

You wipe your eyes as you hear someone clear their throat. You turn to see Bucky waiting down the hall waiting outside a door, as the nurse notified you that Steve was in a room and the doctor would be in there shortly.

You didn’t look at Bucky as you approached the door until you felt him grab your arm to stop you.

“Y/n, I’m sorry! I didn’t think he would get hurt; I wasn’t trying to get him to lie to you.” Bucky says looking into your eyes. You couldn’t find the words to say without tears welling up in your eyes again and quite frankly you didn’t want to argue in the middle of the hospital.

You look away from your husband before opening the door to go check on your son. Bucky wiped the tears that fell down his face and then follows you inside.

The doctor came in and showed you where Stevie’s arm was broken, and he would need a cast. Stevie sat on your lap as Bucky and Sam tried to distract him as the cast was being put on.

After it was finish, you were signing discharge paperwork as Bucky and Sam took a sleeping Stevie to the car.

**

Once you all got back to the house you said goodnight and went your separate way from Sam.

Bucky carried Stevie into where you were staying and tucked him into bed, as you watched from the door. You walked over and kissed Stevie on the forehead before the both of you made your way out of the room.

You went to get a glass of water as Bucky watched you from the opposite side of the kitchen.

After you were done you put the glass in the sink and tried to leave the kitchen.

“Stop ignoring me. Its driving me… crazy.” Bucky says as his voice cracks at the end.

“Bucky… our son got hurt and I-I couldn’t do anything to help him.” You respond with your lip quivering.

“I feel like I have to play the bad cop all the time! Why couldn’t you back me up just this one time, Buck?” You add on as Bucky makes his way over to you.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Your right, I should have backed you up. It’s my fault he got hurt, alright?” He says pulling you close to him. You reach up and wipe the tear falling down his cheek.

“Buck.. you didn’t know he was going to fall, it’s not your fault.” You say leaning your head on his chest.

“You were right, we can’t protect him from everything.” You add on as it was Bucky stayed silent.

“Yes but you were right, I should have backed you. If we don't agree we need to talk it out. And I’ll make sure to play the bad cop too.” Bucky tried to attempt at a joke. You giggle and shake your head.

“C’mon lemme see that smile, pretty girl.” Bucky says looking down at you. You smile up at him as he kisses your forehead.

“I love you, Mr. Barnes.”

“I love you, Mrs. Barnes.”

[freneticfloetry]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Will I ever get enough of these? No? Thanks to @liminalmemories21, @strandnreyes, @welcometololaland, and @reyesstrand for the tags!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

45. RIP to the lost works of my OG fandom, published on a ship board/archive that no longer exists. (I still have most of them, they just won’t be seeing the light of day. Like ever.)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

368,184. (Again, RIP to all those now-unpublished words — with them I’d be somewhere around 800k.)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

LOL So glad this question is phrased the way it is. Right now, I’m only actively writing in 911 Lone Star fandom, though I have a WIP in Magicians fandom that I fully intend to finish. Historically, I’ve written in about 40 fandoms (36 on AO3), most with a single fic. Thanks, Yuletide!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ashes and Flame (Every You and Every Me), The Hunger Games Trilogy (I get a kudos email for this one at least five times a week. How are people still finding and reading this little fic?)

Lost in Translation, The Losers

Deck the Halls with Daddy Issues, pre-film Avengers MCU

Big Girl Pants, New Girl

Shells of a Long-Ago Lifetime (Faces That Once Were Mine Mix), Supernatural

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

99.9% of the time, absolutely. Comments are my biggest motivation — the serotonin section fuels my muse. If people take the time to tell me they read and enjoyed a fic (especially if they tell me why), I like to at least thank them for that. There have been times when Real Life has been Happening A Lot and comments on the more popular stuff have gotten by me, and I feel weird about going back months after the fact to respond — that Hunger Games fic, for instance, has a couple pages of unanswered comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Posted, probably Of All Our Yesterdays. I am typically an Angst with a Happy Ending writer without fail, but the boys of the Black Dagger Brotherhood don’t do typical happy, and Phury is lowkey the angstiest of the bunch.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I’m actually gonna say scenes from an unfinished story, because I think Quentin Coldwater having this happy ending, the way this one happens, is the biggest fuck you to show canon and its creators that I could possibly craft.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I recently got my first hate comment! I posted about it, but I’ve also left it up in all its glory.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do now! Not that I haven’t in the past — I wrote several het scenes for my very first ship, and Quentin and Eliot had some delightful married kitchen sex we picked up right in the middle in What Baking Can Do — but I feel like Tarlos has really helped me unleash my inner smut writer. My smut from Carlos’ POV has a lot of feelings (LOL), but the stuff I’m writing from TK’s POV is a little sillier and dirtier and more fun. With feelings.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I do love me a good crossover. Outside of canons I’ve crossed that exist in the same universe (We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, in Jessica Jones/Luke Cage fandom, plus And to All a Goodnight, for two Jennifer Crusie books), I once wrote tens of thousands of words of a ridiculously plot-heavy Roswell/Angel crossover that will forever hold a soft spot in my heart, a randomly cracky and super angsty Supernatural/Grey’s Anatomy, and a minor character-focused Supernatural/Sarah Connor Chronicles, Requiem, that I still sort of love a lot.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

That Hunger Games fic has been swiped a few times. Weird.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, the Hunger Games fic — it exists somewhere on the internet in Dutch. And that one, the SPN/TSCC crossover, and an old Dexter fic, Dinner and a Show, have been podficed.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! An old friend and I once cowrote ~25k of our idea of fluff, which was basically hijinks, smut, and torturing our leading man with a boom box and Billy Joel.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

For ships that I’ve written… Hmm. I think, before I wrote to build a home, I would’ve said it was a tossup between Tarlos, Queliot, Chlollie, and Jules/Robin from Troubleshooters, but now there’s just no contest. Weewoo Husbands for the win. For ships in general, Tarlos still tops the list, alongside the ones I mentioned, the OT3 (Eliot/Hardison/Parker), Arthur/Eames, Phedre/Joscelin from the Kushiel’s Legacy books, Frank/Karen from the Netflix Marvelverse, Aidan/Sally from Being Human US, and my MCU crack cube of Steve/Nat/Bucky/Sam.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

God, this is such a throwback, but it’s probably Adagio in B-Flat, the Sherlock music porn murder mystery I half wrote and got hopelessly blocked on.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, I’d say, especially banter. And understanding characters, I guess? I’m good at making characters sound like themselves, whether they’re speaking or internalizing. And, I’m now proud to say, plot. That’s something I wouldn’t have dared to claim this time ten years ago.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oof. Brevity. I have completely lost the ability to write short (and, by extension, to the point). I’m also the slowest writer in the world, thanks to my tendency to edit every sentence within an inch of its life.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

My Lone Star mutuals are laughing right now. Clearly I hate it. 😊 I’ve written three fics that feature Spanish, two sort of significantly, and all my old Firefly fics have some Mandarin in there somewhere.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

OG Roswell. So much OG Roswell. Michael/Liz, specifically, with a side of Kyle/Isabel.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

It almost feels like cheating, since it’s my most recent fic (and the only one I’ve published so far in my current fandom), but I’m so stupidly proud of to build a home. Carlos is such a touchstone character for me that writing him was oddly therapeutic. And I think I’ve said this before, but writing the two of them together was like the evolution of the clarity I found writing Queliot, which was the first time I’d really explored a ship in fic where I loved both halves of the pairing even close to equally — it helped me unearth my Carlos and who he is in my heart, but it also helped me uncover the true depth of my love for TK.

No pressure tagging @orchidscript, @heartstringsduet, @never-blooms, @rmd-writes, @walkinginland, @paperstorm, @mixtapestar, @catanisspicy, and @alrightbuckaroo!

[yelenabelovasbxtch]

Hi! Just read ur Emily Dickinson X Reader fic, Jealousy. It was AMAZING!! Could u write a Kate Bishop X Reader smut fic? R and Kate are at a Tony Stark party (they r new avengers). R has had a crush on Kate since they met. Maybe R does something to make Kate jealous? (I'm thinking Kate could be Dom and R is Sub). idk, u can go where u want with this. Ur writing is brilliant! Byeeee

Stark Party

a/n: Hi! First off, thank you so much! Second, sorry this took a bit, been super busy this week but I loved this idea! I hope you all enjoy this one too!

Word Count: 3320

Concept: You and Kate are best friends. You go to a Stark party together and end up making some decisions that come back to bite you later...(literally).

Warnings: SMUT, 18+, oral, fingering, strap-on, some minor dom/sub stuff. NOT proofread

Taglist: @imapotatao @kacka84 @sofisnn @hoeforwandanat @variant-l0852 @mellowladyangel @violetwitchmcu @m-zne237 @laaurrel @chloe7076 @miphas-trident @chickenlittlsblog @sapphic-girl @simp4haiz @hardwastelandbread @thorya22 @kassies-take @imnotgoodwithimpulsecontrole

LMK If you wanna be added to by Kate Bishop Taglist!

It’s been about 3 months since Natasha scooped you up and around the same time, Clint found Kate. The two of you are both new Avengers and the youngest ones on the team, aside from Peter and Yelena. Tony’s Avengers compound is HUGE, there’s an insane amount of rooms but he chose to put you, Kate and the rest of the younger Avengers in one wing. He mumbled something about it having to do with how loud you all are. Because of this, your room was right next to Kate’s. Being in a new environment with new people can be intimidating but it’s definitely helpful when there's another person there going through the exact same thing. Because of this, you and Kate naturally became great friends in no time at all. You are a former black widow that Natasha and Yelena rescued from the Red Room and naturally, you had a bit of PTSD from that. Kate lost her whole family when Clint found her and she also struggled to transition to living at the Avengers compound. Luckily, the two of you had each other.

“Hey y/n!” You hear Kate say as she enters the kitchen where you’re eating your breakfast.

“Hey, what’re you up to today?”

“Ohh not too much, probably going to eat some breakfast then kick Yelena’s ass in some hand to hand.” She says in an overly confident tone.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Yelena says entering the room.

Before Kate had a chance to make up another sentence you chime in with, “Oh Kate was just saying she was going to kick your ass today in the ring.”

“Is this true?” She says with a super serious look on her face.

The three of you just pause as you watch the two of them have a staring contest and before you know it they both burst out in laughter.

Yelena was always super serious and Kate was almost always energetic, the two of them together were probably one of the funniest duos you’ve ever seen.

“So, is this showdown really happening? Because if so, I would like a front-row seat and a big bag of popcorn.”

“Well, as much as I would love to have the chance to kick your butt again Kate, I can’t. I have plans with Nat to go out looking for an outfit for tonight.”

“2 things, 1, I take this as a forfeit therefore, I win the match, 2, what’s tonight?” Kate says.

“Stark is having a party as a welcome home for Sam and Cap from their mission taking down a rogue Hydra base. You didn’t hear about this?” Yelena says.

“Umm no. Y/n did you know about this?”

“Uhhh yeah, I think I heard Peter mention it once or twice.”

“Well shit! We need to get outfits! Omg, I have the perfect thing. Crap. It’s back at my old apartment downtown. I’ll have to run out there for the day and I’ll be back in time for the party. Shoot. I got to leave like now! I’ll see you guys tonight!! Send me the details!” Kate says running out of the room.

You and Yelena look at each other and chuckle. Kate had all sorts of golden retriever energy. She gets so excited and will quite literally run when that happens.

“So, do you have an outfit for tonight?” Yelena asks.

“Ah, I’m sure I’ll be able to throw something on from my closet.”

“Well, there is an open invitation to come shopping with Nat and me if you’d like, we leave in 30 minutes.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll have to pass as I skipped my workout yesterday and have some ice cream to work off.” You say with a chuckle.

– Fast Forward To The Party –

You found a black dress in your closet that was fairly tight-fitting but you knew you would look great in it. You threw on some heels, did your hair and some light makeup and were on your way. You showed up to the party a little earlier than anticipated, you hated being late to things, it stressed you out and being on time just never felt like enough. Natasha was already there manning the bar and there were a few of the other employees walking around. Steve of course was helping do literally anything he could do, whether it was setting up tables, chairs or serving drinks.

“Hey beautiful, can I get you a drink?” The redhead says from the bar.

You blushed even though you knew Natasha was playing around with you. Besides, she was more like a big sister/role model to you. You never saw her the way Steve and Bruce did. However, her sister, that was a different story. Yelena is one of the most amazing people you’ve ever met. She’s gorgeous and kind and gentle but could also kick your ass. Funny. You must have a thing for chicks that are beautiful but could kill you if they wanted to because you have been having an internal conflict for the last couple of months over her and Kate. Kate is just as wonderful. She is much more energetic and full of joy compared to Yelena but she has one of the biggest hearts you’ve ever seen and when she’s in the purple archery suit…oh god, she just looks amazing.

You chuckle as you look up at Natasha. “Hey Nat, uh yeah actually could I get an old fashion please?”

“Coming right up!” She says with a smile, “so, you’re here early tonight.”

“Uhh yeah. It’s kind of like this thing that I do, I can’t really be late to things, it’s just not my style.”

“Ah, I see. I can respect that. Anyone you are looking for?” She asks as she sees you scanning the room.

“What? Oh no, no. Just here by myself.”

As soon as you say that you see Kate walk through the door. She is wearing an all-black suit with a skinny tie and her hair done. Fuck. You were falling for her and falling hard. You’re best friends though, you probably shouldn’t mess that up. But did she ever look hot in that suit, your jaw was practically on the floor drooling.

“y/n? y/n? Y/N!” You hear.

“Wha-what OH! Sorry! I didn’t mean to um-”

“Uh-huh, sure. Are you sure you aren’t looking for someone in particular? Maybe someone who just walked in?” She says as she clearly can tell you were pining over your best friend. “Here,” Nat says handing your drink, plus one more. “Bring this to her.”

You give Nat a smile and mouth thank you to her as she shoots you a wink.

“Kate! Hey!” She turns around and looks at you, her eyes widen and she freezes in place for a second.

“Wow, Kate, I must say. You look extremely hot.” You say.

She starts to blush a little as she realizes you're complimenting her meanwhile you look just as amazing. She decides to go with a more confident approach to the conversation which you must say, was definitely working for you. She is usually the more eager type but as she is presenting herself to be more confident…it was…sexy. Especially in the suit. For the next hour or so you two talked with a fair amount of banter back and forth alongside some pretty heavy flirting. Kate was acting like she already had you and boy was it working. You were fairly certain she could tell but then her confidence wavered. Her whole mood dropped when she glanced over your shoulder and saw Yelena walk through the door. Kate wasn’t dumb, she knew that you were clearly unsure about who you liked more, her or Yelena. As you see her facial expression changed, you turn around and see her, standing there. Yelena had just walked through the door in the most gorgeous turquoise dress that you didn’t think you’d ever see her wear. She isn’t really the “girly” type and this was for sure not her vibe but boy was she killing it. You immediately walked over to her totally forgetting your conversation with Kate, this wasn’t on purpose you just got excited. Kate followed behind you closely.

“Wow. Y/n. You look…hot.” She says in her thick Russian accent.

Your cheeks turn red and Kate notices, she starts to get frustrated…even a little mad. The three of you talk for a bit and during that time you have many drinks. You and Kate have decent alcohol tolerance but Yelena’s was definitely much better and could out drink you any day. The three of you had some great talks and both of them were being extremely flirty with you all night but you’d have to say that it was more so Kate than Yelena. For some reason though, you were making eyes at Yelena the whole time even though you felt more towards Kate. The whole situation was extremely confusing, especially because you were drunk.

At this point, Kate was definitely drunk and she was 100% giving you fuck me eyes. You couldn’t help but feel a little turned on by this but just to be sure you moved your hand to her thigh as you sat next to her in the booth. At first, she jumped at your touch but then realized exactly what you were doing. Yelena started talking to you and you pulled your hand off Kate, she was not happy about that. She didn’t like the way that Yelena took your attention away from her, she wanted you all to herself and she was definitely going to make sure you knew that.

“Looks like we’re out. I’ll go get three more.” Yelena says as she gets up to go over to the bar.

Kate leans towards you and whispers something in your ear. “I know you’re flirting with Yelena to get my attention.”

A small smirk comes across your face because at this point that is exactly what you were doing.

“It’s working.” She says.

Your smile widens.

“Meet me in my room in 10.” She says as she gets up and walks away.

“Hey, where’s Kate going?” Yelena asks as she sits back down.

“Oh, she wasn’t feeling too well, something must be going around because I’m feeling pretty lousy myself, I might have to turn in soon.” You say with a frown, trying your best to sell your lie.

“Ah shoot, that’s no good. Yeah, you definitely want to get some rest then. Want me to walk you back to your room?” Yelena so kindly offers.

“Oh, no, no, I don’t want to bother you. You should still go and have fun for the rest of the night!”

“Okay love, well I hope you feel better soon. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” She says.

“Goodnight Yelena.”

“Goodnight y/n.” A small part of you was upset that you did that to Lena after everything you’ve felt for her but almost all of you craved Kate right now. You needed to know what she had in store. After the way she had been talking to you all night, and the jealousy she clearly showed when you talked to Yelena, you couldn’t help but only want her touch. You took off your heels and practically ran to her room, stopping to take a breath when you got there.

*knock knock*

She opens the door still looking sexy as hell in that suit. Before you even had a chance to speak she grabbed your wrist and pulled you right against her into the most amazing kiss of your life. Your lips crashed into one another after feeling the tension and anticipation build all night, this was a huge relief of that torture. She continues to kiss you as she walks backwards so that the door can be shut and then immediately shoves you against the wall. Pressing her hands into your hips, one comes up to the back of your neck as she runs her fingers through your hair. She breaks the connection between your lips to start a trail of kisses down your neck and takes a little nibble out of the bottom of your ear.

“You’ve been extremely bad tonight. Teasing me by running your hand up my leg and flirting with other women.” She whispers in your ear as she then sucks on your neck leaving a huge mark so that people would know she’s yours.

Your mouth opens and a moan felt like it wanted to escape. Her mouth on your neck was sending shivers down your spine accompanied by her hand pulling on your waist to ensure you were as close to one another as possible. When she’s done leaving marks on your collarbone, she pulls away and brings you over to her bed.

“You know what happens to naughty girls who do what you did tonight love? They get punished.” Kate says as she starts undoing the zipper on the back of your dress. Your black dress drops to your feet as you feel the clasp on your bra be undone which is then thrown to the floor too. She pushes you down onto her bed and climbs on top. As she is kissing down your chest she sucks on one nipple, then takes it between her teeth causing you to moan out in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

“Oh, you like that baby girl?” She whispers, locking eyes with you.

You nod as you stare into her beautiful eyes and one of her hands comes up to cup your cheek. She starts kissing you down your body until she makes it to your panty line. You were squirming, ready to beg for her to touch you where you craved her most. There was a heat growing in your stomach and fuck did you want to feel her inside of you. She started leaving hickies on the inside of your thighs which hurt like hell but felt so good at the same time. Her fingers were playing with the lining on your underwear. All you wanted was for her to rip them off of you but fuck she would not stop playing around. “Kate…please.” You whimpered.

She immediately sits up and comes to where your face is. “What’s that princess? Did you want me to do something?”

You just nod your head after being intimidated by her.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you say anything. What did you want?” She says with a smirk.

“I want to feel you inside me.” You say quietly.

“Okay, princess. If you’re a good girl, there I think I can grant you that wish. Are you a good girl?”

“Yes, daddy.”

Kate smirks at you. “That’s what I like to hear.”

Kate slips off your underwear and starts teasing your clip with one finger, drawing painfully slow circles. Although she was teasing you, her touch just felt so amazing anyways, you let out a throaty moan. You could hear her smile when this happened.

She started drawing faster circles and all of a sudden you felt one of her fingers slip inside of you with her tongue replacing where her finger just was. You let out the loudest series of moans. You needed her so badly that the build-up made her touch 10x more powerful and made you 100x more sensitive. You felt like you were about to cum and Kate could tell.

Because she teased you so much, she felt like you deserved to orgasm this time.

“Cum for me princess.” She says as she continues to thrust her fingers in and out of you.

“Fuck I’m close, I think I’m going to–” It feels like everything is rushing to your head as your back arches up with her fingers still inside of you. You slowly lower your body back down as Kate is still pumping in and out of you, only slower to let you ride out your high. When your body is fully down on the bed and relaxed she comes up next to you. “That feel good baby?”

You just nod your head rapidly because you couldn’t get out any words you felt drowned in love and all sorts of other feelings and emotions. “Good. And since I let you cum, you need to be a good girl for me one more time.” You turn and look at Kate with a slightly confused look on your face. She gets up off the bed and pulls down her pants to reveal a big silicone strap that she was wearing underneath, this whole time. Your eyes widen at the thought of taking something that big but you were still so horny, you knew how badly you wanted this. You get up and scooch to the edge of the bed where you start sucking her dick. She loves watching you take her length down your throat. After a few minutes, she pushes you back so you land on the bed again and grabs both of your legs to pull them up in the air. She slowly teases your entrance with her tip. You were very clearly enjoying the feeling of her teasing you with her dick, you looked almost relaxed at the feeling. Then all of a sudden she thrusts her entire length into you, giving you no time at all to adjust she quickly pulls out and thrusts back in again. As she continues to do this, watching you moan out her name she can see you clearly getting close again. Kate spits on her hand and starts stimulating your clit as she fucks you with her dick.

“Oh Kate, please…go faster.” You whimper out.

You didn’t think it would be possible but she picks up the speed and her hips are thrusting into you as you scream her name. Your eyes roll back into your head and your chin lifts up as you let out a loud moan showing you’re reached your climax. As you come down from your high she pulls out of you and shoves herself back into your mouth making you taste yourself.

“You’ve been such a good girl for me princess. I hope this has taught you a lesson though.”

“It has daddy.” You say taking a breath from sucking your juices off her strap.

Kate smirks at you as she pulls away and goes to the bathroom to undress. She comes back in comfortable pj’s/sweats to you lying naked on her bed still calming down after the best sex of your life. She pulls you up and puts one of her T-shirts on you and some sweat pants accompanied by a kiss on the forehead.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that.” She says to you.

“Me too.” You say with a smile as you lean in to kiss her.

*Knock knock*

She pulls away from the kiss with a confused look on her face and checks her watch to see that it’s 2am. Kate goes to open the door.

“So, now that you two are done being “sick” can we watch a movie?” Yelena says holding popcorn and candy.

Kate turns around and looks at you as you both turn bright red in the face and try to hold back laughter.

“Ha ha. Like I didn’t know c’mon you two. I practically pushed you two towards one another. Anyways…movie?” She says with a smile.

Kate gestures for her to come in.

“Uhhh, how about in Tony’s theatre room and not somewhere my two best friends just had the loudest sex that both Peter and I heard all of by the way. Isn’t that right Peter?”

Peter peaks his head around the corner, “umm…yes ma’am.”

You and Kate just laugh as you put on some slippers and follow them out the door to the screening room.

– The End –

[starbuckie]

𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

pairing(s): college!peter parker x reader, dark!steve rogers x reader, dark!sam wilson x reader, dark!bucky barnes x reader

words: 8.1k words

warnings: DARK!FIC, SMUT 18+ (unprotected sex, foursome turned fivesome, gangbang, non-con/dub-con, daddy kink, oral M and F-receiving, spit kink, degredation kink, praise kink, creampie), age-gap (reader is in her early 20s), cheating, angst, there’s like zero fluff

summary: peter should’ve made it back to the tower for date night on time, or maybe just before he found his girlfriend being fucked by three other superheroes.

a/n: eee my first dark fic! im so so happy with the way this turned out, and even though it was a pain in my ass for nearly three months, im so hapy to share it with y’all. this idea was brought up by an anon from @mypoisonedvine’s saturday sleepover a few months back, but i switched up tony and sam bc i didn’t like the tony and peter stuff. hopefully my smut has improved from the first time i wrote it in january, and just a reminder that in no way, shape, or form do i condone rape of any kind. there’s a large difference from the page and the real world. i try to put all tw’s in the tags and warnings, but if there was something i missed please tell me. thank you to my lovely bestie @mermaidxatxheart for beta-reading(i have no fucking clue what i’d do without your help). feel free to leave a comment or two and reblog, but don’t repost anywhere or i will hunt down your ass. thank you again and please please enjoy <3

main masterlist || mcu masterlist || sebastian stan characters masterlist

Bucky wasn’t planning to fuck Y/N as soon as he saw her.

It started with a faint mention, something Tony had thrown around along the lines of, “Parker’s bringing his girl down here tomorrow, don’t be an asshole”. He didn’t give a damn what Tony said or how he acted around Peter’s girl. Years of being thrown between gruesome mind-wiping and being half-dead, asleep in a freezer would do that to a man.

So the next day when Peter brought his girlfriend in, he was scratching his ass like a fucking ape and downing a beer with a messy bun at the nape of his neck, until he actually saw her. Neat hair, even neater laces with a sweet smile but a body that could kill. Didn’t matter that she was bundled under Parker’s hoodie and a pair of jeans- he could always admire a pretty dame, but Bucky could see that she was beyond that. It was as if God had intentionally made the one being, the one ethereal creature beautiful and angelic enough to be a sin away from him, so that he couldn’t touch her. Because she was young, and in her twenties, and that shouldn’t have even been the first two things that popped up in his mind because she was also Peter’s girlfriend.

But then she had the audacity to stick her hand out, a shy grin and twinkle in her eyes as she gave her name. It sounded so pretty rolling off of her tongue, and he wondered what it would sound like while he groaned it into her cunt.

Y/N. 

So, yeah, maybe Bucky wasn’t planning to fuck her as soon as he met her, but it was pretty damn close after.

-

Steve Rogers was one of very few men who said they had the pleasure of banging nearly every woman on the north side of Manhattan. Bucky indulged in the fact that the man who had once been too shy to do so much as meet a gal’s gaze was now “a dollar whore”, but he was more than happy to keep that title if it meant he could continue to get off in the nearest woman’s mouth everyday. 

Every time he walked down the streets of New York with just a simple ball cap and jeans, he could feel stares on his back from what seemed like miles away, girls on every street corner just waiting for him to take her into the nearest public bathroom and fuck them dirty. CEOs, baristas, girls fresh out of getting master’s degrees with stars in their eyes and big dreams, until he shattered them by making them gag on his cock and scream his name into bedsheets. Or tile floors. He didn’t care as long as they were screaming. The girls of this century were just too delectable to turn down. He didn’t discriminate. His dick had been in women of every height, stature, hair color, and he had quite the variety throwing themselves at him as well.

And then Tony ruined it all and sat him down with a simple explanation that the image of Captain America was being tainted with disturbing stories of girls being fucked in the ass and thrown on their knees in dirty bathroom stalls. The blond was beyond pissed when the billionaire told him to stop dicking around, but he couldn’t do anything else if he wanted to keep his title and job. In a new century, even if he’d had a few years to adjust, he was still absolutely oblivious when it came to anything outside of aliens and sex. There was nothing left for him outside of being an Avenger, so reluctantly he agreed to keep his number of conquests to a minimum, and most definitely inside of the tower rather than out on the street.

However, inside of the tower seemed to be no problem at all when Peter brought his girlfriend over, all smiles and straight A’s, and that’s when Steve realized that he’d yet to fuck a bright, little college student. He could see himself stripping her from the innocence in her eyes, loosening up her pussy with his thick cock against the wall in his room.

Surely Tony couldn’t reprimand him for spending a little time trying to bond with Peter’s new girl, right?

-

Sam Wilson was a simple man. He had a job, a well-paid one at that, somewhere to live, a girlfriend, or a woman to keep him company, that’s for sure- but for once in his life he was seeking out something other than missions, something that would keep him busy when he was feeling bored, something like-

Pleasure, and he knew that he’d finally found what he was looking for the moment Peter brought his girlfriend through the elevator doors on the fifty-sixth level of the Avengers tower. She’d shaken his hand so daintily and spoke so politely that if he were to see her without any backstory, he’d think she was another innocent, dim-witted college student, breaking her bank account every Saturday morning and naively believing that her relationship would last longer than a few months. But by the things Parker had told him, she was much more than that.

Was it shitty of Peter to tell his teammates, the people he worked with, how Y/N was in bed? By the majority’s vote, probably, and by Sam’s strict conduct of his own morals, definitely, but when Peter’s girl looked like that and he was so incredibly bored with his routine? 

Well, fuck, Sam had never been happier that the Spider-kid had told everyone how his girl gave head.

Peter brought his girlfriend in daily after that, and every one of her visits, she grew less shy and more friendly, and the Falcon saw each of his friends gape at her growing comfortability with a wolfish demeanor. It started with the water incident with Steve in the kitchen, where he so clearly spilled water on her already thin, white camisole with intention. Sam couldn’t say he was upset though, after all Steve had offered him and the rest of the Avengers quite a show when he tried to clean up her shirt, taking his sweet, sweet time to fondle her tits as subtly as he could, his eyes staring at her pebbled nipples poking through the material. He could see Bucky hiding his boner under his cereal bowl on the couch that day. 

Then of course, he’d been no better than America’s sweetheart himself when he greeted Y/N with a hug that in hindsight, was a little too enthusiastic. His large hands squeezed into the pockets of her back pocket, and if the college student found anything weird with it, she didn’t say so, but Sam graciously palmed the round globes of her ass in his hands, feeling the muscle clench under his fingers. Oh, how he’d never hugged someone that tight ever before in his life. Maybe he would’ve gotten a bit further than squeezing her ass had it not been for his own girlfriend standing behind him, ready to introduce herself to Y/N.

Bucky, well, Sam could admit that Bucky had the most guts out of all of them. Though the super-soldier was normally well-reserved and polite, the dark glint in his eyes the day he met Y/N let him in on the secret that he had a much dirtier mind than most thought. It had been movie night that time, and he barely even tried to cover up how much he wanted the girl, his hands resting all over her as they watched Inception. Hardly a movie to get so riled up over, yet Bucky’s hand still inched its way up her thigh, his rough fingers gently carressing the flesh until they started to lightly trace the apex of her thighs. 

If she noticed anything then, she didn’t comment on it, doe-like eyes just marvelling at the screen in great intrigue. It was only when Peter’s arms wrapped around her a bit tighter did she scooch away from Bucky’s touch, with a small apology and shy grin. 

That only made his dick harder.

On the other side of Bucky, his super-soldier counterpart tapped his knee gently, forcing their blue eyes to meet each other. No words had to be said between the two, three men when they looked over to Sam, because they all recognized that look they saw in each other's eyes; predatory, dark, nearly voracious in the way they all wanted to be balls deep inside of Y/N.

And they would get there. No matter how long it took, they knew that the ultimate prize of tearing their prey apart would be more than worth the wait.

-

“Hey, babe, I’m gonna be a little late. Ned and I got stuck back in the lab, so we’re gonna need to stay until eight or nine. Can you make it to the tower by yourself alright?”

Peter’s concerned voice made Y/N smile gently as she trudged along the rainy streets of New York. He always loved to worry about her, especially when it was dark and gloomy out, but she could handle herself pretty okay. By pretty okay, of course meant she could kick ass like no other twenty-something year-old, but she wasn’t one to brag. Y/N readjusted the Kate Spade purse on her shoulder with her right hand, attempting to keep her umbrella over her head with the other. “I’ll be fine, Pete, just go finish up and get back to me. I’m gonna be waiting in your room at the tower before you go off on that mission this weekend.”

A small sigh came through the speaker, “Okay, I’ll try to get back to you soon. I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too, Pete.” 

“Oh,” she could hear the shy but no less mischievous smile that was taking over his face, “I left you a little present on the bed, make sure you open it before I get back.”

Y/N’s face heated at the implication. “Peter Parker, you dirty little-” He ended the call with a laugh, and she huffed out a small chuckle at his childish antics.

The walk to the Avengers tower would have been nice, had it not been for the downfall of rain, making everything mushy, socks being absolutely soaked through her sneakers by the time she arrived. The receptionist at the front desk, Jenny, if Y/N remembered correctly, stared at her a little oddly, probably not expecting to see the young college girl in such a state of disorder, but it didn’t affect her at all. She confidently strutted up to the elevator, pressing in the floor number where all the rooms were located. Y/N scrolled through her Twitter feed on her phone while classic rock blared through the elevator with the constant shuffling of people moving in and out. Seven minutes and thirty-two seconds later she was sprinting down the halls with soggy shoes and damp hair, her cold body screaming for warmth.

Peter’s room was the farthest down the hall, and the room was fairly empty. He rarely stayed at his room in the tower, preferring to stay with his Aunt May or keep Y/N company in Brooklyn. When she entered the room, she saw a plain white shirt and a pair of socks strewn upon the carpeted floor, but what really caught her eye was the red box wrapped in a pink bow on the bed. Deciding it would add more suspense if she opened it later, she quickly hopped in the shower, letting the hot water warm her freezing, rigid muscles under the spray. 

Peter didn’t have all the products she’d usually use before she knew they were going to have sex, so she had to make do with the half-used bar of Irish Spring and his small travel-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner, promising the fresh, breezy smell of citrus and mint. It was a quick process; two squeezes of shampoo, shaving with the green soap as best as she could without cutting herself, one squeeze of conditioner. A fuzzy towel sat waiting for Y/N on the rack, with the Spiderman symbol as a prank gift from her to her lovely boyfriend, and without a second to let the heat leave her damp skin, she wrapped herself in it, quickly hopping out to the bedroom again.

The lingerie she set out on the bed was a deep set burgundy color, with lace decorating the delicate corset and the trim of the satin panties. The packaging really did not do it justice. Y/N grinned at the new set, one that she knew would happily be torn from her body later. A shiver ran through her as she let the cold air fall over her skin, carefully slipping the lingerie on. It was a damn shame, really; the set was quite nice, and she reminded herself to buy more of the nicely suiting color for their nights together. 

Click.

Y/N’s heart thumped with anticipation as she heard the door open and she took a quick moment to ready herself. Hair in perfect style, legs stretched along the length of the bed to make herself look as seductive as possible, a small smirk thrown on her pouty lips.

But in the darkened room, it wasn’t Peter’s shadow that appeared. Three men, three tall, bulkier men’s shadows appeared at the foot of the bed, and horror washed over her as she realized who they were. “Goddamn, dolly, I’ve imagined what you would’ve looked like under those sweaters, but this is much sweeter than I expected.”

The sinister face of Bucky Barnes came into her view, just a sliver of moonlight lighting up his pale skin. His eyes raked over Y/N’s uncovered skin, and goosebumps appeared as she tried to cover herself up under his predatory gaze.

“W-what are you doing here?” She whispered worriedly. Sam and Steve flanked the bed on either side of her, plastered sickly sweet smiles on their faces, providing her with a false sense of security that made her heart scream in fear. Though she wasn't making any noise, her lungs felt like they were going to give out, her throat closing up like an allergic reaction. 

Her head whipped every which way in robotic movement, her brain seeming to fail her as she scanned the room for an exit. Several moments of shortened breaths, cold air chilling her body, before she came out of her freezing shock to realization.

“Why are you here? Please, get out, just g-get out!”

A calloused hand pushed away Y/N’s left arm that covered her tits, and Steve groaned at the sight of her pebbled nipples. “God, baby, they’re as pretty as I thought they’d be. Been trying to feel them up all week, but you knew that, didn’t you?”

Saturday the week before at lunch when he’d spilled water over chest and tried to clean her up. Sam’s friendly hug that became a bit less friendly when his hands slipped into the back pockets of her jeans. The movie night on Monday when Bucky’s hand caressed her thigh a little too close to her core. All of their touches began to make more sense, and her eyes filled with tears at the realization. 

“Please,” she begged, tears blocking her vision, “I promise I won’t tell anyone, not even Pete, but please just go.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Steve asked. He grasped her chin roughly, his face close enough to hers so that she could feel his fiery breath on her lips. “We’re not leaving, sweetheart. You’re gonna let all three of us play with your pretty little body, and you’re gonna make the prettiest sounds for us, alright?”

Y/N shook her head violently, too afraid to make noise, but also bold enough to make one last attempt at freedom. The hand that held her chin quickly moved to slap her cheek, and she hated the way the sting made heat stir in her lower belly. She tried to shy away from their touch again, but Bucky’s face simply held the same smirk as he trailed his vibranium fingers up and down her leg. 

“Oh, come on, Y/N, don’t act all shy now. Peter has been telling us how good you’ve been to him and don’t think he hasn’t told us about your little childhood crush on little ol’ me. Been wanting to fuck you ever since.” Bucky’s hand quickly left her body, instead moving to palm over the bulge in his pants. “Fuck, sweetheart, got me real hard just thinking ‘bout your pussy swallowing my cock. Bet you’re gonna be a sweet, obedient girl for me, right?”

Fire started to course through Y/N’s veins, and with all the power she tried to dampen it down with, it seemed to push through her body that much more dangerously. She despised the fact that she could feel herself growing wet for the three older men, but God, she had never felt the need to be filled up as badly as she did in that moment.

“You’re a bit of a slut, don’t you think?” Sam mocked. He kneeled on her right, his eyes fixated on her panty-clad pussy, a wet patch already forming on the soft satin. It really didn’t help that three of her teen celebrity crushes were eyeing her nearly naked body like a piece of meat. “I mean, look at you, already growing wet and needy for three cocks. Is that what you want, honey? Parker not treating you good enough?”

She hesitated. Goosebumps rose across her skin at the sinister tone of his voice, like he already knew it was true. And it was true and she hated that Sam was right, but as amazing as Peter was a boyfriend, it was clear from the vibrator hiding in his apartment’s bathroom that he was not amazing in the sheets. Every time, she held hope that it would be better, that she would finally get to stop faking an orgasm before he rolled out of the bed with a filled up condom, but she knew deep down inside of her that it wasn’t happening anytime soon. Y/N forced herself to nod weakly at Sam’s questions, and Bucky chuckled. “Oh, you poor dolly, we’re gonna have so much fun with you. Treat you better than that little boy ever could.”

All it took was a whimper, a nearly audible, deadly silent whimper that managed to squeak its way past Y/N’s throat, and the three men took it as permission to ravage her body however they pleased.

Steve made quick work of his pants as Sam lifted her chin to kiss him, his tongue hot and heavy against her mouth, coaxing her lips open. The sound of belt buckles hitting the floor shamefully turned on Y/N even more. Panic coursed through her senses, her mind wanting to scream for them to stop, but her body knew her too well as she felt a wave of slick run down her thighs. Cold metal digits slipped under the waistband of her panties, moving to her wet folds, and she whimpered into Sam’s mouth at the touch. 

“You look so nice, baby, so pretty all laid out for us like this.” Bucky’s hands pulled down her panties as Steve pinched her peaked nipple through the lace, laying lavish, open-mouthed kisses down her torso. The cool air hit her pussy when Bucky’s hands pulled her legs wide open, fully exposed to the three men ready to use her against her will. “Knew you’d be so wet for us, sweetheart, just look at you. Dripping all for your daddies,” Steve murmured against her skin.

Hot breath fanned over her cunt before they rolled her over on her stomach, someone’s hands forcing her up onto her knees with her face smashed into the cotton pillows. She could feel two rough human hands pulling her ass cheeks apart, spreading her ever wider for their view. “Would you look at that, boys, look how fucking hot she is for us.”

Sam’s thick finger ran through her folds, the calloused pad of his finger just teasing her clit before landing a harsh smack to the inside of her thigh. Her moan was muffled through the mattress and she prayed they wouldn’t hear how being treated like whore made her wet like nothing else. 

Hot slick dripped down her thighs, a pool of it staining the pristine sheets by each knee. It was quite a sight, Steve, kneeled by the bed as his face hovered next to her ear, whispering filthy things into her ear as Bucky stroked his hard, leaking cock right next to him. Sam’s lips were making their way up the inside of her right thigh, cracked skin gliding across her sticky flesh. “Oh, baby,” he purred, “you smell so good. Bet you taste even better, don’t you, little girl?”

His tongue reached the apex of her thighs, finally licking a stipe up her center with no warning. Y/N sobbed into the comforter below her, mascara stained tears marking up her face. Two fingers edged their way between the bed and her face, forcing her head upwards and arching her back. Steve’s face was caught in a dirty smirk above hers, lip pulled taut between his teeth, until he saw the tears trailing down her face. “Oh, sweetheart, you look so desperate like this.” His fingers traced her smeared lip gloss around her lips, before opening her lips harshly. “Open up, you dumb baby.”

Y/N forced her jaw open wider, just enough to watch a string of Steve’s saliva drip into her mouth. The thick spit pooled on her tongue and she tried hard not to grimace in front of him, in hopes that he wouldn’t make her- 

“Swallow it, sweetheart.” He saw the hesitation in her eyes, how her lower lip trembled at his words, but he just laughed at her. “Now.”

The warm saliva slid down her tongue and more black tears ran down her face as she obliged his orders, finally gulping it and cringing at the taste. Steve loved the way her face screwed up in displeasure, how she still had the audacity to pretend she hated what they were doing though she was moaning and whimpering with Sam’s tongue attacking her entrance.

“What do you want, sweetheart? We might give it to you as long as you use your words.” Bucky taunted lightly.

Y/N stared up at the brunette, staring menacingly down at her with his cock in hand. “Please,” she whimpered.

The three found it woeful, the way she could barely get a full sentence out as Sam went to town with his skilled tongue, but even with that onslaught, a simple please wasn’t enough for them.

“Please what, honey,” Sam moaned from between her legs, “you gotta use your big words or we’ll never know what you want from us.”

Steve and Bucky nodded in fake-agreement even though they all knew exactly what she wanted and where. 

“I don’t-” her widened eyes glanced into Steve’s, blown-out and teary. “I don’t want anything, not from you.” She lied through her teeth harshly.

Sam removed his head from between her thighs and Y/N immediately whined at the loss of contact almost hilariously. “You don’t want anything, little girl?” 

The air felt static, every hair on her neck rising in the pressured silence. The angel and the devil clawed at her heart, each trying to show her what was right. And she wanted to sin, God knew that she would love nothing more than to let that little greedy part of her take over, but she’d already cheated on Peter and that damn good part of her conscience stole the wheels of her brain.

Slowly and shamefully, she shook her head, though the downright dirty monster inside of her wanted the men to ignore her words and keep assaulting her body. 

“That’s a shame, baby, I thought we were having fun.” Sam sighed. He met Bucky’s gaze on the side, and though they seemed to be in resignation with her wishes, their eyes twinkled devilishly. He positioned his body over Y/N’s kneeled over form, his bare chest glued to her sweating back as his hands ran up the sides of her ribcage and to her front, just barely grazing over her sensitive nipples. “You mean, you don’t want me to touch you here?”

He pinched the darkened buds and she had to use every ounce of self-restraint to not collapse at the sensation. His calloused hands moved back even further, tracing down to the stretch of skin just above her mound, swiping a finger across the skin delicately. “How about here? Or even,” he brought three fingers around her body, over her ass, and into her glistening cunt again, just rubbing along her entrance, not daring to go further in. Y/N couldn’t hold in her reaction to his prodding anymore, his teasing chipping away all of her dignity and pride in a few simple touches. 

“Yes, please, please, use your fingers,” she blurted against her will. Where shame should have washed over her, there was only lust, raging red and coursing through her body so forcefully that she felt braindead. “Put your fingers in me, daddy, please.”

The pet name rolled off of her tongue so easily and she was barely ashamed of how it made her feel. The name especially shocked the three men, who smiled even wider with their cocks harder than before at the little slip up. “That was all you had to say, dolly, gonna have your daddies make you feel real good,” Bucky laughed.

Sam finally plunged his thick fingers knuckle-deep into her cunt as Steve’s mouth captured hers, effectively swallowing her scream with ferocity. The long digits scissored and swirled inside of her, pressing against new unexplored areas that she’d never even gotten to with her own fingers. White dots danced along the front line of her vision as teeth clashed against hers and though it’d been mere minutes she already knew she was close and the men did as well.

“I can feel you clamping around my fingers, honey,” Sam taunted. His lips were moving sinfully around her ass, planting sloppy kisses and drooling all over her skin while he fingered her deep. “Are you gonna come soon, baby?”

“Yes, daddy, I’m so- fuck,” Y/N panted into Steve’s mouth, “m’ so c-close.” The blond bit her tongue hard enough for her to taste blood and she yelped as she heard Sam and Bucky laugh. 

“Watch your language, dolly,” Bucky sneered from the side of the bed. His hand was rapidly moving around his cock, corkscrew motions edging him towards the brink of pleasure. 

“Little girls like you don’t get to use big swear words,” Sam’s face was still buried between her legs, his soaked fingers pulling out of her cunt only to rub at her little pearl of nerves in circles. His tongue still lapped at her dripping entrance and he could feel her tight hole start to pulse as her breathing picked up. “Oh, baby, you’re getting close, aren’t you?”

Y/N was hesitant to answer at first, the sweat on her body seeming to cool immediately in fear of what would happen if she messed up. But after five seconds Steve stopped kissing her, gripping her chin and staring into her eyes deeply. He looked as debauched as she felt, with his rosy lips swollen with spit and cheeks tinged with pink. “Are you gonna answer daddy, sweetheart?”

That knocked her into shape real fast.

“Yes, daddy, I’m so close. P-please let me come,” she whimpered. The whine in her voice pleased the two men, and Steve went back to exploring her mouth before she felt something poking against her asshole.

“Gonna let daddy put his cock in you, little girl?” Sam asked gently. His words had panic coursing through her system, a chilling realization like water being poured on her head and she began to wiggle around, trying to free Sam’s hand from her hip. Her arms weakly pushed at Steve’s chest, trying to push him as far away as he could, but the men only laughed at her flailing limbs. Y/N wanted to scream no to them, and despite her contrasting love-hate relationship with Sam’s fingers inside her cunt she knew it was time to go. It was laughable how much she would continue to say that to herself for the rest of the night. 

But Sam managed to sense her panic, knowing exactly what the issue was before harshly spanking her and effectively stopping her struggle. “Don’t worry, baby, I won’t come inside of you. I’m not risking knocking up a whore with my kids, I’ve got more dignity than that.”

He led the leaking tip of his dick down her crack, rubbing it along her slick entrance before pushing in with a groan. “Oh my fucking God, that is so hot.” Bucky admonished from the side. “Gotta get in on that soon.”

Steve chuckled against Y/N’s lips, pulling away with a strand of saliva connecting them. He adjusted himself up so his dick was centimeters from her face, a knee propped up on the bed for balance. “Gotta wait your turn, Buck, we all want a piece of her.” He noticed the way Y/N’s eyes were transfixed on his cock, the red mushroom head smeared with precome along the slit, nearly purplish veins standing out prominently on his shaft. Yeah, he couldn’t even deny that he was big because he already knew how many girls had dropped down on their knees for him. “Go ahead, sweetheart, open up those pretty lips for me.”

Almost too excitedly, she dropped her jaw, allowing him to slide his cock into the silky warmth of her mouth. As his hips started to thrust into her mouth, Sam’s started to do the same into her cunt. Both men moaned in tandem with their movements as Y/N’s worries faded away to the back of her mind as they stuffed her to the brim.

“You can come now, baby,” Sam nearly ordered, “go and cream on daddy’s cock- fuck, I know you’ve been waiting.”

It was a harsh bump of his head against her G-spot that sent her over the edge, walls clamping down with ferocity and milking him for all she was worth. Y/N reeled in the sunlight infested warmth that coursed through her body as she finally let go, whining around Steve’s dick as he continued to abuse her throat with long, deep thrusts. 

Bucky was still holding his orgasm off, fondling with his tight, heavy sac while his dick remained a painfully hard mess, glistening with precome. “I’m so glad I got to see you come, dolly, look so fucking pretty when you do.”

She couldn’t deny the little skip of her heart at the praise, just a few simple words that made her feel like a good little girl. But no, God-fucking no, she wasn’t supposed to let them make her feel this way. Guilt washed away that warmth in her chest just as quickly, knowing that her boyfriend was just waiting to come back to see her, finishing up his studies so that they could live their lives out together after college while she was getting her pussy and mouth absolutely wrecked by his co-workers. 

As soon as Y/N got her brain thinking straight again, Sam started moving inside of her again and she garbled out a strangled cry. “If you thought we were done here, baby,” Sam laughed, “you’ve got a lot left ahead of you.”

“We’re not leaving until all of us have come, brat.” Steve’s palm gripped the back of her skull roughly, pushing her head so far down on his dick that her nose was squished against his abdomen. “Greedy little bitch.”

Both men started to thrust into her again, and just like that she was back to being absolutely lost in desire and lust like the bitch in heat she was until there was a sudden shift in the air. So much that the sweat on her body began to cool her skin, Sam’s hands still gripping her hips so tightly she knew they’d leave marks that she would have to hide when she wore her favorite low-cut shorts. 

Bucky’s eyes seemed to drift from her tits moving with each movement of her hips, checking behind the door as if there were something lurking there, but she was too afraid to see for herself. If she stopped she would get spanked, and they’d probably prolong her second orgasm even further, and her pussy couldn’t handle any more subtle teasing.  

“Hey there, Parker, why don’t come on out here?”

But that, that was what made the hairs on Y/N’s neck rose, dread filling her to the fullest as she realized the implications of Sam’s words.

Peter had seen everything. Peter, her boyfriend, had seen three of his co-workers, three men who she barely knew, fuck her deep into his mattress. Peter, her boyfriend, had watched her get fucked into his mattress, without trying to stop them whatsoever.

She couldn’t tell if it was the guilt of cheating on her boyfriend or the freezing realization that he hadn’t done anything to stop the three men that hurt more. 

Yet Peter still walked from behind the door, dressed in a NYU hoodie and a pair of khakis slung low on his hips, just drawing attention to the sizable bulge that stretched out his zipper. His umber eyes, normally full of so much joy and love, were possessed by the same lust and darkness as the three men, as much as he tried to hide it behind a shyer facade. 

His eyes were trained on the tightness of how Y/N’s pussy was gripping Sam, her lips glossed over with come and spit wrapped around Steve’s dick. The girl stopped in her movements, her eyes no longer full of tears for just being gagged, but as soon as her mouth came to a halt around the base of his cock, the blond slapped her across the face. A sharp crack echoed around the room and though she couldn’t see him, she heard Bucky’s feral growl of pleasure at the whorish treatment she was receiving. 

“Didn’t say you could fucking stop, sweetheart, keep working on daddy’s cock.” No more words needed to be said as Steve gripped her hair once more, forcing himself farther back into her throat to the point where she couldn’t breathe. Sam’s thrusts were quickening, closer and closer to release as the sounds of the girl struggling to breath made his balls tighten. 

“Fucking shit, baby, you feel yourself squeezing my dick? I bet you like teasing daddy like that, don’t you?” One of his hands were brought down on her ass in a quick smack that resonated with Bucky, who was staving off his orgasm for something much sweeter than his hand. She was moaning raucously around the dick stuffed in her mouth, the vibrations sending jolts of pleasure up every nerve in Steve’s body as he came with the tip of his dick nearly being swallowed by Y/N’s throat. There was barely any time for her to fully down the thick come in her mouth before Sam was threatening to orgasm. “I’m gonna come so soon but you better fucking not, little girl, you hear me? Gotta let your daddy come before you, you ungrateful little bitch- oh.”

It was a really fucking close call, Sam’s dick pulling out of her with one quick movement before spilling pearly ropes of come onto Y/N’s spine. A high whine escaped her mouth, clit throbbing as she was so, so close to coming, and she was too far into her crazed pleasure to realize that she was letting three older men, men who fought to defend the universe from evil, use her as an over-glorified fleshlight. 

She couldn’t really blame them for calling her a cockdrunk whore. 

Bucky sauntered over to the bed, eyes trained on the pool of come centered around the base of her spine before flipping her over onto her back with his large hands and shoving three vibranium fingers back into her hole. She gasped and held onto his forearm as he continued to fingerfuck her to her second orgasm, eyes screwed shut in a delirious haze of contentment for being filled with at least something again. 

“Bucky, Bucky, Bucky, please-” Steve slapped her along the face, correcting her words immediately. “Daddy, daddy, please let me come.”

Bucky chuckled, tweaking one of her nipples with his flesh hand as he hovered over her face. “I don’t know, dolly, you’ve been a little naughty, callin’ me the wrong name, not listening to Stevie’s orders- don’t think you deserve to get what you want.”

A muffled whimper escaped her swollen lips, and he sighed in surrender. “Okay, dollface, go ahead and come on my fingers. Let me see how you wet ‘em up real good.”

Y/N’s hips bucked into his metal digits with finality, come leaking out of her cunt and soaking the sheets below her. Her sweat-glazed skin shone even against the darkening sky, and all Bucky could do was chuckle at how her chest rose quickly as she tried to catch her breath. He thought about teasing her clit again, just circling around the little bud of nerves to get a rise out of her, but he decided against it. Sam probably had better plans for her anyway. 

On the other hand, Y/N’s orgasm was starting to wear off as she noticed the hardened stare from the edge of the room. Her boyfriend.

“Peter, I…” Y/N made eye contact with him, suddenly noticing how mousy he looked in his own bedroom. 

“I nearly forgot you were here, Parker,” Sam smirked darkly. “Why don’t you come over here and fuck your little whore. I’m feeling a little generous today.”

Steve and Bucky nodded with the same infuriating smugness as Sam. The brunette boy opened his mouth to object to the degrading statement, but when he met his girlfriend’s eyes nothing needed to be said. There was no escaping this. Nothing he said mattered to the three older men, because really they had already gotten everything they wanted right in front of their disgusting, perverted eyes. 

He unbuckled his belt, letting the weight of it drop his khakis to the floor. Maybe if he’d known he would be forced into join a fivesome later that night he’d have picked any other boxers but the Ducktales one, but no one seemed to say a word about them, rather focusing on what they were failing to conceal. 

Peter’s cock had always been admirable to Y/N by its length and God, definitely its thickness. Curved upwards towards his abdomen with a vein running along the left side up to the bulbous head, it was definitely more than average. It was really just a shame he didn’t know how to use it well enough.

His shirt was pulled over his head just as quickly, and if Y/N knew any better she would say that he was excited to get to fuck her in front of the three men. He placed himself in between Y/N’s parted legs, standing in the same position as he had so many times before.

But when Y/N cried out in pain and pleasure as he slid into her, Peter knew that this time, it was different. This time three men, men that he used to trust with his life, stood on either side of him and his girlfriend and jerked their hands up and down their cocks as they watched her get fucked relentlessly. It wasn’t sweet, it wasn’t romantic, but he couldn’t really think when his thick cock was stuffed inside of her stimulated pussy, juices and come leaking out of her abused sex. 

“Go faster, Parker,” Steve instructed, his face contorted in pure pleasure. The pace of Peter’s thrusts sped up, and he threw Y/N’s ankles over his shoulders, hitting deeper inside of her, with the sound of her sobs only turning them all on more. “Oh, right there, shit, shit, shit-”

Steve came first, a low groan escaping his lips as streams of come landed on her tits, still bouncing with every movement of Peter’s hips. 

“Open up,” Sam gritted through his teeth, and Y/N obediently opened her mouth to let his bitter come coat the inside of her throat, some of it landing on her face and neck. The string of curses he let out made Peter thrust even faster into her, and he hated, absolutely despised the way it turned him on to see the three men use his girlfriend to their pleasure. But soon enough a hand pushed against his chest away from Y/N and he reluctantly pulled out.

“Move aside, kid,” Bucky instructed, “Wanna come inside of her.”

As he lined his gigantic cock up with her entrance, her eyes widened with fear. “No, please, I didn’t take my pills, I can’t- I won’t, please not inside-”

“Shut the fuck up, you slut.” Bucky’s fingers came to slap her clit harshly, and she cried out in pain. “You’re gonna be quiet and let me come wherever I damn want, right?”

He punctuated his last word as he thrust inside her, filling her up to the hilt with his girth. She was too drunk on the feeling of her cunt being filled up to argue again. It was painful, extremely so, even though two different cocks had been inside her overstimulated pussy already and Bucky stretched her out wide, his cock thicker with veins to hit every pleasure point. With her legs tossed around his tapered torso, he slid out until his very tip was left in her, then slammed back in with a small moan. The head of his cock relentlessly pounded into her cervix in a nearly soundless tempo and all Y/N could hear were her own gasps of pleasure, jaw-dropping moans that made drool slide back down her throat in her laid down position.

She turned her head to the side, and though her vision was bleary through the tears, she could see Sam and Steve watching Bucky fuck her while Peter, her boyfriend, her sweet, sweet boyfriend, was caught up fucking his hand to the sound of Bucky’s balls slapping against her ass. 

“Fuck, ‘m not gonna last much longer, dollface.” Bucky gasped. “You gonna come soon? You’re gonna come for daddy one more time. I think you’ve got a third one in you, you little fucking slut.”

“Shit, shit, daddy, please ‘m almost there,” Y/N wailed absentmindedly. A thumb came down to circle her clit quickly and she felt the coil in her stomach grow tighter and tighter, until she finally let out a high whine, finding her release as Bucky’s cock pulsed inside of her, ready to come just as easily as her. Her pussy clenched around his cock as she rode out her orgasm, fingers grasping at the sheets in order to find some sort of grounding. His come painted her walls white, and Bucky could’ve sworn there was no better feeling than feeling his blood warm in every vein as he finally let go. With stunted groans, his hips slowed its rhythm, lost in watching how his cock disappear into Y/N’s pussy, her slick juices coating his dick each time he pulled out. 

“Ah, fuck, dolly, you did so good for me. Pussy tight as a fuckin’ vice.” Bucky hugged her limp body close to his sweaty chest, letting his dick soften inside of her for a good few moments before pulling out. He tossed Y/N back onto the bed below him, barely even caring to clean the come dripping down her ribcage and out of her cunt before grabbing his boxers from the cabinet next to the bed. 

Steve was already buttoning his jeans up, checking the notifications on his phone before shoving it back into his pocket. The blond seemed to have better things to do so soon after, rushing his way to the door before pausing where Y/N laid to watch come drip out of her pussy. One more time he pushed Bucky’s come inside of her abused entrance, watching as it oozed out from behind his digits. “Look at you, fucking full of of his come. Such a goddamn whore,” he muttered under his breath.

Those were the last words he said to her before patting Bucky on the shoulder and leading him out of the opened door. 

Maybe Sam was a bit more kind, or affectionate at least. He was already dressed but visibly hard again beneath the thick denim of his pants, and he made sure Y/N knew it, taking her left hand and placing it over his dick. “You still got that effect on me, honey, even when you’re all fucked out like this.” He dragged his fingers through the thick ribbons of come that coated her chest, bringing them up to her mouth so she could taste. Even though she was more than exhausted, she wrapped her tongue around the two fingers that were pushed past her swollen lips, sucking them clean with a tired vengeance. Satisfied with her work, he kissed her chin one more time before leaving without so much as another word, slamming the door shut on his way out.

Click.

It ended exactly the way it started, the lock jostling into the doorknob just as easily as the high of Y/N’s final orgasm slipped away.

Stifling silence suffocated the room around them. Peter refused to meet her eyes, just as much as hers did his. She laid motionless on the bed with him standing at the foot, his dick soft and if she narrowed her bleary eyes just a bit, she could see how his knees were shaking. Neither of them were able to say anything, losing the ability to converse as soon as the three men left the room.

“Peter,” her voice was throaty after the rough fucking she took, “C-can you please get me a drink?”

The brown-haired boy looked down to meet her face, and she could finally see the reason that he had hid it from her. His eyes were red and bloodshot, snot running from his nose with tears running down his cheeks. She’d been so caught up in the after haze of the sex that she didn’t even notice how his bare chest was heaving so deeply, nearing hyperventalation. 

But still, he grabbed his boxers, pulling them over his weakened legs clumsily. “Y-yeah, what kind do you want, Mr. Stark has a ton-”

“I don’t care.” She cut him off firmly, a sharp tone in her voice as she rolled over on her side. Y/N tucked her knees to her chin, fingers running over the side of her neck which was marked with bruises and scratches. “I don’t fucking care.”

Without another word Peter slipped out of the room quietly, knowing better than to try to talk to her about what they had been forced to participate in. It wasn’t as if there was much to say anyways.

Rain pattered against the window. It was only six o’clock in the evening. Cars honked and beeped and Natasha’s Igor Stavinsky record played for its fiftieth round of the day, and to anyone else in the tower it was a normal night. Normal, just like the ones spent sitting on the couch with Bucky’s hand creeping up her leg or Sam’s hands groping her ass, but this time they’d made a move. 

The silence was far too much to handle, the unspoken truth of what she’d done with Bucky, Steve, Sam, and Peter finally hitting her, knocking the air out of her lungs as she suddenly struggled to breathe. Gripping her face, clawing at it like a goddamn wolf, Y/N began to cry. Silently at first, gradually growing into heartbroken sobs, she let her trodden pride carry her voice wherever it wanted to go. 

The men’s whispered words haunted her mere moments after they’d left the room, but most audibly she could hear a faint husk of a voice, Sam’s low moan in her ear looming in the dreadful silence of the room:

Thanks for sharing with us, baby.