#and ofc. chips are slowly becoming more air than chips

[thelov3lybookworm]

Flicker Out

Summary: Azriel's chest becomes hollow, and the place where once love bloomed, only emptiness remained.

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Word Count: 1950

Warnings: angst, angst, death (but she comes back) az in agony, a lil bit of me being poetic ofc 🤭 did i mention angst? oh and more angst and angst

A/n: based on this request by an anon. i adore this request and it was litterally one of my fav ones to write. i just couldnt stop writing once i started tbh 🥹

(@potatoplace this is the fic i mentioned hehehe 🤭😏)

anyways, enjoyyy🥹🤭

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There was almost nothing that could distract Azriel when he was locked in battle. He could not afford to let his mind stray from plotting the next defence, the next manoeuvre, the next attack. It was almost similar to a dance, except he did not know the song and hated his partner, and he also had to be mindful of anyone who might attack him while he was focused on this waltz between life and death.

The soldier whose sword had come within an inch of Azriel’s throat- only the second one since the battle began, unsurprisingly- sneered at Azriel, his teeth stained red and almost half of his face slashed by a vicious stab wound.

Azriel almost pitied the male. Almost. And only because he knew a thing or two about having untreatable scars after escaping the clutches of death.

Still, Azriel heaved his whole body weight against his sword forcing the soldier to yield a step. Azriel’s eyes moved quickly, searching for places the soldier might have left open for him to attack, and gleefully, Azriel noted that his ribs were open. His armour seemed to have chipped off in a corner, and seemed a size entirely too big.

That’s stupid, but good for me.

Azriel moved his blade away from his opponents, swiftly bringing it down to the side of his ribs. The blade had almost touched the male’s unarmoured body when Azriel faltered.

Too empty.

Void.

How?

Azriel breathed in, his eyes losing their focus before a sharp sting brought his attention to the dagger that now seemed to have befriended the skin and bones of his thigh. He looked up, feeling the blood drain from the wound on his thigh- though the concern was in the back of his mind- and his heart. The place where constant love from his mate flowed, a gaping wound had appeared. That hurt more than any fatal wound to his body could.

How?

Azriel did not see nor hear anything around him, his consciousness too busy scrambling to figure out why he could no longer feel her. But it was the warrior instincts in him that his peers had drilled into him, making him instinctively raise his sword, eyes slowly moving to meet the spooked gaze of his enemy, and within the moment, those same eyes stared up at the open, vast sky, unseeing and unfeeling.

But Azriel was already bolting towards where he had felt the last pump of love coming from, and nothing and no one, even the mother, could have stopped him from cutting through the soldiers trying to get in his way as smoothly and viciously as a hot knife cut through butter.

Y/n. Please.

Azriel’s chest heaved, tiny needles stinging his sides and the muscles in his thigh protesting, but still, he ran. Ran towards his love, the one he doubted but refused to admit was…

Gone.

Azriel spread his wings, despite knowing it would just drain his energy faster. He could not walk through his shadows either. They were tired too. Running took too much out of him, and flying would take him to her faster, even if it hurt his muscles and wounded wings.

Please. Just please stay.

From the height his wings took him to, he looked around, and then leaned forward, gliding through the air and riding the breeze that took him closer to where his mate was.

The first thing he saw was a small crowd of his family members. Mainly, Rhys, Feyre and Cassian. The second thing he saw as he touched the ground was the cauldron.

And then…

Y/n.

She lay motionless on the ground, staring up at the sky.

And in that moment, Azriel didn’t care that Rhys stood over his sister’s body, crying. Azriel did not care that his family members who did not know of his relationship with Y/n stared at him wide eyed as he pushed them away from her.

He simply dropped to his knees, his thigh protesting. But he gently grabbed Y/n’s cold hand, his own scarred ones shaking and covered in blood. He let loose a ragged breath, eyes filling up with water as he stared into the empty gaze of his beloved.

He screamed.

A loud, wordless scream ripped from his chest, the sheer pain and longing and regret echoing through the battlefield, even worlds not his own. His heart no longer beat in that familiar, unnoticeable rhythm people come to ignore most of the time, instead beating like a wardrum.

Hollow and empty, but still too loud for him to not hear.

Where once love bloomed, only sadness and pain remained, and Azriel continued screaming.

When he could no longer scream, he weeped.

He let his forehead rest on his mate’s chest, and he wept. Deep, sorrowful sobs ripping from his throats. They were as deep and powerful and soft as his love for his mate.

And when he couldn’t weep, he whimpered. Sorry, quiet whimpers resembling the silence and lack of warmth in his body and the bond that had once tied the bridge between two souls. The sounds escaping him were low, almost silent, but they were just as loud and impactful as his silent love for Y/n when they could not afford to love freely and loudly.

Azriel’s shadows had regained enough of their power to brush against his ears, his hair and shoulder like Y/n’s hands had once touched him, gentle and soothing and calming.

But there was no calming now, for the storm rising from the shattered pieces of his heart would no longer let him live in peace.

The only peace for him now was death and burial with his beloved.

"Az." The unmistakable shakiness in Rhysand’s voice made Azriel raise his head and meet the sorrowful eyes on his friend.

Azriel said nothing, only letting his eyes wander and take in the crowd that had only grown bigger since he had arrived. The high lords, all seven of them, stared down at him, some with tears in their eyes, like Rhysand, Helion and Tarquin. Some with empathy and pity, like Thesan and Kallias. And then some with quiet sadness and understanding, like Tamlin and Beron.

Under other circumstances, Azriel would have wondered why Beron looked like he knew and had been through what Azriel was experiencing, but in the moment as he tightened his grip around his mate’s hand and curled closer to her cooling body, he could not care less.

"Az," Rhys repeated. "What are you doing?"

But Rhys looked like he already knew what Azriel was doing. So Azriel said nothing, just let his forehead go back to resting on her shoulder.

Muffled words surrounded Azriel, but he heard none of them as he focused on somehow reaching his mate. There must be some way, some sort of… connection to bring her back. Maybe her lingering soul.

Something, anything.

Moments later, Azriel felt a familiar hand grip his shoulder. Despite his lack of will to look at the person, he lifted his head slightly to meet Cassian’s gaze.

"Move back, they’re trying to bring her back."

Azriel stared at Cassian, the words looping in his head for a moment before he could truly process them, then he nodded and scooted back. It was almost unrealistic, but still, Azriel was a drowning male and the hope a wood plank that he latched on without thought.

Azriel watched as Rhysand stepped forward and lifted his hand, staring at it for a moment, tears rolling down his cheeks before he turned his hand, a drop of moonlight dropping straight onto Y/n’s chest.

All the high lords took turns repeating the action one after another, and Azriel watched numbly, still on his knees on the ground, refusing to lose hope but at the same time forcing himself to not hope.

At last, Tamlin stepped away from Y/n’s body, and Azriel leaned forward, his eyes wide as he waited for that feeling to take root in his chest again, the one he had cherished for the past ten years.

But nothing happened for a long moment, and the flame of hope that had begun warming his insides began to flicker out.

"Rhys." Azriel mumbled, his voice cracking. "What happened? Why is she not…"

"Oh Az." Cassian whispered, wrapping an arm around Azriel’s shoulder from the back.

Azriel just stared at her. "Why?"

Long moments passed, and then…

There.

Life.

Just life, pure and untainted, began glowing at the end of the bond, and Azriel laughed.

He laughed, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Az?"

It took Azriel a while to form the two words he uttered, the smile on his face making it impossible to speak.

"She’s back."

Azriel felt Rhysand’s gaze on him, but after Y/n’s eyes slid closed, his gaze was ripped away.

Then Y/n opened her eyes again, blinking twice before her eyes found Azriel’s, unprompted and instinctive.

"Hey." She whispered, and Azriel laughed again. He leaped forward and tackled her into a hug, his hands shaking worse than they had before.

"Hey." He whispered in her ear, and she giggled, patting his back before she stopped suddenly.

"Az… Rhys."

Azriel pulled away, glancing up. He did not care about what Rhys might do to him anymore, considering he had very nearly lost his mate without even having the chance to scream and proclaim his love for her from the tops of Velaris’s mountains like he had sworn to her he would one day. Rhys’s wrath was the least of his worries.

Everyone who was not a part of the inner circle had departed while Azriel had been busy breathing in the fact that Y/n was alive, that she was here. Rhysand stood with his arms folded against his chest, in that protective stance every brother had when it came to their sisters.

But there was that slight tilt to the corner of his lips, a happiness in his stern eyes.

Azriel could not tell if it was because of Y/n being alive or something else.

"Uh…" Y/n mumbled, sitting up. "Hey, Rhys."

He sighed, rubbing his brows as Azriel helped Y/n stand. He quietly stepped forward and gathered his little sister in his arms, holding her close to his heart as Azriel watched, his chest feeling full again.

Though a certain hollowness lingered, and Azriel almost knew it would follow him around like the ghost of his past.

Rhysand pulled away, holding the back of Y/n’s head.

"I don’t know what you two have been up to, and frankly, I don’t think I even want to know, but I will not interfere. When you’re ready, I want to know everything." He glanced at Azriel, the single glance telling Azriel he would have been ten feet under ground by now if his sister was not watching.

Azriel dipped his head, gaze moving back to Y/n. She smiled at him, reaching out to take his hands.

Rhys turned to Feyre, taking her hand too. "Freshen up, rest. Then we’ll talk."

Cassian was already gone, left to find Nesta by the time Rhys winnowed Feyre away. Azriel turned fully to Y/n then.

"Don’t you dare do that again."

She giggled, grabbing his collar and pulling him down. She pecked his cheek, then turned her head to rest it against his chest as he lifted his arms in a practised motion to hold her close.

"Will try."

He pinched her waist, making her squeal. He savoured the simplicity of the moment before pecking the crown of her head.

"I love you, Y/n."

The bond flickered.

And stayed.

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Permanent Taglist: @berryzxx @sarawritestories @milswrites @throneofsmut

@daycourtofficial @sweetorangeblossom @secret-third-thing

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Azriel Taglist: @darthdumbasss @foreverrandomwritings @azrielsmate3 @celestialend

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@okaytrashpanda

[cloveroctobers]

Carmy Berzatto — summer prompts 🍋

A/N: heavily influenced by this TikTok [user: addamsfilms] that put out the idea of bringing Rory culkin onto the show as Carmy’s blood cousin so here it is. Always liked rory so I thought why not? Also watched the show with Rory’s character they mashed up with Carmy’s “the expecting” and it was definitely weird af but I’m not really taking it in that direction lol. Definitely ended up completely different than I originally started! Some light hearted moments from a light hearted OC/Reader with a touch of heaviness because it’s still the bear after all.

*GIFS BELONG TO: @quinzelgifs + @pranink & @thepunkpanther

PROMPT from this list here: Making popsicles.

WARNINGS: kinda lengthy if you have the time, platonic carmy relationship? You tell me. Language ofc + things get physical somewhere towards the bottom, let us pray for Carmy 👀

✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ *

there’s this dull feeling that sits in the center of her chest but after a couple of breaths and the longer she stares at the boarded building, it goes away for now. The air is misty, the sky grey with a faint of yellow behind it; in the shape of the sun begging to be released. She’s not sure how long she’s been rotating her view of staring at the becoming of the bear and the sky but after awhile her body moves her inside.

Inside provides better warmth from Chicago’s spring that she’s peeling off her trench coat. She smells plaster, paint, and dust first before she studies the new layout that’s in mind for the restaurant. It feels much more open than the last time she set foot in here and although it’s only been a few weeks, she still feels like she might have missed out on a lot.

It’s loud inside the bear, drilling, the talking—yelling—it’s the same thing around here and knocking filling her ears as her brown eyes drift back to the only greenery inside. Her eyes go wide as she slowly steps forward to the potted Strelitzia, birds of paradise—if you prefer simpler terms, leaves beginning to droop and tan, later also finding no other than a used cigarette in its dry soil.

She lets out a scream, gaining the attention of Manny and Angel first who are quickly alerted with her presence, wearing their protective head gear before footsteps follow.

“Hey, there she is!” Richie yells as she stands up straight from her leaned over position, “welcome back to the hell hole, starstar!”

She blinks and places a small genuine smile on her face, “It looks great so far but tell me why there’s a cigarette just chilling in my plant?”

Richie glances at the said item and raises his hands in surrender, “wasn’t me this time! Take it up with thing 1 and 2.”

She dips her head, tongue pressing to the roof of her mouth until Richie brings her into a embrace, lightly shaking her from side to side. She swallows the smidge of annoyance for now, a simple hand going around to place on the 6’1 man’s back for a moment.

“Good to see ya!” Richie clicks his tongue just as more faces appear from the kitchen.

First it’s sweeps followed by Tina and Tyler who halts at the door.

“Starla! Sup girl! How’s that stomach treating you?” Sweeps holds out a fist for the girl to bump who snorts as her knuckles touches his.

She knows the man is lightly teasing her, as he analyzes the wall before taking a comfortable lean against it. Starla picks up on this and makes a mental note to ask about it later but she’s still a little annoyed that her baby is slowly failing.

“Yes, mama. How are you?” Tina wraps her arms around Starla, tenderly rubbing her back before moving to stand beside her, arm still wrapped around her waist.

“Eh…a lot better.”

Sweeps comments with a chuckle as he munches on some chips, “We told you not to eat that shit.”

“You did. I just didn’t want to be rude you know?” Was Starla’s reply as Sweeps shook his head.

“And where that get you huh?”

Richie sneezed and sniffed, “Yeah, starstar! You’ve got to kick that people pleasing habit out the way!”

This the young woman already knew, even when Tina nodded her head and continued squeezing her to her side. It was two weeks ago when she decided to try out this new “gourmet” food truck probably six blocks over and ordered some curry goat. She sent pics to the group chat and you already know that shit was fired up—except for the lack of response she received from Carmy.

Not that it mattered anyways, Starla still ate the meal in front of the owners because she was simply starving and on lunch break. Food poisoning was not fun or a good feeling but for the sake of not embarrassing the cooks on the truck…Starla ate the meal. It originally wasn’t horrible at the start, it also wasn’t the best flavor wise but it was ultimately the after that utterly destroyed Starla’s insides.

Which ended up with a nice trip to the hospital and a ugly bill in the mail a week later. Yes she was a woman down for a little while, which sucked for the bear since they needed all the help they can get. It was crazy to not only Starla but to be aware that the goal was to be open in May was mind-boggling. There was so much to do on the list and with Starla being around part-time, she helped out when she could.

Now she was back and she still didn’t know what she was stepping into.

“Hey Star,” Tyler takes his opening as he smiles at her from across the room.

Star smiles back, “Hey, Ty.”

“Glad you’re feeling okay.”

“Thanks, me too.”

Tina hums up at Starla who shushes the older curly haired woman as Tyler moves where the main counter used to be.

“I thought I heard a familiar voice in here,” Sugar greets as she leads the way with Carmy and Sydney not far behind, “how are you? Doing okay? Missed you.”

Starla lightly laughs as the blonde ambushes her with questions and hugs, “I’ve missed you too, Nat.”

“Jesus, let the girl breathe, will you?” Richie calls out while Sugar turns a icy glare to the man with the sledgehammer.

“How’s billy?” Sydney asks afterwards, “…you know the goat?”

“Wow, that joke was awful. Hi, Syd.” Starla says with her usual smile full of laughter lines as the girls share a high-five in greeting.

Starla adds, “I’m definitely vegan now and I’m also wondering why no one’s been looking after my plant.”

Of course Starla knew this was a big request to ask of anybody here and she asked numerous of times if it was okay to leave here. She was met with lots of reassurance from the Berzatto siblings and Sydney that it was fine, just to be met with her dear Cecil fighting for his life here.

“Oh fuck.” Sugar hisses as she peers over at her brother who holds a hand up from his crossed arm position, “I knew we were forgetting to do something.”

Starla pouted as she shifts her jacket from one arm to the other, “It was my mistake for thinking that this currently boarded up place had enough light for my baby.”

“It does—

Carmy starts…

“It will!” Sugar and Sydney say at the same time as Carmy starts speaking a word to Starla.

Tyler raises a finger, “I wish I would have known that was your plant, I would have taken it back to mine and my mom, who’s in town, could have looked after it. She’s good with things like that.”

“Oh no, you’ve done more than enough,” Starla fans her hand at the bandana wearing man, “Thank you though.”

Tyler dips his head with a smile again and Carmy picks up on this. It was no secret that Tyler’s been the most hands on when it came to Starla falling ill. Starla was not expecting this and appreciated the rest who did reach out to her considering they were all under intense pressure. A simple text was fine every now and then just to check in but Tyler felt the need to show up with remedies of self-care packages with the time he did make for her.

It was also no secret that Tyler had his eyes on Starla. How he would get caught just staring at her adoringly from across the room, completely checked out from any conversation he may be having with anyone else. He reached out to Carmy after hearing from Uncle Jimmy about the “shit ton” of help he was going to need in rebuilding the family business.

Carmy was reluctant on bringing Tyler in but he knew he needed more cooks and sure Tyler was only used to preparing diner meals (since that’s all he worked in back in Massachusetts and what he was familiar and comfortable with) but breakfast was Tyler’s specialty, he was eager to learn the ropes, and he had his own special craft.

Who was Carmy to deny that?

Carmy and Tyler weren’t the closest growing up, with Tyler only being a year older but it’s not like they saw each other a lot back then either. If Carmy told you that his mother, Donna Berzatto was a lot…then you can only imagine her younger sister, Lydia, who happened to be Tyler’s mother.

Donna was three years older than Aunt Lydia and once upon a time they were proven to be very close growing up from the bits and pieces Carmy remembers. Apparently Lydia was a, “Prissy man stealing whore and if she had the chance she would have stolen your father if he wasn’t in love with me instead!”

Whatever transpired between his mother and Tyler’s had nothing to do with Carmy’s relationship with his cousin. They just never saw each other, Tyler was heavily into science as a kid, with aliens being at the top of the list, and easily socializing with others whereas Carmy had a stutter that made him shy, studying denim along with ways to style jeans snd preferred world travel books. They emailed a couple of times as kids until Tyler started going to camp and Carmy rather stick to seeing what Michael was up to.

“Look uh, Star. I’m sorry about the plant—

“Cecil.”

Carmy blinked, “what?”

“His name, it’s Cecil.”

Carmy looked around at all the other faces in the room with him right now, resulting in wide eyes from Sugar, a shrug of shoulders from Syd, a stern look from Tina, amusement on Tyler’s face and Sweeps just continued eating unfazed.

“Show some fucken respect, Carmy. StarStar said the things name is Cecil. Cecil the plant! so address it as such!” Richie yelled out to the stressed man.

Starla thought she saw Carmy’s eye twitch and she was expecting that to become an argument between the two men—like usual—but Carmy simply just ran his hands over his face in distress. Exhaling he stepped forward to rest his hands on Starla’s shoulders.

“Want to catch up in the kitchen for a sec, Star?” Carmy asked, peering at the woman.

Starla answers, “sure.”

And with that they exit the deconstructed room to head into the kitchen together but not without a set of wondering eyes. Starla follows Carmy into the office where he awaits for her to take a seat while she’s stops, staring at the hole in the wall.

She pointed while Carmy exhales, “just another thing to add to the list.”

“Okay…so fill me in.”

“Have a seat first.”

“Oh god.”

“No, it’s not anything like that.”

Starla takes a seat, eyes going over some paint swatches for the new office and tilted her head at the sight, trying to fully picture it.

“First and foremost, how are you holding up?”

Starla wiggled in her seat, fixing her imaginary bow around her neck, “Oh! Just dandy, Mr. Berzatto. I sure do appreciate your sentiments.”

Carmy snorts, reaching forward to lightly shove her knees away playfully, “okay, wise ass. No but seriously, you’re doing okay?”

“Always! Of course,” Starla beams with a fan of her hand, “When am I not?”

Carmy presses his elbows into his knees, “uh two weeks ago when you were puking and shitting your brains out?”

“I don’t need the throwback visuals. I lived it already, thanks.” Starla crossed one leg over the other.

Carmy clears his throat, “uh right, yeah. Sorry.”

“Uh huh…are you okay, Chef?”

Carmy shifts his eyes back from the tunnel that wants to set in, a flash of white almost appearing above Starla’s head as he focuses in on the question that’s asked of him.

“Hm?”

“Is something bothering you? Want to talk about it?”

“Oh no,” Carmy frowns with a brief close of his eyes, “I didn’t bring you back here to talk about me. I wanted to check in with you because I know I haven’t been as attentive as I could have been when you were down and I want to apologize for that.”

Starla shrugs, “all I care about is Cecil. His growth should be much bigger and that was a bit of a let down.”

Carmy begins bouncing his leg, “And I don’t ever want you to feel that way because of me, especially when it was my responsibility to at least look out for the damn plant.”

“Talk to it, water it, give it sunlight, and breathe it in.” Starla listed.

“…that salt you’re throwing…stings you know?”

Starla let’s out a small laugh, “well there was a cigarette just lingering in his soil. How is he supposed to grow if there’s nothing but toxins being placed on his roots?”

Carmy couldn’t say much to that since he couldn’t recall if he was the culprit who may or may not have thrown the stick in there on his way out. He also felt like Starla was giving him some philosophy lesson since she tended to do that without notice sometimes. And whenever he pointed it out, she’d just whisper her grandfather’s name who was a retired philosophy professor down at Columbia College Chicago.

“Heard,” carmy remembers to breathe, “I fucked up.”

“Kinda but that’s okay. I won’t hold it against you,” Starla placed her hand on top of Carmy’s, who briefly stares down at their hands together, “We all do sometimes and I’ll get Cecil back together.”

“I have no doubts about that,” Carmy answers, “you’re the one with the green thumb.”

“And apparently Tyler’s mom is too.”

Carmy sits back at that, suddenly quiet which makes a frown attempt to make it’s way on Starla’s round face.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That thing you just did with your face.”

“I just look like this, what do you want me to do?” Carmy was confused and Starla can’t help but to snort out a laugh.

Starla gets to her feet, brown coat held in her hands, “okay car…”

“Are we good?” Carmy stares up at her.

Starla pauses, pretending to think about it, “Duh! I don’t know if you know this Carmy but i consider you family and you’re stuck with me.”

Carmy felt a crooked smile itching to break onto the corner of his lips but he just shakes his head at the brunette. He’s not sure how to feel about that or if he should feel a way about that but at least it’s something.

At least she’s not pissed at him.

The thing about Starla is you’re never sure when she’s upset. She’s usually the happy go lucky one in the restaurant, the soft spoken one. Carmy quickly learned why Michael liked having her around. She brought a sense of peace during the chaos. Starla was as interesting as it comes since she had the culinary experience but didn’t feel the obsession with it.

Cooking became a hobby and once it became a profession she learned it wasn’t something she was in love with like other chefs. She wasn’t ready to devote her entire life into the craft and respectfully she stepped away from it. Until she came across Chicagoland, ready to order until she heard Michael Berzatto yelling about the lack of ingredients. She stepped in with a suggestion and from there, Michael wanted her in the shop for her quick thinking but gentle nature.

It wasn’t a done deal by any means, she proved herself in the kitchen with her out of the box thinking. Yes she went to school for a year, almost two, which she learned a lot spending time in the Netherlands but that didn’t feel like her purpose. It just felt like a experience that she was grateful for and could share with others from time to time but she enjoyed the roots of culinary arts in different spaces.

Which means most of her time was spent working at farmer’s markets and tending to farms (yes in Chicago!) and community gardens. That’s where her heart lay but she had to be honest and say a piece of it would always be here too.

“Good, Good.” Carmy states as he’s now on his feet, resting his arm across Starla’s shoulder, beginning to lead her out of the office while his phone buzzes.

Starla sighs, “you know what would make this tense energy better?”

“What’s that?” Carmy searches his pocket for his phone, peeking at it but continued holding it in his hand.

She rests her head against his shoulder in deep thought, “Making popsicles.”

“Marcus is still in Copenhagen.”

“Please. I’m well aware, that’s my other bestie. Location on at all times.” Starla stares at Carmy as if he’s just offended her.

Carmy scratches at his brow, thankful that his phone stopped buzzing, “that’s a thing?”

“Heck yeah it is! You can’t just send my bestie away to another country and not expect me to not keep consensual tabs on him! And I would do the same thing for each and everyone of you if they decide to leave for awhile.”

Carmy stops walking as he looks at Starla, “and what if you decide to leave?”

“Then…I guess that means I’d truly wouldn’t want to be found. Which would take a lot for me to do, I’m sure.” Starla faces the wild-haired man who pinched at his bottom lip in thought.

Carmy recently had this dream—or nightmare of Starla calling it quits. He summed it up as Starla breaking free—and that’s on high school musical! There were haunting cellos, the setting was iridescent but gritty and Carmy couldn’t see Starla’s face. He just knew they were sitting face to face on a white solid floor that turned into milk and he kept wanting to reach out to her but couldn’t. He felt his mouth moving but couldn’t hear anything but the cellos.

carmy didn’t know what that would mean if that became reality.

“Popsicles in the middle of April? I don’t know about that, we’re still trying to get the repairs done because we really can’t fail another inspection.” Carmy informs Starla who grips his shoulders.

“Listen, we can all use a beach day.”

“I’m not going to beach.” Carmy’s nose scrunched in distaste.

Starla pokes at his chest, “Okay fine! We don’t have to physically go there but I’ll bring the beach to you.”

“How is that going to work?”

“You have all this extra space now.” She taps her temple.

“There’s mold in the back room, holes in the walls, Syd and I are still working on the menu, walls that still need to be painted, inspections that need to be approved, new furniture that’s been placed in storage—

“And we will get to all of that. I’m sure all of the progress that you’ve made still counts for something and I can’t wait for you to realize that.” Starla told Carmy as she squeezed his shoulders, “and I’m gonna make you a appointment with my mom so she can get those boulders out of your shoulders but first…popsicles!”

Just like a flash of a camera, Starla whirls by him, pushing the kitchen doors open as she claps her hands getting the attention of everyone, “friends! May I have your attention, please?!”

“Guys! Star’s talking!” Tyler calls out to the rest, eyes solely set on her.

Starla winks at the round blue-gray eyed man across the room in thanks before clearing her throat, “Carmy and I are proposing the idea of a summer’s day.”

“Which means what? I don’t follow.” Tina asks, figuring that maybe a new culinary term she may have missed out on.

“I’m gonna go striking?!” Richie raises his fist in the air with a wide grin full of teeth.

Sydney immediately shields her face, “Oh please no.”

“Hearing that is making me nauseous again.” Sugar covers her mouth.

“You better not, don’t nobody want to see that.” Tina points at the taller man who just kisses his lips at the Latina.

“What?! I’ve got a great body,” Richie defends, “Just ask Freya!”

Fak pokes his head out from around the corner, “I believe you buddy! I’ve accidentally walked in on them once—

“Whoa! Hey! Shut the fuck up, please.” Carmy scowls, not wanting his old time friend to finish that sentence.

“Love you man, thanks for having my back! Unlike some people.” Richie slaps Fak on his back while glaring at Carmy who sneers at him in response.

Starla puts her hand on Carmy’s shoulder while sending a look to Richie who stands back on the balls of his feet, slowly putting his F U motion down from his chin once he realized Starla’s brown eyes were on his.

“As I was saying…we’re bringing summer to the bear a little early! Which means—

She lightly bumps Carmy’s shoulder to finish, “which means uh, making popsicles.”

“Making popsicles?” Sweeps asks, “I’m down.”

“And what else?” Carmy whispers to Starla.

Starla tells, “and we’re gonna have a beach day basically.”

“How are we gonna do that? Are we actually going to beach?” Tina questions.

Carmy quickly tossed in, “No. we don’t really have the time.”

“But we have time to make popsicles?” Sydney holds her arms out in bafflement.

It’s Carmy’s turn to stare at his partner considering her very valid concerns, “Look I know this is unexpected coming from me. However I’m taking my conversation with Star into consideration and will allow this break as a uh—as a learning experience for us all. I’m not the best at desserts and treats so this’ll give us the chance to bond and get inspired by your inputs by contributing this to the menu.”

“Wow, Carmy. That was beautiful.” Fak cradles his wrench to his chest while Carmy just shrugs, briefly glancing at Starla who smiles at him.

Sugar lifts her shoulder, “whatever, I can use a beach day.”

“You just pulled that out of your ass but I’m fucken tired of looking at these walls so why not?” Richie tossed the sledgehammer over his shoulder, making Angel quickly side-step out of the way.

Carmy ignores Richie again, “Angel, Manny. You guys can head on home and we’ll save you some of the popsicles for you to try tomorrow. Thanks for your work today.”

“You got it boss.”

“Good luck!” Angel chucks up the deuces as he leads the way through the kitchen.

Tina raises her hand, making Carmy point at her, “Jeffery, you said you’re not much of dessert guy so who’s gonna lead us on this?”

“Is it gonna be you, Star?” Sydney asks.

It’s Tyler’s turn to raise his hand, “Um, I can show everyone.”

Carmy blows out a breath, “I was hoping you say that.”

Everyone found themselves gathered in the kitchen, the heart of the bear as Tyler awkwardly held everyone’s attention. Breakfast maybe his specialty but slushies counted as breakfast just as much as smoothies. And popsicles were in the same category right? Tyler knows what he was doing, he swears! Starla stood right beside him, resting a hand full of comfort on his arm which made him stand up a little taller.

“Walk us through the steps, Chef.” Carmy tells his cousin, swaying from one foot to the other as Tyler swallows his nerves but nods his head.

Tyler clasps his hands together, “Okay so popsicles. It’s a lot easier than some might think and I believe we have all the tools we need…depending on what type of popsicles we’re interested in making.”

“I’m sure whatever you choose will be tasty.” Sugar encourages as she leans against one of the tables.

Tyler smiles a bit at his family member, “okay so what you would do is select the fruits you want as your main flavors. I know we have some fruits we can spare, perhaps the raspberries and pineapples?”

“Whatever you need, Chef.” Carmy replies.

Tyler continues, “Thank you Chef. We’re going to chop those fruits up and set half of them to the side but depending on the consistency you want, keep to the side or you can blend the other half or the entire fruit if that makes sense. From there you want to pick your liquid, I personally think rice milk is fire and also your safe bet if you’re serving to a party of people for the first time.”

“Rice milk? That’s a choice.” Sydney hums as she takes this in.

“Yes, Chef. I think it has the best consistency out of all the milks but I’m sure you and Carmy will figure out the best options if this becomes a keeper.”

Sydney glimpses at Carmy who holds her stare before they both turn back to Tyler. Starla also takes notice of this but figured that their thing and has nothing to do with her so she gives Tyler her time.

He goes on about selecting a sweetener of choice, he likes agave nectar, and possibly a hint of something cool, which is optional, like mint whether fresh or with syrup along with a splash of lime. Tina, Sydney, and Richie are on chopping duty while Tyler, Starla, and sweeps tend to the liquids.

Carmy is supervising it all, watching syrup come together as one in a pot before they have to get combined with the fruit. Tyler asks carmy for a few important tools, curious if that was something the restaurant owned for this snack since it’s not what he used back home at the diner. They don’t have the right machine to freeze the popsicles in minutes, which is okay Starla notifies, saying that they can actually venture off to the beach day as she disappears for a good twenty minutes while the rest carry on.

Starla spins around Carmy, seeming brighter as Tyler is using a stainless steel confectionary funnel to pour the soup like popsicle into the molds that sat on the counter. He then encourages everyone to do the same with the set of molds before bringing them to the freezer.

“That shit looks good as fuck, how long do they have to sit for?” Tina asks with a lick of her lips.

Tyler is wiping his hands on a rag, “I’d say at least six hours.”

“Six hours?! It’s already three o’clock.”

Tyler pursed his lips but appears apologetic, “If we had those huge instant freezers then we wouldn’t have to wait as long but time flies fast.”

“I’m leaving at six by the latest, make sure you guys save me one.” Sugar orders with a smile.

“What’s next?”

Fak exhales, “Man, That was shortest break ever.”

“It’s not over yet,” Starla places her hands on the counter, “please head to the beach oasis where the lockers once were.”

Murmurs fill the kitchen area as everyone heads in the direction mentioned. There sat a few beach chairs, towels, decorative sand, a umbrella, a projector that showed the ocean, along with the nagging sound of seagulls, and finally LED studio lights that mimics the hot sun during a summer’s day.

“Whaaaat!” Fills the room as everyone stared around the space in awe.

Starla calls out, “Welcome to a beach day at the bear, friends!”

“There’s actually a cooler here full of beer, hard lemonade and sandwiches. I’m sold and I love you, kid!” Richie yells, ready to yank his arms out of his shirt but not without yanking Starla’s cheeks to place a kiss on her forehead before stalking back to the sand.

Starla watches in peace as everyone makes themselves comfortable from sitting down or lounging in the faux sand.

“You really went all out,” Carmy says from beside Starla, “how long have you had this planned?”

“It’s been on my mind for awhile actually but it really came into effect after I learned about all these inspections,” Starla confesses, “Go on, look at the water, listen to the waves and the seagulls. Really enjoy it and be one with nature.”

Enjoyment? What’s that?

Carmy scratches at his hair, “…I’ll try as long as you officially promise you’re gonna be with us on opening night?”

“Do you really want another chopped on your hands?” Starla inquires.

Carmy looks up at the ceiling thinking about it. He’s heard about Starla’s unaired episode on chopped and how that was the third straw on her not wanting to seriously cook anymore. He figured it was traumatic enough especially since there’s footage that’s not been seen. He felt for Starla truly but he wasn’t afraid to push because he felt she needed to be on his team. If Michael saw it in her then, Carmy definitely saw it too.

“You’re better than that.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure.”

“Practice makes perfect.”

“Nothings perfect and I accept that.”

“Well I don’t.”

“Carmy, Starla’s said before that she doesn’t know if she’ll be with us in the kitchen on opening night and we should just respect that. Im sure she’ll still be here to support regardless if she has on a apron or not.” Tyler cuts in, making them both realize that he had been right beside them this entire time.

Carmy turns his stare to Tyler then, “I didn’t really ask for your input on this, Tyler. I’m the one that gets the say on building this team.”

Tyler sighs, “I’m just saying if you’re trying to keep your team then maybe you shouldn’t just only see your point of view. That’s all.”

Carmy’s tone is clipped now, “I’m sorry, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Starla’s been saying that she doesn’t feel enjoyment in cooking anymore. It just a hobby but Michael wanted her here and you’re kinda forcing her to still be here, although it’s part time. Don’t you get that it sounds like guilt tripping?”

“Are you serious?” Carmy glared at Tyler now, “do you honestly think I have to force anyone to be here? Like I’m not building this to actually be worth something? Worth something that people want to work here, put their soul into? Anybody can fuck off, including you.”

“Hey, Car.” Starla steps forward pushing his finger down as she looks back at Tyler who’s brows are raised, “Ty. Let’s calm down.”

“Honestly…screw that.” Is Tyler’s retort, “Just because he owns this place doesn’t mean he gets to shit on everybody else that may see and think differently from him. He doesn’t really appreciate you, Star. Not enough to let you go.”

“What’re you saying, you asshole?”

“I think you know what I’m saying, you’re just choosing not to hear it or deal with it.” Tyler is calm but his voice holds weight to it.

The sound goes right out of Carmy’s ears as Starla and Tyler share words. He didn’t know why Tyler thought he can come in here, after Carmy allowed him to be here and try to talk shit to him? Tyler didn’t know anything. He was just as new to this place as Carmy once was and he didn’t understand why Tyler felt the need to come at him right now? He’s been as patient as he can with Tyler, picking up on his weaknesses easily in the kitchen but kept them to himself.

He was family after all.

They didn’t get the chance to talk much when it came to Tyler’s personal connection to the kitchen or anything really but here he was speaking on Starla. Like Carmy was a crap person for wanting to see Starla reach her potential. He couldn’t fathom that Tyler was trying to tell him about her. Carmy’s been around Starla much longer than Tyler was and he didn’t miss how he was all puppy dog eyes whenever she was around.

He couldn’t blame him but he also couldn’t stand it.

Carmy usually wasn’t the impulsive one and tended to disassociate from all situations that ended up being too much. He was used to people belittling him and talking at him instead of with him. So he may have been triggered and didn’t realize that he pulled Starla out of the way to get to Tyler.

Until the sound entered his ears again.

“Carmy!”

It was sugar’s voice that brought him back into the scene. He was held up against the wall by Richie, with Sugar trying to get his attention but his eyes continued to search around. Tyler was getting up from the ground, holding his throat while Tina and Sweeps checked on his well-being.

On the floor sat Starla, holding her side, steel table slightly pushed to the side as her eyes swam with tears and Sydney stayed crouched in front of her. Both women turned their gaze to Carmy who was fighting to remember to breathe.

What did he do?

“You tried to rough him up, cousin.” Richie declared as Carmy’s glaciers fought to settle on Richie.

Sugar grips her brother’s face, feeling a bit of déjà vu, “ I love you, Carmen. Please…just calm down for me.”

And as he looked at his sister, he somewhat was.

“You good?” Richie asked, arm still pressed against Carmy’s chest but it was almost like he felt nothing.

Not until he noticed the swinging of the doors, signaling that Tyler was now out of the kitchen and Starla shakily beginning to collect her things.

“Star,” Carmy croaked out, “I’m—

“No!” Starla hissed before slamming her hand on the counter as Carmy almost moved to step towards her, “NO! You don’t get to act like that and expect me to be fine, it’s not right Carmy. This isn’t. I’m tired too and I don’t know how much more you think I can give.”

Carmy feels his stomach turning, like a washing machine off track—much like his own mind, “Don’t leave.”

A watery smile appears on her facial features then and she struggles to suck in some air, making a dull ache appear in Carmy’s chest at the sound.

He was the reason, he didn’t do enough.

“That’s the problem friend,” she gets out before she walks off with her things, taking the light right with her.

Carmy wants to be left alone, hours after that. He silences Claire, Sydney is at a lost for words and that’s another feeling he can’t describe as she leaves with his sister, Tina gives him a squeeze and a look to Richie who just nods his head, before she also leaves with Sweeps accompanying her as the night falls.

Richie knows that this moment was a huge one because he’s had plenty. Carmy needed help and if what he had with Starla is truly broken, he was going to need all the support he can get. Everyone in the bear has never had that on the outside and that’s one of the reasons why everyone’s connection is so strong on the inside. Perhaps that’s what brought them all together.

He doesn’t want to stare at the younger man for long, knowing that carmy would turn his anger on him so he leaves him in the kitchen and takes a seat on a bucket at the front of the restaurant, his desired spot.

That doesn’t stop richie from yelling that he’s here for carmy if he needs him.

He hopes one day he will as he lights up a cigarette and browses Facebook, seeing a picture of Tiffany with Frank on that jackoff’s page.

Richie should block him but can’t bring himself to.

Carmy is back in the freezer, door pinned back with a box full of beef stock as the light inside flickers above his head while he checks on the popsicles. He doesn’t have the energy to find a wooden stick, so he brings the mold back into the kitchen and pushes the frozen treat from the mold.

The popsicle slides against the steel table, leaving a light trail of its liquid behind. With shaky hands, Carmy scoops up the biting cold popsicle and let’s it sit against his skin for a minute before shoving it into his mouth.

It’s the right amount of sweetness and barley tart, as it melts against his tongue while he buries his head into his forearms that rests on the counter.

Blocking out the view of the kitchen and everything in between.

“Let’s go out.”

Starla doesn’t feel like it’s appropriate given the situation but the look in Tyler’s eyes at the front door of her apartment, she doesn’t argue much on it, tossing the ice pack into the nearby sink.

Sure she has words for Tyler too, like sticking his pointed nose in her own battles when it came to her friendship with Carmy but for tonight, she needs something else.

It’s raining hard as Starla sits on the passenger side of Tyler’s beat up pick up truck and he lets up off the gas as they locate a bar. He keeps close, attempting to shield Starla from the rain with his Jean jacket but it’s like she’s on autopilot, walking at ease; almost ahead of him as bits of rain falls over her, trying to knock her down.

Starla and Tyler both share that they aren’t much drinkers (Carmy too) so they limit themselves to two to three shots before Starla’s on the dance floor. Tyler doesn’t want to be a creep but he can’t help but to keep his eyes on the woman who gets lost on the dance floor, dancing the night away and keeping her distance away from anyone that tries to share this personal time with her.

How unlike her.

“She your girlfriend?” A brown skinned woman suddenly to his left asks with bangs.

Tyler stumbles, “ah, no. Just a friend.”

“Her lost.”

“No, it’s mine.” He sternly says to the woman who nods as she rests her hand on his chest in understanding.

Starla moved to the pulsating beat, tequila running fire through her blood with each twist of her body until she feels nothing. And when she opens her eyes to the shimmer diamond lighting along with the numerous of dancing bodies surrounding her…

She should feel alone like she commonly does in a room full of people but the gleam that outlines the frame of her being, tells her otherwise and the standstill in her movements gets her going to the beat again, head held back and arms raised high up to the ceiling with a smile splitting onto her lips.

Fear will no longer be welcomed here.

✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ *

Continue along with my summer anthology series here.

[eloquent-vowel]

Part 4 "Type of" Bucky x OFC (#043)

Description: After two years of upgrades, #043 is finally woken up permanently. Just in time for her fight with the Winter Soldier.

Tags: Angst, Fluff, Slow burn, very much a slow burn. Bucky Barnes x OFC, Winter Soldier X OFC

Warnings: Canon typical violence

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoy the first meeting between #043 and the Winter Soldier. <3

Part 3

The lights were bright. Too bright, the ceiling was blindingly white and it burned. The light burned. Her eyes were dry, so dry, blinking hurt but having her eyes open hurt.

Everything was loud, not everything, some things were quiet, the things that were loud were meant to be quiet. The buzzing of the air conditioner, the static sound of electricity, footsteps that sounded close but felt far away. It was overwhelming but she couldn't speak, there was something in her mouth.

A high pitched whine filled her ears, they began to ring, louder and louder, until it drowned out the buzzing.

"#043, you have finally woken up."

The ringing in her ears ceased and she could now hear the chatter in the room. A face blocked the light from her eyes, a familiar one.

"It is likely you don't remember but you have been up before." Dr. Leeb began to fiddle with some restraints on her wrists. "We had to wake you up to test if the enhancements worked. It may have taken two years but I believe we have made the latest breakthrough in mechanical enhancements."

#043 was finally able to sit up, disorientated and confused. She had never seen the room she was in yet it felt familiar. White walls and medical equipment surrounded her, there were a couple of men in white coats chatting by the door.

"You are a stunning success #043, almost enough to atone for your previous mistakes." Dr. Leeb undid the restraints on her ankles, as #043 sat up to face him. "Now I want you to do something for me. Listen to the men over there." He pointed to the men in lab coats. "You can't hear them now but perhaps if you just focused, you may be able to."

#043 didn't quite know what focusing your hearing felt like but she did was Dr. Leeb said and focused. Her ear began to burn slightly as she focused in but eventually she could hear the two men talking as clear as day.

"... chip in the Occipital and Frontal lobes, replacement of the Stapes, enhanced prosthetics and enhanced senses, what type of monster is..."

#043 tuned out, before nodding at Dr. Leeb.

"What were they talking about, dear?"

"Me." She paused before staring right at the Doctor. "What did you do to me?"

"We have simply made you better now! Enhanced sight and hearing. I upgraded you prosthetics to fit your fully grown form and added some extra bonuses in them! #043, click your heels together."

#043 slowly stood up from the bed, Dr. Leeb seemed much smaller than she remembered. Her knees almost gave out when she put her full weight on them but she caught herself on the IV pole beside her.

"We haven't got all day!"

Struggling, #043 balanced herself the clicked her heels together. There was a slight hissing noise and two small blades perturbed from her feet, from the heel on her left leg and the toe of the right. She clicked her heels again and they retracted.

"Brilliant aren't they. Come on now, its time for you to get used to these new legs and then it is time for you to fully atone."

Although he wasn't mentioned by name #043 knew that her atonement was in the hands of The Winter Soldier.

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

The Soldier stood on the edge of the fighting ring. It was a large concrete circle with walls built up around it, high enough to prevent escape but low enough to allow scientists to stare at him from above. He knew little of why he was here, other than to fight yet another contender. He was tired, tired of the endless fighting, he always won in the end and those who would lose to him would be taken away for more enhancements or to be disposed of.

For this fight, however, there was a palpable tension in the air as the men above him whispered to each other. He was unarmed, except for a small knife which he was currently flipping between his hands. He was unsure how long it had been, how long he had been waiting for but just has the knife in his hands flipped at the fastest it could the doors on the other side of the chamber opened.

The doors parted to reveal a tall figure, probably as tall as him. She was dressed in a similar fashion to him, black vest and her hair pushed out of her face. The Soldier analysed his opponent. She rivalled him in stature, and her eyes were just as sharp as his as he saw her sizing him up as well.

His eyes flicked down to her legs, he felt his arm whirr slightly as he recognised the same mechanics used in both her legs. They were made of interlocking metal parts that glinted in the florescent lights, with every step she took there was a slight whirring as the metallic joints folded over each other.. Her right leg still had her own knee and was made of metal from there down in contrast her left has an artificial knee joint that clacked slightly when she straightened it, the metal plates going far enough up to just brush her hip.

He walked towards her until they met in the middle. He was right, she was the same height as him and almost as broad. Once she was closer to him, he saw that her shoulder's were littered with scars. They were uniform and regular in their placement, perhaps they were a weak spot of hers? He followed her arms down to see the knuckle dusters clasped in her fists. He looked down at his small knife, this was to be a game of wits as well as strength.

All in all he saw her as a threat, he knew he would have to avoid her legs. Now that she was close enough he looked right into her eyes. They were empty. While her eyes moved over him in a clearly assessing way there was nothing behind them. She was devoid of emotion, his heart beat loudly in his ears as he felt pity. Pity and sympathy. A voice came over the intercom

"#043 meet the Winter Soldier, Soldier meet #043."

They nodded at one another.

"#043, you are to defeat the Winter Soldier. This is the only way you may become Eris. Make me proud, my dear, destroy him."

The Soldier looked as the empty eyes of #043 turned from emotionless to anger, she gave no warning before she attacked.

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

It wasn't personal, the Soldier was just a target. #043 thought as she launched forwards. Despite not remembering the past two years her movements were the same as always. Chaotic and destructive. She felt her arms moving before her brain and watched as the Soldier jumped to block her.

The two super soldiers battered at each other. #043 felt her arm getting bruised each time she countered the metallic arm. She stared into the eyes of the soldier and he stared back each trying to predict the others moves. They danced around each other. Exchanging pummel after pummel, the brass knuckles caught the Soldier's temple, tearing it. In retort the knife caught #043's cheek. Blood flowed down her cheekbone and she paused.

The Soldier paused too.

They stood for a moment, fists still raised, eyes still locked. There was a hint of recognition that passed between them. A familiarity of shared experience, a moment of finding someone who could finally understand.

"Do I need to remind you what will happen if you lose this #043."

It was enough for #043 to be spurred into action once more. The Soldier was immediately back on the defensive as she attacked him continuously. He couldn't predict a pattern in her blows. She seemed to move with no thought, no direction other than to harm. Her legs kicked out with shattering force and he soon learned it was better to dodge than block. She was unrelenting, while his body was not as tired as hers his mind was beginning to lag. He had to focus, he had no time to switch to the offensive. He had to wait, to wait for her to get tired, for her to slip up.

She punched, he parried. She kicked to his chest, he sidestepped, His eyes narrowed. She was going to kick, with her left, no RIGHT. A deafening clang rang out as he blocked her leg with his arm. Her foot was an inch away from his head. They were both breathing heavily, neither of them having fought someone as similar to the other. Once more their eyes met, the Soldier hesitated- under all the anger and hatred in her eyes was a desperation- fear. She was scared. Not of him. Of consequence, of losing.

She began to push against his arm. The scrape of metal against metal sent shiver's down #043's spine. But she kept pushing, she couldn't lose, she refused to. She grunted out at the effort it took to break the Soldier's guard. She gritted her teeth, she felt his arm give way, she relaxed and was swiftly thrown off balance by the Soldier throwing her leg away. He took the opportunity to run at her.

She was now on the defensive. Using her arms to block in coming knife swipes. Using her legs to parry his own kicks. She tried to get a jab in. Only to have the knife slash across her knuckles, causing her to drop on of her brass knuckles. They clanged against the floor, forgotten as she had to double her efforts to concentrate. She ignored the shooting pain over her hand and continued to block punch after punch.

#043 was tiring. She knew this. He knew it. She felt him doubling his efforts to trap her. Sweat was dripping down her brow. Her usual ability to predict her opponents movements was gone, her brain too focused on surviving. The Soldier drew closer. She blocked a final jab with the knife but he grabbed her. He grabbed her wrists and twisted. She dropped the other brass knuckle. He pulled her close, twisted so that her back was to his chest, and placed his metal arm around her throat. He squeezed.

"Yield." His voice was quiet in her ear, low enough so that Dr. Leeb would not hear.

She struggled, clawing at his arm. She thought of Dr. Leeb, of the chair, of consequences. Black spots began to dance around her vision. She would not go out like this. She focused on her left leg. The chip in her brain that lead directly to her left leg. She really did not want to be disposed of.

Dr. Leeb watched with barely veiled excitement as #043 let out a guttural scream. He watched as her left leg began to twist, it rotated against her skin until it was facing backwards, the foot facing the Winter Soldier. The leg reared back, unnoticed and kicked. Dr. Leeb laughed as that single kick dislocated the soldier's knee. The Soldier loosened his grip and she escaped. They faced each other once again.

The ache in her leg was almost impossible to ignore as it twisted back to the right place. Much to her annoyance the soldier was still standing. They were both breathless, bloody and bruised.

The Soldier grimaced before snapping his knee back into place, he had given enough for it to be considered a fair fight. It was time to end this fight.

They both moved at once. Their dance resumed. This time they were both switching from attacking and defending every other hit. #043 began to launch a series of kicks. The Soldier kept deflecting them. She knew she was becoming predictable but every inch of her hurt. Her knuckles were bleeding. Spraying red droplets everywhere as she continued to punch. In desperation she began to launch a final switch kick. It felt obvious, she saw the soldier's eyes flick to her feet. He knew what she was going to do. It was too late to change. She launched her right leg towards the Solder's temple. He raised his arm.

There was a thud as the Soldier hit the floor. Unconscious.

#043 blinked. He had seen it coming. He had raised to block it. Had he been tired? Was he too slow? Her win felt wrong. She stood frozen over his form. She had won. She was Free. She was Eris. So why wasn't she happy?

"What type of monster have you created Dr. Leeb?"

Dr. Leeb turned to face the General, a joyous smile on his face.

"I have created an unstoppable tide of chaos, General. I have created Eris."

Part 5

[keanureevesisbae]

The alluring charm of Henry Cavill - Chapter 4

Summary: Henry and Adelaide are on the road for some more challenges, some disgusting, some almost romantic. 

Henry Cavill x Adelaide Park (ofc)

Wordcount: 6k

Warnings: They’re eating weird things (no not each other), but it’s disgusting. I nearly had to vomit when I wrote it and you can thank me later for not including pictures of the certain cuisines they were eating. 

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

Henry can’t say many positive things about ‘The Celebrity Project’, but the fact that they edited a very decent first episode in a matter of twenty four hours, so it could air, is very impressive. It covered the days up to the late night swim. Though the swim was pulled out of context and he hated that (one of the reasons actually he didn’t want to join: reality tv is never reality) the editors made it seem like they were a couple.

Henry realized that they left out the ‘dyslexia question’ he asked her about. Why would they want to do that? Did she specifically asked for them to keep that out or do they not want people to understand her a bit better? He did realize that he had a lot more understanding for her and the way she handles interviews.

Henry walks around the cottage, hoping to find Adelaide, because he saw the new challenge on the coffee table and he can’t to do it alone. He hears her humming from the bathroom. The door is wide open and he catches her standing on a little stool so she can actually see herself in the mirror. He can’t help but smile.

Adelaide owns a huge variety of cute pajamas and today she is wearing a pink short with little avocado’s on it, with a matching shirt. ‘What are you doing?’ he asks, leaning against the doorframe.

She looks up, dots of her night creme spread over her face and flashes him a smile. After they swam in the pool, he felt the desperate need to win slowly slipping through his fingers, as if the dream of becoming James Bond was like desert sand. What was happening to him? He turns in a pile of mush whenever Adelaide is around him.

Yesterday, when the first episode would air, all the duos made dinner with each other and watched the episode together. While they were making dinner, he kept holding himself back, to not pull everything from Adelaide’s hands. It was ridiculous. He knows that she is a mature, independent woman and that she can totally manage.

‘Skin care,’ she says, as she massages in the creme. ‘What are you… here? Doing here?’

They have spend so much time together, that she grows more comfortable around him and of course she makes slip ups every now and then, but her cheeks don’t turn into a fiery red as they used to.

‘We have a challenge downstairs. Figured we should do that.’

‘Of course.’ Adelaide flicks off the light and together they walk down the stairs. She notices the stuff spread out on the table. The two empty wine glasses, the red wine that he got from the cellar and the cards to get to know one another. She takes a chip and plops on the couch. ‘What is it?’

‘Get to know cards,’ he says, trying to hide his wide smile, but he simply can’t. This is what he wanted. He wanted to get to know Adelaide and though they have become closer over the course of the days, she is a professional in not going too deep into her family life and her personal life in general. He sits close to her, her feet almost touching his thigh.

Yesterday, when they all were watching the first episode, she kicked off her sneakers and was almost hiding underneath a blanket. Her feet were warming underneath his leg. He didn’t think she noticed what she did, but as soon as she did, she started softly apologizing, but he simply shook his head and said it was okay. It was well hidden underneath the blanket and despite the warm weather, her feet were really cold.

Henry grabs her ankles and places her feet on his lap, after he poured in the wine in the glasses and gave her one. ‘Ready?’ he asks, placing his hand on her ankle.

‘I think I am.’ Adelaide looks right in his eyes, but he notices her lips pursed together.

‘If you don’t want to answer it, you don’t have to,’ he tells her. ‘Remember that, okay?’

‘Same goes…’ She carelessly gestures to him, but he got the message. Same goes for him.

‘What is your most unusual talent?’ he asks and he visibly sees her relax when she realizes that these are the types of questions. ‘Want to know mine?’ Maybe that’ll ease her mind even more if he starts.

‘Yes, please.’

‘I can do make a four leave clover with my tongue.’ He shows off the ridiculous thing and Adelaide places her hand in front of her mouth.

‘That’s so weird,’ she chuckles. ‘I can’t even do the roll thing with my tongue.’ She sticks out her tongue, almost looking crossed eyed as she tries to roll her tongue. A laugh leaves his lips. He likes it when she’s goofy with him, it shows him that she trusts him. ‘My unique talent is that I can hit a whistle tone.’ Knowing that he wants to hear it, she clears her throat, does some vocal exercises and goes from a pretty high note, all the way to a whistle tone.

‘Damn,’ he mutters out. ‘So I take it that you can sing too.’

She shrugs. ‘Hardly.’

‘Sing something for me,’ he says with a smile.

‘That wasn’t a question on the get to know me-cards.’ She takes the first one out of his hands and says: ‘Next one.’

He’ll get her to sing.

‘Next question,’ he says, getting another card of the deck. ‘Sing the first song that comes to mind.’ Henry can’t help but laugh, throwing his head back against the wall.

‘It does not say that,’ Adelaide says, snatching the card out of his hands. She frowns as she reads the question and she pouts as she realizes it does say exactly that. ‘This is just mean.’

‘I’ll go first,’ he says. The first song that comes to mind, after totally blanking for five whole seconds is the most ridiculous song he has ever thought of in his entire life and that is all thanks to his mom who played this non stop when he and his brothers were growing up.

Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war

Waterloo, promise to love you for ever more

Henry doesn’t get further than two sentences, because he bursts out in laughter when he catches Adelaide’s eye, who is trying her hardest to not laugh at him. He never heard his voice this squeaky and shaky and hides his face in his hand. ‘I’m so sorry you had to listen to that.’

‘Why are you singing Waterloo by Abba? How is that the first song that comes to mind?’

‘It’s all my mothers fault. She used to listen to that song all the time.’

She simply cocks an eyebrow.

‘I blanked, okay and this was the first I could think of. You sing something now.’

Adelaide looks like she is trying to think of all different types of excuses, but knows deep down that she can’t get out of this.

You’re the only one that saves me when I’m alone

You’re the only love that I’ve ever known

But we turned into a flower that never grows

I was hiding like the moonlight that never shows

I should’ve told you that I loved you

One more time, one more time, one more time

She wasn’t looking at him when she sang, but after she said the last “one more time”, their eyes meet and her voice slowly fades out. She had a lovely tone, a warm, nearly hoarse singing voice.

He really does not want her to stop, but he can’t force Adelaide to sing more. The fact that she sang six beautiful sentences to him already, is something he should cherish. ‘Wow,’ he admits. ‘You have a beautiful voice.’

Adelaide doesn’t take the compliment. She simply gestures for the next question. He wants to overload her with compliments, about how she should record an album and he would buy it in a heartbeat, but he decides to listen to her and grab a new question.

‘What celebrity would you most want to sit next to on an airplane?’ he asks.

She smiles. ‘Easy: you.’

‘Me?’ Henry asks, placing his hand on his chest. ‘Why me?’

Adelaide simply shrugs, as a blush appears on her cheeks. ‘I like you.’

She likes him? The smile on his face, is inevitable.

‘But you can pick any celebrity you want,’ he says, ‘and you already know me.’

‘I know,’ she tells him, ‘but I’m not really looking to get to know someone new. I’d rather learn more about people that I already know.’

That is adorable, especially since it’s in the combination with her cheeks turning slightly pink.

‘Who would you like to sit next to on an airplane?’ she asks him.

‘You, of course. We could play some of these cards. You could maybe sing for me.’

‘Shut up,’ she chuckles.

He grins, probably like an idiot and the hidden camera’s here most likely pick up on it. ‘What’s a weird family tradition you have?’

‘Can we skip that one?’ she asks in tiny font. ‘Please?’

He actually doesn’t want to, but he simply nods, taking a sip of his wine. ‘If you joined the circus, what would your act be? I’d be a lion tamer for sure,’ he chuckles. ‘I’d love that.’

‘I could see that happen,’ she says. ‘Especially in a nice costume they always wear. I want to be one of those flexible people.’

‘A contortionist?’ he asks. ‘Why?’

‘That’s fun. Here, see this.’ She straightens her arm in front of her, holding her hand as if she’s telling you non verbally to stop. She turns her hand ninety degrees to the side, another ninety, another ninety, before she actually turned her hand a full 360 degrees.

‘No, no, no,’ he says, as he sees her hand totally twist back to normal. He takes her wrist in his hand, checking her elbow and her shoulder, to see if it’s all okay. ‘That can’t be normal.’

‘Little trick I taught myself back in the day and if you keep it up, you can still do it when you’re older.’ She nods, emphasizing that that it’s true.

‘I believe you.’ He grabs the next question card. ‘Think of a warning label for the other person.’

‘Yours would say…’ Adelaide purses her lips and says: ‘Something about: beware of the charms, because you are by far the most charming man I’ve ever met.’

Henry shouldn’t be blushing, but on the other hand: this is the nicest compliment he has gotten in years. The host of that stupid trivia game kept calling him ‘Handsome Henry with a Brain’ and it annoyed the shit out of him. Being called charming, especially by someone like Adelaide, is something he never knew he wanted this much. ‘That’s sweet, Addy. Yours would be: will kill you with her adorableness.’

She hides her face in her hands, but he is thankful that she does that, since it gives him a moment to hide his own blush.

He finds out a lot about her. She’d rather have teeth as hair, then hair as her teeth (something that he completely agrees with). If she could talk to an animal, she’d talk to a koala because they are so cute, while he would want to talk to Kal. She can’t reach her nose with her tongue, while he on the other hand can.

But he also discovers that she really must have a low tolerance when it comes to alcohol, because after just finishing her glass, she is becoming more and more tired and he watches her drifting off to sleep. He slowly lifts up her legs, so he can stand up. Her neck is craned in a weird position, and he doesn’t want her to feel that in the morning. He lifts her up and carries her to bed. When he placed her on the mattress, she immediately turns around to hug the pillows.

Henry checks the locks and turns off the lights, before he steps into the bed as well. When the room goes completely dark, he hears the soft breathing of Adelaide and he feels her fingers against his arm. He looks to the side, only to see that she is still asleep.

He smiles, before closing his eyes to fall asleep.

◎ ◎ ◎

The next morning Henry wakes up because Adelaide nudges him awake. She is all dressed  up and ready for the day. He stares at her in a lovely white dress, her short light brown hair dancing around her face. The smile on her face is infectious, because he feels one appear on his own face. ‘Good morning,’ she says. ‘I made you breakfast.’

‘You did?’ Henry sits up straight, rubs his face and says: ‘I usually make you breakfast.’

Adelaide nods. ‘I know, but I wanted to do something for you. You know… In return.’ She tells him to hurry and she nearly skips out of the room. He quickly puts on some sweatpants and socks, checking his phone in the process.

Richard: You are definitely doing everything you can to win, now do you?

Why is his agent messaging him? He barely messages him.

Henry: What do you mean?

Richard: I mean, I know you. We’ve been working together for years now. You don’t actually like her now, do you?

Henry: Well, I enjoy her company. I mean, it’s best for me to make most out of it, right?

Richard: That’s not an answer to my question. You like her?

Henry: I like being around her, yes.

Richard: Don’t go catching feelings for her now, Cavill. When you lose, who are you going to blame then?

Henry stares at his phone. Shouldn’t he catch feelings for her? Is that even what he is doing? He meant what he told his agent: he enjoys her company and likes being around her.

But he also likes her. A lot.

He quickly walks downstairs and when he is in the living room, he discovers that Adelaide knows exactly about his preferences. She made orange juice and four sandwiches for him, while she only made two for herself. He also spots some boiled eggs in the middle, some watermelon and even tofu.

‘Wow,’ he says, impressed by the amount of food and how well she actually knows him. This isn’t helping for the not catching feelings, if he even wanted to do that. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’

He takes a seat, just like her and takes a sip of the orange juice. It’s weird, but everything always tastes better when it’s made by someone else. They eat, Henry in his own tempo, while she goes in a much slower pace, as usual.

They have established a certain routine already, a morning routine, a night routine—it’s all so domestic and it isn’t even awkward or forced.

‘I read the next challenge and we’re going on a…’ Her voice drifts off and he sees her frown, as she is moving her lips, syllable for syllable. ‘Sca-ven-ger hunt.’

Henry smiles, proud of how quickly she does it. It usually takes a bit more time. ‘That sounds like fun.’

‘Probably with a twist again,’ she says, taking a bite of tofu.

He can’t help but be amused with how she eats, almost like a hamster. She pouts her lips as she chews, staring into the space. He wonders why she eats so slowly, why she doesn’t even talk his ear off?

Was he disappointed yesterday that she did’t answer that question about a weird family tradition? Sure, but he told her himself that if she doesn’t want to answer anything, she doesn’t need to. And she felt safe enough to tell him her boundaries.

After they ate, he reads the card and he quickly gets ready for real this time. When he comes back, he sees her sitting on the couch, her posture amazing as always. He grabs the keys and he sees she actually has a brown paper bag filled with goods as she stands up.

For a few moments Henry thinks that they are just going on a trip together, no camera’s, just them. He can see it happen: going to the beach, with the snacks Adelaide packed and just enjoying the sun.

But when he opens the car door for her and sees not only the carseat and the camera’s, he realizes again he is on the Celebrity Project.

◎ ◎ ◎

They have to drive for at least an hour and it’s actually Adelaide that turns on the radio. They hear One Direction’s Best Song Ever and Henry doesn’t want to admit that he knows this song by heart and that it’s his favorite song by the former band.

He doesn’t want to sing it, but then he hears Adelaide’s beautiful voice sing: ‘Maybe it’s the way she walked.’

He can’t help but to growl out: ‘Wow!’

She opens her mouth to sing the second line, but the ‘wow’ stops her and she looks to the side. ‘Oh my, is Henry Cavill a Directioner?’

‘Please don’t call it that,’ he says, a blush appearing on his cheeks. Great, if they put this in the next episode (and they will, Henry knows for sure), the whole world will know that Henry Cavill is a Directioner.

‘This is cute,’ Adelaide laughs. ‘Tell me, who was your favorite.’

Knowing he can’t get out of this, he mumbles: ‘Harry.’

‘Figured.’

‘Yours?’

‘Niall Horan,’ she says. She places her hand on his forearm for a brief moment. ‘No need to blush, Henry. It’s quite cute.’

Adelaide continues to sing and Henry decides to just sing along, not caring anymore about his singing voice. They even sing a few ABBA songs and the song she actually sang yesterday, “I should’ve told you’’ by Fiji Blue. He had never heard of it, but he concludes that her voice is beyond beautiful and fits this type of song perfectly.

‘Our voices go well together,’ she admits, after their duet of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, the official version of Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson. ‘When you’re not singing ABBA songs, you have a nice voice.’

He pinches her in her side, causing her to squeal. ‘Careful now, Addy,’ he chuckles. ‘Otherwise I have to push you off your carseat.’

‘Mean,’ she says, rolling her eyes. ‘Maybe after this, you could participate in those shows where celebrities who aren’t singers, go on and sing songs for charity as well.’

‘Only if you are my partner,’ he says. ‘I don’t want to go alone.’

Adelaide frowns, before she nods. ‘We do work good together, don’t we?’

‘We do,’ he says.

She stares at him for a few seconds, he can see it out of the corners of his eyes. ‘Can we stop for a minute?’ she asks, pointing to a gas station. ‘I have to pee.’

He gets off the lane, parks the car and together they walk inside. A crew follows them, after they parked the car that drove behind them the entire time. Adelaide rushes to the bathroom and he goes on and buys some bottles of water and an iced coffee. The man behind the counter is pretty nice and they talk a bit about the show, but when Adelaide walks out of the bathroom, shaking her hands dry, the man completely ignores Henry. ‘Miss Adelaide Park?’ The man gets away from behind the counter, brings some paper towels for Adelaide and hands them to her. ‘I’m big fan.’

‘Oh,’ she says with a smile, drying her hands. ‘That’s sweet.’

‘I loved all your movies, but ‘Remembering High School.’ He kisses his fingers. ‘Amazing. I watch over and over.’

Henry leans against the counter and he can’t help but smile.

‘Really? What is your… favorite episode?’

‘Where you graduate. Very sweet, very beautiful and emotional. Me and girlfriend cry a lot about it.’

He wants to take a picture with Adelaide and Henry offers to take it for them. Adelaide actually stands on her tippy toes, to look a bit taller. The man is very happy to have met Adelaide and she even records a little video for the man’s girlfriend, something that Henry never thought of doing.

He did see some fan videos on YouTube of Adelaide with fans and it always warmed his heart. The way she takes her time.

Adelaide manages to tear herself away from the man and the two of them get back in the car. ‘Did he even notice that you were Superman?’ she asks.

He shakes his head. ‘I mean, I’m pretty famous, but nowhere near as famous as you are.’

‘That’s not true,’ she says, as he drives off.

For a few seconds, he places his hand on her thigh. ‘It is, Addy and you can admit it. No need to be humble about that.’

◎ ◎ ◎

Their first challenge contains eating certain cuisines from all over the world and in order to win, both of them have to take a bite of every dish. Every person has one pass, but if they don’t use it, they get even extra points.

Henry rubs his hands together, because he likes to broaden his horizon when it comes to food and this seems like an easy challenge to win. He isn’t afraid of trying out new things and he wonders what Adelaide is like with different types of cuisines.

Adelaide takes off the silver cover off the food. Instead of water running out of his mouth in anticipation, Henry nearly gags when his eyes fall on the first dish. ‘What on earth is that?’ he asks, placing his hand over his mouth.

Adelaide grabs the card and without looking away from the dish, she hands him the piece of paper says: ‘I think it’s on here. It looks like a spider.’

Henry clears his throat, before he reads the card. ‘It’s a fried tarantula and it originated from Colombia. It’s crispy on the outside, and gooey on the inside.’

Adelaide grabs one by its paw and holds it front of her, inspecting the snack.

‘They also say it tastes a bit like chicken,’ he continues. ‘Can I use my pass already? Because this is— Oh fuck, Adelaide, what are you doing?’

Full of disgust he stares at the petite woman in front of him, who actually took a bite of the most unappetizing looking snack ever. Did she actually just do that or is he hallucinating? He sure hopes it’s the latter.

However she looks up and says: ‘It does taste like chicken. You want to have a bite? It’s really not that bad.’

‘Did you actually just eat that?’ he asks, just in case he was hallucinating.

‘Yes.’ She frowns, staring at him with the biggest: are you fucking blind-face he has ever encountered in his entire life. ‘Come on, don’t be a big fat baby.’ She holds the disgusting looking fried tarantula in front of his mouth. ‘Henry, take a bite.’

‘Is it really not that bad?’ he says, as he feels vomit come up. He can’t seem to do it, because it’s… so disgusting.

‘It’s actually pretty good.’

With a scrunched up face, he opens his mouth, closes it again when he thinks about it for a while and shakes his head. ‘I can’t do it. This is disgusting.’

‘You already want to use your pass? What if the next thing is even more disgusting?’ She frowns. ‘I thought you wanted to win, Henry. Do you give up already?’

That is true. He wants to win and he keeps thinking about her holding him back, but now it’s the other way around. He holds her wrist and brings the disgusting looking snack to his mouth. Only Adelaide scares him by moving the tarantula in front of his mouth. Henry lets out a scream that is much higher than expected and he nearly tumbles backwards. She folds over as she laughs out loud. ‘You should’ve seen your face and what was that scream? You sounded like al little girl.’

‘That is really mean,’ he says, his heart pounding painfully in his throat. He watches as Adelaide places the thing on the tray again and wipes away the tears in her eyes. ‘I can’t believe you did that.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ she laughs, but she doesn’t mean it at all. ‘But I saw my moment and took it. You can’t blame me.’

He chuckles softly, because it was pretty funny and he would’ve done it the exact same thing. It takes him a few seconds, but he quickly takes a bite and chews on it, trying not to taste it.

But Adelaide was right: it does taste like chicken.

The next thing, makes her clap her hands. ‘Beondegi,’ she says with a chuckle.

‘You know this dish?’ he asks, looking at the most disgusting pile of silkworms on the plate.

‘My mom made this once.’ Her expressions falters a bit, but before he can comment on that, she says: ‘It’s not that bad, but not great either. It reminded her of home, so that’s why we ate it.’ She grabs a tiny skewer and sticks one on it, before she eats it.

‘You know no fear, now do you?’ he says, a smile appearing on his face, because he is in fact proud of her. ‘How are you such a dare devil?’

‘I can eat everything,’ Adelaide says, simply shrugging. ‘Come on, eat it.’ She sticks another one on the skewer and holds it near his lips. ‘I won’t scare you this time, I promise you.’

He takes a step closer to her and quickly eats it. Oh shit, it has no taste, but the texture makes him shiver. Henry actually doesn’t want to continue this, but she is right: he wants to win and besides, if she can eat it without blinking her eyes twice, so should he, right?

They continue to eat other disgusting things. Adelaide fed him grasshoppers that didn’t taste that bad, except for the surprising juice that came out of it. The frog legs were disgusting and they even ate some crocodile and whale. It is surprising that Adelaide continued to persuade him into eating all those disgusting things, but he has to really. She eats it without hesitation and since he doesn’t want to look like a wimp, he eats it too.

However, he does feel like he needs to throw up any second now.

They are at the last tray and Adelaide steps back when she lifts up the cover. ‘No, I’m not eating that,’ she says.

He stares at the very unappetizing snack on the tray, before he starts to laugh. ‘That’s escargot, Addy.’

‘I know that, but I’m not eating that.’

‘You ate all of that,’—he gestures at the rest of the table—‘but this you won’t eat? What is wrong with you?’

She gives him a push that brings herself out of balance and he has to catch her arms before she tumbles over. ‘Well, this is really disgusting. I mean— Henry, stop laughing.’

‘I can’t help it! You are being ridiculous.’

She grabs the tray and holds it in front of him. ‘Well, eat it first then.’

Adelaide Park, the sweet woman he has come to adore—oh no, is he falling for her?—is actually testing him right now? Is he seeing that correctly?

Henry doesn’t actually want to. ‘How about we use our pass?’

‘If you eat it,’ Adelaide says, ‘I’ll eat it too. Promise.’

He takes something off the plate and barely chews on it, before he eats it. ‘Disgusting,’ he gags.

‘You are a big baby,’ she chuckles, before she takes one off the plate and she eats it without a hitch, though she scrunches up her nose. ‘Strange texture.’

‘I can’t believe you,’ he chuckles. ‘You know no fear.’

◎ ◎ ◎

Their next challenge is not one, not two, but three dance classes. The first class is a kids dance class. henry has no idea what kind of song this is, but he feels it’s in the baby shark category. The young Italian kids continue to look over their shoulders, to stare at him, before looking over at Adelaide, who must be less intimidating to them.

After the most tiring hour of his life, Henry becomes the laughingstock of the training, because the little kids insist on him and Adelaide performing the dance. However Adelaide starts to laugh, causing the kids to burst into a fit of giggles, especially when she falls on the floor because of how hard she is laughing at his not so great performance.

After that, they have to attend a line dance class and somehow Henry is a whole lot better in that, than Adelaide is. He holds out his hand for her to take and hoists her right back up when she trips. He never would’ve thought that this was something that he would enjoy, but seeing the alternations between Adelaide’s frown and her infectious laugh, he has to admit that this is nice. The people who are teaching them the dance are friendly and someone even lends out his cowboy hat for Adelaide to wear, completing the look.

With a water bottle in their hands, they walk through the corridors to the next and thankfully final dancing class. ‘This is intense,’ Adelaide comments. ‘But you looked like quite the cowboy, mister Cavill.’

He can’t help but laugh. ‘And you fit right in with the kids. About the same height.’

She slaps his stomach and he chuckles. ‘What do you think is next?’ she asks.

‘I have no idea. Maybe tap?’

She bursts out in laughter. ‘I would pay money to see you tap dance.’

However it’s not tap dancing they are going to do (thankfully), but salsa dancing. The age ratio in this room is probably sixty plus, but these people know exactly how to move. One woman spots them and quickly stops the music. ‘Oh! Superman!’ she exclaims, but when she walks over to them, her eyes fall on Adelaide. ‘Oh my, Adelaide Park. Beautiful woman! So talented. You here for dance class?’

Adelaide nods.

The woman pulls Adelaide into a tight hug. ‘We watched your movies,’ she tells Adelaide, holding her upper arms. ‘You are fenomenale!’

Henry watches his partner starting to blush. ‘She is,’ he agrees.

‘My name is Elena.’ She ushers a man over and introduces him as her husband Gianluca. ‘I really look forward to teach you the basics.’

Elena helps him with the basics, while Gianluca is helping out Adelaide. He constantly hears Adelaide apologize for yet again stepping on the older man’s feet, but he doesn’t seem to care.

Salsa is a lot harder than he thought it would be, but Elena is an excellent teacher, who, with her sternness, teaches him exactly what to do. He continues to hear that he apparently has very stiff hips, while he genuinely thought he wasn’t that bad.

‘You know, how you do boom-boom?’ Elena says.

Boom-boom? ‘What?’

‘Sex!’

The entire room looks over to them and he notices Adelaide trying to hide a smile. Did Elena really have to yell that word out loud? ‘I do know my way around,’ he says, his throat tightening out of discomfort.

‘No hips forward and backwards, but do same thing, same power, but sideways.’

He doesn’t quite understand, but when Elena places her hands on his hips, forcing him to “sway” his hips sideways, he feels pretty uncomfortable, but when he looks over at Adelaide, those discomforts all seem to go away, when he notices her still watching and still smiling.

‘You finally get it,’ Elena says. ‘Gianluca! How did Adelaide do?’

‘Very good. Very talented.’

‘Superman,’ the older woman says, ‘you and Adelaide show us how you can do this.’

Henry’s heart starts to pound painfully fast and he figures the entire room can either see or hear it. Elena pats him on the back, as she tells him to stand in the middle of the dance room. Gianluca escorts Adelaide towards the middle. ‘Nervous?’ Elena asks him.

‘What? No, no, no,’ Henry quickly says, though it’s a lie. He is really nervous.

‘Pretty woman,’ Gianluca says. ‘Intimidating for you. I understand.’

Adelaide looks away, but he notices the smile on her face. She is amused. He holds out his hand after he wiped it dry on his jeans and she places her in his. He pulls her body closer to his, as he places his hand on her back. Her other hand she places on his bicep, as her eyes meet his.

‘Don’t just look,’ Elena says. ‘Dance!’

Dancing with her was easy and out of the corners of his eye he noticed that Adelaide had no problem dancing with Elena’s husband. She was actually a pretty good dancer from what he saw.

Just what he did with the older woman, he does that with Adelaide, but he feels the swaying of her hips underneath the palm of his hand. Henry swallows hard as he leans forward, to place his forehead against hers, her hot breath against his lips.

The older people that were all around them, dancing and laughing at them before, are now all clapping on the beat of the music, but Henry only has eyes for Adelaide Park. He feels her nails in his bicep and he has to swallow, since his throat became real dry all of the sudden.

‘Is this okay?’ he whispers, just in case, because he really doesn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

‘This is okay,’ she chuckles. ‘You’re a good dancer, Henry.’

Henry feels her body closely against his. Feeling her forehead against his, her lips so close to his… He wonders about her dating history. Her kiss on ‘Remembering High School was her first and after that she lived in the spotlights and she never dated. Well, she never publicly dated and not because she is undateable (she is a whole catch, if Henry is being completely honest), but he thinks that she has been single since the moment she came into the spotlight. Who does that many movies a year and has time to date?

However, when he thinks about it, she is becoming more and more touchy. And not in a weird, sexual harassment sort of way. More in a way as if she is looking for comfort. She slides her feet under his thigh, doesn’t pull back her legs when he places her ankles on his lap and during the night, her fingers keep grazing over his skin.

And now, her hand holds onto his tightly and he notices her fingertips disappear underneath the hem of his sleeve.

The music stops, but he does not let go. He can’t even let go. There are so many things that he want to do. Pull her even closer to his body if that’s possible, to push that strand of hair out of her face and let his thumb graze over the apple of her cheek.

Don’t go catching feelings for her now. When you lose, who are you going to blame then?

Henry clears his throat, hoping to get the words of his agent out of his head, but Adelaide must have interpreted differently, because she lets go of him, smiling quickly at him, before turning around and giving Elena a hug.

◎ ◎ ◎

Comments a week later when the episode airs:

Taglist: @thelastsock​ // @jolly-polly​ // @henrythickcavill​ // @maan24​ // @diegos-butt​ / @agniavateira​ // @onlyhenrys​ // @turkish276​ //

[kabira]

05 | job hunting

pairing — spider-man!vernon x ofc

featuring — joshua, yeji (itzy), felix (skz), yangyang (nct)

word count — 2.9k

genres — spider-man au, marvel au, fluff, action, angst, humor

warnings — none

note — so...you might have noticed some changes to the pairing. i’ve decided to go ahead and convert this to an x ofc fic because when it’s a 3rd person pov thing the ‘you’ pronoun kind of jumps out at you and it just sounds really unnatural lol. she’s been left race-ambiguous in the description, and she’s pretty cool, so i hope you like her !! even though she doesn’t show up very often djskalskjs

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Vernon stepped out into the open, finding himself on the highest level of the Helicarrier—not the top floor, but the deck itself.

The wind was strong, pushed by the rotator blades keeping the carrier in the air, and he shivered on feeling the sudden chill descend upon him. He hesitated, resting his palm against the side of one of the structures containing the blades, and glanced around. The aircraft was massive, big enough that despite being right next to the Quinjet runway, he couldn’t see any of the city beneath.

When he finally spotted White Tiger, she was sitting near the edge, mask in hand. At first, he was apprehensive about her being spotted, but when he got close enough, he realized they were way to high for anyone on the ground to be able to make out her features.

New York was easily a couple thousand feet below them, the tallest buildings looking like toy figurines from the high vantage point. The harbor glittered a dark blue-green underneath them, catching the dying light of the sunshine like little stars contained in the water. It was a breathtaking sight, so beautiful that it washed away Vernon’s initial fear as easily as a wave clearing away dug letters on a sandy beach.

He glanced at Yeji, pressing his teeth against his lower lip. She had her back to him, shoulders tensed—of course she would have heard him approach. Her hair was still up in a ponytail, but swayed lightly with the breeze. Even as he stood behind her, she said nothing, remaining silent and stony as she stared down at the view below.

“It’s nice up here,” he murmured. “Unless you have a crippling fear of heights, that is.”

Silence.

Vernon sighed to himself, slowly taking a seat next to her on the sun-heated deck, and pulled off his mask. The air was cool against his sweat-soaked skin, but did nothing to set his heart at ease. That was the hard part, one he had to figure out himself.

“So, White Tiger, huh?” he asked, scrunching up his nose as he looked at her sideways. Her chin rested on her folded forearms, which were balanced against her knees, legs crossed at the ankles. It should have been a relaxed posture, but her muscles were too tense, standing out like steel cables on her arms and sides. “Do your powers have anything to do with that jade amulet you wear?”

She unfolded herself, unconsciously touching the amulet that hung from one side of her gray belt. It was a vibrant green color, looking fragile like glass, but despite her generally offensive style of fighting, there wasn’t a single scratch on it. “It was my father’s,” she answered dully. “And my grandfather’s before him. The amulet is a family heirloom that passed down to me when the rest of my family died, and with it, the powers it bestows upon the bearer.”

“Oh,” he said, a little surprised. He hadn’t expected her to speak, but she had opened up, despite the still guarded tone of her voice. He pulled his knees up to his chest and looked out at the view, feeling calmer than before, but also a lot more awkward. “Are you afraid of the water?”

She glanced over at him, a confused scowl on her face. “What?”

“The water,” he repeated, indicating the harbor with a tilt of his head. “Aren’t cats supposed to be scared of water or something?”

Her eyes narrowed, but not before he caught the glimmer of amusement in them. “I’m not a cat,” she said. “The amulet gives me the agility and tenacity of a white tiger, but not all its fears. Are you afraid of house lizards, spider boy?”

“Well, one in particular.” He half-smiled. “But he’s back to human now, so I guess not really.”

She gave him a small smile back, one that indicated she got the joke. It wasn’t a big gesture, but it made him feel a bit better—which was funny, since he was the one supposed to be comforting her. He recalled Luce’s words from their earlier conversation. There’s no harm in being decent.

“Look,” he started, reaching up to rub the side of his neck, “I’m sorry about what I said back there. You said you knew I didn’t like you guys, but that’s not true. It’s just—it’s a sudden change,” he mumbled. “To have a whole team of supers in the school, and so soon after the—incident, it just set me off.”

She said nothing, waiting for him to continue. He shook his head. “You probably don’t know what happened a few weeks ago, and what happened, it’s not your fault. Heck, it doesn’t even have anything to do with you.” He laughed weakly. “The incident that took place, it followed a regular pattern I already should have known. When superhero stuff and real life mix, nothing good comes out of it. I wasn’t prepared for you guys, and I took it badly. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Yeji hummed. For a few moments, they sat in silence, but it was a comfortable sort of silence. For Vernon, it felt good to get all of that off his chest. It was hard to admit to something because of his pride, but putting it out there made him feel a bit better. No one liked seeing their faults, but to him, it was better than hurting someone he didn’t really want to hurt. In a way, even the superheroes around him were innocent people who could become collateral damage.

“What incident?” she asked.

He glanced at her, a little confused. She stared back at him with her eyebrows arched, as if expecting him to say something. “Sorry, what?”

“I told you about my family, how I came to be in possession of my powers,” she said. “Your turn. What incident were you talking about?”

He bit the inside of his cheek, staring at her thoughtfully. “Do you know Harry Osborn?” he asked at length.

She nodded. “The Goblin—I mean, Norman Osborn’s son.” She gave him a curious look. “Wasn’t he at Midtown with you?”

“Yeah.” He looked away again, studying the lenses of his mask. Speaking about it was difficult, and he wasn’t too sure about instantly opening up about such a horrific incident to someone he had met two days ago, but his instinct told him he could trust White Tiger. Either way, there was no harm in talking about that day, at least not the general aspects of it. “And you probably also know about how Norman Osborn was taken down.”

She nodded again, slower this time, looking thoughtful. “Wasn’t there a bargaining chip of some kind involved?” she asked. “Wait, sorry. I meant a human hostage.”

“Yeah,” Vernon murmured. He hung his head, running his spandex-covered fingers over the cloth of his mask, swallowing hard against the sudden dryness in his throat, but it hurt to do that, like there was a thorn stuck in his flesh. “Long story short, Harry Osborn…well.”

Yeji glanced at him in surprised concern, and he looked away, avoiding her gaze. Now would come the pitying glance, the awkward condolences, the unsure silence. He had had enough of that in the past few weeks.

“I get it,” she said, to his immense surprise. When he looked back at her, her eyes were sad, but there was a firmness beneath them, like stable ground at the bottom of the river. Even if she didn’t quite know all the details, they both spoke the language of loss, and it didn’t need words to be understood.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he said.

“I won’t.” She turned her face away, towards the sky, and he followed suit. The silence this time was more than comfortable, it was comforting. “No more details?”

Despite himself, he smiled. “Not yet,” he replied. “You have to get past level twenty first.”

She snorted a laugh. “I don’t really play video games,” she answered. “It’s a little difficult to fit in when you live in the same quarters as a couple of teenage boys, but I can’t do anything about it.”

“Really? You can drop by after school sometimes and I’ll show you.” He grinned, then grimaced. “Or maybe Aunt May can. I’m not the best at them, she kicks my butt on Night game night every time.”

“She sounds amazing already. I can’t wait to meet her,” Yeji said, smiling. “And while we’re on the subject of family—argh, I’m totally going to sound like Agent Fox, but here’s the thing.” She shifted her weight, sitting with her legs crisscrossed. “I know it’s hard to deal with loss, and that it’s different for everybody, but protectors feel guilt on a different level than everybody else—and you can’t carry that kind of weight around with you.”

Vernon picked at a small cut on the leg of his costume. “Agent Fox,” he repeated. “You too, huh?”

Yeji winced. “Therapists aren’t really equipped to deal with our kind of experiences,” she said. “I mean, what do you say to someone who had to physically fight their best friend’s dad because he turned into a genetically enhanced green monster?”

He laughed.

“Agent Fox might not be your best bet, but there are other things you can try,” she continued. “I know you probably don’t want some kind of preachy advice, but for me, being White Tiger helped.” She ran her fingers along the grooves of her amulet again, as if deriving comfort through its touch. “Doing something, even little things that just keep your mind off the past, it helps.”

He thought back to Luce’s words. “Like getting a job?”

Yeji frowned. “I guess,” she said. “If it doesn’t take over your time as Spider-Man, that is.”

“That’s twice in a day someone’s advised me to get a job,” he said. “Maybe I really should go ahead and get one.”

“Maybe you should,” she agreed. “But I have a feeling most normal jobs won’t interest you. If you’re going to work, might as well work on something you’ll enjoy.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, the gears of his brain already having been kicked into action. “I think I already have something in mind.”

The last time Vernon had met Dr. Curt Connors, it had been as Spider-Man.

It was not an experience he had particularly enjoyed, since it had been one of his bigger fights had had left him with a hairline fracture and a few bruised ribs, holed up in his room for a week to nurse himself. Gym had been worse than usual that Tuesday.

As he pushed through the revolving doors at the entrance of Roxxon Industries, he was already beginning to regret his decision a little bit. Sure, there was no way that Dr. Connors could know his secret alter ego, but the knowledge didn’t help his nervousness one bit.

Plus, with Oscorp pretty much in ruins, the research scientist had shifted his work to a different corporation, and Vernon didn’t know his way around the new building at all. It was a tiny thing to be so worried about, especially for a person who had faced Doc Ock at the age of sixteen, but even the little things seemed big now that he was out job hunting.

Vernon clutched his father’s briefcase tighter, taking his visitor’s pass from the front desk and heading up the escalator to the designated room. Dr. Connors had met Vernon Parker exactly once before, when the latter had shown up at his old laboratory asking about his father, Richard Parker, Connors’s former colleague.

Back then, their conversation had been cut short by a Spidey emergency, and after that the only time he’d been able to see the doctor was while battling him as the Lizard. Vernon had been too afraid to go back afterwards, scared of the decades old formula Connors had developed which turned him into the monster, and what he might discover about his father’s work.

But Dr. Connors had made him a proposal that the boy remembered three months later—that Vernon was always welcome to come work at his lab. Now, the idea of being a simple research assistant didn’t sound very great, especially when the project was so controversial that its funding had been hanging by a thread even at Oscorp, where they weren’t exactly known for their safe experiments. However, biophysics had always been fascinating to him, not to mention the fact that it was his father’s legacy.

He guessed it was about time he went back to claim it.

Vernon stood in front of the door awkwardly, unsure what he was going to say. But he lifted his hand, and he knocked.

“Come in,” came the doctor’s voice from behind the door, and Vernon took a deep breath before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The room was bigger than he had expected it to be. It definitely wasn’t just an office, with multiple tables and various small instruments and charts held down by random objects acting as paper weights spread across them. Tall shelves lined the wall behind the main desk and the one opposite it, stuffed with old and new volumes. The doctor’s table itself was pushed into a corner to make way for everything else, but despite the packed space, everything was organized. It was a pattern Vernon knew from his own room: order in chaos.

Dr. Connors was standing behind his desk, reading through a paper on a clipboard in his hand. He looked up as Vernon entered, and a range of emotions flashed through his eyes when he saw him—first confusion, then recognition, then fear, then guilt. Finally, the doctor smiled, straightening as he placed the board back on his table.

“Vernon,” he said, and Vernon felt a thrill upon seeing that he remembered his name. “A face I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Vernon tried to press his lips into a smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. “I would have come by earlier, but what with midterms and everything happening in the city…” He hesitated. “I was just a little afraid, I guess.”

“I understand,” Dr. Connors said, and it wasn’t just an empty phrase, like he actually understood Vernon’s fear of facing his father’s past. But then, maybe he did. “I would have liked to see you again after our conversation was cut short, but perhaps a few months’ lapse in between was necessary.”

Vernon thought back to the Lizard incident a couple of months ago, when Dr. Connors had injected himself with an underdeveloped serum, turning himself into a giant lizard. “I read your recent article on the lizard formula,” he said slowly.

The doctor’s hand froze on the table for a moment, but relaxed just as quickly. He looked up at Vernon with a gentle sort of intelligence in his eyes, a look so different from the Lizard’s that he had trouble believing they could be the same person. “Did you, now?” he asked. “And what did you think of it?”

“Genius,” he breathed, and Dr. Connors’s eyes lit up even more. “I looked through my dad’s old papers, and cross-checked the changes with your research.” He opened his mouth and closed it again. Better get this over with quickly. “I know this must seem abrupt, but I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go on.” Dr. Connors inclined his head, gesturing at a seat with his good arm. The other one ended up to just above the elbow—a sight that reminded Vernon that it was the doctor himself who had been the first human trial for his cross-species grafting formula.

“The last time we met, you asked me to come work with you in your lab,” Vernon spoke slowly, hesitating between words. “And when I read your paper, I saw that you would continue to research further on the gene splicing and the, uh, the blood-brain barrier and—” He cut himself off, realizing that he had begun to ramble. “I was wondering, after last time, if you could—”

“Take you on in my lab for the research?” Dr. Connors completed his question for him, positively beaming. “Of course! Your father was a genius, and you follow in his stead. It would be a great advantage to have you on the team.” His smile faltered a little. “And then, even after all these years, I owe him my life and its work,” he added in a lower voice. “I’d be glad to have you.”

“Really?” Vernon looked at him with rounded eyes, clutching the case tightly enough that the skin of his knuckles paled. “I—wow. Thanks, Dr. Connors.”

Dr. Connors shook his head. “There will always be a place for Richard Parker’s son at my lab,” he said. “If you’re free, I could show you around the lab now, just so you get the feel of the place. Unless, of course, you’re busy right now, in which case you could swing by later.”

Vernon laughed, relieved and gratified and ridiculously happy. “I have all the time in the world.”

“Great,” Dr. Connors said. “When can you start?”

[lov3nerdstuff]

Dark Stars

*Loki x OFC*

Part: 1/10

Words: 5.5k

Chapter warnings: some dark thoughts

Genre: angst, mystery, romance

Summary: ~Loki could just let her die here and now. His problems would be solved and he could go back to his usual ways. But then he would forever be left with an unsolved mystery and he hated the prospect of that even more than the fear of what would happen if she lived.~

Or: A story of what happens when Loki stumbles upon someone who is like him in every way. Only better. Oh, and they just happen to save Asgard too.

A.N.: To celebrate over 1000 people following me (how insane is that?!), I decided to share the newly edited version of the very first Loki fanfiction I ever wrote back in the day! Enjoy the mischief 💚

All Parts can be found on my Masterlist!

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It was an unbearably sunny late afternoon in Asgard, one of the kind that threatened to suffocate you with its looming silence and drown you with its sizzling heat. Nothing out of ordinary was going on in the palace, much to Loki's disdain. He certainly didn't mind the temperature, nor the silence, but the nerve-wracking boredom was slowly killing him, nagging at his mind and chipping away pieces of his sanity.

Just a few days ago he had been let out of the palace prisons, once again, and he hoped it was for good this time. He hated the place, hated the cold boredom, hated the time he could spend getting lost in his internal darkness. The prisons were a dangerous place, but not as dangerous as his own mind. Yet he seemed to be locked into both equally often. Every time Loki just slightly misbehaved, or caused the tiniest mischief, Odin would have him locked up for weeks, sometimes even months. Every opportunity to get him out of the public sphere was taken advantage of.

But today he was free at last. The question was for how long though, as the allfather surely would waste no time to find another excuse to send Loki back to confinement. It was becoming rather a boring game between them.

Currently Loki found himself alone. Thor was, like mostly everyone else, busy with all the important matters nobody would let Loki even come close to. Not that he would care... Always the outsider, he was usually left to mind his own business, which he gladly did.

Thus he was only strolling through the palace, lost in his own thoughts, drowning. At least the rage he had felt all day, about the despicable pack that was his family, was slowly receding to the normal disdain he felt for them at all times.

He was just crossing into a bright hall with a large balcony, heavy balustrade ornamented with imprints of long past glory, when something caught his eye. He stopped dead in his track, turning to look at the balcony with narrowed eyes and a deep frown.

Right there on the balustrade lay a girl with her arms crossed under her head, gazing up into the clouds.

After a second of admitted surprise and another of careful consideration, Loki walked out onto the balcony, already preparing for conflict. She was not supposed to be here, not supposed to have gotten here. He knew everyone in the palace. And yet he had absolutely no idea who she was.

As soon as he came in close enough to see her more clearly, she suddenly turned her head to face to him. Those breathtaking green eyes... A small smirk spread on her lips, mere seconds before she sat up and let herself fall backwards, off the balcony, into the beginning sunset.

Loki's eyes widened as he halted in something one might be able to describe as shock, considering it was an expression coming from Loki, who never really felt things of quite the ordinary sort.

In an instant he stood at the balustrade. Nothing. She had simply vanished into thin air. Or she had shattered on the hard ground far below the balcony, but Loki highly doubted it. What an odd encounter… The frown remained on Loki's face, but he decided to let it slide for the sake of returning to his brooding. It wasn't his task to keep intruders out of the palace, after all, and he wasn't willing to do Odin's job.

Still, over the course of this day and the next few Loki was sure to see her from time to time, bright eyes gazing at him from the shadows, her small silhouette lounging about in the corners of the palace… But it was more of a feeling than an actual sight. She was definitely there, even if he couldn't see her.

A week later –Loki had been strolling through the palace gardens for the majority of the day– he made his way to the kitchens once night had fallen upon the kingdom. His family didn't bother to call him to dinner anymore, for he had never once joined their elaborate feasts since his latest release from the prisons, and Loki generally avoided contact with them as much as possible. Maybe out of personal pride, maybe to give them no opportunity to mock and hurt him any further.

Only Thor had cared enough to tell the servants to set some food aside in the kitchen, for Loki to find and enjoy in his own time. The thoughtful gesture, admittedly, made Loki care a little more for his idiot brother than for the other idiots.

As he went to retrieve his meal now, in the safety of the darkness, his mind wandered back to the girl in the shadows. How had she done that, back on the balcony? Just vanishing… He believed it to be something only he himself was truly capable of. But his pondering was of no use, despite the burning need to understand the occurrence, and he realized that he needed to attend to his physical needs for now. His stomach was very precise in its growling.

However as soon as he entered the kitchen, he noticed that he was not alone.

"Do you realize that intruding is a crime? So is stealing food from the royal kitchen…" He said while quickly scanning the dark room out of the corners of his eyes. A slight smile played on his lips, as he found that this shadowy game of cat and mouse might have run into a dead end.

"It's only a crime if I get caught…" A sweet voice answered a short moment later, and Loki could hear the smile in it, while he had yet to make out where she was.

"Well, I have been arrested for less." He laughed breathily, slowly sauntering over from one wall of the room to the other. "Have you at least found what you are looking for?"

A brief moment of deep silence followed, then an empty golden plate came sliding down the grand table in the middle of the room, right out of the darkness and straight towards Loki.

"Have you indeed?" She chuckled.

"That was my food." Loki replied with a deep chill to his voice. It obviously bothered him that someone was taking what was his, but the girl, this riddle of who she was and where she had come from… it fascinated him beyond measure.

"I beg your pardon, dear sir." She said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Why do you steal food and why are you in the palace?" Loki finally asked, ignoring her previous comment.

"Why are you?" She smiled. "Sneaking into the kitchen late at night?"

"Don't you know who I am?" He asked, slowly getting more and more amused by the way she was talking to him. It was a temerity, and Loki loved it.

"I know many things, my dear sir, but why would I need to know who you are? Isn't it far more interesting to know what you are? How you are? Why you are?" Her soft voice wrapped around his senses like a lure, cast out only for him to drown in.

Loki frowned, curiosity flashing in his eyes as he finally spotted her dark frame in the darkness of the kitchen. "Why don't you stop playing games with me and tell me who you are instead?" He asked calmly, in the same sensual, deep richness in which she spoke to him before.

Again, her voice was sweet when she responded, but full of passion. "But life would be no fun without games, don't you think?"

Loki froze in his movements, a small smirk appearing on his face, an imprint of his sincere amusement. "Indeed it wouldn't. Very well…"

He watched her shadowy form wander from the wall on the other side of the room, towards the open window front.

"Well, I assume I will see you soon." He said once she had reached the open window, with a little more hope in his voice than appropriate.

"What makes you so sure I will come back?" She responded with the same smirk upon her lips, turning around to face Loki as she stood a mere inch from the edge, where the floor met the open air.

"What makes you so sure I won't have the guards arrest you when you do?" Loki mused, but whether she could hear him he did not know, and he did not care either.

With one more amused smile she let herself fall backwards into the night, eyes fixed on Loki's in curious intensity before she was gone.

Loki did not even bother checking where she went… Maybe she just had a thing for letting herself fall from a mile above the ground?

Shaking his head, he headed back towards his chambers, unable to drop the smile that had manifested itself upon his lips. His dinner plans were long forgotten and his mind busy with more important matters. This night, he did not sleep at all.

_______________

From that day on, Loki was more attentive towards his surroundings. He knew he should not hope to find the girl again... And yet he so desperately wanted to. To solve this mystery that had found its way into his dull life. This whole situation had him on edge on a constant basis, had thrown him into deep conflict with himself. As the days passed, his initial curiosity slowly turned into anger, for he could think of absolutely nothing but her, and the anger turned soon into hatred. Why did confusing emotions always lead to hatred with him?

Loki had always felt a deep hatred for confusing emotions, for distractions, that was nothing new. But now that he wanted nothing more than to find the girl, he hated himself even more for being so consumed by this desire. It, she, was a distraction, nothing more. He had more important matters to attend to! But he couldn't simply stop being intrigued and fascinated and… Could not bring his mind to shut up about her. For that, it made him hate her as well. As the distraction she had become to him. The unsolved mystery, the desire he could not get rid of.

His days were spent brooding in the most shadowy places of the palace and its surroundings, and at night he would aimlessly wander around the halls and corridors until he somehow would end up back at the kitchen. He hated how disappointed he was every time he had to see that he was alone.

The tenth night after their little chat, as he once more came to collect his meal in disappointment to find her absent, he looked down onto the well-laid table with a sigh and a roll his eyes. By all the nine realms, what was happening to his sanity?! What was he doing here, going to do now?

Slowly, sighing to himself, he turned on his heels and locked the kitchen door from the inside. Then he opened a window just wide enough for the gap to be visible to the watchful eye and finally he used his magic to bring himself back to his room, all the while frowning deeply at his own despicable actions.

A few hours later he returned to the kitchen the very same way he had left, finding the plate empty and all dishes neatly washed up. With another curse to himself, he unlocked the door and left. Only then, finally, would his mind allow him to think of other matters once again. For the first time in two weeks.

He continued this procedure for another week, all the while torturing himself mentally. She was a small flame, and he the raging fires of Hel. And still, he set the table for her every night.

It appeared to him to be so wrong, everything he had been doing lately. Thinking about her. About their talk. And giving her a direct invitation to steal his food. He hadn't eaten all that much himself, finding no appetite for anything but information. It all was utterly stupid. But then, why did he continue to do it anyway?

Every time he saw a person during his walks through the palace, they would always jump out of his way. Almost no one wanted to deal with him and his moods, and the rest avoided him anyway. His temper had gotten so bad, so feared, that a rumor had started, saying he was up to some sinister things again. Others said he had finally gone mad once and for all. But everyone had somehow collectively decided to avoid him even more than before.

Honestly, their ways and actions didn't bother Loki much, for he was way more concerned about his own erratic behavior.

But suddenly, after another week, he had finally managed to regain some control over his scattered mind. The incident in the kitchen was pushed back to the darkest corner of his mind, locked up behind the most intricate seals, and she was no more than another face he had once upon a time laid eyes upon.

That was when he decided to take a walk through the palace garden late, at night and in the comfort of the darkness. The night was seemingly the only time he left his chambers these days, for it allowed him to avoid the preying eyes of the folk.

The further away he walked from the palace, the better he felt and the more at ease his troubled mind was. Once he reached his ultimate destination, he sighed almost contently. Two trees, in perfect symmetry.

From the outside, from the mere look, there was nothing that could have given away his secret. He smiled to himself as he walked through the gap between the two trees. Around him, the landscape changed, blurred and reorganized itself until he found himself standing on a clearing with a lovely natural pool, surrounded by large rocks.

This had been his hideaway all throughout his childhood… A picture perfect little place, securely hidden by as many illusions as his magic as a child had allowed him. Of course he had come back and changed a few things though, making it even more uninviting for any stranger who happened to pass by.

But this time when he stepped into the opening, he noticed the difference immediately.

"How...?" He asked quietly, anger and irritation not even remotely hidden from his voice. "How DARE you come to this place?!" His voice rang through the clearing like a rough wind, touching everything in reach in a shaking, threatening quiet.

And here they were once more, the girl and his endlessly torturing thoughts… Loki's blood froze over and started boiling at the very same time. Cold bit harder than fire, cold was cunning in the way it numbed its victim to the damage.

Slowly she walked towards Loki, and he had to keep himself from killing this little worm right on the spot. Her presence here scared him deeply, and Loki, like everyone in fear, lashed out when feeling threatened. This was his space, his alone.

"Hello." She said calmly and came to a stop only a couple feet in front of him. Now he could finally see her more clearly, more real, for the night was bright with stars and a low hanging moon as full as Thor had been at the last banquet.

She looked young, Loki thought. But her eyes seemed to bear the wisdom of many lifetimes.

"How were you able to get to this place?" Loki whispered, full of irritation and a hint of wonder. She frowned, opening her mouth but closing it again quickly.

"There was a door between the two trees and I walked right through it. Isn't that what one is supposed to do with doors? And well, here I am." She replied finally, reluctantly. All the while she didn't look at his eyes, but rather at his shoulders, his hands, his legs.

Loki was irritated to say the least. Normally his barrier would block out everyone except for himself and well, his mother, because she also…

"You are a creature of magic." He said lowly, taking a step closer to the girl. She didn't flinch, nor move, which honestly surprised him, considering his forcefully hostile attitude.

"And that makes you so angry?" She asked quietly, looking straight into Loki's eyes at last. And in that very moment, something strange happened. Not the romantic kind of strange, but the strange kind of strange really.

Loki was completely taken aback as suddenly images flooded his mind, horrible, dark images of pain and torture and things even worse than that. Imagines he could not quite put meaning to, until he saw a little girl that looked terribly beaten up, and even more scared. Then pain hit him like a lightning, forcing him to his knees and finally to the ground altogether. Yet as suddenly as it had come, it was all gone again.

Panting he lay on his back, chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to catch his breath, and his eyes slowly began to adjust to the real world again. It took him a second to remind himself of his current situation, but as soon as it hit him, he jumped to his feet. The girl was still lying on the ground, breathing heavily as had Loki.

Without a second thought he let a blade of ice appear in his hand and moved to tower over her small body.

"I thought you were a nice guy." She chuckled breathlessly while Loki pressed her torso back to the ground with his foot. The gesture made a part of his being protest heavily, and another dance in victory. It remained for later to see which part was larger.

"You know nothing about me..." He said gravely, while his eyes pierced hers. "YOU have no right to be here."

"Well, you didn't mind when you let me into the palace every night." She answered with a smirk that sent a jolt of energy through Loki's heart. His hand with the blade in it began to shake ever so slightly, only for him to suppress the movement immediately. He was already torn enough about his behavior in his mind… he didn't need his body betray him as well.

"Because the palace is the allfather's concern. I wouldn't care if the rats came and overtook the damn place." He spoke calmly, yet felt mind protest heavily at his current actions. He ignored the voice telling him to stop the hostility. "But this little piece of nothing, this utterly unimportant part of nature, this is mine alone. And I will not allow anyone to take it from me." His voice dropped to a dangerous low as he lifted the blade and… saw the images of the frightened, beaten up little girl in his head. The blade hit the ground less than an inch next to her head. With a shivering breath he stepped away from her, running his hands through his hair in despair. What was he doing!? He should punish her for intruding, for taking control over his mind so effortlessly, maybe even so unknowingly... He should just end his own torment by ending her, right here and right now, to never think of it again. But he couldn't.

"I'm sorry." She finally said and got up, walking towards Loki with long, elegant strides. "You were very nice, gracious, in letting me into the kitchen, and I didn't mean to be disrespectful." A second before she could place a hand on his shoulder, his own hand shot up to stop her mid-air.

"Don't. EVER. Do that again." He said in a warning, but not angry tone. Half a second later he let go of her hand and turned to leave. With his back to her, he finally spoke up once more. "I expect you to be gone before sunrise. And don't come back to the palace. If I ever have to lay eyes upon you again, you will come to know just now nice I really am."

With that he left her standing in the middle of the opening and marched right through the secret entrance, convincing himself that he wasn't fleeing, and failing at it most miserably. But all those images, his locked away thoughts, the confusion, the CHAOS… It was too much to bear. Even his stoic facade had its limits.

Once back in the ordinary palace gardens, he did not get far before he heard her voice call out to him.

"What's your name?" She asked curiously. "I at least want to know the name of the nicest man I have ever met."

He stopped in his movement, closing his eyes, and cursed his mind for being so weak. "Loki." He gave back shortly, and before his stupid mind would bring forth any more foolish actions, he brought himself back to his chambers with magic. He was not in the mood for something as mundane as walking back. To be precise, he was not in the mood for anything at all. Thus he only shed his clothing at once for the sake of a hot bath. Only as he dwelt in the comfort of the almost boiling water, he closed his eyes, hoping he would just fall asleep and drown for real, as he already had in his mind.

_______________

A few days had passed when Loki decided to join the official meals once more, for the kitchen felt like burnt territory now. And the hatred for this damn kingdom would maybe distract him from the hatred he felt for himself and his actions, his words, his thoughts.

"I'm glad that you have finally come to sense, brother." Thor greeted him happily. Loki ignored him.

"It was about time you let go of that dark demeanor and brooding indifference. I have arranged for you to sit next to father, who wants to have a word with you, and I, and I made sure that…" Thor talked on, but Loki had turned on his heels already to head back towards the exit.

Nope, he couldn't do it. He felt overwhelmed by the mere thought of being surrounded by all those utterly stupid people and their utterly meaningless conversations. A room full of people who hated him wasn't the best company, though they hated him not nearly as much as he hated himself. Not even true hatred those puny creatures were capable of… only feasting and smalltalk. No harsh emotions.

He returned to his chambers and sat down on the balustrade of his own balcony, watching the ongoings far below him. Literally and figuratively.

After what seemed like a small eternity of silent peace on the outside and a raging battlefield on the inside, there was a determined knock on his door.

"Loki?" Thor's voice sounded muffled through the thick wood and chipping paint. "Loki I know you are in there. Will you let me in?"

Of course Loki wouldn't. He remained sitting still on the balustrade, pondering over the implications and results of simply jumping. He wouldn't get hurt, not really after all, and he could always teleport back to where he was now, to safety, to misery. Maybe he shouldn't save himself though, that might be for the better of everyone. Unfortunately Loki didn't care for the better of everyone, not on the outside at least, only in a place hidden very deeply within him.

"Loki…" Thor sounded annoyed.

"What, brother?!" Loki spat out the last word as if it was venom on his lips.

"I… I would like to apologize for being so…" Thor's voice trailed off.

"...Stupid? Ignorant? Foolish? Bearded, maybe?" Loki helped him out, but only gained a chuckle in response. Not the desired reaction. His words were not meant to amuse, but to hurt. Maybe he should've stopped at foolish to get his point across.

"I meant to say pushy." Thor finally sighed. "I know how much you dislike our family and… well, everyone basically, but…"

The door flew open and Loki stood only inches away from his brother's face. "THEY despise ME. Why should I treat them any differently..."

Thor sighed. "Not everyone despises you, Loki."

Loki turned around to his room and walked back to the balustrade, leaving the door open for reasons beyond him. Thor followed quietly. "I don't despise you…"

Loki didn't answer, but instead moved to stand on top of the railing, staring down into the city below him with an angry frown. Thor was a fool for believing Loki would actually care at all whether he despised him or not… a fool for not hating Loki like he ought to. Thor seriously made hiding behind hatred difficult than it should be. Why by Valhalla did nobody understand that it was safest for everyone to leave Loki alone for good?!

"...and I think you shouldn't despise yourself either." Thor finally said, now standing in the open window that led onto the balcony.

With an annoyed glare, Loki turned around to face his brother. "You were never one to talk about feelings, and I honestly preferred you that way." He looked him right in the eye, wondering how to get away from the very much unnecessary conversation. "Go mind your own business. Be a good pet to your father."

Then he let himself fall backwards, the only possible route of escape. Off the balustrade, down towards the city in a rushing speed. Just like she had done… He willed his mind to shut up already. He heard Thor shout his name… how vain, really. But Loki only closed his eyes and enjoyed the calm, and for a brief moment he felt free. Free of hatred, free of pain, free of sadness. Of anger, guilt and revenge. The feeling was dangerously addicting. He was only himself, in a way that he should always have been and never will be indeed.

But the brief moment passed and all the confusing emotions came rushing back, heavier and more grave than he had felt them before. Maybe the people were right, maybe he was insane.

Then he hit the ground, not even bothering to slow down his fall before the inevitable collision. Fortunately enough, he landed right in the middle of a field with no one around to report the incident back to their king. Surprisingly, he hadn't died. It did not even hurt. Damn. Stupid plan, after all.

He didn't specifically want to die, but he wouldn't quite mind either. So he merely remained laying in the trench the force of his impact had created. At least no one would bother him here, and he could think in peace, could start to sort through this internal maze, this downward spiral of irrational behavior and divergence from his usual self.

Oh how wrong he was in assuming he would find peace here, as a few minutes later he noticed Thor's heavy footsteps making the ground vibrate beneath him.

"Brother, you seriously have a problem or a few…" Thor sighed as he sat down next to Loki.

"Yeah I know…" Loki sighed bitterly, opting for sarcasm. "Thank you very much for pointing it out though."

Thor sighed again and rested his face in his palms in utter exasperation. The view made Loki smile for the first time in days.

_______________

That night was the first after a row of many sleepless ones where he could finally find some rest.

The next evening, he tried once again to join dinner. He ought to push himself if he ever wanted to forget about the girl and to prove to himself that he was still very much the collected, intelligent god he deemed himself to be, instead of this insane mess of internal chaos. Had the girl ever left his secret garden? Had she come back to the palace already, stealing and spying?

He cleared his mind of those thoughts and walked into the great hall where dinner was to be served every moment now. After the first steps into the room, he could already feel the preying eyes on himself, the ogling and whispering.

"What is he doing here?" Someone asked in disbelief, someone else merely gasped.

Loki however remained silent, his face frozen and grave. His eyes landed on Thor, who already looked surprised enough. Odin on the other hand showed nothing but disdain. Surely he would rather have Loki locked up again where no one could see the poor excuse of a son Loki knew Odin saw in him.

The entire hall had fallen silent as Loki walked towards his designated seat. With the same stoic expression he sat down and soon the talk around him began to pick up again.

"You certainly know how to make an entrance…" Thor smiled. "Do not worry brother, I will leave you alone and not repeat yesterday's mistakes."

"Thank you." Loki responded calmly, but he felt highly uncomfortable. Even though he could be beyond charming and very much likable if he wanted to be, most of it was merely pretense and came out so rarely that most people had forgotten there was any goodness left in him at all.

So he just sat in silence and ate his food, while watching the people around him. Most of them were talking to each other, eating and laughing, and still Loki did not miss the glares everyone was giving him from time to time. It was the first instance in forever that he was joining an official event after all. People weren't used to his presence, and neither was he used to theirs.

Suddenly a guard came rushing into the room and quickly strode towards the allfather, quietly talking to him in obvious haste. The other dinner guests didn't seem to take much notice of it.

Odin called Thor to his side, whispering to him now, while looking at Loki in deepest suspicion.

Of course, whenever something bad happened around the palace, it seemed to always be Loki who was accused first. He rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. Now that everyone had followed Odin's gaze, they were quite shamelessly staring at him and it became obvious that he was not welcome anymore. Yet, he at least wanted to know what he would be imprisoned for next.

Thus he halted when he overheard, by pure accident of course, what exactly the guard was explaining to Odin and Thor.

"...found her trespassing in the royal forest…" The guard's voice was almost too quiet to hear. "...took forever to chase her down… ...heavily wounded… ...dangerous..."

A cold shiver ran down Loki's spine, which he tried to ignore as much as possible, for he was most certain to already know who exactly they were speaking of. Who this 'she' was.

As unsuspiciously as possible, he came to stand in the shadow behind a grand pillar, listening in on the quiet conversation and hoping to hear no more bad news at least.

"...she was barely conscious when we found her. But she kept calling his name…" The guard looked around the room nervously, obviously not finding what or whoever he was looking for.

"Whose name?" Thor asked just as quietly, yet with the not unusual hint of irritation lacing his voice.

"Loki." The guard responded dimly, not daring to look at the allfather, probably in fear of his wrath.

"Where is she now?" Odin asked coldly. "And I hope for your life that your men are already looking for my 'son'…"

"We, uhm, we have locked her in the prisons…" He stuttered. "A-and no, I sincerely apologize, we have not began seeking for Loki."

"But you said she was wounded, why hasn't she been brought to the healers?" Thor asked with a deep frown that Loki could easily hear reflected in his voice.

"Why should we spend resources to heal her… She would have to face trial, and eventually death, for trespassing anyway. Maybe she will spare us the effort." Odin answered to Thor. "And as for you…" He faced the guard now. "When you came into this hall, Loki was right over there. Why exactly did you NOT secure him immediately?" His voice was calm. So calm in fact that Loki could tell even from afar that Odin must be fuming. The rage that was so badly hidden within his voice almost made Loki laugh. But after hearing all of this, he did not feel like laughing at all. He did not feel anything at all.

That fool of a woman had let herself get caught. And hurt. AND locked up. Loki was furious for getting involved in this, and even more for the deeply rooted worry he felt for her well-being. And he was already on his way down into the very same prisons he had hoped to never see from the inside again, indeed hoping that he was not too late now.

______________________________

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If you would like to be added to the tag list, tell me in the comments 💚💗✨ I'm very much hoping for some feedback on this, even though it is not my usual way of writing Loki ☺️ as I said, this story is pretty old and my style of writing has changed since then 😄

[sarasanddollar]

SARA'S VAGUE SENSE OF HOW CARTOONS PROGRESSED:

as requested by @chintastic and @whatdoesthefauxsay, and specifically requested by @lunagalemaster to be posted to Tumblr!

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh early 1900's animation becomes a thing in the West? Merrie Melodies, early Looney Tunes, that kind of thing. Black and white stuff, view in theater only, it's not "adult" but it's really for adults going to the theater and sort of "look at our technical skill!" sort of show (and as a form of escapism from the war, then the Depression, then the war again)

skip on down, Snow White happens, Disney is a phenomenon, we're not really looking at cartoons in the film circuit here tho so I won't be talking abt like Disney movies and Pixar et al. because that's a whole other animal

television gets invented !

"adult cartoons" that are like funny/sexy happen, stuff like Betty Boop, we're still figuring out what animation is for but plot starts to show up esp with the now popular Mickey/Bugs Bunny stuff

It's the mid 1900's, we're out of the war, I don't know what happens in this period, I know the Hays Law becomes a thing so censorship happens pretty fast, and Saturday morning cartoons directed solely for kids are officially a thing, so Inspector Gadget, Scooby-Doo, the Flintstones + the Jetsons, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Tom & Jerry, more Looney Tunes and Mickey Mouse cartoons. A lot of these toe that line between "cartoons for kids" and "cartoons for adults" by including little things that make it fun for parents too

It's the eighties!!! The Industry has figured out that they can make cartoons that [gasp] Sell Merchandise!!! to kids. So toy cartoons come out, that's all stuff like TMNT, My Little Pony, Transformers, X-Men, He-Man/She-Ra, Voltron, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, and Strawberry Shortcake. The quality of storytelling goes DOWN down down down down and everything is just factory-churned out with the purpose of Selling Toys (tho we still hold a lot of these things pretty near and dear)

The nineties happen. Nickelodeon figures out that cartoons are good and kids like them! And starts airing those instead of live action and puppet shows. They realize, hey, what if... We had cartoons. ALL DAY. Instead of just on Saturdays, for an hour in the morning. They instate an all-day all-cartoon channel that is ONLY their original content (they borrowed stuff like Tom & Jerry up until then), and they follow a brand guideline to make sure it's... The kind of stuff kids like. It's funny, it's interesting, it's creator-driven, and it's not just to sell toys or just churned out to fill a time slot. Quality picks up! This is why 90s cartoons are still a classic today. But also TLDR Nickelodeon killed the Saturday morning timeslot

Cartoon Network follows suit. We get good stuff well into the early 2000s, and then Disney decides to throw in as well - they'd already had shows in the 80s based on their existing brand properties (Little Mermaid, Hercules, Aladdin, and ofc Micky Mouse, Chip+Dale, and DuckTales!) but we start getting original channel-only stuff like, well, American Dragon. More on that later.

The Simpsons. We start to get adults for cartoon that also have heart and morals, instead of just. Sex jokes (Simpsons has quite a few of those too though!). The Simpsons is a cultural icon and influences pretty much every kids cartoon you can imagine, from SpongeBob to Fairly OddParents.

Anime. Anime was beginning to become VERY popular in the States sometime in the seventies (backtracking a bit here) and popular stuff like, AstroBoy, Akira, Speed Racer, started getting ported to kids channels later on (with really bad dubs.) That got a greater and greater influence ESPECIALLY among adult weebs that weren't really as huge a group as they are now demanding Better Quality English-accessible stuff (there's a whole thing on the history of this that I don't have enough internet time to get into) and that started to happen, esp when Ghibli became a huge success, people started going crazy for it, and Disney was like hey ! a market ! and made Good Dubs with A-list guest star voice actors that started the anime revolution overseas

Speeding back up, we start getting things with overarching plots. Avatar happens. Avatar ... Is revolutionary, and that starts making people realize that hey :pikagasp: we can have things that are Complete. Instead of you know axing them halfway or keeping them static status quo for every episode. This is due to the influence of anime on the industry! Remember we're well into the early 2000s and anime is now more mainstream than ever. Naruto, FMA, Black Butler, OHSHC, Death Note, all that good stuff is happening at this point in time.

Avatar doesn't do anything though. It's just, different. Different enough that people remember. (And enough that everyone who worked on it worked on the aforementioned American Dragon - a lot of the same writers and actors, giving it a pretty good internal plot of its own!)

Stuff like Totally Spies happens! That's also anime influenced. Later we'll get stuff like the new Voltron, the new She-Ra, the return of Avatar with Korra, slowly but surely everyone is deciding that Japan is the good trend. Even Winx Club or Angel's Friends over in Italy gets the anime influence! Everyone knows what's up.

It's the early 2010 and cartoon quality goes... Down for a bit, around these points, we get stuff like Fanboy and Chum Chum, Fish Hooks, just, the so random xD rawr humor is what kids are into and the industry doesn't know what to do except gross out humor and barfing rainbows and it's just... Not memorable.

Except Adventure Time nails it and it's a PHENOMENON. I don't know what happened there but something about the childlike wonder and good humor being connected to the (you guessed it!) overarching plot causes a sensation like never before.

Gravity Falls.

Steven Universe.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

In Canada, Detentionaire.

A Scooby-Doo reboot during this time called Mystery Incorporated.

Suddenly this is the trend. Starting with ATLA but leading to AT, big scary mystery, big scary villain, episodes that CAN be viewed stand-alone but also super connect? THIS is the industry trend now and we are LOVING it. We love a story that... Progresses. Characters that grow and change. 80s kids are now older and want cartoons that are good, not just. Toys selling machines.

Streaming services killed the television star. It's a LOT easier to do the overarching plot thing now that you can sit and binge something in one sitting instead of waiting once a week/month to see one ep of a thing you already forgot what happened in last time.

My Little Pony!! Gets rebooted. It's 2013 and for SOME reason this has a huge following? A huge following of adult men, where it's a show for little girls. The brony movement was so huge it's often compared to how Star Trek became a big hit among female viewers way back when. This doesn't influence other shows in storytelling terms but it does change marketing - now your only audience might not be what you think it is. Everyone tries to follow suit by selling their shows to "adult fans," it doesn't always work but boy howdy! And well, MLP follows the trend of overarching plot too, best as it can.

It's the late 2010s and we're in the nostalgia age. Now 90s kids are older and they run the market - we're not trying to make new stuff or support new creators, we're trying to salvage what was and make money off what people loved before. Reboot after reboot after reboot, Disney with its big movies and Nickelodeon doing (a great job, admittedly!) with their Rocko, Zim, and Arnold movies. It's working out fine, but it's a pretty big indicator that there are no new ideas - or rather, new ideas are being snuffed out in favor of bad PowerPuff Girls reboots (Cartoon Network not doing so hot, SU is what saved it!)

this is probably not well written I kept backtracking and adding other stuff pff I hope it's coherent ;; ENJOY

[ruckystarnes]

Giving into Curiosity

Author: RuckyStarnes

Summary: Reader comes home to find that Steve is there waiting with a present

Warnings:  SMUT, pet play (D/s relationship), anal play, oral sex (male receiving), penetration, dirty talk, choking, collar/choker

Pairings: Steve Rogers x reader

Words: 3,448

A/N: This use to be a OFC, so if there are any issues I apologize

Y/N dropped her purse on the table with a heavy sigh. Work drug her down, and it wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't have to fix so many issues or be demanded to pull case files, that were older than her, repeatedly from the basement storage room. She toed off her heels as she took her coat off and padded to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of Pinot Noir and poured a glass, making mental note to thank her best friend for suggesting to try it chilled. She rounded the breakfast bar and found a pile of mail in the counter, smiling to know her fiancé was actually home for once and must be upstairs sleeping after a mission he had. It was tough on them, the distances kept them apart, but she knew what she was signing up for when she began to date Steve Rogers. At that time, he was Captain America, but now he was acting director of SHIELD, which meant he was safe more but more unavailable. She noted to look at the stack of letters later and started off towards the stairs in search of her elusive husband-to-be.

She found him in the middle of the bed, face first in her pillow, sleeping. He had to be exhausted due to the fact he still had his leather jacket and shoes on. She set the wine glass down and walked over to him, unlaced his shoes and took them off before placing them in the closet. She took a seat up by the headboard and ran her fingers through his short blond hair. He looked actually peaceful as he slept and it worried her about the last time he actually got adequate sleep. She continued to rake her fingers through the blond strands as her eyes closed, being content to have him just home and in touching distance. So many nights alone in bed with nothing but his voice in her ear and her hand had become her norm that just having him there to touch made her panties wet.

"You're that turned on already?" a muffled voice chuckled, snapping her out of her thoughts. She didn't realize her hand had traveled under her skirt and was gently teasing herself. A hand closed around her wrist, removing her hand from her clothes core. Her eyes met the baby blues of Steve's and a small smile teased her lips. "Hi," he whispered with a lazy smile.

"Hey soldier," she replied, her voice raspy and thick. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before shifting to turn towards him. "How long you home for?" There was hope in her voice but she was also being realistic.

"Just the night. I have two debriefings with Sam and Nat tomorrow at eight, then a briefing with Fury about a situation in Istanbul," he said heavily. His hand came up and cupped her cheek and smiled. "I needed to see you. I missed you so much and those phone conversations..." He didn't finish because he didn't have too. She had the same feeling. "I got you something. It's in the purple box over there." His jaw jutted to the area and she turned to see a rather large box on the dresser.

"Steve," she chided as she got up and grabbed the box. She was giddy as she opened it, Steve now sitting next to her. She peeked under the white tissue seeing what was there. Her cheeks went red and she hurriedly put the cover back on.

"You don't like it?" The concern and slight hurt in his voice cut into her and she shook her head. "I just thought after we discussed it last week... If you don't like it, I can see about returning it. It's just you expressed interest and curiosity."

Y/N looked at him and smiled, her hand cupped his jaw. "It's okay. Just...surprised. That's all," she whispered. She took the lid off again and looked at the items in the box. Nestled in the white tissue were cohesive items meant to work together. She pulled out the headband that was adorn with two furry, gray ears with white tufts at the tips making her smile at how he paid attention to the details she gave him. "When did you have time?" she asked as she set the ears on the bedside table.

"Today," he replied, "Wanda suggested the store. It was a bit offsetting to have her suggest something as this." He watched as she pulled out the tail that matched the ear headband and noted the scarlet color in her cheeks when she pulled out the collar and cuffs. The color only turned worse when she saw there was a dainty chain lead with a leather strap. "Isn't this what you said you wanted to try?" His voice was tight and full of apprehension that she felt guilty not making a comment sooner.

"Steve, sweetie, I'm more shocked that you actually went and got this," she replied as she held up the tail. Her fingers played with the fur for a moment as she chewed her lip.

"I got a good rest in already, love, did you want to try it out?" he asked. Heat pooled between her legs and all she could do was nod. He tapped her legs and smiled. "Go get undressed then. I'll help with the things."

She went to the bathroom as her breathing increased. This was just a fantasy all but two weeks ago. Was he really being serious? When they first started dating, Steve surprised her how amazing he was in bed, considering he was a virgin of sorts. He was also very open to ideas when it came to sex, usually asking her thoughts in positions and kinks that interested him. Majority of the time she agreed, and a few usually died off before he could get them out with a laugh. Her blazer was laid on the chair in the corner of the room as she began to unbutton the fuchsia silk blouse, having it join the blazer. The pencil skirt soon was added to them as she started to take off her underthings.

"Leave them," he said gruffly, his hands at her hips. "Maybe lose those wet panties too, but keep the bra, belt, and thigh highs." His fingers brushed against the black lace top of her thighs. She could only nod and slipped the satin underwear down her legs before she looked up at him wide, gray eyes, waiting for what he wanted next as he was the one in control always. His hands slid over her sides as he stepped close to her. "God, you're beautiful," he whispered as he took her hand and led her back to the bedroom. He took the ear headband and placed it on top of her head, making him smile. "The curls make it even better," he said softly as his hand cupped her cheek. He picked up the collar next causing Y/N's heart to beat fast as her chest heaved deeply. His fingers were nimble as he fastened the leather around her neck. He placed a kiss to her cheek and looked at her. "You ready for the tail?" His eyes were shining with excitement, but there was a bit of apprehension on his face as he gauged her feelings.

She licked lips and nodded as she moved towards the bed. "Yes, sir," she replied as she crawled up on the mattress, staying on her hands and knees for him. She felt his hand at her shoulders pushing her down so her chest was against the bed and her ass in the air.

"It's okay, baby girl. It will be slightly different than my fingers or my cock, but I made sure to get one with a small plug," he muttered, his hand sliding over her rear. She heard the telltale sound of the lube bottle being opened then felt his fingers, slick with the contents, slide over her puckered entrance making her moan and push her ass against his fingers. "Easy, baby girl," he chuckled,  "Not rushing this part." He toyed with the entrance, gently pushing his finger against it, teasing it to give. It made her moan and she could feel the wetness starting to coat her thighs. But in a moment, she felt pressure and a soft 'oh' fell from her painted lips as he slipped a finger inside. She could hear his praise, but unsure of what he was saying since her head started to buzz from the pleasure. He withdrew his finger, a whimper in her throat was cut off when she felt something cool against her skin making her jump a bit.

"Relax," he whispered as he pressed the cool tip of the plug to her puckered entrance. She did as she was told and he only had to work for a few short moments before she felt the plug fully inserted in her. Another praise was whispered to her along with a hand massaging her ass. "How are you feeling?" he asked as she could feel his eyes roam over her for any sign of discomfort.

"I-I'm good," she replied with a shaky voice. Her body was humming for more as the coolness of the plug sat inside her began to warm from her body temperature.

Steve's hand came into view, slipping under her chip to raise her head up. "What's the word to stop?" He asked in an almost demanding tone.

"Coconut," she replied firmly.

"Good girl," he replied and hooked a finger under the collar as he attached the lead to the O-ring. "Come kneel on the floor, hands on your thighs. Palms up."

His jaw clenched slightly as she crawled across the bed, getting down carefully as the plug made some movements difficult until she got use to it. She knelt down on the carpeted floor, hands on her thighs like commanded as she looked up at him. She could feel her slick dripping down her thighs as she watches him take off his jacket and shirt, tossing them onto the floor, licking her lips as her eyes roamed over his torso and pectorals. His jeans hung low on his hips, his v-line showing the way to what she really wanted. His fingers slowly loosened the belt and undid the button. A small whimper escalated her as she watch him slide the zipper down, revealing the bulge through the navy boxers.  She watched as he pushed the boxers down with his jeans, his turgid length fully upright, waiting for attention. Her nails dug into her palms as she waited for him to allow her to touch, not really wanting to be in the cuffs due to insubordination. He tugged on the lead, bringing it taut, making her look upwards at him. He had a small smile on his face as he moved to kick his jeans and boxers out of the way.

"I really like you like this," he rasped as his hand moved to cup her cheek before shortening the lead. His free hand moved to his delicious length and her eyes followed his movements before he jerked softly on her collar. "Eyes here, baby girl," he commanded and she obeyed. Her arousal was leaking from her, coating her thighs that were pressed together. She loved it when he took the dominate roll. He pumped his cock a few times before he shifted his hips forward and ran the soft tip against her lips. She fought the urge to open her mouth and taste him, knowing he will let her in a moment.

"Would you be opposed to being called Kitten right now?" he asked softly as he used his tip to bring her lower lip downward.

"No, sir. Kitten would be wonderful," she replied in almost a whisper as her eyes fixed on his that were now a dark sapphire due to the lust he was feeling and it was mutual. She licked her lips in anticipation, wanting to taste him. It's been so long since they've been together and it was agonizing to have to wait any longer.

"Open you mouth, then Kitten, and keep it open." She heard the slight gravel in his voice and she knew he was trying to keep his control in check, wanting this to last as long as he could. Steve was a giver, and would see her to have climax seven times before he would allow himself to. She was hoping that the time apart would change that, make him want to lose the control and just take her. She dropped her jaw and waited, humming in excitement and wriggling when he slipped his tip into the wet cavern of her mouth. She desperately wanted to close her lips and suck him off, but she knew from what they talked about prior to this was that she would let him decide what was expected.

The groan from him made her whimper as she could taste the salty sweetness of his skin that laid against her tongue. His hand slid to her jaw, closing her mouth around him as he began to move her head back and forth slowly over his hard cock. She kept her eyes locked on him, noting every facial expression he did, see what he was liking. She pressed her tongue upwards, causing the space to shrink a bit and add pressure to his movements, and in doing so, brought out a low, guttural moan from him. Her nails dug into her skin, wanting to touch him desperately, but she remained in her position. His cock filling her mouth was one thing she was waiting for, but she hopelessly wanted him to fill her core that was now dripping with her desire for him. She knew he could smell it, and it brought a smirk to his face when she whimpered again.

"Such a good kitten," he moaned as his fingers caressed her jaw and his hips moved forward, "you can use your hands now, since you've been so good." She nearly leapt with excitement as her hands found the base of his shaft and pumped him in tandem of her mouth moving over him. She hollowed her cheeks as she moved back, her other hand cupped his balls, her index finger finding the small spot behind it to push firmly against. She moaned at his response at tugging at her collar, knowing he was wanting her to take him deeper. She complied by dropping her jaw as far as possible and relaxed her throat to let him. Her nose pressed against the dark blond curls on his lower abdomen, staying there until she had to move for air. She gazed up at him, a small smile playing on her lips as her hand slid over his slick cock.

"I want you inside me, please," she said in a velvet tone. She continued to kitten lick the soft tip of him as she waited for him to agree to her want, her hand working the ridged shaft and the other toying with his balls. She felt the collar being tugged upwards and heard him mutter along the lines of 'up', which she complied and stood slowlt in front of him, her eyes on his.

"Lay on the bed on your back," he issued as his fingers unhooked the lead from her collar. She nodded and turned to walk towards the bed slowly, swaying her hips more than normal which made the soft tail swish from side to side, brushing deliciously across her sensitive skin. She crawled on top of the bed, settling her head against the pillows and adjusting her hips so the plug was comfortable. She watched him as he stroked his cock, his eyes roaming her body. "I want to see how you pleased yourself those nights when we only could hear each other's voices." He voice was low and strained, a sign that he was losing the battle of control over his will.

"Yes, sir," she whispered as she brought her right index and middle fingers to her mouth, sucking on them for a moment before she moved them down her torso. Her eyes closed by habit as she focused on his breathing and the feeling of her hand against her soft, alabaster skin. She gasped as her fingers found the sensitive bud just between her nether lips and began to rub slow soft circles. Her other hand found it's way to her core, teasing the entrance lightly before she pushed her middle finger inside, humming at the slight fill. She felt the bed dip beside her, his hand was at her breast, palming the covered flesh before pulling it downward, revealing her hard, perked nipple. His breath was warm against her skin before she felt his wet, hot mouth envelop the peak and began sucking on it causing her to moan lewdly and her hips to jerk upwards. Her fingers worked her clit harder and whimpers and moans sounded from her when he moved to her other breast to do the same. "Steve, please," she breathed as her eyes opened slightly to look at him. She was too far gone to maintain the role, and she removed her finger from her core and offered it to him, which he took in his mouth and moaned.

"Hands and knees," he rasped as he moved to kneel behind her once she assumed the position. She heard the foil packet of a condom open and a slight curse falling from him as he must have been struggling with it. Before she could ask if he needed help, she felt him move the tail onto her back causing her to arch her back and whimper at the sensation. She could feel him drag his tip through her wet folds, before slipping into her entrance slowly, bringing forth a moan of ecstasy from both of them. The feeling of him filling her with the tail inside her was almost mind blowing and her fingers gripped the bedspread. "God, I missed you," he whispered at her shoulder. When did he lean over her? It was hard to focus on what was going on as she could feel her climax drawing near. His arm snuck around her torso, bringing her closer to him as his hips snapped into her harshly. He brought them both up to kneel, making her cry out from the pleasure the pressure brought her. Her tongue wet her lips as she felt his hand cup her throat, squeezing only slightly.

"'M close," she panted as her hand went to his bicep and the other to his backside, digging her nails into him. She was close to fracturing and it only took a few more hard thrusts from him to send her over the edge. She could feel his arm tighten around her torso as the waves of pleasure rocketed through her body, blinding her vision and weakening her stance. Her walls pulsed around his cock, milking him into his own release.

He slipped out of her and kissed her shoulder as he laid her down on the bed. She turned to her side and smiled at him, her eyes going to the condom causing her to laugh. "My, you must have been edging quite a bit," she smiled which made him smile as well.

"I could say the same for you, baby girl," he chuckled as he tossed the condom and it's wrapper in the trash bin. He went to the bathroom, returning with a warm, wet cloth and a dry one, moving her leg so he could clean her up. He removed the tail slowly, wiping the excess lube away before laying the tail on the cloth. He moved to remove the ears then the collar before pulling the throw blanket up from the foot of the bed to cover her. She snuggled in, inhaling his scent as his arms wrapped around her, rubbing her back firmly.

"Did you like?" he asked as he looked her over.

"Yes," she muttered as she kissed the hollow of his neck, "too bad you're going back to work in the morning. I wouldn't mind doing it again, maybe last longer."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I promise the next time I'm home. But maybe we shouldn't edge so much, because I would like to have a nice long session with you wearing those ears." He stayed with her for a few moments longer before crawling out of bed. "Bath time for you. I'll run the water, you stay there and be a blanket burrito."