#and if you wanna steal an ao3 account don’t steal mine. steal the account of someone who actually writes good fics lolllll

[nekoannie-chan]

Hoodie

Hoodie

Title: Hoodie.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Steve Rogers X Pregnant!Reader.

Word count: 377 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: You “borrowed” Steve's hoodie.

Major Tags: Mention of pregnancy.

A/N: This is my entry to @buck-star Fluffy Winter Event with the trope, activity and quote:

Tropes: Soon-to-be parents

Activity: Borrowing hoodies/clothes

Quote: “Is that my hoodie? Ah, ah, don’t tell me it looks pretty much alike, it’s mine, isn’t it?���

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard @rogersbarber

The sun was streaming weakly through the living room curtains. You were lying on the couch, with your legs propped up on a pillow to relieve some of the swelling in your feet because you were in the last weeks of pregnancy.

You decide to make yourself comfortable in the softest, warmest garment you have on hand: a huge hoodie that, of course, belongs to Steve. It's perfect; it smells like him, and even though it's a little baggy, it feels like it hugs you every time you move.

You're flipping through your book, enjoying the silence, when you hear the front door close softly. You look up and see Steve walk in.

“Hi, doll,” he says, walking toward you with a smile as he runs a hand through his hair.

“Hi,” you reply, and he leaves a kiss on your forehead before realizing something.

Suddenly, his gaze drops; he notices your hoodie and frowns.

“Is that my hoodie?” he asks with a raised eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Ah, ah, don’t tell me it looks pretty much alike, it’s mine, isn’t it?”

You settle better on the couch, pretending to be very interested in the book. You don't say anything; don't look at it, as if you hadn't heard a word.

“Doll? “he insists, leaning slightly towards you. I know you heard me.

You bite your lip to keep from laughing. You turn the page in the book, even though you're not even reading the words.

Steve sits on the edge of the couch, close to your legs. His hand gently rests on your belly and begins to caress it.

“You and I both know that hoodie is mine,” he says, turning to the baby. “But it's okay; I'll let Mom wear it... for now.”

Finally, you can't help it, and a giggle escapes you.

“I knew you'd admit it,” he says, leaving a kiss on your forehead.

“I haven't admitted anything,” you reply, trying to sound serious but with a smile on your lips.

“Aha, sure,” he replies but doesn't insist further. Instead, he stands up and leans over you to arrange your pillows and make sure you're as comfortable as possible.

“Do you need anything? Water? Something to eat?”

“I'm fine, Steve. But thank you.”

[purple-obsidian]

thanks for stopping by (18+ blog, requests are closed.)

millennial. she/her, call me sid. 🦢

devoted follower of @geishasparadisex

leo sun ✹ gemini moon ☾ virgo rising ★

i am an adult, writing for an adult audience. i may post/reblog some dark/explicit/messed up content. minors dni. please review my tags to help curate your experience.

fan of dc comics (if you couldn't tell) only writing for dc characters rn but that could change.

wanna know more about me? click here

maintaining a relationship with a vigilante isn't easy. but when it comes to jason, every moment together is worth it. read my latest post here.

tags ⭓ masterlist ⭓ do not click ⭓ ao3 ⭓ bluesky ⭓ backup

please don’t steal my work. don't upload it to another site, use it to train ai, or claim it as your own.

[last updated 01/03/2025]

⭓ follow my backup account @obsidian-mine

[deus-ex-mona]

they look good, but— _(:3 」∠)_

[twixtandshout]

Tagged by @pidgeonpostal! And not tagging anyone else because I have SOILED the original template (soiled it!!) in deference to my [brushes off skirt] mostly clean public-facing appearance.

...I’ve been making a lot of Spongebob memes lately for someone who has not seen Spongebob.

How many works do you have on AO3?

71!

What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

...306,834. Jesus.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Uh. Many! I do a lot of one-offs (and/or start long things I never finish) in many different places. My top three fandoms by fics written are RWBY (29), Undertale (25), Gravity Falls/Transcendence AU (4).

Bet you can’t tell where my hyperfixations have fallen. 

I’ve also got some Pokémon and Sonic the Hedgehog fics back on my ff.net account, or I think I still do, anyway, but let’s never go back there pls

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Sweeter Than Honey (Undertale): Taking a Completely unsurprising first place, with over 600 more kudos than the runner-up, the haphazard Underswap fic featuring a post-college self-insert I wrote just after high school! I shake my head some at how overblown and ridiculous the gap between this and all my other stuff is (c’mon, guys, I’ve written way better fics), but this is also the fic which prompted me (and at least one other person!) to start using they/them pronouns. I’ve gotten a lot of really sweet comments about how seen and appreciated it’s made people feel, so I can’t get down too far about it.

2. To Be A Hero (BNHA): I don’t count myself as part of the BNHA fandom, for a number of reasons, but for something that’s arguably the main motivation for the entire plot, Midoriya’s quirklessness is something I’ve never thought has been handled well. This fic marked the first time I (somewhat tentatively) claimed the disability label (thanks again to Sweeter Than for prompting that realization) to hold that lens over canon. It also really shot up my chart, dang! It’s the only thing here I’d consider “recent.”

3. Three-Sentence Shipping (Undertale): Self-explanatory.

4. Brothers Beyond Bonedaries (Undertale): Ah, the way-overcomplicated AU³ I got nowhere close to finishing. One of the things I really like about Undertale is the interface screw, how Toby Fox uses the medium of the video game to pull off crazy things and enhance his game, but most of the fic written for the fandom seems dedicated to explaining it away, grounding it, rather than taking it to the next step and messing with the medium of fanfiction when you keep the story going. I tried to do something cool like that here, playing with questions like narrator and authorship and breaking the fourth wall, even taking the “final boss” fight to a “totally separate” fic reached through the first by link – but, well, then I never finished it, which probably didn’t make anything less confusing for the poor folks who missed the intent.

5. Spirit and Such (Gravity Falls: Transcendence AU): A whole fic written to line out a particular image I had, which, naturally, never made it to the page. I consider it a bit of a cautionary tale for myself when it comes to writing (near-)original content; there’s a lot I look back on and cringe. I still love the characters, though – well, the important ones – and I think just stepping away from the tried-and-true Mizar formula nets it a star sticker here.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

>w>; I try, but a lot of the time I just don’t have anything to say? Like, oh, you liked it? Neat. There’s not much to respond to in comments like that, and then I’m weighing falling down on an ~obligation~ to respond to every message in my inbox vs annoying people with copy-paste fluff responses all down the page. Plus I know I make more of an effort to comment on things that didn’t get the attention I feel they deserve, so if I’m driving up my own comment count with nonsense, am I preventing myself from being in a position to receive more comments later? And then if I do comment, am I being too effusive or running people’s ears off explaining things they don’t actually need to know? Sometimes people just want to express interest or admiration and don’t necessarily want a whole peek and guided tour behind the curtain.

Can you tell I have anxiety? x3;

Anyway, I do respond when I can. And I keep most of the comments I’ve gotten to go back and reread. 

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hm, hmm. Lots of stuff in the TQ Nonsense series would probably qualify! I’m thinking of Unfixable, Wolfsong, and Ethanol. And there’s Bursting Through A Blood-Red Sky (I Can Live, I Can Breathe), of course, but that was always intended to have a fix-it epilogue. It’s just that I wrote it in a couple of hours day-of, stared at it, and decided I didn’t wanna just then. But now that’s As Long As You’re Still Burning Bright (I’m Still Awake), and that’s probably the best romance I’ve written, so that one worked out.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Now and then! When the urge strikes. Uhhh, I’ve got a series of Doctor Who x Undertale crossovers I actually made a whole dang verse for that never made it to print. Get a couple great comments on that every few months or so. I think the World Trigger x Undertale crossover is probably weirder, though, by virtue of WT being a very small fandom. My enthusiasm kinda sputtered out on that one.

Mostly I just daydream crossovers with whatever happens to catch my eye at any given moment. I have a lot!!!! Though odds are out on whether I manage to remember any of them once the initial thought’s passed, lol.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Gotten a couple eyebrow-raising comments, but I think mostly I’m just too small a writer to draw that kind of attention.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t? think so? Think my tastes are a little niche for most people to bother ^^;

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had someone apologize once for any language mistakes in their comment cause they had to run it through a translator! That’s not what you asked (the answer is no), but it’s very flattering to think that someone liked my fic enough to read and comment despite the language barrier.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! :D @pidgeonpostal was gracious enough to agree to co-write Five Nights at Denny’s with me off an idea about shoes. This has fulfilled a long-held dream of mine (collabing with someone, not the shoes) and also introduced me to some lovely people.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Who has time for just one? ;3c Honestly, I care more about the characters and how the relationship – any relationship – between them changes them than I do about ~A Ship~ as a solid, bounded noun-object. I’ve got characters I like more and less and feelings about who does and doesn’t have chemistry in which directions with whom, but finding anything that agrees with those preferences is hard, harder when you take alloromanticism into account. I’ll play in any sandbox with cool toys, especially if other folks have already built sick sandcastles there.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

[kicks every single unfinished fic further under the bed] What nooo no WIPs here, everything on my account is either finished or does not exist

I’ve got a couple extra chapters of Sweeter Than floating around unposted, but 1. that fic’s a mess 2. high school Twixt and post-college Twixt are different people and trying to contort myself into three other me-shapes just cause people Like this fic is not something I’m super interested in 3. it’s headed for an emotional dip and I’d rather leave it where it is than post two chapters, stall out again, and leave folks with a bad end.

As for other fics... it’s looking more and more likely that v7 of my Yellow Brick Road AU will never actually make it out. >w>; I’ve got some really great ideas, but not enough to make me feel like I know what I’m doing, and that’s a big roadblock. Plus trying to engage with RT’s Atlas-Mantle worldbuilding in any serious capacity is... a headache. I can’t recommend the Happy Huntress Cinematic Universe enough, but it leaves some pretty big shoes to follow! And I’ve got small feet. <w<;

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue’s fun, probably as an extension of characterization. I love tearing into what makes people tick, especially against the backdrop of their environment, the story they’re in, and the people they’re up against. Voice is a double-edged sword; I’ve been told my writing is really recognizable and individual, but on the other hand, I’ve been growing frustrated with with the limits of my narrative ability. There’s a strong rhythm I keep when I write (you might notice it here, even) but that leaves me feeling predictable and stale. I’m not sure I’m great at setting as a matter of course, but I’m pretty good at describing setpieces where the need comes up; that comes from my background in poetry, as does the fun I have with sublimating and abstracting complex imagery. And I think I bring some needed nuance to the universal. For good or ill, I don’t do what “everyone else” is doing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Well, writing, for one thing. If I don’t know how something’s going to go and don’t have the urge to write it, it isn’t getting done, which means there’s a billion things that will never see the page and a few hundred more that are never getting finished. I lose momentum easily and have a hard time getting started, and I put way too much standing on finding a foothold with other people; as critical as I am of my work, I have high expectations for the stuff that passes muster, and it never seems to measure up. I’m also really uncreative. Yeah, I can mix up elements and extrapolate events, but coming up with things wholesale is really hard, which is why I avoid it wherever possible and steal/reskin stuff from other places instead.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Something along the lines of “Hoo boy, I am Not qualified for this but hopefully it’s decent anyway.” Maria’s Spanish lines haven’t been a big deal – I’ve used it sparingly and, as a Latin language, it should be easy for English-speaking audiences to pick up on the gist – but I’ve had a harder time with Tai’s Chinese, both because I have Even Less background there and because it is, of course, an entirely different language system. If I write it out in English or Romanized italics, am I colonizing it or changing the meaning? If I write it out in the presumed-original characters (presumed because it’s Google Translate and who knows if I’m even barking in the right forest), am I confusing or alienating my presumed-majority-English-speaking audience? Where should I put the translations? Should I put the translations? And for Frisk’s sign language, thinking back, are the brackets I used instead of quotes alienating/infantilizing? I like that different characters give the text between a different feel, but I’m not an ASL speaker – and I’m pretty sure the word is “speaker,” which would only reinforce that that demographic would rather I didn’t do that. It’s important for all these characters, I think, that they use non-English language where it makes sense; it’s part of who they are. But as a white monolingual English-speaker, I don’t think I can really weigh in.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Thaaaat’d be Pokémon, followed closely with Sonic the Hedgehog. Whether those fics are still on my ff.net account or not (pretty sure I’ve purged them, but you never know) I’ve still got a couple saved to a folder on my current laptop, ostensibly so I can look back and see how far I’ve come and more practically to allow for the possibility of furthering group cohesion through public shaming.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I still like the idea behind The Man Who Is Atlas, and Burning Bright (Still Awake) gets props for being my current fic, though it’s currently in that spot where I’m excited to get new chapters posted but also quietly marking everything up in red pen. I think Harbinger gets the crown here, at least for now.

[puppypeter]

You know when you trip over a small drabble and end up disappearing from your blog down a Evanstan rabbit hole? Yep, that’s what happened here, so enjoy some fics!! Some are more silly/lighthearted, some are a bit more angsty, so remember to read the tags before to check if it’s your thing!

There will definitely be a second part cause I’m still stuck down here, so keep an eye out if you like the pairing 🥰

🔒 = you need an ao3 account to be able to read it.

PS: do not link any of these fics to the actors or anyone associated with them. Fics are from the fans for the fans, and they should stay within the fandom!

Happy reading! 🐶

Rust and Stardust | Explicit | 8080 words

Sebastian knows one thing, and that is that he loves Chris Evans.

On Your Left | Explicit | 7894 words

Sebastian and Chris have hidden their relationship for years but an accident turns everything upside down.

In Motion | Teen & Up | 1944 words

One more take is one too many when you're dangling from wires; or, Sebastian Stan: a motion sickness story.

Ready to Go | Explicit | 8965 words

In hindsight, Chris can see the error in not pausing after knocking on Seb’s bedroom door and just barging in without waiting for permission to come in. Rookie mistake. As it is, he raps his knuckles on the wood three times, then pushes down the handle and swings open the door with a “Seb, are you ready to go?”

I’ve done some things that I shouldn’t have done (but I haven’t stopped loving you once) | Explicit | 59208 words 💗

After the release of Infinity War, Chris and Sebastian each take some time off to recharge. Chris is staying in Scarlett’s lake cabin on his own and invites Sebastian up to come and spend some time with him. Due to busy work schedules and a number of other, more personal reasons, Chris and Seb haven't been as close lately, something which neither of them are very happy about. This mini-vacation presents a chance for them to revive their friendship and maybe (definitely) explore if there might be something more. Over the course of a week, and with a little help from meddling friends and co-stars, the boys learn to build bridges, to be vulnerable and take chances, and to stop letting fear rule their lives.

We’ll figure it out | Mature | 2983 words

Of course Chris had thought about it. His brother’s gay, for fuck’s sake. So yeah, growing up, he’d wondered, and experimented a bit with a few guys in the industry. Mutually assured destruction helped confer a certain sense of security for both parties involved. All things considered, he’s been pretty fucking lucky, there are no rumors about him, and since he’s mostly attracted to women, it’s not something he really has to worry about.

Sebastian, though… There’s a reason comments about Seb’s jawline come so easily to Chris.

I Wanna Be Yours | Explicit | 7309 words

A few times, Sebastian catches him staring, and gives him an odd look.

“You okay, Chris?” he asks, the third time it happens.

Despite the fact that he’s an actor, Chris knows he tends to be a bad liar and wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he prays Sebastian will buy his white lie just this once.

“Fine, yeah fine,” Chris assures him. “Just a little tired, I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.”

Sebastian gives him a sympathetic smile, and Chris feels like the worst kind of scum.

Kiss The Boy | General Audiences | 1410 words

Sebastian once did an interview where he admitted he tried picking up girls with his rendition of ‘Under the Sea’ from the Little Mermaid. Here's what happened when he tries it on Chris.

No Longer a Place | General Audiences | 4645 words

The ups and downs of Hollywood relationships, with a side of Chris taking care of Sebastian.

This Is Awkward | Mature | 3185 words

While filming the final helicarrier scene of CA:TWS, Sebastian has to mount Chris for the perfect shot, and he gets... excited.

You Are My Sweetest Downfall | Teen & Up | 448 words

prompt: imagine sebastian crying a little after the first time he has sex with chris because he’s so happy

or: Where Chris is a cutie pie and Sebastian does what he does best: cry.

Stars Out Of The Blue | Teen & Up | 6355 words

Chris Evans accidentally kicks Sebastian Stan off a broken helicarrier set on Monday afternoon. It’s the worst moment of his life. Monday evening, however, contains the best moment. Indisputably. Ever.

My broken veins say that if my heart stops beating | Explicit | 4606 words

The one where sebastian and chris get high and chris gets curious and sebastian ends up three fingers deep in him.

All That You’re Making Of Me | Explicit | 37219 words

The unfolding of a relationship, over time. And a perfect happy ending.

All I wanna see you in is just skin | Explicit | 2852 words

Sebastian really wants Chris to be his Daddy. Especially after seeing him with that beard.

With You and the F**king Lines | Mature | 638 words 🔒

What not to do when in bed with your co-star: 1) Don't quote their role. 2) Don't quote your role. 3) If 1 & 2 don't apply for the circumstances, quote a good line.

What to do when your co-star quote your role in bed: 1) No sex for them in the foreseeable future. 2) If 1 is too hard. Quote them back. Payback's a bitch, man.

The Words We Put Together | Not Rated | 2702 words

Sebastian and Chris meet again after two years. Let the story drift you into happiness.

I’ve never seen anything quite like you | Mature | 5416 words 🔒

He texts his brother: do guys go on dates with guys Scott texts back: you are the dumbest shit alive

Only I Would Know | Mature | 2673 words

Chris brings up the idea of having kids.

Sebastian's intimidated by the idea. Just a little.

A Faity-Tale, A Fancy-Flight | Teen & Up | 2429 words

Sebastian shouldn’t have to be alone on his birthday. Chris comes over with Starbucks and first kisses.

The next 9 works all belong to the You Make Me Love You series:

Make Me | Explicit | 4403 words

After a fight Chris and Sebastian come back to each other.

My Heart, My Home, My Everything | Explicit | 26709 words

Chris and Sebastian come out to their families, and then the world.

So It Begins | Explicit | 12673 words

Chris and Sebastian take the first step in wedding planning, finding a venue for their big day.

Endless Love | Teen & Up | 17316 words

Chris and Sebastian's wedding day is here, but that's just the beginning.

Newlyweds | Explicit | 5374 words

Chris and Sebastian enjoying life as a newly married couple.

Luca (One Shots) | Teen & Up | 23444 words #WIP

Stories following Chris and Sebastian as first-time parents. It's Luca's world, his dad's are just living in it.

Baby Mine (Everything) | Explicit | 12966 words

Chris and Sebastian go to the Endgame premiere, they plan to make a night of it, this is their first night out since their son came home. Things don't exactly go as planned.

Luca 14 Months: TIFF 2019 | Mature | 20571 words #WIP

Luca comes with his dads to TIFF 2019 and steals the show.

Coming Home: Luca 20 Months  (The Evanstan Quarantine Fic) | Explicit | 8821 words

Sebastian comes home after months away due to his job and complications involving travel restrictions. Finally the family can be together during quarantine.

Picture source: (x)

[bazzybelle]

COC 2019 Masterlist

I’ve seen a few of these going around and I figure I should add mine as well. I didn’t manage to complete all the prompts, but 13/30 isn’t terrible, considering everything. 

Day 1: Sun/ Moon

Title: Midnight Sun

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: A year after the events of Wayward Son, Simon and Baz take a small trip to Dover and spend the night taking a romantic stroll through the Kent Downs. While staring at the sky, Simon gets a wicked idea in his head, to taste a little more freedom and share it with Baz.

Day 2: Role Reversal

Title: Hush, Love

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: During a very difficult night, Simon finds a way to comfort Baz, using a tried and true method.

Day 3: Magical Creatures

Title: Keep Calm and Save a Unicorn

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: Agatha Wellbelove finds purpose and meaning to her life as she cares for and protects vulnerable members of the magical community.

Day 4: Dreams

Title: Have You any Dreams You’d Like to Sell?

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: Penelope processes her relationship with Micah on the plane ride home from America, while listening to "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac.

Day 5: Carry On Prequel

Title: A Million Dreams

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: Positive.  

Those two little blue lines, so simple, so plain. Yet they hold such a profound weight that I feel the need to take a moment to collect my thoughts. It does not do well for Natasha Pitch to come undone on account of two little blue lines. Still, I find myself sitting at my desk in my grand Watford Headmistress’ office, in absolute disbelief as I hold onto the pregnancy test in my hands.

Day 6: Vine/Meme Reference

Title: Everything’s Better With a Little Bit of HOLO!

Find it: Tumblr // AO3 

Summary: I steal the bottle from Simon’s grasp and give it a look. I inspect it closely, turning it around in my fingers. It does not look like anything particularly spectacular. It looks like a typical silvery nail polish. I am pretty sure Mordelia has a similar one. The polish’s brand name is somewhat more reflective, and I do think the slight rainbows coming off it are pretty. I do not understand the name, however. 

“What on Earth is a Holo Taco? Aren’t tacos supposed to be food? What do they have to do with nail polish?”

Day 7: WLW

Title: I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: “People like me are meant to be alone.” I try to make my voice sound icy and intimidating. But, Merlin help me, it sounds breathless, like I’m choking it out. I take a sharp inhale of breath through my nose. Shan, the fool that she is, reaches over and grabs my other hand, she gently turns my body towards her and leans a little closer to me. She speaks in a soft and calm voice. I almost miss what she says because of the music in the background.

“You don’t have to be alone.”

Day 11: Angst Day

Title: Let It Be

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: It’s better if I lay here on the sofa.

That way, I can’t muck up anything more than what I’ve already mucked up.

It’s better if I lay here on the sofa.

That way, I don’t have to see the looks of pity and sadness on Baz’s and Penny’s faces. That way, Baz won’t have to look at me and realize that I’m not worth his time. I’m not worth anyone’s time.

It’s better if I lay here on the sofa.

That way, the constant light and hum of the television can help numb me of whatever I’m feeling inside.

Useless, wasted, worthless…

A fraud, a phony, a fake.

Day 12: Music/Song-Inspired

Title: You Get My Love

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: Now, we’re in bed, but not talking. It’s what we do… We don’t talk. We don’t know how to talk to each other. I don’t know how to talk to Baz. I wish I knew what to say to him. I wish I could find the words to tell him how I feel inside. But it’s so hard. It’s so hard to look at him and tell him how I feel.

I look at him now, face turned away from me, his hair fanned out behind him. I reach out and lightly touch it. I know it won’t wake him. Baz isn’t a heavy sleeper, but it’ll take more than a touch of his hair to wake him. I settle into the sheets and play with a silken strand, twisting it in my fingers.

“I’m such an idiot.” I say it so quietly, though I know he can’t hear me. Maybe this is how I find the words to say to him. I continue to run my fingers through his hair and watch him breathing. I love him so much. Maybe eventually, I’ll be able to tell him this when he’s awake.

Day 13: Parental Figures

Title: You’re F***in’ Perfect to Me

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: When Malcolm showed up on my doorstep, a year after losing the love of his life, and asked that I become his second wife, well my parents all but jumped at the opportunity to marry their daughter to a Grimm.

I refused. I wanted nothing to do with Malcolm Grimm and with being the replacement to the great Natasha Pitch.

Then I met Basilton.

There was something about the sad, lonely little boy that broke the walls I had put up around my heart. I would never replace his mother, I knew that. But this child needed someone to give him comfort, a sense of stability. This child needed a motherly presence. So I accepted and I married Malcolm.

Day 18: CRACK!

Title: Love is Blind (As A Bat)

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: The bat dives straight towards me as I keep whipping the towel to deter it. I stumble into the kitchen and pull out a spatula. It isn’t ideal, but I don’t want to hurt the thing, just get it out of my flat. The bat keeps trying to reach me, but I’m waving the spatula at it. I’m hoping to move towards the window again and push it outside, when Penny shouts.

“Simon! It’s got something in its claws!”

As if on cue, the bat drops the item it’s been holding the whole time. I pick up the item and inspect it; An ivory wand with a leather grip. Baz’s wand.The little bat lands on the bookshelf and perches upside down. Penny sees the wand and looks to the bat. She figures it out before I do and begins to laugh.

Day 20: Fairytale/Myth Retelling

Title: Den Eho Matia Gi’Allo - I Have Eyes for No Other Boy

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: I know something terrible has happened as I arrive at the Temple’s entrance. The lanterns are shattered on the ground, the offerings to Athena are strewn all over the floor. Mud has been thrown upon her sacred altar. Worse of all, the sacred statue of Athena is completely desecrated.

Day 27: Time Travel

Title: Love is a Dream of Beauty

Find it: Tumblr // AO3

Summary: I am known by many names in this court. Signore Pitch is one, but I find that to be dreadfully formal. I am not a master, nor am I nobility (well… not anymore). Amongst my peers and the scholars at the Academy, as well as the members of Lorenzo’s court, I am referred to as Tyrannus (which is probably worse than Signore Pitch, but these Florentines do love their classical history). My closest friends (of which I can count on one hand) refer to me as Basil or Baz, which is frankly what I prefer. It was what my mother and father called me before they died.

There is also what enemies of the Medici like to refer to me as: The Displaced Prince. I would find it rather insulting, if I wasn’t so amused by it.

***

That’s all... I hope you’re all enjoying your holidays, and time off. 

Sappy message... Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who liked, reblogged, and gave me encouragement. I know I’m still a newbie to this fandom, and I don’t deserve the love I’ve gotten. With that being said, the kind words I’ve received have kept me going, even on days where I wanted to give up and close my account. 

Thank you to the amazing friends I’ve made here so far ( @fight-surrender , @carryonsimoncarryonbaz , @giishu , and @f-ing-ruthless-baz ) who’ve listened to me crying and stressing out, who’ve reached out during my spirals, and who keep encouraging me to come out of my shell. If I ever had the guts to talk/leave comments, to share, or to join things, it’s because of these lovely people. I’m still working at coming out of my shell, but I encourage people to come talk to me, I’m rather nice (at least, my friends think I am). 

I’ve got so many fics to catch up on / comment on, as well as working on my WIPs. That’s my next goal... To read the many many fics/authors that I’ve seen during this countdown and to comment as much as I can. :) 

[sapphires-and-gold-fics]

Fictober Day 26: “You keep me warm.”

Fandom: Game of Thrones / ASOIAF

Characters: Jaime Lannister / Brienne of Tarth

Notes: This is an unexpected continuation of this story, and takes place about 6 months later, and it’s based on Slow Club’s “Christmas TV”

Read on AO3

xxxxxxxxxxx

Jaime looked at the clock - two minutes past midnight. He yawned.

Brienne yawned in response. “What time does your flight get in?”

“Uh, 6:15.”

“Okay - any special requests for dinner?”

“No, whatever’s fine.”

“Can I pick you up anything? You have your meds, lotions, whatever? I can get some of that--”

“--I should be okay. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m already packed.” In truth his bag sitting open on the bed with nothing in it yet except socks (for the cold) and condoms (just in case).

“I don’t worry, not really - not anymore, I just meant sometimes you can’t take the whole tube on the plane.”

“Right. Well if they try to stop me I’ll just chase them away with my monstrous arm.”

“It’s just scars, Jaime. Everyone has scars.”

“Mine are worse.”

“They give you character.”

“No, yours give you character. They make you look cool. Mine give me a complex.”

“Were you able to get a window seat?”

“Did you really just segue from one of my complexes to another?”

Brienne snorted. “Not all fears are complexes, Jaime. I know you prefer to see the wing when you fly, that’s all.”

“I’m really shaping up to be quite the basket case, aren’t I? Like my sister.”

“Jaime, that’s not--”

“I know, I know.”

“I have flying preferences, too, you know.”

“Needing an aisle seat because your legs are fucking gifts from the gods is not the same.”

“I'm sorry, what?”

Jaime suddenly realized what he said. He felt himself start to sweat. “I should go.”

“Oh. I’m--”

“--I’ll let you get some sleep.”

“--gonna be up a while longer if you still wanna talk. You know you can call me any time.”

Jaime silently settled deeper into his mattress, warding off the nervous headache at his temples with his free hand.

“Jaime?”

“Quite the change. Before I wasn’t allowed to call you at all.”

“Well things are different now that the girls are safe.”

“Remind me why you haven’t come home yet?”

“I’m helping their cousin with them until a judge grants him access to their parents’ accounts. Their uncle is coming up next week and that should help move things along.”

“And they won’t mind me being around for a couple of days? Will they make me sit through a screening of The Long Night or is this generation of Starks more averse to torture?”

“You’re not here long, and you’re not going to see them much so don’t worry about it. It’s just Sevenmas Eve dinner. And they all know that you had nothing to do with what happened. You’re not there to harass them, you’re coming as my guest.”

“Right… Still, she’s my sister.”

“You’re not responsible for her, Jaime. She made the choices she made.”

The headache was getting worse. “I saw there’s supposed to be a storm in a couple of days.”

“Oh, yeah, you should get here okay but I’m not sure about that return flight. We’ll have to play it by ear.”

“I told Myrcella and Tommen I would try to see them on Sevenmas--”

“Oh.”

“--but Tyrion’s got them covered - he’s got my gifts - he can take them over to Stan’s if I have to stay over with you longer.”

“Oh. That’s… well as long as that’s okay. It’s their first Sevenmas without their mom around… I would understand if you needed to change your plans.”

“And miss my chance to see you for the first time in six months? Are you kidding? Besides the kids are doing great. They want for nothing - dad’s making sure of that. And Stan and Dav are incredible parents. They can do without uncle Jaime for one holiday. Anyway I promised Myrcella that her aunt Brienne would be back in time for her name day - I didn’t lie about that, right? You’re still planning to come home before the spring?”

“I’m not her aunt, Jaime.”

“Well maybe not really, but it’s easier than telling her that her idol, my best friend Brienne, will be there for her name day.”

“Idol? Jaime.”

“What, she looks up to you!”

“You look up to me - I’m very tall.”

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

Brienne sounded exasperated, and Jaime couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You sure you won’t mind having me there a little longer if it comes to it?”

“Well now I don’t know. You’re incredibly annoying and I don’t exactly have a sofa to send you to if you piss me off too much.”

“Oh good, we’re sharing.”

“Unless you piss me off or steal the covers. Then you can sleep on the floor.”

“You love me.”

“Whatever.”

“Who needs blankets, anyway? You keep me warm. It’s much more likely that I’d have to kick you out of the bed for cuddling too hard.”

“I do not cuddle.”

“Whatever you say.”

He could hear her smile, “The Snark is on tomorrow night.”

“Which one?”

“The...good one?”

“Oh. I was hoping it would be the live-action one.”

“Why?”

“Because it scares the crap outta me and I thought you could hold me and keep me safe but--”

“--oh, please, that movie is NOT scary, Jaime.”

“Okay, maybe not but I like when you protect me.”

“Well I’m sure Grumkins will be on at some point, is that scary enough?”

“That is not a Sevenmas movie.”

“Of course it is - it takes place at Sevenmas.”

“That’s like saying that Morghulis Hard is a Sevenmas movie.”

“It is.”

“Okay, wench.”

“Jaime,” she yawned.

“Go to sleep, Brienne.”

“I’m okay, I can talk longer.”

“No, no sleep. I’ll text you tomorrow and then I will actually see you in less than a day, and then we can talk or whatever until you fall asleep without the risk of you dropping your phone on your face.”

She snorted.

“Good night, wench.”

“Jaime?”

“Hmm?”

“When I do come home… I don’t have a proper place to--”

“--don’t be silly, you’ll stay with me until you figure out your next steps. But first let’s get you home.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I can’t wait for you to come home, Brienne.”

“Me too, Jaime.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Mmmhmm g’night Jaime love you.”

"Love you too. 'Night, wench.” He set the phone down and stared at the all-but empty overnight bag. Then he went to the closet and pulled out a hard-sided suitcase and placed it on the bed next to the bag. He transferred the items from the bag to the suitcase and then went to the armoire and pulled out all of the heavy sweaters he could manage and layered them into the suitcase, on top of the box of just-in-case condoms.

[foreverandalwayscrysis]

Eisha’s Bellarke Fic Rec Masterlist

An anon asked me (BACK IN AUGUST, I’M SORRY ANON) for my favorite Bellarke fics and I kinda went overboard? Not sorry. The ones bolded & italicized are some of my top favorites/most memorable ones I’ve read!

Authors, if you’d like me to remove your tags, please let me know! All links lead to AO3 profiles.

Modern AU - Multiple Chapters

Picking Up What You’re Laying Down – rated E – by verbaepulchellae – @verbam

Yall... I owe this fic my firstborn.

Aurora Borealis – rated E – by enoughtotemptme – @enoughtotemptme - tattoo artist Bellamy and florist Clarke? Yes.

The Odds are Good – rated E – by tacosandflowers – @tacosandflowers - This is the whitewater kayaking fic you didn’t know you needed, BUT YOU DO.

Extra bonus: New Expectations – Rated T 

Sleight of Hand - rated E - by prosciutto - enemies to friends to lover while on a heist and honestly, I wasn’t ready.

Don’t Wake Me, I’m Not Dreaming – rated M – by grumpybell - @grumpybell - If you haven’t read Erin’s works by now, what are you doing? Go. Read. Fall in love. Cry! (hi Erin!!!)

when there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire - rated M - by theoneinquisitor

“the angsty bellarke boxing fic literally no one asked for”

Vienna Waits For You - rated M - by panem_et_circenses

“ Clarke sort of launches herself - or maybe just her lips? - at Bellamy to avoid an awkward encounter with her ex.”

tooi mirai ni doko e yuku no - rated E - by Chash

I Make My Own Luck – rated M – by somethingofatrainwreck

After All - rated E - by lightyears 

When The Sun Came Up, You Were Looking At Me) – rated M – by heartsinsync - @lydia-martin 

Just Like the Kids in Art School Said They Would – Rated M – by LayALioness 

100 Ark Street – rated T - by smallerontheoutside - @smallerontheoutside 

My Mind Forgets to Remind Me (You’re a Bad Idea) – rated M – by prosciutto - @prosciuttoe

You Should Say Hi – rated M – by redwild_rush

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – rated T – by prosciutto

AUs – One Shots/Single Chapters/Drabbles

Canon AU:

sleeping like we’re lovers - rated M - by cassiesandsmarked

And then it’s just too much (I cannot get you close enough) - rated E - by verbaepulchellae

the spine of your body and its bones - rated T - by coffee_grounders

Coffeeshop AUs:

Name Tag – rated T – by HomebodyNobody - @smolmontygreen

Life Stories Are Second Date Material – rated G – by nymja - @gizkasparadise

Always Me That Ends up Getting Wet – rated T - by chash - @ponyregrets

Where Everybody Knows Your Name - rated G - by chash

Let Me Show You Them - rated G - by chash

A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You – rated T – marauders_groupie - @marauders-groupie - Bellarke being total nerds with matching shirts, obviously.

Lights, camera, action – rated E – by orphan_account - This account has over 4485 fandoms. If you can name it, it has it. There are 324 fics for The 100.

Not An Average Cup of Joe - rated G - by Kacka - @katchyalater 

College/University AU:

Cancelled Benefits – rated E – by asroarke - @asroarke 

Sounds Fake But Okay - rated T - by asroarke - @asroarke

Embrace it, princess because I love everything about you – rated E – by EmmaVentury

what goes around comes around (just like a flip turn) - rated M - by emullz

Game on – by winterwaters 

Wrapped It Up and Sent It – rated T – by prosciutto

How You Get The Girl – rated E - by chash - @ponyregrets 

The Cosmic Ballet Goes On - rated T- by chash

The Man Who’s Working Hard For You - rated T - by chash

No One Can Lift the Damn Thing - rated M - by chash

Last Round For A.M. Lovers - rated T - by LayALioness

How It Is For Us - rated M - by LayALioness

This is good a place to fall as any – rated E – by MissMarissa

We will stumble through heaven – rated E – by MissMarissa

Tastes sweet like sugar – rated E – by lightyears

Sexretary – rated E – by lightyears

Love is a Trip (But Fuckin’ is a Sport) – rated E – by caramelle

Gimme That Sugar With The Sweet Talk - rated E - by twilightstargazer

You Think This Happens Every Day? - rated E - by arysa13

Fantasy/Magic AU:

With A Mouthful of Thorns - rated T - by grumpybell

Only The Sound of Our Breath Soaks In - rated G - by LayALioness

Make My Messes Matter - rated T - by prosciutto

what do stars do best? - rated G - by MercuryM

It’s Such An Ancient Pitch - rated G -by LayALioness

Flower Shop AUs:

The Nature of My Game – rated T – by chash

Next To You (The Skies are Blue) – rated M – by thingcalledlove

Flower Therapy – rated G – by dimplesmcflirt - @thesongwithin

Bellamy steals flowers from Clarke’s garden to visit his mother’s grave.

Stubborn Asshole - rated E - by dimplesmcflirt

Bellamy apologizes with a yellow balloon.

Glasses!Bellamy:

Seldom Make Passes – rated T – by chash

Suddenly I see (this is what I wanna be) – rated T – by caramelle

Harry Potter AU:

The Giant Squid’s Got Nothing On You – rated T – by twilightstargazer - @hiddenpolkadots​ 

Why Don’t We Break The Rules, Already? - rated M - by LayALioness 

where dwell the brave at heart - rated T- by spiekiel 

Pro Bono - rated T - by chash

Curriculum Vitae - rated T - by chash

Librarian!Bellamy:

Check Me Out – rated E – by chash

Don’t Trust People Who Read Fight Club - rated T - by maurauders_groupie

let your magic pull me in - rated T - by MercuryM

gonna check you out - rated T - by kay_emm_gee

Modern Setting AU:

third time’s the charm - not rated* - by cosmic_kate

see they want to buy my pride - rated T - by spiekiel

People Are Strange When You’re A Stranger - rated G - by LayALioness

stumbling upon cosmos - rated M - by flirtingwithtrackers

a character study (of sorts) - rated T - by orangecoconut

Bellarke from Murphy’s perspective.

Happy New Year, Losers – rated T – by by chash - The Office AU!

Better to Give than to Receive – rated E – by chash

Sequel: Tis The Season - rated T - by chash

If You Do It Right, It is Sublime – rated T – by chash

We Never Go Out of Style - rated T - by chash

The Weather Outside is Frightful - rated E - by chash

What We Do To Each Other - rated M - by maurauders_groupie

You Look As Good As The Day I Met You - rated T - by prosciutto

Bellarke with Pets:

To Those Who Know How to Listen – rated T – @enoughtotemptme 

Love in the Time of Cats – rated G – by sheryl_sems

Puppy Love - rated G - by asroarke

Roomates AU:

A Little Bit of Something (God, It’s Better Than Nothing) – rated T – by grumpybell 

Someday – rated T 

No Space Lies In Between - rated M - by prosciutto

Social Media Bellarke:

after the beep (i’ll tell you i love you) - rated T - by emullz

Flowers Fade, But The Internet Lasts Forever – not rated – by caramelle

Why Do You Write Like You’re Running Out Of Time - rated T - by chash

That’s What You Think, Captain Cocky - rated M - by chash

You’re Cool On The Internet, At Least - rated T - by prosciutto

Instincts - rated T - by abldav

Soulmate AU:

In Words And Pictures - rated T - by lettertoelise

Focal Point - rated T - by grumpybell

Space AU:

These Arms of Mine - rated M - by talistheintrovert - @talistheintrovert (HI BABE ILY, THIS LIST TOOK ME MONTHS)

Sun Lights Up The Daytime - rated E - by Chash

ikite yuku tame ni - rated G - by Chash

Superhero AU:

I've Been Dreaming of You from the Other Side (I Know You So Well) – rated E – by chash

And That’s Terrible - rated T - by chash

situation normal, all fucked up - not rated - by questionablemorals

Teacher/Teaching AU:

veni, vidi, vici - rated T - by chash

afraid to call this place our own - rated E - by HawthorneWhisperer

teacher’s pet - rated E - by troubledpancakes 

Collections/Series with varying prompts:

A Light That’s Keeping Us Forever – rated E – by enoughtotemptme

Kiss Her Twice, Keep The Night On – rated E – by prosciutto

Neeeeeeeeeerds – rated E – by Chash

Clarke joins the Junior Classical League, for Bellamy.

Get Me Some of That - rated E - by panem_et_circenses

We Fall Together - rated T - by kacka

Stupid for You – rated G – by ix3thehpseries

When you land on Earth - rated M - by MercuryM

[karenninaaa]

Update Chapter 6 Across the Street

Tony Stark tiredly trudged down the gravel path near the docks. Night had fallen and he had just finished his repairs for the day. He swung his toolbox up and rested it on his shoulder. His eyes wandered towards Mayday, where the music could be heard even from a distance. The resto-bar was busy as usual. There were people lounging around the resto holding beer bottles. He could see through the window that all tables were occupied, with people laughing and enjoying their meals.

And then someone, in particular, had caught his attention, who was also sitting by the window, alone.

Tony decided to make a slight detour before going home.

He went inside. Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams was blasting out of the speakers. He dodged a couple coming his way. Two guys sitting by the bar counter greeted him when they saw him and invited him to join them. Tony waved his hand in refusal.

“Hey, Tony!”

Maya beamed at him, a mop in one hand.

“Nice of you to come.” She went to him. “Are you going to order the usual? I’m going to get-”

“No, no,” Tony immediately said. “I was just gonna go over there.” He pointed at a table not far away.

Maya followed the direction he was pointing at. She looked back at him and rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” Then she went back to mopping the floor.

Tony walked over to the table where Virginia Potts was sitting. Her head was bobbing to the music. From the way her lips moved, she was probably singing along with the song too, even though he couldn’t hear it clearly because her voice was drowned out by the loud music

“Dear Ol’ Bryan Adams would appreciate it more if you wouldn’t keep your golden voice to yourself.” Tony stopped at her table.

She looked up, startled. “Oh hi, Tony!”

“Are you alone? Or waiting for someone or something?” Tony trailed off, looking around, half-expecting Ryan Paxton to appear out of nowhere.

Virginia smiled.  “Something,”

“Huh?” He looked back at her.

“You asked if I was waiting for someone or something. I’m waiting for something. I’m waiting for my takeout to arrive.”

“Oh!” Tony said. He didn’t know if he should be relieved about that. It was, after all, embarrassing to come all the way over there to talk to her, just to find out that she was already with someone. He pointed at the empty seat across her. “Well, do you mind if I join you. . .”

“Sure, no problem.”

Tony took the seat, his toolbox beside him. He leaned forward on the table and rested his elbow on it. “So as I was saying, golden voice. By all means, please don’t stop on my account. Continue your intimate jamming session with Adams.”

Virginia laughed. “You didn’t hear that.”

“I didn’t.” Tony agreed. “But you could always resume so I could hear it.”

“Uh-huh,” She was nodding. “And why would you assume that I want you to hear it?”

Tony shook his head. “Never fear showing your talent, Pepper, never. Always, show ‘em what you’ve got.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, like. . .” He cleared his throat. Then he belched out, high pitched. “Oh yeah, back in summer of sixty-nine, oh yeah!”

Virginia threw her head back as she burst into laughter.

Tony cleared his throat again, rubbing his throat. “Too high. I should have done exercise on my vocals first –but hey! That’s what I was talking about, giving all you’ve got.”

“Have you considered becoming a singer?”

“Well, I didn’t-”

“Good. Please don’t.”

“Yup. I’m just gonna stick with machines.” Tony said. “I don’t wanna offend a Bryan Adam’s fan.”

“Not exactly a fan,” She shrugged. “Not my type of music.”

“Ohh, what type of music are you into then? Dead Kennedys? The Misfits? Bon Jovi?”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Woah!” Tony was genuinely surprised. “I never pegged you for a metal rock fan. You look more like a Schubert, Pavarotti, Flemming type of person.”

She wagged her index finger at his face and playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “Looks can be deceiving…  You need to take time to get to know a person.”

He was about to respond when Maya came and put down the paper bag, a little too hard, on the table. Tony frowned at that.

“Here’s your order, Miss Potts. Enjoy your meal.” Maya smiled at her, then left. Her smile didn’t even reach her eyes.

“God, did she put poison in my food?” Virginia muttered. Tony frowned even more upon hearing her. But Virginia just smiled up at him.  “Well, here’s my order now. Are you going home too? I’ve got my car.”

“I won’t say no to a free ride.” Tony grinned.

“I need to hear your playlist.” That was the first thing Tony said when they both slid into the car.

Virginia laughed as she buckled up. She turned on her speaker in the car. The first song on her shuffle list was “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses. Tony laughed in delight. His head bobbed up and down with the music. Meanwhile, Virginia backed out of the parking lot and maneuvered into the main road.

“Come on, Pep, sing with me,” Tony said as he sang along with the music. He rolled down the window. His voice was carried by the wind.

“Nah, it’s your spotlight. I don’t wanna steal it.” Virginia smiled.

Tony was belting out the chorus as his fingers strummed over an invisible guitar when they stopped in front of Virginia’s house. He glanced back at Virginia, who was just staring and smiling amusedly at him.  He stopped singing and smiled back.

“You are full of surprises, Pepper.” He picked up the handle of the toolbox sitting on his lap. “I didn’t expect my night to involve belting out rock music, but it was fun.”

“To be fair, I didn’t expect my night either to have someone giving all he’s got with his talent.” She air quoted the word talent.

Tony laughed. “Well, I should get going then. Thanks for the ride.”

“And thank you for a highly entertaining night.”

Tony tilted his head in an attempt to bow. “I always aim to please.” He opened the car door and climbed down. Pepper followed suit.

“Good night, Potts!”  Tony waved at her and started to walk towards his house.

“Tony!”

He looked back.

Virginia was standing with her elbow on the roof of her car. The car door was still open. “I was just kidding. You, singing, wasn’t that bad.”

Tony snorted a laugh. “Are you sure you don’t wanna show me your talent, we could do duets at Mayday. They host live shows every Friday night.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Your loss!” Tony turned around once more and crossed the street, his toolbox on his shoulder.

Tony looked up at the sky. It was cloudless and the stars were twinkling. Maybe it was cheesy, but Virginia reminded him of the stars. She was bright and shining, different in a way Tony hadn’t experienced for a long time.

Continue reading on Ao3

[arnoldmcguireworld]

This is the start of my open letter. I hope you understand that I have to break my silence and some rules just to say what I felt.

I am writing this to you, a month after I was kicked out in the community I loved and felt being a part of. I know you probably still hate my guts because of that mistake and while I owned up my mistake, my days without your presence had been dull and lifeless because I can't even bear to even watch your Twitch (Because I was banned there too) or even your videos on YouTube without being reminded of that day one of your admins had a word with me about it and I even deleted EVERY real life fic on AO3, every one of them, even the ones without you in it. That made me not write a new fanfic because one of your admins told me TO NEVER WRITE ANOTHER REAL LIFE FIC AGAIN and that was the end of that, but this open letter to you is not to rant about that.

This open letter is to let you know that ever since the ban and block is that I can't stop thinking about that fatal mistake... I just wished I shut my mouth and never shared that one good crossover fanfic because I didn't know that some people would lurk my other fics too. If I could only turn back time and didn't NOT do that, maybe I would still be happier and all this mess and punishment will not occur. I know one of the admins told me to NOT attempt to talk to you in some way, but this punishment has been so severe and unbearable to the point I can't stop playing Christina Aguilera's "Hurt" or even reread 2 Samuel 12:1-23 (It just felt like I understood David's actions and the consequences he ended getting that was near similar to mine after that fatal mistake) without being reminded of it, and this was too painful for me to even be silent anymore, so I have to break my silence (Sorry Calder, but this silence is too much deafening and mind breaking  to the point I had too much stress that lead to my blood pressure going up). I can't bear this punishment for a whole month, and because it broke me so much I attempted to fast from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday in the hopes God will give me a good ending and hoping you guys will forgive me only for my mom to break my fast by making me eat corn flakes before I even slept. So my plan to fast to even punish myself even more was ruined because my family was worried for me (Which I didn't tell them why, which was this fatal mistake), I was going to go on for that long, as in no food, and maybe only a jug full of water until I collapse on the ground during my workday, because I hated myself that much for that. (I'm not kidding, I really meant it because being kicked out and banned and blocked was too much for me to handle)

I even had to throw away my dream to move to LA to be a YouTuber in the hopes I become friends with everyone, including you, but since that day I didn't even want to continue chasing my dreams after that because the punishment was that severe I gave up on A LOT OF IT, to the point I didn't even want to go to LA anymore lest bad things happen there to me, so I just stayed away from the city and I told to myself I can never go back there without being reminded of my dreams and the aftermath of that mistake and what it costed me. I even prayed that one day you and the mods and everyone else will forgive me one day and I'd be back again there... but God has not given me the final answer on that. But knowing you, you and your friends will never forgive me anyway, even if years have passed.

To this day I still can't move on from that incident and never forgave myself for what I did, to the point I sometimes end up crying in my sleep thinking about what I did. This one is a wound that will never heal because it was that devastating to every part of me- like it broke me mentally and emotionally, to the point I can't think about your fave fandoms without even having you in mind. Like I see a Harry Potter thing? instantly reminds me of you. A mere mention of Dungeons and Dragon? All goes back to you. It's like turkey's everywhere, it hurts too much! Ever since that beginning of the punishment my time on Twitch and Discord has been boring, dull and lifeless, to the point I planned to delete my accounts there because there’s no point staying on those platforms if I’m still banned and blocked on both. I even began to think that no content creator will be as fun, lively and exciting as you are, especially if they're both a YouTuber and a Twitch person in one. I tried to find people like you, but it ended up being useless. I still try to find one to this day but none at all made me replace you. It's like you're the best of the best, no one can replace you, ever. And no one can make my days happier and excited than yours.

So I guess that is my open letter to you. I know you can never forgive me, but I wish one day you will. I just, to quote Ariel, I wanna be where the people are. Your community was that, and I don't think I can never go back there because I'm kicked out for that one fanfic which I wish I never wrote in the first place, nor even shared that non-related one. YouTube, Twitch and Discord for me will never be the same again the day I got banned and blocked. It will always hurt and haunt me because I can't go back anymore.

I hope you find it in your heart that one day you'll forgive me, give me a spark to hope and dream again, and inspire me to keep on living happily ever after someday, and be back to where you guys are. But until then, I'll have to make the bed I slept in, and hope no one steals my happiness too, or God forbid, something bad happens that can ruin me and lose the only thing I have left that don't want to be lost in me- happiness and joy. I'm not begging you to forgive me, I just hope one day you do. Hopefully, I can be part of your world again, but also theirs too.

Respectfully saying it,

Christian May 22nd, 2021

This is an open letter addressed to, and also the hard part of saying to whom, because it still hurts-

to Anna "Brizzy Voices" Brisbin

P.S.: to anyone who read this, whether you are fans of hers or not, I hope this open letter gets passed around, hoping one day it gets to her and her mods/admins and throughout the Brizzy Bat Family/BrizKids. I have done my part (and broke my silence because it hurts too much), I leave the rest out to anyone who would pass it around.

(Song played when I typed it all: (Want You) Back In My Life Again by the Carpenters)

[robininthelabyrinth]

Countless Roads - Chapter 19

Fic: Countless Roads - Chapter 19 - Ao3

Fandom: Flash, Legends Pairing: Gen, Mick Rory/Leonard Snart, others

Summary: Due to a family curse (which some call a gift), Leonard Snart has more life than he knows what to do with – and that gives him the ability to see, speak to, and even share with the various ghosts that are always surrounding him.

Sure, said curse also means he’s going to die sooner rather than later, just like his mother, but in the meantime Len has no intention of letting superheroes, time travelers, a surprisingly charming pyromaniac, and a lot of ghosts get in the way of him having a nice, successful career as a professional thief.

———————————————————————————

The corrupt policemen come up behind Len and grab his arms. Len could fight back, but he's tired, he's in pain, and he has no desire to see what happens when a man with glass in his skull acquaints himself with a police-issued taser.

He spends the next few hours tied to a chair inside that filthy bed and breakfast, waiting for Cabrera to sober up.

Len spends the time thinking.

Planning.

He's not about to go down without a fight.

He knows Barry isn't, either, nor Mick, nor his Junior Rogues. They'll track him down the same way they found him the first time around, track him even beyond his anti-ghost aura now that they know what it is, and they'll run right here, Barry with his super-speed, Jax and Wally, all of them. They'll bring some mechanism for stopping the bomb in Len's head – they got it out of Lisa, after all, somehow - and if no such mechanism exists, Cisco will invent one. Mick will find a ghost that can make it happen. Lisa will steal one. The junior Rogues will band together and figure something out.

Something will be done.

Len's sure of it.

Unfortunately, Lewis is pretty sure of it, too. Lewis has as many flaws as he has personality traits, but unfortunately he's not actually all that stupid, and he can put two and two together same as the next person, and he's already put his counter-move into action: bringing Santini thugs and hitters in by the dozen, promising to buy their drinks at the pathetic hotel bar downstairs as long as they stick around, and telling them to keep an eye out for the Flash.

Barry will need to get through them if he's going to get to Len.

If.

And that’s assuming he can get to Len in time, too. Lewis is pushing their timeline forward, as quick as he can, and Barry still needs to figure out where Len even is.

Len's faced worse odds in his lifetime, but he still doesn't like the way these ones look.

He can hear Lewis shouting instructions outside the door, hurrying people along, snapping at them. Cabrera looks hungover when he comes in, which probably accounts for the scowl on his face, and in his hands he's got a bucket of something slick and dark and red already starting to look kind of brown.

"Blood?" Len asks skeptically. "Really?"

Must Len's highly-probable death be quite this cliché?

"Pig's blood," Cabrera says, and a ghastly smile splits his face. "Human's better, but people can be so picky."

Len makes a face. Not even at the idea of using human blood – crazy people with crazy rituals, what can you expect? Not enough intelligence to go swipe a blood bank or a college blood drive van, that's for sure – but at the idea of pig's blood.

Len doesn't really keep kosher, except for sometimes in prison where the food tastes better that way, but his mom did and she wrinkled her nose at any suggestion of pig.

"It's no good for nothing," she told Len. "Got nothing in it, nothing good. Pig's too close to human, too smart. Keeps itself dirty in the muck like a human. Bad luck to kill one, worse to use it. No good. Never use it."

"Use it for what?" Len asked, disinterested child already mostly distracted.

"Anything! It’s bad luck."

And Len never has, not for anything - not for heists, not for eating, and certainly not for anything related to the dead. He's never needed to, for one thing; his power has nothing to do with blood or with sacrifices or with arcane symbols like Cabrera is painting on the floor. It's all willpower – no trappings required, not as anything more than a placebo focusing aid, and he hasn't needed anything like that in ages.

Ugh, mediums. Len's always heard they were crazy weird.

"What's that you're drawing?" he asks anyway, because more information is always better.

Cabrera snorts. "Your doomsday," he says, continuing to paint in the swiftly drying blood.

"Yeah, yeah, I got that. But what is it? The circle, I mean?"

"You don't know?"

"So sue me, I'm ignorant."

"What I would give to have your power," Cabrera says almost to himself, shaking his head. "I've got a fraction of it, that’s all, barely a thimbleful while you're just overflowing. Mine, I have to boost it whenever and however I can, using all the tricks I had to beg and kill for, and you've got it all just handed to you – and you're ignorant. Goddamn necromancers. Cheaters, the whole lot of you."

“I’m not a necromancer," Len says. He feels that's important to point out.

Cabrera snorts. “Yeah, sure you’re not. You do your thing based on nothing but innate talent, where the rest of us have to slave away learning our books – you’re a necromancer for sure.”

"So tell ignorant old me," Len says, letting it go even though he doesn't really want to. Not an argument to have right now, with his time slowly ticking away. "What's the circle do? Summon ghosts?"

He knows the circle doesn't do that, since he saw no such circle earlier when Cabrera summoned Tomio's ghost – through Len's anti-ghost aura, no less. But his father’s easily goaded to answer correctly if he’s provided with a patently wrong answer, and Len’s willing to bet Cabrera’s the same.

"Don't be ridiculous," Cabrera scoffs, proving Len’s point. "This is a blood circle."

"I'd never have guessed," Len says dryly.

"Cute," Cabrera says, baring his teeth in a hacking laugh. "Very cute. This circle is used for trading – blood for blood, life for life."

"Why not use that for Tomio, then?"

Cabrera snorts. "You can't resurrect someone with a trading circle. A ghost will burn through all the years you have in a matter of hours –" He looks almost gleeful at the thought. And possibly like he’s talking from experience. "- right up until there's nothing left worth keeping."

"That why you look like chewed-up crap?" Len asks, unable to hide his disgust at the concept. "Or that just how your face is normally?"

"I'm going to enjoy seeing you get ripped to shreds from the inside," Cabrera says, quite calmly.

Len sneers at him.

"Oh, you’re defiant now, little necromancer, but it’s true. Your father's going to give willing blood, your blood, and he's going to throw you open for possession by any ghost that'll have you." Cabrera's smile widens, ugly and mean. "Bet you're used to that sorta thing, though. Pretty face like yours in prison."

"Not sure how me getting possessed helps anyone," Len says. That sounds extremely unpleasant, he’s not going to lie, but losing his cool over it won't get Len out of here. "'specially if they just kill me doing it. Seems like it defeats the purpose."

"The period of possession prior to your gruesome death will be long enough," Cabrera replies. "Long enough to use your power of resurrection."

"Will whatever ghost grabs me know how?" Len drawls. "Y’know, I think you're making a lot of promises you can't deliver on here."

Cabrera laughs and puts aside his paintbrush, standing up and coming forward, shoving his filthy face with his disgusting breath right in Len's face. "You're trying to think if there's a way out of this for you," he guesses, not incorrectly. "Sorry to tell you, my powerful little friend, but there ain't nothing you can do to save yourself."

"What's in this for you?" Len asks instead. "You can't imagine Tomio will keep you around." He smirks. "Not if he can get me."

"He won't have you," Cabrera says. "I will."

"…what?"

Len doesn't like the sound of that. He really doesn't like the sound of that.

Cabrera laughs and reaches out, running his oily fingers down Len's face, his forehead, his cheek, his chin. Len turns his face as far away as he can in disgust.

"The ghosts are gonna ride you till you're all hollowed out inside," he says, sounding almost high with pleasure. "Won't be much of you left that's good for anything but saying 'yes' and 'how high' and maybe a 'please not again'; that's what Don Tomio's expecting, the foul bastard. But I ain't gonna leave him even that."

Len swallows.

"I'm gonna take you," Cabrera crows. "I'm gonna take all that power, all that strength, and I'm gonna drink it down myself, and leave you empty of everything. You wanna know what I'm getting out of this? I'm getting power. My sort of power. I’m gonna swallow you down till there’s nothing left."

“You can’t do that,” Len says – stupidly, he knows, but horror makes you say stupid things. It’s not power, it’s life; you can’t steal a person’s life, not like that. Mediums may be different than whatever the hell Len is, what his mother was, but it can’t be that different.

Can it?

“Oh, I can’t,” Cabrera agrees. “Only a ghost can steal like that, only a possession. But Don Tomio doesn’t want a piddly little possession. He wants to come back, however it is that you necromancers can manage the feat. So I’m going to use your dad to trade – your blood given as an offering to the ghosts for power. You get power, lots of power, the power of the damned, and it’s going to rip you apart. You’re not the only one with pet ghosts, you know – I’m gonna summon up one of my favorites, and he’s going to have his way with you, and when he’s done pulling Don Tomio out of his grave, he’s going to give me everything else he’s got from you, free and clear – and in return, I’ll let him and his precious girlfriend pass on at long last.”

“You know, I thought you couldn’t get more disgusting,” Len says. “But no, you’ve managed it. What sort of asshole keeps a ghost from passing on? That’s what a ghost is supposed to do.”

“Says that man carting around a ghost that’s nearly a century old,” Cabrera sniffs.

“Mick’s going to therapy for his deep-seated guilt issues,” Len says flatly. “It’s helping.”

“Make what excuses you want. You’d never let a powerhouse like that go free.”

“He’ll pass when I do,” Len says, because Mick has always promised as much, white flame burning in the back of his eyes every time he says it. “Without me, he’d fade away instead of passing on. We understand each other.” He sneers at Cabrera. “Even if you do pull away every last bit of life I have, Cabrera, it ain’t gonna help you. I might be ignorant, but you got no clue what you’re doing.”

Cabrera backhands him hard enough to knock the chair – and Len – to the ground.

“You miserable little piece of filth,” he hisses at Len, his eyes abruptly wide and furious, the white showing all around the pupil. “I’ll take everything you have, everything you could ever have, and we’ll see who knows what they’re doing then.”

A moment later and he’s calm, quiet, like he’d never been almost foaming at the mouth a second before. “But that won’t be an issue,” he says almost cheerfully. “We’re almost at the end, now. Your father’s consent is all I need.”

Len swallows. He misjudged, apparently. Cabrera’s not just power-hungry. He’s insane.

"We about ready to get started, Cabrera?" Lewis asks, coming inside, flanked by a handful of Santini thugs. A higher quality of thug than before – there's a few dozen downstairs drinking, but these guys, these guys are the enforcers. The wing-men, the ones that do far more than just put fist to face; these are the muscle-men of Don Tomio's Family. The ones who remain loyal to Don Tomio despite everything. Despite even death itself.

One crosses himself when he sees the blood circle.

Good Catholics come to watch a resurrection. They're uncomfortable, Len can tell, but not so much that they'll flee.

These are the men Tomio wants by his side when he moves to take over again.

Nicolas is notable primarily in his absence.

"Watch the goddamn merchandise," Lewis is bitching to Cabrera, who grins unrepentantly. "I know he can be mouthy, but he is the guy resurrecting the goddamn dead here, so I'd be a bit more respectful."

One of the thugs yanks Len and his chair off the floor, sets him upright. "We getting started?" he grunts.

"The circle's almost complete – " Cabrera starts.

"I don't want almost," one of the others says. "I want now. The Don’s return must not be delayed."

He's not the biggest guy there, but he's notable for not wearing any gaudy jewelry, and for how the others defer to him. No excess for him, no; this is a blood-bound Family man. A killer who lives for his master – and who now sees a chance to serve that master again.

A fanatic.

Len loves fanatics. They've got the easiest strings to pull.

"I'm finishing it," Cabrera snaps back. "Then all we have to do is the ritual, and you'll have Don Tomio back, safe and sound. Nothing to worry about."

"You need to fix me, first," Len points out. He's not doing shit for anyone with glass in his skull.

"No," Cabrera says, when Lewis glances at him for confirmation. "Not until the possession is done. I can do that no matter what state he's in."

Lewis smirks. "You get it out once the ritual is underway," he says. "Unless you've decided to do it willingly."

"Still no," Len says. He'd rather die, and he knows very well that they've long passed the point where Lewis would believe him, anyway. There's no playing Lewis now, so Len might as well die for what he believes in.

"Then let's get started."

Cabrera is finishing the circle.

"Pity," Len says. He can’t wait any longer to see what opportunities might come. He’ll have to gamble on the fanatic.

"What's a pity?" Lewis asks, frowning at him.

"Don Tomio, I mean. From what I get about this circle, I'm gonna get possessed by the first ghost that comes by, and then the way my ritual works is that I'll resurrect the first thing I see. No way to guarantee it's the Don – I mean, we could do a possession again afterwards, but –" Len shrugs. "Well, no dice. Guess we'll have to work on faith."

"We will not work on faith," the fanatic says. "Cabrera will summon the Don first, so that we may ensure his presence during the ritual."

Cabrera's head snaps up. "But – Mr. Alvarez – I need to perform the ritual!" he exclaims.

"Weren't you saying earlier that you could do both at once, if you wanted?" Lewis points out meanly. He doesn't like Cabrera. "With your eyes closed, I think you said?"

Cabrera hesitates. He clearly did say something like that - undoubtedly to earn a few more minutes to cradle his hangover.

"Then it is agreed. We will not risk it," Alvarez says. His eyes don't look quite right - one madman to another. "This is Don Tomio's grand return. It will be done, and done correctly."

"You don't understand –" Cabrera protests. "The strain of possession –"

"I don't care."

Everyone gets tense. Len doesn't see why at first, since Alvarez is behind him, but then he steps forward, and he has a knife out. A nasty one, too, a gut-splitter. You die filthy on that sort of blade.

Alvarez holds it like a man who knows how to use it, too.

"Fine," Cabrera says, what limited courage he has failing him, and he glares at Len. "It doesn't matter. I'll start the ritual, then summon Don Tomio as its finishing. And then the Don will live again."

"The Don first," Alvarez says, clearly pleased by the fear of those around me. "Or else you and me, we have a chat yes?"

"Don Tomio will need me – "

"Of course," Alvarez says. "But he will need you just as well with a few less fingers and toes."

Cabrera scowls, but nods his assent. “Fine,” he says bitterly. “I’ll summon Don Tomio and my personal ghost at the same time; one will possess me, the other him. And then we’ll finally get to it. Happy?”

Alvarez nods his consent.

Len doesn't say anything.

Cabrera grabs his cigar. It's how he controls the possession spell; that much is clear – Don Tomio is in control of the body while the cigar is lit and keeps it until the cigar goes out, then Cabrera resumes control. Len remembers how Don Tomio looked at the burning cigar when he was in control.

He didn’t want it to go out.

The plan clicks together.

Cabrera starts chanting.

Len licks his lips. It’s going to be close.

He sets his mental timer.

Lewis steps forward when Cabrera gestures, takes the knife and cuts himself, lets it drip onto the dried blood of the circle. "I give this blood willingly, for power," he recites, eyes sliding to Cabrera for confirmation. "Take the man within this circle, blood of my blood, for your use."

Sloppy. So sloppy.

"Now I see why the pigs' blood was appropriate," Len says, staring at his dad. "Once a pig, always a pig, huh?"

Lewis' face twists with rage and he steps forward – he's angry, he's going to come hurt Len for daring to speak to him like that – and then Cabrera shoves a hand in front of him. "Don't break the circle," he says. "That's his plan. He's desperate to get out of this. If you step into the circle, you are the man within the circle, and your blood is the same; you will be victim as well."

Lewis is torn for a moment, between his possessive rage and his self-preservation instincts. It's a struggle, but at last the latter wins and he defers to expertise, stepping backwards once more.

Len says nothing. Good thing that wasn't his plan.

Though it would've been nice to see Lewis get what was coming to him.

Cabrera returns to his ritual, but his rhythm is off, disrupted by Lewis. Len's said enough prayers to know that once they're engrained in your mind, it's instinct to start at the beginning, not the middle, and it's hard to pick up where you left off. Cabrera's spells seem to be working the same way, and he's stumbling just the slightest bit.

He’s lighting the stub of the cigar, just as before, leaving the majority of it on the floor next to him.

Cabrera's afraid, just as he always is, now that he's including himself as the host for Don Tomio. Len noticed it earlier – the slightest pause, the merest hesitation, before Cabrera says the name. He's afraid of Don Tomio, and even when he doesn't mean to, he pauses before committing himself to the summoning.

"And so to this place, to this time, I call upon you, restless spirits of the dead. I call upon you, the two spirits whom I name, you who wish to come to this place. I call upon thee by name -" Cabera is saying, as grandly as a miserable little man like him can manage. "I call upon thee –” And he pauses again, just that hairs-breath of hesitation that Len was counting on. “Thomas Antonio Salvatore Santini – "

As soon as Cabrera starts with the first name, Len speaks as well, matching his inflection.

"Michael," he says as quietly as he can manage. "Michael Christopher Sebastian Rory."

"— and also –" Cabrera begins, but it's too late.

Len might have glass in his head, unable to access his own power, but as he’s already seen, Cabrera’s summoning spells work just fine through Len’s ghost-repelling aura. Cabrera’s summoning ritual, modified by Alvarez’s insistence, called for two dead souls who wanted to come here, to this place.

Cabrera probably thought that that would safely limit it to the souls he had waiting, Don Tomio and his pet ghost, since who else would know to want to come here?

He would be right, too, if Mick didn't know where this place was. If Mick didn’t desperately, overwhelmingly, want to come to this place to rescue Len, stopped only by Len’s own repulsion of all ghosts from this place.

Cabrera might have been more specific if he'd known about the risk, but Lewis never told Cabrera that they'd been found. He wouldn't have, and Len knows it – Lewis never admits that his plans have gone wrong, even when it’s obvious that they have.

So Mick knows where they are – and he wants to come to Len’s side. He wants to be here.

And anti-ghost aura or no, Cabrera's summoning and possession spells work just fine.

The room fills with wind.

Cabrera's eyes go wide but it's too late – the blackness, the filth of Don Tomio Santini's soul, is running up his face, into his mouth, smothering the one person who realizes what Len's done.

Len braces himself for the crawling blackness himself, expects it, even, but –

Mick's soul isn't black.

All he's done as a ghost is not on his soul, but on his spirit; his soul's fate was written when he died at fifteen, victim to impulses he did not understand, an accident that gave him such guilt that he refused to pass on but for which he is not truly at fault.

Mick’s soul is a breeze, a rolling wave of lightness like the first day of spring.

Len is not smothered, forced down and silent. He is surrounded. He is loved.

Boss? Mick asks, voice ringing inside Len's head, clear as a bell. No offense but – what the hell?

Len has never been more relieved in his life.

I am so happy to see you, Len replies, finding himself incapable of using his lips. It would terrify him if it was anyone but Mick, anyone he trusted even a jot less.

But what’s happening?

You’re possessing me.

Uh. What? Can we do that?

Apparently, Len says. But that’s not important right now.

It’s not?

No. Right now, I need you to start a fire.

Shoulda known you wanted me for the arson...

Len tries and fails to roll his eyes.

Mick opens his – well, Len's – eyes, which Len at some point seems to have shut.

Tomio is looking out through Cabrera's eyes, smug and satisfied. "Now," he says. "About my resurrection –"

"Resurrection?" Mick asks through Len's mouth. "Are you fucking kidding me? He'd never resurrect you."

And you don't even know who he is, Len thinks happily.

I know you, boss, Mick retorts. It wouldn't matter if he was Santa Claus.

"Something's gone wrong," Alvarez says.

They're surrounded by Santini men – and Lewis – and they're commanded by Don Tomio. Everything is about to go very badly.

Mick? That fire?

Mick smiles.

The walls of the room goes up in a rush of flame.

Mick is a very powerful poltergeist to retain his powers through a possession.

But Len knew that already.

There’s screaming and shooting – because of course the thugs go for their guns, even though they don’t know who to shoot – and Mick gets Len’s body out of the ropes and the circle and goes straight for target number one.

Len didn’t even need to tell him it was Lewis.

“What –” Lewis chokes out just before Mick wraps his hands around his throat. He’s clutching at his shoulder; he’s been shot.

Len can hear shouting and shooting from downstairs, too, and explosions as well.

The Flash and his team are here, causing chaos.

Perfect.

“Fix him,” Mick snarls, his eyes – Len’s eyes – flaming white; Len can see it reflected in the window on the side of the room. The flames crackle around the edges of the room, already making it too hot; the doorway to downstairs is still open, but the flames are starting to crawl up the curtains and edge forward towards the center where everyone is standing. The escape route is closing. “Fix him now.”

“And then what?” Lewis sneers, even as his fingers fight to pull Len's own off of him. Possessed or not, Lewis will never see Len as a threat. “You’ll kill me, is that it?”

He’s reaching for his pocket.

Don’t let him get the detonator!

“If you fix him, I won’t kill you,” Mick says instead.

Lewis pauses. He's always been good at spotting opportunities to make a deal. “Oh, sure. But he will, I take it?” Also at spotting potential loopholes.

“No,” Mick says. “Neither he nor I will kill you. I swear it.”

Lewis’ eyes narrow.

“Last chance,” Mick says. “Or I’ll let the Santinis have you – and blame you for what’s gone wrong.”

“Fine,” Lewis snarls, and holds up a black brick – a magnet? – to the back of Len’s head.

Len howls in pain as the back of his head just rips open, the iron shards embedded in the glass ripping it out in a single horrifically painful motion, no finesse to it at all, the back of his head suddenly wet with blood that starts dripping down his neck.

And suddenly, through the pain, eclipsing it, his head is clear.

The room fills with ghosts almost immediately, all of the ones who have been held back streaming forward to fill the vacuum Len inadvertently created, and the room is full of them, flooding the room, filling it.

It’s loud. It’s so gloriously loud.

Len was so afraid that he’d never hear them ever again.

They’re back.

He’s back.

Lenny! Lenny, you okay?

I will be, Len tells him. He’s happy Mick doesn’t feel the pain as the back of Len’s head pours out blood – Lewis was clearly counting on the pain immobilizing Mick because he immediately starts struggling to get free, but Mick’s not having any of that – but still, that fucking hurt.

Do you want to deal with..?

Mick means Lewis.

He means -

Something has to be done. Lewis knows about Len's power, now. He can't be permitted out of here with that knowledge, promises or no promises.

And the only way to keep that knowledge secret is -

Len swallows. No, he says, hating himself just a little bit for not being able to do what he has to, but that little boy inside of him that so wanted his dad's approval won't stand for it even if Lewis deserves it a million times over. Len can't do it, not with his own hands. I can’t. You do it.

Fire?

No, Len says, the idea coming to him. You told him we wouldn’t kill him.

I was lying, boss.

I know. But do this instead…

Mick smiles with Len’s mouth and picks Lewis up. “Boss doesn’t want me to break my word,” he rumbles. “So I won’t. Doesn’t mean you ain’t gonna get exactly what you deserve, though, you prick.”

And he throws Lewis into the still-active blood circle.

And the ghosts – now that Len’s ability is returning, fast and loud and glorious – are streaming into the room, hundreds of them, friendlies and unquiet dead both, and they’re all as hungry for life as always.

And the blood circle promised them a man of that blood in exchange for power.

Lewis starts to scream, but it cuts off and he gags on it.

He dies on the floor, choking on the unquiet dead that rip his life away from him in greedy handfuls.

Just like Len’s mom.

Good riddance, Len says, but his chest feels weird. Like something’s gone wrong in there.

I’m gonna get out of here, Mick says.

Len exhales, and Mick is hovering in front of him. “Why the sudden rush?” Len asks.

Mick wraps a hand around Len’s arm. It’s the way he hugs Len in public, or when he thinks Len's about to have a panic attack.

It helps.

“Try breathing,” Mick suggests.

Len does.

That helps, too.

And then he turns to the rest of the room.

Don Tomio is still in Cabrera’s body, giving orders to his people, trying to reign in the chaos, put out the fire.

“Hey, Tomio!” Len calls.

The Don looks at him.

“You will never come back to life,” Len says. “I’ll pass on myself first.”

The Don’s face twists in terrible rage.

“I’ll give you one tip, though,” Len adds. “Cabrera used fire to control you, didn’t he? The cigar?”

“What about it?” Tomio snarls.

“The fire expanded before it was put out,” Len tells him. “Now it’s not just the cigar, it’s the whole room. As long as this fire keeps burning, he can’t cast you out – and I can’t touch you while you’re in there. Or won’t, which is the same thing in the end.”

Len watches as Tomio’s back goes straight. “Stop!” he roars. He doesn't want to go back to being a ghost; no ghost ever does. “Don’t put the fire out – corral it, but make sure it doesn’t go out! Someone get on the phone with whatever agents we have at the fire department! This fire needs to keep burning!”

Len glances at Mick and nods. Mick nods in return and wraps his arms around Len, barreling out the window and floating them down to the ground.

“What was that last bit about?” Mick asks as they land lightly. “Don Tomio – I remember him. He’s bad business. Why tip him off on how to stick around?”

“The medium he’s possessing – Cabrera – he’s worse,” Len tells him. “And every extra hour he spends in Cabrera’s body burns the years of Cabrera’s life away. Besides, Tomio will fade away anyway - he's lost his only reason for sticking around, the thought of finding some way of coming back. Now that he knows it's gone, there's nothing keeping him here.”

Mick nods.

Len can’t help but pull him close. He’d been so afraid.

It’d been so close.

“Mick,” he says, his voice cracking a little.

“I got you,” Mick says. “I’ve got you, now and forever.”

“You bet you do,” Len says.

“Hey, you guys! Rory, stop cuddling your boyfriend,” Barry says, coming to a stop in front of them. “We’ve got to put out this fire before it spreads.”

“Give it a little time,” Len says, not letting go of Mick. “I’m glad you found me. Were those explosions I heard just now?”

“That was 100% your Junior Rogues' doing,” Barry tells him. “Your responsibility. Also, do you have any other bad family members I should know about, just for safety’s sake? Evil uncles? Grand-aunts? Someone’s aunt’s second cousin’s former roommate? Something?”

“You’re less tactful than I am, and I’m dead,” Mick tells Barry.

“Oh, speaking of which,” Barry says. “Lisa said to tell you that the second you get back, she’s going to murder you both.”

Len starts laughing.

[nekoannie-chan]

More time

More time

Title: More time.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Brock Rumlow X Double agent!Reader.

Word count: 178 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: You have a secret that you don’t want the Avengers know.

Major Tags: Secret, fluff.

Additional tags: This is my gift to entry to @caplanbuckybarnes BrokenHearts4Caplan Challenge with the prompt:

"I wish we had more time."

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard

You were on a covert mission with the Avengers. You had managed to infiltrate the Avengers Tower.

Finally, one night, the door creaked and Brock appeared, drenched in rain, a smile appeared on his face.

“You're here,” you whispered.

“I'll always be wherever you need me,” he replied, reaching over to take your hand.

You began kissing each other desperately, you knew you didn't have much time.

“I wish we had more time,” Brock said suddenly. “More time to be together, without having to hide.”

“I want that too,” you replied, you felt the tears start to build up in your eyes. “But you know we can't...not yet.”

You hugged each other tightly wishing time would stop.

“Promise me that no matter what, we'll still find a way to see each other,” you whispered to him.

“I promise,” he said, kissing your forehead softly.

He left, and a few minutes later Steve showed up.

“Who were you talking to? “he asked you.

“I was reciting some Shakespeare lines,” you lied. They weren't going to let them be discovered.

[nekoannie-chan]

Admirer

Admirer

Title: Admirer.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Darkish!Steve Rogers X Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!Reader.

Word count: 537 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: You have an admirer.

Major Tags: Attempt of kidnapping, stalker.

Additional tags: This is my entry to @the-slumberparty Navy & Roo’s Sundae Bar with the prompts:

"Flavour: Chocolate & Birthday cake."

"Topping: Graham crackers & Peanuts."

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard

At your apartment door, a package was outside again. This was the tenth time in two weeks that you had received an anonymous gift, from flowers to small souvenirs of places you had always wanted to visit, yet there was not a single clue as to the sender.

Upon opening today's package, you found a beautiful silver pendant, with a small blue crystal, along with a note:

To brighten your darkest days, with love your admirer.

You sat on the couch, holding the pendant in your hand. It wasn't just the mystery of the sender, but the feeling that someone was watching you, someone who knew too much about you.

You began to remember, until you got to that day 5 years ago, Steve was hanging out in your office, yet something about him had made you feel uncomfortable, despite all the signals you sent, he didn't seem to understand until you had to reject him outright.

After that, Steve disappeared from your life, or so you thought, you never had any mission with him again. But there was no way it was him; it just wasn't his style.

That night, as you were getting ready for bed when you received a message from an unknown number.

Enjoy the pendant. Tomorrow there will be more.

”Who was this person?

Who was this person? What did he want from you?

The next morning, as you left your apartment, a new package was waiting for you. This time, inside the box was a picture where you were in your favorite spot in the park, reading a book along with a note.

I've always been watching. I have always been waiting.

That night, when you got home, you found your door ajar. Everything seemed to be in its place until you saw an envelope on the kitchen table. Inside, a handwritten letter.

Dear T/N, I know this must be confusing. But everything I do is for love. A love you never returned. I remember the day you rejected me like it was yesterday. To prove to you that I'm the only one who really knows you, the only one who really loves you. I know a secret of yours. Something you've never told anyone. Something that could destroy your life if it got out. You remember that night, three years ago, when you were at that party....

You remembered that night, the party where you lost control and made a terrible mistake.

Tears began to roll down your cheeks.

One night, as you were getting ready to go to bed, you received another text.

See you in the park, where I took the picture. This time, face to face.

You knew you couldn't run away forever so you went to the park. There was no one there so you walked until under the dim light of a street lamp, there was Steve.

“Steve,” you said, you tried not to make your voice sound shaky. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why?” he replied, ”Because you rejected me. Because you were the only one who didn't want me.”

Suddenly it seemed that other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were approaching the scene.

“I'm not done with you,” he growled before disappearing into the darkness.

[nekoannie-chan]

Not really dead

Not really dead

Title: Not really dead.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Steve Rogers X Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!Reader, Brock Rumlow X Agent of HYDRA!Reader.

Word count: 267 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Steve thought you died in that mission.

Major Tags: Death of character, implied experiment.

Additional tags: This is my entry to @caplanbuckybarnes 3 words Challenge with the prompt:

"But you died!"

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard

It was a dark and stormy night when you and Steve infiltrated. The mission started smoothly, but suddenly, without knowing how, everything turned into chaos.

You came face to face with Rumlow; you started to fight; however, he managed to hurt you badly.

You were very weak when Steve found you; with tears in his eyes, he held you in his arms.

“I'm sorry, Steve,” you said in a barely audible voice before closing your eyes for the last time.

Although he tried to take you with him, he had to leave your body there to escape; his heart was broken with your loss.

What Steve didn't know, however, was that Brock had other plans for you. He took your body to one of HYDRA's bases.

Months later

Steve had another mission with the Avengers; he still couldn't get over your death.

As they moved forward, Steve felt a familiar presence. As he turned the corner, he came face to face with you, wearing the HYDRA uniform.

“But you died!” said Steve, stunned.

Your eyes, now cold and calculating, showed no emotion. Steve couldn't figure out what had happened to you.

Steve's heart broke again, but this time he was determined to save you. He was trying to reason with you, but you attacked him, and as soon as you had the chance, you ran away.

Steve noticed that you had dropped something; it was the necklace he had given you on your last birthday. He promised himself that this time he would not lose you; he would do everything necessary to find you again.

[nekoannie-chan]

New experience

New experience

Title: New experience.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Steve Rogers X Reader.

Word count: 282 words.

Rating: Mature.

Summary: You and Steve wanna try something new.

Major Tags: Implicit smut, office sex.

A/N: This is my entry to @sweater-daddiesdumbdork and @yenzys-lucky-charm Horny Hoes Hootenanny with the Smutty dialogue prompt:

A: “Oh, fuuuuuc…”

(B slaps hand over A’s mouth in an attempt to keep them quiet)

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard @rogersbarber

It was a quiet afternoon at the S.H.I.E.L.D. offices; everything seemed monotonous as usual; however, for a few days now, Steve and you had been talking about how to do new things in your relationship, looking to get out of the routine.

“How about doing something different?” suggested Steve with a mischievous grin.

“You mean...?” You asked, looking at him; he usually didn't propose things like that.

“Yes, here, in the office,” he replied, looking around to make sure no one was around.

Steve got up and closed the door carefully, making sure no one could interrupt them.

Then he walked over to you, put his hands on your hips, and looked down at you.

“Just a moment, and quickly,” he whispered.

You let yourself go; however, the possibility of being discovered gave you a mixture of nerves and excitement.

“Steve...” you started to say, but you couldn't finish the sentence. Suddenly, you heard a noise coming from the hallway.

“Oh, fuuuuuc...” was all you managed to whisper in a panic. Steve quickly put his hand on your mouth, trying to silence any sound that might give them away.

Your eyes widened, between surprise and fear of being discovered. You could feel the warmth of his body close to yours and the racing beat of his heart as you both stood still, waiting for the noise to stop being heard.

“Shh,” Steve said, his eyes focused on you.

After a few moments that seemed like forever, the noise stopped, and you both sighed in relief.

“Ready to continue?” murmured Steve, a playful smile.

You nodded a nervous smile on your lips and then licked your lips. You could do anything with Steve.

[nekoannie-chan]

Pain

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Reader.

Word count: 622 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Steve broke your heart

Major Tags: Doubts, cheating, Sharon Carter.

Additional tags: This is my entry to @flordeamatista Loveeeeeee Song Writing Challenge with the prompt:

"You ever love somebody so much you can barely breathe when you're with 'em. Love the way you lie"

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

@saiyanprincessswanie.

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @harrysthiccthighss @marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard @rogersbarber

You were running as fast as you could; it was as if something was stopping you from breathing. Your heart was pounding like it was going to explode, but you knew it was because of all the feelings pressing on your chest. You had decided to surprise Steve; you knew how to help him so he and Bucky could escape. However, the surprise was for you when, on arriving at the agreed-upon place, you saw Steve kissing Sharon Carter. The pain that shot through you was indescribable, probably worse than if you had been stabbed straight through the heart, making the air dense and unbreathable, as if you were trapped and imprisoned in a tiny place. You froze, unable to look away from the scene unfolding in front of you. "You ever love somebody so much you can barely breathe when you're with 'em," you thought, each word feeling like an open wound in your heart. At that moment, you wondered if you could ever breathe normally again.

Steve slowly pulled away from Sharon, but suddenly his attention was drawn to you. His eyes, full of surprise and concern, searched yours for an explanation he couldn't give. None of that was supposed to have happened.

You tried to say something—anything that could explain your presence there—but the words stuck in your throat. You couldn't bear what you had just seen; you wanted to run away, or maybe give an explanation or pretend nothing had happened, but how could you ignore what you had just witnessed?

Similarly, Steve looked confused, as if he wanted to explain, although he didn't know exactly what to say either.

The silence between you was too much; you were sure that any sound, even the slightest, could be heard. Finally, it was Steve who broke the impasse, taking a few hesitant steps towards you.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, his voice heavy with regret and confusion. "I don't know what to say... You shouldn't have seen that."

Tears threatened to overflow from your eyes, but you forced yourself to hold them back. You didn't want to show him your weakness, not when he had seen enough. You took a deep breath, trying desperately to find the right words to express everything you were feeling at that moment. Even though it seemed impossible, you felt like a fool for always supporting him in everything, for loving him, and for letting him play with your feelings.

"I'm sorry," Steve repeated, moving even closer, as if he wanted to reach out to you but was afraid of scaring you. "I didn't mean to hurt you. You shouldn't have been here."

Your lips trembled before you began to speak. You needed strength and to concentrate on what you were going to say, even though it seemed so difficult. "I don't know why I came," you confessed, the voice barely a whisper that came through. "I thought... I thought I might...". You stopped, unable to finish the sentence, as the lump in your throat threatened to stop you from speaking.

Steve looked at you and reached out a hand towards you, but hesitated before touching you, as if he feared his touch would only make things worse.

"I don't know what to say," he finally admitted. "I can't explain what happened... between Sharon and me. But it doesn't change how I feel about you."

Steve's words left you dazed and confused. How could he say he loved you while he was entangled with someone else?

You turned around and started to walk away. Sometimes love wasn't as sweet as everyone thought it was, and sometimes it seemed like it was trying to drown you, on the verge of stopping you from breathing.