#also this is not the first time that Tony’s had to go into seclusion because of his heart problems

[daydreamerdrew]

Iron Man (1968) #3

[aries-writingblog]

Atlas (9)

Summary: After years of being imprisoned on the Raft, Tony negotiates freedom for his sister Tessa. When she’s free- so is her past, and it will never stop hunting her.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OC(Stark)

Chapter Word count: 935

Warnings: PTSD (subtle ish), trauma, torture (in later parts), suicidal behaviors and thoughts, mentions of death, character death, injury, violence, angst, and a lil bit of fluff in there, language

Disclaimer: Atlas is my own, original work with characters belonging to Marvel (except Tessa and Dr. Clifton). Plagiarism is not cool kids.

A/N: this is my first work Im posting to this platform and I’m really excited and nervous about it. Hope you enjoy- constructive criticism is always helpful as well!!

This is the final part in this series.

~~6 months later~~

“Sam! Give it back!” Tessa’s loud, boisterous voice could be heard from the kitchen. She and Sam had been playing Mario Kart for hours, leaving most of the others to watch. Bucky and Steve had made the most of the cloudy day, going on a jog around the local park before coming back to join everyone.

Bucky crashed on the couch beside Tessa, laying his head on her lap as she swerved on screen. She scowled as Sam took the lead again, pushing her character off the side of the map.

“Oh screw you Barnes, you’re in league with him.” She griped, begrudgingly accepting a sloppy kiss to her jaw. He took notice of her breathing, seeing that she was doing so without struggle. The first two months after the mission was hard, her mood often swinging many times a day, making her frustrated with herself. And then she would be angry, irritated with the nurses who were only trying to help.

Then there was her physical limitations- her punctured lung healing slowly. The skin on her arm had been replaced by Dr. Cho, not even leaving a scar.

And she had been training more with Wanda and Steve, gaining more control of her powers. Now when she had a nightmare, she no longer set anything on fire subconsciously. Which was good because Bucky had thrown enough burnt shirts that he just started sleeping without them. Of course, that decision came with strings attached, his own doubt bubbling up as he revealed his full metal appendage to Tessa. But she took it in stride- giving him love and acceptance, just as he had shown her.

Tony was still very apprehensive of the whole idea of them being together but, he caved everyday that Tessa became more of herself. He wasn’t blind- he saw the rapid progress she’d made. He also saw her relapses and how Bucky handled them. As much as he hated it, they were good for each other. His frigid nature and her white hot anger seemed to counteract each other when they were together.

“What do you guys want for dinner?” Natasha asked. She had been sitting in the same chair for the past thirty minutes, her head hanging upside down from the chair, legs thrown over the back.

“Nat, did you see that post Matt from accounting made on Twitter?” Wanda asked. Natasha’s head shot up.

“He posted?” She shouted, scrambling over to see Wanda’s phone. “Oh my god he’s an idiot! Look at that spelling...”

“It’s a gold mine!” Wanda cackled, scrolling through his posts.

“Stop harassing the employees, you two.” Steve scolded. Then he leaned over, glancing at the phone. “He didn’t even capitalize his letters.”

“We’re eating pizza for dinner tonight- it’s Thursday.” Vision reported, picking at a piece of lint on his sweater.

“Fucking- Sam, stop that!” Tessa slapped his hand away as he tried to sabotage her. Bucky only cuddled himself closer to her abdomen, feeling the warmth of her overheated skin. He loved feeling that warmth- too accustomed to the cold, craving the temperature her body emitted. “Alright, I quit. You’re just cheating.” She tossed the remote to the table, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Fine, whatever, anybody else up for a round?” Sam offered, holding the remote out. Tessa tapped on Bucky’s head and he looked up to her eyes.

“I’m gonna head up to our room... I don’t think I can handle anymore today.” Bucky swiftly untangled himself and stood up, offering an arm to her.

“We’ll see you guys later.” Bucky announced, the words falling on deaf ears. Bucky had made her promise that if she ever began to feel like her ‘social battery’ began to run out to tell him. It was something her therapist suggested and Bucky took it and ran with it. And so far, it had been successful.

Once they were in the seclusion of their room, Tessa sighed, stretching her arms above her head before flopping to the bed. Since he had moved into her apartment two weeks ago, he had stopped sleeping on the bathroom floor- giving the bed an actual chance. She wasn’t lighting things on fire so it was safe. They established a new sort of trust in one another.

Bucky lay down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. She sighed contentedly and nuzzled closer. He pressed a quiet kiss to the crown of her head, his eyes heavy with sleep.

“Bucky...” her words were quiet, soft. He hummed in response. “Thank you...” She didn’t have to explain anything. He understood the weight of the words in the silence. “I know it isn’t easy to take care of me.” A squeeze to her shoulder.

“Not to me.” He answered, keeping his voice low. He knew she wouldn’t say it back yet, but it didn’t stop him from letting the next words tumble from his lips. “I love you.”

Tessa squeezed an arm around his waist, curling closer to his chest. Her lips grazed his chest, a light kiss pressed to his pectoral. In a way, that was his answer. She said the words everyday in multiple ways, including small kisses to his body. And he was okay with that. She was still learning, just as he was. It would take time and patience. The weight of both of their pasts threatening to swallow them while, to crush them alive. But Bucky was willing to help shoulder hers, just as she was to his. As long as neither of them held the weight alone.

[vaguekiwi]

Whom Shall I Fear?

@tony-is-my-daddy​ posted this and my brain fucking broke down.

Whom Shall I Fear?

Pairings: Tony Stark x Peter Parker

Summary: 1 Samuel 16 - 17 but it’s Starker. (David in Saul’s Service, David and Goliath.) Tony is David and Peter is Jonathan and I have so much to say about this but I’m gonna put it at the very end.

Characters: David:Tony Stark, Jonathan:Peter Parker, Saul:Richard Parker (background unnamed Samuel, Goliath, and Merab.)

Word Count: ~2000

Other Inspiration: Sight by Sleeping at Last

Warnings: Biblical crossover/speculation, safe for work, not safe for church, hint of homophobia, inappropriate use of Biblical concepts/language

When they met, they were both still young.

There was a new attendant in the king’s court. He had dark hair and his neck was curved toward the instrument, so Peter could not see his face. But he handled the lyre carefully, almost reverently, as he played.

Peter itched for the man to turn his face, longed to see the rest of the full jaw in his view, wanted to see the colour of his eyes. Eyes which captured the lyre with an earnest focus, eyes which Peter was sure enamoured anything and anyone they looked at.

“Peter!” Peter started at the sound of the king’s voice, but was glad he did not sound angry or resigned.

“I apologise, my lord king.” Peter bowed when he addressed his father. He could feel those eyes on him now, fought the urge to turn.

“Peter,” King Richard straightened himself and waved his son in, “come, meet Anthony.” So Peter faced the musician who stood to bow.

Peter could see immediately that he could do more than play the lyre. His frame was strong and his eyes - Peter had been right - were bewitching pools of brown; traces of green and gold flashed in the man’s gaze as he looked Peter up and down.

“A warrior, too,” King Richard sighed as Peter shook Anthony’s hand, “yet to truly prove himself in battle, but that time will come. I find his songs… soothing.”

Anthony finally spoke, his cadence rough and gaze never leaving Peter’s face, “I am fortunate the Lord has blessed me with such a gift, my king.”

“Yes, thanks be to God.” The king mumbled, then shook his head. “To think your talents were being wasted so— herding sheep! It is good you have come here, Anthony.”

“I am grateful to be here, my king. And grateful too, for the beautiful instrument you have provided me.”

The king mumbled at that, and made a motion that he should continue playing. So Anthony sat down again and lifted the lyre.

Peter knew he had effectively been dismissed, but he lingered outside the door. He pressed his back to the wall and listened to Anthony’s music. He wondered why his cheeks were warm, and what the stirring in his stomach meant.

—

Anthony’s music did more than soothe the king. It stopped any temperamental episodes all together. The entire castle grew to welcome the sight of the young man with the lyre who could keep the king’s demons at bay.

He was not there all the time. He often went home to his family. Said tiredly that he needed to look after his father, help his brothers, and of course continue to watch the sheep.

When he was not there, King Richard became paranoid and angry. He threw things and spat heresy. The rumours troubled him; the ones that said King Richard had lost favour with God, that God had sent prophets to anoint a new king. Peter didn’t know whether to believe them or not, he just continued to pray for forgiveness for his father.

Then Anthony would return with his lyre, always carefully tuned and polished, and he would play to ease the king’s heart.

He sang too, beautiful homilies of faith and wonder; stories about far-off lands and battle glory. It was because he sang that Peter first got to know him.

“Anthony, are you alright?” He found the young man bending over a desk, a quill rolling between his fingers, lower lip tucked into his mouth.

“Prince Peter,” The shepherd looked up and their eyes met, and Peter wished they hadn’t. He did not want to feel surrounded the way he did by that gaze, like there was pressure on all sides and he was held down by it. Like he desperately needed to come up for air, but could not unless the strength and assurance in Anthony’s gaze gave such permission.

It was a strange feeling of authority, between prince and subject. But it also felt right.

Then Anthony turned his worried gaze back to the paper and he sighed in exasperation. “I am having trouble writing,” he admitted at length, “the words don’t come as easily as some might think.”

“What is it about?”

Peter stepped further into the room, wanting to thumb away the anxiety creasing Anthony’s forehead.

“Fear,” Anthony chewed his bottom lip and anxiously rubbed the fingers of one hand together so flakes of ink fell to the top of the desk. Peter looked down at the paper, the jumble tight print against the page.

The wicked advance against me to devour me, the armies besiege me, war breaks out against me.

There was no music written to the lyric, but Peter could imagine it easily. Could hear Anthony’s lilting voice while his fingers strummed the lyre.

Peter spoke, and put his finger to the top of the page, “if it is about fear, then what is it that gives you strength when afraid? Write about that.” And so Anthony put his quill to the page again and scrawled

The Lord is my light, whom shall I fear?

Then he went still and looked up at Peter.

“It’s… difficult to write, my prince. With someone watching… like this.”

Peter took several steps back which were too big, putting more distance between them than they needed. “Of course, I’m sorry.” He said and turned away. The wicked advance against me, armies besiege me. What did that mean? What did Anthony, the shepherd with the king’s favour, have to be afraid of?

Before Peter left, Anthony called:

“Thank you, Prince Peter.”

And so that became routine. Short moments in the afternoon sitting in an abandoned office; Peter prompted and Anthony’s words flowed. And come evening Peter snuck to the king’s chambers and listened for the finished song.

—

 King Richard was right, Anthony did eventually have cause to prove himself in battle.

Peter watched from afar with a trembling lip as Anthony shed the armour he’d been given.

Anthony cast aside his sword and declared the Lord was with him. It was a haughty sentiment, Peter thought, when in theory the Lord was with all of them.

Peter watched the musician push his way to the front lines with only a sling and five smooth stones in hand. Peter turned away, feeling a deep loss at the prospect of his friend’s death. The man who had brought peace to the king’s tortured mind.

The army jeered. King Richard shook his head sadly.

Peter thought of the tales of heroism which had been borne from Anthony’s mind - and what a brilliant mind it was - and sent a prayer for the Lord to protect His servant.

Afterward, when Anthony held the enemy commander’s head aloft, when their army roared and their foes retreated, Peter looked cautiously to his father. They could hear the chanting from here:

Richard has slain his thousands

And Anthony his tens of thousands!

A thinly-veiled insult to the king, if ever there was one.

King Richard’s face was unreadable as he turned to an aide. “Bring the shepherd boy to me.” He ordered.

And Peter thought God must be weary by now of his prayers.

—

But the king did not kill Anthony.

Peter was waiting outside the tent when he emerged. Blood still stained his hands and his clothes were still torn, but now a handsome purple mantle had been draped over his shoulders.

“Anthony!”

“Prince Peter.”

They stood just a bit too far apart from one another, a setting sun casting them in golden light while the cheers of victory and scent of sweet wine filled the space between them.

“My father…”

“He did not hurt me,” Anthony shrugged off the mantle and trudged away. Peter hurried to follow him.

“Are you alright?”

Anthony took them away from the festivities, toward the back of camp and to the seclusion of the streams and veld beyond.

When they were too far for anyone to hear them, but probably still in sight, Anthony said: “Our lord king has asked me to stay with him. To advise. To lead your army.”

“That is a great honour,” Peter said, even though his heart clutched with worry, “your family will be proud.”

“Prince Peter,” Anthony stopped now and turned to face him. He rubbed two fingers together, they watched flakes of dried blood sift off and settle to the ground.

“Prince Peter, I fear I am an enemy of your father.”

Peter glanced furtively back to camp before asking, “Why do you say that?”

“Have you heard that another man was anointed by the prophets? To be king in your father’s stead?”

“Yes.” Peter was conscious of his heart racing in his chest. He had a suspicion of what Anthony would say next, he did not know if he was afraid of it or wanted it to be true.

“Peter, I cannot lose a battle.” With the honorific prince cast away, Peter felt like his own skin had been peeled back, like Anthony was looking down at something raw and something secret. Anthony shook his head and kicked his foot into the desert ground, “I can go up against a ten foot tall general without a sword and still win… apparently.”

Peter whispered: “If you are the man the rumours are about, then the king will want you dead.”

“Or he will want me leashed,” Anthony replied, “he has already offered your sister’s hand. A fine home. A title. He is already afraid of me.”

“There is good reason to be afraid of any man with the Lord’s favour.” Peter mumbled, and then gasped when Anthony stepped forward. He put one hand on the small of Peter’s back and the other on the side of his neck, Peter could still smell the blood on it. The stench of sweat flooded his nostrils and they were very close like this, pressed flush against one another.

“Are you afraid of me, Peter?”

Peter didn’t completely understand the question, but he understood what was happening. He understood the danger of it, the horror of it. He understood that anyone could look down on them from here, and if not recognise them they could recognise the sin of two men so close.

His voice shook, “This is an abomination, Anthony-”

But Anthony only held him tighter, “The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Saviour. I can run to him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender.” They were his own lyrics, his breath hot on Peter’s neck as he growled them out, “the world cannot touch me, Peter. Not unless He wills it. And He won’t, His plans for me are grander than this one battle.”

They were both quiet, Peter’s breath was hoarse but he let himself hang in Anthony’s grip, pressed his chin into his palm.

Again: “Peter… are you afraid of me?”

“If the Lord has chosen you to be king, then whom shall I fear?”

Anthony smiled, and it was genuine. It was happy. It was born from goodness and patience, from peace, joy, and love.

And Peter reached for the soft woollen britches which Anthony wore, torn at the knees and along his thigh from the battle.

“May I worship my king?”

Anthony growled. It was a sound that sent a spike of heat through Peter’s whole body. That made his head white with electricity when their lips met.

“Only if I may reward my servant.”

--------

Notes from Grace:

Okay, there’s SO much potential to this story. Everything I have written here is before the Bible actually mentions David and Jonathan making their covenant together. Like after this, there’s chapters on King Saul hunting David, Jonathan helping him to escape, Jonathan manipulating and lying to his father to protect David, Saul lowkey realising they’re in love so lying to Jonathan and accusing David of stealing his son away and corrupting him. There’s this actual dialogue:

**David: Your father knows very well that I have found favour in your eyes

Jonathan: Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you

Jonathan: Don’t be afraid, my father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you.

And these actual verses:

“So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying ‘May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.’ And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.”

“Then they kissed each other and wept together — but David wept the most”

And David being on the run and Jonathan straight up sneaking away from his dad to meet up in a secret liaison like who can possibly say that wasn’t gay as hell?????

And Saul offering David two of his daughters’ hands in marriage and David being like “... nah.” while ‘affirming covenants’ with Jonathan left and right.

But this is all I wrote. If anyone’s into it I would encourage/welcome you to continue it and would love to be tagged in any such continuation.

**(I use an NIV Bible for 99% of my Bible needs)

[elegantfilmphotographyfantasykid]

Just Lost is All

A/N: so like I have no life other than writing stories so here is part 3 people

ANGST AND SOME FLUFF

    When they had gotten back to the tower Y/N had meant to go straight to her room, she didn't want to be around everyone, especially knowing she was going to break down soon. She began to make her way down the hallway, but before she could fully escape someone cleared their throat, quite dramatically. She stopped in her tracks turning around slowly to be met with the icy eyes of the ex assassin. He kept a straight face but as she looked deeper she could see other emotions, one of them seemed to be anger. She could smell it radiating off of him and now that she was home her instincts were telling her to cower as far away from the pissed off alpha as possible, but she also wanted him to comfort her. That side of her seemed to be winning as she soon found herself inching closer to him, soon close enough that if she reached out she could touch him. At this point Y/N realized that everyone else had left the room, this seemed to be what her body was waiting for because as soon as she had made the observation she slumped over. As if the weight of what had happened was pulling her down beckoning for her to fall into the dark parts of her head. So absorbed within these thoughts Y/N didn't notice Bucky reach out to her, that was until she felt warm shivers run up her arms from his hands coming into contact with her skin. Then she really broke down, falling into him her hands grasping at his shirt and tears spilling from her (E/C) eyes.

    “He-he raped me. His filthy hands, he touched me.” Y/N’s voice shook as she spoke her body trembling as she remembered the feeling of him in the same room as her.

    Bucky’s arms held tightly to her plump figure, a growl ripping from his throat. All he could feel was hate at the man who did this to his omega, he knew he hadn't claimed the small chubby girl yet, let alone shown any interest but he loved her. He felt her jolt as a reaction to his growl and immediately began to purr. His alpha instincts taking over as he buried his head in the crook of her soft neck nuzzling the scent mark below her ear, overwhelmed with the smell of coconut and lavender. He held back another growl as he caught a whiff of the attackers scent knowing he had to focus his attention solely on Y/N.

    She gave a small squeak of surprise as each of his hands wrapped around one of her thighs and he picked her up with ease. She hurriedly wrapped her legs around his waist, on any other day she would have felt embarrassed and would have argued that she could walk, but right now she needed this. She needed him, the warmth, and comfort, because for the first time in a long time she wasn't able to say she was okay. Because she wasn't she was now a broken shell of what she used to be. She kept her face buried deep into his neck his scent calming her as he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. 

    She lifted her head from the comfortable spot on his shoulder and noticed they were entering what seemed to be Bucky’s room, this was confirmed when they crossed the threshold and his scent filled her with safety. 

    Bucky crossed the room gently setting the short girl on the bed a grunt of frustration leaving his mouth, the scent of that sick bastard still radiating from her small form. Before he scared her by getting angry he took this chance to get her into something with his scent.

    “You smell like that hell hole, my bathrooms through that door, use what you need and ill find you something to wear.” Now keep in mind Bucky wasn't very good at this interacting thing so his voice was more of a grunt, and he was telling her instead of asking. But she didn't seem to mind, at first she looked a bit surprised but then almost as if she needed someone else to take control for a bit she listened.

    Y/N stood from the bed relishing in the tone the alpha had used, a commanding tone. She needed this, if she was alone she probably would have just went and curled up in bed, no showering or changing of clothes involved, just darkness and seclusion. Her feet carried her to the bathroom of their own accord, then she took a whiff of herself, was it really that bad? She was met with disgusting smells of fear, lust, and sadness, this made his opinion a fact, she reeked. Quickly, as if she couldn't rid herself of it fast enough, she stripped out of her clothes. She walked to the shower a shiver running up her spine as she began to realize just how cold the bathroom was. She turned the water on waiting at the edge of the shower until it was steaming hot, she almost stepped in before remembering a wash cloth. she quickly went to wall with the shelves that held towels and rags. With ease she grabbed a towel but when trying for the smaller fabric she realized she was to short. A grunt of annoyance fell from her lips as she decided there was one choice, because she was not putting those clothes back on, she opened the door peeking out into the bedroom.

“B-bucky, I cant reach the wa-wash rags. I don't want t-to bother you but could you help?” He turned on his heel, hearing the way her once confident and cocky voice shook and cracked as she spoke made him bristle with anger. He walked into the bathroom grabbing a washcloth from the top shelf and handing it to her before quickly exiting, he didn't want to be around her to long just incase he lost his temper and growled or yelled while she was there. He didn't want her to think it was directed at her, no it was Tony for coming up with the idea, and the assholes who did this to innocent omegas. He sat on the bed his head falling into his hands as he did his best to control how upset he was. Hearing the water turn on he calmed himself knowing he shouldn't be the one feeling this, it should be the omega in their, the one who was acting as brave as she could even with what she went through.

[juststeveandtonythings]

Silver Age Tony Stark: A Summary

So, I thought it would be nice if I went back and condensed the stuff I read into a single post so that it might be a helpful resource later. This will cover Tales of Suspense Vol 1 #39-#99 (the Iron Man part of it - Captain America has his own post here), Iron Man Vol 1 #1-#20, and some additional plot-relevant comics. I chose Iron Man #20 as a stopping point, as that takes us up to December 1969.

Issue-by-Issue Synopsis

Significant events are in bold. Note that a lot of the earlier issues were kind of just silly fluff, so there isn’t much to say about them.

[ToS #39] Tony makes his first appearance, is caught by Wong-Chu in the Vietnamese jungle, and builds a gray metal suit to escape with Ho Yinsen’s help.

[ToS #40] Tony starts carrying his armor around in a briefcase. He gets the idea from the woman he’s currently dating to paint his armor gold.

[ToS #41] Tony fights a bad guy.

[ToS #42] Tony fights a bad guy.

[ToS #43] Iron Man is established as a crime fighter who sometimes visits Tony.

[ToS #44] First dramatic socket plugging. Iron Man is upgraded to be a “close friend” of Tony’s.

[ToS #45] First appearance of Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts. Happy saves his life and is hired as his chauffeur. Pepper is a modest-looking secretary who is in love with Tony.

[ToS #46] Tony fights the Crimson Dynamo/Anton Vanko but gives him a second chance and hires him.

[ToS #47] Tony fights a bad guy.

[ToS #48] Tony upgrades his armor to the Model 2.

[ToS #49] Tony fights a bad guy.

[ToS #50] First appearance of the Mandarin.

[ToS #51] Iron Man is upgraded again to be Tony’s bodyguard.

[ToS #52] First appearance of Natasha Romanova/the Black Widow, who has been sent by Russia to dispose of Vanko and Stark. Vanko is killed and Natasha escapes.

[ToS #53] Tony fights a bad guy.

[ToS #54] Tony is established to have feelings for Pepper for the first time.

[ToS #55] Tony fights the Mandarin.

[ToS #56] First appearance of the nickname “Shellhead” (though here, it’s two words). Tony decides to stop being Iron Man.

[ToS #57] First appearance of Clint Barton/Hawkeye, who teams up with Natasha to fight Iron Man. They get away. Tony takes Pepper out on a date by accident.

[ToS #58] The Chameleon disguises himself as Captain America and fights Iron Man.

[ToS #59] Tony fights the Black Knight. Tales of Suspense goes from being ½ Iron Man issue and ½ random non-superhero issue to ½ Iron Man issue and ½ Captain America issue.

[ToS #60] Tony realizes he needs to stay in his armor full time to provide his heart with enough power to keep beating, resulting in everyone thinking Iron Man’s done something terrible to Tony.

[ToS #61] The Mandarin attacks Tony’s home and he is presumed dead. Tony flies to China to fight him.

[ToS #62] Tony fights the Mandarin.

[ToS #63] Tony figures out his power problems and makes his return as himself. He realizes Happy loves Pepper too and claims he’s engaged so Pepper will forget about him and go for Happy.

[ToS #64] Natasha and Clint strike at Iron Man again, but Clint’s love for Natasha ruins their plans and they are forced to retreat from the fight.

[ToS #65] Tony fights a bad guy.

[ToS #66] Tony fights a bad guy while doing a weapons demo and chooses to blame the resulting damage (that no one but him and the bad guy witnessed) on himself rather than the bad guy. Happy goes missing.

[ToS #67] Happy has left because he’s unhappy, so Tony finds him as Iron Man and tries to convince him to return. He fails, but Pepper ends up succeeding. Pepper gets increasingly annoyed with Iron Man’s shady behavior.

[ToS #68] First appearance of Morgan Stark, who Count Nefaria tries to use to destroy Tony, though the attempt fails.

[ToS #69] Iron Man is challenged by Titanium Man in a one-on-one televised battle.

[ToS #70] Titanium Man plays dirty during the battle and almost wins, but Happy is able to come in with an assist, though he gets badly injured in the process. Before he passes out, he expresses relief that Pepper loves him. He also reveals that he knows Tony is Iron Man.

[ToS #71] Tony finally defeats Titanium Man. Pepper expresses disgust with Tony for being gone while both Iron Man and Happy were risking their lives.

[ToS #72] Tony fights a bad guy and mopes at how Pepper hates Tony but likes Iron Man.

[ToS #73] The Black Knight kidnaps a still-injured Happy from the hospital to lure Iron Man into battle. Tony defeats him and Happy is rescued, but Tony is left trapped in the Black Knight’s castle.

[ToS #74] Pepper rescues Iron Man from the castle, who then has to rush off to stop doctors from using experimental tech on Happy to save his life. But it’s too late and Happy gets mutated and runs off.

[ToS #75] Tony goes after Happy and manages to capture him.

[ToS #76] Tony manages to unmutate Happy, though Happy now has amnesia. Senator Byrd forces Tony to come to Washington so he can testify on Iron Man, but the Mandarin kidnaps him en route.

[ToS #77] The Mandarin summons a giant android called Ultimo, which Tony fights after secretly suiting up.

[ToS #78] Tony defeats Ultimo and comes back to find that his factory has been shut down and that there’s a warrant for his arrest for not appearing before the Senate.

[ToS #79] Tony feels that Iron Man is almost a separate entity. He fights a random Atlantean who attacked him. Then Namor shows up.

[ToS #80] Namor fights Tony because Namor wanted to be the one fighting the random Atlantean instead (even though the Atlantean was the one who attacked Tony in the first place).

[TtA #82] Tony and Namor fight. The random Atlantean then resurfaces, and Namor leaves to fight him instead.

[ToS #81] Tony decides to testify to the Senate, but is intercepted by the Titanium Man en route.

[ToS #82] Pepper appears at the battle between Iron Man and Titanium Man to try and help Tony, but Titanium Man starts attacking her instead. “Shellhead” appears again as a nickname, but hyphenated.

[ToS #83] Tony defeats Titanium Man. Pepper is relieved to see him and seems into him again. Happy regains his memories.

[ToS #84] Tony is about to testify to the Senate about Iron Man when he passes out. His chestplate is discovered, his heart issues become public knowledge, and suspicions begin to rise that he is actually Iron Man. Happy dons the suit with Tony’s blessing to throw everyone off, but then gets kidnapped by the Mandarin.

[ToS #85] Tony rushes off to build a new suit, then flies to China on a rocket to save Happy.

[ToS #86] Tony fights the Mandarin in hand-to-hand combat for some reason and wins. He and Happy head back to the States.

[ToS #87] Tony builds an “earth-borer” machine. While testing, random buildings, including his own factory, get sucked into the earth.

[ToS #88] Tony fights the Mole Man, who was responsible for sucking buildings in, and then says he’ll tell the public that the earth-borer was responsible rather than scare them with the truth.

[ToS #89] Tony realizes Pepper actually loves Happy. To cope, he goes on a bunch of dates. Then the Melter comes to demand tech from him.

[ToS #90] Tony defeats the Melter.

[ToS #91] Tony fights the Crusher. Happy and Pepper have eloped and are now married.

[ToS #92] Tony does a weapons demo in Vietnam and is then asked to defeat someone named Half-Face.

[ToS #93] Tony fights Half-Face and the Titanium Man, who is working with him.

[ToS #94] Tony defeats Titanium Man. Half-Face renounces his evil ways.

[ToS #95] First appearance of Jasper Sitwell, who has been stationed at Tony’s factory by Nick Fury. The Grey Gargoyle attacks, turns Iron Man to stone, and throws him off a building.

[ToS #96] Sitwell saves Iron Man. Iron Man defeats Grey Gargoyle, but passes out due to the strain on his heart.

[ToS #97] Morgan sleazes his way in and pretends he’s here to help Iron Man, but he really plans on taking him to the Maggia (currently on a ship) to help pay off his gambling debts. Iron Man and the Maggia fight, and then the Maggia bring in Whiplash.

[ToS #98] First appearance of Whitney Frost. Tony fights Whiplash.

[ToS #99] Tony defeats Whiplash and passes out. He gets re-captured by the Maggia when their ship is shot at by A.I.M. They evacuate, leaving Tony trapped.

[IM&SM #1] Tony frees himself, fights Whiplash again, and is then captured by A.I.M.

[IM #1] Whitney seduces Sitwell in order to hopefully learn company secrets from him. Tony fights and defeats A.I.M.

[IM #2] A man obsessed with Tony called Drexel Cord sends a robot after him to defeat him, but it eventually tries to harm his daughter, Janice, and turns on Drexel before Tony finally defeats it. Tony feels guilty.

[IM #3] Happy and Pepper, who no longer work for Tony, hear that Tony is in seclusion and go to him. This is because he must now stay plugged in 24/7 to keep his heart beating. However, he allows Happy to help since Happy knows his secret, but this results in Happy being mutated again. He gets better, but Tony feels guilty.

[IM #4] Tony grapples with the price of being Iron Man and fights the Unicorn.

[IM #5] Tony gets teleported into the future and is almost executed, but he escapes and goes back to his time after a fight.

[IM #6] Tony develops feelings for Janice. The Crusher attacks the factory and threatens Whitney, who was hanging around. Sitwell is ready to do something very foolish to save her, forcing Iron Man to knock him out and defeat the Crusher on his own.

[IM #7] Tony, Janice, and her lawyer (who has been encouraging Janice to sell her late father’s company to Tony) are kidnapped by the Maggia and the Gladiator. Tony escapes just long enough to come back as Iron Man, which makes him look very cowardly to Janice.

[IM #8] Whitney’s backstory as a socialite who didn’t know she had an evil father is revealed. Back in the present, she leads a raid on the Stark factory that Sitwell manages to stop, but she nonetheless saves him when the Gladiator attacks him. When she flees, Sitwell is unable to bring himself to stop her.

[IM #9] The Mandarin ships a Hulk android from China to kidnap Janice and prove that Tony Stark and Iron Man are the same. Tony defeats the android.

[IM #10] Tony and Janice go on a nice date. The Mandarin tries to ruin Tony by releasing photoshopped images of him partaking in secret communist meetings, then lures him to his new hideout in the States.

[IM #11] The Mandarin unmasks Iron Man only to find that it’s some blond dude and that Tony is elsewhere (unknown to him, Tony is wearing prosthetics, and the other Tony is an LMD). The Mandarin goes after the LMD Tony. After a televised fight, the Mandarin is defeated but it looks like Tony died because the LMD shut down.

[IM #12] Tony gets the LMD working again, then shuts it down himself and puts it away. He and Janice go to visit her lawyer but are attacked by the Controller.

[IM #13] Tony defeats the Controller, but starts distancing himself from Janice due to fears that his feelings will interfere with his duties as Iron Man.

[IM #14] Tony and Janice go on a break due to Tony’s inner turmoil. Tony fights the Night Phantom.

[IM #15] Tony and Sitwell are attacked by the Unicorn and the Red Ghost while on a plane. Tony gets off but fears Sitwell has perished when he sees the plane explode.

[IM #16] Tony and the Unicorn have a “handcuffed together” episode and bring down the Red Ghost. The Unicorn then escapes with the Red Ghost. Sitwell is fine.

[IM #17] Midas and Madame Masque attack the Stark factory while Tony is away, which reactivates the Tony LMD. The LMD decides to take over Tony’s life, so when Tony returns, he’s treated as an impostor and thrown out. Tony is moping in the rain when Madame Masque kidnaps him.

[IM #18] Thinking that the real Tony is a very good impostor, Midas “forces” him to be part of their plot to take over Tony’s company, which involves fighting the LMD so Tony is actually for it. He flirts with Madame Masque as she trains him. When they break in and the LMD confronts them, he protects her and fights and defeats the LMD himself, but his heart stops beating. Madame Masque gets away while the Avengers find him and try to save him.

[IM #19] Tony has heart surgery, which removes the need for his chestplate and replaces the damaged parts of his heart with synthetic tissue. He is cautioned to avoid unusual stress, which will make it more likely that his body rejects the synthetics. Midas and Madame Masque kidnap him again. Madame Masque is revealed to be Whitney Frost, and they kiss without her mask on. They escape Midas, and Whitney goes her own way.

[IM #20] Tony fights one of his security guards, who is being possessed by Lucifer, and defeats him.

Characterization

Silver Age Tony essentially has no flaws aside from the issues he runs into from either his double life as Iron Man, or the knowledge that he might drop dead due to his damaged heart at any second. Said issues result in him having a lot of monologues in his head about the irony of seemingly having it all even though he is so troubled. He has also felt like Iron Man was a separate entity from Tony Stark. There is no mention of alcoholism or his abusive father at this point in canon. In fact, we know more about Whitney Frost’s backstory than we do Tony’s.

When it comes to his love life, he is 100% a flirt, and he also has a playboy reputation. (However, it’s unclear how many people he actually sleeps with, given that for most of the decade he had to keep his chestplate a secret.) When he develops romantic feelings for someone, though, he will eventually distance himself from them due to his fears that his life will endanger them and/or the fact that he might die at any moment will be an unfair burden to them. He also tends to not date other people when he has feelings, unless it’s explicitly an attempt to forget the person - he’s seen dating women until feelings for Pepper develop, and then he dates no one even though he’s not pursuing Pepper (due to his bad heart), and then he starts dating again to distract himself once he realizes Pepper loves Happy. After Pepper and Happy marry, he seems at peace with their relationship and eventually pursues Janice Cord, but then again has to draw away due to his personal issues, which leaves him open to developing feelings for Whitney Frost, despite her scarred face and the knowledge that she’s a long-time criminal.

Despite the trouble that his double life brings him, he does find joy in being Iron Man and believes Iron Man is a necessary force. It’s not until he gets heart surgery when he starts to feel doubt, and that’s only because being Iron Man makes it more likely he will die due to the chance his heart will reject the synthetic tissue it now has.

Here’s some of the things he’s done:

Extremely willing to sacrifice himself if it will defeat a bad guy

Donates to charitable causes, such as children’s hospitals

Gives people second chances

Makes it a point of being non-lethal even when it’s an inconvenience

Fights enemies, but then occasionally blames any disturbances resulting from those fights on himself so that the public doesn’t know what kind of terrors he actually faced

Relationships

Here’s a list of the important supporting characters in Tony’s life!

Pepper Potts is Tony’s secretary. She starts out as kind of average-looking and in love with Tony, then eventually starts to dress up more (and covers up her freckles!), which apparently prompts Tony to fall in love with her. However, Tony’s own inner turmoil over his double life and his bad heart stop him from actively pursuing her, and he makes attempts to both remove himself from the picture as well as push her toward Happy. Over the course of the run, her romantic feelings shift between Tony, Iron Man, and Happy (for a while, she despises Tony because she thinks he’s a coward due to him always disappearing when danger happens), but eventually she and Happy get married. By the end of the decade, she is no longer working for Tony but they’re on good terms.

Happy Hogan is Tony’s chauffeur, hired by Tony after Happy saves his life. For a while, Happy is unhappy because he doesn’t do anything (due to Tony not actually needing a chauffeur because he can fly). Despite this, and despite the fact that he understands Tony is a major competitor for Pepper’s affections, he cares deeply about Tony and will risk his life to save his boss. He is also the only person to know Iron Man’s identity, having figured it out for himself, and has even donned the suit. Like Pepper, he is no longer working for Tony, but they’re on good terms.

Morgan Stark is Tony’s cowardly cousin and a prominent gambler. His life and Tony’s usually only intersect when Morgan has gambling debts and tries to offer up Tony as a means to pay off the debts.

Natasha Romanova is a Russian spy who Tony immediately flirts with, though they become at odds once he realizes her real purpose. She only appears in a few issues and is mostly here because we all know she’ll come back later!

Clint Barton is a performer who turns to petty crime because he becomes jealous of Iron Man. He and Natasha team up to fight Tony more than once. Later, he joins the Avengers, but this is never brought up in the Iron Man run.

The Avengers are the superhero team Tony is part of, but his involvement as both Iron Man and as Tony Stark is rarely mentioned. Similarly, the other Avengers make occasional cameos but rarely come up in the narrative. The most notable mentions are 1) when the Chameleon disguises himself as Steve Rogers, causing Tony to fight the real Steve, 2) when the Mandarin sends a Hulk android after Tony, resulting in Tony telling it (without knowing it’s an android) that he always thought Bruce was misunderstood, and 3) when Tony nearly dies after his battle with the LMD, resulting in the Avengers coming to save him and helping him get the heart surgery he needs to survive.

Janice Cord is a woman whose father developed an obsession with Tony and tried to kill him, perishing in the process. Tony develops feelings for her and they eventually start going out. He encourages her to continue with her father’s company, despite the fact that that means he’ll have another competitor. However, Tony then starts distancing himself from her after realizing his work as Iron Man may conflict with his feelings for her. Currently, they are broken up and another man is pursuing her, but she still has feelings for him.

Jasper Sitwell is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stationed at Tony’s factory and is a teacher’s pet sort of fellow who rubs Tony the wrong way at first, though this soon changes. The relationship between Sitwell and Iron Man becomes strained, however, after Iron Man is forced to knock him out to stop him from doing something dumb, which embarrasses Sitwell. Sitwell dates Whitney Frost for a while - she’s using him to get to Tony’s weapons, but he knows she’s using him. Nonetheless, they develop actual feelings and both save each other when the time comes.

Whitney Frost is the head of the Maggia who uses Sitwell to get to Tony’s weapons, though she develops feelings for him along the way. However, he realizes she’s using him and stops her when she raids the factory, though he allows her to later flee. As part of the escape, her face becomes badly scarred and she returns as Madame Masque with a new plot involving capturing Tony, except this results in them kissing each other (with Tony undeterred by her scarred face). However, she then runs away, not wanting to burden him with her status as a wanted woman.

Trivia

There’s a lot of random stuff I tagged as trivia (which can be found on the #tony stark trivia tag), so I’ll only mention the stuff that might be helpful for a fic writer to know.

[TtA #82] Tony knows judo.

[ToS #81] Tony enjoys flying.

[ToS #91] Tony occasionally wears flame-retardant coveralls in the lab.

[ToS #92] Tony had a governess and wasn’t allowed on roller coasters as a child.

[ToS #94] Iron Man is internationally known.

[IM #3] Tony’s new secretary, after Pepper leaves, is a woman named Ms. Greer.

[IM #10] Tony likes bogie and W. C. Fields.

[IM #10] Tony develops tech for S.H.I.E.L.D. as well (not just the U.S. government).

[IM #15] Tony read a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs as a child.

[IM #17] Tony has an electronic memory bank where he’s recorded all his activities in the event of his death. He also wears lab coats when working.

[IM #19] A summary on how the Model 2 armor is assembled.

Noteworthy Panels

These are mostly panels that are noteworthy for meme reasons, since actual noteworthy events are highlighted in the synopsis.

[ToS #40] Tony outfits the U.S. military with roller skates.

[ToS #45] Tony keeps a humongous framed image of his good friend Iron Man on his wall.

[ToS #48] Tony has eyeholes in his face mask because he thinks that allowing his expression to show will instill fear in the hearts of his enemies.

[ToS #53] Tony throws things together literally at random and produces an anti-gravity device, because that’s how science works.

[ToS #57] Clint declares that Natasha is the only one he’s ever loved, despite not knowing anything about her except for her looks and her dislike for Iron Man.

[ToS #58] “Well, partner, I’m glad it all came out in the wash! No hard feelings?” - this scene between Captain America and Iron Man is referenced in Civil War: Casualties of War.

[ToS #82] Tony can spin his ear discs to reveal ROLLER SKATES.

[ToS #84] SURVEY SHOWS THAT STARK AND IRON MAN NEVER SEEN AT SAME TIME TOGETHER.

[ToS #93] More roller skates!

[IM #5] It’s time-traveling Tony!

[IM #11] Tony needs a disguise? Time to go blond and get rid of the facial hair!

[IM #13] Yes, I will point out all the roller skates I can.

[IM #17] Sad Tony in the rain.

[ussthunderquack]

MCU characters in the “Star Trek” universe

I thought of making this post months ago. I hesitated, and still do, because some of these are very close to some original “Star Trek” characters that I’m cooking up for a personal “Star Trek” fanfic. 

But then someone else made a post about an Avengers/”Star Trek” crossover, with a Vulcan Stephen Strange, that I found interesting. They said they were new to “Star Trek,” and I offered suggestions. They asked me to tag them when I post this, so here I tag: @ellisper this is partially for you. I am not telling anyone that they have to write their Avengers/”Star Trek” crossover this way; this is just my personal two-cents. 

Steve Rogers: Thawed Augment from the Eugenics Wars

In “Star Trek” canon, the Eugenics Wars are a dark part of Earth’s history, set between present day, and the Utopian 23rd Century in which the main action of “Star Trek” is set. The famous “Star Trek” villain, Khan, comes from this time period. The Eugenics Wars occurred before Humans discovered Warp travel, or met any alien life. During this time, humanity experimented with genetic engineering, and created super-humans called Augments. Augments tended to be evil, due to superiority complexes. The most infamous was Khan, who, along with his crew of Augments, wound up cryogenically frozen, and thawed centuries later in Captain Kirk’s time.  For a “Star Trek” version of Steve Rogers, this seems fitting. Naturally, Steve is one of the “good” Augments, who was fighting for equality, against Khan. Somehow, he wound up frozen like Khan’s crew, and thawed centuries later. Just like canon-Steve, this Augment Steve is from a past war that most Starfleet officers only know from history books; and his body and abilities come from a scientific experiment that was abandoned long, long ago. 

Sam Wilson: Human pilot, from an off-world colony, scarred by the Dominion War 

Sam would be one of the first people to welcome Steve Rogers to the 24th Century, and treat him like a regular person. His military experience and involvement in PTSD groups might be related to the Dominion War (which occurred during “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and had a lasting effect on Starfleet and all of its allies, in “Next Generation” and “Voyager.”)

I feel like Sam would come from an off-world colony, maybe because he has a rougher edge to him, that an Earth-bred officer might lack. If I’m not mistaken, Sam also grew up in poverty, in MCU canon. (In “Star Trek,” Earth is a “paradise” in the 24th Century, with all poverty and prejudice eliminated; so human characters who come from bad places come from off-world, like Tasha Yar.) 

Stephen Strange: Romulan turncoat, training with Vulcans 

Vulcans and Romulans are evolutionary cousins. Sans the foreheads, the only significant difference is cultural. Vulcans tamed their volatile emotions centuries ago, with logic and discipline. Romulans embraced their darker tendencies, and are now more imperial. There is great animosity and distrust between the two sub-species. However, some Romulans respect the Vulcans, and seek to learn from them. (This is revealed in “Star Trek: the Next Generation.”) 

The Stephen Strange we see in “Infinity War” might seem Vulcan-like. But if you watch his movie, “Dr. Strange,” he wasn’t always so. Pre-wizard Strange is like many of the Romulans you’ll see on “Star Trek:” a brilliant scientist, but very arrogant, with a volatile temper, and questionable ethics. For a “Star Trek” Dr. Strange, I postulate a Romulan scientist who suffers an injury and loses his ability to practice. He travels to Vulcan in the hopes of curing himself, and learns from one of the most powerful Vulcan telepaths. (Vulcans have far more experience with telepathy than Romulans, who for the most part, don’t seem to even have the ability.) 

Naturally, a Vulcan/Romulan Strange would also rock that evil-Spock goatee. In short, Strange is a Romulan who converted to Vulcan-ism. His Romulan temperament still shines through his newfound Vulcan discipline, especially when he’s interacting with....

Tony Stark: Joined Trill

Here’s the one that made me hesitate, because of my “Star Trek” OC. But, here we go.... 

The Trill look like humans with spots on the sides of their faces, and kangaroo pouches in their tummies (for both males and females). Most of the Trill are pretty much just that. But one tenth of the Trill population is “joined” to a race of super-intelligent, immortal slugs, who live in said kangaroo pouches. Once joined, the slug--called a Symbiont--and the “host” Trill---both have their minds merged into one being. It is very important that a Trill and Symbiont are well matched before joining, or else insanity could result. 

A joined Trill will replace his or her last name with the name of the symbiont. (Ezri Tigan is joined to the Dax symbiont, and changes here name to Ezri Dax.) A host will have all of the memories of the Symbiont’s past hosts, which can lead to some confusion and identity crisis.  Since Tony Stark is a character marked entirely by conflict and dualities, I can’t see him being anything but a joined Trill. The Stark symbiont is the genius engineer, and the Tony host is the playboy manchild. 

Since Tony’s character is heavily driven by his past (daddy issues, guilt, etc) that could also translate into memories of past-hosts. Maybe the crimes Trill-Tony blames himself for weren’t his at all, but a past host of the Stark symbiont. 

On my “Star Trek” OC, Nuvo Auz: He is not exactly a carbon copy of Tony Stark, but he’s close enough to this “Trill Tony Stark” described that I hesitated to share. But oh well. It’s fan fiction, so it’s not like originality is a major issue here. 

James Rhodes: Another joined Trill, who has been friends with Stark for several “hosts” 

There is now a reason Rhodey changed appearances so abruptly and completely; he changed hosts! The Rhodey on the left sadly died during a mission where he was unfortunate enough to be wearing red, but the Stark and Rhodey symbionts were inseparable, even though various hosts.  The plotline of Rhodey breaking his back might also be replaced by Rhodey losing another host altogether. That would really motivate Tony, if his best friend really did partially-die, during one of their battles. 

The Trill do have laws against “re-association” with past-hosts’ families and spouses, but friendships seem to be except from this rule, as Captain Sisko is friends with Dax through three hosts (Kurzon Dax, Jadzia Dax and Ezri Dax). 

Pepper Potts: Unjoined Trill Telepath

As mentioned above, most Trill are not joined. Among the unjoined Trill, a small percentage are telepathic. These telepathic Trill cannot be joined, but are important in helping with those who are. Trill telepaths guard the unjoined symbionts in their cave-lakes, and also use their telepathy to perform Trill rituals that allow a joined Trill to talk more directly with his or her past hosts. 

Trill telepathy is not elaborated on in canon, so this AU has a lot of freedom in terms of what Pepper can do with her telepathy. 

Pepper is the only Trill telepath who could deal with the insanity that is Tony Stark, and has been by his side for years. Her telepathy gives her sharp intuition, and she is the first to discover that Stane is betraying Tony, when she quickly reads Stane’s mind when he isn’t looking. She can sense when Tony’s in danger, and communicate with him mentally from afar. 

She hates how reckless joined Trill like Tony are, since they feel immortal. She reminds him he is not immortal; his memories may be, but there will only ever be one Tony Stark, and she doesn’t want to lose him.

Morgan Stark: Get some tissues....

Tony, being Tony, goes against the Symbiosis Commissions rules about joining, and leaves his symbiont Stark to his daughter after his death. Morgan inherits the symbiont, and with it, all her father’s memories. She constantly hears him tell her, “I love you 3000.” 

Mantis: Aenar/Betazoid Hybrid

The Aenar are evolutionary cousins of Andorians (those blue guys with the antennae). The Aenar, unlike Andorians, have very powerful telepathic abilities, and live in seclusion. 

Betazoids look identical to humans, except for their solid black eyes. Betazoids, as well, have a wide range of mental powers. Most are some degree of telepaths, but how powerful they are depends on the individual. Counselor Deanna Troi, who is half-Betazoid and half-Human, cannot read minds like most full-Betazoids, but she is an “empath,” and can sense emotions from other people. 

Mantis’s black eyes and empathic powers scream of Betazoid to me. But naturally her antennae and sheltered nature also scream of Aenar. I think an Aenar/Betazoid hybrid makes the most sense for her, personally.

Natasha Romanof: Low-telepath Betazoid, or Betazoid/Human Hybrid 

Betazoid women are stereotyped for their alluring, seductive natures. Natasha Romanov uses seduction, along with her sharp intuition, in her job as a spy. She clearly cannot read or affect others’ minds the way Mantis or Wanda Maximoff can, but Nat’s ability to read other people would make sense for a part-Betazoid, or a Bertazoid on the low-end of the telepathy spectrum.

Clint Barton: Human, or Bajoran 

Bajorans are basically humans with wrinkly noses, and their whole planet seemingly follows one religion. All in all, not “Star Trek’s” best concept for an alien race. 

I was originally going to dismiss Clint as a boring Human, but he could just as easily be Bajoran. Bajorans have a history of guerrilla fighting Cardassian oppressors, and while it’s never stated in canon, I’ve always gotten the impression that Bajorans were more nimble and stealthy than humans. After recently winning their home planet back from the Cardassians, Bajorans are trying to rebuild their lives and families. Many are farmers. This all seems fitting enough for Clint. Otherwise, Clint might simply be the token boring Human onboard. Like Miles O’Brian of DS9, Clint is the family man in the group, and...not much else. He could even relate to Miles over having a relatively mundane-seeming job compared to the other characters (Miles sat at the transporter controls when on the Enterprise, and is the subject of much ridicule in the fandom for this.) 

Thor: Klingon, son of the current emperor

If you’re new to “Star Trek,” you might be thinking, “No way, pretty Thor, one of those ugly lizard things from ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ and the recent movies?” Well I’m thinking more of the Picard-era Klingons for this one.  Yes, Klingons are warriors--and specifically, they are largely based on stereotypes of Vikings--but not all Klingon characters are vicious monsters. Many are jolly and full of honor, and love to drink mugs of bloodwine while telling exaggerated tales of their glorious battles. Picturing Thor, and all of his Asgardian friends, as Klingons, each with their own unique Klingon forheads, armor and weapons, is just too great. 

Loki: Changeling orphan raised by Klingons, who later allies with the Dominion

Introduced on “Deep Space Nine,” the Founders, AKA “Changelings,” are a species from the other side of the galaxy. Their true form is silver syrup, but with practice, they can take any form, depending on how skilled and experienced they are. The Founders are rulers of the Dominion, a sort of evil counterpart to the Federeation. Their subject species worship them as gods, and the Founders hope for galactic domination. 

To gain more information on the rest of the galaxy, the Founders often send baby Changelings out into the universe, to grow up among alien species, so they can come back and share their experiences with the rest of the Great Link (the sea of silver jelly that makes up the Founder homeworld). Unfortunately, the Founders don’t seem to plan this very well, as they give the baby Changelings no way of knowing where they’re from, why they were sent away, or what they’re supposed to do. Odo, a main character on “Deep Space Nine,” grew up an orphan and the only one of his species, having no clue of his origins. 

Now if this isn’t all Loki in a nutshell, I don’t know what is. 

Emperor Odin found the baby Changeling, and taught him to take a Klingon form. Loki grew up very bitter about not knowing his origins. When he did finally learn of the Founders, he was eager to return to the Great Link and prove himself, and became one of the Dominion’s highest agents. Loki was far more skilled at shape-shifting than Odo (as many Founders were), and could take any form with ease. 

He tried to take over the Klingon Empire by impersonating his father; he led a Dominion Army to try to conquer Earth; and in the end, he switched sides and died trying to save his brother and the Klingon Empire....or did he? 

Bruce Banner: Human/Klingon hybrid (either natural or artificial) 

There are several part-Klingons in “Star Trek” canon. One of them, B’Elanna Torres ( “Star Trek: Voyager”) is a brilliant engineer, who is constantly frustrated by her Klingon temper interfering with her work. Bruce Banner could just as easily be in the exact same boat as her, though his personality would be different than hers. (B’Elanna often combats her rage with sarcasm, and has a lot in common with Tony Stark in that regard.) 

B’Elanna is a born hybrid--one human parent, one Klingon parent. There are others, however, who are “artificial hybrids;” a person born one species, who, through some genetic engineering or mistake, ends up with traits of the other species fused into them. Klingons experimented with genetic engineering on themselves to try and disguise as Humans, to infiltrate Star Fleet. (This was a retcon in “Enterprise,” to explain why the Klingons in the Original “Star Trek” look so Human, and nothing like the Klingons of TNG-onward. A Klingon-engineered-to-look-human also appears on “Discovery.”) 

Bruce Banner could just be a born hybrid like B’Elanna... but if one wants to tie in his MCU backstory into this “Star Trek” AU, it may make sense to go the “military genetic experiment gone wrong” route. Admiral Ross (no “generals” in Starfleet, don’t ask me why) may have ordered Bruce to test this method of disguising humans as Klingons on himself, and it went horribly wrong. 

King T’Challa: Human, from a separate colony that still practices genetic engineering

In “Star Trek,” it is not uncommon for members of one specific ethnic group to build a colony on an alien planet, based entirely around that one culture. (Or stereotypes of it. “Star Trek” is kind of clumsy with how it handles real life cultures, unfortunately.) There’s a colony of Scottish people, where Dr. Crusher’s nanna lives. Commander Chakotay’s culture was a tribe of Native Americans who left Earth and set up a colony on another planet to preserve their culture. 

Wakanda could just as easily be the same case. In addition to preserving their culture, the Wakandans might also have left Earth so that they could continue using genetic engineering, a practice that Starfleet has banned (after the Eugenics Wars). In the Wakanda Colony, genetic manipulation is handled very carefully, and only the ruling king becomes a full-on Augment. 

Gamora: Orion pirate

Orions are a green-skinned race, known to be pirates and slave traders. Orion women emit pheromones that seduce males of other species, though it’s unclear if this always true, or how much control they have over it.  Trekkies tend to think of Orion women as scantily dressed slave dancers, but latter “Star Trek” incarnations have female Orions in other roles, often as badass pirate traders and leaders, and sometimes even Starfleet officers. They do have a tendency to wear kinky black leather though, and the last Orion woman we saw on “Star Trek: Discovery” was a dead-ringer for Gamora! 

Bucky Barnes: Liberated Borg Drone

The Borg are the single greatest villains in “Star Trek,” and are every bit to “Star Trek” what Hydra is to the Avengers. The Borg are a race of half-machine cyborg people, whose minds are all enslaved to one collective Hive Mind. Their goal is to assimilate the entire galaxy. On “Star Trek,” we’ve met several characters who were assimilated by the Borg, but later escaped, and struggled to reclaim their humanity. It happened once to Captain Picard; he was assimilated, and forced to wipe out an entire Federation fleet, under the influence of the Borg, before he was rescued by the Enterprise. On “Voyager,” Seven of Nine--formerly Annika Hanson--was assimilated with here parents at age 6, and wasn’t rescued until 18 years later. She spends four years on the show regaining her humanity, wrestling with the guilt, and coping with the trauma. 

Borg-Bucky can tie into Trill-Tony this way. Perhaps a previous Stark host was assimilated along with his entire family by Borg-Bucky, and somehow, the Stark symbiont was rescued and able to move into a new host. Since this is "Star Trek,” it’s also perfectly believable for that massive plot line to get abruptly dropped and never mentioned again. (Sorry, I’m still salty about that...)

Wanda Maximoff: Ocampa, from Suspiria’s Array

This is another one from “Star Trek: Voyager.”  The Ocampa are a race of telepaths, but how powerful they are depends on which sect they come from. Centuries ago, another race called Caretakers (a race of super-intelligent blobs) accidentally turned the Ocampan home-world into a desert. One Caretaker kept a bunch of Ocampans underground on their dead homeworld, and provided for them. Being dependent for so many generations caused their powers to weaken, until basic telepathic conversation was all they could do.  But the other Caretaker, named Suspiria, took a few Ocampa lightyears away to live on a space station, where she encouraged them to exercise their powers to the max. Their abilities included telekenesis, and inducing spontaneous combustion in plants. These Ocampa were more sinister than the other kind. I think this would be as good a backstory as any for MCU-Wanda Maximoff. After nearly destroying the ship, she switches sides, and tries to tame her incredible mind powers, and only use them for good. 

Also, Ocampans only live 9 or 10 years, and are fully grown by age 2. This could explain some of the confusion surrounding Wanda’s age, with characters treating her like a kid one minute, and a soldier to bring into battle the next.  This is another one that’s vaguely similar to one of my OCs, though my Ocampa character is almost nothing at all like Wanda. But, she is an Ocampa from Suspiria’s array. 

Ava Starr: Human mutated by a freak transporter accident 

There’s an episode of “Star Trek: the Next Generation” where Lt. LaForge and Ensign Ro get into a transporter accident that essentially turns them into ghosts. Here, something similar happened to poor Ava Star, but she could sometimes maintain solid form, and was visible to others, even when phasing. 

Her father was attempting to open a gateway to either the Mirror Universe or Fluidic Space, or some such other dimension, and it literally blew up in his face. He and Ava’s mom died, and they were the lucky ones. 

Ava was then taken advantage of by Section 31 (basically the Federation’s CIA), and used for classified missions. And now she is just so done with everything and everyone, and just wants a cure.  

Hank Pym: Eccentric scientist who rejects Starfleet 

There are quite a few of these in the world of “Star Trek” (Data’s creator, Seven of Nine’s parents). Some scientists just think Starfleet is too controlling, or corrupt, or they just hate people, or the writers just want an easy way for a scientist to be up to something Starfleet doesn’t know about. 

Hank Pym was a prominent Starfleet scientist, until Howard Stark tried to steal his research. Pym quit Starfleet, and tried to find a place to settle to continue his research undisturbed. But his ship crashed on an alien planet. He almost died in the alien wilderness, until the planet’s dominant species--a race of super-intelligent insecticides--took him in and adopted him into their colony. 

Pym now trusts neither Starfleet nor “Starks,” regardless of who the current Stark host is. The only ones he trusts are his faithful companions and minions, the ants.  

Hope Van Dyne: Pym’s estranged, half-Vulcan daughter, who works for Starfleet 

Unlike Spock, she doesn’t try to mask her emotions and be entirely “Vulcan.” But she does practice lots of Vulcan control and sardonicism, to deal with her resentment towards her father for her mother’s (supposed) death. 

Janet Van Dyne: Pym’s Vulcan wife, thought killed in a space anomaly, but actually stranded in Fluidic Space

Fluidic Space is another dimension, where Species 8472 live (from “Star Trek: Voyager”) 

Scott Lang: Lower-decks crewman who everyone thinks is gonna die a redshirt’s death, but turns out to be a badass 

And because he’s a dopey human who makes funny quips and is the butt of endless jokes, he will end up with the half-Vulcan woman who can’t stand him. 

Peter Quill: Human, from the 20th Century

Time travel is rampant in “Star Trek,” so Peter Quill’s character can stay pretty much exactly the same as he is in MCU-canon.

Nebula: Bolian, ex-Borg Drone

Bolians are bald blue people, and.....that’s about all we know about them. Well, they supposedly are also all motor-mouths, but you know, stereotypes. Anyway, being assimilated would make even the chattiest person turn pretty antisocial.

Her eye-implant is also a LOT like Seven of Nine’s. 

Carol Danvers: Human-Q hybrid, Starfleet pilot 

The Q are among the most powerful beings in the Universe, as well as some of the most sinister. The main Q character we know on “Star Trek: the Next Generation” and “Voyager” has dealt at least twice with young Qs, who he was rearing with questionable methods. In the TNG episode “True Q,” Q mentors young Amanda Rogers (an orphaned Q raised by humans), in a way that is very reminiscent of Yon Rogg’s mentoring of Vers.   Is it possible for Q to reproduce with non-Q? Who knows, but since the Q seem capable of damn near anything, I don’t see why not. Though, if we’re keeping things close to MCU canon, then Carol may have been born a regular human, and only became part-Q after a bizarre accident.  In any case, she is no longer with the Q Continuum, and now fights for justice independently, or with Starfleet. 

Peter Parker: Kid genius, except likable. The Anti-Wesley. 

During “Infinity War,” my friend said Peter reminded her of Wesley, and I said, “Never say that again, or I’ll beam you into a black hole.”  Anyway, Peter would be a kid-genius serving on a ship like Wesley (but likable), and like Reg Barclay, would end up becoming part spider, due to one of the many bizarre anomalies the ship runs into every week.

If canon-Peter was enamored with Iron Man, just picture this Peter’s excitmenent upon learning that the chief engineer is a joined Trill, who has lived multiple life times, and all of the inappropriate questions he’d pester Tony with, like, “What’s it like to  die? What’s it like to die three times? Were any of your deaths really badass? Like, did you ever go out blowing up a Borg cube or get blown into space or something?” 

“This is why some species eat their young.” 

Friday: Hologram

In “Star Trek,” holograms--by the 24th Century anyway--look and even feel like solid, real people. Which begs some very disturbing questions about the fact that they’re created as basically slave labor. But Tony at least would never treat any of his holograms like mindless appliances to toss away, and if any of them wanted to leave he wouldn’t stop them.

Anyway, Friday is a hologram he programed after Jarvis was integrated into Vision. And she is a badass. 

Vision: Soon-type android, with a hologram and alien technology mixed in 

Kinda self-explanatory, not sure what else needs to be said. 

Thaddeus Ross: insane admiral 

Alongside doomed redshirts and and promiscuous male commanding officers, the evil insane admiral is one of “Star Trek’s” oldest and most treasured traditions. It does get to be a bit concerning after a while, that there are so many insane admirals in the Federation. Some fans theorize that Starfleet promotes bad captains to admirals to keep them off starships, figuring the occasional crazy admiral grabbing at galactic domination is better than a crazy incompetent captain every week. Whatever the reason, insane megalomaniac admirals plague Starfleet.

Thaddeus Ross is one such admiral. Previously leader of a fleet of starships, he was promoted to an even higher brand of admiral after the fiasco with Bruce Banner. Unfortunately, it turned out that giving this twit even more power was, shockingly, a bad idea. 

If I think of more, I may update this. But I think these are the main ones I have AU ideas for. 

[scribeofmorpheus]

Counterpart [2/5]

Pairing: Bucky x Reader x Framework!Steve

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Words: 4k

A/N: Just to clear up any confusion, in the Framework the blip and Thanos’s undertaking never happened. Civil War was between Hydra and what was left of Avengers/Shield and the Sokovia Accords weren’t just about registration but an official order branding Shield as terrorists and reinstating the Winter Soldier Program- it passed. Also, Clint has always been Ronin, Hawkeye doesn’t exist in the framework.

Warnings: This chapter contains depictions and mentions of cheating, has drug use, language, slight NSFW and some angst. It’s a dark series, expect a darker take.

Leave a like, comment or reblog-highly appreciated! ☺  Taglist is open

PART TWO: DOPPELGANGERS

~Avengers Compound

"Grrrrrhh!" Bucky flipped the table in a burning fury.

Wanda and Sam looked on at a loss, feeling completely helpless.

"Hey, Bucky try and calm down," Sam said softly.

"How am I supposed to stay calm when she's out there, helpless and alone, knowing it's all my fault?" Bucky shouted.

Wanda took a small step forward, "Bucky, there's no way you could ha--"

"I'm her partner Wanda. We are supposed to keep each other safe! She isn't here right now and it's my fault!" Bucky bit back.

Wanda folded her trembling hands under her poncho as she took a step back, her eyes landing on the cup Y/N had drunk tea from a few hours earlier. Her eyes were sad but lit with fury.

"You think you're the only one who feels responsible? If I hadn’t been so afraid to get on that damned jet, maybe none of this would have happened!"

Wanda's words stung at everyone in the room, making them all flinch at her sudden outburst. The red mist that accompanied her abilities snaked around her form.

Sam unfolded his hands and held them out to try and calm his companions, "Look, let’s all take a breath. We all care about Y/N. We're all worried. But that don't change the fact that all we can do is wait until we get a ping on her location. Fighting isn’t goin’ to change that. Neither will flippin’ furniture."

Bucky let out another guttural shout and connected his non-metal fist into the wall. When his knuckles removed themselves, they were bloodied and the skin was serrated by the shattered wall plaster.

"We don't have time to wait," Bucky said hoarsely. "Those people we found in the submarine. They all flat-lined once whatever that experiment they were part of was completed. If they're doing the same thing to her--"

Bucky slumped to the ground, his head hanging low between his knees as his hands trembled against fists full of hair.

"Screw this!" Wanda stormed out of the room.

"Wanda, where are you going?" Sam asked.

"It'll be a cold day in hell before I lose another person I care about," she said with a vicious tone. "I'm not gonna sit around here and feel sorry for myself. I'm going to talk to someone who actually can help me!"

Then she disappeared, flying out in a brilliant red streak.

Sam sighed, the weight of leading the team was heavier than he was initially prepared for. He felt just as helpless as everyone else right now. If he couldn't be the leader they needed right now, the least he could be was a compassionate shoulder to lean on.

Sam sat down next to Bucky, at first all that filled the room was this perpetual feeling of nothingness- a distinct absence of sound beside ragged breathing and tree branches tapping on plated glass from the strong howling wind. It was almost as though the wind had adapted to their moods; angry, afraid and confused. Then, after a few minutes passed, Bucky spoke with a shaky voice.

"You were right, Sam."

"About?"

"I kept stalling abut asking Y/N to marry me because... I was afraid."

Sam rose his eyebrows in disbelief, "Were you afraid she'd say no? Because, I can tell you now, we can all see how much she loves you. There's no way she'd say no."

Bucky ran a rand through his hair as he looked up at the memorial portrait of Steve dressed in his first Captain America suit. Next to it were portraits of Tony and Nat and Vision. All their faces smiling and proud. Even though it was a way of commemorating all they'd done, of honouring those who fell, Bucky couldn't help but feel their smiles were mocking him right now.

"It's not that," Bucky said. "I was afraid she'd say yes. How fucked up is that?"

Sam let out a deep breath, "Actually, it ain't that fucked up."

"I just couldn't shake the feeling that if I kept putting off asking her, then I could somehow stop this fucked up world we live in from finding some way to ruin one of the last few good things I have left."

“Fucked up world, huh?” Sam's eyes fell on the wall of portraits instinctively, a bitter taste forming in his mouth. "I get it. People like us, we get accustomed to a certain degree of loss. After a while, we begin to anticipate it."

Bucky’s head fell back onto the wall with a light thud, "Yeah, that's round about it. Guess you and I aren't so different, Tin-can."

"Listen, don't take this to mean I want you to buy me matchin' friendship bracelets or braid each other’s hair but…" Sam's fist tapped Bucky's right arm, nudging the frozen stiff soldier. "If you need to talk to someone, once all this is over, I know someone who can help."

Sam's sincere words caused Bucky to swallow loudly. He hated feeling vulnerable. Despite Shuri's great work at undoing what Hydra had done to his fractured mind, he still had a lot of their training ingrained in him. He was trained to be a lone wolf and despite how hard he tried to let people in, it was still something he struggled with. Perhaps that was an old habit he needed to change.

"Thanks, Sam. I might just take you up on that."

"Good, now get some rest. You aren't no good to me or Y/N if you burn yourself out before we get a lock on her co-ordinates."

Bucky sighed, "Alright. You gonna go after Wanda?"

Sam thought on Bucky's question for a moment, "With her firepower, I think she can handle herself."

Bucky groaned as he picked himself off the floor and offered Sam a hand, "That's not what I meant."

Sam grumbled as he dusted his sweatpants once off the floor, "I know. She's angry. I think all this has brought back a lot of pain she's been keepin’ buried. I think, despite how bad the circumstances are, she needs to have an outlet for all that anger. She needs to burnout."

Sam glanced over at the portrait of Vision for a brief pause and then back at Steve's, doubt clouding his usually clear eyes. "Until then..."

Bucky placed his hand on Sam's shoulders, "You're doing proud by him. Don't doubt that. It's a heavy mantle to carry. Steve left behind big shoes to fill. You're a good leader, it just takes time. An adjustment period."

Sam chuckled wistfully and patted Bucky's hand on his shoulder, "Yeah, thanks Bird-man."

Bucky hummed something reassuring but his eyes were still dark, they made him look lonelier than he probably felt. A part of him still found solace in seclusion and that part of him wanted to be alone with his feelings.

Bucky left the room, his slumped shoulders informing Sam of his state of mind despite his attempts to try and act as though he now had things under control.

Sam looked up at Steve's portrait one more time, "We're a mess without you man."

~Elsewhere

The sound of girls playing in the back yard softened Wanda's mood slightly as she approached the wooden porch. The childish laughter and squeals reminded her of Pietro as a young, energetic boy.

Ever since she lost Vision, Wanda had been thinking about Pietro more and more. There was a darkness looming over her and the only time she felt somewhat like herself was during the small moments she and Y/N would share together. The red hue brightening her eyes fizzled out like a worn-out candle's flame.

Wanda felt heavy. Her heart threatened to sink back into sadness at the realisation that she may very well lose Y/N too.

With shaky hands, Wanda's petite, ring covered fingers rapped on the wooden door in slow repetitive stroke.

She didn't know what she was doing here, or why she had thought it a good idea, but she was here and she couldn’t unring this bell.

When the door opened, Wanda's fingers fidgeted slightly as she cleared her throat -her old accent slipping out between vowels from urgency.

"I- I'm sorry to just turn up here. I should have called ahead, b- but… I need your help."

"Something's happened, hasn't it?"

Wanda nodded.

The door swung open wider, letting Wanda into the house.

The water waved and lapped softly against the edges of the tub, toes curled at the end of the tub as your head tilted backwards in euphoric bliss. Steve's warm chest heaved up and down behind you, your body moving with the strong motions of his chest. His hands working tantalising circles around your lower body submerged under the hot water and fizzling out bubbles. The scented candles flooded your senses, numbing the former migraine that once agitated your brain.

Steve's heated breath tickled your ear as he whispered sweet nothings, causing your fingers to wrap around his nape.

"You like that?" He increased the pressure around his fingers making you gasp and move instinctively into his touch. Water spilt over the tub and onto the floor.

"Mmmm, yes," you moaned, toes curling and uncurling.

A low rumble escaped his lips right when they found the nape of your neck and placed suckling kisses on it.

"How about we take this to the bedroom?" He rumbled lowly, desire saturating each word.

"Yessss," you strained against his surgical touch. It was as though he knew your body better than you did.

Steve manoeuvred your body so you were no longer laying above him and he stepped out of the tub, water dripping from his wet body. His muscles seemingly glistening from the light hitting the moisture dripping off him. He turned around and instantly swooped you out of the tub, marching you towards the bedroom with hooded eyes burning across your equally wet body.

***

The coffee maker gurgled loudly as it filled with dark coffee that probably tasted as strong as it smelled. You reached into the fridge for the jug of orange juice and closed the fridge shut with your bare foot.

Steve was dressed in a three-piece suit (minus the tie) that hugged his frame flatteringly while he read the newspaper with a half-eaten plate of pancakes. A sub-headline caught your attention. It read: ‘Silver-Blue Blur Spotted in Sokovia?’

You poured yourself a glass of orange juice and sat back down on the table, a small tablet running through the highlights of the week.

Several headlines read: ‘Hydra Seizes Stark Assets; Director Pierce Re-Instates Winter Soldier Program; The Iron Maiden's Reign of Terror Continues; Peter Parker Still Missing; Asgardian Queen Hela Threatens War; Mischief in Moldova?’

"The Iron Maiden?" You repeated, unfamiliar with the term.

Steve noticed your brow was arched in suspicion, your lips pursed in thought, small dimples forming on your cheeks.

"Hydra believes Pepper Potts is trying to recruit more anarchists into whatever remains of Shield," he said nonchalantly as he took his empty mug and refilled it with more coffee. "Our drones spotted Pietro Maximoff in Sokovia earlier this week. Which is not surprising since this is the anniversary of his sister’s death."

You shook your head, unable to reconcile what he was saying.

"Wanda's dead?" You whispered to yourself so Steve wouldn't hear you.

Another migraine pinched at the base of your skull, causing pain to shoot through your eye while you reached for the orange juice. Your vision doubled as the pain worsened and you knocked the glass over, one hand bracing against your temple as you hissed.

"Ahhggg!" You yelped.

Steve set his Hydra stamped mug on the counter and rushed to your side, cupping your face in his strong hands.

"Again?" He asked with calm eyes but a disturbed face.

"Y-yeah..." you barely managed to get the words out.

Steve rushed to the bedroom and suddenly the image of you and Wanda sitting on a couch with cups held between your fingers came to life across the room like a projection. By the stove, a man with long dark hair looked out through your window, the smell of burning toast tickling your nostrils. The morning light obscuring his reflection.

You glanced down at your ring and felt an insurmountable measure of guilt, when you looked back up the projections vanished, leaving an ashed taste in your mouth. Your thumb kept rotating your ring like a nervous tick, your eyes frantically flickering from the couch to the stove in search of the ghosts you had just seen.

Questions that couldn't be answered screamed inside you as you started to hyperventilate. Why were you and the Scarlett Witch acting like buddies? Who was the man with the blue and gold-tinted metal arm? Why did all this feel more real than the furniture you were sat on? Why was Steve taking so damn, fucking long to get your pills?

"What is going on?" You said in fear, unable to trust your own mind.

As if on cue, Steve came back out with your pill bottle, one small pill already placed on his outstretched palm. You devoured it thankfully and let out an appreciative sigh as Steve kissed your numbing temples.

Steve pulled out his phone and started dialling.

"What are you doing?"

Steve looked at you oddly, "I'm taking the day off, my wife isn't at her best."

You held up your hand to stop him, "Nonsense, your work is more important."

"Hey," he hushed you as he caressed your cheek, "Nothing is more important to me than you and Sarah. Got it?"

You nodded.

"While I disappoint Pierce for the third time this week, why don't you get dressed and sign those papers we talked about. They're in my study."

You nodded again and made your way, sluggishly, towards the bedroom. Steve's muffled words growing lower and lower until you couldn't hear them all together.

***

"Do you consent to hereby becoming the legal guardian of one Sarah Carter-Rogers?" You mouthed out the question on the form.

You ticked the box yes and signed your name on the dotted line as you had done on countless other legal forms.

"Hey sweetheart, can you help me with my tie?" Steve walked in.

"Sure," you sat up from his desk and fastened his tie.

Steve peered over your shoulder, a proud smile creeping over his face when he realised you'd signed the papers.

"Huh," his smiled faltered ever so slightly. "You used your maiden name."

You were surprised by that, "I could have sworn-" you turned to look at the signature, and lo and behold, Steve was right. "Old habits, I guess."

"Hey," Steve brought your eyes to look into his. "Marriage has an adjustment period, and with your migraines, it's easy for your wires to get crossed. Don't worry."

He kissed your forehead affectionately before wrapping you safely in his arms.

"Now come on Mrs Rogers, Sharon's weekend is over. Let's go pick up our daughter," he said with an enthusiastic smile.

***

The Rolls-Royce pulled up into a small driveway leading up to a moderately sized townhouse. Toy's littered the lawn and an unopened newspaper was still lying on top of an unkempt shrubbery bush, dewdrops from the morning's cold air precipitated over the plastic sheet.

Steve stepped out the car, his hand held out for you as you scooched over the leather seats and took hold of his strong hand.

Out of the house burst a young blonde-haired girl no taller than your knee. Her pink backpack made rattling noises as it swayed from one side to the other with her running motions. Behind her, a tired-looking Sharon walked out of the house, her hair cropped short to the point you barely recognised her. Her cardigan pullover wrapped defensively around her thinning frame.

"Huh..." you squinted your eyes, unfamiliar with Sharon's new look.

"What is it?" Steve asked.

"Nothing, I guess I'm just used to seeing her with longer hair," you revealed.

Steve laughed inaudibly as he crouched down waiting for his daughter to crash into him.

"Sarah, honey don't run!" Sharon shouted after her.

Sarah ignored her mother's words and jumped straight into Steve's outreaching arms, "Daddy!"

"Hey, June-bug!" Steve picked her up into a spinning hug.

You watched Steve lighten up as soon as he scooped his little girl into his arms, Sarah's giggling making the morning seem warmer than it was. In the distance, you noticed Sharon stare menacing daggers at you. You flinched and deflected your gaze to the assorted toys getting soaked from the ticking sprinklers.

A throbbing sensation sent gooseflesh up the nape of your neck as a particularly sour memory returned to the forefront of your thoughts.

 Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 55%

Sharon looked worse for wear. Her eyes were puffy with dark circles making themselves at home on her face. Her hair tied up in an unkempt greasy bun. Nail edges bitten from anxiety. She stood on your apartment’s welcome mat, the look of horror pulling her mouth into an O shape as she glanced between you and Steve -a look of realisation. Steve used his large frame to shield your partially clothed body. Uneasy silence like trudging through mud. A few seconds later, the pizza delivery guy walked off the elevator and headed towards the ajar apartment door with a distraught woman staring at the occupants inside.

 You gripped the boot of the car to keep yourself steady. This memory didn't hurt as much as the others. You figured the medication was finally working.

Steve noticed your small movement and set Sarah down to rub your back in slow circles. You nodded your head to signal that you were okay. Sarah hugged your leg causing you to bend down and greet her properly.

"Hey, June-bug, how was the weekend?"

"It was good, we went to a big, big farm and saw horsies," Sarah had a hard time enunciating some of her words, making them sound incomplete.

"Wow! Horsies!" You gasped in an exaggerated tone causing Sarah's bubbly laughter to ripple out in its regular high pitch. You felt your spirits lift from that simple act.

Steve stroked Sarah's head while he spoke to you, keeping her out of earshot. "Hey, I'm gonna go talk to Sharon, tell her the paperwork’s been finalised."

“Good luck,” You blew air out of your mouth and cocked your head to the side, eyebrows rising in acknowledgement of that uneasy task. You stroked Steve's chest, "I'll strap little June-bug here into the car seat."

Steve walked off towards Sharon while you walked around the car with Sarah holding your hand.

When you fastened her into the child seat, Sarah pulled out a pine cone and handed it to you.

"Look what I found!"

“Wow! A pinecone, for me? Thank you, June-bug!”” You accepted the small pinecone. There weren’t many conifer trees nearby for at least a few miles out of the city. Sharon must have taken her far out of the city. "Huh, how far was this farm?"

Sarah's arms spread far apart as she sing-songed, "Faaaaaaaaar."

Without thinking, you pocketed the pinecone and glanced out the tinted window to look for Steve. He and Sharon were having a heated discussion, but they both tried to make everything appear normal.

Sarah glanced over, her smile falling, "Mommy and daddy fighting again."

You tapped Sarah's little button nose, "No they aren't fighting, they're just..." you glanced at Sharon. She was more animated in her gestures than before, pointing and frowning at the car. Steve held one hand up, probably in a feigned efford to calm her.

Speckles filled your vision as another memory burdened your peripheral.

Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 58%

Sharon lobbed something glass at Steve's head. He ducked as it shattered on the wall. Your throat had all but glued shut, you didn't have the nerve to get a word in. "Homewrecker!" rang through your small apartment. “Don’t act like things were fine. We haven’t been fine in a long time.” Steve words were cold. “I’m not the one who just got caught with his pants down! How old is she anyway?”

 When the pain subsided and your vision cleared, Steve was already sliding into the car. His jaw clenching but his voice soft as he turned to Sarah with a big smile, "Alright, who's ready for our day at the park?"

Sarah smiled but it wasn’t as animated as before, “Picnic!”

Steve laced his fingers into yours, the tension from his unpleasant conversation making his grip feel slightly uncomfortable. You didn’t say anything though.

***

Steve tossed a giddy Sarah up into the air a few dozen times while you laid out the picnic basket. The park had a few patrols passing through- peacekeepers were a mandatory presence since the Accords branded Shield as terrorists. A few other families were out too. You tried to get in the same fun spirit as Steve and Sarah, but something about how dishevelled Sharon looked haunted you. You began to imagine how easy everything could slip away. How easy you could end up like Sharon. Guilt clawed its way back through you.

When Steve sat down next to you, he placed a kiss on your head and noticed you didn't reciprocate with your signature smile.

"You okay?" He asked.

You kept your eyes on a trail of ants marching towards an open lunch box with grapes, "Are you happy? Despite everything we went through… everything we did?"

Steve got tense, his eyes falling on Sarah with what seemed to be shame. "I'm not going to act like it's been a fairy-tale. People rarely feel complete, especially in our world, given what we do. I was content before you came along. Sometimes being content isn’t enough, you reminded me of what was possible.”

Steve looked back at you, his face lit up as he brought your finger to his lips for a loving kiss, “And, yes, despite everything, I am happy."

You glanced down at your wedding ring, your frown up turning into a numb smile.

Steve drew you in for a proper kiss and all your worries ebbed away. His large, calloused hands sliding along your folded thighs, a guttural moan escaping his throat as you laughed at his hungry kisses.

“We’re in public, Steve...” you pretended to be embarrassed by his publicly affectionate actions, but truthfully the only time things made sense was when he kissed you.

“That’s never bothered you before,” he said with a raspy voice. Then Sarah’s laughter rippled outward from a few paces away, her form looking much smaller from this distance as she blew bubbles out of a small looped plastic wand. Steve groaned with displeasure, “But I suppose you’re right.”

You licked your lips and straightened your posture before feeding Steve a grape.

Suddenly both your cell phones beeped.

You both groaned from the impending disruption of your day off.

Steve looked at his phone and scrolled through a long docket before swearing under his breath.

"They need us back in the field," he said through a clenched jaw. He wasn't amused with the last-minute work call.

Your eyes widened when you read through your own docket, "They've managed to trace the Iron Maiden back to her hideout."

"Call the babysitter would you, I'll go get Sarah."

Steve walked over to Sarah and lifted her onto his shoulders.

You sighed, dialling the number of the babysitter, "So much for my day off."

***

The dark-tinted tactical SUV raced passed several blocks. You were suited up and fastening on your gloves. Your partner Clint sat beside you, checking the edges of his katana. He had yet to fully fasten on his arm-guards leaving the identical bullet hole scars on his palms exposed. There was also a matching sized hole drilled through the katana’s grip, some of the metal bent outward jaggedly.

Like clockwork, the memory attached to those scars rung through your head. You squinted your eyes shut for a moment.

 Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 62%

A panorama of open country raced nauseatingly across the speeding car's window. A ‘Welcome to Budapest’ sign on the highway. An ambush. The snipers nest releasing soviet made hollow-point bullets into metal car doors. Clint's sword sliced diagonally across a red-haired woman’s face. A single bullet ripping through Clint's hands that were griped on his sword for the finishing blow. A scream, a painful cry, a worried shout. You tackled your partner to the ground. The red-haired woman making a run for it. Steve throwing his shield. The metal impacting with a spine so intensely it crushed the spinal cord. Defector Maria Hill laying paralysed from the waist down. A shield emblem printed on her right jacket pocket. Clint's hands trembling as you wrap them in bandages, his face contorted in anger as he failed to move his fingers. “She better pray we never cross paths again!”

 "Hey, you good partner?" Clint placed his hand on your back, having noticed your discomfort.

"Bad week is all," you reassured him as you opened your eyes. “You ever going to repair the hilt on that? It can’t be comfortable to hold with the metal bending out like that.”

Clint chuckled and made a fist rigidly with both his hands, one at a time. When they opened up again, several of his fingers moved like iced joints. A painful sneer enlarging his nostrils.

"Are you okay?" You asked him.

Clint fastened on his gloves, "Just cramps. How's lover boy?"

"Always with the deflecting,” You shook your head. “He's… been on edge about something lately. I just feel like something's not… right."

Clint sheathed his sword and pulled his mask out from under his seat, "Maybe it's because you chose not to go on your honeymoon. He is old fashioned after all. Probably all that pent up sexual tension turning into plain tension."

Clint laughed at his jab, you punched his midrib hard.

"Shut up," You looked over the mission brief one more time and then checked your guns. "If this really is the Iron-Maiden's hideout, Romanoff might be there..."

Clint turned stiff at the mention of Natasha's name. His fist-clenching so tight it strained against his leather gloves.

"Good," he said menacingly as he fastened on his mask.

The black SUV's rolled up in an old brick house neighbourhood. You placed your comms unit in your ear and unholstered your gun.

"Look alive people, time to storm a castle."  

You and Clint exchanged a fist bump, the simple action triggered a searing pain to braze through your mind like a cheese grater. You gasped, ground your molars together and banged your head against the leather seats of the SUV. The memory wasn't clear, it was hazy like a half-forgotten dream. An image of a man with long hair, lips pulled in a reluctant smile, flickered in your mind like a loose light fixture. You couldn't see past his top lip, but the thought of him filled you with something you hadn't felt in a long time: safe.

The headache subsided almost as quickly as it came, you blinked several times.

"You good?" Clint asked once more, his serious tone lacerating through you.

You nodded, took a breath and hopped out of the car. Gun out of its holster, you took up tactical positions and stormed the old brick apartment complex in strategic waves of intimidating force. The sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air above drew your attention. Steve was seated inside, fully geared and ready to jump onto the roof.

Over the comms, you heard Clint say, "One with the least take down numbers buys the first round at McCredie’s."

"You're on!" You challenged.

“Easy there, Mrs Rogers,” Steve said cooly. “We know that if you lose this bet, you’re just gonna make me buy the round.”

“Better make sure to send all the stragglers my way then, honey.”

Clint grappled to a high floor, “Hey that’s cheating.”

The sound of Steve bursting through a window filled the comms, “No, that’s just a perk of being married to me.”

You chuckled as you fired off several shots at the enemy.

PART THREE: WHO THE FUCK IS BUCKY?

AFWHI tags: @fangirl-colo @dormousse @smallmarvel @ren-ni @sargentbucket @nikolett3 @wnygirl2012 @jentismyname @evilgeniuslabz-blog @myrabbitholetoneverland @sleepingspacedragon @500daysofbecky @reidreader  

Permatags: @gruffle1 @thechickvic @notawarriorjustyet @savethehoneeybees

tags:@ladybugsfanfics

[avidfanficwriter]

Two Drunken Fools (Chapter 1)

Characters: Tony Stark x OFC.

Warnings: So flippin many. Cursing, Alcoholism, depression, suicidal-ness(?) (I’m blanking the word), Smut, Pain, Will update as chapter arrive. Honestly, it’s messy. SPOILERS FOR INFINITY WAR AND ENDGAME

Ratings: M. 

Summary: When Tony fought Thanos, he thought that was as bad as it could get. He'd walk away with a bruised ego, a stab wound and the kid in tote. It didn't end like that, it never does for Tony Stark. His world fell. The kid's gone, Pepper's gone and he's in dire need of help but refuse to let anyone know that. Instead he cures it the only way he knows how: booze and seclusion. Until he discovers he shares shocking similarities with someone else whose curing their own pain the same way. 

Author’s Note: I HATE Absolutely freaking HATE chapters 1 and 2 but i give up. it’s pathetic, I know but I have a shit ton of other stuff written for this and the first two chaps aren’t getting any better. No matter how much I re-read and judge. I probably should get a beta, now that I think about it. Anyway, if you don’t like the first two i don't blame you, I hate them. 

Read on AO3

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. 

"When I'm done half of humanity will still be alive."

Of all the things, Tony has heard or been told, he never considered Thanos' threat to be the one that would haunt him.

He never considered the possibility that he would lose either... but he had. The Avengers lost.

The day he lost has started to haunt him, he second guesses every choice he made and his mind is filled with Thanos... again. After New York, the battle, the wormhole and Nuke, he didn't think it could get worse. He saw a threat and he new they would need to protect the world. Thanos had only showed him a glimpse of the destruction he would bring. What he actually did was much worse. He took the world into his fist and squeezed until he felt victorious.

There's the sting in Tony's abdomen where Thanos impaled him that has phantom pains  but it's Thanos' voice that he can't forget. Every day he wakes, it's the first thing he hears.

Thanos, the villain, the monster, the boogeyman who hides in children's closets had won. He followed through with the threat to rid the world of half human life but it's not the threat Tony wishes Thanos' would have acted on, he threatened to kill him, said in a gritty voice: "I hope they remember you." and Tony accepted it. He knew in that moment he was going to die. Only it never came. Thanos abandoned him, gathered the infinity stones and turned people to ash. Death would have been easier than living, buried six feet under with his flesh rotting and clothes turning to dirt would be easier than living with the knowledge that he let the world down. If he would have managed to stop Quill from reacting foolishly or stopped Strange from giving Thanos the stone, maybe they would've won. Maybe he would have succeeded but Thanos didn't allow him.

The gaping wound to his abdomen should've killed him, he deserved that. He should have went down with pain coursing through his body, blood seeping through his clothes and his body going cold but the world was to cruel to let Tony finally rest. He watched everyone around him disintegrate and he stayed. Tony remained in tact with his body bleeding and pain having yet to invade his mind. It should've killed him, plain and simple. Tony wanted to die, He longed for death but it never came. Everyone was gone, he was on a unknown planet and there was no telling who was still alive on earth. Did Pepper survive? Did Natasha? Was Steve---

Tony Stark deserved to die.

... but he hadn't.

Even as he was in a foreign spaceship suspended in the solar system with no food and water, an android as his only means of company and an infection infection running rampant throughout his body. He lived. Survival was harder to accept.

He lost Peter, a fifteen year old kid, he took under his arm and swore to protect. Tony looked the kid's aunt in her eyes and promised he'd be safe. He let her down.

The final nail in the coffin was, losing his heart, his everything, his reason for living. The light at the end of his tunnel was gone.

When Tony makes it to earth after days of being suspended in space, sickly and skeleton like with crusted lips and a heart beating far to slow,  it's Steve who helps him from the ship. Wrapping his arm around his waist and silently forgetting everything from their turbulent past.

"I lost the kid." Tony forces out with a scratchy throat and dry eyes. He doesn't remember whose surrounding them or who else is there to greet him but he can remember the feeling of dread seeping off of the Captain.

Steve is quick to respond, not an ounce of hesitation as he meets Tony's eyes. "Tony, we lost." He corrects.

"Is... is Pep..." Steve nods before Tony has a chance to finish the question, his eyes solem and Tony's heart audible drops.

Tony lost the kid, held him as he turned to ash and blamed himself but there was still a tiny part of him that hoped Pepper was safe on earth, waiting for him to come back. Discovering she wasn't, created more pain than the blood infection and stab wound could have ever made. Pepper was taken from him, taken like everyone else. He wasn't there when death kidnapped Pepper, he didn't get to hold her in his arms, cradle her body close to his chest and promise her she would be okay. She died waiting for Tony, alone and scared.

Thanos took away half the population but he also managed to destroy Tony. He cursed Tony, forced him to live knowing he failed. He was right, the world would remember Tony Stark, the would remember him as the one who let humanity down. The man who had the opportunity to save everyone and wasn't able to do it. Everyone died because he couldn't do what needed to be done. Everyone died and he lived. Because Tony always lives and everyone he loves eventually leaves him.

Tony turns to drinking when the pain is too much to bare, he considers jumping off the roof but some sick twist of fate doesn't let him walk off the balcony. He drinks anything he can get his hands on because it helps just enough to get him through the day, the moment he's released from the hospital he goes home and downs a bottle of scotch. Then another and another. It cuts off his emotions, shuts down the parts of his brain that yearn for Pepper. Yet once the alcohol wears off, it all comes back with a vengeance. Memories fill his brain, loving kisses, the feeling of fingers running through his hair, smiles, her laugh or how she felt beneath him. No matter how much he drinks, the torment and emptiness of his heart can't be cured fully. She's always there, haunting him. Reminding him of how he failed and who he was before everything happened.

Iron Man is tucked away in a closet, piling with dust while FRIDAY is ordered to not let anyone in unless he okays it. Not a soul is allowed inside his home. He wants to be left alone, he can't handle the shame that fills people's eyes as he passes or the whispered conversations whenever his presence is around. Everyone knows, he failed. Everyone blames him.

Happy is the first to arrive at his door with a bag of cheeseburgers from fifteen different fast food restaurants, he knocks, jiggles the handles and calls out for his boss. Tony ignores him. Rhodey is the next, his hand slams against the solid door and he spares no expense at bribery. Vegas, he offers, like the old times. Tony ignores him. Natasha shows up, slamming her palm against the door much like Rhodey had only she demands to know what is going on and why no one has seen or heard from him in two months. She is treated the same response.

Tony has FRIDAY send over paperwork informing Natasha and Steve that they are now officially in control of whatever is left of The Avengers Compound, there is a short typed note from Tony simply saying: "You deserve it now."

Three months after the decision has been made official and is announced to whoever is left of the population, Steve makes an appearance at Tony's door saying something, he doesn't care enough to listen anymore. He's drank to much, spent too much time wallowing in self pity and still slightly angered at the great Captain America. He's forced to endure pain, carry it around with him while Steve Fucking Rogers walks around with his head held high and smile on his stupid face. Steve leaves after just five minutes, his hands buried in his pockets and his eyes aimed at the ground. Voicemails start after that, Happy, Natasha, Rhodey and Steve. They all eventually start to sound the same.

Happy: Boss, are you doing okay? What are you up to? Do you need me to get you anything? Boss, there is a meeting today, you should be there. Tony... You can't live like this. ...The world needs Iron Man. They need you, Tony. Pepper would want you to continue.

Natasha: Tony, I can't do this, I can't run a company. Tony, you need to come back, I need you to come back. Pepper would have wanted you at the helm.

Rhodey: Tony, you have to get out. You can't lock yourself up in your house and just give up. Pepper wouldn't want this. There is still so much left.

Steve: Tony, Look... I uh.. I get it, okay. I know what you're going through. You just have to think about who you're doing this for. Think about Pepper.

Voicemail after voicemail goes unanswered, he can't even bring himself to listen to them anymore. They all want something from him, run the company, show the world he's still here, the team still needs you but no one even noticed Tony needed something once upon a time too. He needed Pepper, needed friends and needed support. Tony needed them once and they left him, betrayed him and beat him down. Why would he believe them now? Why it would be any different now?

Tony can't remember when he did it but eventually he disconnects his cell phone, deletes his email account and puts Friday on lockdown (mostly because he knows she's been sending people updates on him). He eventually becomes a prisoner in his own home, cuts off from the world and the people. Every so often he checks the cameras in the compound out of boredom and possibly because he misses his 'friends.'

A few overheard conversations between Rhodey and Nat from his security feeds in the compound lead him to believe the teams Bird is on some Warrior mission serial killer style. Natasha is doing a better than he expected job at the helm of the compound, Steve tends to lurk in the shadows when it comes to the business but he resides in the compound and usually eats dinner alongside Nat. Rhodey is still actively involved in the military occasionally popping by to check up on things. Tony is stuck watching as they move on, continuing with life all while he doesn't get the privilege to. He has moments where his fingers dance across the keyboard or pad of phone, the phone numbers he knows by heart all scream out to be dialed. He could call Happy or Rhodey, even Banner (whatever he's up to now, he's the only one who hasn't been at the compound lately. He overheard Natasha say he was off being a doctor in some foreign country again) Tony also gets threatening close to starting a conference call with whoever is inside the conference room. It'd be so easy to press the call button and talk to someone, anyone. He never does. The first month of  watching the feeds included witnessing Natasha come to terms that she was interacting with a build-a-bear, one who also happened to steal a few things from her office. Tony has a list of all the things, he's noticed the racoon taking and leaving money in place of. The second was trying to decipher where Steve spent his time outside of the compound but other than a bag of fast food he brought for Natasha, he's still at a loss. Months pass and the only interactions Tony's had with the team are one sided, video shots of their lives without him. Tony witnesses Natasha fire another round of employees they no longer deemed necessary with Steve standing by, he'd cross his arms over his chest and put on his signature stoic facial expression. Rhodey, meets a girl but it doesn't last long. Steve joins a group but has yet to say what for, he mockingly hopes it's one that helps him remove the stick from his ass.

It's late when he turns on the camera in Natasha's office, a glass of vodka and coke swirling in his hands as he props his feet up on the coffee table. He's running out of alcohol and desperately needs to order another six cases when he accidently clicks the icon for the security feeds, instead of changing it, watches it. The alcohol will still be there tomorrow and his bank account will still have money for it. Natasha is a blonde now with shorter hair, she has a stack of files in front of her. Steve is standing besides her, another firing spree Tony assumes. He watches her fire a young man and as he leaves he notices a sudden a shift in Natasha's behavior, she looks to Steve with weary lips: "Should we?" She asks in a gentle tone.

Steve nods, tightening his jaw. "He's not here. He's not coming back." They're talking about him, he knows it. The mood always shifts whenever he's brought up. "She's been doing a little of everything but... they're gone."

They're greeted by a young woman with curly brown hair in a white blouse, tight pencil skirt and six inch heels. He vaguely remembers her, she was an assistant to someone or on loan from SHIELD, he doesn't remember exactly. Their first meeting replays in his head, she asked for a signature holding a large stack of papers towards him, he thought she was a fan and it turned out to be an embarrassing encounter he hoped to forget. After he signed the document and let his mouth run with sarcastic comments about being asked to sign things because of his fame only to be told it was official business, he was redder than his iron man suit and she walked away smirking.

"You're being let go." Natasha informs her.

The brunette nods.

"It's temporary."

Another nod.

"You'll be paid for the first year of your absence."

Another nod.

"You were an asset to the company, if things change..." She means if things every become normal again. "I can guarantee you, you'll be brought back. A complete reinstatement."

Tony sets his glass onto the coffee table and for the first time in months, asks FRIDAY to turn on. "Who is that, FRIDAY?" He asks ignoring the greeting the A.I. gives him. The screen changes wiping away the security cameras and replacing it with her glowing picture and file. Her image takes residence on the right side of the screen and everything they have on her is displayed before him, employee records, position at the company, an entire database of information about her is before him. Wren Granger, he reads at the top of the page. Her name triggers the few memories he has of her, she worked for the Avengers, behind a desk with a smile that made you feel as though you'd known her for years. She'd attended a few parties at the Stark Tower but kept to herself. They had few interactions together but she never seemed the tiniest bit interested in him, her eyelashes didn't flutter when he came around nor find any excuse to touch him like most woman. She simply did her job and went home.

The first conversation they had that wasn't business related was at a party, years before everything happened. He was looking for Rhodey, ready to mock him over his insistent retelling of his adventures when he spotted yet another unfortunate soul being forced to listen to Rhodey's tales. Tony refills his drink and rushes to save the young lady.

"Rhodey, you're torturing the poor woman." Tony says swiftly joining them, resting his hand on his longtime friends shoulder.

Rhodey opens his mouth to respond, a wise crack at the tip of his tongue but the woman beside him beats him to it. "I beg to differ, Mr. Stark, it was just getting interesting."

"See, Tony..." Rhodey says a smile stretching across his face. "Somebody appreciates my stories."

"It's not all that fascinating," Tony quips. "He's been telling the same story for a week."

The brunette cocks her head and gives a dramatic gasp. "Is that so, Mr. Rhodes?" She asks with a smirk.

Once again, someone else who beats Rhodey before he has a chance to speak, it's Tony this time. "Don't feel to bad for him, he's just upset that the world only tolerates War Machine. Iron man is their  preference but they settle for second best in time of need." She tries to fight her chuckle by covering her mouth with her hand but the sounds of laughter leak through causing Rhodey to scoff and walk away annoyed. He grabs his drink and shouts a quip about War Machine being better as he heads to the other side of room.

"Oh no." The woman chuckles as she watches Rhodey leave.

Tony leans against the counter alongside the brunette and lets his eyes trail along her body. She's traded her usual pencil skirt for a pair of tight black jeans and a flowery blouse. "Which of these lovely prospectors do you plan to mooch off of?" He asks with a sly smile and cock of an eyebrow.

"I suspect you've taken yourself out of the equation?" She asks without missing a beat.

Tony jerks his head towards her and lets out a surprised breath, "Yes... why was I in the equation?" He asks, a cheeky grin now plastered on his face.

"Not originally but I figure why close all doors, huh?" She asks with a smile as she meets his dark brown eyes. "Besides wouldn't you be the best to mooch off of considering you're the billionaire?" There's a small shrug of her shoulders as she relaxes against the wooden counter behind her.

"Wise decision." Tony remarks. "But I'm taken."

"That's true." She smiles. "I've heard Steve Rogers is nice."

Tony turns his nose up, "Capsicle?" He leans closer hovering his lips near her ear. "You'd have to devirginize him."

Full of shock, she turns to face him eyebrows furrowed with her lips press tightly together. Her dark green eyes fall back to the Captain whose engaged in a competitive game of pool alongside Sam. "Well, maybe not. It might get a bit awkward when I don't call him the day after."

Tony chuckles, nearly spilling the drink he's holding. "Tony Stark." he says offering her his free hand.

"I know, I work for you." She says with a smile, accepting his hand in a firm handshake. "Wren Granger."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Granger."

"You as well, Mr. Stark."

"Tony, please."

"Tony."

They keep each other company throughout the night, talking for hours about any little topic that sparks interest. Wren doesn't ask about his time as Iron Man or his life as a billionaire, she has simple questions or comments that only people who really want to know someone ask. It's easy to talk to one another, the conversations flows and doesn't feel stressed. It's comfortable, something Tony hasn't experienced in a long time. As the party dies down and the guests begin returning home, she glances at the watch on her left wrist and says that she should leave as she has an hour drive.

"An hour? You don't live in the city?"

"No, Not at all." Wren shakes her head almost insulted by the indication.

"Where do you live? I can get someone to drop you."

She nods, "I don't think you or I need that type of talk surrounding us." extending her hand to shake his. "Besides, I'm actually out of the city, rural area." Tony flinches at the comment and she notices his discomfort. "Not a country boy, i take it?"

"City boy, born and raised."

"Shame." She tsks him and stands. "It's nice break from the chaos that is the city. We get a lot less alien invasions." She winks at him with a smile. Tony chuckles quietly, at the remark. The noises that came with the city life, is what makes his home, a home. "If you ever manage to make it out there, in the quiet that is, you're more than welcome to stop by for a drink." She says straight faced. "Quiet can do you some good, it's a nice break to get away from all the noise and people."

The offer runs rampant in his mind as if it was offered just yesterday, he watches Wren leave Natasha's office, clutching a manilla folder to her chest. At the time, when she mentioned him coming out for the quiet, he thought nothing of. It was a friendly offer. Now, it felt like a calling. He can claim it's because he's severely lacking from human contact or slightly hungover and curing the hangover by drinking more and his mind isn't working at full capacity, or it's much simpler, he wants to talk to someone who isn't artificial and doesn't have a ulterior motive behind their words. He ponders the idea, when they met she treated him like he was a person maybe she'd do the same now. Everyone else tried to fix him until he longed to strangle them or share ways he can get over his loss. She could be different. There was no judgement when they first spoke.

He writes down her address, just in case and pins it to the fridge. Just in case, he thinks. If it really gets to him, he'll visit.

The ache in Wren's chest is raw, flesh eating and nausea inducing raw.

Everyone is gone.

The bad guy won.

The Avengers lost.

In an instant half the population was gone, wiped away from the world as if they never existed. Friends, family and lovers are gone. In a blink of an eye, they disappeared with a gust of wind.

The world feels empty now, those that were lucky enough to survive wish they hadn't. No one had time to prepare, they didn't have the luxury of a final goodbye or a warning that this would happen, it just did. Not many knew how to cope with the sudden loss, the trauma and pain resides deep in their chest unable to be cured. No funerals, no bodies and no final resting grounds. Ash in the wind. The world was at a standstill, abandoned cars rest in the middle of the roads, toys left untouched and groceries left to rot in the hot sun. Time seemed to stop.

Everyone hurts and most people blame the Avengers. The world's mightiest heroes were suppose to protect them, save the world but they let it down instead.

A year ago, Wren worked at the compound, her position wasn't of any importance but she had a way with words and could talk anyone into anything. When a business went awry, Wren Granger was your girl. A few sentences stringed together and the deal was back in place. The day it all happened, the day people disappeared without any explanation Captain America strode into the compound for the first time in years, defeat written on his face sporting a bearded jaw and glossy eyes while the building echoed with gasps. He ordered a meeting, standing before everyone in his uniform, the white star in the middle of his chest was absent, his fingers bloody and his suit looked darker. He explained what happened, omitting most of the classified details. Thanos had arrived to earth, threatened to cleanse the world and succeeded. He wiped out half of the population. The next order of business he asked, "Where is Tony Stark?" No one had the answer.

It would be a month before Tony would miraculously be found, "He was injured in a remote area." was the official cover story but there had to be more to it. There always was.

Tony was once again named the official boss, after it was discovered Pepper Potts had also been taken. Tony's health improved but he disappeared.

Days passed and Natasha Romanoff, a beautiful redhead with an attitude that could scare a 210 pound man and boy next door Steve Rogers were announced as the new boss. It should have gotten better but it didn't, employees were cut, costs were cut and within three months Wren was forced to move on. Natasha promised in a year, she'd be brought back if things returned to normal. If there was a normal to look forward too.

One year passed and the world was still broken and her job never came back, the Avengers weren't rallying up for round two and Iron Man let alone Tony Stark still hadn't shown up in public again. It was public knowledge that the loss of his fiancee Pepper had hit him hard. Rumors swirled that he was on the deep end of a depression, two pills away from ending it all. Wren didn't blame him for doing so, she'd lost people too. It's difficult to move on when you can't mourn any specific area except for a large wall that stretched for miles with names etched into it. It was personal, not an area you could make your own. It was covered in dead flowers, tattered teddy bears and letters from loved ones.

Wren started drinking six months after her job was gone when everything became to much to handle, little things would spark ripples of anger. Misplaced keys, grocery stores not being stocked, a rude comment she'd overhear and the neurons inside her brain would fire up creating a alter personality that attacked with anger. She drank to stop it all, the pain and the anger. It was easy. She fought it with a crooked smile and another bottle of alcohol.

He came next. Tony Stark, that is.

Wren was sitting at her dining table working on her latest jewelry design, it seemed her hobby as a teenager had paid off since being politely let go. A knack for making customized bracelets and necklaces had provided a substantial amount of pay. Requests came online shortly after for pieces engraved or in tribute to a lost loved one. The current piece beneath her small fingers with light blue nails was for a woman who lost her daughter, she asked for her birthdate, birthstone and a small pink heart on the necklace. The roar of an engine startled her, the necklace slipping between her fingers as she stood up. Her home was far enough away from civilization that no one would just be simply passing by, in order to get here, you had to look for it and in order to find it, you had to know where to look. The image of Tony Stark approaching the front door, with a case of Guinness in his left hand and his hair slightly tousled as if he just awoke with pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes felt like a dream. She pinches herself before moving from the window, this can't be real. Tony Stark is hiding? Gone? Scared? Missing? Lo-- the doorbell startles her again, it's followed by a short pair of knocks. Her lower lip comes between her teeth as she approaches the door, a shaky hand reaches for the lock, unlatching it and slowly twisting the door knob.

"Hey." He says as if this is a normal occurrence, like it's not unusual for him to be at her door in the middle of the afternoon. "I was in the neighborhood." He blatantly lies.

"Hi." Wren says in a whispered tone and her eyes grow even wider. "Uh...Come, come inside."

Tony sat across from her on the brown couch, his sunglasses discarded on the counter in the kitchen while his fingers danced across the glass bottle of beer. He's wearing an AC/DC t-shirt that is tightly stretched across his chest, it's the first time she's seen him in person in years, probably since anyone has seen him in person. His hair is longer, unkept and littered with greying strands and the whites of his eyes are bloodshot, his jaw is held hostage by months of unshaved facial hair. He looks broken. Nothing like the man who could throw out a sarcastic remark like he was a pitcher for a baseball team, the man   whose eyes crinkled when he laughed or was rumored to obsessively work on new projects. Mr. Stark sits before her, unrecognizable. He's a different man but she's a different woman now to. Everyone is different since it happened.

"This place is nice." Tony remarks as his eyes explore the home. He's seen better, undoubtedly, he's made of money. He owns a better home than this. His homes are in the cities full of people and tall buildings, millions of dollars put into the home with remarkable electronics while Wren's is secluded from civilization, surrounded by trees and wildlife, the closest grocery store was nearly two hours away and her closet neighbors were miles away. She has a broken bathroom sink, a window that never completely locks and a floorboard in the kitchen between the counter and fridge that squeaks every time you step on it, she knows he's pulling the comment out of his ass. Tony's been locked up for so long, he's forgotten what nice truly means.

"It makes do." She says with a small shrug.

Tony nods, bringing the bottle to his lips. He still hasn't explained why he was here or where he's been and he doesn't know if he can even begin to. He hadn't left home in a year, hadn't interacted with people in over a year but here he was.

"Did you actually stop at a grocery store and pick this up?" Wren asks nudging the case of beer with her foot. It's sitting on the glass coffee table covering a assortment of magazines and papers, she has yet to pick up.

"Yes." He nods. "Didn't want to show up empty handed."

"I like scotch too." Wren mentions with a smile. "In case you're ever in the neighborhood again." For a brief second, a smile crosses his face. It almost passes for real but his eyes give him away. "How are you doing Tony?" She asks interrupting the silence that encapsulates them. It's a difficult question, one that managed to escape her mouth before she had a moment to think of the consequences. Tony could answer with another fake smile or gather what's left of the beer and decide he's being called away.

There's a pause in the conversation and a hitch of his breathe before he answers, "I'm fine." His reply surprises her, she didn't expect an answer. When he poses the same question to Wren her answer is far from polite.

Her intent was to lie as he did but what comes out is not a fib, "I"m terrible." Wren mutters. "Fuckin terrible." She glances around the living room, shame written across her face. "I'm drunk, don't mind me."

"It doesn't help, does it?" Tony asks after another round of silence.

"No... Not really."

"No..." He repeats.

"You live here alone?" He asks even though FRIDAY already told him that answer.

She nods. "Me and my shadow."

"Must get lonely."

"I make do." She shrugs her shoulders. "The quiet--"

"--can do you some good."

"Is that what you needed?" Wren asks reaching out to grab another bottle of beer, one for her and one for Tony. It's a question in place of the one she really wants to ask, 'what are you doing here?' is on the tip of her tongue but she refuse to give it a voice. "Quiet?"

Tony opens the bottle, tossing the lid onto the table and relaxing his posture on the couch once again. He kicks a leg up on the coffee table, slides his arm across the back of the couch and stares at Wren whose legs are dangling off the arm of the loveseat. "I don't know anymore." He whispers, dropping his head back. "I think... I just needed somebody..." For the first time in years, Tony lets the truth out. He's got tears welting at the corners of his eyes, a knot forming in his throat and his suave personality he's had on display for his entire life is crumbling before a woman he barely knows. "who didn't know me... before." He lets out with a deep breathe. Wren simply nods and takes another long sip of her beer.

Tony leaves around midnight, alcohol on his breathe and his heart feeling a little less heavy. "It gets dark out here." Tony says surprised when he steps outside of the small house, glancing up at the sky.

"Yeah, no tall buildings to make it seem like it's always day. You can see the stars too." Wren says with a smile.

"I'll see you." Is the last thing Tony says as he leaves.

Neither Tony or Wren have any idea how to explain the last few hours of their lives, Wren is still in shock that Tony showed up at her door when she lays down in bed while Tony is still trying to piece together why he arrived there in the first place. He'd come across the post it note with Wren's address when he slipped in the kitchen and knocked off the papers stuck to his fridge. It was the only piece of paper that fell directly in front of him, rightside up and caught the little light he allowed into the house. He didn't plan to go there neither was he intending to but his legs went on autopilot and before he knew it, he was in the front seat of his car, driving to her home. Leaving his house for the first time in a year was easier than he would have thought. The world didn't care about him anymore. His car left the garage unnoticed, his appearance at the grocery store went unnoticed. Tony Stark was nothing to the world now.

Wren created a spark in the deepest crevice of Tony's chest, he felt relieved to speak to someone who didn't judge him. She didn't see him as a pompous ass or billionaire who would only think of himself. The time they spent together felt like two old friends catching up over a beer. It was relaxed. He didn't suspect that she would rush off and tell the media about his reappearance into society or find a gossip magazine to sell the dark tales that were Tony Stark.

Maybe she could become a much needed friend in whatever world they're forced to reside in.

[slytherinfinity]

ENDGAME SPOILERS!!

Okay I saw Endgame last night and I need to vent... AHHHHHH!!! haha I have so many mixed emotions and I don’t even know. Also I typed this on mobile so sorry for any typos. 

So I first saw Iron Man when I was 11, and it was so cool. I grew up watching all of these movies. At first, Cap was my favorite bc he was ~cute~ and I was a young teen girl and so were all my friends. I also loved Loki for this reason haha. Then I saw Iron Man 3 and LOVED IT. I bought it on DVD as soon as it came out. Tony Stark was amazing, but also he dealt with anxiety and panic attacks? His and Pepper’s relationship was everything as well, and also his and Happy’s and Rhodey’s friendships. Tony felt real and human and relatable, and it was cool he was able to overcome so much even with all of his trauma. In AOU he just wanted to protect his team, and no one truly listened to or respected him or tried to understand him, and he ended up with more trauma and guilt. I just wanted him to have a happy ending. Then he met Peter and it brought me hope, after all the Civil War crap. Infinity War was crushing but not completely because I knew another movie was coming out, so there was still some hope. But then Endgame. Honestly... I’m still processing, but I don’t think I’m happy with it. And for more reasons than just Tony, though I’ll talk about that first. His storyline just seemed... blah. He gets back, gets to yell at Steve, and then goes and lives in seclusion with Pepper and has a kid. Yet you know that even with that life he’s still depressed and guilt-ridden. It’s how Pepper knows he won’t stop. So he does his best to help, time travels or whatever (honestly that whole part is still kinda confusing to me- it created alternate timelines, but what are the implications of that- and also for the rest of the MCU??) and then Tony comes back and it looks like they’ve succeeded. I was expecting him to notice something off about Nebula, tbh. But anyway, final battle, and we all know what happens. He makes the sacrifice play. He dies. Pepper says it’s okay, but I just can’t agree. He already made the sacrifice play in the first movie. I think it should have been Steve or someone else in this one to do it. If all Tony’s pain and trauma has been building to this- I just feel empty inside. It’s not a satisfying end. Sure, he saved the universe, but I feel like Strange literally could have like left a message saying don’t send Nebula to the past and all of that would have been avoided. It felt so pointless. They’d already won. Tony also only got to reunite with Peter for like 30 mins, which is lame, and will bring a whole lot more trauma to him. He didn’t even get to see Morgan again. Ughhh I’m just annoyed. And then Steve?? He just goes to live in the past?? The whole movie he’s been saying he doesn’t move on, and then he literally never does, he never grows from there. He doesn’t really develop at all. It’s true- he never truly moved on from the past, and so that means... he’ll just go live there??? I think a better move would be to have him grow to accept his life and try to be happy and actually move on. Or, like I said earlier, he could have realized he can’t move on and made that sacrifice play himself in order to allow others to live and move on. I think that would have been a more satisfying arc to his story. And it would show the love he actually has for Tony- to allow Tony to live with his family and show that he heard and understood what Tony said at the beginning of the movie. (Also, they never had a real conversation where they made up. It was like they kind had that “do you trust me” moment but Steve never truly apologized and I feel like we got jipped out of a good heartfelt moment between those two.) Also- the Natasha sacrifice was sad, but I’m not totally surprised by it. It feels like a very her thing to do, to save her family and Clint’s. But then after everyone got mad and had a quick moment of silence, it was kind of forgotten?? Like they could have even had a memorial or small tribute at Ton’s funeral or elsewhere but like put something in?? It feels like she was just kind of brushed aside. (Also- I didn’t like BruceNat at first but grew to be okay with it, but then it never became anything? Bruce made himself into Professor Hulk and there was no real closure or conversation between him and Natasha? So like... what. was. the. point???) Again, everything with her just wasn’t that satisfying, but it’s something I may grow to view differently. I did enjoy Clint’s arc and I actually think they did a great job with him. Probably the strongest arc of the movie, actually. The way they handled Thor kind of annoyed me. I think it’s perfectly understandable that he would end up like that. He’s lost his family and most of his kingdom, and he feels responsible. I don’t have a problem with that. I have a problem with how the movie and the characters responded to that. Judgmental looks and jokes... like I’ll be honest, I did chuckle at Rhodey’s Cheez Whiz joke, but now I regret that. Like being fat is funny, haha look at Thor, he’s out of shape! Uhh yeah he’s depressed! And Rhodey should know better, being friends with Tony, he should know how to handle anxiety and depression. Nobody was really trying to help or even talk to Thor much, they really just wanted him to help them. Like he was clearly struggling, and yet that was used as a joke... it makes me sad. And also Thor never even looked back at Loki? The convo with his mom was nice though. But that reminds me? Was Loki’s infinity war death actually real then? Bc ugh. I’d be more willing to accept him being permanently dead if it wasn’t in such a lame way. Daggers, seriously?? Loki has freakin magic, and he’s smart!! He could have duplicated himself or something, and that type of lame death is so unsatisfying. Also. Captain. Freaking. Marvel. I went to the movie in a Captain Marvel T-Shirt, hers is one of the first actual comics I read, and I loved her movie. I was soooo excited to see her in this movie and become part of the team and to have some really fun banter with everyone. But then she just... disappears for basically the whole movie and hardly speaks at all (thinking about it- I think all the female characters speaking overall was wayyy low compared to mens which is sad) and she blows up the big ship at the end and that’s basically it. She didn’t really join the team, and she could have been so helpful! You’re telling me they didn’t make a way to communicate with her and they didn’t want to include her in their time travel adventures?? She could have had a funny interaction with Nick in 2012, or stopped Nebula from getting taken in 2014, or helped out more overall, idk. But she should have been a bigger part of the team. They hyped her up so much when she was hardly in the movie at all, which was extremely disappointing. Like I feel so cheated about this. This is something I’ll probably be bitter about for a while tbh... ugh she’s a queen and deserves so much more haha. Also Okoye and Wong would have been useful assets for the time travel and yet they were hardly in the movie at all? So many underutilized characters smh.... (Also I know this would be impossible and the point of the movie is for the main Marvel characters but you’re telling me that in 5 years, there was no random like French or Chinese or any other country’s scientist that could have developed time travel or another method of reversing the snap? Or someone from one of the bazillion planets out there? Like there have to have been other smart people/aliens who went all Liam Neeson after the snap and were out for revenge and solutions and they could have come up with something in those five years. But again, I know that wouldn’t work for the movie...) I just feel that a conclusion to the first real era and characters of Marvel should be more satisfying. But that’s just me, I know there are people who are plenty happy with it, and I think that’s valid. These are just my thoughts. Also, that was a long rant but I don’t want to be completely negative. Here’s some things I did enjoy. -Clint’s arc. Again, I felt it was really strong and emotional and hit all the right notes. They did a good job with him and I’m glad he got to go back to his family. -Nebula. She’s grown so much y’all. I do wish she got the final blow on Thanos, and that she clicked the button to go to the present faster so Thanos couldn’t come after them, but other than that I thought her storyline was great. She’s awesome. -That moment with all the female characters after Peter got hurt. I cheered. Marvel has so many amazing women and it was great to see them all together. I kinda wish they were given more lines and screen time though but this moment was super cool. -Morgan was adorable and I love her. -Pepper’s understanding of Tony was also great. She knew he needed to do something if he could, especially for Peter, she’s grown so much and she loves her mans I love her. -Almost the whole 2012 time travel thing was great. Some good humor and nostalgia, it was fun, I really liked it. The Loki alternate timeline would be cool to explore and I wonder if that’s what the show will be about. -Wanda had a great moment against Thanos. -Okay, while I do think that whole final battle was ultimately pointless and could have easily been avoided, the moment when T’Challa and the Guardians and everyone came in through the portals was amazingly epic and beautiful and powerful. The audience cheered and I did too. It was a cool scene. -Tony and Nebula in the ship at the beginning was great. -If Steve isn’t gonna be Cap anymore, Sam deserves it and I’m glad they went with him. -The Ancient One, Frigga, and other’s cameos were pretty cool. I liked those moments. -Tony’s convo with Howard was great. I like that he got a little bit of closure with his dad. There’s probably more but I’ve written a lot so I need to be done haha. Let me know your thoughts!! :)

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Five (29.41% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twelve.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

No matter how many times I watch this, I’m always surprised by how excellent it is. If any other future Marvel film wants to be ‘the best’, this is the movie it has to beat for the title. 

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Natasha asks about the ballistics on the weapon used against Fury, and Maria responds. I’ve heard people argue that Natasha was not asking Maria specifically and therefore this does not count, but since Natasha clarifies a detail of Maria’s response (to which Maria responds again in order to confirm), I definitely think it qualifies. I have allowed a pass for far, far less in the past. 

Female characters:

Natasha Romanov.

Peggy Carter.

Maria Hill.

Sharon Carter.

Renata.

Male characters:

Steven Rogers.

Sam Wilson.

Brock Rumlow.

Georges Batroc.

Jerome.

Jasper Sitwell.

Nick Fury.

Alexander Pierce.

Aaron.

Arnim Zola.

Senator Stern.

Bucky Barnes.

OTHER NOTES:

They start this movie by having Steve go for a jog and make a new friend, with a conversation ensuing that is by touches casual, light, humorous, insightful, serious, and sobering. It’s a pretty weird way to launch a much-anticipated superhero comic-adaptation action movie sequel, to be honest, but it’s also rock-solid character establishment - for the never-before-seen Sam Wilson, and for Steve Rogers whose mental state and coping skills in the modern era are kinda an open question at this point - and by getting us on level with Steve’s day-to-day (rather than Captain America’s, which comes after) they’ve immediately prepped us for a story in which this character confronts and reassesses who he is and what he stands for at a core level, and not just in a symbolic/legacy kind of fashion (a la Tony Stark). It may say ‘Captain America’ on the tin, but this is Steven Rogers’ story. This is a fantastic and well-condensed first three minutes of this film, before they fly off to deliver the action sequence we may well have expected to have received up-front. 

Oh yeah, also this opening scene involves jogging around the Washington Monument, which is not a subtle detail, but I can dig it. If they’d had Steve draw attention to some Major American Landmark at some point in the movie and make a patriotic declaration of some kind, then I’d cry foul, but as-is the use of Washington DC as a setting is the hardest they bother to hammer the AMERICA button. The absence of self-fellating patriotism which I appreciated so much in the first film continues to be a virtue in this one. I do dig.

Remember how I really love it when people get hit and fly off the screen? Steve just kicked a dude off a boat and I made the dorkiest ‘hee hee!’ noise ever. Sure am glad the only reason anyone knows about that is that I just told y’all, and not because anyone actually heard me.

One day, we’ll stop getting these kinds of gratuitous butt shots of female characters in tight clothes. But it sure ain’t this day.

In a world of equal-opportunity sexualisation, this Cap-butt would be forgiveness enough for the aforementioned offense. But it still sure ain’t that day, friends.

Other reasons to love that opening scene: they low-balled Sam’s counseling skills to us by having him quickly identify the best way to speak to Steve and to engage with him (as Steve, again, not as Captain America; that’s the key), and that’s what allows Steve to bond with him enough that, put in a tight spot and not sure who to trust, he shows up on Sam’s doorstep later in the film. Really tight characterisation and dynamic-building.

ALSO, Steve’s adventure to the Captain America museum exhibit reminds us all of what he’s lost - specifically, Bucky Barnes - and contextualises his encounters with Sam Wilson within the emotional landscape of Steve’s desire for close male companionship, highlighting the need which compels the formation of that bond while also accentuating the sense of Steve’s present isolation and uncertainty, robbed of any understanding confidante (the bittersweet reality of having Peggy Carter still alive, but losing herself to Alzheimer's, really hits that one home). Again, Steve’s emotional landscape is actually a vital part of the story of the film on both character and plot levels, so there’s a LOT of great show-don’t-tell demonstration in the interconnections of all these scenes, PLUS they’re doing the good work for all the other characters involved AND reminding the audience of the score so that the film can continue to draw from the past as the movie continues, without losing any viewers for whom this might be the first foray into the Captain America story. This movie is just...really well put together, guys. It’s a little shocking, how good it is.

Winter Soldier intro is too cool. Not a pun.

Steve takes a chance and asks his neighbour out for coffee; she declines with a soft no; he accepts even-tempered and assures her he won’t trouble her any further, and she lets him know that he’s no trouble and there’s no hard feelings. It’s all a very painless and respectful navigation of boundaries, and taken on face value (ignoring the part where she turns out to be an undercover SHIELD agent, and everything which unfolds from there), it’s a welcome example of how easy it is to take rejection graciously. Guys, be the Steve Rogers that women want to see in the world.

I want a metal arm. I don’t want to not have my current arms, they’re fine, but in an abstract version of the world where you have things purely for cool points, I want a metal arm.

The fight choreography in this film is great. It’s good watchin’. 

Also the soundtrack is top-end. 

“...Specimen.”

The movie didn’t need a hetero kiss thrown in there, though. I sure wish there wasn’t a random kiss in there.

“The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.” 

Urgh, why Senator Stern gotta show up, be a pig about women, make his little Nazi declaration, and leave? The answer is, he really doesn’t gotta. You know what’s good shit? Not using misogyny and objectification of women to demonstrate that a bad guy is a bad guy, unless it’s actually a relevant part of the story. One day...

I can’t deal with how cool the Winter Soldier is. I’m almost embarrassed by how much the whole Silent Sauntering Assassin thing works for me.

Sam Wilson brings a tiny knife to a gunfight and still gets the upper hand because he’s perfect.

THE FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHYYYYY

The Winter Soldier is barely in the film in the first hour, and Bucky is referenced in the museum but not discussed by any of the characters, so there’s no lantern hanging on either the mystery of the Winter Soldier’s identity or the conspicuous reminder of a supposedly dead character (another reason why tying the memory of Bucky in so tightly with Steve’s present state of comfortless seclusion is important and clever). If you somehow managed not to be spoiled for it already, the Bucky reveal is a real kicker of a twist.

The degree to which I adore Sebastian Stan’s attention to detail in his performance has increased tenfold since The First Avenger. Dude has got nuances on his nuances.

The part of me that is emotionally susceptible to heroism is very moved by all the nameless SHIELD agents who stand up to HYDRA and die for it. 

I join the rest of the world in being really disappointed that what appeared to be Jenny Agutter’s councilwoman kicking Strike Team ass was actually just Black Widow. Sorry Natasha.

The Winter Soldier shows up and murderises a heap of pilots, and the part of me that is susceptible to heroism finds itself in conflict with the part that is susceptible to the Winter Soldier’s ineffable coolness (which is itself at odds with the part of me that wants Bucky Barnes to be safe and happy). This movie got me good.

Rumlow talkin’ some shit about pain and Sam’s just like “Man, shut the Hell up,” and it’s perfect. I love him.

I love this film. I mean I really, really love it. Like, I mean this is one of my favourite movies in the world. Like, if we were playing that ol’ game of ‘if you had to pick ten movies, and those were the only movies you were allowed to watch for the rest of your life’, this would be one of my ten movies. That’s how much I love this film. There’s so much to get into here, so much to enjoy: it’s light and easily-digestible enough for when you just want to be entertained by something that doesn’t demand too much from you, but it also has serious depths for when you’re in the mood to dig in. It has well-crafted action scenes, but also a strong plot with powerful emotional currents. It has wonderful, charismatic actors playing intriguing characters, and most of them are good eye candy, but none of them are just eye candy - there’s a lot of complexity to unravel in the motivations and personal narratives of the leads. It’s a superhero movie, sure, but it’s also a political spy thriller. And, to top it off, it’s not only an excellent stand-alone film, it’s also a fantastic example of how to do a sequel right.

Sequel-making can be a fraught business; you’ve got sequels that are basically just pointless retreads of the original, sequels that are so different they hardly count as sequels at all, sequels that are so busy trying to be ‘bigger and better’ than the original they become ridiculous, sequels so busy attempting to capitalise on the spectacle of the original that they forget to have any of the same heart that gave the original meaningful impact, sequels that ignore that the original had a plot and themes and that maybe that stuff was relevant to its success, etc, etc...there are lots of great sequels in the world, certainly, but as Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World already attested for the MCU, it is very, very easy for sequels to go wrong. For this film, I think it goes without saying that I feel they passed all of the above sequel-killing quality tests with flying (low-key red-white-and-blue) colours, hence my adoration. But, just for kicks, lets talk about how they did it.

For starters, you can pretty much guarantee that this isn’t gonna be a pointless retread of Captain America: The First Avenger, since this movie takes place seventy years later and there are certain essential world elements that have fundamentally changed, such as technology, characters, and the fact that WWII ended a good while previous. But, that’s exactly how they make this story work as a sequel: they use the nature of change to give the film its shape, thematically, politically, emotionally, and in doing so they assure that everything which is different in the present builds directly from the past. Steve Rogers has not fundamentally changed, and that’s a critical anchor, considering he’s the titular character and all, but he is in a state of flux due to everything else that has changed, and his doubts inform the narrative landscape. This is not the world he remembers, and yet, as the plot unfolds and he digs into the conspiracy at his feet, there’s plenty there that is hauntingly familiar, because this is a story about how the past is still alive and kicking in the present, it has just updated to keep with the times.

It’s worth noting that despite Captain America making the jump from the forties to the modern age without any stop-offs in between, the film doesn’t linger on or wallow in the differences in his world in any strict sense - even Steve himself (in that EXTREMELY well-crafted opening scene with Sam) is somewhat dismissive of the specifics, because he’s not dwelling on the oh-woe-things-have-changed, he’s just trying to get his head around it, adapt, and move forward (and the practical realities are easy enough, but the emotional facets? Yeah). The thing is of course, no one else shares this problem with Steve; they’ve all been around, variously, for the parts in between, and the story is still concerned with the context of the world which made all of its characters what they are, and particularly with the war that came after WWII, the war within which HYDRA reseeded and began to grow anew: the Cold War. In particular, it’s the ‘70s/’80s era Cold War, built into the political-thriller superstructure of the film itself and driven home most overtly by the Winter Soldier, heavily Russian-coded and steeped in the potent psychological horror of brainwashing, but there are other signifiers littered across the story as well. There’s former-KGB agent Black Widow, and the reference she makes to WarGames, and there’s Arnim Zola frozen in time by the ancient computer system which now acts as his ‘brain’, and then there’s the stroke of subversive genius in the casting of Robert Redford - the positively Captain America-esque blue-eyed-blond hero of many a seventies Cold War political thriller - as our primary villain, working within the United States government for the benefit of his secret European-originating agenda in true foreign-infiltration style. Of course, we can adapt all of this to fit the radicalised terrorism and technological paranoia of modern times (and those elements are alive and well in the text with the surveillance-state fears represented by the helicarriers), but the historical timestamping is important to the trajectory of the film; times change and things grow increasingly subtle and complicated, but the core dilemmas that call people out to fight are instantly familiar. In that sense, Steve Rogers hasn’t missed much at all.

The war that calls Cap to arms this time around may be more subtle than the openly-fought battlefields of WWII, but it is no less global or insidious; the new ‘improved’ HYDRA may not be led by a literal Nazi who peels off his own face, but the cold political calculations of Alexander Pierce are much more frightening for their realism (an aspect of the film which has become increasingly prescient for the modern era since the movie was released), and the fascist supremacist dogma that compels these villains to attempt to reshape the world with the blood of millions is drawn from the same poisoned well; this is an escalation of the same enemy that Captain America faced before, only much closer to home. And while the passage of time has benefited the old evils in allowing them to entrench and fester and craft re-branded, more socially-accepted versions of themselves, it has not been so favourable to the positive familiar things from Steve’s past: it has claimed Peggy’s memory, and rotted SHIELD beyond recovery. And then, there’s what it’s done to Bucky Barnes.

Fake-out character deaths are a major staple of the superhero/comic genre, and not one I love, since it tends to take the power out of apparent-death scenes and leaves the drama feeling contrived, and while the Bucky reveal is not entirely free from that cynicism, it sells itself well on delivery. For starters, it packs a wallop in additional drama instead of just neatly undoing that which already existed (Nick Fury’s ‘death’ and reveal, on the other hand, is more in the classic line of cheap and inconsequential), and it ups the personal stakes for Steve in exactly the same way as Bucky’s ‘death’ did in The First Avenger. Crucially, the fact that Bucky is the Winter Soldier doesn’t alter the wider narrative in any convenient way, such as providing Captain America with the key to stopping him or resolving the other conflicts of the plot through his connection; the Bucky reveal reconnects the story to Steve’s emotional journey, which is exactly where it started before Shit Got Crazy - there’s a good reason they spent the first half hour of the movie on charting Steve’s mental state. There’s a sharp division between Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier, despite them both inhabiting the same form, and it’s a mirror of the division between Steve Rogers and Captain America: regardless of all assumptions to the contrary, the two are mutually exclusive entities. ‘Captain America’ is not a person, he’s a symbol, and he’s manipulable in that way, he can be propagandised, his image and actions are a tool turned to the purposes of others at the expense of the human underneath; Steve recognises this (and has since the first film), and he holds this secondary persona at a remove and does not define himself through it. This is what Sam’s keen social instincts pick up so quickly in the beginning: treating Steve as Captain America is the wrong approach, it fails to connect, because Steve is not the uniform, Steve has doubts, Steve could give up the shield; Steve is a person. Bucky doesn’t have the same luxuries, in opportunities, in company, or in the cognizant ability to define his own identity, but even without the personal attachment of their history, Steve is uniquely positioned to understand the difference between the Winter Soldier and the person buried beneath the title. If it was not Bucky, specifically, the visceral emotion of the mirrored experience wouldn’t land quite as strong, but either way the Winter Soldier is the realisation of Steve’s deep-seated fear of being made a puppet, an unthinking enforcer too heavily indoctrinated into patriotic subservience to recognise the despotism that has replaced his idealism. 

I said at the top that this is, ultimately, a Steven Rogers story to which ‘Captain America’ is an accessory, and not the other way around, and that’s a fact at the heart of what makes this film work - on its own, and as a sequel. The fore-fronting of Steve as a character in his own right and not just ‘Captain America’s real name’ was key to avoiding any cloying patriotism overriding the narrative of the first film, and it’s doubly important now as both Steve and the Captain America brand re-situate outside of their original context. It’s easy to strip back the specific trappings of Captain America and still have this movie function just right, because for all the action and intrigue, it is essentially a character piece about Steve Rogers figuring out his place in the world and reclaiming the moral compunctions which have been presumptuously attributed to the lofty symbol of his alter ego, and not the struggling reality of everyday life. Captain America is what he is and how he is not because it sounds good or because it makes for positive PR or because it’s nice to have legends from the good ol’ days; Captain America is the embodiment of scrappy little Steve Rogers’ grit and determination to live up to what he believes in, come Hell or high water or the gravest of consequences. Steve begins the film at odds with himself, unsure if there’s a place for his shameless idealism within the mess of modern life; he’s going through the motions of being Captain America, but he’s uncertain of what it means to him at this point, or where it’s headed. He finishes the film having gained something vital: a mission, but it’s not a professional job for Captain America, it’s a personal mission for Steve Rogers, and that’s much more important. Captain America is just an idea; Steve Rogers is the reason it matters, no matter what war, what time, what place, or what flag.

[miss-eucatastrophe]

Chapter 17: Threat

Pairing: Bucky x PlusSize!OFC/Serum!OFC (Can also be read as a Bucky X Reader fic. Your name is Cassandra. You’re welcome you beautiful bitch).

Summary:Trying to integrate into “normal” life, Bucky slowly falls into a routine. Wake up, run, gaze at the woman who works in the toy store as he passes by, eat, mission, sleep, repeat. But when he goes toe to toe with a thief who threaten’s to trash his routine by becoming an obsession, will he be able to put his bizarre life back in order, or will this woman turn his 21st century world on it’s head?Yep, the Bucky/Serum!Reader story you didn’t know you wanted.

Rated: Explicit

A/N: Back like I never left. I didn't give up on the story. A lot of things happened in my life that pulled me away from fanfiction. My previous semester was very intensive and I lost a beloved family member to cancer. My Grandfather passed, we were very close and it put me in a bit of a spin. I'm doing much better and this is my final semester of school. I mapped out all my school semesters so that this last one would be easy. I'm only taking two classes and they are both on the same day. In addition I am back at the job I previously had which allowed me to write when things were slow. So you can expect this story to be completed this year between my senor synthesis project.I apologize to everyone who were waiting for this and I thank everyone for their kudos and continued support of this story. I hope you're still interested in reading it.To make up for my absense, this chapter is the length of 2-3.Enjoy~!

Chapter 17 :Threat

In a year’s time since losing Cassandra, the Avengers had all gone through their own set of changes and challenges. The Avengers, and some space morons, had gathered together to fight against a big purple asshole who literally snapped half the universe into nonexistence. Prior to that, Bucky had spent time in Wakanda and met a sassy princess named Shuri who was eager to try out her tech on what she lovingly called a “broken white boy”. As a result, she had managed to rewire Bucky’s brain in order to expel the existence of those nasty trigger words that remained tightly locked within his subconscious. After losing Cassandra, the idea that the book that held his trigger words was destroyed was no longer a comfort. He had to get rewired—get Hydra out of his head for good.

If he was going to go after Cassandra and face more Hydra operatives, he couldn’t give them any opening to get to him. The risk was far to great. In addition to Shuri rooting around in his brain, she saw fit to redesign his metal arm. One that quote “didn’t suck”, not like the rebuilt Hydra tech Tony had stitched together as an apology to Barnes after their Civil War that was less than civil.

However, the appearance of the previously mentioned purple asshole, Thanos, had put Bucky’s quest to find Cassandra on hold. Especially after he too was snapped into nonexistence.

During his time in the emptiness, what he could remember of it, he had hoped he’d see Cassandra there. That if he had indeed died, perhaps she had too—and he could finally rest. Rest with the woman he’d grown to love.

He was both relieved and heartbroken by the fact that he never saw her. He never saw anyone. Hell, he couldn’t remember if he had seen anything at all. Nonexistence had been funny like that. Both seeing and not seeing at the same time. Both existing and not at the same time. Both alive and not at the same time.

It was a lot like cryo.

But just as quickly as he’d died, he was back in the world which was very much the same as he’d left it, but with the added bonus of those who had survived the “snap” defeating Thanos.

Little things had changed since then. The Avengers had grown in size with the addition of that Spider Kid and occasional assistance from King T’Challa and his people, Banner and Thor had returned to the family of misfits—considering that Thor had nowhere else to go after the destruction of his home, and the odd family as a whole had moved from the Avengers Tower they had called home into the Avengers Compound. Which, if Bucky was honest, he liked better. He liked the seclusion the compound had, the fact that it was out of the city—the fact that he wouldn’t pass the toy store anymore.

It wasn’t as though Bucky had forgotten about Cassandra, or wanted to. Quite the opposite—he devoted all his downtime to following leads centered around finding her.

He wasn’t going to stop. He hadn’t stopped since they completed their move into the Avengers Compound. As a result, the last two months of Bucky’s life, since the move, had been harder than the year without her. At least during that year Bucky had unwavering distractions from his own anger, depression, and restlessness. But these past two months made him wish he was on ice again. He was impossible to be around—he knew it, but he wasn’t about to fake a smile. He wasn’t the type. He’d never been the type.

As a result, the team treaded carefully around him. They had been since week one of their move in which Bucky was insisting that the man in the chopper had “his Doll” under a triggered mind control similar to his own. In passing, Tony had said he wasn’t sure about that—that perhaps Cassandra was in fact a double agent. Even Natasha, the double agent queen, didn’t believe that. The idea had earned Tony a punch to his laboratory wall where his head had been. He hadn’t bothered to have the indent caused by the Sargent’s fist fixed—and hadn’t dared to bring up his theory again. He liked his playboy head attached to his shoulders.

The only person that could approached Bucky was Steve, and even he wasn’t immune to the male’s frustrations.

Bucky and Steve walked down the ramp descending from the Quinjet. The moment Bucky’s boots touched down on cement of the hanger he let out a frustrated growl that bordered on a roar and threw one of his guns across the room. It skittered across the floor. Upon catching up with the gun in smooth strides, Bucky kicked it like a petulant child, letting it hit the wall to the left and watched it crumble into several unrecognizable pieces.

Steve put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder and squeezed firmly, yanking him back and forcibly turning his friend to face him. “Enough.” Steve growled, as if scolding a toddler. A toddler that could break his damn neck if it really wanted to.

Bucky shrugged his friend off. “Seven tips—all seven leading to nothing!” He wanted to punch something. Bucky had followed every tiny glimmer of hope that might lead to Cassandra. No matter how insignificant it seemed. “We can’t keep doing this.” Steve murmured. Steve could have told him that five of the seven leads would bring them nothing, but Bucky always insisted. He was tired, he had bags under his eyes—but so did Bucky. Steve found himself wondering when the last time Bucky slept was.

“We can’t look into everything, Bucky.” He reiterated, gripping both of Bucky’s shoulders in an attempt to hold his focus. “We can’t.”

Bucky set his jaw, his muscles wound tight, but he didn’t pull back, or punch him in the jaw like Steve expected.

“You did it for me.” Bucky murmured through clenched teeth.

The Captain’s eyes softened, a moment of silence passing between them before Steve pulled Bucky into a firm hug by his grip on his shoulders. “We’ll find her Buck.” He murmured before his friend returned the embrace. “We’ll find her.” He repeated.

Their tender moment was interrupted by Sam sticking his head in. “Yo, old guys.”

Bucky let go of his friend and peered over his shoulder at Sam, giving him a death glare. That hug from Steve was the first positive physical contact he’d had since Cassandra was taken from him, he wasn’t pleased with having it cut short.

“Sorry secret lovers,” Sam murmured, stepping out of the doorway and into the hanger. “But we have a lead on The Cassinator.” He murmured with a grin, as if he were proud of himself for the new nickname.

Bucky wasn’t impressed.

Cassandra would have laughed.

Cassandra wasn’t here.

The super solider with the metal arm arched a brow as if he was not convinced, but Sam continued. “A real lead. With real evidence.” Bucky’s eyes narrowed. “Pictures.” Sam emphasized, tilting his head in the direction behind him to get the Captain and the Sargent to follow him.

Steve looked to his best friend and clapped him on the back as he broke into a steady jog after Sam. It took Bucky a moment longer to follow after them. Bucky wasn’t so sure he could take anymore bad news. The whole year had been nothing but a plethora of bad news.

Tony slammed his hand on the table in the conference room, drawing it back to rest it on his hip. “She’s been spotted in Germany.” He announced, beaming like a child who just completed a jigsaw puzzle.

Steve, who had been seated next to where Tony had slapped his hand on the table, arched a brow. “We went to Germany.” He said blandly. It wasn’t that he was trying to be cynical, he just didn’t want to get Bucky excited for nothing. He remembered what that felt like. To be so sure he was going to find Bucky only to return empty handed. Bucky had already done it enough.

Steve was going to make sure they didn’t go on another mission to find Cassandra until they were absolutely sure it was a genuine lead. Bucky’s heart couldn’t take it. Steve’s couldn’t either. Partially because he too loved Cassandra as a valued member of the team, but more so because his heart broke for his pal.

Bucky tapped his metal finger on the surface of the desk, not looking up at Tony’s over-excited face. “What makes you think she’s there?” he murmured, monotone and seemingly uninterested. He couldn’t bare to give his hopes up again. Not when seven leads had brought them nothing.

Sensing Bucky’s skepticism, Tony tapped on the surface of the table at the head, little hidden panels lighting up under his fingertips until a projection appeared at his eye level. The picture was a birds eye view of an old HYDRA base, one that Bucky recognized from his days on The Howling Commandos in the 40’s. It was one of the original seven bases the team took down when Steve officially became Captain America.

Tony raised his hand to the hologram and flicked his wrist to change the angle of the view until two people could be clearly seen. One was a girl with long brown hair tied up into a high pony but had no other distinguishable features showing besides that. The bottom half of her face was masked, and across her eyes were goggles. Even with the shitty resolution caused by zooming in Bucky knew it was his doll. The other figure was obviously the man Bucky saw in the chopper the day Cassandra got away. His memory may not have been great regarding everything pre-HYDRA, but he remembered the man who took his best girl.

“When do we leave?” Bucky said plainly, having already made up his mind the moment Tony zoomed in on the two figures. It wasn’t definite, with her face covered like that, but it was the best lead they had in weeks.

“We don’t,” Said Steve firmly, causing Bucky to set his jaw and raise a death like stare in Steve’s direction—one reminiscent of The Winter Solider. “Not without a plan.” Steve finished quickly, watching his friend’s gaze slightly soften.

Tony pipped up at that moment to back up his Captain, “I’ve got schematics of the building,” he murmured, flicking the hovering hologram to raise a new one. “Scanned it this morning.”

The building was roughly mapped out, as best as it could be through steel doors and solid concrete- but Stark’s tech was nothing to scoff at, and money said it was probably as accurate as anything. Bucky looked over the plans, his chin resting in his human hand and his leg shaking as he tapped his foot restlessly on the floor.

“There’s two stories plus one underground floor,” Tony, lifted two hands and flipped the flat image parallel to the table where it became a 3D model of the building. “Our best access points are here, here, and—”

Bucky cut Tony off as he was gesturing to the roof. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to a peculiar shape at the underground floor of the building. Tony arched a brow and made a face, clearly dissatisfied with being cut off. “I’m not sure.” He said flatly, trying to pick up from what he had been saying just a moment ago.

Bucky wasn’t having it.

“Zoom in.” He persisted, his tone a command and not a request in the slightest. Tony let out a sigh of exasperation but poked his finger through the hologram to this odd shape at the base of the building. The hologram reset itself and zoomed in on the indicated section. He put his hands on the table and leaned in close, one hand coming up to rub at his sharply shaped beard. “Uh, a big chair.” He said, not even pretending to be interested.

Bucky’s face paled about four shades. “We gotta move.” He said firmly, standing from his chair so quickly that it rolled back and hit the wall behind him. Steve reached out and gripped his friend’s right arm, which would have sent him rolling with him had his feet not been firmly planted on the short carpet.

“Buck! A plan!” He repeated. This was rich coming from the man who ran head first into the big purple menace months prior and took on an army of chitauri without so much as a thought in his head.

“We’ll make one on the way.” He muttered, pulling his arm from Steve’s grip. “You, me, Tony, and Spider Punk. Let’s go.” Bucky was already out the door before he could see Sam and Natasha give each other a look that said, ‘And what the fuck are we? Chopped liver?’

Steve smiled weakly at the two. “We’re gonna need some level heads here to take care of the place while we’re gone.”

“Nice save.” Muttered Sam.

Tony, clearly pouting as the hologram sunk back into the table let out a grumble of discontent, “And here I thought I was in charge.” Steve smiled and raised his brows, “I let you think that.” Tony’s brow crinkled, and he scoffed.

Running. So much running. They never stayed in one place for too long, but she didn’t question it. She couldn’t. It was like there was someone else at the wheel. Everything the man in front of her said just made sense. Not because she thought about it and came to that conclusion herself—because it did.

Because that’s the way it was. She couldn’t think anything—not really. It was easier to do what you were told than think. Still… There was something in the back of her head, like a voice that would become just loud enough for her to hear. It was often followed by a brief snippet of time she couldn’t account for.

A distant memory like something out of a story she read but didn’t quite remember. Flashes of memories that couldn’t be hers.

Soft sheets. A warm embrace. Long hair. Blue eyes like ice on a frozen pond, haunting and enchanting. A bright smile…a real one.

And a voice. A rough voice expressing sweet nothings she couldn’t quite hear.

The lips… The lips that framed that smile… It formed words. In the flashes of this fantasy she could almost read them. ‘Ca….Ca…--’

“Kukol’nyy.”

Her head shot up, eyes empty, as if looking through her handler rather than at him.

“Your mind is wondering.” The man said whose name she couldn’t remember. A whisper in her mind said he was a doctor. Vasiliev—commander… doctor… handler—these words all blended together. The meant the same thing, and they were all words she couldn’t utter. No questions. Just comply.

The voice in the back of her head got quiet again.

The man in front of her stood knee deep in the snow, his arms crossed, looking upon this super soldier. Dirty, hair tangled, covered by the hood of her jacket, the snow hugging at her thighs. During his inspection, his eyes caught something perplexing. Little movements the Puppet was making.

Shivering. She was shivering. His brow crinkled in confusion. Super soldiers didn’t feel the effects of chill. Not like the average human—at the least they weren’t affected by it in the same way. A super solider could be sent out into a blizzard in civilian clothes for hours without showing signs of hypothermia. So why was she shivering?

He looked to her blank face before he turned once again, approaching the building they’d set out for. Passing through the clearing and reaching the front door should have been more difficult in knee deep snow—but the super soldier walked through the icy blockade as if taking a stroll through a field of daisies, creating a path for her handler to follow.

Upon reaching the iron door, the doctor stepped aside, gesturing to it with his head as he looked at the girl. “Open it.”

Kukol’nyy, who once had another name but had forgotten it, stepped forward and put her ungloved palm on the handle, rusted from years of snow and ice. The metal cracked under the force of her grip and she gave the handle a pull, tugging the obstacle out of their way as the door came off its’ hinges. She tossed the useless hunk of iron into the snow and stepped aside so her handler could ender the building ahead of her.

The doctor paused and again, tilted his head, gesturing to the opening. “You first, Kukol’nyy.”

Of course, how could she forget? She always entered first. Any doorway they entered, Kukol’nyy was to step in before her handler, insuring that any attack would be laid upon her first. Protection of her handler was her number one initiative.

She walked in, a hand at her thigh where she kept her gun, ready to draw it at the first sign of a threat.

None came. The girl relaxed her stance and turned partially to look at her handler, nodding that it was safe for him to enter. She rarely spoke. She wasn’t expected to speak. Speaking required thought.

She didn’t have thoughts.

Not her own.

Her handler stepped forward, walking past the soldier as he unzipped his heavy coat, snow from his shoulders dusting the floor as the fabric shifted.

“Come, Kukol’nyy. You’re filthy.”

“So, uh, why did the Russian dude kidnap your friend, Mr. Stark.” The Spider kid is not one that Bucky would usually depend on. Hell, he would have rather taken Bird Brain. However, he saw what that web of his could do first hand. If he could pin him to the floor the first time they met, he could easily tangle Cassandra. This was a search and rescue mission—and in his opinion other members of the team were a little too keen on shooting first and asking questions later.

Bucky knew no one mentioned it, they wouldn’t dare, but some suspected—in the very back of their minds—that maybe Cassandra had been conning them and was a double agent like Toni said. He wouldn’t have brought Tony, considering he’d been the one that planted the idea of Cassandra betraying them into other members of the team—but he knew he wouldn’t be able to take Spider kid with them without the watchful eye of his pseudo dad.

That—and deep down, in spite of what Bucky had said in the past, he knew Tony really cared for the woman and wouldn’t allow harm to come to her. Even if he had his doubts about her motives.

Instead of reiterating said doubts about Cassanda’s credibility, Tony just replied, “Dunno kid.”

Steve spoke from his position in the cockpit of the Quinjet. “Rebuilding HYDRA would be a lot easier if they had a new super soldier acting as their ‘fist’.”

Steve looked over his shoulder in time to see his friend’s look of disgust. Bucky still wasn’t over the part he had played in history.

He didn’t want Cassandra to have any of the same guilt he had.

Steve changed the subject, “But I don’t know why he would take her out here. They’ve done a pretty good job of hiding up until this point.” It was true, the pair had avoided any known HYDRA bases during their time on the run, fully aware they were likely being monitored. Yet, after months of being so careful they suddenly pushed their luck?

“He doesn’t have time to construct his own chair.” Bucky mumbled, his body swaying with a sudden jolt as the jet hit an unexpected air pocket. Bucky stood his ground, easily balancing in the bumpy craft, while Peter, usually the poster child of quick reflexes, fell back onto his ass.

“Can’t he just like… Buy one?” Peter asked, pulling himself back onto his feet before thinking better of it and having a seat on one of the benches that lined both sides of the jet. “Ikea furniture comes with a lot of instructions yeah, but it doesn’t take all that long to build right?”

Bucky’s jaw clenched. Steve looked back again. Bucky hadn’t opened up about a lot of the things that HYDRA did, but Steve did know about the chair. He’d spent a lot more time in it when he met Steve again on the bridge. It’d triggered so many memories that HYDRA had fought to shred.

“Why would he take her there, Buck?” Steve asked, his tone suggesting that he was aware he was walking on eggshells. Steve didn’t push Bucky to tell him more than he was comfortable with, they took it a day at a time, so prying was something he attempted to do delicately when necessary.

“She’s remembering.”

The girl hit the floor, not because she couldn’t catch herself—but as a sign of submission. When your handler shoved you, it was best you fall. The floor was cold. Even colder on bare skin. The shivers started again, making their way up her body like fingers walking up her spine, the hard surface of the concrete floor pressing uncomfortably to her kneecaps while one of her shins pressed to a metal grate on the floor, her skin imbedded with the pattern under the pressure.

“Up Kukol’nyy.”

At his command she stumbled to her feet, her arms at her side and her head hung to look at the floor but raised just enough so her handler could see it properly. Her hands stayed limply at her bare sides, never once moving to cover her stripped flesh. Any shame that existed in the mind she once had was not present in this one. Her long brown hair offered her only form of protection from the nip of the frosty air, hanging from her shoulders and covering a portion of her breasts. But the rest of her was on display and her face betrayed no interest one way or the other in her own exposure.

It should have been humiliating to stand there naked in front of a man she didn’t know. But like this she felt nothing. She thought nothing. She was nothing.

Just the orders she got.

“You really don’t look like a soldier, do you?” Her handler scoffed, lifting a fire hose that hung on the wall of the room. Any other person would have assumed it was an emergency hose, in case a fire broke out in the building. No—the room was built for this. With nothing in it but a drain in the floor and the hose on the wall, this room was made specifically for this.

Hosing down the asset after a mission.

Weapons didn’t get the luxury of showers.

Weapons weren’t human.

The asset wasn’t human.

The puppet wasn’t human either.

Her eyes followed the male’s hands blankly as they turned on the water, steam quickly radiated off the pipe and the uncoiled hose started to fill until a violent stream of water shot from the end of it and made contact with the puppet’s skin.

It hurt. The stream held such intensity it felt as if the water was trying to cut skin from bone, to wash her skin by ripping it away. She coiled instinctively, caving in on herself into a fetal position to try and protect her body from the pain, though she didn’t run from it. She wouldn’t dare run. You didn’t run from your handler. She felt the intense spray pelt her back as if being hit with hundreds of tiny needles.

Warm… At least it was warm… No… It was too warm… Too warm. It hurt… Like a burn from the sun, shining down on exposed pale skin. No—it was worse than that. It burned.

It burned like fire.

Burned like fire.

Like fire.

Fire.

Her eyes snapped open, pupils dilating and filling with a newfound focus, as if someone had turned the lights on in a dark room and she could finally see what before were only blurry shapes. She lifted her head, her body shaking under the force of the hose and made eye contact with the man who sprayed her.

Her handler held her gaze for a long while and then broke eye contact to turn off the water. The hose went limp and he carelessly dropped it on the floor, unwilling to roll it. “Put your close on.” He commanded as the quivering girl’s expression bounced between moments of clarity, and empty gazes while she struggled to get onto her feet. She was like a newborn deer, experimenting with her limbs for the first time. “We’re going downstairs.”

Bucky’s leg shook, he bounced it up and down upon the floor of the Quinjet with his arms crossed. Though they wouldn’t be landing in their location for several more minutes, he had his gun strapped to his back and his blades in their holders. He was wound tight like a spring that would launch at any moment. He was riddled with anxiety and impatience.

That anxiety spread.

“Quit it.” Steve murmured, his eyes darting to Bucky’s leg.

“Make me.” Bucky muttered back almost childishly.

Steve wisely didn’t take the bait, settling for crossing his arms over his chest. He’d been warned before not to poke a bear. The same premise applied to the former Winter Soldier.

“Children. Don’t make me turn this jet around.” Tony’s voice came from the front of the Jet, standing behind Natasha’s seat. He didn’t bother to turn his head. Obviously, he wasn’t going to turn the jet around, but his attempt at humor fell on deaf ears. Nothing could dwindle Bucky’s impatience.

“We’re above our target.” Natasha murmured, more to Tony than anyone.

But of course, Bucky heard it. No sooner had Natasha reached the period in her sentence than Bucky was on his feet and punching the button on the control panel which opened the exit ramp. The cabin filled with the chill outside air, tousling the hero’s inside.

“Bucky, wait!” Steve called, but Bucky had already thrown a parachute onto his back and jumped without looking back.

There was a long pause in the Quinjet before Steve moved to put on a chute for himself.

“So, jumping out of planes must be a super soldier trait.” Tony mumbled.

Tony had already hit the button to close the exit, giving Steve a look. “Just wait until we land. He’s not stupid enough to charge into battle alone.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Natasha called from the front of the jet, finally turning his head. “That’s another super soldier trait.”

Bucky wasn’t crazy enough to fall without a parachute, that height was too much even for him. However, the parachute wouldn’t last long. As he fell, he refrained from pulling the chute until he was half way to the ground, allowing the chute to slow his descent before ditching it. He unbuckled himself from the safety device and free fell the rest of the way, landing on the concrete roof of the building with a loud ‘thud’.

Bucky wasn’t stupid enough to go into the building alone.

But he was angry enough.

In four confident strides he was at the door of the roof. He gripped the handle, the metal forming to his metal hand like clay, before he ripped the door from its’ hinges.

Immediately there was a commotion, the sound of men barking at each other in Russian. He narrowed his eyes, they hadn’t observed any other HYDRA operatives enter the building during their surveillance, brief as it was.

The soldier didn’t take the time to wait, to analyze how many people he heard. It didn’t matter. They were all dead the minute Vasiliev took Cassandra. He descended the stairs just as four men tracked up. Four men, four bullets, each between the eyes. The Winter Soldier was back with a new mission and there would be no mercy shown—not like his avenger comrades.

Stepping over the bodies that had rolled down the stairs, Bucky’s stride continued. On his path several doors opened with new enemies, few took a step out into the hall before a bullet was embedded into them. That is, until he rounded a corner.

Three men approached Bucky, guns drawn. Bucky lifted his palm to the barrel of the gun closest to him, it went off and the bullet was crushed against his hand. Expressionless, he ripped the gun from the man’s hand and kneed him in the stomach as he fell forward.

The unnamed man slumped against him and Bucky took the opportunity to use him as a human shield as he reached over, firing his gun at the other two assailants.

As their bodies hit the ground, Bucky pushed the man who stood limp against him to the wall, his metal hand at his throat. “Where is she?” He asked, his Russian as clear as when he was a brainwashed tool.

The man swallowed, or at least attempted to as the male lifted a shaking hand and pointed downward. Bucky nodded and squeezed down harder, snapping the male’s neck before dropping him in a pile with his friends.

The puppet’s eyes stayed up to the ceiling, focused but submissive. She wasn’t looking at anything, and her thoughts drifted between moments of nothingness and snippets of a memory that wasn’t hers. Not as far as she could tell anyway.

Her breathing was even, but hollow—an action devoid of any real life or desire to live, but rather a reflex.

The chair she sat in whirred to life and a pair of shackles built into the chair snapped shut around her wrists as the many attachments and panels on the chair shifted, slowly drifting to her head with occasional sputtering in the flow of its’ movements. It’d clearly not been used in a while.

As she shut her eyes in preparation for the mechanics coming down upon her skull, a mangled sound came over the radio her handler held at his station.

“Vasiliev—!” The words, whatever it was that would have followed such a panicked tone, were cut off by a scream of pain and a gargling sound over the radio the handler kept on his person. A moment later, the doors to the room she sat in where kicked open, one smacking against the wall, the other sliding across the floor as it was dislodged from its’ hinges.

“Kukol’nyy!” Her handler barked at her, orders didn’t need to be spoken, she knew instinctively—defend.

However, as she tried to stand, the chair’s shackles kept her in place. She yanked at the metal, but it wouldn’t budge. It was made for someone much stronger than she was.

The intruder, who’s name she didn’t know, trained his cold gaze upon her handler as his hand reached for the lever that would free her from the chair. He lifted his hand and fired his gun, shooting through her handler, though she couldn’t make out where he had been struck.

She growled and pulled at the shackles, doing an excellent impersonation of a trapped animal.

“Cassandra…” The long-haired male murmured in a voice just above a whisper as he approached the woman in the chair. His hands gripped the shackles around her wrists and pulled, grunting with the effort until the metal bindings snapped open.

The woman paused, looking down at the male’s hands as he shifted to open the other shackle, the second one quickly relived the same fate as the first and the man looked at her with eyes that finally held some sort of emotion.

“Doll…” He murmured, his hands coming up to gently hold her shoulders. She looked up at him with a confused expression. He looked familiar.

Right. She ran into him once before… A long time ago.

Did she know him?

“It’s okay doll… I’m gonna take you home… We’re going home…”

The girl blinked a few times, as if trying to clear dust from her eyes, her lips parting to speak. “H—”

“Kukol’nyy, ugroza*!”

Her jaw set tightly, and her head came forward, hitting the male in the face and making him stumble backwards with the force as she lunged towards him. The male covered his face with his forearm, blood trickling from his nose under the force of the headbutt. Meanwhile the girl dropped down and hooked her leg at her threat’s ankles, sending him on his back.

The puppet quickly got on top of him, straddling his waist and latching her hand around his throat.

He lifted his metal hand and latched it to the crook of her arm, forcing it to bend and disconnect from his neck as he flipped them over, pinning her hand down with his metal arm, his human hand squeezing her neck.

She struggled, growling as she tried to pry his hand from her neck and lift her arm from under the metal palm.

“Easy there, Doll.”

She froze, looking up at him without anger, or malice—but realization and confusion. Her lips slightly parted as she panted. Memories, blurry like a dream she couldn’t remember, danced over her vision. Smiles, skin on skin, gentle kisses, a moon lit room, looking up at bright blue eyes. Her head hurt. So many visions she couldn’t properly interpret—yet they were so familiar.

“Bucky…” The word tasted familiar on her tongue. Though she didn’t know how she knew it.

The man on top of her, with eyes from her dreams, widened and his grip on her neck retracted. “Doll?”

She looked up at him in confusion but propped herself up on her shoulders. God why did her head hurt so much? “Who…?” There were so many thoughts in her head that didn’t make sense—like puzzle pieces that didn’t fit—out of order and the wrong sizes.

Suddenly her back arched and she screamed in pain, a little disk at her neck sending a painful current through her body.

“Cassandra!” Bucky, gripped her shoulder, like if he could hold her in place long enough she may stop convulsing. He turned his head to see Vasiliev, holding a little remote. He took his thumb off the button and Cassandra went limp on the floor, weak and panting, charred marks on her body. That current might have killed a normal person.

“Not quite as good as the chair,” Vasiliev murmured, tossing the remote up and catching it back in his hand. “But it will do in a pinch.”

Bucky stood up. He didn’t draw his gun. He wanted the pleasure of ripping this guy’s spine out with his bare hands. He took a step forward, but the girl on the floor had curled her knees in and pushed herself back on her feet before jumping up onto the males back, trying to knock him off balance. Bucky didn’t have a choice. He reached behind himself and pulled her forward as he bent, tossing her into the opposing concrete wall. She hit it with a loud crash, and an indentation formed where she hit. When she fell to the floor, it was hard to tell if the sickening crack was from the girl or the concrete.

After a long moment of motionlessness, she tried to push herself up onto her hands and knees but let out an agonized cry and fell back onto the floor, unable to support herself. “Stay down, doll.” Bucky growled.

As he approached Vasiliev again, the doors behind the doctor opened and a team of HYDRA agents flooded in, firing in Bucky’s direction. He quickly ducked behind a pillar, taking cover from the fire as he looked over at Cassandra, who hadn’t moved from the floor.

From the other side of the room, came Captain America and Ironman. The bullets bounced off of Cap’s shield before he threw it, taking out two of the men for at least a moment. It bounced against the wall and flew back in Cap’s direction. He snatched the flying disk from their air as Ironman charged his blasters and shot in the opposing team’s direction.

Another HYDRA member had made their way to Cassandra, but quickly found himself attached to the wall by a sticky web that came from above. Peter jumped down and landed beside Bucky. “Uh Mr. Winter Soldier, Bucky—uhh Sir… You should get your girlfriend.” He said awkwardly before stringing himself to the other side of the room to kick another agent to the floor. As the team covered him, Bucky made is move to Cassandra.

“Kukol’nyy! Get. Up!” Came Vasiliev’s voice. Cassandra moved to push herself up again and let out a howl of pain, forcing her to lean against the wall as she stumbled to her feet. As Bucky approached, the girl threw a weak punch which he easily deflected. He caught the fist and pulled her forward, about to fling her over his shoulder when she howled in pain again as the disk gave a low toned buzz at her neck, making her blood boil and her skin burn. She dropped to her knees, falling out of Bucky’s grip.

“Doll!” Bucky moved to pick her up again, only to be kicked in the side, sending him back. Another HYDRA operative forced Bucky back in hand to hand combat.

“Get the girl!” Vasiliev barked, shoving the male beside him in her direction. He quickly ran to her forcing her to her feet and pulling her from the room, out the door.

“No!” Bucky growled, but he couldn’t get around the male in front of him. A blast finally knocked the male from his path and Bucky looked to Tony who gestured with his head for Bucky to go in the direction of Cassandra as the HYDRA operatives quickly filed out of the room, shooting behind them to hold the heroes back.

Steve ran to Bucky’s side, the two of them running down the hall with Steve’s shield up to keep the bullets from striking them. The hallway lead outside, were several HYDRA agents were mounting bikes and ATVs. Steve’s shield lowered in time to see Cassandra and the operative who’d retrieved her mounting a motorcycle and disappearing into the woods.

Bucky moved to follow them but was held off by the operatives that had not yet made their getaway. The other avengers came on the scene to fend off the remaining operatives, but when the metaphoric dust had cleared, Cassandra and Vasiliev were gone again—Leaving a particular super soldier shaking with rage.

A/N: Forgive any mistakes. I was in a hurry to post this (finally) and I'm sure I didn't read as carefully as I normally do for mistakes!

Like how I explained away Infinity War? Yeah I had to do that. #ignoringiw

*Ugroza = Threat

Your kudos and your comments made me come back so thank you guys!

Kudos make my heart sing an comments give me life.

Let me know if you're happy this story is back. I've mapped out the final chapters so this story will be a total of 25 chapters long so we still have somethings to come!

Follow me on tumblr if you want, I'm open for fanfic requests and stuff!

[imagine-loki]

The Sound of Silence

TITLE: The Sound of Silence CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 15/47 AUTHOR: nekoamamori ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine you are mute, and Loki comes to Avengers tower for the first time. Loki asks you a question and you answer through sign language. Loki looks at you crazy and thinks your making fun of him, he starts yelling saying that you should respect him since he’s a god and prince.  RATING: T+ NOTES/WARNINGS: Also on AO3 Click here

    It didn’t take long for Thor to return. He was carrying a blanket, a plate piled with sandwiches, and the book you had been reading. He handed you one of the blankets after he’d set everything down. “Spread that on the ground. There’s no need for you to sit on the hard concrete,” he told you. He lifted Loki gently in his arms, despite Loki’s small child-like protest. You spread the blanket out quickly and resettled in your spot, laying Loki’s head in your lap again when Thor laid him back down. “I should get back upstairs before the others come looking for all three of us. Loki would not wish for them to see him like this. No one will question just the two of you being missing, since that is a fairly normal occurrence. If I am gone too, they will come looking. Will you be alright taking care of him?��� You could tell Thor felt bad leaving Loki’s care to you.

    You nodded. [I love him too, Thor. Besides, he won’t be upset if I see him like this. He’s seen me worse] Loki saw your scars and the bruises on your soul every day.

    “Have you told him that you love him yet?” Thor asked. You blushed and wouldn’t look at him. You had just told Loki, but weren’t sure he was actually awake enough to comprehend what you’d said.

    [Once…] you signed slowly.

    Thor’s expression fell. “Did he not return the sentiment?” Thor’s voice was gentle and kind. “I am sure he loves you as well. He was never good at expression such emotions…”

    You gestured to Loki. [I don’t think he heard me] you tried to smile, but you had to admit to yourself that you were worried about what Loki really felt. He hadn’t said the words either. You knew logically that he loved you, all of the little gestures and courtesies he gave you all the time told you clearly enough. You knew better than anyone that words weren’t the most important thing.

    “You know he cares for you,” Thor told you gently. You nodded and made a shooing motion. He laughed and stood. He kissed your forehead before he left. He had adopted you as family, just as all the Avengers had. “Call if you need anything,”

    Loki’s skin finally started to cool in the freezer room as you stroked his hair and read your book. You were shivering, but refused to leave Loki alone. Besides, shivering was better than the heatstroke everyone was suffering. Loki finally stirred a long while after you’d found this room for him. “What’s going on?” he asked, confused, sitting up and looking around the unfamiliar room. You touched his arm so he would focus on you.

    [The heat got to you] you explained.

    He looked ashamed, then when he understood what your words meant. “I’m sorry…”

    [No need to be sorry] you signed quickly. He was still confused, so you explained the state you’d found him in that morning, what this room was, and what Thor had told you about Loki’s heritage.

    “I’m sorry you had to find out like that. Thor should not have been the one to tell you, but my heritage never seemed important enough to bring up,” he said softly, embarrassed. You saw the bruised look and shame in his expression and pulled him into a hug.

    When he finally calmed again you signed [We just need to make sure the AC doesn’t go out again] and giggled at him.

    He sighed. “Yes, that was unpleasant, especially since the heat drained my magic before I could do anything about it. But there is more…” he hesitated. You waited patiently. He sighed. “You deserve the truth,” he hesitated a moment longer, but steeled himself. His form shimmered and suddenly his skin was dark blue, his eyes blood red when he opened them again. The form was foreign, alien, but he was your Loki, even like this he had a strange beauty. You moved over to him and kissed him lightly. He hesitated, nervous, worried, but sank into the kiss, when it was clear you weren’t just kissing him to make him feel better, but because you loved him and wanted to kiss him.

    You finally broke the kiss and went to get the plate of sandwiches. Loki’s form shimmed back to his usual Asgardian form. You handed Loki the plate of sandwiches firmly. He hadn’t eaten in days. You watched him devour the entire plate of sandwiches, except the one he insisted you eat. “Darling, it is way too cold in here for you, especially in that wonderful outfit,” he told you when he finally caught you shivering. You shrugged, but blushed when he commented on the thin slip you were wearing. Loki focused and summoned another blanket to hand to you. You realized his magic was still weak when it took that much focus to summon a blanket.

    When Thor returned to check on you, he found you and Loki curled up together in the blankets. Loki was curled around you as the big spoon, your head rested on his arm as a pillow, his other arm draped protectively over you.

    “Go ‘way Thor,” Loki growled softly when Thor’s chuckle stirred him.

    “I am glad you are doing better, brother,” Thor replied, sounding truly relieved.

    *

    Tony got the AC fixed the next day so you were finally able to come out of seclusion in the server room. Your school schedule came in the mail and you dragged Loki out to the store with you to buy supplies for the year. You were looking forward to getting back to a normal life, but you were nervous too, and also feeling sad that you weren’t going to spend all day every day with Loki once classes started. You never spent that much time outside of the tower, even with Loki, but especially without him or one of the other team members. Now you were going to have to spend all day with human high schoolers and no Loki

    The day before classes started, Cap sat you down to go over the rules of your return to school. Someone on the team was taking you to school and picking you up every day. By someone he meant Loki, most likely. There was to be absolutely no use of your powers among the humans, and no telling anyone what you powers were. He especially didn’t want the kids to find out about your ability to see the future. You nodded and accepted his rules.

    Cap let you out of training for the day, so you spent the rest of the day in Loki’s room, thoroughly enjoying making out with your boyfriend. He seemed to mind oh so much.

    *

    You growled at your alarm when it went off during what was usually your morning nap time. You actually had to stick to a sleep schedule now. You dressed quickly in the nice shirt and new capris you’d bought at the store last week. It was tradition to look nice on the first day of school. After that you’d go back to your normal t-shirts and jeans.

    You were surprised Loki wasn’t waiting in the hall for you. He had insisted he was walking you to school today. You went downstairs, guessing he had already gone downstairs without you. “Good morning, darling,” he called the greeting when you got off the elevator. You dropped your bag by the elevator and followed the sound of Loki’s voice. He was in the kitchen, standing at the stove. You rushed over, concerned for whatever he was attempting to cook. He chuckled and kissed the top of your head before he handed you a plate of eggs and sausages. You grinned at him and his adorable smile of pride at his accomplishment of cooking the human way. You stood up on your toes to kiss him. “You’re welcome,” he replied automatically, used to your silent thanks after months of living with you.

    You took your usual spot at the dining room table and Loki sat across from you. You ate breakfast in companionable silence. “I will get the dishes,” Loki told you firmly before you could get up to do them. “This time,” he added quickly. It would usually be your job to do the dishes since he’d cooked. You’d never had to do them because he cooked before. He wasn’t usually allowed. You giggled at him and he used magic to vanish the dishes.

    You checked your phone for the time and jumped to your feet. You had to get going if you were going to make it to class on time. “Wait a moment, Y/N,” Loki bid you softly as he stood too. You turned to face him, giving him your undivided attention since he had actually used your name for once instead of a pet name or term of endearment. “I wish to ask you for a favor,” he began hesitantly. You waited patiently for him to continue. He summoned a small box, like one that would come from a jewelry store. “Would you wear this for me?” he asked so softly and nervously that you wondered what the catch was. You took the box and opened it, finding a beautiful golden necklace inside. It was a heart-shaped locket with an image of yggdrasil on the front of it with emerald gems at the ends of yggdrasil’s branches. It wasn’t lost on you that the locket was in Loki’s colors of green and gold. You set the box down and opened the locket, figuring the reason behind his hesitation was inside. Inside the locket was a lock of his hair. You recognized it immediately. You snapped the locket back shut and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Please?” he asked softly, nearly begging.

    [It’s beautiful. But why?] You unclasped the necklace to fasten it around your neck. Loki was behind you in an instant and fastened it for you while you held your hair out of the way.

    “I’ll explain while we walk,” Loki offered. You nodded and took his hand so you could walk together to the school. It wasn’t more than a mile or so walk and the weather had cooled some, so Loki wouldn’t die on the trip. You reached for your school bag, but Loki grabbed it before you could. You stuck your tongue out at him, but he insisted on carrying it. You didn’t argue with his courtesy. You didn’t have to rush and got to stroll leisurely to school with your boyfriend. You let him stall for about half the trip before you drew his attention back to the locket. “I dislike that you will be out in potential danger all day without aid in easy reach. I know you can take care of yourself, but you were already overpowered once with terrible results,” he unconsciously ran his thumb across the long deep scar that ran down the entire inside of your left arm. “If you need help, I will be able to find you and reach you much more quickly if you are wearing my token,”

    [Because it has your hair?] you signed quickly, then took his hand again. He inclined his head in agreement. His magic would be able to find the piece of himself immediately. He had explained magical concepts to you all summer, so you knew a lot of the theory even if you couldn’t do the magic yourself.

    “Exactly,” he replied with a proud smile. He hadn’t been expecting you to remember how the magic worked. You nodded and decided against arguing. It wasn’t worth his piece of mind, especially when wearing it didn’t hurt you any, plus the necklace was gorgeous.

    When you reached the entrance to the school, Loki kissed you goodbye long and deeply, as though he’d never see you again, and not just for a few hours of school. The kiss didn’t break until Sammi grabbed your arm. “C’mon, Y/N, we’re going to be late,” she grumbled at you and dragged you away from Loki. Loki pouted and you laughed while you took your bag back from him. You waved at him and linked arms with Sammi to walk into the school together.

    “I will meet you here after school, darling!” Loki called after you. You waved again to acknowledge his words and disappeared with Sammi into the school.

[fictioninmyblood]

Protector of Her Heart

Chapter Two

Note: I am new to writing fanfic (this is my first one). I welcome constructive criticism as well as pointers and tips for bettering my blog. Thank you for reading :)

Summary: Elinora is an empath’s version of Professor X, only a lot more powerful. She is an enhanced human with the ability to read the world’s emotions. Nick Fury has welcomed her into the fold, but with a fear of herself she has been quite reserved. A forced bonding night with the newly discovered Wakandan royalty brings her out of the shadows of fear and into the light of lust.

Warning: some language, implied smut, 18+

Previous Chapter

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

As everyone grabbed a plate and sat down Elinora could not help but be wary of the giant warrior who succeeded in what she had always assumed was impossible. Not knowing what to do with the emotions swirling around her head she decided it was best to just avoid him. Unfortunately everyone else thought it best that he stayed by her side. She sat in between Tony and Natasha hoping for some time to process, but Tony got up for M’Baku, dashing her silent plea.

M’Baku turned his chair towards hers, getting as close as possible placing his left arm on the back of her chair in a protective manner.

“So, since this is basically the first time everyone at the table has gotten to meet you, why don't you properly introduce yourself?”

Elinora glared at Natasha while trying to muster up the courage to speak to such a large group of intimidating people, well except for Peter, he was too young and adorable to scare her. While staring and picking at her food nervously…

“Um, well, my name is Elinora, but I uh mostly go by Nora or Eli, well Nora. Only my little brother and sister call me Eli. Well, Ewi with a w cause they're still toddlers, but that's not important and I’m babbling.”

M’Baku sensed her distress and started rubbing small circles at the base of her neck. She relaxed into his touch ever so slightly, taking a deep breath, she continued...

“And I'm uh, an empath, um as previously demonstrated, sorry about that. And I’m uh also a keep to myself person so I'm not used to a whole lot of interactions with people I don't know. So um can I be excused from whatever Natasha roped a 4am me into?”

She finally looked up and saw determined looks on most everybody's face. Except for Okoye, because she was still skeptical of this girl who could not even string a full sentence together, but could somehow control how they all acted. And M’Baku whose face was mixed with determination and confusion. He could not understand how such a beauty could be so intimidated by the people around her and life. It would seem they had all decided as one that she needed to get out of the house either way.

Ignoring her request Natasha took control of the situation…

“If everyone is done eating I was thinking that us girls could help Nora with some shopping and her hair. Mostly F.R.I.D.A.Y. for the hair because I haven't the first clue.”

“Who's that? I don't remember a Friday being introduced. Isn’t that a day of the week? You Americans have such weird names.”

T’Challa leaned in and half whispered,“That is Tony's A.I. Shuri.”

“You would leave the beautification of natural hair to an artificial intelligence born from a colonizers mind? I don't know how to respond to that kind of stupidity.”

“Shuri!” The king looked at her with a silent look of please shut up before you get us kicked out or killed.

“What?! I'm just saying, you leave beautiful hair like ours in the hands of white people and bad shit happens, like straightening it in a non natural way. Burnt hair smells man and I'm really not in a gas mask mood.”

“I apologize for her bluntness.”

Natasha laughed the king’s apology away, she understood the young woman’s concern and welcomed the bluntness of her words.

“It’s quite alright T’Challa. I appreciate her concern because it is the same as mine.”

Nora spoke up just a little putting the lot of them out of their misery.

“Um guys, I kinda already have that covered, no pun intended.”

“For bast sake woman! How long were you going to keep this to yourself?”

Nora didn't know how to process Shuri’s question. Was she truly angry? The young woman had a way with words, always so passionate, but Nora could not tell the true emotion behind them.

“I’m sorry, I uh understand why Natasha and the rest of the gang didn't know, but I kinda assumed that you all would be able to deduce that I did something to my hair underneath the scarf. It’s in braids, all I have to do is take them out.”

Nakia jumped in hoping to ease the skittish woman's worry.

“It is quite alright, we understand your silence, right Shuri?”

She looked pointedly at Shuri, but there was no budge until with a cross of M’Baku’s arms and a lift of his eyebrow she produced a shake of her head in agreement.

“So shall we leave?  And do you boys want to join us?” Natasha locked eyes with T’Challa and Tony hoping that they could see that M’Baku being nearby would be wise.

M’Baku was too busy watching Nora even though she still refused to look at him, so T’Challa answered for them both.

“We will come, I need to help M’Baku not stand out as much possible as well anyway.”

Okoye laughed picking on M’Baku in a sisterly manner, saying in their native language, “no matter what clothes you put on him, a monkey is still a monkey, just in a suit.”

Shuri giggled and thought to add more fuel to this amusing fire, in Xhosa of course.

“And I'm sure the monkey would surely do some tricks if it pleased his master.” She looked between M’Baku and Nora hoping to get her point across.

T’Challa was amused by this banter but he felt bad for the big guy. He was obviously falling hard and fast for this girl. Switching to English...

“For bast sake, leave the man alone lest you run him back into seclusion.”

“For Hanuman’s sake, I have told you time and again that i will not jeopardize the Jabari’s shift into modern society any further. I will go with you and let you dress me in the suffocating fashions of this place.

Nora inadvertently whispered out loud...  “Such a beautiful language, I could listen to them bicker all day.”

Everyone’s head swiveled to her and this became one of the moments that she was grateful for her mocha skin tone because boy was she embarrassed. She shrunk back accidentally making contact with the exposed skin of M’Baku’s arm making her jump up and start clearing the table.

“Is everyone done?”

She moved quickly gathering and putting all of the dishes in the sink and rushing to her room.

“If you give me 10 minutes, I’ll uh go change and meet ya’ll at the front door.”

She scurried away chastising herself for being so careless with her thoughts. It didn’t help that her traitorous body, was protesting with every step she took away from M’Baku. It was like walking up a mountain, every step away from him made it harder for her to breathe. At this rate she was going to have a stupid panic attack whenever he wasn’t next to her.

M’Baku watched her dart towards the elevator and walk in, head down in shame. He wanted to go after her, comfort her, and figure out why the hell his chest was getting tight when she left his sight.

“Do you think you can make me match her clothes T’Challa?”

The Wakandan king looked at the Jabari leader with humor in his eyes. This guy really has it bad. Shaking his head...

“Only if the ladies work together with us, but why do you want to match?”

“I want her to see us as a unit and I want to try and woo her, make her see she is mine.”

Sam crossed his arms and went into big brother mode.

“You just met her, and by the looks of it, you scare her and make her even more jumpy than usual.”

Bucky defended the Wakandan to everyone’s surprise, “But did you see how he calmed her, without even knowing her name, he knew her soul and she knew his. It’s like what Natasha and Bruce have only stronger. I wish I had someone to bring me out of my dark place when I was still....well you know.”

“When did you become so sentimental Buck?” Steve asked.

“I agree with Buck. She may be more jumpy, but it’s obviously just from not knowing how to react to the strangeness of their relationship.” Natasha put her two sense in.

But Sam was still skeptical, “if we can even call it that, but whatever. Just don’t hurt her, I like her happy cooking.”

“Do not worry, I would die for her. I know her deep in my bones and I can’t deny whatever connection we have so I will nurture it instead. Please help me, I don’t want to waste time.”

“No need to beg man, we will help.”

They all nodded in unison.

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

“Are they almost ready F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”

“They are still getting ready Mr. Stark, I will notify you when they are coming.”

“Come on Mr. Stark, I wanna go!”

“No Peter you are too young to even get into a club let alone drink. I’m not risking jail time. Vision and Wanda will keep you company.”

“Ms. Natasha will be down shortly”, F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted.

“Fucking finally?! Are the rest with her?”

“No sir”

“This is not fair!” Peter wailed, proving to be the child everyone thought.

“What is?”

Natasha walked out of the elevator in a slimming black dress with her black red bottom Louboutin’s.

“Is she ready yet? The big guy is getting more and more antsy.”

Tony looked over at M’Baku bouncing his knee nervously and rubbing his chest every now and again.

“They’ll be down soon. Don’t get your panties in a wad Tony.”

“Well, you'd understand if you had to deal with the antsy giant and the annoying king.”

“They are arriving Mr. Stark.”

T’Challa and M’Baku stood at the sound of the elevator ding. Out walked Okoye, Shuri, Nakia, and finally Nora. M’Baku immediately locked eyes with his beauty.

His eyes traveled from the black and gold platform heels that brought her just under his head to the dark skinny jeans that made her legs look a mile long highlighting every curve up until her waist. He lingered on the peek of skin at her torso and grazed over the black crop top that hung off her shoulders exposing her neck but slightly hid her buxom breasts with ruffles. When he got to her lips and just about passed out. Her lips were a deep red matte lipstick that gave him all manners of sinful ideas like him eating blackberries from her full breasts and feeding her in return, but with...something else. She left her face bare with just enough mascara on for her eyelashes to lightly brush her cheeks every time she blinked. Her hair was styled with a few cornrows on the left pushing her full curly hair to the right brushing her shoulder and covering her eye if she leaned forward slightly.

Licking his lips he realized that he was suddenly very parched. Adjusting himself as discreetly as possible as he walked towards her, he thought to himself...

This night is going to kill me, I have to make her mine.

Nora felt self conscious about what the girls had helped her pick out, she thought it clung too much and showed too much skin. She had always been told, “big girls shouldn’t wear stuff like that” but when she saw the way M’Baku devoured her with his eyes, she couldn't help but feel desired. He looked like a starved man and couldn't help but imagine what it'd be like if she was on his menu. Slowly she realized that they were somehow matching and assumed that their collective group of people set this up. He was clad in an all black outfit like her except his gold was on the lapels of his blazer. Next she noticed how his outfit hugged him in all the right places, and she flushed with sudden heat. She envisioned climbing into his lap and snuggling into his neck, basically acting like a cat and oh how she wanted him to pet her kitty. Taken aback by the thought she shook off the feeling and tried to ignore the pulsing in her panties. The latter was basically impossible to do with him now standing so close so she went back to looking at the floor to avoid her thoughts running out of her mouth again.

Damn this night is going to kill me if he keeps standing this close.

Chapter Three

Tags: @skysynclair19 @biglipsandafropicks

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

My Eyes - Part 6

Pairing: Bucky; Steve x Fem/Reader

Word Count: 4,721

Story Description: Steve is a good man, America’s golden boy, a hero. He’s Captain America for christ’s sake! So it’s normal to want what he has… right? Bucky knows he doesn’t deserve her. He doesn’t even deserve the second chance at life he’s been given. But Bucky can never let him know. Steve can never find out that his friend is in love with his best girl.

Story takes place post “CA: CW” and all tension has been resolved.

Previously On...

                                           2 YEARS LATER

Despite Fury’s threats, Bucky tried to find Y/N. He exhausted all of his resources. When he couldn’t sleep, which was far too often, he would try to find her. After the first few months, he even tried calling her family. But either Fury or Y/N had already thought of that and must’ve changed all their contact info.

The rest of the team was so heartbroken by Y/N abandoning them that they couldn’t find the energy to go looking for her. They didn’t think she wanted to see them anyway. If what she wanted was to disappear, they decided to let her.

Bucky obviously didn’t see it the same way. Months turned into a year and then the year turned into another year. Eventually, Bucky ran out of leads.

Without the objective of finding Y/N and without Steve, Bucky had never felt so lost. He handled it the only way he knew how: fighting. He took on every mission that was offered. Bucky volunteered for the most dangerous assignments, offering to go unaccompanied and lowering the risk of anyone else getting hurt. Everyone knew what he was doing.

After a year of it, Sam intervened. He’d seen just about everything when it came to how soldiers dealt with the loss of a loved one. After countless yelling matches, Sam finally convinced Bucky to see a therapist. Even with the impossible hole Steve left in Bucky’s life, Sam tried his hardest to fill it. The dangerous missions didn’t stop, but at least Bucky could talk about why he was doing it with a professional.

It was a hot summer night in upstate New York. The sound of grasshoppers and other lively critters used to be comforting. But now they gave Bucky another excuse for being restless. He decided to go for a run in the surrounding forest. He didn’t return until 20 miles later, at 3 o’clock in the morning.  

Bucky was surprised to find Natasha standing in the grassy opening outside the compound. She was wearing a cotton robe and had her infamous smirk on her lips. It was obvious she had been expecting him.

“You put a tracker on me, Romanoff?” Bucky huffed, still trying to catch his breath from sprinting the last couple of miles.

“Your habits are too predictable for me to ever need one.” She replied.

Bucky wasn’t wearing a shirt, just baggy shorts and running shoes.  An iPod was strapped to his bicep. It used to be Steve’s. Bucky suspected that Y/N had been the one to fill it with music since it was organized in playlists based of their genre and/or era. He’d grown pathetically attached to it.

“Did you need something?” Bucky asked bluntly, not trying to be rude but knowing she didn’t just happen to be outside in the middle of the night.

“Fury left a little bit ago.” She said as if she hadn’t heard his question.

“That so?” Bucky hummed uninterested, putting his hands on his hips.

“This is the only area that doesn’t have audio surveillance and I can easily erase the video footage after.” Nat stated.

Bucky was now slightly more interested. “Romanoff, what the hell is going on? Are you planning on killing me and hiding the body?”

With that wicked side smirk, Nat stepped forward and held out a piece of paper to him.

Bucky took it without breaking her gaze. When he glanced down, there were coordinates written down in Natasha’s flawless handwriting.

“That’s where she is.” Nat clarified.

It took Bucky a couple seconds to put together what he was actually holding. And once he did, his eyes snapped up to Nat’s in utter disbelief.  “H-How…?”

“It’s been a process. I would’ve gotten it sooner, but Nick made one hell of a firewall for me to get through. It also changed its coding every month, so there were occasions when I wasn’t fast enough to break it in time. I kept having to start over.” She explained the process so modestly, like she hadn’t just hacked into a system that was more protected than The White House.

Bucky’s grip on the thin piece of paper turned vice-like. “Nat…I-I don’t understand…Why?”

The smirk on her lips finally disappeared. “Do you remember that 4th of July after you first moved here? We forced Steve to celebrate his birthday. But he would only agree if it was just the team, that way Y/N could be with him.”

Bucky’s brow furrowed, but he nodded.

“It’s always the moment I go to when I try to think about when we were altogether and just being…happy.” Nat sighed as she got a dazed look. “Tony, of course, managed to get all of those ridiculous fireworks to be set off at midnight. We were all watching them. But I just happened to glance at you. And right when I did, you were looking at Y/N. She was in Steve’s arms, staring up at the sky. We all were. That’s how I almost missed it. I must be getting rusty, because it took me almost a year to catch you. I must admit, you were good at hiding it… because I never caught it ever again. Everything else made sense after that: why you never talked to her and how, when you did, you were so unfriendly.”

Bucky’s hands were clutched into fists. Then he looked at the ground in shame. “Do you-…Nat, do you think he knew?” He barely had the courage to ask.

“I don’t think so.” She assured him.

Then Nat was closing the distance between them. Her hand lightly cupped his cheek, bringing his head up. “I’m sorry you lost both of them. I didn’t know how else to help without upsetting you. This was all I could think of.” She gestured to his flesh fist that was protecting the piece of paper.

“Fury’s not going to be happy with you.” Bucky warned.

She shrugged. “Let me handle Fury.”

Bucky stared down at the numbers, memorizing them without realizing it.

“Hey…” Nat softly grabbed his attention. “You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. I just thought you should have it.”

Bucky had been so focused on looking for Y/N that he never thought about what he would do when he finally found her.

---

                                        ONE YEAR LATER

It took him another year just to have the courage to finally jump in a car and go.

The coordinates put Y/N’s location in the middle of Montana. She sure hadn’t messed around when it came to seclusion. It took Bucky over a day just to cross the state lines. He knew he could’ve borrowed a jet, no questions asked. But he needed the drive to calm his nerves and help him think of what he would actually say.

Bucky’s hands started shaking over the steering wheel when his mind drifted to Steve. Guilt seeped into the forefront of his mind when he remembered a conversation they’d once had.

Steve and Bucky had been flying a jet back from a mission that just needed the two of them. It was an easy in and out. But that didn’t stop the relief they both had as they took the journey back home.

Steve’s cellphone was ringing with constant text message alerts. They must finally have service and he was receiving all of them at once now.

Steve asked for Bucky to grab it for him since he was flying the jet.

“They’re all from Y/N.” Bucky informed him without looking at them. “And one’s from Sam telling you a spoiler from the Game of Thrones episode the other night.” Bucky chuckled.

Steve smiled at that. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

“Game of Thrones? You better not. I haven’t started the damn thing yet.” Bucky groaned.

“No…” Steve smiled, but there was a new seriousness in his eyes. “I wanted to talk to you about Y/N.”

“Yeah?” Bucky asked carefully.

“I know you two still haven’t really had a chance to get to know each other.” Steve prefaced. “But I just need to ask you something man to man.”

Bucky swore he was sweating. Had Steve figured everything out? He sounded so pleasant. But of course Steve would still be pleasant, even after finding out his best friend was in love with his girl.

“If anything were to ever happen to me… Can you promise me you’ll look after Y/N?” Steve glanced over at Bucky, jaw clenched.

Bucky felt a wave of relief. “Steve, that’s never going to happen.”

But Steve was expecting this situation. “We didn’t think we’d both become super soldiers. Neither of us ever expected to live past the new millennium, Buck. We don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

Bucky knew he had a point.

“I just need some peace of mind that she won’t be alone. I shoved this life onto her and I know it’s not fair that I can’t always promise a forever… at least not really. Just make sure you look after her. I know I’m asking a lot Bu-”

“Of course I will, Steve. You never even had to ask.” Bucky cut him off.

“When she moves on…” Steve looked down at the thought. “Please make sure he’s a good guy. She deserves that, especially after dealing with me.”

Bucky reached over and gripped Steve’s soldier. “Steve, I promise. Nothing would ever happen to her.” And his words rang true.

But Bucky drove to Y/N fully knowing he had broken his promise to his best friend. The optimistic or self-indulgent part of his brain (he couldn’t figure out which) told him that it wasn’t his fault Fury hid Y/N so well. But the devil on his shoulder told him that he hadn’t tried hard enough.

---

Y/N jumped awake as her tablet started ringing an alarm on her nightstand. Her heart raced as she realized it was alerting her of an intruder. She lived in a small cottage on a huge piece of land. The dirt road had multiple warnings about trespassing and it could not have been clearer that whoever lived on the property would alert authorities… or just shoot them.

Of all the time she’d lived there, nobody had ever tripped Y/N’s sensors. She lived so removed from society that no one even accidentally ventured far enough into her property to get an alarm. It just added more anxiety to Y/N as she whipped the covers off her body.

Porthos jumped awake and as he heard her shuffling to the vault in her closet. He growled when he spotted her pulling the rifle out.

“Come on, boy.” Y/N commanded as she raced down the stairs.

She opened the front door and saw headlights moving through the trees. Whoever was in the car, they were driving with too much of a purpose. They knew she was here and they were looking for her. There was no way someone, who was just lost, would get this far.

Y/N put the rifle to her dominant eye and placed the butt of it against her shoulder. She tried to calm her breathing. Porthos growled at the car, ready to protect his master as soon as it was necessary.

Y/N cursed to herself when she realized that if the person got out of the car, they would have the advantage of their headlights blinding her.

The car stopped, making Y/N’s heart beat even faster.

The headlights were right in her face, almost obscuring her from seeing even a silhouette.

“You’re trespassing on private property!” Y/N called out. “Legally, I can shoot you right now…so I advise you get back in your car and head back to the main road.” Her gun was aimed. Perhaps not well, but it would definitely do damage.

Porthos let out some terrifying snarls to add to her threat.

“When the hell did you learn how to shoot a gun?” The intruder asked.

Porthos suddenly whined and the ridges on his back relaxed. He knew that voice. The dog sniffed the air and then bolted towards the person.

“No, Porthos!” Y/N yelled, but kept her gun to her eye. However just as she yelled her command, she caught a shimmer on the person’s left arm. Even at night, without so much as a streetlight, she could tell they had a metal arm.

“Bucky?” Y/N whispered. Her gun lowered a little bit.

He was crouched down to his knee now and petting Porthos, who was attacking his face with kisses. The car’s headlights must have been on a timer once the engine was off, because they finally dimmed.

Y/N blinked, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness once again.

“Doll, can you please put the gun down? At least for Porthos’ sake?”

Y/N was in disbelief as she reluctantly lowered her rifle.

“What-What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Her voice was so disconcerted that it sent a wave of guilt to Bucky’s gut.

“Nat helped.” Bucky admitted sheepishly.

“You shouldn’t be here.” Y/N gaze darkened.

Bucky was finally walking toward her now. She didn’t seem to like this at all and walked backwards toward the steps of the front porch. Her expression was anxious while still remaining disconcerted from his intrusion.  

Bucky misinterpreted it as fear. She was scared of him. He held up his hands in surrender, hoping it would ease the worry on her face.

Y/N was a few steps inside her house, the gun still hanging tightly at her side. “Bucky, please, just go.” She begged him. Her eyes held no welcome, somehow stopping him from entering the home. So his large frame stood right outside.

“Y/N,” His voice was so soft. “I just came to check on you.”

Her jaw clenched at that. “I don’t need to be checked on. I don’t want to be… that’s why I disappeared.” Her eyes darkened. “Thought everyone would have taken the hint.”

Bucky opened his mouth to defend himself.

“Mommy?” A tiny and tired voice said behind Y/N. Porthos ran around Bucky to get to the child and give him a greeting by licking his face. The boy was so small that he made the dog look like a giant wolf.

Y/N’s eyes shut in defeat for a moment. But then she quickly shoved the gun into Bucky’s grasp before the child could see. Bucky caught on and hid it against the wall on the outside of the house, away from the boy’s view.

Bucky looked beyond Y/N to see the little boy. His heart stopped when he saw a carbon copy of Steve Rogers. The child had the same sandy hair and baby blue eyes. Even the tired, yet inquisitive expression was Steve’s.

“Jimmy, you’re not supposed to be out of bed.” Y/N reprimanded, but her tone was still gentle.

The little boy ignored his mother’s scolding. “Who is that?”

Y/N lifted him up into her arms and angled her body so Bucky was no longer in his view. But he still tried to twist around in his mother’s hold to look. Y/N disappeared around the corner and up a flight of stairs.

Bucky was frozen in place, unable to move his body.

Y/N returned a few minutes later. He saw her hand tremble as it ran anxiously through her hair. She took in a deep breath, clearly going through too many feelings and contemplations in her head. Finally she eyed Bucky, who still stood outside the house.

“You can come in, Bucky.” She sighed.

He didn’t move. “Jimmy?” It was practically a whisper.

“It’s short for James.” She shrugged innocently.

“Yes, I know what it’s short for.” He responded softly. “Y/N…I thought-you said you were going to…” He couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“I know. You deserve an explanation, I know.” Y/N admitted. “Please, can you just come inside?”

This finally broke Bucky’s daze. He slowly stepped into the tiny house and closed the front door behind him.

“Fuck, I need a drink.” Y/N muttered to herself.

Next thing Bucky knew, the two of them were sitting at the dinner table with beers in both of their hands. Y/N’s eyes were distant as she mindlessly messed with the paper logo on the bottle. Bucky just watched her patiently, waiting for her to start talking when she was ready.

“I was going to do it.” She finally muttered. “I was at the appointment. They were about to do the procedure and I just panicked. I realized that he was the only thing I had left of Steve. I-I started crying. I completely freaked out the doctors as I sobbed that I couldn’t go through with it. And… that was it.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Bucky asked.

“My family knew.” Y/N defended, finally lifting her gaze up to look at him.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” He corrected.

“Because I was mad at all of you, I was mad at your world. I thought if I bring a child into this life, I don’t want them to ever be a part of that.” Y/N didn’t mean to sound angry, but the words still hurt. “It was what that took Steve’s life.”

Bucky realized she was holding on by a thread. He felt even guiltier for his arrival. She tried to protect her and Steve’s child from danger and here Bucky came, bringing it right to her doorstep.  

“You named him James?” Bucky asked tenderly, trying to change the subject.

Y/N gave a shy smirk. “James Wilson Y/L/N.”

Bucky smiled at that. He knew Sam would probably try to hide the tears if he ever found out that Y/N named the boy after the two of them.

“I think it’s what he would’ve wanted.” Y/N wasn’t present in the room anymore. A few tears slid down her cheek. But she quickly wiped them away and sniveled. “Sorry… I haven’t talked about it in so long. Seeing you just reminds me of him so much.”

Bucky suddenly felt like there was no good he was doing here. He disrupted the sanctuary Y/N had created for not only her son, but also herself. The longer he stayed, the worst he was going to make their lives.

Suddenly he stood up. It was so abrupt that it made Y/N jump slightly.

“You’re right.” Bucky admitted. “I shouldn’t have come here.” He started walking toward the door.

Y/N rushed after him. “Bucky, wait!” He paused.

“The nearest motel is almost four hours away.” She warned him.

“It’s fine. I can sleep in my car.”

Y/N grabbed his shoulder. “It’s supposed to storm real bad. I’m not going to let you sleep in your car. You drove all the way here. God knows how long it took you. Buck…you can at least spend the night.”

Bucky read her expression for a moment. “I spent all this time trying to find you. But I never even considered the reasons for why you would want to hide in the first place.”

Y/N nodded. “I know you’re here because you feel you owe it to Steve.” It was the excuse she told herself that made her offer for him to stay. “Come on, you can sleep on the couch.” She added before he could say anything on the matter.

---

Y/N managed to sleep soundly. Maybe it was because she knew her and Jimmy were safe while Bucky was downstairs. But her sleep was interrupted when a crack of thunder practically shook the small house. Her eyes snapped open.

Jimmy would be sprinting into her room at any moment. He was terrified of thunderstorms, no matter how many times she assured him that they couldn’t hurt them. After the first fearsome thunder, he always came crawling into her bed like clockwork.

That’s why Y/N was confused when she hadn’t heard his little feet scurrying down the hallway to her bedroom. She must have fallen back asleep because the storm had been going on for some time now.

Y/N decided to go to Jimmy’s bedroom and check on him.

But his door was open and his bed was empty. Y/N would have panicked if she hadn’t heard voices from downstairs, in the kitchen.

She tiptoed down the steps, hoping to eavesdrop before they noticed her interruption.

“I used to be scared of thunderstorms…” Y/N heard Bucky say. In that moment, she realized she’d never seen him interact with a child.

“When you were a kid?” Jimmy asked curiously.

“Yeah, but even as an grown-up.” Bucky admitted lightly. But Y/N caught the dark truth behind his words.

“Usually I go into mommy’s room. She pretends to be scared too. So I feel like l protect her.”

Y/N smirked at her son’s cleverness.

“So why’d you come down here?” Bucky asked curiously.

Jimmy was quiet for a moment. “I wanted to spy on you.” He whispered it, like it would be less of a confession that way.

“Well it’s probably good that we let your mom sleep. She’s had a rough day.”

Y/N’s amusement disappeared at that.

“Why?” Jimmy asked with the innocence of a child who didn’t know the troubles of adulthood yet.

Y/N took this as her cue to interrupt and save Bucky from answering the tough question. She turned the corner to find that the two of them were sitting at the kitchen counter with mugs of tea.

Her heart hurt at the sight. For a moment, she saw Steve and a glimpse of what a happy life would have been with the three of them together…like a family.

She smiled sadly and Bucky caught it.

“What did I say about talking to strangers, Jimmy?”

“But he’s sleeping on our couch!” Jimmy pointed out and then giggled.

Bucky gave her an apologetic look.

“Do you want to sleep in my bed after you finish your tea, trouble monster?” Y/N asked, coming up behind her son and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

Jimmy just nodded, remembering the scariness of the storm as another flash of lightning hit. He chugged the rest of his tea.

“Go get comfy. I’ll be upstairs in a second.” Y/N stated.

Rain stopped the kitchen from being completely quiet as Bucky and her were left alone. Y/N leaned her forearms against the counter top, across from where he sat.

Y/N was the first to speak. “I’m sorry that he woke you up.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Y/N. He’s a sweet kid.” Bucky gave a small smile. “I can’t get over how much he looks like him.”

Y/N sighed. “If I didn’t give birth to him, I wouldn’t believe he was mine.”

“He’s got more of you than you think.” Bucky assured her.

She scoffed at that.

“He came down here to investigate me. When he saw that I was awake, he offered to make me tea… said it helped him when his mom made it for him during storms.” Bucky looked her hard in the eye. “It reminded me of you, not Steve.”

Y/N gave him a thankful look.

“I decided to take over the tea making when he was trying to climb on top of the counters to reach everything.” Bucky added with a chuckle.

A thunder crash of thunder boomed.

“Mommy!” Jimmy whined from upstairs.

Y/N stopped leaning on the counter. “That’s my cue.” She was at the edge of the kitchen when she turned around. “I’m glad you got to talk to him, Bucky.”

---

Bucky had miraculously passed out after his little tea adventure. He was shocked that the noises in the kitchen weren’t the ting that woke him. Instead it was the feeling that someone was watching him. He blinked his eyes open to see Jimmy staring at him, barely a foot away from his face.

“Mommy said to wake you up for breakfast. She said not to touch you because it might scare you.” Jimmy whispered.

Bucky chuckled at that. He slowly sat up and rubbed his face. Then he glanced over to Jimmy, who was watching him curiously.

“I like your outfit, kid.” Bucky smirked.

Jimmy was wearing a dinosaur t-shirt, a pink tutu, and yellow rain boots. He seemed very pleased by the compliment.

“Mommy’s making chocolate chip pancakes.” He stated excitedly. But it was like he was telling himself for the first time because he became thrilled and sprinted out of the living room, into the kitchen.

Bucky slowly sauntered in to find Jimmy dancing around the kitchen to the music that was softly playing.

“Morning.” He greeted through his rough voice.

Y/N gave him a shy smile. “There’s a mug for you next to the coffee pot.”

“Can I help with anything?” He offered as he poured himself some.

But Y/N just shook her head.

Bucky sat at the table, taking in the home in the daylight. It was cozy and homey. But he didn’t expect anything else from Y/N.

Jimmy must have gotten tired of dancing, because he was now sitting across from Bucky. His blue eyes studied Bucky like he hadn’t met him last night.

“Are you my dad?” Jimmy asked out of nowhere.

Y/N was putting down a plate full of pancakes right when it happened.

Bucky watched as her entire body tensed.

“No, Jimmy.” She tried to it say casually.

Y/N gave Bucky a warning look, making sure he didn’t intervene.

“This is your Uncle Bucky.” Y/N added.

“Why is your arm metal?” Jimmy quickly moved onto another subject.

“Jimmy!” Y/N scolded. “That’s a very rude question to ask!” Bucky tried to give her a face that said it was all right. But she wasn’t having any of it.

Jimmy, suddenly looked very sad and disappointed in himself. He hadn’t realized it was rude until someone pointed it out. Now he felt bad. “I’m sorry for being rude.” He blubbered, eyes cast down.

“It’s okay, bud.” Bucky tried to reassure him. “I lost my arm in an accident awhile ago. This is just a prosthetic.”

“It’s really cool.” Jimmy commented honestly.

This made Bucky grin.

They ate breakfast with zero awkwardness. Jimmy kept telling story after story to his mom. Most of it was mindless and a lot of it didn’t make any sense. But Y/N paid close attention. Jimmy seemed to accept Bucky’s presence very easily, behaving how he usually did when it was just him and his mom.

After breakfast, Jimmy was playing in the living room without a care. Bucky offered to clean up since Y/N had made breakfast. He ignored her when she argued that she could do it herself.

“You haven’t told him anything about Steve?” Bucky asked as he washed the dishes and Y/N dried.

Her eyes turned down and she shook her head. “He understands that he doesn’t have a dad. He goes to friends’ houses for play dates and realizes that there’s another person there that he doesn’t have. But he doesn’t know anything about the Avengers or superheroes. We don’t have cable and he doesn’t go on the internet. He’s seen pictures and stuff at stores… but he just thinks they’re make believe.”

Bucky stopped washing dishes for a moment and gripped the edge of the sink. He looked over at her with a serious gape. “You can’t keep it a secret from him forever, Y/N. He deserves to know who his father is.”

“Not until he can keep it a secret.” Y/N defended. He gave her a disapproving look. “Bucky, if people found out Steve Rogers had a son… do you know how dangerous that would be?” She chucked the towel on the counter in frustration. “We couldn’t even bury him because of what he was! Steve kept me so hidden... Do you think he’d want to the world to know about his son?”

“Y/N, we’d never let anything happen to either of you. I’m going to keep you safe.” Bucky’s expression was so soft and affectionate. It surprised Y/N. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words didn’t come out.

“Mommy? There’s a red robot in the yard.” Jimmy called out.

They looked at him in confusion.

Then they both realized who it was and snapped back to each other’s gaze.

“Goddammit, Stark.”  Bucky almost growled.

Y/N hurried over to grab Jimmy.

“Y/N, stay in the house.” Bucky ordered before going out the front door.

---

Part 7

Please message, reblog, whatever. Because I need constant validation HAHAHA. 

[reesa-chan]

can you rec any HP fics (your favorites or Harry as the lord of a bunch of houses after defeating Voldemort or both)

Sure! I’m not active in the fandom anymore, but I’ve got some definite favorites. Some of these are Lord of a bunch of houses, but I’m going ahead and sharing a mishmash (with a lot of Avengers crossovers because MCU has taken over my life.) I’ll star the ones that are the best fit for the Lord of many houses trope:

Runaway Dragon and its sequel A Letter to Mr William Snape have long been some of my comfort fics. Draco Malfoy flees home after his father lashes out against his mother and accidentally kills her (nothing graphic and this really isn’t the central story at all) and Severus Snape comes across him and takes him into his home, which turns out to be in the “bad” part of town, populated by all the outcasts of society - squibs, halfbreeds, people who are eking out a living even if they don’t live up to society’s standards - and this forces Draco to expand his world view. It’s full of masses of cute and super fun and I’m a fan of world building. 

*Goblin Communications features the Goblins allying with Harry right from the start and meddling in wizarding affairs. More great world building. There might be a running theme here. 

*A Different Beginning Yet more Goblin meddling and allying with Harry!

*Harry Potter in the Claw of the Raven and sequels Harry Potter at the Knees of the Marauders, Harry Potter and the Interlude, and Harry Potter with the Power the Dark Lord Knows Not I just recommend BakenandEggs across the board, really. They do some really fine work. I feel like the title is self explanatory.

Early Retirement this one’s a crossover with Avengers. Always-a-girl Catherine (Harry) Potter has gone into seclusion in the muggle world and is running a bakery in New York city. She’s got a comfortable lifestyle going until one Steve Rogers starts frequenting her shop and shakes things up.

Finding Home AO3 or FFN MOD Harry has stopped aging. He resolves himself to a life of moving around regularly to keep anyone from noticing and tries to avoid connecting with anyone so he doesn’t have to abandon them or watch them grow old and die. Unfortunately, Tony Stark is not so good at boundaries, and once he takes an interest in Harry, he starts chipping away at those walls.

Perception is Everything Severus Snape is left in charge of the students who are staying at school for the holidays. He’s none too happy to hear he’ll be dealing with Harry, but he starts to notice that something’s wrong with this kid and his home life. What’s a long-suffering educator to do but to step in and keep the child safe despite himself?

Resonance and its sequels Revolution and Resolution are a Snape adopts Harry as a young adult series. They’re rich and deep and full of the experiences of growing up and maturing and coming into one’s own with a supportive but not effusive guardian and learning how to depend on and trust that you don’t have to do it all yourself.

*Runaway Wizard Harry is sick of Dursley abuse and makes a run for it after Dumbledore forces him to go back to them. He ends up briefly on the streets and spends some time working in a BDSM club, so be warned that there’s some risque stuff. The Malfoys end up taking him in and helping him learn how to act the part of a proper noble wizard. HPDM and LMSS

*Harry Potter and the Cursed Summer This one has some Lord of many houses stuff going on, but it’s more adventure story than anything. Harry’s family abandons him and he winds up at the Burrow looking for help only to find that the family’s left for Egypt for the summer. Bill’s pretty much on the way out the door for a curse breaking expedition in South America and ends up towing Harry along to act as his assistant. Don’t bother with the sequel - it’s short and unfinished and unlikely to ever be completed. The first story is awesome though.

*Outcast’s Alley Harry undergoes some changes after fifth year that go a bit beyond those standard for puberty. The Dursleys kick him out and he ends up living among those on the outskirts of magical society. Lots of great world building.

I’m mostly recommending completed works, but I’m going to include this one even so - Realizations Harry comes home at the beginning of the summer only to discover no Dursleys and a house with a for sale sign. Any normal kid would consider this an emergency and get in touch with adults, but Harry’s used to being self sufficient. He winds up working in Diagon Alley under a disguise consisting largely of a haircut, a headband, contacts, and clothes that fit. Best summer he’s ever had, bar none.

Dance in the Dark of Night Snape and Harry are both in precarious situations, and Dumbledore sends them out together to keep out of Voldemort’s way. They need to stay on the move, so it’s a backpacking trip, trundling around all over with no one but each other for company. They learn to deal with each other and even start reluctantly forming a connection. HPSS handled in a not-gross way

Yet Another Snape meets the Dursleys Story *gestures to title*

A Hero Dudley is off at school and a class assignment starts to open his eyes to the nature of abuse and the implications regarding his family’s relationship with Harry. 

*Make a Wish and its sequel The Hunt for Harry Potter Okay, technically this isn’t Lord of many houses fic, but at its spirit it shares much of the wish fulfillment that makes Lord of many houses so much fun. Harry’s convinced he’s going to die at the hands of the dark lord, and he wants at least one good thing in life, so he decides to take a vacation and really live, just for one summer. He runs away and starts on an anonymous trip around the world. Over the course of the trip he develops new powers, makes new friends, coincidentally and through no intent on his part (he’s largely unaware it’s even happening because it’s Harry) happens to be in the right place and time again and again to enable Death Eaters to arrange for their own demise under bizarre and amusingly improbable circumstances, and develops an international reputation as a bad ass and a heartthrob. He’s not entirely sure how. Also he’s rich now? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Paradigm Shift Severus Snape is left to babysit the school and the warding spells on the Dursley home while Dumbledore’s away. Of course THIS would be the time things force his hand and leave him stuck with a depressed kid on his hands who’s convinced he’s going to die- and who promptly makes a run for it at the first possible occasion, determined to make it on his own.

Tony Stark & His Amazing Mutant Platypus A niffler gets into Tony’s lab. No one knows what it is, but it sure loves shiny things, and he has a LOT of shiny things.

A House or a Home Phil Coulson is in every house at Hogwarts.

*Families and Familiars Dumbledore might have plans for Harry, but his familiar is smart and persistent, and Hedwig’s going to protect her wizard. It’s never a good idea to underestimate a Black.

Raising a Wizard Natasha may have been raised Natalia Alianovna, but she was born Mallory Evans. A search for her roots introduces her to an orphaned nephew who could desperately use someone on his side, and next thing you know she has custody over a 6 year old kid who wields some unexpected powers.

*Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart The Weasley boys arrange a birthday trip to Malibu for Harry’s birthday. He ends up having a summer fling with a handsome guy he hooks up with while he’s out there, and comes home to discover that he brought home an unexpected souvenir. But how to explain to a muggle that his male lover has a bun in the oven? Years later, rich and powerful Harry Potter ends up at the same charity event as Tony Stark and they rekindle their flame. Only problem: Harry has a kid running around who’s just the right age to have been implanted during the time that Tony and Harry were first seeing each other.

*Frey of Asgard Harry’s birth father was actually Loki Laufeyson, but this is a well kept secret. Harry is left balancing a world of gods and wizardry, spending summers at Camp Halfblood with other godly offspring, learning about pagan worship from his pureblood peers, and fighting monsters all around in hopes of one day rising to true immortality. 

*The Triumph of These Tired Eyes My absolute favorite of the Harry Lokison category of fics. Long and involved and super well written.

*Teeth Harry messed up when trying to learn how to become an animagus and became permanently partially fused with his animal side... which happens to be a dark creature. Now he has to learn to cope with his new instincts and figure out how to keep those developments hidden so the Wizarding world won’t crucify him for it. At the same time, he’s navigating a world that’s no longer as black and white as he thought it was. He and Snape are building a sense of grudging respect and he’s discovering that not all Slytherins are evil. Somehow he needs to come into his own and find his own path.

Some WIPs:

*This Gonna Be Good and its counterpart This Gonna Be Good Remix Avengers crossover - Between the betrayal led by Dumbledore’s forces and Thanos’s armies, the future is looking pretty bleak. Following the death of her newborn infant and faced with the imminent death of her soulmates, always-a-girl Harriet Potter makes a desperate move and turns back time. Maybe with a bit of foreknowledge and a lot of ingenuity, that future can be forestalled. In the mean time, there’s lots of fun to be had while messing with those who intend the harm and simultaneously building up a tight knit family unit of friends and allies. Lots of silly, lots of power, lots of wish fulfillment. Dumbledore bashing, Hermione bashing, Ron bashing, Molly bashing, Ginny bashing. James Potter is alive. Regularly updated.

*Strangers in a Familiar Land The one where Harry is reincarnated as the ruling prince of a hermaphroditic winged alien species (which is in hiding on Earth after the Skrull destroyed their home.) Oh, and as if that doesn’t make his life complicated enough, he’s the Master of Death and mated to Tony Stark.

Mirror of Maybe A magical mirror sucks Harry in and shows him a possible future. He comes back changed, an adult veteran soldier in the body of a child. Something has to change.

[38-planes]

How We Wrote It: Tony Nominees David Hein & Irene Sankoff on How a Pilot and 'A Chorus Line' Inspired 'Come From Away' Anthem

Billboard, 8 June 2017

When David Hein and Irene Sankoff began writing Broadway’s Come From Away in 2011, they knew pilot Beverley Bass would play a pivotal role in the story they wanted to tell. The new musical -- now nominated for seven Tony awards, including best book of a musical and best original score for Hein and Sankoff -- follows the passengers and crew of 38 planes diverted from American airspace to Gander, Newfoundland, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Bass captained a Boeing 777 from Paris to Dallas that was forced to land in Gander.

But writing a song for her presented a theatrical challenge: She’d spent her time in Newfoundland in seclusion, whereas passengers interacted with locals.

After grappling with how to convey Bass’ perspective in song, Hein and Sankoff wrote one of Come From Away’s most memorable numbers, “Me and the Sky.” Performed by Tony nominee Jenn Colella, the song weaves details of Bass’ career -- she was the third woman hired as a pilot at American Airlines and the first to make captain -- with specifics about her time in Gander. Here, the husband-and-wife songwriting team explain how “Me and the Sky” came about.

So much of Bass’ life story is condensed into “Me and the Sky.” How were you able to work all of that into the song?

Sankoff: It’s nearly verbatim from our interview with her. Obviously we had to move things around and cut things out, but when we interviewed her, we wanted to write Beverley Bass: The Musical. We could feel ourselves getting pulled into her story.

Hein: We wanted to know every detail of her perspective. In Gander, she’d spent most of the time in her hotel room, waiting for news to leave. Because she was isolated from everyone else, we wanted a contrast from the other characters. You also have to go through her entire life before you can appreciate how that moment resonated with her. That’s why “Me and the Sky” is one of just two solos in the show.

How has the song evolved from the time you sat down to write?

Hein: It’s gone through a number of minor iterations -- just trying to get it as truthful as possible. Whenever we deviated from the truth, we’d go back to our interview.

Sankoff: At one point, we had a detail wrong about what it takes to become a pilot, so we had to go back to rewrite. She very kindly pointed out to us that it was incorrect and very patiently took us through it.

Musically, what were your main influences?

Hein: I grew up on Newfoundland music, so I wanted to play in that sandbox. The song really reflects my early influences from folk rock and guitar-driven, fiddle-driven country rock. There’s a band called Blue Rodeo that inspired me. We wanted to contrast fiddle from Newfoundland and fiddle from Texas, where Beverley is from, so it’s got a country twang without going completely into that world. It’s layered on top of a bedrock of Newfoundland music.

Did any musicals inspire you when you wrote “Me and the Sky”?

Hein: There’s a lot about Into the Woods that we talked about -- group responsibility and coming together as a community. We realized that our use of direct address is built on the bones of shows like A Chorus Line. We also called it Laramie: The Musical, because we were looking at a small town’s response to a tragedy. Even though it isn’t a musical, The Laramie Project was front and center.