#also ignore the slashes in words i just added them in to avoid popping up in a bunch of searches

[variforme]

What's k/rp? ive never heard of it before.

i’ll start by saying i’m not korean myself, i’m chinese, so i can’t speak from a korean person’s perspective, but i’ll direct you to a number of posts regarding the matter of k/rp on blogs run by koreans who have spoken up against it : here , here and here . 

but essentially, it’s a sub-genre of rp that basically treats korean people, specifically k/pop idols as their own specific “trope” ( in the same way you might have detective / crime rp, horror rp, etc. ) ; the vast majority of people who partake in the normalising of k/rp are those who tend to be ko/reaboos ( think wee/aboo but with korean culture instead of japanese culture ) and will generally have their own view of the culture often being shaped solely by what they might see in korean dramas and variety shows, a handful of interviews with their fav k/pop idol, etc ( which, as any kind of media tends to be, is often ridden with inaccurate representation ).

some do it for the sake of writing real k/pop idols / celebrities as themselves ( which is creepy in itself to claim that you know another person, who you don’t know personally, so well that you can write them as you would a fictional character ) or an “au version” of them, a real living person ( same as the former, but just placing them in a different setting ; i commonly see harmful stereotyping of asian gangs with “gang / mafia aus” going hand in hand with this ). some write it to ship two real living people, in the same essence as someone might write a fanfic. 

this isn’t to say that if you’re an oc using a k/pop idol or celebrity fc ( and therefore pull the “but i’m not k/rp myself !!!!” card ) and may or may not continue to write with k/rp writers, you’re exempt from being k/rp, as the other issues like stereotyping and fetishisation are often still prominent. it’s easy enough to tack on a claim that you aren’t this or that, but being passive / continuing to support or condone the issue is just as bad.

but even with that aside, it promotes the idea that koreans ( and other asians who are in k/pop groups, such as chinese, thai, taiwanese, japanese people ) are nothing more than their own isolated genre of media, rather than being actual people, and dehumanising them. there’s a ridiculous amount of culture erasing ( such as slapping on hangul / hanzi / kanji, etc for aesthetic, ignoring rocky political histories between asian countries ), having such a lack of research that you’d just mash a bunch of relatively “asian sounding” syllables together to name your asian muse, thinking asian ethnicities are interchangeable ( a la “its ok if i use this korean k/pop idol as an fc for my chinese muse theyre both asian and look similar !!!” racism ), blind stereotyping, infantalisation and fetishisation/objectification of east asians, especially females ( yeah i’m talking abt ppl n their blatant yellow fever fantasies and connotations of “uwu sweet docile petite east asians”, something which myself, and many other east asians, are subjected to constantly ; it makes me uncomfortable as fuck ).

it’s fine to write an east asian muse if you’re not east asian yourself, but for the love of god don’t let your portrayal be shaped by stereotyping, fetishisation and non-researched views of east asian poc and cultures specific to their respective ethnicities. be respectful and considerate when writing an ethnicity that differs to your own. i could go on, but i think this is already enough to go by. if any koreans or other east asians wish to correct me on anything i’ve said, or add any words of their own, feel free to do so !

[un2-verse]

BILLY — Kim Taehyung (2)

pairing: taehyung x f reader

genre: horror au, yandere au, saw/john kramer au

synopsis: News of a Sadistic Serial Killer nicknamed “Jigsaw” is spreading around town like wildfire… the nickname stemming from the puzzle piece he cuts from every victim’s body. No one knows who he’ll trap next but in a town full of delinquents and criminals, it could never be you. Right?

warnings: mentions of suicidal thoughs, abusive relationships, stalking etc. dont read if triggered. there are some ?? fucked up things in this but idk what to word them. but also mentions of self harm/self hating thoughts.

wordcount: 2.2k

a/n: unedited so pls forgive me for any mistakes and lmk if u want to be added to a taglist^^

series masterlist

part one part three

You’d spent a couple of hours in the café with Taehyung. Jimin popped over every now and then to talk with his best friend and to make sure you had everything you needed while there.

When you left, Jimin wrapped his arms around you as he bid his farewell, “It was lovely to meet you Y/N! Please, don’t be a stranger!” You simply nodded your head as you pulled away from the hug. You grinned back at him as he moved to Taehyung. You opened the door, carefully stepping outside to leave the boys with some privacy.

Once the door shut Jimin’s smile beamed, “so she’s the girl you’re always talking about, Flower? Right?”

“Yeah she is, thanks for that though man but, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you later?”

Taehyung smiled as he made his way towards you, you looked up and he swore, he saw a hint of nervousness in your eyes, probably because it’s dark, he thought to himself. “Come on then, let’s get you home.” He held out his hand, you were quick to grab a hold of it. Taehyung intertwined your fingers as he tugged you back across the road, “it’ll take about twenty minutes, you gonna be alright to walk?” he glanced down to you.

Your heart warmed at the way his eyes smiled with him, “I’ll be fine, thank you.” He seemed happy enough with your answer as you fell into a steady rhythm. You felt a little conflicted, you may not know Taehyung well but he had an energy about him that made you wanna spill every secret you knew, you’d shared pointless stories while you were at the café, having learnt Taehyung was a family oriented person, he loved art and he was passionate about little subjects other people would deem small. Yet he had a warmth that you’d not seen in anyone else.

Fuck it, you thought, he’s shown nothing but kindness, you may aswell open upto him… atleast.

“I was in an abusive relationship.” Taehyung felt himself smirk but quickly wiped it from his face, he arched an eyebrow as he looked down to you, “it was my first too. It left me, fucked up, in a way. Not that I wasn’t already fucked up.” Progress. He squeezed your hand in reassurance, go on… “I’ve always been insecure and uh, uncomfortable with the way I look. After that disaster of a relationship, it left me worse for wear.” you kept your eyes on the road, you didn’t want to see the judgement on his face yet it didn’t stop you from carrying on, “I never told my friends or family about it. None of them knew I was struggling before it anyway so I’ve been letting it tear me apart.”

“Why tell me then doll?”

You risked a glance at his face. There were no traces of judgement or pity. Swallowing down your nerves, you added softly, “I had to tell someone. Even if that someone is a random person— who showed me kindness when I needed it.”

Taehyung felt his heart clench, she’s already trusting me… this was easier than I thought. “Don’t feel like you need to tell me anything baby,” I already know it all.

You felt your cheeks burn from the pet name, how could something so simple, affect you this much? God, talk about a schoolgirl crush. “That’s the thing, I don’t feel like I need to. I just, I want to.”

Taehyung presented you with his boxy grin, “Then you can tell me anything you want, whether it's big or small.”

“Thank you Taehyung.” It was like the sun had shone down on you, the simplest gesture meant the world. Here you had a person willing to talk to you about your darkest secrets. A person willing to listen. Someone who had no ties to your family, which made it easier for the words to flow from you, “It’s like, I was this happy, care-free kid. I smiled without forcing it and when I laughed… I felt free. I didn’t feel like I was losing my breath. Not like I do now, everytime I do so much as breathe, it's like these roots have twisted around my lungs and everytime a breath escapes, they crush them tighter. It’s like a reminder. You’re never fully alive. You’re never fully happy. Pain overrides any other emotion. I’ve learned that, after all those years. I used to think, I’d never accept it.” A solemn silence fell over you. The roots squeezed your lungs even tighter as you whispered, “I’m scared of living.”

“Flower, some people are anchored to this world by their feet, others by their fears. You don’t have to voice it, I know you’re scared. You have your fears. Your demons. The thing you were doing at the cafe; is destructive. Anything that harms you, is destructive. Fuck, it may only be something as simple as picking your skin but that can lead into bigger things.”

It already has.

“Taehyung, I know that. I knew when it started but it helps, it lessens my anxiety. You’re the only one to have picked up on it. My friends… they don’t notice. If they do, they don’t mention it.”

Taehyung scoffed, “You really think anyone on this planet is your friend?”

Your mouth was sewn shut. You didn’t want to admit it but, there was some truth to his words.

You walked home in silence.

That night haunted you. It forced its way into your dreams. It clouded your thoughts when Yoongi and Hoseok were with you. When you’d spent time together, you were vacant. A soulless body. It was like a poison had found its way into your brain, second guessing relationships and people’s motives.

‘You really think anyone on this planet is your friend?’

Why were you letting it get in your head so much? You knew your friends. They were the only ones you felt safe with. They were your friends for a reason, they supported you (albeit sometimes they had a sense of… tough love) but they always had your back.

You didn’t mention Taehyung to Yoongi or Hoseok. You felt as though that was something that should be kept between you and him. Plus, the duo would’ve felt betrayed and upset by the fact you had wandered into foreign territory alone and found company in a complete stranger-- especially after they’d warned you about the whole Jigsaw shit.

To save the arguments, you went about your life as usual. You helped out your Mum with the flower shop, the array of flowers made you realise how the simplest things were beautiful. That of course, didn’t include yourself. Rancid thoughts clouded what was once, a tranquil space. Those god forsaken roots hadn’t lessened. Breathing was still difficult— as was pretending that you were absolutely fine.

You avoided mirrors, a quick glance could wreck your entire mood. You hated people taking photos of you, it made you scrutinise every single thing.

My nose is too big.

My chin is too round.

My face just shouts ugly.

My legs are disgusting.

My stomach is embarrassing.

My boobs are weird.

Not to say, you didn’t have these thoughts on the regular. However, the more you eluded your appearance, the voices lessened. You could ignore the way you looked, forget it completely. Often convinced yourself you were a plain person. The stereotypical norm: someone that no one would look twice at. It helped you get on with everyday tasks, it helped you ease the anxiety.

After all, every flower must grow through dirt.

But how would you react? If you knew, he had all the pictures of you?

Tuesdays you worked at your Dad’s garage. You didn’t know much about cars but you enjoyed his company. As well as spending time with Hobi and Yoongi. You often found yourself pranking the former with Yoongi, little jokes that luckily, didn’t piss Hobi off too much.

Today though, you were late. You’d had to spend more time trying to find the more appropriate clothing… you didn’t want people to see the slashed lines of red that littered your body.

After you messily threw an outfit together, you made your way down to the garage. You found your eyes trained on the silver Nissan Skyline, mouth agape as you collided into something.

You felt hands grab your shoulders, “Watch where you’re going,” Yoongi brought his hands to ruffle your hair, “gotta be careful while we’ve got that here kidda. That fuckers expensive.” He released a chuckle as you rolled your eyes, softly elbowing him out the way.

Your dad was under the bonnet, a box of tools were scattered around his feet. Organised mess, your Dad was infamous for it.

“Sorry I’m late Pops, what do you want me to do?”

Not even a second later, your Dad turned to face you, “Ah darling, not a lot while we’re working on this. Can you go make us some drinks?”

“Yeah course, I won’t be too long!”

You passed Hoseok on your way to the little kitchen situated at the back, he sent you a wink as he shouted across, “Coffee for me kidda!”

Three cups were spread in front of you. Americano for Yoongi, Coffee for Hobi and Cappuchino for Pops. Just as you were about to shout the guys, a presence had situated itself comfortably behind you. Before you had time to turn around, a deep baritone voice addressed you, “You not gonna ask me if I want a cup baby?”

You felt yourself still. You knew that voice. The voice that was haunting your dreams, even your wake.

You really think anyone on this planet is your friend?

Taehyung watched the way your body tensed, your shoulders stiffened, your breathing altered. Hm, she’s nervous. How cute.

“What are you doing here?” the words passed your lips, delivered as though they were encased in thorns.

A deep chuckle filled the room, “What do you think I’m doing here?” Taehyung inched closer, the atmosphere was almost palpable. You felt the way his chest brushed against your back, a sudden chill shot through you as he brought his hand up— which grazed against your skin whilst he moved your hair from your neck. His eyes turned hungry at the sight of your goosebumps. Your heart raced when he brought his head lower, lips next to your ear, “You think I’m here for you baby?” I am… but you don’t need to know that just yet.

You spun around, squashed between the table and Taehyung. Heat radiated off of him, how can he be so hot? It felt like you were in a furnace (while face to face with the Devil.)

Fear stricken, you tried to fight through it. Don’t show him. Don’t let him see. With a sarcastic smile plastered on your face you retorted, “Of course you are Taehyung. You tracked me down using the information I gave you and figured out which Garage is ours.”

The sarcasm was practically dripping from your tone like venom. Taehyung felt himself stifle a laugh.

You just didn’t know. In all fairness, you didn’t know anything. How would you know that Taehyung had done exactly that, except he’d done it months prior.

He lowered his head to yours, your hands raised to push him away but Taehyung wrapped his fingers around each wrist and tugged them to lay between you before you even had the chance to nudge him. You felt like you were stuck in a Venus fly trap.

“I’m not some type of sicko, doll.”

You were just a naive, misunderstood, little girl.

“I’m getting my car fixed. Your dad’s working on it right now.”

Your body visibly relaxed, releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding. “Oh, the Skyline? Wait, you have a car and made us walk back to mine the other week?”

“I didn’t make you walk for the fun of it baby, my car is literally in the shop so obviously it was broken.”

Only, the car was perfectly fine when you met him those weeks ago. He had made the pair of you walk so he’d have more of a chance to speak to you and to touch you. The only way he could follow you around without being suspicious, especially at your dads work, was to have a somewhat reasonable excuse (which resulted in him messing with the engine). He knew although you’d shied away from him that night, he could easily win you back around.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry Taehyung. I’m also uh, sorry about how that night ended.”

“Don’t sweat it, I know what I said came off a little... weird but I didn’t mean any harm.”

With an angelic smile on your face in return, Taehyung knew that soon, that smile would morph into a grateful one. After all, he was going to help you.

Until a person is faced with death, it’s impossible to tell whether they have what it takes to survive.

Live or Die.

Your choice.

He had first seen you out and about last year. However, he had first heard of you when the guys working for him had slammed a file onto his desk, Subject #13 was scrawled on the top. Filled to the brim with pictures of you and everything about your life down to the littlest detail.

L/N Y/N— D.O.B 03.11.02— 19 years old.

Phone number: XXXXX.XXXXX

Female. Lives with parents at: 171 Norm Street, Falfield F91 7DW. Was outcasted at school but befriended a Jeon Jeongguk [19 years, male. 92 Carriers Road, Cressage CY5 3EA. XXXXX.XXXXX].

Ex partner is Kang Jaehyo. [23 years. Male. Abusive and manipulative, laid his hands on Y/N multiple times leaving bruises and scars. Sexual abuse was also discovered. Have been broken up for 4 months. 13 Walkers Drive, Falfield, F73 1DL XXXXX.XXXXX]

Y/N has suicidal ideations (as well as 7 attempts). Self harms by “cutting” “punching” and “scratching”. Diagnosed with Depression and Anxiety Disorder on May 13th 2016. Works at Toret Garage and Letty’s Floral. Both places owned by parents.

The web of lies and deceit had barely scraped the surface.

[closedmadness]

𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐒

summary: you’re a northsider, but an addam — part of the famous addams family. maybe that’s why you were different from all the northsiders in riverdale high, and sweet pea found himself falling for you as soon as he knew you aren’t like the others.

pairings: sweet pea x addams!male reader

warnings → fluff・reader being weird like the addams family・mention of disturbing things・swearing・reader being sassy?

the serpents entered through the doors of riverdale high, gathering too many attentions from the students as they approached the registration table veronica lodge had set.

everyone watched as she began to welcome the serpents with open arms while you just stood in the corner leaning on your locker reading a horror book. you probably stood out from the students as your type of clothing were rather dark and punk-like, and although many people found you disturbing you didn’t care. you were an Addams after all.

you kept reading your book until cheryl and her dog reggie appeared, disturbing your reading time annoyingly.

these two are the only people you can’t stand, simply because they’re too annoying and only the sound of their voices was enough for you to have an urge to chop off your head.

sighing deeply, you kept on reading your book despite the noise cheryl and reggie were making, a bunch of insults smoothly leaving their mouth like a vomit. seriously, it’s ridiculous how they’re going against people who can easily bring them down. the serpents aren’t called a gang for nothing.

your plan was to keep ignoring them and read your book in peace, but unfortunately that wasn’t what fate wanted for you. “yo, addams. come here.” reggie called out, moving his hand to gesture for you to approach them.

a deep sigh leaves your lips when you realized they won’t let you get away from them and just closed the book, adjusting the strap of your back pack before approaching them. you stopped just beside cheryl, your eyes traveling to look at the serpents one by one. though, only one serpent truly caught your attention — the one with dark raven hair and tall height.

“don’t you think they should get the hell out from our school?” reggie said, smirking with cheryl. “surely, a threat from the one and only (y/n) addams would tell them enough that this isn’t where they belong.”

you visibly rolled your eyes; they usually bullied you and made fun of you for being weird, but now they’re seeking help from you? no, that ain’t it.

besides, you actually feel fond of the serpents despite first time meeting. the color of their clothes made you happy, only because it mostly consisted of black. black is the color of happiness for you and your family.

“serpents should be back in their own nests.” reggie spat.

however, your attention remained on the tall serpent. “is that a tattoo?” you asked curiously, ignoring reggie and pointing at the tattoo on the tall serpent’s neck that you just caught sight of after studying him for a couple of seconds.

he raised his brows in slight surprise; why do you seem interested in his tattoo? That’s a first.

“Yeah, why?” he asked.

“it looks great on you.” you complimented, causing everyone to look at you in surprise. “i’ve always wanted to get a tattoo, like the tattoo of a beheaded man holding his head.” you told him still staring at the serpent tattoo on his neck. he couldn’t help but snort at your choice.

“are you fucking serious?” reggie asked you ridiculously, looking at you as if you were some kind of a crazy person.

“i’m just speaking the truth.” you said without looking at him, proceeding to raise your fingers to touch the man’s tattoo. he tensed at first, but relaxed soon in your touch.

cheryl scoffed, “you’re ridiculous.”

you dropped your hand on your side and looked at her, “whatever. i don’t mind them staying here as long as they wear black. this school lacks of darkness, the only thing i see are pastels and a ridiculous redness of your clothes.” she gasped inaudibly at that. “i like red, it’s the color of blood. but every time you wear it, it gives me the urge to chop my head off. better wear more black like this serpents.” you said, pointing to the serpents, who were now smiling at you.

she clenched her jaw, “i’d rather die than wear the same color of clothes as this ragamuffins.” and stepped closer to you threateningly.

you tilted your head to the side a bit, “that can be arranged.” the seriousness in your voice made reggie quickly pull her back, knowing full well that you’re capable of doing it.

you slashed his wrist with a knife once after all. who said you can’t arrange cheryl’s death?

“(y/n), the southside are our enemies, not us.” reggie said with a warning tone, making the serpents let out a scoff, the tall male’s being the loudest.

you rolled your eyes, “i couldn’t care less about that northside-southside shit, you’re just making up an excuse to be a dick to somebody.” the tall male smirked. “besides, i doubt they’re gonna cause a trouble. snakes don’t really bite unless provoked.” you said, shrugging.

reggie glared, “this only means you’re betraying us.”

“i was never been on your side, mantle. though, maybe it’ll be possible if you just hand me your head so I can play with it.”

“not gonna happen.” he spat.

“right, ‘cause you’re too narcisstic to hand someone your head over.” few chuckles errupted from the serpents which made you smirk.

“anyway, good luck with kicking them out. i doubt you’ll be able to find a way with your fetus brain, but hey, trying isn’t bad.” you said rather cheerfully with a mixture of sarcasm before patting him on the shoulder and walking back to your previous place to continue the book you were reading.

“who knew he was going to defend us rather than siding with you who called him?” you heard the tall serpent say, causing you to chuckle at yourself quietly and a laughter to errupt from the serpents.

after that, well, you didn’t hear the rest of their conversation because you were pretty much focused on the book you were reading. though, you felt the tall serpent looking at you every once in a while, as if waiting for their commotion to end so he could approach you. and indeed, he approached you as soon as their commotion finished.

he placed one hand on the locker beside your head, trapping you between him and the locker but not completely. “hey, goth prince.” he greeted you flirtatiously with a smirk.

you looked up from your book and smirked as soon as your eyes met with his, closing the book to focus your attention on him. his nickname for you was so ordinary yet special. at least that’s how it sounded to you.

“what do i owe you the pleasure of, serpent king?”

he raised his brows at the nickname, “you think i’m a king?”

“well, you seem a lot like a king to me because of your tall height and intimidating feature.” you shrugged. “what do you want, though? usually people would avoid me because of how weird i am.”

“i like your weirdness, though.” he said, shrugging casually. a small smile appeared on your lips. “i’m Sweet Pea.” he introduced, moving to get beside you and leaning his body on the locker.

“that’s a strangely sweet name for a tough looking serpent like you.” you chuckled softly. “(y/n) addams, but i suppose you already know that.”

“yeah.” he chuckled. “that was a first. a northsider defending the southside.”

“i didn’t defend you, i was just being honest. this feud is getting annoying, insults being thrown here and there, why don’t you just quit with the insults and kill one another to end it instead?” the last sentence came out as a statement instead of a question.

sweet pea laughed, “you sound homicidal.”

you shrugged, “i am. everybody is. the only difference is that i’m not afraid to show it while they’re hiding it and pretending to be a normal, perfect people.” sweet pea nods his head as he mentally agreed with you.

silence took over as he studied you, taking your features in. he noticed your skin looking paler than normal, but the color of your lips still had a sign of life. your (h/c) hair fell graciously on some part of your forehead, adding more good looks on your already good-looking face. your (e/c) had a sense of darkness in them, refusing to hide and mixing with a little light. sometimes, emotions can be visible in your eyes, but it’s hard to read what emotion it is unless someone focuses on them. dark clothes fits you well and he figured it’s probably the only thing that suits you perfectly, since he can’t imagine you ever wearing light clothes.

“you seem to be enjoying the view, chéri.” your amused yet loving voice snapped him out of his daze and his cheeks flushed red, blushing at the fact that he was caught and also the fact that you called him darling.

yes, he understood french, even when he doesn’t look like he does.

he cleared his throat, “yeah... uh, right, i should probably stop staring.” he stumbled over his words and you chuckled softly.

“oh, don’t be embarrassed, chéri. i do love your attention.” you stated with a smile.

sweet pea smirked at that, starting to feel more confident with himself. now that he knows you’re loving his attention, he wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away from his fingers. he had to ask you out, he has to make you his. he decided that the moment you didn’t side with reggie and cheryl.

“so, prince...” he started, slightly leaning his head closer to you. “want to go to pop’s with me?”

you raised your brows, “are you asking me out on a date?”

“what if i am?” he smirked.

“maybe i’m going, maybe not.” you shrugged and laughed after seeing the smirk on his face slowly disappear. “i’m just joking, mon cher. yes, i want to go on a date with you.” you said with a large smile that no one has ever seen before.

a grin broke out of his lips, pure joy crossing his face. “great. you alright with after school?”

nodding, “yes, of course. but...” you trailed off, making him confused. you pointed your thumb at the side where your brother and sister stood. “you have to deal with them first.”

sweet pea looked at where you pointed and saw your two siblings — wednesday and pugsley — staring at him curiously, before he groaned, but a small smile plastered his face.

he wouldn’t mind dealing with your siblings if it meant he can go on a date with you.

© prettymadness — all rights reserved. do not repost or translate without my permission. plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #89: Beowulf

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re making the King of Savagery, Beowulf. The bare-knuckled swordsman is equally good with his weapons, his fists, and his leadership skills.

Check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: Here comes the bride!

Race and Background

Beowulf is definitely a Human, and being a Variant Human will help us wield two beowulf-sized weapons at once with the Dual Wielder feat. This gives you +1 AC while dual wielding, the ability to ignore the lack of a light property on your weapons for the purposes of dual wielding, and the ability to draw or stow two weapons at once for fewer complications. Hrunting and Naegling are many things, but light isn’t one of them. You also get +1 Strength and +1 Charisma, and Insight Proficiency. 

Beowulf is a skilled fighter and sailor, making him a Marine. This gives him Athletics and Survival proficiencies. He’s also a really good king, but that’s as far from backstory as you can get; we’ll pick it up later.

Ability Scores

You’re the original dragon slayer and you can tear monsters’ arms off. Safe to say, your Strength is pretty high. You’re also tough enough to wrestle monsters in the first place, and survive a dragon long enough to get off some last words, so that’s Constitution sorted. Good kings inspire the people, so let’s get the Charisma up there too. Your Dexterity isn’t super great, but it’s not like you avoid hits. Your Wisdom sadly couldn’t be that high either, we just needed other things more. Hopefully the Insight proficiency makes up for it. Finally, dump Intelligence- you’re not too badly affected by your Madness Enhancement, but you were never one to think things through anyway.

Class Levels

1. Barbarian 1: Starting off as a barbarian nets you a whole lot of HP, plus Strength and Constitution save proficiencies, and proficiency in Intimidation and Survival. You try telling me that guy ain’t scary, you’ll just be wrong.

You also get the ability to Rage, adding extra damage to your attacks, have advantage on strength checks and saves, and you resist physical damage. You also get Unarmored Defense based on your constitution and dexterity. You don’t wear armor. Or a shirt, for that matter.

For this build we’re calling Hrunting a Long-sword and Naegling a War-hammer. They’re both big enough that normal people would wield them two-handed, but you dual wield them instead, because you’re just that good.

2. Barbarian 2: Second level barbarians can make Reckless Attacks, giving you advantage on a turn for all attacks at the cost of giving everything advantage against you until your next turn. Try killing everything before that happens. You also get a Danger Sense, giving you advantage on Dexterity Saves you see coming like, say, a dragon’s breath weapon.

3. Fighter 1: Popping over to fighter nets you a Fighting Style, and Unarmed Fighting lets you throw away those children’s toys and settle things like a man, dealing 1d6 bludgeoning with a one-handed attack or 1d8 with both hands free. You can also deal 1d4 damage at the start of each turn to any creature you’re grappling.

First level fighters also get a Second Wind, healing you as a bonus action once per short rest. Now you’ll be able to stay in the fight even longer!

4. Fighter 2: Second level fighters get an Action Surge, adding an extra action to your turn once per short rest. Multiclassing right out the gate means your extra attack comes a little late, so this’ll have to make up for it. Though you already get an extra attack kind of thanks to dual-wielding...

5. Fighter 3: Beowulf may be rough, but he’s still a natural born leader, so the Banneret subclass from the sword coast isn’t that out of left field. Unless you have no idea that the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide even existed, in which case you’re in good company along with WotC.

Regardless, when you take the subclass you get a Rallying Cry. When you use your Second Wind, you also heal up to three creatures within 60′ of you, if they’re your allies. Those creatures regain your fighter level in HP if they can see or hear you.

6. Fighter 4: At sixth level we finally get our first Ability Score Improvement, which we’re using to get the Crusher feat. This increases your Strength by 1 point, and once per turn you can push a creature 5′ away if it’s large or smaller and you’re dealing bludgeoning damage to it. Also, if you score a critical hit with a bludgeoning attack, all attacks against that creature are made with advantage until your next turn. So you’re really good with your fists and Naegling now.

7. Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack, bringing your total attacks per turn up to three while dual-wielding or five with an Action Surge.

8. Fighter 6: Hrunting was feeling a little left out from that last ASI, so use this one to pick up Slasher. This gives you another +1 Strength, and hitting a creature with slashing damage reduces its speed by 10′ once per turn. Critical hits with slashing damage cause the creature to have disadvantage on all its attack rolls until your next turn.

9. Fighter 7: Seventh level Bannerets become a Royal Envoy, giving you Persuasion proficiency and doubled proficiency with persuasion checks. You can talk freaking Yaga into making you their king. Admittedly most of that was beating the shit out of them, but that’s just yaga diplomacy at work.

10. Fighter 8: I swear we’re almost done with feats, just pick up Inspiring Leader for one last boost in your leadership skills. Spending 10 minutes giving up to six creatures a pep talk gives them temporary hp equal to your level plus your charisma modifier. You can only use this on a creature once per short rest, so save it for the dramatic conclusion. Also, make sure you DM doesn’t try to actually make you do a ten minute speech, that would be very long.

11. Fighter 9: Ninth level fighters are Indomitable, giving you a second chance at a failed save. You can use this once per long rest, so I’d save it for something you should’ve made. Failing a wisdom save sucks, but you weren’t going to pass it anyways, trust me.

12. Fighter 10: Tenth level bannerets have an Inspiring Surge. When you use your Action Surge, a nearby creature of your choice can react to make a weapon attack if it can see or hear you. That’s right; not only do you get extra attacks, but now so does your party.

13. Fighter 11: You get another Extra Attack for even more stabbing/hitting per action; three with your fists, four while dual-wielding and using your bonus action, and seven while dual wielding and using your action surge.

14. Fighter 12: Now that all the feats are out of the way we can finally focus on ability scores with this ASI. Bump up your Constitution for more health and AC.

15. Fighter 13: At this level you get another use of Indomitable per long rest. Yeah I know it’s not that interesting.

16. Fighter 14: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity for better dex saves and AC. If you haven’t been going up against a lot of dex saves, feel free to move this over to constitution instead, it’s up to you.

17. Fighter 15: Fifteenth level bannerets become a Bulwark. When you use your Indomitable feature to reroll a failed Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma save, an ally within 60′ can also reroll their save. Now rerolling wisdom saves might make sense; two mind-controlled party members is rough.

18. Fighter 16: Use your last ASI to finally maximize your Strength for the best swordplay and boxing you can have.

19. Fighter 17: You get an additional use of Action Surge and Indomitable, because they totally didn’t run out of ideas for main class features back at level 11.

20. Fighter 18: Your capstone level sees your Inspiring Surge get just a bit better. Now using Action Surge lets two allies attack instead of one, so you can lead an entire army into the fight.

Pros: 

Persuasion expertise, intimidation proficiency, and a decent insight means you can serve as a pretty good party face in an emergency.

You don’t need armor, and your weapons are more a formality than anything else, so you’re always ready for a fight.

Your abilities help the party just for doing things you’d be doing anyway, helping you turn the tide of a battle just by being that kickass. That’s not just your class abilities either. Crusher and Slasher can seriously hinder an enemy’s movement, protecting squishier party members.

Cons:

Like a majority of berserkers, you lack ranged or magical options. High level enemies might be a problem if you don’t pick up any magical weapons.

Your wisdom is low enough that you shouldn’t be using Indomitable charges on it, but one of your features is specifically about rerolling soft stat saves. Wasting your own save to help another party member might be worth it, but there’s less painful ways to do that.

Literally all your weapons are versatile, but you only have two hands. If you want to maximize damage in any one weapon you’d have to drop the rest to do so, but that gets rid of your versatility. It’s a balancing act.

[bigskydreaming]

Sometimes I want to follow you but then I dee that you reblog from people who have terrible misinformed/ ignorant borderline xenophobic opinions about certain things I like and they enjoy dragging the things I like.. Then I end up not following you. Even if I block some of them they'll end up on my tl and who knows maybe you have the same/ similar opinions. So yes I love your metas, but sorry I can't bring myself to follow. This has nothing to do with your existing fandoms or "dark" fics.

Okay?

Sfjskgsgksjsi

Sorry I just really don’t know what to do with this? I’m not like, mad about it lol since this is how tumblr is supposed to work I’m pretty sure, like hey it’s cool you like my metas but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re gonna like me The Person and if someone doesn’t like me then why the fuck would they follow me y’know?

In case this is about my posts yesterday about me being annoyed when people like block me but still wanna use my shit, it’s like....yeah that does legit annoy me because I think that’s dumb and I don’t get it. When I don’t like someone I don’t usually WANT to use or peruse content they create because it’s associated with them and I already decided they weren’t someone I care to associate with sooooo.....

But also, that was literally just me saying hey this annoys me. That’s it, that’s the whole scoop. Annoying things are annoying but expressing that isn’t like.....it doesn’t mean I’m going to DO anything about it or even that there’s anything TO do about it, it’s more just haha hey I too am a Person and I am disorderly and my fandom blog doubles as my main blog so here I am having Feelings, let me show you them, RAWR dinosaur emoji????

Idk maybe it’s that it’s 4 am and my brain hasn’t even rebooted enough for me to even figure out why the fuck I’m even awake, lol, but I guess what I’m saying is it sounds like you’ve made an A+ decision for yourself here? I have no idea what mutuals I reblog from that have views you see as xenophobic, without you, like, actually saying what views those are so I can confirm where I stand on them or sit or whatever. But I can tell you that I don’t follow a lot of people period and my mutuals list is pretty short and basically consists of individuals I’ve met on here that I would absolutely go the fuck to bat for, any time, any place, simply because I think they’re super cool people across the board and that’s what you do for super cool people: baseball as an analogy for friendship I guess? I never did get that particular analogy tbh. Or baseball.

Sooooooo tbh I’m like, not the guy to be all that mad that someone doesn’t like me, it’s kinda like lol this is a neat convo I’m just not sure why we’re having it, but what I’m far less keen on is like, just any kinda slight against my mutuals aka friends and friend type people at all.....especially when that doesn’t actually include what it is someone specifically has a problem with cuz Vague Wording is Vague, and when like I said, my inclination is to go to bat for my mutuals, I would kinda like to know what it is I should be swinging at in their defense. Just general FYI for anyone reading this or like future reference or whatever.

(Unless this is about Palestine again slash still, in which case I mean, I already said what I said there and what I said was What We’re Not Gonna Do is make this topic White Guy Sitting Ten Thousand Miles Away From the Gaza Strip Discourse Hour, and the one thing I always am is consistent aka stubborn aka....eh, you get it).

But anyway, my vaguely Point shaped thing here is just that, I am not a pod person or an invertebrate and my opinions are my own and I do not mindlessly agree with things others say even if it is a mutual or friend saying it, but that said, my mutuals are people I am more likely to agree with than not. So absent knowing specifically what posts of theirs concern you as to whether or not I agree with them, all I can really say is if you’re that bothered by some of their opinions in general then yeah, you’re probably best off avoiding me as well in order to keep your dash a place you’re comfortable with, regardless of how you feel about my fandom meta outside of those posts/opinions. Cuz there really is no outside as far as I see it; my fandom meta is me as is my decision as to who I reblog from and associate with as are my opinions and stances on non fandom matters. It’s all just the same me, one network, many shows, but if any of those shows are the equivalent of Fox News in your eyes, then yeah, for sure, screw that one show that has the one guy you really like and just change the channel and find one that’s a better match for you.

It’s allllllll good.

And for the record, if it’s ultimately more just that they bash things you like and seeing that randomly pop up on your dash might bum you out enough that it’s worth it not to follow me just to be safe there, like, that’s totally understandable and nothing to be sorry about. We all do it. There’s a metric fuckton of people in Batfandom that I probably WOULD follow or read or interact with if it weren’t for the fact that I see them talk and joke and reblog a lot with Big Name Batcest shippers and the like, and I mean, lol hey I’m an incest survivor who hates incest with a passion few will ever understand and seeing it pop up on my dash in posts that talk or laugh about it as something fluffy or sweet or harmless would bum me super hard. So it’s like welp, in every other respect it looks like me and this one person could sync up brainwaves and make like platonic soulmates through our next several lifetimes buuuuuuut they’ve got incest-fluff in their general sphere and that’s a dealbreaker for me so guess we’ll never know now cuz I’m gonna keep standing firmly over here. *shrugs* Does that kinda feel like a waste or a shame sometimes? Yeah, maybe, but like. Your priorities are what they are and if you’re happy with your priorities, sticking with them is the clear choice and not something anyone should kick themselves for.

I mean, I might happen to think someone’s priorities are wrong and bad but I’m allowed to just like you’re allowed to think the same about mine or my mutuals’? It’s just...when that’s the ultimate issue, people just having wildly in opposition priorities, there’s just like....not a whole lot to say there beyond ‘hey I think your priorities suck,’ ‘no, YOUR priorities suck,’ ‘well I think your FACE sucks,’ ‘how dare you, I got this face from my MOM, you giant bipedal pitstain, have you no shame’ etc etc ad nauseam.

Anyway, I’ve officially exhausted this topic so exhaustively I’ve now made myself exhausted enough to go back to sleep cuz it’s still not even 5 am lol, and this is all just brain vomit now anyway so in conclusion, it’s all whatever dude, you do you, I’ll do me, we’ll always have Paris, and that’s what you missed on Glee.

[angel-with-a-pipette]

Title: The Perfect Time

Summary: The final clash on the Keyblade Graveyard started and the severity of the situation hit Sora for the first time. They might fail. They might die. So he has to make a choice now. Sokai. Contains spoilers from the KH3 trailers.

Rating: T

Genre: Romance, Humor

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney/Square Enix.

I want to thank @generalcaraway , @rapis-razuri and @scoobysnack1107 ! The three of them came up with the idea of adapting a certain scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for Sokai and allowed me to run off with their idea and add my own twist to it :3

Special thanks go to @phoenix-downer , her translation and interpretation of the “Chikai” lyrics helped me a lot in adapting this scene for Sokai :D

Also available on: ao3 | ff.net

Please enjoy!

Dust hit Sora's face as he stepped off of the gummi ship and onto the badlands. It was an unwelcoming world, void of vegetation and life. Somehow, it didn't surprise Sora that Xehanort had chosen this place for the final battle.

He turned around. As always, Donald and Goofy were right by his side, giving him an encouraging smile that calmed his nerves immediately. And they were not the only ones. More gummi ships landed and their passengers exited, throwing glances around the world before all of their eyes landed on Sora, immediately softening their expressions.

Together, they would end this insanity, he was sure of it.

Sora turned back forward and looked at a wall of dust far ahead. He didn't need to wait for a blurry figure to slowly become visible to know that Xehanort was near – the chaotic energy of an intense amount of Darkness was enough to warn him. Soon, Xehanort appeared clearer, his arms crossed behind his back as an arrogant smile spread over his lips. It didn't take long for shadowy figures to appear behind him, all dressed in their black coats, hoods drawn up to hide their faces.

Of course, he had come with his Seekers of Darkness, just as Sora had come with his Guardians of Light.

Xehanort stopped a good thirty meters away from Sora. The tension in the air rose as Xehanort spread his arms theatrically.

“Today,” he started proudly, “we join the other Keyblade Wielders and leave our mark on fate. I have waited patiently,” he clenched his fist and Sora heard the leather of his glove creak, “but together, we shall unlock the Keyblade War's secrets!”

With a wave of his hand, the dust to his right settled, allowing Sora and the others to see the field that spread along the horizon. Upon further inspection, Sora realized it was a field of abandoned Keyblades.

“Yes,” Xehanort nodded as understanding spread over the faces of Sora and his companions, “this is what is left from the first Keyblade war. A true Keyblade Graveyard. And soon, your Keyblades will join them.”

“Why?”

Xehanort quirked an eyebrow at Sora's sudden exclamation. Before he could answer the boy however, he continued. “Why are you doing this?”

A chuckle escaped the old man.

“Knowledge – and power. Whoever will open the door to Kingdom Hearts will be reborn as something far greater than human. And someone greater than human will be able to shape the world in their image. Finally, Light and Darkness will exist in true equilibrium and people will stop to shun the Darkness.”

Sora snorted. “They only shun the Darkness because of people like you who abuse it.”

“A dumb island boy like you wouldn't understand.”

“Maybe. But at least I understand that life is precious and shouldn't be played with, unlike another dumb island boy.”

Sora couldn't help the self-satisfied grin that spread on his lips after he heard Xehanort's low growl. Cockily, Sora flipped his hair back with a turn of his head and added: “We'll end this, here and now.”

To his surprise however, Xehanort recovered and a wicked expression crossed his face as he raised his hand slowly.

“I was hoping you'd say that.”

A cold shudder ran down Sora's back, but he didn't have time to contemplate Xehanort's words as he jerked his hand up quickly. The world began to tremble and the ground directly beneath Xehanort and his Seekers rose up high, far out of reach for the Guardians of Light.

“Let the Keyblade War begin!”

Xehanort snapped his fingers and somewhere far away, a clock chimed. One of the Seekers jumped off of the cliff, creating a small crater upon contact with the ground below him. Small black creatures started appearing, moving erratically around him and they revealed the Seeker's identity before he even lowered his hood: Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.

Several whizzing sounds resounded behind Sora and he now, too, flicked his wrist to summon his Keyblade before he charged.

Everything about this situation reminded him of the Battle of the one hundred Heartless back in Radiant Garden. Enemies started surrounding him quickly and every slash of his Keyblade hit another Heartless. With practiced ease, he rolled out of the way of a claw aimed at his head and with a single swing of his Keyblade, the Wyvern that had attacked him disappeared.

He heard a second far-away chime when the ground shook and more enemies started popping up: Nobodies. Xemnas must have joined the fight now and it made the battlefield more hectic.

Avoiding Nobodies was harder. They were pretty nimble and quick, nothing like the slow and sluggish heartless. They kept Sora on his toes and so it took him until the third clock chime to realize that he had lost sight of his friends.

Panic started to bubble up inside of him.

“Kairi! Riku!”

His attacks grew more hectic and less precise as he hacked his way through the battle field, searching frantically for his friends. He hadn't felt this panic back in the Radiant Garden fight – but his panic still seemed so strangely familiar, as if the memory of it was just out of his reach...

There!

Finally, he saw a glimpse of pink and silver in the distance and he followed this direction just in time to see a Neoshadow appear behind Kairi, its claws ready to sink deep into the unsuspecting girl's skin. Sora jumped and as he pierced the Heartless to protect her, he suddenly remembered.

This didn't remind him of the battle of the thousand Heartless in Radiant Garden. It reminded him of the battle upon the Black Pearl. And the panic hadn't been his – it had been Will's when he had been too scared to lose Elizabeth to waste another second.

And when Sora saw Kairi twirl gracefully to the side, shooting an icicle at an enemy that had tried to sneak up on Sora and his heart attempted to beat out of his chest, he finally understood Will's impromptu proposal.

It was now or never.

“Kairi!”

She didn't react immediately, being engrossed in a fight with one of Xemnas's Nobodies, so Sora grabbed her arm once she had defeated it and pulled her close. Confusion spread over the girl's face, but before she could ask him what was wrong, Sora already blurted it out.

“Will you share a paopu with me?”

Kairi's eyes widened and her mouth fell open as a soft blush started to spread on her cheeks.

A fourth chime resounded when suddenly, a Claymore separated Sora and Kairi from each other. They quickly recovered and parried Saix's attack.

“I don't think this is the best time!” Kairi squeaked, her voice an octave higher than usual as she threw a quick glance back to Sora. “We're in the middle of a battle here!”

Together, they were able to shove Saix back, just in time for Lea to swoop in with his Keyblade, engaging Saix in a one on one fight that allowed Sora and Kairi to take on new Heartless that were closing on on them.

“It's the perfect time!” Sora shouted over his shoulder while slashing an attacking Dancer Nobody across the chest. “I might not get another chance to do this!”

The far-away clock chimed for a fifth time and it was the only warning Sora got before he ducked and rolled out of the way of a couple of arrows that were shot at him. Xigbar, hovering high above the ground, grinned as his relentless attack made it impossible for Sora to do anything but dodge and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

But that also meant that he completely neglected his cover.

Kairi seized her chance and sprinted towards him, using a Large Body's huge belly to propel herself into the sky. She grabbed Xigbar's arm and used her momentum to hurl him over her shoulder to the ground, away from Sora.

The latter had now jumped back into the fight and used a couple of fire spells to clear his way until he was close enough to grab Kairi's arm once more. She stumbled into him and the contact between them made Sora shiver at the same time that the sixth chime resounded over the land and thunder started rumbling in the distance. Sora ignored it however and only focused on Kairi, her body pressed flush against his, and he relished in how right it felt to hold her like that.

“I'm done making empty promises. I love you and I want to be with you.”

Again, Sora had rendered Kairi speechless as his steady gaze focused on her. His heart flipped when he saw Kairi's blush intensify and he felt the sudden need to lean down and –

The screech of a Nobody made the two of them jump apart, Keyblades raised high as they did their best to parry every attack, hacking and slashing at their enemies. This time when Sora reached out for Kairi, she extended her arm towards him, reaching out just as much and a short smile danced over Sora's lips as they pulled each other close.

“I've made my choice,” Sora told her, expression as serious as he'd ever been in his life, “what's yours?”

Staring into his eyes, Kairi hesitated for a second, before replying.

“Riku.”

Sora's face contorted in confusion and disbelief as he repeated her words.

“Riku?!” Sora would be lying if that didn't sting a little. But it made no sense for Kairi to say Riku's name, did it?

A huge grin spread over her lips and she couldn't control the giggle that escaped her as she confirmed it.

“Riku!”

As the clock chimed for the seventh time, Kairi turned away from Sora, but to his relief, she grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingertips as she pulled him along, eyes frantically searching for what he assumed to be their silver haired friend.

She finally spotted him a few meters away, defeating a Dusk that had tried to attack King Mickey and Sora felt himself being dragged closer to him, all while he kept swiping at the enemies that they passed.

“Riku!” She called out again, and a short glance her way told her she had his attention.

“Do you have the paopu with you?”

“Do I what?!”

Caught off guard by Kairi's question, Riku turned his body fully towards her which was a mistake. With the eighth chime, another Seeker jumped onto the battle field and exploited Riku's inattentiveness, kicking him in the gut. Not wasting a single second, Sora let go of Kairi's hand and charged at the hooded figure with Kairi on his heels. Thankfully, Riku recovered rather quickly and so the three of them exchanged blows with who turned out to be the Xehanort from the past.

“The paopu I asked you to get for me the next time you're on the play island,” Kairi continued as if it was the most normal thing for her to ask this question while also cartwheeling out of the way of one of Xehanort's attacks at the same time. Meanwhile, Sora's nerves flared up upon hearing her words, making him stumble into his next attack.

Did this mean..?

“I know which paopu you mean!” Riku replied impatiently as he went into Ghost Drive to charge at Xehanort, wearing him down enough for Sora to blast him away with a well timed Explosion.

After he high-fived Sora with a grin, he turned back to Kairi.

“Why are you asking?”

Kairi's cheeks flared up and that definitely made Sora's heart pound faster. It also seemed to surprise and distract Riku, as none of them became aware of the Shadow Heartless that slowly appeared beneath their feet. He raised an inquisitive brow at which Kairi blushed harder still, but yet managed to give Sora the most dazzling and disarming smile they had ever seen.

“I want to share it with Sora.”

A wonderful, amazing tingling feeling spread in Sora's chest and made his face light up upon hearing her words. Like the lovestruck fool he was, he immediately gravitated towards Kairi, dopey grin on his face, and reached for her free hand. She squeezed it lightly and Sora was ready to ascend to heaven then and there.

“Now?” Riku yelled in disbelief, startling a few of the Shadows enough to cause them to puff away again as they heard the clock chime for the ninth time. Gambler Nobodies popped up out of nowhere, effectively separating the friends as they rolled, flipped and cartwheeled to safety, raising their Keyblades once they found stable footing again.

“So,” Kairi spoke up again once she had defeated enough enemies, allowing her to take a breath again, “do you have it?”

Riku, who had just thrown his Keyblade at an enemy in an attempt of a Strike Raid attack threw an incredulous look at Kairi.

“I'm a little busy at the moment?!” He exclaimed and caught his Keyblade before doing a 360° turn, defeating several Heartless that had tried to swarm him with one swipe, “Can't you two wait until after the fight?”

Sora couldn't help the low whine that escaped his throat, and no matter how much Riku would tease him about it in the future, he would refuse to admit that in this moment his voice skipped a few octaves.

But it also caught Riku's attention, so Sora decided to pull his biggest guns: His puppy-dog eyes and infamous pout.

“Riku, please!”

As soon as Riku's eyes landed on him, he flinched, and Sora knew he had won.

“Fine, fine!” Riku sighed in exasperation, “Cover me!”

With his trademark grin, Sora immediately rushed to his best friend's side, keeping the enemies away from him as he rummaged around in his pants pocket until he got hold of the coveted fruit.

“Kairi, catch!”

Simultaneously with the tenth chime, Riku threw the paopu in the air, sending an Aero spell right after to ensure it would reach its destination that was Kairi's upturned palms. The moment the paopu was safely cradled between her hands, Riku and Sora changed places. Sora rushed to Kairi's side, fighting his way through a wall of enemies only to hesitate when he ended up in front of her. Suddenly, the teens grew aware of the severity of the commitment they were just about to take and both felt their cheeks flame up as they looked into each others' eyes. With a soft, uncharacteristically shy smile, Kairi held the paopu up in between them and Sora raised a shaking hand to grasp the other end of the fruit.

“From now on, I always want to be with you,” Kairi declared and Sora gently moved the paopu towards Kairi's lips so she could take the first bite. A shudder ran through him when he felt her fingers move over his to grip the fruit more tightly to do so, before she pulled back.

To Sora's surprise, Kairi immediately summoned Destiny's Embrace again and charged forward, not letting go of the paopu while she stabbed the Neoshadow that had appeared behind Sora. He quickly  returned the favor by attacking the Dusk that had started wiggling their skinny limbs in anticipation of wrapping them around Kairi's arms.

Safe for the moment, Sora swallowed thickly as his eyes found Kairi's again. He had to make it perfect.

“I –“

The next shadowy figure appeared at the eleventh chime, landing right between Sora and Kairi, forcefully ripping them apart. The figure's gloved hand was clenched around the paopu.

“Isn't this cute?” The figure asked as he lowered his hood, revealing spiky, black hair and golden glowing eyes. Vanitas. “Gee, what should I do now? Squash this ridiculous fruit?” His grip on the paopu tightened and juice started to slowly trickle down his black leather glove. Anger started bubbling up Sora's chest. How dare he? “Or would the princess love to her destiny to be intertwined with mine instead?” Vanitas asked her with a devious grin, the pitch of his voice lowering further as he raised the fruit up to his face. His fists already shaking, Sora was about to charge at his doppelganger when suddenly, the paopu was wrenched from Vanitas's hand with a spark and it came to hover over their heads. Before he knew what was happening to him, Braveheart crashed heavily into Void Gear, catching the boy off-guard and causing him to lose his footing for a second. Sora took advantage of the confusion and retrieved the floating paopu with a high jump as Riku put all of his weight into his Keyblade to keep Vanitas down.

“I've been waiting three years for this to happen,” Riku hissed and swung his Keyblade around, shoving Vanitas further away, “don't you dare ruin this for them.”

At this moment, Sora wanted to hug Riku. Badly.

It meant so much to him to see how much Riku wanted this for his friends, always supported their relationship even if it was more teasing than serious in the past. But hearing first-hand that his best friend was 100% supportive of them gave Sora a new confidence boost and with his heart at peace, he turned back to Kairi, and she eagerly curled her fingers around Sora's hand and the fruit.

“No more lies,” Sora started and looked Kairi deep in the eyes, “no more empty promises. Starting today, I swear we'll always be together .

Tenderly, Kairi maneuvered the fruit to Sora's lips. He bit a piece off, savoring its sweet taste all while never averting his gaze from Kairi.

This was it. They had finally shared a paopu.

Sora's heart was ready to burst from his chest with excitement when Kairi's smile widened into one of her toothy grins he so adored.

Laughter filled the air as Sora tugged Kairi closer to wind an arm around her waist and pressed his forehead against hers. He felt their breaths mingle and he was ready to seal their promise with a kiss – hadn't Unversed started to spawn right around them. Together, Sora and Kairi fought their enemies as the clock relentlessly chimed for the twelfth time, both still holding on to one end of the paopu each, connected by it and their oath.

This time, Kairi came closer to Sora and dismissed her Keyblade to snake an arm around the back of his neck and pull him all the way down, but again, they were surrounded by enemies that they had to finish off together.

When this happened for the third time, an exasperated “Wak!” startled Sora for a second and a barrier formed around him and Kairi. He blinked in confusion until he saw Donald, his trusty staff held high.

“Just kiss already!” He quacked at them impatiently, waving his staff around frantically and causing Sora to blush. He was moved by Donald's action, as he was by Goofy's encouraging nod, but it didn't make the matter any less embarrassing. A quick glance in Kairi's direction made him realize that Kairi didn't fare any better with the tips of her ears burning up, but nevertheless, she smiled sweetly at him and at this moment, he knew it didn't matter what everybody else thought or saw.

She was his home.

He dismissed his Keyblade and wrapped his free hand around Kairi's waist to pulled her closer. She immediately responded by brushing her hand through Sora's hair until she reached the nape of his neck. The paopu was safely cradled between their arms and bodies as Sora leaned in, finally embracing Kairi's lips with his own.

It was everything he ever dreamed of, he decided, as he felt Kairi's lips move against his, first slowly and shyly, then boldly and demanding. Sora barely heard the happy “Aaaaaw!” that escaped Donald and Goofy, nor did he really notice them clubbing and smacking a small Heartless with their weapons as it dared to interrupt their perfect moment of watching their honorary son finally kiss the love of his life. No, all of this was lost to him as he tasted cherry chapstick on Kairi's lips and took advantage of a small sigh of hers to deepen their kiss.

It was over way too quickly however when he heard the thirteenth chime. With how things had progressed so far, Sora knew which Seeker of Darkness would be entering the battlefield now, not to mention that with him, all Seekers and Guardians were finally engaged in battle.

Somewhat hesitantly, Sora and Kairi pulled back from their kiss, eyes glued to each other. Sora let his free hand glide along Kairi's cheek tenderly and she leaned into him for a moment, desperate to remember every single second of their moment. As Donald's barrier began to vanish, they separated reluctantly and Sora let their paopu slip into one of his pockets when Master Xehanort started approaching them. On his right side, he felt Kairi interlace her fingertips with his, on his left side, he felt Riku step up, Keyblade drawn and aimed at Xehanort. After squeezing Kairi's hands reassuringly and exchanging a nod with Riku, he summoned Kingdom Key again, followed by Kairi summoning Destiny's Embrace.

It was time to defeat Xehanort once and for all.

[findmeinpops]

Chapter Five: I’m On Fire

Summary: You’re home alone when you hear an unexpected knock at the door. This is loosely inspired by ‘I’m On Fire’ by Bruce Springsteen, the lyrics are here and you can listen to it here. Enjoy! x

I’m On Fire: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

I Predict A Riot: Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14

Abbreviations: (Y/N) - Your Name (Y/L/N) - Your Last Name

A/N: This took me quite a bit of time to do because I have had a bad flare up, but I’ve just this second finished it and I think I’m happy with this. Enjoy and I can’t wait to write the next part! x

You took your time returning home. What were you supposed to be doing with this information and all your thoughts and emotions?

The easier subject to face was your dad’s deal with the Serpents, you wouldn’t even think about the mess with Sweet Pea. You decided to confront your dad.

“Dad, can I talk to you?” He removed his glasses and closed his laptop, giving you his full attention.

“Sure, Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

“I spoke to Sweet Pea, he said you made a deal with him and the Serpents.”  

Your dad’s face hardened and he stood up. “I told you to leave it be. I told you to never talk to him. Ever.” You saw anger boiling in his eyes and you took a step back. Maybe you had pushed him too far.

“It’s none of your business, I am trying to protect you and that’s all that matters. Why did you go against me? Why do the exact opposite of what I told you to do?” His face turned red and his stance was intimidating. He was your dad, he wouldn't hurt you, right?

You opened your talk but no words came out.

“Right, that’s what I thought.” He picked up his stuff and walked out the room and out of the house. To where, you didn't know but you were glad he was gone.

A week had passed and you had managed to avoid Sweet Pea so far. Each lunch time you had eaten in the back corner of the library and every lesson you had together, you sat in the back corner. He gave you a wide berth, which you welcomed.

“I want to be able to keep an eye on Juggy, being a serpent would be the best way to do it.” You had invited Betty over for a much-needed girls’ night. The pair of you were settled in your room, surrounded by cushions and blankets watching your favourite films. She had been catching you up with all the gossip in school, having missed it due to your isolation. Betty also wanted to join the Serpents and you were trying your best to support her.

Ever since Jughead had become a more involved member of the Serpents, Betty had been worried about him. She thought that if she was there, she could make sure that he didn’t do anything too reckless or dangerous.

“Are you sure Bee? It’s a commitment that the Serpents won’t take lightly.” You didn’t want to deter your friend from what she wanted and what she felt was right but you needed to make sure that she had thought it through. “Have you talked to Jug about it? Isn’t there an initiation? What do you have to do anyway?”

“Well, that’s probably the worst part, I have to do this ‘Serpent dance’.” She sighed and pushed her hair away from her face. “It’s a sexist tradition that any female initiates basically have to strip and pole dance in front of all of the Serpent, 90% of whom are old men.”

This made you cringe just thinking about it. It would take a lot for you to do that, and you knew that Betty must truly love Jughead if she was willing to do this for him.

“As for the commitment, I can handle it, as long as it keeps Juggy safe. I suppose it’s one horrible moment for an insurance in Juggy’s safety.” She took a sip from her hot chocolate, some of the whipped cream sticking to her nose. You chuckled as you reached over and wiped it off.

“That’s enough about me. What’s going on with Sweet Pea?” You blushed and pulled your legs up to your chest.

“We may have kissed.” Betty’s eyes widened and she gestured for you to continue. “I suppose it was less of a kiss and more of an impromptu make out in the corridor of school.”

You covered you face with your hands and you heard Betty pause the film in order to concentrate more on you.

“You’re only telling me this now! What happened next?” You sighed and grabbed hold of your mug, wrapping your hands around it for comfort and warmth.

“He asked me on a date to Pop’s and told me all about the business with my dad.” Tears were welling in your eyes and, as much as you fought them, one escaped and fell down your cheek.

“My dad hired him to essentially bodyguard-slash-stalk me because the Ghoulies were threatening to hurt me.” Betty pulled you into a tight hug and rubbed your shoulder soothingly. “I blew up in his face, Bee. I had a go at him, telling him that he was a liar and that he didn’t really want to get to know me, he was just playing around to get back at my dad.”

“You had the right to be annoyed, Y/N. You had just learnt that your dad betrayed you, admittedly you took it out on the wrong person, but it’s not your fault. Maybe you just need to let him explain himself, it might make you feel a little better…” You nodded and Betty pulled away, grabbing a tissue to wipe away your tears.

“So, did you talk to your dad? I mean the Ghoulies are drug dealers and, from what I’ve heard from Juggy, they’re bad news.” Betty sat back and crossed her legs, leaving a hand on your leg for reassurance.

“I did but he refused to tell me anything, said that it was none of my business and the less I knew the less likely I would be hurt.”

“Bullshit.” You were taken aback, Betty tended to refrain from swearing, blaming her strict mother. “You have every right to know what your dad has been doing behind your back to put you in danger, if you knew what was going on, you could avoid it.”

“Maybe what he’s done is so bad that he thinks it will drive my mum and I away. It could be drugs, or a cover up, or anything! We have no idea!” Betty took the mug from your hands, placing hers and yours on the bedside table before standing.

“Let’s go to the Whyte Wyrm.”

“Are you insane? Why?”

“We may not be able to do anything about your dad’s shady business but we can go find Sweet Pea and you can at least found out the truth, let him speak his piece.” She offered you a hand.

You were unsure, you and Sweet Pea were messy. You didn’t know if you could trust him but you couldn’t deny that there was something there. He was different when he was around you.

“Anyway, if you’re going to be attacked by some lunatic Ghoulies, it won’t harm to have some friends in the Serpents.”

You sighed but stood up. “Fine, but if something smells fishy, we’re leaving.”

You drove to the Whyte Wyrm, you felt your whole-body tense as you pulled up. What were you doing? You were a North-Sider, they were Serpents and you had always been taught that Serpents couldn’t be trusted.

Betty had to all but drag you to the door and you stood there for a while, staring up at the building. It looked exactly like you would expect a gang’s bar to look like. It was gloomy and dark, painted in shades of grey and black, accompanied by a large banner of a snake, which hung at the front of the building, marking the territory as belonging to the Serpents. The lines of motorbikes outside only added to the run-down exterior. It looked menacing, like if you were to step a foot in there, you would be killed.

To your surprise, you were given little notice by the inhabitants of the bar, when you walked in, they were too occupied by conversation, games and God knows what else. The interior lived up to your expectations. The first thing that hit you was the distinct smell of cigarette smoke, sweat and leather. It wasn’t necessarily an unpleasant smell but it certainly wasn’t pleasant either. The black walls were lined with posters and neon lights and a couple of strings of fairy lights decorated the balcony above. A few vintage arcade games lay around the room but it was the pool and foosball tables that took centre stage. The dim lights, hanging from the ceiling, also helped to create the overall grungy mood.

Your eyes turned to the bar. Sweet Pea was hunched over a glass of whiskey, paying little attention to anything around him. He looked miserable and you felt bad for how you had shouted at him.

As Betty dragged you through the crowd, people started to stare. You didn’t belong here, you were a North-Sider, Betty was too but she seemed to fit in quite well; you wondered how often she had visited the bar.

The bartender beckoned Betty over and she pulled you over too. You kept a safe distance from Sweet Pea, though he seemed to take no notice of the two of you.

“Betty! Hey! I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” She leant over the bar to hug her before focusing on you.

“Hi, I’m Toni, I don’t think we’ve met.” She embraced you too.

“I’m Y/N.” Out the corner of your eye you saw Sweet Pea turn to face you at the sound of your voice but you purposefully ignored her. You felt his eyes boring into the side of your head.

“Ah, you’re the famous Y/N. You’re Pea’s girl.” Instant regret filled her eyes.

“I’m not Pea’s anything.” You quipped back without thinking.

Sweet Pea stood and slammed his glass on the table before throwing a few bills on the bar and turning to leave.

“Sweet Pea, wait.” You hurried after him. The crowd parted, all eager to watch your confrontation.

“What, Y/N, you made yourself clear. You don’t want anything to do with me. Why are you even here? You’re a North-Sider, go back to your castle and your perfect life.” That hurt but you knew you had hurt him more, you needed to give him a chance.

“I came here to hear you out.” He turned again to leave but you reached for him and grabbed hold of his arm, “Please, Pea, talk to me. I was overwhelmed before, with my dad and… everything…” Your hand slid down his arm to his hand, lifting your head so your eyes met. You saw indecision and hurt, anger and frustration, but also hope.

His eyes flitted over your face as he tried to read your expression. “Please, Pea?” You squeezed his hand.

“Fine,” He looked to your intertwined hands, running his thumb carefully along your knuckles. After a few moments, he lifted his head up, “but not here, somewhere else.” You nodded your head, offering him a smile which he didn’t return. He pulled away and walked out the bar without looking back at you.

You turned to Betty and Toni, both of whom were watching your interaction intently. Toni gave you a wink and Betty shooed you away, telling you she’d be fine.

Taking a deep breath, you walked through the crowd, trying to ignore the watching eyes, and out the door to the waiting Sweet Pea.

“Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife baby

Edgy and dull and cut a six inch valley

Through the middle of my skull.

Only you, can cool my desire,

Oh, I’m on fire.”

@swordsandserpents @justmesadgirl @galaxy-hale @nepriaa @wybcalum @happilydeadontheinside @we-chemical-kids @iamaunicorn4704 @quinzzelx @forever-the-broken @marauders162 @celestialcastiel @abundanceofcarolines @ashwarren32 

[wordsaremyenemy]

Hubcaps & Ashtrays [Loki X Reader] Part 1

Pairing: Loki x Reader Prompt: “The thing is, I wasn’t pretending." Word count: 2,300+ Summary: (Fake Boyfriend AU) You’re a school teacher, eighth grade ELA in fact. School isn’t even in session yet and you already want to rip your hair out. Good news, it’s right before Labor Day and there’s a four day weekend before school starts. Which means plenty of time to finish that pain-in-the-ass lesson plan that’s being avoided. Bad news, your family’s annual reunion is this weekend. Opting out really isn’t an option. Aunt Dot is turning 89 this year and even though it’s not 90 it’s still a big deal.

There’s no time to vet a decent guy before bringing him home, so looks like you’re going stag. Again. Which means Mom and all of your aunts are going to make damn sure that your love life is going to be center stage all weekend. Although, a night with friends might have the answer to all your problems in the form of Hallmark movies. A/N: Okay... so.... this is my entry to @justsomebucky‘s (to whom I apologize for taking so long, please don’t eat me) writing challenge from like months ago. Retail + Holiday season = no free time for little old me. Honestly it still isn’t finished, but I’m trying to get my ass in gear and do shit. I honestly shouldn’t even be doing this. I have laundry. And Christmas presents still to make. I have three done out of like twelve. (I’m crocheting and making dreamcatchers. I’m a mess right now.)

I have to give fair warning. This was the shameless self-insert I've been dreaming of. I still don’t think I’ve done it justice though. And though I kept the descriptions of the main character fairly... vague, or at least tried to. The readers aesthetic is very much what I consider my own to be. Meaning "Basic White Female Hipster" meets "Emo Punk Rock Queen." And honestly there's not enough love for punk. The title comes from Sleeping With Sirens’ “The Strays.”

Big thanks to the most amazing woman in the world, who’s read this more times than I have at this point, and very kindly beta-d this for me. I love you, babygirl. Thanks for calling me out on all my shit always.  Warnings: Mostly swearing

It all started Monday. You were running late, spilled coffee down the front of your brand-new cardigan, and remembered that you forgot to put deodorant on as you ran out of your Brooklyn apartment, nearly running over your neighbor-slash-best-guy-friend, Bucky. You end up fifteen minutes late to the very first staff meeting of the school year because you’d forgotten which way the conference room was. (It’s in a very peculiar place, okay? You would think it’s by the front office. It’s not. For some reason, it’s on the third floor right next to third-floor teachers' lounge.) At least you got to spend the rest of the day prepping your classroom.

Tuesday wasn’t much better. No big staff meeting, but you did have to meet with the two other eighth grade ELA teachers who were the co-chairs of the English department of the entire school. That was a trip and not in a good way. You’ve been teaching for four-going-on-five years. You knew what you were doing. Mostly. You liked to wing it the first week, get a feel for your students before you set down a structured lesson plan. Not that anyone really did anything that first week anyway.

Apparently, that wasn’t going to fly this year because Mrs. High-and-Mighty Jacobson and Miss I’m-so-much-better-than-you Atterbury insisted that everyone turn in their lesson plans for the first week by Monday. Great.

Wednesday started a little bit better. You remembered deodorant (you did on Tuesday, too; it’s the little victories). You didn’t spill coffee or run down Bucky. You actually had enough time to exchange pleasantries and be reminded to go over for your weekly movie night. There wasn’t a meeting, so it was pure setting up your classroom for the four classes you were teaching this semester. Of course, you agonized over that lesson plan but it was for the first week and you did just find out yesterday and surely it could wait until tomorrow, right?

Around lunch it gets hazy. Your mom texts you and reminds you of the upcoming plans you couldn’t escape that weekend.

It could be Aunt Dot’s last reunion, honey. You wouldn’t want to upset her, would you?

I told you last week, Ma, you text. I’m going.

You should bring that boy you’re always talking about. What’s his name?

You roll your eyes. Dirk. And we broke up months ago. I told you.

The next message comes a few minutes later. You pointedly ignore it and get back to your task at hand. Ironically, it’s also ignoring that lesson plan. Hopefully, there was going to be enough sangria at this weekend-long party to blur out the twenty questions that came with being single in your family.

You’re in the middle of packing for the weekend, jamming to whatever playlist you were last listening to on Spotify. It’s more on the punk side of your music taste than the pop side. There’s a knock at the door, causing you to jump.

“Y/N! Y/N, open up!” Bucky shouts from the other side of the door.

You pad barefoot to the door, clad in blue, fuzzy, penguin pajama pants and an old NYU tee that you definitely did not steal from Bucky a few heartbreaks ago.

“What?” you snap, opening the door in the middle of Buck’s persistent knocking. You’re surprised to find not only Bucky standing in the hall but Steve and Wanda too. Across the hall, Sam and Nat are standing in the doorway to Bucky’s apartment with their arms crossed. “Wait, shit. Is it that time already?”

Wanda grabs you by the arm with a playful smile and roll of the eyes, pulling you across the hall.

“No Vis tonight?” you ask, collapsing face first on the couch. Nat follows and flops down sideways in the armchair. You turn your head to watch Wanda as she answers.

“Vis is still away on business,” she explains with wistful eyes and a shake of her head. She was always like that when Vis was off somewhere that wasn’t wrapped around her.

“At least you have an excuse. I’m walking into this stupid reunion completely single. Again. And my mother is already on my case.”

Sam snorts, perched on the back of the couch by your feet. “Somebody needs a beer.”

“More like an entire bottle of wine,” Nat teases.

Bucky sighs from the kitchen, where he’s the sole person making pizza. “None of you are in here helping me make this pizza so I don’t want to hear anything from any of you if you don’t get something you like.”

That gets everyone up and around the island.

An hour later, everyone’s content and full of pizza. Even Steve, who always seems to be eating, has pushed his paper plate to the other side of the coffee table. Everyone’s gotten into their prime movie watching positions.

Nat is sitting sideways in the reclined armchair, bowl of popcorn sitting where her feet should go. Wanda’s on her stomach on the floor in front of her. Sam’s sitting on the end of the couch closest to them. Bucky’s on the chaise side of the couch; a picturesque view of relaxation. You’re in-between them, your head on Bucky’s lap, feet under Sam’s leg. Steve’s on the floor, between the couch and coffee table, leaning into the junction where your seat met Bucky’s.

They’re thirty minutes into the sixth episode of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 reboot, adding their own commentary to that of Jonah and his robot friends.

“So, whatever happened to that guy you went out with? The one that took you on a date to the opera?” Sam asks. "Why don't you just ask him to be your date? People do it all the time for weddings."

You make a face that doesn’t last long because Bucky’s doing that thing where he plays with your hair and make you fell all warm and cozy inside.

“Wasn’t her type,” he replies for you. He’d heard all about the disaster that was that date. Just like he’d heard all about the ones before it, too. From the day you moved in across the hall, you and Bucky had been inseparable. He was your best friend. Hardly a day went by that two of you didn't share your daily torments with each other.

It was actually Natasha you’ve known the longest. She’d been your roommate when you first started at NYU. It was rough at first. You were the furthest from a city girl, having grown up in farming community, but it was under Nat’s wing that you grew to love the city.

You’d met Steve shortly after, literally running into him one day as he was on his way to class. Turned out he was in one of your Education classes. You’d just never paid attention.

Funnily enough, Steve really made your connection to everyone else in the room. It was Steve who found you the job at the school he was teaching at. He’d graduated the year before, miraculously found a job, and was already the students’ favorite art teacher.

It was through Steve that you met everyone else, but it was fate that you met Bucky. You'd been looking for a place of your own and he'd happened to know one with affordable rent that wasn't far from work at all. The rest was history.

So, Bucky had heard all about the failed blind date with Loki Laufeyson.

You'd been set up by Nat. After getting tired of hearing about your lack of love life after you'd ended the only serious relationship you'd had since moving to New York, she'd taken it upon herself to set you up with the occasional guy to get you to stop bellyaching. There'd been decent guys. Each one was better that the last, like Natasha was getting better about picking out these guys.

Loki had seemed like exactly your type. Tall, dark-haired, and handsome. Proclivity for the color black.

And, okay, to say it failed...is a little harsh.

It was actually a little bit cool. You dressed up in your best date dress and did your hair nice. Went above and beyond on your makeup. He was actually early picking you up at the agreed upon place. (There was no way you were giving him your address.) He was a gentleman and opened doors, pulled out your seat at dinner.

There was just something about him. The first thing you noticed was his accent. (He was British, which gave you shivers.)

The second was that he was more slick-looking than the guys you usually fall for. More eloquent, too.

Honestly, it wasn't his fault that your heart refused to fully give up your teenage crushes on the likes of Andy Biersack (Mostly now -- Juliet Simms was a lucky woman) or Ronnie Radke (more circa "Situations" from his Escape the Fate days, or maybe even early Falling in Reverse -- though you had to admit, Coming Home was a bomb ass album.)

You just liked musicians. It's a thing. Everyone you've ever seriously dated was in some kind of band.

Loki was hot and he had the looks...but the aesthetic just wasn't there.

Back to the really cool part. The opera.

You legitimately had never been to an opera before. So, you hadn't known what to expect. What you got, however, was a heart wrenching tale in sung Italian. You didn't have to understand what they were saying to understand what was going on. But the story had been amazing. So much better than anything you could've read out of a book.

But there was just no chemistry between the two of you.

Which you'd told Bucky.

What you hadn't told him was there was a second date too.

That one was a little bit better. Loki seemed more relaxed than the time before. Just a button down and slacks compared to the full-on suit and tie this time. You'd gone with a skater dress and Vans instead of the heels from the last time too.

It was just a dinner this time. Not as fancy as the last place, but still expensive. You actually struck up a decent conversation. It was mostly about how you'd both been forced to go on awful date after awful date by friends (or family, in his case). He didn't like disappointing his mother.

By the end of the date, you were sure there wasn't going to be a third. It seemed as though you were wrong originally. Loki looked the part, but in reality, he seemed to be like everyone else before him. There was just something missing.

You're brought out of your head by Nat's annoyed voice.

"I really thought he'd work out too. Have to admit, even I didn't see the opera thing."

"What about Bucky?" Wanda asks. There's a knowing grin on her face like she knows something you don't.

You look up at your best friend to find him smiling like he's holding back laughter.

"Yeah, what about Buck, Y/N? You guys have always been really close," Steve adds.

This time, you do laugh with Bucky joining in. "Do you want to tell them or should I?"

"You can," he says sobering up.

"We've tried that," you explain. "Very early on. Before I even met Dirk. It was actually really fun. We went to a Panic! concert. It was great. We even kissed. But guys, we're just friends."

"What do you mean you kissed?" Natasha hisses.

And that's when everyone's attention turns from the movie to you and every minute detail about your date with Bucky.

It's only a couple hours later that you're standing in the kitchen washing dishes as Bucky picks up the living room. Everyone's gone home for the night.

"You could always hire someone," Buck suggests, as he sets a couple of glasses beside you to be washed.

"Do I look like Deborah Messing? This isn't one of your rom-coms, Buck. Stuff like that doesn't really happen in real life."

He laughs. "Come on, Y/N. You know I'm only joking."

"Face it. There's no way for me to find a date for the weekend. Not this late anyway. Besides, I'd rather not be that person that brings a different date to every family function."

"Why is this such a huge deal anyway?" Bucky wonders.

You stay quiet for a second, wondering that yourself. It wasn't that you weren't happy with your life. Honestly, you didn't think you cared that much about your relationship status. But then again...

"I'm almost thirty," you point out as you rinse the pizza pan in your hands. You can feel his eyes on you, like he's about to ask you how your age has any relevance to the conversation at hand. "I know, I know. But it's different for guys. Women have a prime window for creating a family. And I know I don't have to, that women shouldn't be expected to have children -- yada yada. I'm about all that. But I want to. I had a plan. And it sort of fell apart, I guess. And my mom is on me all the time now. And maybe I'm not really all that happy with where I'm at anyway."

You wash and rinse the two cups and you're done, draining the water and drying your hands off on a dish towel draped over the oven handle.

Bucky gives you a gentle smile and pulls you into a warm hug and kisses your temple. "Hey. It's no time to give up. You might not find a date for this weekend, but that doesn't mean you won't find a date for the rest of your life, Doll."

You lean into him and breathe deep. Sometimes it sucked that you and Bucky weren't meant to be.

[missingverse]

Missing Chapter Nineteen

Once again I need to apologize for a long delay. I'm in the process of moving house and it's adding stress to my already busy schedule,  but thankfully because the entire country is on red alert for a storm I get to take a break for a little while.

Also, a note: don't worry that this might be close to the end, I still have quite a lot of story to get through.

…..

The hell of it, according to Ambrose Palmer's internal thoughts, was that he wasn't even supposed to be in Warleybridge that day.

The police station had called him a month before to ask if he would mind coming down to pick up some of the belongings Ed had left behind after thirty-four years being their deputy clerk. He had assured them he would, but he put it off for as long as he could. It was a long drive, the weather was bad, he had to arrange for someone to look after his dog while he took the trip....

(mostly because he had just about finished clearing all of Ed's other stuff and life was getting back to normal again)

...but eventually he manned up and tackled the drive. There wasn't even that much to pick up, just his coffee mug, a small cactus, a framed picture of the two of them from that trip to Kansas City two years before Ed died, three notebooks and a whole bunch of pens. Barely worth the trip, but Ambrose was glad he took it.

On his way back, it was getting dark and he was zoning out, there were no other cars on the road. When the lights picked up on something he managed to swerve just in time to avoid hitting it.

At first, he thought it was a deer, a fawn maybe. A moose calf even. But as he focused, he realized it was a person. Not just a person, but a child. A child in very bad shape. If it wasn't walking on the road, he would have thought it was dead.

He got out of his car and called.

“Hey....you okay?”

It was a stupid question, because the child was decidedly not okay, but what else was he supposed to do? It was moot either way because the child apparently didn't hear him. Leaving his car, mumbling uncomfortably to himself, he ran after it.

Her.

“Oh Christ....hey kid, can you hear me?”

She stopped in the road and stared at him, unblinking. She was skeletal, her face was covered in blood and the rest of her was covered in mud, insect bites and long thin scratches.

“Okay....okay....” Ambrose muttered, reaching gingerly for her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. “We need to get you to a hospital.....you're gonna be okay, all right? Everything's going to be fine.”

It was the same kind of panicked babbling that Ed made fun of him for as he was nearing the end, but it was better than nothing. The girl seemed to agree, because the next moment her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell into a dead faint. Ambrose caught her just before she hit the asphalt.

“Shit,” he muttered, lifting her into his arms and rushing back to the car. “Oh lord....just hang on, sweetie, we'll getcha to the hospital, they'll fix you up good as new....”

He wrapped her up in an old blanket sitting in the boot of the car and drove with her stretched out on his lap, so he could make sure she was still breathing. Warleybridge had a small hospital-slash-respite home, he'd been there a lot with Ed.

He talked all the way back to Warleybridge, a non-stop outpouring of reassurances, promises and whatever the hell else popped into his head. If she heard any of it she gave no sign.

…..

She was checked against the Jane Doe registry, because of course she was. It was standard procedure.

The fact that she wasn't immediately identified as relatively-well-known-missing-child Helga Pataki was down to a perfect storm of circumstances that might not have happened had she ended up somewhere else.

*Firstly, the most recent pictures of Helga Pataki weren't really that recent. The one used on the national database was taken when she was eight, the other few that showed her between ten and eleven were deemed too blurry or too distracting to be useful.

*She had lost a lot of weight in captivity, and due to emaciation didn't look anything like her picture. Some of her hair had fallen out and her eye sockets were too bruised to take a good comparison photo. The doctors that treated her put her age at between seven and nine.

*The teeth that had been removed caused swelling in her jaw, knocking the entire lower half of her face out of kilter.

*Warleybridge was a rural area, and though they had internet it was slow and spotty. Loading pictures even in the sheriff's office or the hospital took longer than average, and after searching through pictures of little blonde girls all day with no clues people got fed up and left it.

*DNA taken from the girl didn't match anything in the system, and she could not be identified via dental records or any other medical procedures. As far as could be told, she hadn't had any medical care of any kind in her life.

*A backlog of work had been building up at the sheriff's office since the death of their clerk and they were having trouble finding a replacement. Therefore, they had been cutting corners on a lot of things, including calling around other sheriff's offices in nearby states.

*There were 'hillbilly' families in the area who lived off-grid and mostly under the radar of any kind of social services. Occasionally they popped up when someone was very ill but it was rare. Farming accidents were common with these people, as were hunting accidents, and it was thought likely that the girl had been left for dead after something like this.

So, for five years, even as reports and stories and podcasts and TV programs and forums and blogs all wondered what had become of her, Helga Pataki was lying in a hospital bed in Warleybridge, anonymous and mostly ignored.

…..

The name 'Serenity Doe' was a quip courtousy of a local who thought she was in a coma. Coma was not quite the right diagnosis, nor was she in a persistent vegetative state. What she had was closer to catatonia, she had moments of waking and even lucidity.

One month after she'd been brought in, she woke up but seemed to be incapable of speech and frustrated that she couldn't make herself understood. Paper and pens were given to her but when she tried to write it was an incomprehensible scribble. She was holding the pen correctly, though, so they knew she was educated at least a little. She was back sleeping within twelve hours.

The next time she woke, it was the middle of the night, and she tried to get out of bed but only succeeded in spraining her weakened ankles. Tube-feeding was helping her gain weight but it was slow, and she had mild atrophy from being in bed for so long.

Ambrose Palmer visited once a week, and when she woke for the third time she seemed to recognize him. She still couldn't write recognizably, but she managed to fold a piece of paper into an origami crane to give to him. The following week, he brought a guitar. She was back sleeping again, but he played for her and she could be observed smiling in her slumber.

Fourth and fifth times she woke, she managed to drag herself to the hospital kitchen, made herself a sandwich, ate it and then vomited because she couldn't handle solid food yet. A year had passed and she had ceased to be an interesting story to the town, but was still a patient the hospital staff were very protective of.

In her second year, she woke just three times. Once was just as Ambrose was arriving for his weekly visit, and it was thought that hearing him talk to the nurse in the hallway jolted her awake.

She woke more the third year, but for shorter lengths of time. Instead of twelve to twenty-four hours, she would have spells of lucidity for three hours or less. She did speak some recognizable words, mostly 'home' 'baseball' 'bridge' 'notebook', names of objects but never anything descriptive.

In year four she managed fragmented sentences, out of context and garbled. Talking about baseball games she had played when asked what she wanted to eat, complaining about the cold during a heat wave, telling Ambrose over and over (as he nodded along patiently) about some history report she had gotten a B- on. At the very least these 'conversations' ruled out the possibility that she was an off-grid hillbilly kid; she was educated and had a mild inner-city accent.

Year five was the most dramatic. She spent more time asleep than she had since the first year, but she could speak coherently and clearly when she was awake. She still couldn't explain who she was, where she had come from or what had happened to her, but she could answer simple questions, tell the doctors when something was hurting and hold a full back-and-forth exchange with Ambrose on his visits.

She seemed to be under the impression that she had only recently arrived at the hospital, and was convinced that she had just been somewhere else with someone whose name she couldn't quite recall. She had done his homework for him, apparently, and went on bike rides sitting in his basket. The nurses giggled, not unkindly, that she had an imaginary boyfriend.

By now she had gained much of the weight she had lost, though she was still thin and pale from living indoors and in bed for five years, and if they had checked they might have seen a resemblance to Helga Pataki. But by now all thoughts of trying to identify her had been put out of their mind, and they preferred to take care of the person they had now with the hopes that she would some day be able to live a normal life.

St Jude's Hospital and Convalescent home ticked along nice and quiet right up until a boy turned up claiming he knew the girl who had been sleeping for five years.

…..

In the motel, he squirmed and paced. Arnold wanted to get to Warleybridge as fast as possible. If there was even a small chance that Helga's body was there, dead or alive, he needed to see for himself. But just his luck that he would find this out just as Helga had gone into one of her long sleep cycles.

Should he message Phoebe? He wanted to. But if he turned up at this place and it turned out to be a false lead.....

But again, she had asked him not to keep things from her. He had to respect that.

                        Phoebe, I need to tell you something.

What's up? Did you find her?

            Yeah, I did. We're at a motel in Tappenack.

             But I found something else out here.

What is it?

            A missing girl was found on this

            highway five years ago. She's been

           in a coma in the local hospital ever since.

Are you serious? Arnold,

if this is some sort of joke,

it's not funny.

        I wouldn't joke about something like this,

        Phoebe. I'm going to check it out as

        soon as Helga wakes up.

Call me as soon as you get there.

The next bus to Warleybridge was due in two hours. It was a half-hour walk down the road. He had already gathered his stuff, and there was nothing left to do but pace and wait.

He felt sick. He felt elated. He felt weak and energetic and exhausted all at once. He resisted the urge to try and shake Helga awake, trying to wake her up had never worked before.

Thankfully, just as he was starting to really panic, she did wake up. She was rubbing her eyes as he marched over and pulled her out of bed.

“What the hell...?” she grumbled drowsily.

“We need to leave now,” he told her sharply. “I'll explain on the way.”

…..

When he did get to the hospital, he must have looked a state; unshaven, sweaty, bouncing on his heels. The nurse at the front desk eyed him warily.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a frosty tone.

“You have a patient here,” he babbled at her. “She's in a coma....Serenity Doe?”

“Mm,” the nurse said, lowering her eyes. “We have a strict D-notice on press here, even school newspapers. Your teacher should have told you that.”

“What? Oh, I'm not press,” he stuttered.

“No bloggers either,” the nurse said sweetly.

“No, no, that's not why I'm here....”

“Then you're a ghoul. We got a big D-notice on those two. You can take your 'fascination' somewhere else, kid. Maybe the asylum will let you in for a gawk.”

“No, you don't understand,” he growled, taking out his phone and dragging up an internet image of Helga. “I think I know who she is. She went missing five years ago, she hasn't been seen since.”

He pushed the phone in front of the nurses' face. She looked to it, then back at him.

“And who are you to this girl?” she asked.

“A friend,” he told her. “We grew up together....there was a bunch of new evidence found, she was taken by a serial killer who was holding her near Tappenack, but her body wasn't there. It's been all over the news, and the timelines match up. If it's her, I can identify her.”

The nurse stared hard at the photo. And then she stood up.

“I need to talk to the resident on call,” she told him. “Stay here. Don't talk to anyone.”

Helga had hung back behind him, and she stepped lightly to his side once the nurse was gone.

“What if it's not me in there?” she asked. She had been subdued on the bus, in contrast to how jumpy Arnold was.

“Then we look somewhere else. We won't stop,” he told her.

The nurse arrived back with a jovial-looking man who towered over Arnold.

“So you say you know our Serenity Doe, eh?” he said with an airy tone, though his eyes glittered with something hard, angry. “And what makes you different from the other nuts who turn up here with the same story?”

“Same story?”

“Yeah, you're not the first,” the doctor laughed, a little cruelly. “We get all kinds.”

“Uh, well, I'm not a nut,” Arnold tried to explain. “I came across a news article, the timelines match and so do the locations. I could identify her if I saw her.”

“Uh-huh,” the doctor sniffed. “And what makes you think that you could identify her when five years' worth of trained professionals couldn't?”

“Because I know her,” Arnold told him, a hard edge creeping into his own voice. “I'd know her anywhere.”

“Fine, fine,” the doctor shrugged. “Tell you what, if you can give me some information about your friend that matches what we have on file, I'll let you in to see her. Something nobody else would know.”

“Okay....” he agreed as the doctor opened his file. “Um, she fractured her eye socket when she was eleven. She said it was a baseball injury but really it was because she fell into a door.”

The doctor hummed noncommittally, wrote something down. Arnold wanted to tell him about her missing teeth, but that had happened after she was taken. The scars on her head and torso, too. What else was there?

“She's had no dental work done,” he told them. “That's why she has no dental records. She had the measles too, she was never vaccinated.”

The nurse pursed her lips and looked to the doctor, whose expression didn't change. Arnold wracked his brains for more.

“She has really distinctive eyebrows,” he said. “They were really big when she was a kid, not so much now I'd say. Her hands are callused because she was the batter in Little League. She took her bat everywhere.”

“This is all pretty basic stuff,” the doctor said. “Anything else?”

That panicky feeling was rising in him again. He had grown up with Helga for eleven years, mourned her for five, sheltered her for months....how could he know so little?

Just then, Helga whispered in his ear, and he repeated it.

“She has a burn mark on her knee shaped like the letter L, from when her dad threw a lit cigarette at her,” he recited. “A whole bunch of freckles on the back of her neck....if you join them up, it makes a really wonky-looking puppy....her left arm was broken three different times, first time was when she was four....oh, and a sickle-shaped scar on her back. She fell out of a window. There's a mole just beside it.”

By now, the nurse was ashen-faced, twisting her cardigan in her hands. The doctor's anger had left him, and now he was smiling wryly.

“Sounds like she was a rough-and-tumble kind of girl,” he said, scribbling on his notes.

“The roughest,” Arnold sighed with relief. “Half the kids at school were afraid of her.”

“All right, I'll let you in. You have ten minutes.”

…..

It was her.

She was smaller and paler and thinner than she had any right to be, and she was peacefully sleeping as lights blinked and tubes dripped and little monitors beeped and booped and did their jobs around her. The ghost of her looked more alive than she did, except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she took in air the ghost didn't need.

There was the star-shaped scar, but it had faded into white scar tissue and a tiny spot where hair would no longer grow. It was proof she was alive, and healing.

Arnold was rooted to the spot, afraid if he stepped forward something would change. Maybe this was a dream and he would wake up to find none of this had happened at all. But once again, the ghost Helga jolted him out of his stupor.

Her face was stoic as she drew up beside her living body, looking down on it as though she was observing from a great height. To Arnold's dismay, she was beginning to fade.

“This is why I came back,” she said. Her voice had an odd echo to it. “This is why I came to you. So you could find me.”

Arnold shook his head, not knowing how to react.

“I knew you wouldn't give up, and you didn't,” she said, her voice wavering and distorted in the air. “I was supposed to lead you here.”

He was beyond elated that he had found Helga, alive and well, and beyond horrified that the shade he had sheltered in his home, the spirit he had laughed with and comforted and talked long into the night with and loved had fulfilled her purpose and now had no reason to be by his side anymore.

“Thank you,” she said as the first spectral tears started coursing down her rapidly fading face. “Thank you so much....”

“You don't have to go,” he said with a strangled gasp, and upon opening his mouth he tasted his own bitter tears. “We can go home, the doctors will take care of your body here. She might never wake up.”

“I do have to go,” she said, smiling as she held her body's hand. “We were separated from each other, I needed your help to bring us back together. Everything's going to be fine.”

He crossed the room in three steps, and just about managed to gather her into his arms and kiss her where the star cut through her hair before she faded away entirely and, he knew, for good.

He was properly sobbing when he sat in the chair across from Helga's body; it felt like something had been torn out of him. He took her hand, the one the ghost had been holding before she faded, and brought it to his cheek.

“I'm sorry,” he gasped. “I'm so sorry I took so long to find you.”

The body's eyes fluttered open and the head turned to look at him. She frowned a little at him, and he gave her a watery smile back.

“Hey,” he managed to say with a graceless croak. “Welcome back.”

Her mouth opened, just a little, but no sound came out. She was trying to say something. He came in closer to hear, but nothing. He watched her mouth the words before he could understand what she was trying to say.

Football Head.

[stony-feels1776]

Recovery - A New Day (Chapter Three)

This is part three of Recovery, a Stony Fic!

Warning: Angst

{More under the read more}

{link to it on wattpad: x }

{part 1}

{part 2}

Tony woke with a start at five am, the faint streaks of light from the sunrise sneaking into his dark room. Tony tried to slow his breathing. He wasn't sure if he had a nightmare or something- but he did know that he actually slept alright for once.

He took a shaky breath and groaned as he got out of bed. He looked at his alarm clock and sighed, stretching before wincing in pain. He strapped on the stupid leg thing that would support him as he walked and exited his room, yawning.

Today, he was feeling much better. Tired, dizzy, and a tad bit nauseous, but alright. He was pretty sure he'd basically threw up his whole stomach last night. He limped out into the living room, where he was surprised to see Clint still awake, staring at the TV.

Tony silently snuck around him - which wasn't hard to do, once Clint gave his attention to something almost nothing could distract him. Ah, Disney, of course. Cinderella. One of Clint's favorites. Tony smiled at him and walked into the kitchen, wanting to make himself a cup of coffee. However, he was disappointed when he realized the coffee machine was still gone. He sighed hastily, which made Clint jump and pull his bow and an arrow off the ground.

Clint rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh when he saw Tony. Sitting down, he smiled at him. "Hey, Tony," He said quietly, "can't sleep anymore?" Tony nodded, expecting Clint to yell at him for being awake. Instead, he just nodded in understanding, "I'm glad you slept."

Tony sat down next to him, yawning. "Yeah, me too, bud. Seriously? Cinderella? Again? You're such a nerd. Is that what Disney fans are? Or are they dorks?" He asked, his voice sharp, sarcastic, but caring.

"Ner-orks. But also really cool people, if you must know, Tony. I would know," he put his hand under his chin, "because I am a Disney fan and extremely cool, obviously." He sounded full of himself. He fidgeted with the arrows and ruffled his hair. "Are we going to completely ignore last night? Because I'd both love to and hate too."

"God, Clint, you're a weirdo." Tony said, chuckling, "Make up your mind." Tony patted Clint's knee gently before standing up.

"Actually, I did. I've decided that we'll talk about it later. But for now, I have a prank. A little bit of fun. I figured you needed it," Clint touched his hearing aid gently, smirking a little.

Ah, leave it to Clint to figure out a way to piss off/amuse the team. Tony spread his arms and make a 'let's hear it' face. Clint licked his lips and started to use his hands to explain.

"Okay, so, the team thinks slash knows you and Steve are basically a team - by the way, you are a thing, right? Y'all kissed. Three times. I didn't tell anyone about the first time, y'know, I was being a good friend back then. But you kissed twice. In front of everyone, dude. It's obvious y'all love each other." Tony awkwardly shifted on the couch as Clint talked, "But no worries, Tony, no one will bring it up yet. Anyways, I have a plan. The Avengers need a laugh." The smirk on Clint's face was priceless. He'd come up with something clever.

"We should totally act like a couple to freak everyone out," Clint said, a smile playing on his lips. Tony laughed.

"Oh my God, Clint, they'd have a heart attack. Natasha would probably give me her sternest parent-talk about how if I broke your heart she'd stab me violently." Tony said, ignoring the pain in his ribs as he coughed. He was fine.

Clint raised his eyebrows. "I bet Steve would get jealous. You did kiss him yesterday."

"Hey!" Tony protested, "We're not actually dating or anything." He paused. "Kissing him was a mistake." His voice dropped. Clint put his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Hey, it was not. Steve kissed you like five seconds later. Dude, you're fine. He loves you." Clint said supportively, gasping at a part in the movie. Tony looked at the screen then back at Clint. Clint smiled at the movie in such a Clint way that it made Tony laugh some more. He clutched his ribs and coughed slightly. Clint immediately turned to him, concerned.

"Tony, ground rules: you are to tell me if you feel sick or tired or nervous you are to tell me immediately. And, try not to puke all over my hot bod." Clint said, accidentally slipping and using sign language again. Clint did this whenever he was nervous.

"Alright," Tony said before raising his eyebrows, "honey."

"I see we are using my awesome, hilarious plan!" Clint said, whooping. "Alright, sweetheart. Should we just," he suddenly looked awkward, which was a weird look on Clint, as nothing ever seemed to faze him, "flirt with each other? God, they'll all fall for this."

As if on cue, Bruce walked into the room, clearly exhausted. "Oh, darling," Tony complained, "you simply must buy me a new coffee machine." He wrapped his arms around Clint, who was still sitting.

Clint rolled his eyes. "Love, you're not allowed to have coffee." Clint wrapped his arms around Tony's waist and put his forehead against Tony's. Bruce sighed and the rest of the team appeared. Tony jumped - a real flinch, they popped out of nowhere, the goddamned idiots - and Clint stood up. Tony rubbed his face and didn't look up. Clint was stuttering, pretending like he couldn't get words out. Unlike Tony, Clint could blush super easily. A single thought? The man's face could turn red. And so it did.

Steve paused, and Tony could see him fighting a war within himself. Thor was laughing. Bruce was shrugging it off, although he looked confused, Natasha was basically glaring at them but her eyes sparkled, and Rhodey was blinking in astonishment.

But Steve's sad look was killing Tony.

"Hey! Hey! Just a joke, y'all." Clint said, noticing Steve too, giving a sorry look to Tony. "We wanted to see if y'all would be happier or something. Tony and me? Seriously, guys? He'd gladly punch me and I've literally shot at him before."

Tony stood up and smiled, laughing. "Yes. You really thought I'd date someone like Clint? All of you are fools," he glanced at Steve, who was looking confused and a little hurt still. Natasha gave a sigh of relief and the rest of them laughed.

"Steve's an exception. He's an idiot, but he's a handsome idiot." Tony added, regretting it immediately. Steve blushed and looked like he was unable to say anything. He still looked iffy on the situation.

"Th-thanks...?" Steve finally responded, looking at his feet. Tony clenched his jaw. Great job, Mr. Stark, you've made the room awkward again.

"Alright. Let's go out. I don't want to stay here. Unless, of course, you let me go into my own basement." Tony said, throwing his hands into the air and picking up a cookie from a plate in the kitchen. He bit into it. It tasted lovely - Natasha and Bruce probably made them (don't tell anyone, but Tony knows how they love to cook together - and even though Wanda and Vision usually are the ones cooking, everyone agrees Nat and Bruce are the real talented chefs).

Clint shifted and smiled at Natasha. "We should go out," he said, "some sunshine would do us all good." Steve nodded and grabbed Tony's hand. Tony shivered at his touch. Steve's hands were cold but soft. Tony could feel the gentleness and the strength in them. Tony looked up at Steve's eyes.

"I agree. Who's up for a picnic?" Bruce said, toying with a pencil. Natasha was already searching for some sort of big basket. "I can get Thor over here. I talked to Rhodey; he's busy. Sam is too. I can see if Pepper can meet us." Bruce offered.

Natasha nodded. "Thor should come, but Pepper's working today. Vision and Wanda are probably making out somewhere in a romantic forest, so let's not worry about them." She grabbed a large woven basket and started planning what everyone would eat.

"We all like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, correct?" Tony asked. Everyone nodded. "Alright, Nat, you're on sandwich duty. Brucie, you can borrow one of my cars, please go get some snacks. Uh - let's see - Clint, we need some - goddamn, am I still not allowed to drink? - water, I suppose. Sparkling, please. And Steve, I need a kiss right here," he pointed at his cheek finally, ordering everyone around. Like he usually would.

Steve kissed Tony gently on the cheek and everyone scurried to do what they needed to. Tony smiled and helped Natasha with the sandwiches. "Tony, I'm proud of you." Nat whispered, "Look at what you've done."

Tony sighed. "It's not enough. I caused all of you grief. I made you guys worry." He responded quietly, dropping the knife. He bent over and picked it up, walking over to the sink to clean it, not trusting the floor to be perfectly clean.

"Tony, after you got - when you were in the hospital, we all thought the team would disband. We fought. Steve said that what we were doing was getting too dangerous. Bruce said that Steve was being stupid and that the world - and you, Tony - needed us more than ever. Steve threatened to quit. Physical fighting almost broke out. But Tony, you, you and your brilliant, charismatic, kind mind brought us back together." Natasha said, putting together two sandwiches for every one Tony made.

Tony sighed. "I'm glad some people feel that way," he mumbled, "but I should have listened to Clint. We could have captured them and rescued his daughter."

Natasha sighed, "You're wrong, Tony," she whispered, "they called us right after you left. They said that if the team - or more than one person - showed up, they'd kill her right away. We couldn't go after you, even."

Tony sighed and licked his lips, swallowing. Natasha suddenly took a sandwich without the top piece of bread and smacked it on Tony's face, making him stumble as it slipped off his face, leaving a trail of peanut butter and jelly on his cheek. He smiled and laughed, sticking his finger in the jelly and flicking a bit at Natasha, who gracefully avoided it, a smirk on her lips.

Clint walked into the kitchen and naturally joined in, grabbing the ketchup from the fridge and holding it dangerously. Tony put his hands up instantly. Natasha, unfortunately, was too late to surrender and Clint sprayed her with the red liquid, making her smooth ginger hair drip with the stuff. Tony chuckled before a spray of ketchup landed on his cheek. "Not fair, Barton! I had surrendered!" He exclaimed.

"What in the world are you doing?" Bruce whispered, horrified. He nearly avoided a squirt of ketchup. "Clint! Watch it! I'm not in this!" He said, slowly walking backward. Thor suddenly burst into the room, and when Clint tried to hit him with the vile tomato paste, his hammer got hit pretty hard.

Thor laughed. "You humans are hilarious! You throw food at each other simply to create conflict and make a mess!" He said, wiping his eyes. He licked some ketchup off his hammer before grimacing in disgust. "You drink weird liquids, too! What a vile kind of wine!" He said, obviously confused.

"Hey, bud, that's not wine, I'm banned, remember?" Tony said, and then Clint pointed the ketchup back at him.

"And you won't drink anything, right?" Clint threatened, eyes cold and face hard as he glared at Tony, squeezing the ketchup bottle slightly. Tony raised his hands a bit more.

"Nope! A good person, I am, would never disobey my best friends," he said quickly in response. He slowly grabbed the spraying thing by the sink and tapped it, spraying Clint with viciously cold water instantly, making him jump and drop the ketchup. Natasha swooped down and grabbed it, pouring loads of the tomato sauce on Clint's head, where it dripped down all across his body.

"Aaah! Nat!" He cried in dismay, jumping backward and grabbing a cookie that was sitting on the counter before throwing it so it just missed Natasha and crumbled against the wall. "You know I never miss, Nat!" He cried, picking up a pie. Natasha gasped.

"You wouldn't dare!" She said, mocking betrayal. Clint began to throw the pie, but instead of hitting Natasha, it landed right on Tony's face. Tony gasped and the room began to scream in uproar as he wiped his eyes. Clint fell on the floor he was laughing so hard.

Thor laughed and Bruce was doing the 'oooohhhh' thing that happens in public schools with Clint, and Natasha was whooping. Tony blinked it out of his eyes and grabbed the sink thing again, spraying Thor and Bruce with it. Bruce yelped and ducked behind a couch and Thor pretended to wash his long hair with the water.

Clint leaped from off the floor and turned the squirty-thing to face Tony, making him get himself all wet. Tony gasped as the water sloshed against his face. "Friday! Turn off the sink!" He cried and the sink turned off quickly. Tony wiped his face, laughing. "My house, Clint, I make the rules! No spraying me with water!" Tony said, smirking.

Just then, Steve walked in and came up to Tony, grabbing his hand. Flustered, Tony didn't realize Clint pouring a bottle of water over his head. Tony gasped as the cold water ran down his body. "Clint!" He cried. Steve chuckled and Tony looked ultra betrayed, with his mouth hanging open and everything. Tony could hear Bruce laughing on the couch and Thor was grinning.

"Hey! Hey! I surrender!" Tony cried, feeling his ribs starting to ache. He gulped and tried to force his body to stop hurting. He raised his hands, ripping his hand out of Steve's maybe a little too forcefully. Steve looked at Tony with a confused and hurt look.

Clint narrowed his eyes. "Alright, guys," Tony guessed Clint must have been able to tell Tony was hurting, "let's clean up and get going." Natasha nodded, examining Tony with her eyes. Tony shifted, uncomfortable. He needed to step up his 'I'm fine' game.

"Dum-e, hey, you two, clean this all up," Tony commanded, making the robots jump a little before scurrying over. "They'll probably be half-way done by the time we get back, but they'll do it. Or I'll sell them online," He added, glaring down the robots, which moved faster.

Clint was in charge of holding the basket for the whole walk, despite his efforts to avoid this duty. Originally, Steve was going to carry it, because of super-strength and everything, but after Clint's act with the ketchup, they all deemed it an appropriate punishment for poor Clint. He'd grumbled a little, but when the whole team's staring down at you stubbornly, you kind of have to obey.

They walked for a little while. It was a sunny day with a nice breeze, and the grass was green as spring had begun. Tiny flowers were sprouting up along the sidewalks. Tony led them to a small park. It looked like nothing at first; New York had much larger, nicer parks, but this one was small with one table and was surrounded by trees. It was also completely empty.

Except for two people.

"Bucky!" Steve cried, running towards his friend, who was supposed to be sitting at home, far away, in a cold forest cabin. Bucky opened his arms too late and Steve and him ended up on the ground.

"Peter!" Tony said, grimacing. He loved the kid, don't get him wrong. Peter walked over, smiling awkwardly, ruffling his own hair.

"Hey, Mr. Stark," He said. Tony rubbed his head but smiled and patted Peter on the back. Clint squinted at Peter before handing him the basket. Peter took it, almost falling with its weight, which he didn't expect. Natasha shook Peter's hand and grabbed the basket from him, giving Clint a mean look. Bucky was awkwardly trying to push Steve off of him while Steve pestered him with questions.

Tony looked away. Why couldn't Steve hug him like that? He tried to push away the spikes of jealousy. He gulped and gestured to the table, sitting down next to Peter. Natasha put the basket on the table - which rocked everytime someone moved or bumped into it - and took a sandwich out before jumping up into a tree next to the table. Clint tried to grab one too, but Peter grabbed it and pulled it towards him, smirking at Clint. Peter took two out, handing one to Tony, who accepted it with a quick 'thanks, kid.'

Everyone took a sandwich. Thor ended up sitting on the grass - Clint told him he'd crush the seat with his massive muscles - Steve sat next to Bucky, Clint had climbed into the tree - higher than Natasha - and Bruce sat down next to Tony. Tony, Bruce, and Peter began to talk about electrons and what Peter was doing in school, while Steve and Bucky talked about the 'old days.' Clint and Natasha were bickering fondly, as usual.

When everyone was done, Peter jumped up on the table and smiled at everyone. He clapped his hands together, making Clint, who was arguing about scientific things he didn't know anything about, jump and almost fall. Tony snickered. "I have a friend I'd like all of you to meet," he said, "well, you've technically met her before. She'll be here in five, four," he started counting down.

Interrupting him, a young, pretty girl walked up. "Shuri! That's my main meme! Everyone, officially meet Shuri. She's King T'Challa's sister." Peter said, extending his hand. She took it and jumped on the table with him.

Clint fell with a yelp suddenly. Everyone turned to see Black Panther in his place. T'Challa took off the mask and looked at everyone, smiling at his sister. "Ow..." Clint groaned from the ground, where he landed on his bum. Natasha laughed at him. Everyone stood. Tony, Bruce, and Steve bowed. Steve elbowed Bucky, who then bowed with them. Peter saluted the King. Thor smiled.

"Ah! So you're the other king!" Thor said, chuckling. "I am Thor." T'Challa raised his eyebrows.

"I know," T'Challa responded. Shuri touched Bucky's hair, making Bucky turn around, perplexed. "Shuri, please cease touching people's hair. It is not only strange, but it is also awkward." He commented. Shuri shrugged and touched Peter's.

"It's nice to see you again, Your Majesty," Tony said. Natasha nodded in agreement. Bucky and Steve shifted. Bucky hid his face and looked like he was going into cardiac arrest and was constipated at the same time. Steve grabbed his hand. Another wave of jealousy ran over Tony. Bucky was just Steve's friend. They were like brothers. No reason to get jealous.

Clint walked over to stand by Steve. "I apologize, Barton, for knocking you down. I hope that all of our rivalries have diminished. Same to you, Rogers and Barnes." T'Challa commented, jumping down and landing with perfect grace.

"We apologize too. We all forgive each other, then?" Steve said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Awesome. Now, what are we going to do?" Clint said.

"Vines!" Peter and Shuri yelled simultaneously.

"Shuri, your addiction to 'vines' and 'memes' is getting out of hand, please do not annoy everybody with them like you do me-" T'Challa started, facepalming, shaking his head.

"Peter, remember how I told you to not do anything that I wouldn't do? Would I indulge in vines?" Tony said.

Shuri and Peter laughed. "Hey, Jared, can you read number nineteen to the class?" Shuri asked.

"No I cannot," Peter responded, "hi I'm Jared, I'm nineteen and I never fucking learned how to read."

Tony gasped. "Watch your language!" He scolded. T'Challa looked like he was dying. Thor laughed.

"Peter, your name isn't even Jared!" Thor said, slapping his knee. Clint looked pleased and Natasha raised her eyebrows. However, Bucky and Steve looked confused and lost.

"Brother! Please, put your mask on. I wish to show them the technology." Shuri said. T'Challa did so, standing on the bench. Shuri pointed to the ears. "Such ears! Much wow! Very good! Such awesome! Much cat!" She exclaimed. Peter was laughing so hard he had to sit down. T'Challa put his hand up to where his mouth would be before jumping back on the tree.

"Shuri, I swear-" he started.

"Captain Rogers, may I see your shield? It's made of vibranium, right?" Shuri asked sweetly. Steve handed her the shield, nodding, confused. Shuri handed it to Peter. "This bitch empty!" Shuri yelled.

Peter looked at her with a desperate look before throwing Steve's shield, screaming "YEET" as loud as he could. Steve looked so confused he might cry. Bucky was chuckling. Tony and T'Challa glanced at each other.

Clint grabbed a stick. "This bitch empty, too!" He shouted before throwing the stick at Natasha, screaming 'yeet' too. Natasha caught it easily. Thor raised his hammer.

"Wait, no-" Tony said before Thor threw it gently, whispering 'yeet.'

"It didn't do anything special. What is the point of this spell?" Thor asked, looking genuinely disappointed.

"It's not a spell," T'Challa explained, "it is a stupid thing that children these days find interest in."

"Hey! I'm old and I like vines!" Clint objected. T'Challa sighed, obviously pondering his existence.

"You don't count. You're basically a big baby." Natasha chimed in, sharpening the stick with a pocket knife.

"What? Explain!" Clint demanded.

"Well, you like to throw fits, are dramatic, egotistical at your low skills - I mean, Tony's egotistical, but he at least has some skills - and you like to color in children's coloring books. Not to mention you cry at Disney movies." Natasha retaliated instantly. Clint stuck out his tongue at her.

"Okay, but how can you not cry at them? Y'all don't have hearts." Clint shot back.

"I cry at Disney movies!" Peter chimed in. Tony looked disappointed.

"If I may interrupt," Clint said, gently pushing Peter off the table, "can we talk about how Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are totally fucking in secret?"

"Clint!" Steve and Tony both cried. Steve covered his face with his hand and Tony put his head on Bruce's shoulder as Bruce laughed. Peter gasped. Shuri and T'Challa looked confused. Peter whispered to her why everyone was freaking out about this.

"Wait! Does this mean all that fighting was sexual tension?" Shuri asked. Steve looked at her with alarm. Tony shifted.

"No, it wasn't!" Tony said finally, "It was - we were - it was fighting! Disagreeing!" He said. Bruce pat him on the shoulder. Steve's face was red. Wait- did Steve feel that way back then? Oh god.

"Ah, so it was just a divorce." Shuri came to the conclusion.

"We weren't dating!" Tony said. "We- we aren't dating! Wait- are we dating?" Tony said, confused. His head was beginning to spin and he felt lightheaded. He took a deep breath. He was fine.

"Uh," Steve paused, "a-are we?" Tony didn't answer. How could he? They waited in silence. Steve walked over to Tony and put his hand on Tony's cheek. "Do you want to be?" Steve asked gently. Tony looked up at his blue eyes and his gentle face. Tony opened his mouth but no sound would come out. Tony nodded and gently leaned his head against Steve's chest. Steve ran his hands over Tony's hair before kissing his head gently.

"Oh, aren't I the perfect matchmaker?" Shuri bragged. Tony lifted his head and looked at her, mouthing 'thank you' to her. She winked at him. "Well, T'Challa and I better be going," she paused and smirked, "for now. My main meme, keep sending me memes you find." And with that, her and T'Challa walked away.

Steve leaned down, startling Tony before Steve picked him up bridal-style easily. Tony smiled fondly. "I weigh nothing to you, do I?" He asked.

"Tony, a car weighs nothing to me," Steve said, "but that worries me because I could so easily hurt you." His hands gently held Tony, but fear was prominent in his eyes. Tony reached up and touched Steve's face.

"You never hurt me," Tony whispered. It wasn't true, of course. Steve almost killed Tony. Tony swallowed hard. No, this Steve, the Steve he loved, wouldn't hurt him. Steve smiled at him and put Tony down gently.

"Okay, good job guys, but get a room? My poor eyes," Clint said, covering his eyes, acting disgusted despite grinning. Natasha nodded in agreement but gave them a thumbs up. Bruce was focusing on sketching something. Peter clapped. Thor smiled.

"Well, I must be going," Thor said before promptly leaving, shooting into the sky. They waved and watched him go.

"Anyone else leaving?" Tony asked, his gaze falling on Bucky. He didn't hate Bucky, don't get him wrong, but knowing that Bucky had such a deep relationship with Steve - and was single - worried him. What if Steve decided he loved Bucky more and left him? Tony couldn't talk much of the old days with Steve, while Bucky could recite their precious childhood memories.

Natasha nodded. "I've got a mission. Clint, you can stay here. Bucky, you're coming with me. We've got heavy things that need to be lifted." She said. Steve looked at Bucky, longing in his eyes. He missed his best friend. They'd lost so much time together. A pit of sorrow was dragging Tony down. Maybe Steve deserved Bucky. Maybe Steve shouldn't love Tony. Why should he? Tony was cocky, arrogant, and stupid. Someone like Steve deserved better. The whole team deserved better.

Bucky smiled at Steve. "Well, you've finally decided to get in a relationship," he said, eyes shining. He looked proud. A little sad, maybe, but mostly proud. As a friend should be. He and Natasha walked away, talking.

"Okay, guys, uh-" Peter began, "we should dance. Aunt May and I always dance when we go to empty parks. It's fun, c'mon." Tony was about to object when Peter said, "Please?" God, how can anyone not give into that? Tony sighed and chuckled.

"Sure, kid." Tony said. Steve jumped up on the table - which creaked and complained - while Bruce sat on the grass, running his fingers over the blades and drawing. "Friday, please play my kid-friendly playlist." Clint jumped to his feet.

"No way. Disney music?" He cried, excited as 'Be Our Guest' started playing. Clint jumped up and down, acting far too dramatic. Steve looked around.

"How are you supposed to dance to Disney?" Steve asked while Peter did a backflip, landing it perfectly. Clint climbed up the tree and did a backflip too, barely landing it with an 'oof.'

"You're right. Friday, please." One of Tony's favorites came on. Classic 'Back In Black.' Tony began dancing to it. It wasn't good dancing. If they were recording, it would probably end up on the 'cringier' side of YouTube.

Crash!

The table fell with a crash. Peter, luckily, landed on Steve instead of Steve landing on him. Clint began to laugh obnoxiously. Clint could laugh very loudly, and if you weren't in a good mood, you'd slap him, but usually, his laughter made everyone else laugh. And it did. Peter started laughing so hard he was crying while Steve looked concerned.

Tony chuckled and asked, "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah," Peter said in between wheezes. Steve nodded and gently lifted Peter off of him an set him on the ground carefully. "Oh! Captain. I'll go get your shield. I'm sorry for throwing it." He added apologetically. Steve laughed and patted him on the back.

"It's no problem," Steve said kindly. "But I would appreciate it if you could retrieve it for me." Peter nodded and quickly ran in the direction he 'yeeted' it in. Steve turned to Tony, Clint, and Bruce, "So, this was fun. What now? What excitement awaits us?"

Just then, Thor landed back in front of them. With Loki next to him, smirking. Clint took a deep, shaky breath and Bruce let out a tiny 'oh no' while Steve and Tony simply looked at them. "Hello, friends! I brought my brother! Loki!"

Loki bowed, chuckling. Clint reached for the stick that Natasha had been sharpening and then held it threateningly towards Loki's heart. Loki raised his eyebrows. "Ah, lovely, you're all still feisty." He said, "What fun this'll be."

"Don't fucking try me," Clint hissed, "I'm a trained assassin. I'll kill you." Thor laughed at this. Loki stepped closer, looming over Clint. Clint held the stick tighter - so tight that his knuckles were turning white and the splinters were digging into his hand.

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Loki said, walking around Clint. "Ah, Captain Rogers. What a pleasure to see you and Mr. Stark again. And is that the Hulk? Wow. I'm so pleased." Loki reached for Tony's hand. Tony slowly shook hands with him, but when he tried to pull his hand back, Loki gripped it tighter. "Ah, so you are injured. What a pity." Tony took a deep breath and yanked his hand back.

"Hey, back off," Steve said, intervening. He grabbed Tony's hand gently, making sure Loki hadn't hurt Tony. Clint suddenly stabbed the piece of wood into Loki's shoulder violently. Loki sighed and lazily pushed Clint to the ground. Loki grabbed the piece of wood and yanked it out of his shoulder.

"You do realize, Clint Barton, that I am a god?" Loki said, looking disappointed. Clint clenched his jaw and stood up. Steve stepped closer to Loki, his fists clenched.

"Hey, Captain Crunch, calm down," Tony mumbled, "we're in a park near apartments. A fight here would not be good," Tony glanced at Bruce, who was looking at the ground. Steve unclenched his fists and stretched his fingers. Thor laughed.

"Anyways, I'm leaving you with my brother for now. He was being bothersome back at home, and I figured you would be the perfect," Thor paused, looking perplexed, "babysitters. Ah, that's the word."

"Thor, he tried to kill us!" Clint said, clearly outraged.

"You're allowed to smack him. He does require food occasionally. Get ahold of me if he starts killing people. See you soon! Love you guys." Thor said before flying away. Loki licked his lips and put on a smile.

"We can't - I - I'm - I did not sign up for this!" Clint yelled, kicking the tree. Loki laughed.

"Well, now you're stuck with me. Let's go somewhere. Ooh, how about Stark's home? Don't all of you basically live there anyway?" Loki slipped a gold ring off his finger and swung it around on the tip of his pinky. He was chewing something - Tony guessed some sort of space gum or whatever the hell they eat.

Steve grabbed Loki's arm suddenly, holding it so tight that Loki winced. "No games, alright? If you do anything fishy we'll beat you." He hissed. Loki nodded promptly and Steve let go. Holding his wrist, Loki looked at all of them.

"I'm not here to fight. I don't have any weapons and I know that I cannot beat you without something strong. Don't get me wrong - I'm strong. But it's so much effort to fight! Let's play a game. A fun game." Loki paused and smirked at Bruce, but there was fear deep in his eyes. "How about truth or dare? I hear mortals love that kind of game."

"Yeah, why should we 'play' with you?" Clint hissed.

"Because if you don't," he smirked and pointed a long finger at Bruce, "I might not behave." Bruce shifted and gulped, playing with his pencil. Tony stepped in front of him. What choice did they have? Maybe this could stop Loki from wreaking havoc for a little while. Plus, it's just truth or dare. Nothing too worrisome. They might even have fun.

"Fine," Tony said, jumping in. Clint started glaring at him. "What? Do you really want a fight, right here, right now, Clint?" Tony hissed back at him. Steve sighed. Bruce opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Clint forced a smile on his face and turned to Loki.

"Good. Let's play at the house. Where I have my bow." Clint said, looking darkly at Tony. Tony couldn't help but worry; had he made Clint seriously mad at him? The badass archer was usually pleasant but once you got on his bad side... well, things were never fun. Tony nodded in agreement.

They all started walking back. "This is a terrible idea," Bruce muttered, standing next to Tony. "I-I think it'd be best if I went home. Or somewhere." He whispered to Tony, "I'm not safe." Tony sighed and gritted his teeth.

"Yeah. If you want." Tony responded, rubbing his head, "Good plan." They continued walking for another minute before Bruce apologetically patted Tony on the shoulder and turned around, walking the opposite direction. Tony waved to him and sped up a little, keeping up with Steve and Clint, who were basically marching, glaring down Loki. Loki simply smiled up at them both.

"Bruce decided to walk away," Tony whispered to Clint, who simply ignored him. Tony swallowed hard and rubbed his ribs, which were starting to hurt even more. He walked behind them, carefully, watching the ground, nearly panicking. Everyone hated him. He shouldn't have made the decision. He should have left it to Steve.

Soon enough, they reached the house and went inside. Loki threw himself down on one of the couches and Clint sat down, fingers running over his bow as he grabbed it. Steve sat down next to Tony on a separate loveseat.

"Perfect. The game commences. Tony, darling, truth or dare?" Loki asked, playing with a pen he'd picked up off the coffee table, smirking, eyes glittering. Tony shifted uneasily.

"Truth." He finally answered. He could always lie. Plus, with his body starting to ache, whatever sick dares the manic came up with wouldn't be fun.

"What's your honest opinion on everyone in the room?" Loki asked smoothly after a brief silence. Huh. Tony had expected worse.

"I think you're a fucking idiot and are deeply annoying and I'd gladly kill you. I think that Clint is a pretty alright person and is a very skilled individual, although stubborn, like me. And Steve," Tony paused and looked at him, "well, he's Steve." He hadn't planned on saying anything else, but something unsettling came over him and forced him to keep speaking, "He's perfect. Gorgeous. Strong. Reliable. I don't deserve him, honestly. He's... well, perfect." Tony tried to shut up, but he couldn't. "And he has a nice ass." Tony's face flushed red. "What the fuck?" He said finally, able to control the words coming out of his mouth.

"Ah. Playing truth or dare means that you have to tell the truth and always do the dare. Did I not tell all of you this? And if you decide to quit, I will have to unfortunately light things aflame, and that's never pleasant, so please continue playing." Loki explained with his eyes closed, clicking the pen and shrugging.

Tony's heart rate quickened. Oh no. This could be bad. Clint looked even angrier now and Steve just looked simply confused, flustered, angry, and somewhat pleased all at once. It was odd and confusing. "Clint. Truth or dare." Tony said - he wanted to give Clint the option to pick on Loki.

"Truth," Clint responded, eyes not moving to look at Tony.

"What's your honest favorite color?" Tony asked.

"A soft lilac." He responded, eyes narrowing at Loki, "Okay, asshole, your turn. Truth or dare."

Loki paused and his eyebrows twitched, "Well, since everyone's chosen truth, I'll choose that as well, please."

"What is your most traumatizing experience?" Clint asked. Tony let out a shaky breath, glad he wasn't the one receiving this question. Steve reached out and touched Tony's hand, making him jump. Tony ran his fingers over Steve's hand gently, before giving it a little squeeze.

Loki looked at Clint spitefully, "When I was six I stabbed my brother for the first time. I thought he was going to die. I stabbed myself as well, just to experience what he was going through. After I learned that both him and I could recover from measly stab wounds easily, stabbing him became easier. But it had scared me as a child." Once he was done, he whispered a string of curses and clenched his fist. "Steven!" Loki said sharply, "Truth or dare?"

"I can't believe we're doing this," Steve mumbled, "dare."

"I dare you to throw Mr. Stark out the window," Loki said, a devilish smile growing on his face. Steve opened his mouth to protest and his breathing became increasingly fast as he stood up and grabbed Tony, again bridal-style.

Tony sat in Steve's arms, silently panicking.

You never hurt me.

Tony felt like he was going to throw up as they approached the window. "Stop!" Clint screamed, "Loki, you unprecedented asshole! Stop!" Tony tried to scramble out of Steve's arms as Steve basically hyperventilated, whispering 'no' and 'stop' and 'sorry' over and over and over again.

Steve suddenly threw Tony. The window broke with a crash and Tony began to fall. His armor was destroyed. There was no rescue. The wind whistled in his ears as he fell. Luckily, Tony had been looking up.

The blue sky would be an okay sight to see before you die.

Blue like Steve's eyes.

\\author's note//

ah, yes, the angst train has returned

this one was a doozy!!

struggled a lil bit, but here it is.

please!! leave kind things!! or funny comments!!

also wow how rude of me to leave y'all on a cliffhanger,,,, tell me if you want me to tag you when I update!!

date: 3/28/18

word count: 6333