#and the next day i wanna punch bruce in the face for how he treats tim. both can be true in different universes <3

[sparkleofstardust]

what do you mean we will never see the resolution to this. what do you mean that after months of tim going through hardship after hardship, finding loved ones and losing them, trying to figure out who he is and who he is becoming, he is realizing that he is his fathers' son. and that is where it will end.

[frenchrebelfries]

Always

All it takes is one glance

You and Natalia have been together for years even before you both have been forced to join the Red room, you both were childhood best friends and did everything to survive that hell hole that the both of you were thrown into.

“Will you stay by my side until I fall asleep Y/N?” a small voice if Natalia filled your ears, you just smiled at her

“Always Natalia”

You both grew up together learning to kill people breaking your body with training and shattering your innocent minds but you had each other.

She was your hope, your light in the dark so you had to be strong for her.

Natalia was crying in your arms after a test was conducted each and every one of you had to kill some targets with their family to test our emphathy, Natasha have a soft heart and being force to kill made her hate herself but you were there for here shielding her with thoughts that would break her.

“I killed them Y/N, their child was-… she was to young” she cried as you comforted her rubbing her back with your hands

“It’s not your fault Natalia, you had to do it” you reasoned her as she continued to cry

“will you stay with me even I became a monster Y/N?” she sniffled as her forest green piercing eyes connected to yours, you just smiled at her

“Always Iyubov’ always” you assured her wiping her tears and kissing her forehead.

.

.

.

You and Natalia or Natasha a name she wanted to be called now were together just before both of you graduated from the Red room and was one of the best assassins of the organization, they knew about you and Natasha’s relationship after you both graduated but never interfere as both of you did your jobs splendidly taking their attention away from your relationship not wanting one of you killed as it would take years before someone can be good as you both to be replaced, she had you when she was sent to her first mission until you adjusted in the circumstance you were in and accepted it as it give you both a bit of freedom to be together and sometimes do things you wanted as long as you do your missions right, but all of that change when Natasha got an offer to join SHEILD, Natasha being her she did not let it pass as she reached her hands to you inviting you to join her.

“Y/N we can change our lives there… we don’t have to kill people just because they want to, we can change the world there” you were a bit shocked to what had Natasha said to you as you had taking a liking on the life you were in.

“Will you stay with me even I betray my country?”  she was nervous… you can hear it in her voice as you accepted her hand as you always do and kissing the back of it which made her smile widely.

“Always IIyubov” she squeaked and throw herself to you caging you in a tightly hug and kissing you endlessly

“ya Iyublyu vas Y/N”

“ya Iyublyu vas Tasha”.

.

.

.

The SHEILD was no different to the red room that you and Natasha left back in Russia except that SHEILD treated you more nicely and have less missions. Natasha hated killing back then so you talked to Fury to never give Natasha assassinations unless necessary in exchange you will take the missions and do the dirty work for him which he gladly agreed and was kept secret between you both.

“baby I want you to meet Barton, Barton this is my girlfriend Y/N” Natasha was beaming as she introduced you to her friend, an agent she had gotten close from missions that she was dying for you to meet.

He smiled a bit as he offers his hand to you which you gladly took and send him a warm smile thinking how lucky this Barton to be a friend of Natasha.

“it’s nice to finally but a picture to the woman Natasha has been telling me all the time” you smirked and catch a glance at the blushing red head as she elbowed Barton at his side earning us a groan from him

“well Tasha never really shut up about having a friend like you either” Natasha being her sent you a death glare as both you and Barton laugh at the antics of the green eyed ex-assassin.

 And that started a beautiful friendship, You, Barton and Natasha were inseparable. Clint took you and Natasha back to his home where his family lived introducing you to his wife Laura and his kids.

Everything was perfect, Natasha and you having dates around New York, taking undercover missions as a couple, watching movies you missed during the training back in red room, constantly telling each other how much you love them and having to spend Christmas with Barton’s family.

Everything WAS perfect

That change because of that one mission…

The mission to retrieve Dr. Banner or the Hulk.

.

.

.

“You good Y/N?” you heard Clint asking you as you stop punching the sand bag

“Yeah… why?” taking a towel and wiping off the sweat on your face to look more presentable in front of your friend

“Why are you not part of the Avenger?” he bluntly questions you

You knew this is going to be a hard pill to swallow for Clint and Natasha of you not being part of the team, only you and Fury knows about the deal of you being the assassin of the SHIELD you did some missions with them but you were very discrete with your kills that Barton and Natasha didn’t even notice this so they thought you were doing similar mission like them.

You weren’t put on the Team because the team saves people from harm while you kill people so they won’t do harm. They were the symbol of peace while you lurk in the dark to aid the peace they wanted.

You just laugh at Clint patting his shoulder

“I’m leading a different team Barton, I may not be an Avenger but we only have one goal”

He was silent for a bit before speaking again

“Are you spending enough time with Natasha these days?” you knew where this is going as you shrugged

“we’ve both been busy, after what happened at New York our team’s missions have been piling up and so was yours” you answered

“Y/N it’s not that I want to mendle to you and Natasha’s relationship but… you really need to look after her and Banner… they’ve been far too cosy to each other” he told you as his voice was full of remorse

You knew about this, about her and Banner’s… closeness

You asked her about this the other time but she just brush it off saying that there just friends.

You didn’t want to point it out again because you trust her… but you just can’t get this feeling that there was more to their friendship, and you really can’t blame her that.

“I know” you whispered to him as silence filled the gym

.

.

.

You were given by Fury a week off from missions which you rejoiced, this was your time to be with Natasha and do something together.

You got off of the floor where the common room of her team is as you saw her by the chair chatting with Clint.

 “hey Tasha, Barton” Natasha and Clint smiled at you as you gave Natasha a hug burring your head on her neck making her giggle as Barton rolled his eyes at you.

“Fancy seeing you here Y/N” Clint said faking a british accent as you punched his shoulder murmuring ‘shut up’. You turned to Natasha

“Wanna get dinner later? My treat” you smiled brightly at her remembering the restaurant Maria suggested to go.

“I’m sorry Y/N, I promised Bruce to have dinner with him, how about tomorrow? Sounds good?” you saw Clint raised his left eyebrow as you felt a small pinch at your heart as you only smiled at her not wanting to alarm her.

“Sure, I’ll pick up tomorrow at 6 then” she kissed you on your cheeks thanking you for understanding as she soon got a call from Bruce wanting some help in the lab bidding you and Clint a goodbye before leaving.

You just sighted, you were looking forward to this dinner grabbing a help from Tony to have reservation in that restaurant since it only cater powerful people and Tony was one of them, you look at Clint as he gave you the ‘I told you so’ look

“so… wanna grab dinner Barton?” he cheekly smiled

“I thought you’d never ask”

When you met him at the exit of the building he also invited Maria and Dr. Cho who is wearing formal dresses as you and Barton wore some suit which made feel a bit better, after dinner Maria and Clint dragged you and Dr. Cho from bar to bar enjoying the break you had as they filled your night with fun taking your thoughts off of Natasha.

.

.

.

You were invited by Tony to attend his party, you wanted to decline but Clint, Maria and Dr. Cho forced you to come telling to relax for a while and from the moment you stepped in Banner and Natasha have been lost on their own world together.

You watch as Clint, Tony, Rhodey, Banner and Steve trying to pull Thor’s hammer from the glass table as you sat silently beside Natasha who was in a very ‘interesting’ conversation with Banner as you kept drinking the bottle of beer that was filled with vodka chugging it down to your throat just wanting to disappear in this room.

You felt a hand on your shoulder as you turned around seeing it was Dr. Cho as she gently pulled you up from your seat to Maria and Clint’s side making you breathed a bit more comfortable as she sat next to you giving her a kind smile

“Thanks” you whispered

“your welcome” she replied and continued to watch Steve as he pulled the hammer earning a squeak but again didn’t budge.

You felt Maria leaned on your legs as she sat down taking the bottle of beer full of vodka on your hands as she smelt it and immediately gave you a side eye as you murmured a quick “Sorry”

The fun was stopped when a broken robot walked in limping and all you know was there are robots trying to kill all of you.

You jumping to action wanting to run to Natasha to protect her but you saw her running with Banner…

You were jealous of it but Dr. Cho being closer to you, you pulled her away from the chaos as a robot shot the both of you, you hid her behind a large post

“Stay here” you told her as you pulled a gun from your side and started shooting the robot as it falls to the ground and took it’s head off as Thor finished the last one.

.

.

.

Another problem arises for the Avengers as you barely saw Natasha for a few weeks as you put yourself up from mission to mission not wanting to think about her as all you saw was her and Banner’s face laughing.

“The wall will melt if you kept staring at it you know” you were cut off on your daze by Maria as she sat beside the bed that you are now laying on in the Medical bay, Natasha had been notified about this as you tried to stop them but she never came to look for you.

“How bad was it?” Maria asked seeing your torso wrapped with bandages

“enough to keep me away from missions for two weeks” you sigh not really liking the idea of being coped up in a place that kept reminding you about the circumstance that you were in

“I think I know what have been running through your mind lately… it’s about Bruce and agent Romanoff is it?” the silence of you was taken by Maria as an answer as she looked at you in pity.

And you broke as tears run past you face just staring at nothingness, crying was a foreign thing for you, you never cried when you almost died or taken by the Red room, you never cry when you had your first kill.

But right now… the tears keep streaming down your eyes was you tried your best to stop it, you felt Maria stood and wrap her arms around your shoulder pushing your head on her chest as your tears wouldn’t stop.

“I-I don’t know what to do Maria…” your broken voice hurts Maria in many different ways, out of all the people she met you were one of the most calm person she encountered, and most importantly you are her friend…

It hurts her seeing you cry, it’s her first time seeing you being vule like this.

“just let it all out Y/N”

And you did.

.

.

.

You stood there outside of room Natasha was in wanting to see her as their mission failed and now laying low at Barton’s house but you stood there frozen from the scene of her and Banner holding each other.

You rushed out of your mission when you heard about what happened to them as Clint told you that Natasha was injured and all shaken up with the enhance girl putting things in their mind, you dropped everything and just want to be with the red head but what greeted you is this.

You clench your hands so hard not wanting to break here when you felt someone hugged your leg

“Aunt Y/N” Lila said as you gave her a forced smile picking her up from the ground

“where’s your mom hmm?” you asked her sweetly as she points out to the kitchen as you tickled her sending her in full giggles walking to the kitchen and seeing a very pregnant Laura cooking

Putting Lila down and greeting Laura as she turned to you

“Y/N! oh god I missed you!” you chuckled as she gave you a hug which you return

“Missed you too Laura” you broke the hug

“so did you meet Nat?” you just shrug at her wanting to change the topic so you stared at her big belly

“you look big Lau” she smacked your arm as you both laugh

“I know Lila has been telling me that, why don’t you go sit I’ll make some food” you decline as you picked up some ingredient and started cutting it.

“Nah I’ll be helping you out, we don’t want you getting to worked up”

After you finished cooking you left some supplies for them and sneakily left the Barton’s house not wanting to alarm the team as you linger around the perimeter checking for some anomalies before completely leaving for another mission Fury assigned.

.

.

.

“p-please don’t kill me I’ll do anything!”

Your phone rang as you were in the middle of killing one of the many leader of Hydra as he sat on the ground begging for his life

You quickly answered it as Clint’s voice filled your ear

“Y/N, Nat has been taken” your face harden as anger builds inside you

“What?! “

“Ultron took her”

“I’m on my way”

You ended the call and shooting the man on his head 3 times before heading out

All you though that time was to find Natasha.

.

.

.

You just stood there behind Clint in silent not wanting to lash out in anger and worry about Natasha, there are two new people in the group Pietro and Wanda… you thought they were too young for this, barely even living normal live and was thrown in to this mess… you pitied them as you pitied yourself.

Vision gave Thor his hammer which surprised everyone. Thor took the hammer as Vision left everyone speechless.

“right… well done” Thor patted Tony’s shoulder before leaving

“three minutes, get what you need” Steve said as all of us left packing things they’ll be needing.

You took some guns, daggers and things you needed as you held the locket Natasha gave you after you both graduated from the Red room… it has the first picture of you both smiling as you held a bit more freedom back then.

All you every though is

Bring back Natasha, bring back your love.

You remembered what Natasha used to say to you ‘will you stay by my side?’

“Always” you voiced out kissing the locket placing it back on your neck near your heart.

.

.

.

You were tasked to save Natasha with Banner and evacuated her, you lurked behind Banner as you both navigated your way to Natasha’s cage, you stood at the dark as you pulled your dagger out of the robot beheading it just be sure, turning around seeing Bruce has set Natasha free and again lost between their world.

You want to shout at them wanting your presence to be known rage boiled up inside you and everything stopped when she kissed him… your heart ached, it’s like someone was crushing your heart as all you want is to scream.

You silently left not wanting to see more of them as the picture of them kissing filled your head.

As you got outside you saw robots coming everywhere, you held on your gun and dagger tighter as civilians passed you, you swiftly yanked a robot’s head that was sticking out on the ground and all you saw was red…

 You kicked a head of a robot you just beheaded as tons of them was laying beneath your feet, you have gashes littering your body but you didn’t feel any tiredness or soreness only rage and betrayal.

“Y/N?” you froze when you heard the familiar voice of the woman you love, you didn’t want to turn around to see her face as it only reminds you that you were never hers anymore but you can never deny her.

You turn around facing her as your eyes held emptiness, she looked a bit worried as she took a step closer to you avoiding the metal bodies as you held your gun pointing at her and she stopped

“Y/N what are you doi-“ her words cut off when you fired the gun hitting the robot that was flying behind her.

You heard Tony saying stuff at your earpiece wanting all of you at the core as you saw Natasha’s hand holding it out on you

“stay with me?” your anger and rage melted at her words as it brought you back the memories of the past as you took her hand

“always”

.

.

.

“Together” Tony said as Natasha held your hands tighter as you squeeze it reassuring her

And that, all hell broke loose.

You kept killing robots after robots so was everyone keeping them away from the core, you saw a robot going to Natasha’s back, you pulled it’s head snapping its neck.

 “I’ll protect it” Wanda said as you, Natasha and Clint rode a car towards where the evacuation is

“get your asses on the boat” Natasha said as all of you got out of the car

“where are you going?” you asked her

“I have to get the big guy” ah… Banner you saw her run to the side as you stood there as you felt Clint held your shoulder

“hey… lets go now” you just nodded following him

 Bullets rained down as everyone took cover, Clint on the other hand pulled a child while you were beside him taking cover as you saw Pietro running to shield him…

You pushed your body forward as you reached Pietro’s left side but not enough to cover him from the other shots

You felt bullets broke out of your skin while you saw Pietro took 3, two on his arm and one on his right leg,

he’ll be alright with that…

you thought as your body weaken after taking one on your right shoulder on the right side of your stomach and on your arm.

You held your ground as you put pressure at the shot by your stomach as it bleeds out badly

“you good kid?” you ask Pietro as he nods limping

“Y/N!” you heard Clint shouted as Steve drag you and Pietro to the ship

Your ears were ringing badly as Clint tried to stop the bleeding

“Barton… I badly need a nap right now…” you whispered as blood ran down your lips

“Y/N hey don’t you dare sleep, We need a medic! Agent Y/N is down!” you heard Clint’s voice as you saw Pietro at the side sitting as he looked at you with apologetic eyes as you gave him a reassuring smile.

You saw small dark dots as you kept your eyes open not wanting Clint screaming at you but then you were swallowed by darkness.

 Clint run to the helicarrier towards the medical bay with you on his arm limping with Steve behind him holding Pietro

“MOVE!!” he shouted as he reached the med bay placing you on one of the bed as Dr. Cho did her best to keep you alive,

Clint was thrown out of the room as they waited outside patiently

“We’re losing her! Get the defibrillator!”

.

.

“Im gonna go and see Pietro” Steve announced as Clint just nodded as he sat beside the bed you lay on, as much as Clint hated the beeping sound from the machines that was hooked up from you it is the only reminder for him of you being alive.

Maria already passed by but Natasha was nowhere to be seen, Maria told Clint that she was busy finding Banner who is now in the quinjet in stealth mode and that made them angry.

Her girlfriend is lying here barely even alive but she kept searching for that guy.

.

.

.

“Thank you for saving me Y/N” Pietro’s heavy accent filled the room you were in

“you still have a lot of things to accomplish kid, and stop thanking me already” you took a bite off of your sandwich which Wanda made for you

“Your sandwich really hits the spot Wanda thanks” you smiled at the witch

“your welcome Y/N, I’ll bring some more tomorrow if you want” she smiled warmly

“that would be great”

A knock on the door and a red head popped on it

“well that’s our cue, come Pietro” Wanda pulled Pietro out of the room as Natasha walked in locking the room.

 “Y/N” she called you

“Natasha” you acknowledge her

 “how are you?...”

“getting better now”

 And a loud noise of silence embraced you both, you took a deep breath looking at the large glass with the green view outside

“I know…” you broke the silence as her head whip to look at you

“What-“ you cut her off

“I know about you and Banner…” you told her bluntly and straight forward

“Y/N… im sorry…”

You gave her a smile cupping her face as tears started to stream down her face

“It’s alright IIyubov… I really can’t blame you if you fall in love with him…” God… it’s been forever since you last called her that

You wipe off her tears as she kept saying how sorry she was as you hugged her tightly as if it was the last time you will do.

“Does he make you happy Tasha?” you asked her as she stayed silent for a while before nodding, your heart ached as it was like being stumped

“Do you love him?” you felt a nod as you closed your eyes tightly not wanting your tears to run by your face. Natasha was all you had left, your reason for everything, all you want is to protect her and keep her safe and make her happy.

And if she’s happy with him… even it hurts… you would gladly let her go

“Be with him…” Natasha froze in your embrace as her green eyes found yours

“All I wanted for you is to you to be happy Natalia… if being with him felt right then I would gladly let you go” at that moment you saw flashes of you and Natasha from the first time you met, to her being scared, the time you confessed your feeling, to your first kiss, the day you held each other as if non in the world matters, to your graduation in Red room, both of you joining SHIELD, celebrating Christmas with the Barton’s and to her lingering laughs and giggles telling you how much she loved you…

Your eyes were watery, Natasha was shocked by the words coming out of your mouth, it is her first time since you were kids seeing you this… broken… and she hated herself for she was the reason her Y/N was this. You’re her hero, her guardian, her shield you followed her everywhere around the globe happily as you were her sun.

A tear slipped from your eyes as you smiled painfully to the woman you love, to the woman you thought you would end up forever… to your home… With all the courage you spoke

“ya Iyublyu vas Natalia, Always and forever” kissing her forehead

as painful as it is, she can’t move forward with a part of her past lingering around her… You…

Breaking the embraced you were with her, taking a step back as you smiled at her as she stayed silent watching you

whispering your last words to her

“goodbye Natalia”

You walk off the room closing the door behind you with heavy heart. You are happy that she’s now making her own choices… not being tied down with anything and having control to her life, you are proud of her even that choice she made hurts you.

It breaks you to let her go but

Natasha finally found her family in Avenger

As you lost yours.

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 18: Girl’s Night (Heroes/Villains)

AO3

Prev

First

Teleporting back into her room in Gotham, Marinette flops onto her bed. Passing Kaalki sugar cubes and Tikki a cookie, she suppresses the urge to scream into her pillow. She was sick and tired of Hawkmoth. Sick and tired of being the one who has to fix everything. She just wanted one week with no Hawkmoth, no akuma attacks. But no. Of course not. Of course he just had to send out a stupid akuma every single day. Because why not. How’re people supposed to know he’s still being the main villain of Paris if he takes a freaking day off? Once she finds out who he is, she’s going to punch him in his stupid face. A knock on her door pulls her from her plotting ways to get back at Hawkmoth. 

“Come in.” She sighs, sitting up and forcing a tired smile on her face. 

“Marinette, your father wanted-” Selina starts, pausing as she looks her over. “Come on kitten, we’re having a girls day.” She says. Marinette raises an eyebrow. Sure she’d met Selina before, but they hadn’t really hung out yet. 

“What?” She asks. 

“You look exhausted and angry, sweetheart. Spending too much time with these boys isn’t going to help. So you’re gonna grab anything you need for an overnight trip and we’re going to go watch movies and eat junk food til we’re sick.” Selina instructs. Marinette grins, jumping up and shoving stuff into her backpack. She puts Kaalki’s glasses into her purse and lets her and Tikki fly in before she turns to Selina. 

“Ready!” She says, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. It’d been ages since she’d had a girls day with anyone. She was so ready to just take a break and be silly. 

“Well come on then. Harley and Ivy are going to adore you.” Selina says, slinging her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. Somehow, they manage to not see anyone on the way to Selina’s car. Which is weird, but it is a weekday so everyone probably had something to do besides sit around the manor. Pulling away from the manor, Selina flips on the radio, the new Jagged Stone song blasting full volume.

“Nice taste in music.” Marinette says with a wide grin. Selina smirks. 

“I have to like the man at least a little, his designer is one of my kids after all.” She says. Marinette smiles, a warm feeling flooding through her. Selina didn’t have to accept her with open arms, she didn’t have to treat her like she was her own daughter. But she did, and Marinette was so thankful for that. Thankful that even so far away from her Maman, she still had a Mom there for her. The two nod along to the music, scream singing the chorus together as the car pulls to a stop in front of an apartment building. Marinette glances at the building, suddenly nervous. Would Harley and Ivy like her? Or would they just tolerate her for Selina. 

“Don’t make yourself nervous, sweetheart. Harley and Ivy are two of the sweetest people I know. They’re gonna love you.” Selina says reassuringly, reaching over and squeezing Marinette’s shoulder. Marinette lets out a breath before nodding. 

“Okay, let’s go.” She says, grabbing her bag and jumping out of the car. She follows closely behind Selina, not wanting to give anyone the chance to get between them. You could never be too careful in Gotham. They walk into the building and go straight into the elevator, Selina pushing the button and leaning up against the wall while they wait. Marinette bounces on the balls of her feet, excitement and nerves bundling together. The second the elevator stops, Marinette’s out, following Selina down the hall. She pulls out a key, winking at Marinette before turning and unlocking the door. 

“Honey, I’m home!” She calls, and Marinette’s jaw drops. The apartment was quite literally covered in plants and vines. They were beautiful. She grins as one of the vines near her leans towards her, a small flower blooming at the end of it. 

“And who did you bring with you?” A tall woman with red hair asks, walking into the room. The designer inside of Marinette instantly has a million questions about the woman’s outfit. It seemed to be made entirely of plants, but she could also tell that they were still alive. She had no idea how the woman had managed that, but she guessed that it was something that couldn’t be replicated for someone else. 

“I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you!” She says with a wide smile. The woman, who Marinette assumes is Ivy, grins back. 

“Nice to meet you, Flower. I see you’ve already made a friend.” She says, gesturing to the vine which was now wrapped around Marinette’s wrist. Marinette giggles. 

“Well, I was hoping they liked me and that’s what this was. I have a garden back in Paris, and I’d hate to find out plants actually hate me.” She says. Ivy shakes her head. 

“No worries there. They adore you, it’s a little odd if I’m honest.” Ivy says, dodging Selina who tries to flick her. 

“Did I hear Selina?” Another voice asks, a short blonde woman walking into the room. Her hair was short and choppy, the small pigtails at the top of her head dyed pink. Marinette grinned at the woman’s outfit- a Gotham Amusement Pier t-shirt, Batman pajama pants, and hot pink fuzzy socks. She wondered if her dad knows that Harley Quinn has Batman pj pants….probably not. 

“Yes, with a guest.” Selina says, plopping onto the couch and gesturing over to Marinette, who was still standing by her new vine friend. 

“Hi! I’m Marinette, it’s nice to meet you.” She says, smiling and waving with her free hand. Ivy whispers something and the vine squeezes a bit before letting go, letting her move away from the door. 

“Well aren’t ya just the cutest!” Harley squeals, running forward and giving her a big hug. “Didjya finally join your boytoy’s adopting habits?” Harley adds, still clutching onto Marinette. Selina snorts. 

“No, he beat me to her. But she’s definitely mine, too.” She says, making Marinette’s face turn red. Harley coos at her, ruffling her hair before stepping back. 

“So what brings ya here? Get annoyed with Bats already?” Harley asks. Marinette blinks in shock. Harley knows? She thinks about it for a minute, and realizes it just makes sense. They’d been fighting long enough and then he started his relationship with Selina, who was one of Harley’s best friends. It just made sense that Harley (who was extremely smart) would put two and two together. 

“No, just thought that Mari could use a girl’s day. She’s been stuck with just the boys for over a week.” Selina explains. Harley gasps. 

“The horror!” She says, making Marinette giggle. “Come on pumpkin, I’ve got the comfiest jammies ever. Oooo, and we can paint our nails! Ivy, find the movies, Selina, you’re on snacks. This is gonna be so much fun!” Harley orders, grabbing Marinette’s hand and tugging her along to one of the bedrooms, Selina’s laugh echoing throughout the apartment. 

“I did bring pjs, ma’am.” Marinette says, once Harley stops tugging her and starts searching through a drawer. 

“Bet that can’t be comfier than the ones I’ve got for ya! And call me Harley kiddo, or Auntie Harley if ya wanna.” She says, looking up from the drawer to smile widely. She looks back and cheers in victory, pulling out a pair of bright red pajama pants. Marinette snorts when she notices the logo all over the pants. 

“Really?” She asks, giggling. Harley smirks. 

“We’ll have to take a picture of us and send it to your old man. Really get ‘im riled up.” She says. Marinette nods excitedly, taking the Robin pants from Harley. This was gonna be awesome. 

---

Bruce sighs, looking at the news report from Paris from earlier. The damned butterflies were hard to track. He was used to figuring out problems quickly, and this one was taking too long for comfort. It wouldn’t bother him as much if it was anywhere else, but it was directly impacting his daughter. She was being hurt daily, and she’d even died and now she was plagued with nightmares. All because of a man with some magic jewelry. God, he hated magic. A knock on the study door stirs him from his thoughts. 

“Come in.” He says.

“Hey B, have you seen Mari? I was gonna ask her if she wanted to go get ice cream with me and Little D.” Dick asks, leaning against the door frame, Damian standing next to him with his arms crossed.

“Not since breakfast. There was another akuma attack earlier, but it wasn’t a bad one. She wasn’t injured.” He says, remembering the completely strange battle from earlier. It was some man with pigeons, and apparently this was the 34th time the man had been akumatized over pigeons. 

“Did you not check her room after the battle?” Damian asks, eyebrow quirked. Bruce sighs. 

“It was the pigeon one again. I assumed that she’d want to take a nap, if anything. She still hasn’t been sleeping well. Tim said she’s awake every morning when he comes up for coffee, whether it’s three or five, she’s up.” Bruce explains, frowning at the thought of his youngest daughter’s sleep habits. He certainly didn’t need another sleep deprived coffee addict like Tim. It wasn’t healthy. 

“Well I already checked her room. She wasn’t there.” Dick says, and Bruce frowns, pulling out his phone to send a text to Tim and call Jason. One of them had to have seen her. She never left the house without telling one of the family, unless it was for a battle. 

“What.” Jason says gruffly, Bruce is just grateful he answered. Up until a couple of months ago, Jason would have rather thrown his phone in the river than answer one of Bruce’s calls. 

“Have you seen Marinette?” He asks, getting straight to the point.

“No? Why? What’s wrong?” Jason asks, and Bruce hears shuffling as Jason rushes around wherever it is he is. 

“Nothing. I’ll call you back.” He says, hanging up. He glances down at his texts and notices Tim hasn’t seen her either. He frowns, but doesn’t panic yet. Pulling out his computer, he pulls up the tracker that was on each of his children’s phones. He scans the map, frowning when he sees that her phone is still in the manor. In her room. He stands and swiftly moves past his sons to get to his daughter’s room. He knocks, waiting for an answer. None. 

“Marinette?” He calls, knocking again. “I’m opening the door.” He warns, pushing it open. He frowns at the empty room, nothing appearing out of place. 

“Do you think she had to pop back to Paris for something?” Dick asks, coming up behind him. Bruce shakes his head. 

“No, she would have told us. Suit up, she has to be somewhere in-” He stops as his phone chimes. He looks at it and feels all of the tension leave his shoulders. 

Took our youngest daughter for a girl’s day, back tomorrow XO. Of course Selina had her. 

“She’s with the Sirens. She’ll be back tomorrow.” Bruce says, suppressing a smile at the annoyed look on his youngest’s face. She was safe, and that’s what matters. Even if he was certain he’d have to listen to Damian complain for the entirety of patrol. 

---

“Make all the boy moose go WAAAAAAAAA!” Harley says with the movie, laughing loudly. Marinette chuckles, passing Tikki a cookie in her purse before sticking another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. 

“I still like the first one more.” Selina says, taking a sip of her wine. Harley sticks her tongue out at her before turning her attention back to the movie. 

“Do you think Mia is secretly a superhero?” Marinette asks, frowning in thought. 

“What on earth are you talking about?” Ivy asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Even Harley pauses the movie to turn and stare at her. 

“Stan Lee.” Marinette says with a shrug. 

“Is that s’posed to mean something to me, kid? Cause I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.” Harley says, obviously confused. Marinette huffs. 

“Stan Lee makes a cameo in this movie. And Stan Lee is the creator of Marvel, right? He’s made a cameo in like, every single Marvel movie. So is Mia secretly a superhero? Is that why he’s in the movie?” Marinette rambles, almost flinging ice cream at Selina as she gestures crazily. 

“Sweetie, how much sleep have you had in the past three days?” Selina asks after a few moments of silence. 

“Not important. Is Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia, also a superhero? Does she secretly work for SHIELD? Or is she more like Iron Man, like a freelance superhero? Was she a hero in San Francisco too? Or did she take over a hero's mantle when she moved to Genovia? Cause she was really clumsy in the first movie and also super awkward, but now she’s less clumsy and she seems to be more put together, but are heroes really put together? I don’t think so. I think sometimes heroes pretend that they’re put together to make everyone else feel better when in all reality they’re seconds away from a breakdown themselves. Is Stan Lee coming to recruit her for SHIELD? Is that why he’s in Genovia? Does SHIELD have any jurisdiction there? Is there a Genovian branch of SHIELD?” Marinette rambles, suddenly stuck on the topic. Seriously, why is Stan Lee in Princess Diaries 2 if Mia isn’t a hero? Why would he-

“Kitten, take a breath.” Selina says, her hands on Marinette’s shoulders helping her to ground herself. Marinette takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She blinks a few times, instantly feeling bad. 

“I’m so sorry.” She says, frowning. 

“What for?” Harley asks, looking confused. 

“For ruining girl’s night.” She says quietly. Selina pulls her into a tight hug and Marinette sinks into it. 

“Sweetheart, you didn’t ruin anything. I don’t know everything that’s going on. But what I do know, is that you rambling out a conspiracy theory about the movie we’re watching is not ruining girl’s night. Trust me. One time, we invited your brother Dick, and he ate all of the cookies by himself.” Selina says, Marinette snorts. Of course he did. “Now that’s a way to ruin girl’s night.” She adds, squeezing her once more before leaning back.

“Let's watch something that we can just get lost in and not have to think at all.” Ivy suggests, looking through the stack of dvd’s. Marinette glances over, eyes instantly catching one of her favorite movies. 

“Legally Blonde?” She suggests, Harley squeals. 

“That’s it, you’re officially ours. Brucie can fight me.” She says, putting in the dvd. Marinette laughs, laying her head on Selina’s shoulder, grabbing a handful of popcorn. She could get used to nights like these.

Next Chapter

Bonus chapter: Harley Vs Bruce

Drawing of Harley and Mari’s pajamas

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 

[ragingbookdragon]

Do You Believe In Life After Love? PT. 2

Arkhamverse!Jason Todd x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 2K Warnings: Explicit Language and Angst

Author's Note: I have emerged victorious from my second round with the enemy known only as...The Cringe...it was a glorious battle and I FUCKIN' WON IT. Enjoy that I have now edited two previous stories to read better for y'all! -Thorne

Her cowl was discarded somewhere on the penthouse floor, but she couldn’t’ve been bothered to even care about it since most of Gotham either knew who she was now, or they strongly suggested they did. Even if they did know, they still treated her with the same respect as when she was unknown. She moved automatically to the bar as she unclipped the cape from her shoulders, letting it fall with a thud in a heap of leather as she poured herself a generous glass of bourbon. Setting it on the table, she undid her gauntlets, one coming off, and then the other.

She picked up the glass and walked around the bar towards the couch and coffee table. A flashing red light caught her eye and she looked over, seeing the landline blinking on the side table. As she swirled the amber liquor around in her glass, her fingers pressed the button on the answering machine. Her eyes turned to the heavily tinted windows, and she stared at the city below the penthouse as the machine spit out its usual tone.

“You have one new message, Friday, December 19th.” A sigh sounded through the line, followed by a soft and barely cheerful voice. “(Y/N)? It’s me, Dick…calling for…the seventh time this week.” He let out another sigh, and this time, his voice betrayed his feelings. “Look, I know it’s been hard on you since Bruce…died…but I really think it would be good for you if you got out of Gotham for a while, even if it was just coming over to Blüdhaven for a few weeks.” The line went silent, and after a moment, his voice picked up. “…I really miss you sis and I know that you’re suffering from the weight of keeping Gotham in check. Let Lucius carry it for a while and come spend Christmas with me…Look, I have to go to work now, but please think about it (Y/N). For me…and for Bruce and Alfred…they wouldn’t want you to keep all this up…so…just gimme a call back and we’ll plan something, okay? I love you sis…bye.”

The mention of her departed father and butler made her heart tighten so painfully in her chest that it seemed to stop her from breathing and (Y/N) looked down at her glass, seeing a diluted reflection she didn’t recognize staring back.

Lately, it seemed like every time she caught her reflection as Batgirl, she appeared less and less like she remembered, image darkening with every passing night she was out on the streets alone, fighting with no backup, with nobody in her ear telling her where enemies were or encouraging her for a job well done. She could tell that the woman who wore the cowl and the woman who was the cowl were starting to become one instead of two different people, much like her father appeared sometimes. And while it had been his thing when he was alive, it wasn’t her. She was somebody outside the cowl, but now? Now she didn’t know who was Batgirl and who was (Y/N) Wayne—and the divide between was only it was getting worse as it closed closer and closer to the line.

She finally remembered how to breathe and inhaled deeply, shoving it aside and looking back out the window. His image caught in her eye before she focused on the skyline, her voice firm as she said, “You know, I have to wonder…when you kill someone, do you ever get a little voice in your head that tells you it’s wrong…Arkham Knight?”

(Y/N) spun around, turning her attention to the man standing beside her coffee table, dressed in a suit that was armored similarly to his earlier one a few months back, though the colors were different, and he wore a dark jacket with white leather patches along the shoulders and arms. The helmet was different too, instead of mimicking the ears of her father’s cowl, his was simply rounded and crimson in color, though she bet that his visor input ran on the same tech her father’s did. Her eyes briefly fell to the red bat symbol painted across his chest, and for a moment, everything seemed to fade until the anger came back to her.

She clapped a hand to her chest, her voice cheerfully fake. “Oh, silly me, I forgot! You’re not going by Arkham Knight anymore! You’re going by ‘The Red Hood’!” Her voice lost the fakeness, replaced by a hard edge and she leaned back against the window, suppressing the urge to shiver from the chill, her eyes dark. “What do you want, Jason?”

He stood up straight, his head tipping upwards, and she couldn’t see his eyes, but she knew they were trained on her. “I wanted to see you.”

(Y/N) scoffed, a smile crossing her lips. “Well, you saw me. Now fuck off.”

Jason sighed. “That’s not what I mean.”

“Oh, so you mean you wanted to see how I was doing after you ruined mine and the lives of the people I cared about?” He said nothing, and she leaned over, finger running along the button of the answering machine. “You wanna see me, Jason? Well how about you listen to this?”

She hit play, and a message came through. “(Y/N) Wayne? This is Vicki Vale. I really would like to talk to you about what’s happened in the past few months, and with your dad—”

(Y/N) hit the next button, and another voice filled the room. “(Y/N), this is Jack Ryder. Listen, I know you’ve been hounded by reporters since it’s been revealed that your dad was Batman. I want to talk to you about—”

She hit stop, glowering back at him as she pointed to the machine. “Every. Day. Every day I get the same messages over and over and over again. (Y/N) Wayne are you Batgirl? We should talk about it! Your dad was Batman, so you must be Batgirl! How are you going to pay for all the damage and destruction your dad did all these years? How are you going to answer for what he’s done? How can we trust Wayne Enterprises anymore? What’s it like having to pick up the pieces of a broken life after your dad…after your dad…”

(Y/N) brought a hand to her face, covering her mouth. The tears ran down her cheeks, cascading over her hand, and she glared at Jason, her voice raw with emotion. “Everything that’s happened…is all your fault.”

He took a step towards her, shoulders squared as he placed a hand to his chest. “You can’t blame this all on me, (Y/N). Bruce was the one who activated the Knightfall Protocol—not me.”

Her lips wobbled as she countered hoarsely, “After Scarecrow revealed his identity because of events that you put into place.” She placed the glass on the table, spreading her arms. “So, have you gotten your revenge, Jason? Does it feel better to know that you succeeded in killing my dad? In killing Batman?”

He looked away and something wrathful inside (Y/N) snapped; she picked up the liquor glass and chucked it as hard as she could, missing him by an inch as it hit the wall. It shattered into a million shards as the amber liquid trickled down the wall, and her words came out enraged. “ANSWER ME DAMNIT!”

He met her eyes and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly, hands flexing at his sides. “I didn’t mean for all this to happen,” he said, and she barked a laugh full of disbelief.

“What did you think was going to happen, Jason? Reveal who Batman was, kill my dad, and everything else was just gonna work out in the end?” She pointed to the street below. “I can’t walk ten feet out of this building without being hounded by press and reporters about everything.”

She shook her head, feet carrying her past him towards her bedroom. “You get off scot-free with anonymity and I get stuck cleaning up a giant shitstorm. Figures. You can find your way out.” She hadn’t made it a step past him when a hand shot out and curled around her bicep, pulling her back.

(Y/N) thrashed, trying to yank her arm away from his grip. “Let go of me!”

Jason’s grip tightened, and he grabbed her other arm. “No!” He leaned close to her, his voice firm. “We’re not leaving this alone anymore. We’ve been circling one another since that night, and I’m done playing games, (Y/N). We’re talking about this.”

She huffed in disbelief, staring at him. “There is nothing to talk about, Jason.” (Y/N) waved a hand between them. “What we had…it’s gone.”

“Are you sure it is? Because as much as you seem to hate me, you can’t stay away from me whenever we’re patrolling Gotham together.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Okay, firstly, I follow you to make sure you don’t kill innocent people. And secondly, I’m pretty damn sure what we had is gone. I think about punching you more than I do anything else.”

He hummed, staring down at her and she was starting to get the urge to right-hook him when that familiar smugness set in his gaze. The same smugness he used to pull with her a few years ago when they were together. A memory flashed of Robin and Batgirl arguing, her annoyed and him smug as hell.

“I don’t believe you,” he countered lightly.

“I don’t give a flying fuck what you believe, Jason. The truth is we aren’t together anymore.” She started squirming again. “Now let go of me and get the hell out of my penthouse.”

He fell silent and simply stared at her before responding quietly, “Tell me you don’t love me or that you don’t need me anymore and I will.”

(Y/N) froze and her eyes went wide. “Excuse me?” Her voice was a whisper, as Jason released one of her arms, his gloved hand coming up to caress her cheek.

“You can tell me that we’re done all you want, (Y/N).” His hand left her cheek, rising to pull the jacket-hood from his head and yank the helmet off. He tossed it on the couch and Jason gazed at her, his teal eyes boring into hers. “But until I hear you tell me that you don’t love me anymore, I’m not moving from this spot.”

He held his head high, looking down at her. “So, tell me. Tell me you don’t love me anymore and I’ll go.” Jason searched her gaze. “I’ll go and I’ll never come back.”

(Y/N) stood there, the breath in her lungs frozen as they watched each other. After a moment, she lowered her head and murmured, “I don’t…I don’t…” She stopped, swallowing thickly, the tears that had swelled in her eyes threatening to run down her cheeks. “Oh, fuck it…I can’t do it.”

(Y/N) brought her hand up, covering her eyes even though the tears were already streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t tell you I don’t love you because…I still do love you.” She lowered her hand, gazing up at him. “And I never really stopped…no matter how furious I’ve been at you.” (Y/N) went slack against him, letting him wrap his arms around her. “Damn you, Jason Todd…damn you.”

His breath was hot against her ear as he chuckled lowly, tightening his grip. “I know.”

She pulled back a bit, looking at him teary eyed. “This doesn’t mean everything is okay now. I still want to beat the ever-living shit out of you.”

He huffed. “I know you do.”

Her voice turned watery. “I’m still pissed, and you’re still pissed and we’ve gotta work through that to get better.”

Jason nodded. “We will, (Y/N).” His hands cupped her cheeks, and he brushed his thumbs under her eyes, wiping the tears away. “I love you.”

(Y/N) nodded, burying her face in his chest. “I love you too.”

Do you believe in life after love?

[dork-empress]

Singing In The Dead Of Night Ch 2

Harley and Barman set up a playdate for their wards.

forgive the long post, i'll edit and clean it up when im home. chapter can also be found on my ao3, url in the description.

Harley made it back home, which was actually the manor of some billionaire who only really used the house for tax purposes. Harley had taken it over when Lucy came to live with her, deciding she needed more room, and they quickly changed it to suit their needs.

“Luuuucyyyy, I’m hooooome,” Harley called out to the manor, heading through the living room/gymnasium.

Lucy was balancing on the beam by her hands. “Never heard that one before.” She went into the splits and stayed on one hand.

Harley looked over her form. “Point your toes more...there ya go.” Lucy did as recommended. “I got candy for dinner!” She dumped her stolen lollipops on the table.

“I already ate, Aunt Harley,” she said, “I made extra pasta if you want.” She pointed over to the kitchen, before switching hands and flipping herself over.

“Oh,” Harley said, going over to make a plate, but feeling like ants were crawling in her skin. “You know, you don’t have to call me your aunt when it’s just the two of us,” She said, swirling her fork through the noodles.

Lucy shrugged, “Force of habit. Plus it’s a good idea in general, ya know, in case someone’s secretly listening in or we mess up some other time.”

Harley shrugged her shoulders. “Makes sense,” and it did, but it still kind of hurt. “You can have the lollipops for dessert though. You like cherry?” She tossed her the red candy.

Lucy looked down at the wrapper a second. “Can’t, I’m allergic to the red dye.”

“Oh,” Harley said, silently cursing herself. That was something that mothers should know about their kids, allergies and crap. “Well. Lemon then?”

“Sure!” They traded the lollipops, and Harley sucked on hers between bites of the pasta. Sweet and savory combined, delicious.

Lucy swung her legs as she sat on the beam. “Does...my father have any allergies?”

Harley blinked at her. Did Joker have any allergies? It was hard to say. Even now, Harley didn’t know a lot about the Joker. That’s how he liked it. “Best not to talk about it,” she said instead, “In case of those listening things or whatever.”

Lucy hummed, but didn’t seem satisfied. “Hey,” Harley said, trying to distract her from the ‘dad’ talk, “You wanna go out with me tomorrow?”

Lucy brightened, jumping a bit, “Where are you gonna go?”

“I dunno,” she said, “Go lookin’ for trouble. Let the trouble find me. Punch out a couple people but only if they REALLY deserve it!” And maybe if they only kinda deserved it, Harley thought.

Lucy hummed again, thinking. “I dunno. I think violence often begets further violence, and while it is occasionally necessary, efforts should focus more on the community building and personal improvement area.”

Harley blinked at her. Right, she was a reader, Delia had mentioned that. Not unlike Harley at her age, really, although Harley had focused on psychoanalysis instead of philosophy. “Ah, of course,” she said, “Well, what do you wanna do?”

Lucy thought for a second. “Well, there was this girl I wanted to go inspire to fight her eating disorder.”

“Oh,” Harley said nodding. It was a noble cause, really, but...also seemed really, really boring. “I...sure!” she smiled.

The truth was, when Lucy came out to live with Harley full time, she had really thought they would be a lady dynamic duo, a proper partnership mother/daughter team. But Lucy wasn’t much like Harley. Or, she was but, she was different, a goody two-shoes. Or, a goody tutu. Ha.

More than that, she followed a strange sense of logic that was oddly reminiscent of...Harley didn’t even finish the thought.

“You don’t want to go, do you?” Lucy asked.

“Hmm? Of course I do!” Harley said, “I’d do anything with you sweetheart,” she gave Lucy a wink, then went to the kitchen to hide her facial expression.

She didn’t see that Lucy had followed her until she was directly behind her. “Oh, Jesus!” She said, clutching her heart, “Gotta look out there, sweetie. Almost brained ya!”

“Is Dad like me at all?” she asked, head tilted to the side.

Harley blinked at her. She felt like her bones were shaking inside her skin. “Why would you ask a thing like that?”

Lucy spun a little in place making her tutu swish. “I’ve been reading about him. People think he’s crazy. I mean, he says it. But that’s not what your records say.”

Harley frowned, backing away as though physical distance would get her out of the conversation. “What’re you goin through my records for? What, are you a snoop?”

“They got published after one of your arrests,” Lucy said, “Other people were more interested in the little notes you left in the margins, but--”

“Alright, stop.” Harley said, hand clutching her lollipop stick so tight it might break. “Look, Mr...your father is mean and cruel and manipulative, and nothing like you! He wants to drive other people crazy, and for some people, self included, he succeded. But I grew out of it as best I could and now...you don’t need to worry about him, ok? He ain’t ever gonna know about ya, and he ain’t ever gonna find ya. Got it?”

Lucy hesitated a second and there was something strange in her eyes. Something familiar. “Got it,” she finally said.

Harley lightened, smiling at her. “Why don’t we play a game or somethin? You like Monopoly? I make up my own rules!”

Lucy smiled, “That sounds nice,” she said, all bright again. As they set up the game, Lucy said, “You don’t have to come with me tomorrow, by the way. I can take care of myself.”

“You sure?” Harley asked. Lucy nodded. For the rest of the evening, Harley felt like something was…off.

She slipped the burner phone out of her pocket. She typed, ‘Wanna set up a playdate?’

“She called it a WHAT?!” Damian said, nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Aww,” Tim said, over by the batcave computer, “Little Damian’s got a plaaayydaaate.”

“I will end you, Drake.” Damian snarled, fingers twitching for his sword.

“Enough,” Bruce interrupted the both of them. “Damian, if it helps you can think of it as a mission.”

“I thought I was forbidden from Robin duties for the next two months.” Damian said, arms crossed.

Bruce groaned. “Harley has taken in a ward, her niece Lucy. She has some petty crime charges, but from my recon, she’s not a villain. Harley wants her to spend time with someone her age, and I need someone who will watch over her.”

“Watch out for her, or watch out because of her?” Damian asked, scowling.

“Oooh, good question,” Tim said, still at the computer. “Hey, how come you didn’t set me up with vigilante kids?”

“Because you found them on your own,” Bruce shot back, “Look. Damian, you just have to spend the day with her. Follow her around, help her out as long as it’s not hurting anyone. Don’t let her get killed. Invite Jon if you want.”

“Uggh, Jon’s off world with his Dad,” Damian said.

“Oh right,” Bruce said, massaging his temple. “Why do interdimensional crises have to happen at the worst times?”

“Why is it we need a plural for interdimensional crisis?” Tim asked.

Bruce gave him a side glance to let him know he was coming up on the line that breached from ‘annoying’ to ‘problem Bruce will deal with.’ “Damian…”

“Fine, I’ll do it,” he said, “But I won’t be her friend by you forcing us.”

“Fine.”

They met up with Harley at a neutral location downtown on top of a party goods store. “Hiya Batsy, Hey Bird Boy!”

Despite himself, Damian liked Harley. She was usually of a like mind about which villains did or didn’t deserve to live, but he didn’t tell Batman that. “Harley,” Batman said, “Where’s your niece?”

“Just doin some high-wire practice.” Harley said, “Lucy-goosey!”

From the side of the building, a girl faulted up from where she was hanging on the flagpole. A girl wearing a tutu and white paint. “Nice to meet you, Batman,” Lucy said, “Aunt Harley’s told me….a lot of mixed things.”

“YOU!” Damian said, before he could stop himself, and all three of the others turned to him.

Lucy trotted forward on her tiptoes. “Have we met?” She asked, tilting her head, and looking him up and down.

Damian swallowed. “Uhh….”

“Blackbird!” Lucy said, and swooped him up into a hug, “Oh, I knew you were a Robin, why’d you lie to me?”

“Blackbird, huh?” Batman said, and he couldn’t see, but he knew there was a very pointed eyebrow being raised at him.

Damian, still being swung like a ragdoll by Lucy, tried to gain his balance. “I didn’t...I mean I wasn’t…”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Batman said, “You kids go on, I have something to talk about with Harley.”

“Kids?!” Damian said, offended, especially that he was going to be left out of whatever this conversation was. But in doing so, he left himself vulnerable as Lucy pulled on his cowl to the edge of the building.

“Come on, birdy, whatever color you are. The city awaits!” And she jumped from the roof, grappling on outcroppings to reach the street safely. Damian grumbled, but eventually followed.

Harley looked to Batman, and her face fell. “He’s out there, isn’t he?”

Batman gave one slow nod.

Lucy skipped everywhere. It was very irritating, because it was faster than walking, but slower than running, so hard to keep pace. Also,it was just very perky, which made it hard to sulk.

Lucy claimed she had deliveries to make around town. Something about girls who were bullies in high school and were treating others poorly, but it was only because of the societal pressures that were put on young girls of America and...and thats about where Damian lost interest.

She carried a cartfull of boxes like a damn girlscout, and left them on the girls doors. Damian could have followed in his sleep...except there was something about one of the boxes….

“What’s in that one?” Damian asked as she brought it to the next home.

“Huh?” Lucy said, “Same thing as in all of them, some cookies, a letter, balloons of course and--”

“It’s beeping,” Damian said.

“What?”

Damian didn’t wait any longer, he grabbed the box out of her arms and tossed it as high into the sky as he could, tackling her to the ground. The box then exploded.

Lucy gasped in excitement, clapping her hands together. “Birdy, look at it! It’s fireworks!”

Damian growled, jumping off of her and taking out his sword. “I knew it, I knew you were up to no good.”

Lucy tilted her head. “Whatcha talkin about, Birdy?”

“You--” He pointed to where the box was still smoldering. “You were going to put a BOMB on that girl’s doorstep!”

“I didn’t put that there,” Lucy said, getting up with no care of the sword pointed at her.

“You-” Damian stammered. “What?”

Lucy bent down and picked up a scrap of paper from the ruins. “Change of plans for the evening, Birdy!” Lucy said, “We’re going puzzling!”

She tossed the paper at him and he grabbed it quickly. It read ‘I’ve the tallest of trunks and thickest of stumps, a switch in the breeze, but I’m no tree. What am I?’”

They came quickly to the elephant pasture at the zoo. Damian couldn’t help it, he held out his hand for the elephant. She reached out her trunk and wrapped it around him. He couldn’t help but laugh.

Her baby came forward this time, trotting on new steps. He was already the size of a small horse, but he stole Damian’s heart all the same. He tried to bowl Damian over like a large puppy, and Damian couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t know you could laugh, Birdy,” Lucy said, kneeling over a shady patch in the enclosure.

Damian’s scowl returned. “Stop calling me ‘Birdy,’” he said, “You can just say ‘Robin,’ if you want.”

“But aren’t there other Robins?” Lucy said, fiddling with something, “I’d love to call you something unique to you.”

“There’s already a Blackbird, you know.” Damian said, continuing to pet the baby elephant.

“There is?” Lucy asked, “Picking a superhero name is HARD. I’m still trying to get Commedia to stick. You know, like, Commedia del arte? But I’ll end up getting called ‘Tutu girl’ or something if I don’t watch out.”

Damian gently pushed the elephant away, seeing what she was doing. She was hands deep in another box like the one they’d found in her cart. “Careful, it could be another bomb.”

“Fireworks,” Lucy corrected, “and I already diffused it.”

Damian leaned down, looking. She had indeed done so, quite efficiently. “How did you know to do that?”

Lucy smiled, “An uncle of mine taught me. You’ll meet him.” She dug further into the box. “I wouldn’t mind some more fireworks, but I don’t want to scare the elephants.” She pulled out another slip of paper.

“This has all the hallmarks of The Riddler,” Damian said, “We have to be careful. He might have bombs all over the city.”

“Fireworks!” Lucy corrected again, “And, probably. See, we already have the next clue!” She waved the paper and read out “Can you hear me make a sound, only when you are around.”

“Of course you can only hear things when you’re around.” Damian said, frowning.

“But only when someone’s around does it make a...Oh!” Lucy said, jumping to her feet, “An echo! We have to go somewhere there’s an echo!”

Damian sighed, “I have an idea.”

Technically they weren’t IN the Bat cave. They were at a far entrance to it, another end of the cave system. So he wasn’t breaking any rules. “Hey, is that Wayne Manor?” Lucy asked. “I tried to break in there once, but they have some crazy rich person security system.”

“Funny that.” Damian said, trying to seem completely ordinary.

Lucy stood at the edge of the cave and yelled into it. “ECHO!” listening for the echo in return. She skipped into the cave, humming all the way, the sound bouncing off as she went.

“Lucy?” Damian said, following her, “Don’t go too far, there’s all sorts of--” He heard a squeal and rushed forward.

He stopped short, his flashlight falling on Lucy. She waved at him to put it down, squinting. “Look here!” She brushed aside some dirt to find some rusted over metal. “Isn’t it fascinating! This cave system must go on for miles! Maybe people hid treasure there!”

“It’s just the old mining system,” Damian said, truthfully. “It’s all blocked off.”

“That can’t be hard to undo,” Lucy said, intrigued by whatever lay beyond.

Damian grabbed her hand before she could continue. “We have to catch the Riddler. There has to be another package here.”

Lucy sighed, but nodded. She took his arm with the flashlight and swung him around the cave. “Ah! There.”

She took the package and skipped out of the cave. “Careful!” Damian urged. “Come on, just diffuse it.”

“Nope, not these ones.” She tossed the package high in the sky, and Damian saw the fireworks light up.

He felt his phone buzzing, no doubt Tim could hear an explosion out here, not to mention Alfred. They’d come investigating fast enough. He leaped up, grabbing the fallen slip of paper, and grabbed Lucy again to pull her along. He read it quickly and passed it to her as he made his way away. “Even in the city scape, nature comes to take its place.” Lucy read. “It must be the park!”

l,

“No,” Damian said, still pulling her, “I mean, yes, that is the answer to the riddle, but that’s not where we’re going.” He texted the police to inform them of the location of the hidden package so they could diffuse it, and dragged Lucy away.

The original Gotham Ice Cream shop was one of the oldest remaining buildings in Gotham, although was clearly closed for the night.

Damian saw a flash of green from the kitchens and rushed inside, finding none other than the Riddler standing there. “Stand down, Riddler,” Damian said, holding out his sword, “We’ve got you now!”

Riddler snarled, backing into a defensive stance. “Robin! How did you possibly find me?”

Damian smirked, “The beginning of each clue was clearly spelling out your final location. I-C-E. I didn’t need to follow 5 more clues to figure that out.”

Riddler cursed. “Those clues weren’t for you! They were for--!”

Lucy came skipping up to join Damian. “Hi, Uncle Eddy!”

“Lucille!” Riddler said, immediately warming. “I had so many sights around Gotham for you to see, why’d you go skipping to the end?”

Lucy skipped up to him, and Damian was once again left dumbfounded. “My friend Birdy here isn’t much for riddles, I think,” she said, “Although he enjoyed the elephants! And he knew about the mining carts in the caves, I want to explore those later.”

‘Uncle Eddy’ hugged Lucy, and Damian came to his senses, “THIS is your uncle?!”

Lucy shrugged, “I mean, that’s what I call him. I met him when I was visiting Aunt Harley a few years ago.”

“I heard you had moved to Gotham full time,” Riddler said, “I wanted to be sure you saw the sights. But the bat-brats have to ruin everything I suppose.” Riddler glared at him, and he glared right back.

“I don’t-” Damian started, but cut himself off, “You can’t just be leaving BOMBS around the city!”

“Fireworks!” Lucy and Riddler both corrected.

“Whatever! They’re explosive and they’re dangerous!” Damian hated having to be the safety one. It felt wrong.

Riddler rolled his eyes. “He’s just as much a barrel of laughs as the big one.”

“Aw, he’s sweet, really,” Lucy said, coming over to Damian and linking their arms. “Aunt Harley and Batman set us up on our own little playdate.”

“It is NOT!” Damian said, squirming away from her, “It is NOT a playdate.”

“Uncle Eddy, can my friend Birdy have some Ice Cream too?” Lucy asked, ignoring him.

Riddler and Damian glared again. “Fine.” He pushed his own bowl of ice cream towards Damian and went to get his own. “It’s MYSTERY flavor!”

Damian looked at it hesitantly as Lucy sat down to enjoy. Riddler went back to the kitchen. “It’s coconut,” Lucy said, “But Uncle Eddy likes to think it’s a mystery, so I let him.”

Damian frowned at her. “You’re really weird.”

“Thank you!” Lucy said, patting the seat beside her. “Come on, even you had to admit you had fun today.”

Damian thought about the elephants, and skipping around with Lucy, and watching the fireworks at the mouth of the cave, and seeing her all excited about mining carts for some reason. “Fine,” he said, “But it’s NOT a playdate.”

“Alright, alright,” Lucy said, digging into her ice cream. “Just a regular date then.”

“I--” Damian started, his head exploding with so many protests that he ended up just short circuiting. Lucy continued chowing down on ice cream like she didn’t say anything of importance. So, Damian just sat beside her, and ate his own.

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Pretty Princess

Fandom: DC Pairing: Batsis!reader x Damian Wayne Word count: 1.2k Summay: You and Steph have a plan. That plan includes Damian, a dress and your phones... Requested by a pretty handsome Anon: Could you do a one-shot where the bat girls somehow get Damian in like a pretty princess outfit and send Bruce a picture while she’s at a league meeting??And the reader would be the bats is who also helped get him into the dress😂

“I am - under absolutely no circumstances - doing this? I’d rather spend an entire day being nice to Jon than do this,” Damian said, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his lip stuck out pouting. Honestly, it was pretty expected for him to react this way, everyone in the room had known his answer before they had even asked, but they asked anyway, if for idiocy or for just the fate in miracles, you’d never know, but you had asked anyway. “Are you sure, I mean look at it, it’s just your colour,” Stephanie mocked him a little bit as she wiggled around the forest green dress that she held up by a hanger. You had to admit that the dress really was his colour, fitting perfectly to his eyes, not to mention that the dress was gorgeous in general. It had spaghetti straps and a rather simple top part, but over the waist sat a belt of false-emeralds and below that a skirt out of tulle and satin blossomed to knee-length. Every shake of the dress - due to Stephanie - made the fabric flow and rimple like waves from a sea. If it weren’t for the plan at hand you’d have taken the dress yourself, but you knew there were plenty of fancy outfits waiting for you in the future. This one was just Dami’s. “Do I look like I care about the colour?” Damian asked with a serious facial expression and you had to admit you chances weren’t looking so good right now, but your dad didn’t raise you to be a quitter so you’d give it everything. “I’ll make you a deal. I get a picture of you in the dress and I get to send it to one person and in return, you get something from me,” you tried your shot and gave Damian your cutest possible smile, knowing very well that he had a soft spot for you. “Something like what?” “Something like...uhm...you get to take over my Patrol for a week.” “I don’t see how that is profitable for me Ukthi.” “Oh, yeah, you don’t really get anything out of that do you know. It was worth a shot though. I have another idea, the next time you wanna get a new pet into the mansion I’ll help you distract Dad and keep it in secret for a week or so, after that Dad will accept that it’s just here,” you shrugged and raised one eyebrow in question. Damian looked at you in thought for a few seconds before sighing. “Fine, you got a deal, but you have to help me into that torture thing.” “Yessss!” your other siblings cheered as you followed Damian into his room with the dress in your arms.

It took at least ten minutes for you to get Damian into that dress and halfway through you started overthinking your decision again, but then you remembered what the bigger picture was and clenched your teeth while you continued. And it was oh so worth it. You opened the door a gap wide and peered outside, your eyes landing on the entirety of your siblings standing in nervous excitement in front of it. With a wave you beckoned your little brother to stand behind the door and then cleared your throat. “May I present to you, the gathered crowd, Damian Wayne,” you exclaimed happily and threw the door open to reveal the sight of Damian. The dress was flattering him - just like Stephanie said - and while it looked slightly square, it did have something. His legs were shown in all their slightly-off 12-year-old muscularity and his arms were crossed in front of his chest in annoyance. Thunderous applause filled the hall and Damian rolled his eyes so hard that you were amazed they didn’t get stuck halfway through. “Now make the damn picture I wanna get out of this,” he sighed and his face told you that you shouldn’t push your luck. Jason didn’t seem to care for that though. “Why are you so against that? I thought you got over the whole league of sexism thing,” he scoffed, but you could very well hear the irony in the tone. “I am, Todd. I don’t care who wears what, I only care for the fact that this thing is extremely uncomfortable and if I do one wrong move it’ll probably rip apart since Stephanie doesn’t seem to know my size.” “Sorry,” she just smiled apologetically, even though you had doubts about whether or not it was truly an accident or not. During his rant Damian had uncrossed his arms and put them on his hips in a gesture of annoyance, so you decided to use that pose for your picture, which was - if you said so yourself - an honest to god masterpiece. “You have your picture?” Damian asked, his eyebrows furrowed. “Yep,” you nodded your head and tried to look as innocent as possibly. “Good, you can send it to one person, I trust you,” Damian huffed and turned around back into his room, slamming the door behind him. Immediately you were bombarded from all sides with pleads to have the picture send, but when you shook your head and told him that you had already decided who the one person would be, Jason was the one who said the obvious. “Just sent it to all of us, we’re not gonna tell the demon.” “No. He trusts me and I’ll not abuse that trust,” you shook your head at him before pushing send. All eyes in the room turned to Stephanie when her phone dinged not even a second later. “Really, you chose Steph? I guess we know who your favorite sibling is then?” Dick said in feign disappointment. “Oh come of your high horse you idiot,” Stephanie punched his shoulder, “We got a plan.” “Because I promised Damian to only send it to one person,” you began and the cheeky smile wouldn’t leave your face anymore. “But she never said that that person wouldn’t send it to someone else,” Stephanie finished for you and the two of you shared a high five in pride about your plan.

Bonus

“And that concludes the mission report for today and I don’t have to remind you that all of this has to stay between us, okay?” Diana finished her speech and looked between the others who were sitting at the long table and nodded at her, only for her gaze to stop at Batman who was staring at something under the desk like a tenth grader during a boring math class. So, if Bruce wanted to act like a student, Diana would treat him like one. “Batman, anything you wanna share with the class?” she asked with an annoyed undertone and it had the desired outcome when said man looked up and while his face was still in his unsaying scowl, she saw the slight glint in his eyes that just screamed: Shit I was caught. Batman just shook his head slightly and gave his attention back to the meeting, but everyone knew, whatever he had been sent must have been something either extremely concerning or really hilarious...

[galactic-magick]

Fake Enemies: Catwoman x Reader

Request: DCAU fic? You (the reader) are friends with Bruce and run into Selina/Catwoman. You have to stop her from stealing something but instead you fall in love with her. Thanks if you write this!

Summary: You start fighting crime in Gotham with Bruce, and find some unexpected love.

Words: 1200+

Warnings: none, maybe a couple swears and a dash of angst

Author’s Notes: This was really fun to write! Feel free to send in more BTAS requests!

-

-

-

You’ve been friends with Bruce for years, so it was only a matter of time before you found out about his little nighttime gig, and only a matter of time after that before you begged him to let you join him.

He reluctantly agreed, but now you go out with him whenever you can, and he’s trained you to fight and defend yourself. You have your own suit and mask and access to the computers, and some villains have started to take notice of your abilities.

Especially Catwoman.

You’ve fought her several times now, sometimes stopping her from stealing but never catching her. It’s almost like a game, and honestly you don’t really care or feel bad that you haven’t captured her. It’s not like her motivations are sinister, and damn is she pretty.

An observation you will never mention to Bruce, obviously. Heroes aren’t supposed to fall for the criminals after all, right? You wouldn’t want to end up like that poor Harley, constantly pining for the Joker even though he clearly doesn’t give a shit about her.

But still, your ears perk up a bit every time you hear that Selina’s the one causing trouble that night.

You hop into the Batmobile next to Bruce, slipping on your mask.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“Of course,” you smile.

When you arrive at the destination, you spring out of the car and split up to different floors of the building. You go upstairs where some rare jewels are stored, most likely one of them was stolen.

You see a shadow move across the wall, and you run towards the source, but you don’t find anything.

“Well, hello,” you hear a smooth voice, and before you can turn your head she pushes you against the wall. “My favorite sidekick has come after me again, how sweet,”

“Just give it up, Selina,” you groan, shoving her off you. She obliges, tossing a diamond in her hand.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” she smirks. “I assure you I only stole it for admirable purposes,”

You reach for it, ducking a kick and a punch from her, “Look, I really don’t care about any of the stuff in here, I’m just doing my job. Plus you knocked out and injured two security guards to get in, and I’m pretty sure that’s an offense too,”

“We both work outside the law, honey, no need to act like it applies to us,” she shoves you to the ground. “You’re the one that should give it up. We’re not so different, you and I,”

You press your hands to the floor, slowly moving upright, “I just want to make Gotham a safer place, why don’t you?”

“This place will never be safe as long as there’s cowards and greed,” she sneers, lifting your chin and caressing your face, “When you finally realize that, feel free to come find me,” she releases it and slips out the window, just as Bruce runs up the stairs.

“She got away, I’m sorry,” you mumble.

“Are you hurt?”

“Just a few bruises and a little dizzy,” you rub your head.

“Well, the rest of the city seems pretty quiet tonight, you should get some rest,”

You nod, gazing out the window once more, the wind hustling through.

 -

 You wish you could say you brushed off your latest failure to stop Selina, but it keeps sticking in your mind. What if she’s right? What if everything you and Bruce are doing to help Gotham isn’t actually helping at all?

Sure, overall crime rates are down since the Dark Knight first showed up, but the big criminals are only getting stronger, and none of the root problems have been fixed.

You wait until a night Bruce doesn’t need you to head out on your own, and you make your way to the one place you think she could be.

There’s a few alleys in Gotham that you’ve spotted Catwoman in when she’s not causing any trouble. She likes to pet and feed the stray cats whenever she can, away from anyone who might bother her or them.

You stay in the shadows, not wanting to draw any attention to yourself. You slide along the walls and hear a familiar voice.

“Do my eyes deceive me?”

“I’m not here to fight you,” your hands go up in the air.

“Oh, I know you’re not,” she smiles, walking towards you. “So why are you here?”

“I just wanna talk,” you sigh. “Please,”

“Hmmm,” she circles around you. “Sure you don’t just like seeing me?”

“I-“

“No need to be embarrassed, you’re pretty cute yourself,”

“That’s not-“ you feel you face grow hot.

“Please, how long have we been at this?” she laughs. “I’m not the only one feeling it, am I?”

You stand still, but eventually you shake your head, “No,”

“Hmm,” she brushes some dust off your shoulder. “I see,”

 -

 Seeing each other becomes a regular occurrence after that.

You meet with each other whenever you can, and you help her to not get caught whenever you and Bruce have to go after her. It’s quite a lot of risk, but it’s worth it.

You fall for her harder every day, and now you can’t imagine a life without her. She’s compassionate and driven, she speaks her mind, and she loves you more than anyone has before.

You’re happier, more lively, and Bruce happens to notice.

“What’s been going on with you?” he asks one day.

“Nothing really,” you shrug.

“You know you can’t hide anything from me, I know you too well,”

You exhale, deciding to settle for a half-truth, “I’ve started dating someone, that’s all,”

“Are they treating you well?”

“Definitely,”

“Good. I’m glad someone’s making you happy,” he smiles. “But I sure hope you didn’t schedule a date tonight, there seems to be an issue downtown,”

You gaze at the beeping screen, alerting you of a security breech.

Well, not exactly, you think.

Just as you thought, it’s Selina, as well as a few other criminals teaming up together. She takes you aside as soon as she sees you, kissing you fervently.

“Missed you,” she sighs. “The Bat will be distracted with the others, shall we go?”

You nod excitedly.

“What’s going on here?” Bruce’s voice calls.

You freeze, stepping away from your girlfriend, lifting up your fists as if you were about to fight, “I got this, Batman,”

“No, you don’t,” he walks towards you, “I understand what’s going on now,”

“Please, let me explain-“

“You wanted to be a team, and you weren’t honest with me,” he says, glaring at Catwoman. “How many missions have you jeopardized over this?”

“Oh please, Batman, as if you wouldn’t do the same if you fell for me first?” Selina cackles. “They’ve done nothing wrong,”

Bruce is silent for a moment.

“I’ll see you later,” he mutters, flying off into the night.

Selina kisses your cheek, “Hey, at least he didn’t try to take me away from you,”

“You really think he’ll come around?” you ask. Bruce has never been mad at you before, and it breaks your heart to have broken his trust.

“Let’s just say we’re probably the least of his problems,” she laughs.

“You’re right,” you nod, turning to her to kiss her again. “It’ll all work out.”

[moonlit-imagines]

Joke’s On You

Dick Grayson x Joker’s daughter!reader

warnings: gun. panic attack. abuse mention? blood

a/n:

prompt: anonymous: “Dick Grayson x reader!Joker's daughter with “ How did you get involved with these psychopaths?” (where the reader is also a friend of Dick back in Gotham but he don't know that the Joker and reader are related to each)”

You had always liked Dick Grayson. He was always trying to look out for you since the day he met you. The Joker and Harley Quinn had tied you up and broadcasted the whole thing live. You were young, about the same age as Robin.

Batman and Robin came to the rescue and Robin came to trust you fast. Batman, not so much. He couldn’t find any records of you existing. Only a birth certificate that said your name was “y/n Barber” and your mom was “Amanda Barber.” All fake.

Dick convinced Bruce to let you stay at the Manor for a while. It was nice and quiet. You weren’t used to it. You were used to the screams of the innocent and maniacal laughter.

Your dad’s side started to show on you as you grew up. You managed to keep your close bond with Dick through all the years and keep your dad far away from you. You even became a vigilante! Team-ups with Dick were always a treat.

You’d managed to hide your identity and whereabouts from the Joker for years. Unfortunately, you were the next vigilante target for “Mister J.”

It was a trick, a stupid lure to get you all alone in a secret little hideout.

“Hello, my dear. Long time no see...” Your dad’s horrid voice made your blood run cold.

“I was starting to think you forgot about me.” You armed yourself and adopted a defensive stance, then immediately turned your beacon on for backup. You didn’t trust yourself. You thought you’d end up in the hole of insanity that you crawled out of.

“Oh, how I’ve missed my baby girl!” Joker stepped out of the shadows with a chuckle. “Did she miss me?”

“What do you think, clown?” You snapped.

“Ooooh!” He clapped. “Fiesty, I like it! The Bat sure taught you well!” The Joker drew a gun on you and pointed it towards your head. “Now let’s have some fun!” He pulled the trigger and his signature flag popped out. Funny thing, you didn’t even flinch.

“I don’t have time for these games, ‘Dad.’” You bought yourself some time with that one. Where are you, Dick?

“Oh, I haven’t heard that one in a while!” Joker cheered. “So, my dear, what do you say? Wanna be back in the family business?” He cocked an eyebrow. You scoffed.

“Save it, J. You’ll never get me back.” You crossed your arms and tapped your foot. Suddenly, there was a crash through the ceiling. “Finally!” You rolled your eyes and returned to your fighting stance. “Took you long enough, Nightwing.”

“You know I’m always late.” He defended himself. “So, how did you get involved with these psychopaths?”

“Punch first, questions later. Joker needs another round at Arkham.” You charged at your father and lunged at his legs, catching him off guard.

“Oh, come on? You really need back up from a bird?” Joker taunted. “I thought I raised you better than that!” You froze and Dick paused.

“...What?” He mumbled.

“Oh, my daughter never told you about her roots? Why she avoids me at all costs? None of that?” He giggled. “Oops, guess I let it slip! Y/N is my only child. And the Batman ripped her away from me.”

“He saved her! You’re a piece of shit! You used her as bait!” Nightwing went for the Joker’s face, beating it bloody. The Joker just laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Harder and harder. It sent you into a trance. His iconic laugh was hypnotic to you. Something you heard constantly growing up. It could send you back to your former ways...

“Would you look at that...” Your dad peered over at you, who was now sitting on the floor, humming and rocking back and forth, breathing heavily. Laughing.

“I’ll kill you.” Nightwing threw the Joker onto the ground and rushed over to you, sitting next to you and holding your hand.

“No, no you won’t.” The Joker laid on the ground, spreading out. It suddenly became clear why every time the Joker came up, you hid. It wasn’t because of your liberation from him, it was because of your upbringing by him.

“I’m right here, y/n. He can’t hurt you as long as I’m here. He can’t take you. I won’t let him.” Dick whispered to you. You leaned your head on Dick’s shoulder and tried to match his breathing. You finally mustered up the strength to get back up, then stomped over to your dad. He stared at you with a smile. “Y/N?”

“This is for all the times you hurt me as a kid.” You kicked him in the ribs. You could almost hear the sound of them breaking. He caught your leg and stood up.

“You’ll always be my little girl.” Joker smirked maniacally.

“Fuck you.” You swung at his face. His nose was already bloody. “I hate you.” You kicked him in the crotch. “Burn in hell!” Nightwing just stood behind you and watched as you beat this man up. But he couldn’t let you lose your mind. He approached and took your shoulder.

“I think it’s time we go.” He pulled you off of him. “Batman knows where he is.” You dropped Joker’s weak body on the ground and nodded.

“Fine.” You spit on the Joker and walked out with Dick.

“We’re gonna go back to my place, okay? We’re gonna get cleaned up and order a pizza. Maybe watch a movie or play some video games. Sound good?” He grabbed your hand and squeezed it tight. “You’re okay.”

[allegra-writes]

Lab Partners

Peter Parker x Stark! Reader

General audiences

Warnings: None

The request:

Hi! Could I have some Peter+stark!reader before infinity war or au where the snap didn't happen and Midtown goes to Stark Industries on a field trip and no one believes Peter works there but reader and Tony prove them wrong? Thank you!

MY MASTERLIST

"Dude, finally!" Peter's voice welcomed you as soon as you entered the lab.

"Ugh, don't even start with me" you placed the red bull can in front of him, hopping on the table next to it. "The machine outside is broken, so I had to go all the way to the third floor cafeteria to get these"

"The machine is broken?" He took the can from your hands and cracked it open for you before even opening his own. He was a gentleman like that, and you would be lying if you said it didn't make your heart melt for him just a little bit more. You guys had been on the lab pretty much all night and, while you were sure this morning you looked like the dead warmed over, his messy hair, slightly red eyes and puffy lips made him look somehow even more endearing. They made him look hotter.

"I know, right?" You cleared your throat as if that would cover your shameless staring, "this building is literally crawling with engineers and the freaking soda machine is broken!"

"Well, to be fair only like a handful of people has access to this floor of the building. And only one of those is an actual engineer" Peter pointed out sensibly, "Still, we should probably check it out once we're done here. I mean, we can't have the Stark princess mixing up with all the peasants at the cafeteria" He added cheekily, using the press's nickname for you to tease you. You punched him in the arm, causing him to start laughing.

"Shut up!" He laughed even harder. "Actually, something funny happened on the way to the third floor..."

"Really, now?" He was still smiling. Your heart was still doing somersaults inside your ribcage.

"Really really. You see, there was a bunch of kids our age there. Some of them were wearing Midtown high hoodies. Something you wanna tell me, Pete?"

That sobered him up. You sounded so much like your father right there, he just couldn't lie to you when you used that tone. He wondered vaguely if you were aware of that and did it on purpose, or you simply were so... well, Stark.

"Well? Is there?" You pressed on. Peter sighed.

"Yeah, my school had this field trip today... Mr. Harrington figured that, since I work here almost every day, it would be boring for me so I didn't need to go" He shrugged.

"That much I can understand" you nodded, "but don't you want to, I don't know... Pop down there to say hi or something?"

Peter hesitated.

"No, not really. I mean, Ned already knows what we truly do, and the rest of them don't even believe I'm an intern here anyway" he tried to sound nonchalant about it but you knew him too well to buy the act.

To be honest, he didn't want you to see the way Flash treated him and realize how not cool and lame he actually was. It would be awesome to prove Flash wrong, but risking you hearing him call Peter "Penis Parker" just wasn't worth it.

"What do you mean? Why would they not believe you?" You insisted innocently. He scratched the back of his neck and for the first time you noticed he was actually blushing.

When he finally met your eyes, he realized immediately what a mistake that was. He was just going to have to tell the truth. Damn you and your big, beautiful, soulful orbs.

"There's this guy... He's a jerk and he doesn't like me. I guess he kinda convinced everybody that I was lying." Your shocked face was doing something to his insides. You were so nice to everyone that it truly surprised you some people were just mean, and he was so screwed already, but that made him love you even more. Liz Allen had nothing on your beauty or your intelligence, and definitely had nothing on your kindness.

He was so amazed by this revelation he didn't even notice when Bruce entered the lab, commenting distractedly "Did you guys know the soda machine out there is broken?"

Nor did he notice when you took your phone out. It was time to send your father a message.

**********************************************

"... I told you guys, Penis Parker was lying all this time" A douchy kid gloated as they left the interns lab. That must be Flash. "If he really worked here, he should have been there"

"Peter works directly for Tony Stark" Ned defended his friend. "He's probably with him right now, that's why he wasn't with the other interns."

"Yeah, right! And he probably hangs out with y/n Stark on his free time!" Flash replied, voice full of sarcasm. Wow, Parker really didn't do this brat's level of jerkness justice. "Mr. Harrington, you're gonna fail him, right?"

The teacher in question stared at some papers on his hands, shuffling nervously.

"Well... You see...He's-"

Woah there, he couldn't let that happen, could he? It was showtime.

"Good, you're still here." Tony Stark's voice resonated through the hallway. Thirty or so shocked faces turned his way. A couple of them, including the douchebag's, even stared open mouthed.

"Mr- Mr. Stark, it's so good to see you"

"Thank you, Amanda" Tony interrupted the pretty blonde talking. "I'll take care of the tour from now on. I have a special treat for you guys" He added to the shellshocked group. " You see, my favorite intern is always talking about you and how smart you are" He leveled Flash with a look "well, most of you anyway. So I thought I would let you see where the truly cool stuff happens, so what do you say guys, wanna take a peak at one of my personal labs?"

Everyone was still too starstruck to answer, so he turned to an unimpressed looking girl.

"What do you say Joan of Arc, game for some real science?"

"As long as we can discuss your plans for remunerating the families of the workers that were forced to work under slavery conditions on foreign countries during your father's time directing Stark industries, sure. Name's Michelle Jones, by the way."

Tony blinked.

"Well MJ, I guess it's a good thing it's a long elevator ride up there, then..."

**********************************************

"... How did you even find out about those plans?"

"Oh, I didn't." The intimidating teenager admitted, "I was just trying to make you uncomfortable."

"Well, you did," it was Tony's turn to admit. "For a minute there, I thought the whole thing had leaked and the press was gonna caught wind of it"

"Why don't you want the press finding out about it?"

Tony shrugged. "It shouldn't be news to be a decent human. Besides, they like to twist everything, the press would say I just do it for the PR"

"Yeah, that's probably true... Hey, is that Parker?"

Tony followed her look to where his protegee and his daughter were doing what appeared to be some silly victory dance and... Singing?

"... Congratulations, work so hard forgot how to vacation, they ain't never had the dedication..."

"..Nanana nana and look we made it, yeah we made it!.."

"Nice to see you guys working so hard." Tony called out to them "Banner are you dancing too?"

"Tony! I can't help it, you should see what your kids came up with, this is game changing!" Bruce exclaimed excitedly just as the rest of the students entered the enormous lab. He frowned. "Tony, what the hell? This is a high security lab, this is no place for high schoolers"

That finally got Peter's attention and he stopped spinning you in his arms, staring slack jawed at his classmates, still huddled together by the glass double doors, as surprised to see him there as he was of seeing them.

"Relax Banner, don't go green on us. I just wanted to show the kiddies here where their friend works. Y/n, Parker, what do you have for me?"

You smiled mischievously at Peter before stepping away from his arms and practically skipping to your father's side.

"Dad, you have to see the new formula Peter developed for Spider-Man's web shooters." You gushed at your dad. "And... The other thing... I can't really talk about it in front of civilians" You added eyeing Ned significantly.

Ned's face lit up. "Is this about the creepy crawlers you and Pete were talking about last night?" Tony looked alarmed so he hurried to add, "About the ones I know nothing about, whatsoever"

Tony still looked suspicious but Peter choose that moment to come stand beside you.

"Hi, guys!" He said timidly to his classmates, and for once, Flash was speechless, no scantling remarks coming to his mind. In fact, his brain seemed to broke completely when his eyes came to rest on yours and Peter's intertwined fingers.

"Peter you work in Mr. Stark's private labs? That's... Very impressive. Well done! I'm tempted to just pass you this semester with an A plus right here and now" Mr. Harrington said, looking genuinely happy for him. Your smile grew bigger.

"That seems a little exaggerated" Your father intervened, placing a hand on the teachers shoulder, "Why don't we talk about you just giving Peter cero homework or assignments so he can spend more time here with me instead?"

Mr. Harrington laughed nervously. Your just father raised an eyebrow. "Why are you laughing, I wasn't kidding"

"Dad, I'd hate to be a joykiller but Bruce, Peter and I need to get back to work."

Your dad looked at you, then at the kids.

"Yeah, sure, we'll just leave you guys to it, then" He started ushering the students outside but then turned back to you, saying for everyone to hear "Why don't we get dinner later, though, all four of us? Oh, and I like this one here" he pointed at MJ "Can we invite her?"

"Sure!"

"Of course, Mr. Stark!"

He pointed at Ned "You are not invited. Oh, who am I kidding, of course you are invited. You are the man in the chair after all..."

Bruce, Peter and you watched them retreat back to the elevators.

"Don't think I don't know what you just did" Peter turned to you as soon as they were out of sight. You looked at him innocently.

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

"If you excuse me" Bruce declared "I still have work to do. Go do whatever it is you love birds do on your free time, you worked hard enough today. And last night."

You both opened your eyes big at that, you had thought you hadn't raised any alarms when you broke into the lab after patrol, when you had thought of the spider shaped spy droids for the avengers.

"We have no idea what you're talking about" you said at the same time.

And then,

"Wait, we're not love birds!"

"I really don't know what you're talking about this time!"

The end.

Wow! My first request is done! I hope you liked it, anonymous who send it. Whoever you are, I loved writing this one, so thank YOU!

[singeramg]

Midnight: Chapter 7

Pairing: Clark Kent- Superman/ Metahuman! Black! OFC

Warnings: Still angsty.

A/n: I was going to wait to post this until next week but naw lol Here is chapter 7!

CATCH UP HERE!

Midnight: Chapter 7

I felt the plane descending and soon I was grateful for the feeling of solid, non war torn ground underneath me. I had stopped crying a long time ago and resolved to go home on a high note. I conjured a brush and made sure my hair didn’t look like a rats nest as best I could without my coconut oil and my tried and true detangling comb. It went back into a high ponytail.  I came back out of the room as the hatch to the plane opened for us to get out. 

“Hey Gia the team is going out for a drink! Wanna come with us?”

Barry offers and I knew he was just glad to be included. I walked over to the team, noting Clark’s absence.

“Sorry guys but I can’t. I promised someone special ice cream and seeing as my lovely sitter hasn’t called me crying I think I’ll pass before it all goes bad. It’s been awesome to let Midnight out to play.”

I was surprised to feel disappointment from all of them. I was touched but I knew I had to stick to my original plan, besides I didn’t know if they invited Clark to their little outing and he just zipped home to get out of his get up or not. 

“Maybe you should let her out more often. Need more women like us in the field.” Diana says.

“ Maybe. For now though. I think it’s best if I lay low. Stay safe.”

I waved and shifted to become invisible because I wanted no one to see where I was going...

The train ride back to my apartment was long, with all the stops and whatnot it was twice as long as the chauffeured car I had to get to Metropolis. I made it home, grateful that Kalen was still down the hall because I had time to get out of my clothes and take a hot shower. All of the soreness hit me like a freight train, I quickly realized I had used muscles that hadn’t been worked out properly in a while. I laughed as I knew that if Clark knew how out of shape I was then he would have my ass in a sling. Working out would be an understatement if he thought I wasn’t prepared to defend myself. The laugh quickly turned into tears and I allowed only a few to fall before I shook my head to stop them and got out of my shower.

*Flashback* -5 years ago

    “You will end up exhausted and defeated if that is your fighting strategy.”

    “Excuse me mister ‘ I get my strength from the Sun’. All of us aren’t so lucky.”

Clark looks down at me from his spot hovering over me as I laid on the grass, panting from running up the side of a mountain that Clark had flown us to. I can tell he is highly amused at the state of my pain. His gym shorts and old t-shirt looks hardly disturbed, not even sweating, and he had long since put his baseball cap in my bag for safe keeping. He had only worn it while flying to avoid detection cameras seeing his face.

      “ Hey you asked for this. I already told you if you want out to the public to help them, you need to be ready.”

     “My powers are growing every day.”

   “Exactly but you still need your endurance and strength.” He says almost exasperated, or at least as much as he could sound. 

    “You see this is on that bullshit.” 

Clark smiles at me and offers me his hand. I let him pull me up. He was used to my foul language by now. I bent down and grabbed a bottle of water from my small book bag. I was ready to come out of the blue tank top and black yoga pants. It was hot as the sun shines down on the hill we had run up together to stand on top of. 

    “Gia you know as well as I do this is necessary.”

    “My power...”

    “ I don't want you to rely on it. Gia please don’t fight me on this. If I take you on the field with me I need you to keep yourself safe. You’ve come too far for you to endanger your life by not being prepared. Besides who else am I going to get my free coffee from in the mornings.”

I laughed while sitting the bottle down. 

   “I knew only kept me around for the free Coffee.” 

I was working as a barista at a local coffee shop around the corner from the Daily Planet. It had been a few months since Clark had rescued me and helped me get back on my feet. We rode into town together and he mostly always made sure I made it home again. I had been in a bad way once he saved me, but he hadn’t given up on me. Neither him or his mother had ever treated me badly. Even his girlfriend Lois had been nice to me and treated me with the dignity I felt I lost over the years. Some things still scared me, like Men walking too close, loud noises, etc.

I had gotten a job as soon as I could despite Clark and his mother Martha telling me to rest and get back on my feet. 

   “Gia I keep you around for a lot more than coffee. I hope you know that.”

He was looking at me and I felt the breeze flow over me, a slight relief from the hot sun that didn’t affect Clark in the slightest.

   “Sure you do. You don’t have to butter me up to get me to exercise.”

I laughed attempting to deflect the serious tone the conversation had taken but Clark didn’t let that happen. 

  “Really Gia I mean it. I think you underestimate how special you are.”

I ignored how tight my stomach felt, my heartbeat racing. 

For the last month or so I had begun developing feelings for Clark. I didn’t want to and I was sure this was some sort of transfer of emotions where I was bonding to my rescuer. Trauma bonds or some sort shit like that. I knew he loved Lois. The special smile he reserved for her wasn’t something I wanted to ruin for them. Clark deserves someone like Lois who had her shit together. Not some clusterfuck of a person who as of a handful of months ago didn’t even really know who she was. Besides, he was my best friend I couldn’t lose him, who else would I have?

  “If I could blush Clark I would be red. Now that you are done with the pep talk let’s finish this exercising-slash- murdering the trainee thing you’ve got me doing. I think Mrs. Kent promised to make her Meatloaf again and you know how I feel about her meatloaf.”

   “She hears you calling her Mrs. Kent instead of Martha she will have your head and there will be no Meatloaf for you. That and I will probably eat it all just to spite you.”

He jokes and starts running away from me as  I roll my eyes and go to hit his arm. Of course I can only catch him if he allows it but it’s good fun anyway.

Just like that Clark Kent was in my friend-zone again, exactly where I needed to keep him.

*End Flashback*

 I pulled on black yoga pants and a black sport bra, I was about to pull my shirt over my head when I felt the energy dynamics shift in my hallway. I flicked off my bathroom light as I heard the doorknob to my front door open to someone who clearly didn’t have a key. The ordered footsteps of trained and multiple men should have been silent but weren’t to me.

I shifted to be invisible, knowing my energy was low from a long day of fighting and tears worth of little to no practice, only fine tuning of my powers. I was for damn sure not about to be taken or killed by whomever this was. Fear gripped my heart as I realized my son was only down the hall. They could have been coming for him too. I thought I had the advantage of being invisible as I rounded the hallway to the living room. I didn’t count them having heat detection goggles. The force of 15 men in my apartment alone all aimed guns directly at me. An invisible shield that would ricochet any bullets went up but I held my hands up anyway. Stray bullets put my son in danger.

 “Property number 578. We are here to bring you back to where you belong, science has more work on you yet. Easy or hard way Ms. Smith.”

  “Nah I think I rather not. Tell whoever you work for to go fuck themselves.”

   “Hard way it is then.”

It was a quick hand motion but it was all I needed as a heads up. The guns went off loud and banging against the shield. Bouncing off and striking some of them down, the rounds ended and I wasn’t prepared for the rush of someone's body slamming into mine. The bodily force knocked me off my feet and we crashed into a wall, or better yet we went through it. They began punching whoever was on top of me, tossing them into the darkness of my apartment. I held my hand out, the electricity flying from the nearby light socket onto my hands. I shot it out tossing a few men back. I wasn’t going to  last very long even with borrowing energy from the building. I knew I had to get to my son, I could at least hold a force field for that long, maybe long enough to call for help. I blasted through the hallway, doing my best to toss up a field, but I knew it wasn’t as strong as it should have been. I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen and I yelled falling to the floor, not far from Ms. A’s door, my hand came away from my lower abdomen, blood staining it. With no time to think I tossed my hands up I held the strong field I could in front of us and the door. The lights flickering as I pulled power from the building. I was feeling faint but I couldn’t give up! I heard a growl of anger and started flying into walls and ceilings. 

   “All these men and one woman, bunch of pussies. Seems you are looking for a fight, I’m here to give it to y’all.”

Vision hazy, I saw Arthur minus his Atlantis uniform, fighting men like there was no tomorrow. A one man army of Alantian strength, the bullets and fists do not match against him. Quicker than I could see he had gotten rid of them and was hovering over me, knowing my son was safe I dropped my shield. 

   “Bruce get Barry over here NOW!”

   “K..Kalen. Protect Kalen”

Arthur held one hand against my bleeding abdomen, coughing and coughing.

  “Come on Gia relax for me. Stay calm Calvary is coming. You are losing a lot of blood. Where is Kalen?” He asked me to look around. The soft look on his face in direct contrast with the leather and long hair.

    “Apartment *cough* 2D *cough*”

Tears were streaming down my face as Barry came to a screeching halt in front of me.

  “Barry can you lift her? I need to get her boy.”

I started coughing more, wanting to yell for him to come out of the apartment but I didn’t have much of a voice. 

   “I can try. Not exactly the paragon of strength here.”

   “Bruce has everything she needs but if we don’t  stop the bleeding she doesn’t stand a chance.”

Barry presses his ear.

  “Bruce says he’s 10 minutes out.”

Barry leaves my side and comes back less than a second later with towels from my apartment. 

I felt him press down while Arthur goes to the Apartment I directed to him earlier, knocking. I was sure they wouldn’t open it for someone that looked like a shady looking biker. He waited a minute before he sighed and kicked it open. I heard yelling and a loud ding as apparently Ms. A hit him with something metal and kept hitting him.

  “Would you calm down your old bat?! Gia is right outside!!!!”

   “Who is Gia?! You won’t be taking us you damn heathen!”

  “Kalen’s mom. She’s hurt in the hallway, and would you stop hitting me with that damn pot! Clearly it’s not working.”

I tried to laugh but only succeeded in coughing up blood a little.

  “Arthur, she is not looking so hot out here.”

Ms. A’s head came around the door-frame, Kalen on her hip as his face was all red and covered with tears. 

  “Oh my god Tiffany!!!!” She came over to me, careful not to put her weight on me and not let Kalen do it either although he was screaming for me. 

  “Don’t let him see me like this. Get them out of here...”

I said with a raspy voice. Thankfully Bruce came down the hall, Diana in tow they heard my request.

  “I know you do not know us, but I promise we are here to help her. We will take you somewhere safe. Trust us.”

Ms. A gave my hand one last squeeze and let herself be led out by Diana. Bruce came hovering over me.

  “Gia I need you to stay conscious.” 

My side felt like it was on fire and I was confused as to how he knew I was sleepy.

  “Save Kalen.”

I was drifting out into even more confusion, but Bruce slaps me back into wakefulness.

  “We’ve got to get the bullet out. Barry and Arthur you are going to have to hold her still.”

He pulls out tools, I scream as they pierce the open wound in search of the bullet that was apparently still lodged in it.

   “Aghhhh!!!”

The scream caused several residents to open their doors in even more concern than the gunshots.

  “That was loud.” Barry says

  “That was just the tip of the iceberg. Last time I heard her yell, she shattered windows.” Bruce said.

 “We’ve got to get her to the plane and back to the compound.”

  “Gia?! What happened to her?” I didn’t have it in me to be frustrated with his arrival. It was comforting to me to hear his voice. He was dressed normally, which surprised me because he never shows any of his powers in street wear.

  “Cc..l..Clark.” 

  “Ssshhh. Gia it’s okay.” His voice was gentle and he wipes the tears off my face with one hand.

   “She is bleeding internally. She is already healing but not fast enough. I’ll have to cauterize the area. It will be enough to stabilize her.”

  “Gia hold on to my hand.”

I grabbed it with our fingers interlinking, some of his energy flowing into me from our direct contact. His eyes began to glow red and shot into my abdomen, I screamed bloody murder causing the doors the rattle on their frames, surprisingly I didn’t pass out. 

  “Let's get her out of here.” Bruce comes over to lift me but Clark just pulls me up into his arms.  I fall into the comfort of his smell and the warmth of his embrace. 

I was certain I would never experience this again, especially when all hell was about to break loose...

A/N: Now that Gia almost died, will she be more willing to give Clark a listen? 

Thank you for reading and support! As always my taglist is open for this story! 

TAGLIST

@bloodyinspiredfuck​ @romyr4​

[sunmoonandeddie]

Could i request a thor x reader x steve where thor and Steve both have a crush on the reader and compete with each other to see who she likes most. Also can you choose one of them at the end of the fic who she ends up with (you choose which one you think best works for the fic) thank you :)))

pairing: steve rogers x reader, thor odinson x reader

word count: 5,038

summary: Thor and Steve both have a crush on you, but it takes a little bit of outside help to realize who you really want.

warnings: swearing, violence, character death (but don’t worry, it’s not real)

a/n: So this definitely became super long for a ‘drabble’ but I really enjoyed writing it.  I also wrote two separate endings for both of them, so you can decide which you wanna end up with!  I’m sorry it took so long, but I’ve been working on wardrobe crew all day!  Let me know what you think!

“So, how are yougoing to deal with that whole situation?” Natasha asked.  Her stunning green eyes had a mischievous glintthat warned you she was up to no good, but as always, you took the bait.

“What situation?”  You were wrapping your hands, or, rather,trying to.  Steve had taught you how justa few days before but it never felt like you could get it right.

The redhead leanedup against the wall behind you, nodding towards the mats where a certain SuperSoldier and God of Thunder were sparring. It was strangely an even fight, but that might’ve been because both of themwere holding their punches.  “Thatsituation.”

You raised youreyes from your hands, eyebrows furrowing as you watched the two men.  They both held a deep concentration, eyeslocked on each other.  “I don’tunderstand what you mean.”

“You really areoblivious,” she said with a deep sigh. She glanced back and forth between the two men and you beforewhispering, “Watch this.”  Natashacleared her throat, before loudly saying, “Y/N, do you need help wrapping yourhands?”

It was so clearlyfake and meant to attract attention, but that didn’t seem to matter.

Both Thor andSteve Rogers’s heads whipped around to face you.  Sparring completely forgotten, they both madea beeline for where you were standing.

“Lady Y/N, I wouldbe happy to—”

“Do you need me toteach you again?”

You shot a glareat her as the two stood in front of you, both side-eying each other in a waythat was a little more than obvious.  Thorhad foregone a shirt, just keeping on a pair of gym shorts, and it seemed tovex Steve as the super solder flexed just enough to make his muscles popagainst his white t-shirt.  Both were glisteningwith sweat and staring at you with an intensity that made your heart flutter.

Nat, however, seemedto be having the time of her life, hiding her laughter behind her hand.

“Natasha was goingto help me, but thank you,” you said, plastering on a smile for the twomen.  “I don’t want to distract you fromyour training.”

“Really, it’s notrouble—”

“I’d be happy tohelp, sweet midgardian.”

It was clear thatthey were both getting more and more frustrated with each other, so you shookyour head.  “Really.  I’m okay. You guys get back to sparring and maybe I’ll join you in a bit,” youoffered, which seemed to appease both of them.

“Is your shoulderstill hurting, my dear?” Thor asked, and Steve looked between the two of youwith wide blue eyes.

You rolled yourshoulder experimentally, wincing a little as you did so.  “Just a little, but it’ll be alright.  I throw on some Tiger Balm when I’m donehere.”

Thor took a stepcloser to you, taking your hand both of his and squeezing softly.  “Do you promise me?”

From the corner ofyour eye, you could see Steve bristling as the man’s larger hands encasedyours, his thumb caressing you.  “Ipromise.”

He nodded, lingeringlonger than necessary, before saying, “We should get back to sparring, don’tyou think?”

“I agree,” thesuper soldier said, standing in place until Thor dropped your hand.

They eyed eachother warily as they headed back onto the mats, and when they started to sparagain, there was a newfound vigor with their punches.  They were no longer holding them.

“See what I mean?”Natasha asked, grabbing your hands so she could wrap them herself.  She’d been hoping that it would’ve ended upin some kind of tizzy, though she knew it was unlikely since you were a peacemakerabove all things.

Your e/c eyesstared down resolutely, determined not to give her a reaction.  You knew that if you did she’d never let itgo.  “We’re just friends.”

“Well, they’rejust your friends.  You’re definitelysomething else to them.”  She patted thetop of your hand after she finished wrapping them.  “Ah—thumb on the outside,” Natasha remindedyou as she watched your hands ball into fists, moving to hold the bag for you.

You glanced downat your hands, making the quick fix, before you began punching.  “Nat, dating is just out of the question whenit comes to this job.”

“What do youmean?  Clint has a wife and kids.  I’ve got…,” she frowned as she tried to thinkof whatever the fuck her relationshipstatus was, “… whatever I’ve got with Bruce.”

“Nat, I cancontrol fire.  Last time I tried to date,the guy thought I was going to spontaneously combust,” you said, wincing as youthought about the date you’d been on a few months before, right after you’d joinedthe Avengers.  You’d wasted your onenight off getting all dressed up, only to have him make pyromaniac jokes allthrough dinner.  The final straw had beenhim asking if you’d explode while he fucked you.

She hummed,peeking around the bag at you.  “Iremember that night, because the second you got home, Steve had you wrapped ina bunch of blankets on the couch with a gallon of ice cream.  He even agreed to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s with you, and he never does that with me.”

Your cheeks heatedas you flashed back to that night.  You’dwalked in the door, still in your dress and heels, and found the blond sittingon the couch.  The second he’d asked howit went you’d dissolved into tears. Steve had leapt into action, grabbing a horde of blankets and a gallonof your favorite ice cream from the freezer. The ice cream had confused you, because you hadn’t asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. toput it on the grocery list since you’d been sticking to Nat’s specialized diet.  The two of you had watched every possiblechick flick you’d wanted until you fell asleep, waking up the next morningcarefully tucked into your bed.

“Everyone loves Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” you said, yourvoice dropping a little bit.  You knew youwere losing whatever this discussion was with her but you weren’t going to giveup easily.  “He said it reminded him ofthe films he watched growing up.”

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s was released in 1961,”Natasha said, carefully gripping the bag. “He’d already been in the ice for at least fifteen years.”  It went quiet for a few minutes as youcontinued to go at the bag with all your might, a slight sheen of sweat coveringyour brow.  “And remember that time Thoralmost got hit by a car because you mentioned the store across the street hadyour favorite flowers in the window?”

“I was moreworried for the car than for Thor.”

“Ha ha, veryfunny,” she deadpanned.  She frowned asshe watched your face, noting the way you were favoring your left shoulder andwincing with almost every hit.  “Youshouldn’t wear yourself out.  You wentreally hard yesterday, and we have time before the next mission.”

You grinned slyly,asking, “So does that mean we can be done for the day?”

She rolled hereyes, pushing the bag towards you.  “Yes.  As long as you rest your shoulder and don’tdo anything to hurt yourself any more, you’ll be fine.”

You glanced back towardsThor and Steve, who were talking in urgent, hushed voices out on the mat.  They looked almost… upset with each other,and you began to wonder if Nat’s words held any weight.  “Yeah. Yeah, okay,” you said softly before following her to the locker room.

The next morningyou stumbled into the kitchen, only to stop in your tracks.  Steve Rogers was standing in the kitchenshirtless.  His sweatpants fell low onhis hips, a dusting of blond hair just peeking out above.  He was still sweaty from his run, his shaggyblond hair sticking to his forehead.

He looked up assoon as you came in, a warm smile on his face. “Hey, sugar.  Got your coffeeready,” he said, pushing a mug towards you. “Want anything for breakfast?”

“Uh…”  You blinked at him slowly, trying not tostare at the wide expanse of chest.  “I,uh…”

A chuckle rumbleddeep in his chest as he moved to one of the cabinets.  “Pancakes sound good?”

“I thoughtpancakes weren’t a part of Natasha’s diet plan for me,” you said, eyes flickingto the piece of paper she’d tacked to the board.  As part of your training, she’d insisted on alow carb, high protein diet and it’d done wonders for your energy.

“I won’t tell ifyou don’t,” he teased, shooting you a wink that caused your cheeks to go rosy.  “Besides, you should treat yourself.  You’ve been working hard.”

You sat on one ofthe stools at the island, watching as he poured the mix into a bowl.  “I still have a long way to go before I catchup with the rest of you, though.”

“Y/N,” he said,glancing back at you with furrowed brows. “You’ve only been with us for about ten months.  The rest of us have been doing this for years.”  He smirked down at the pan he was pouringsome of the batter into.  “When you’rerunning this thing, you’ll have young whipper snappers saying the same thing toyou.”

“First of all, whipper snappers?”  You tried to control your laughter as yousipped on the hot coffee.  “Second…  You really think I’m going to be running theAvengers?”

Steve didn’t botherturning to face you as he flipped the pancake. “Well, yeah.  You’re a naturalleader.”

“Me?  A natural leader?”

He grinned back atyou as he put the finished pancake on a plate. “You’re diplomatic.  You don’t immediatelyresort to fighting.”  He grew serious fora second, the grin dropping.  “You makedecisions for the good of others, even if it goes against a direct order.”  He seemed to be going back in time as hestared at you.  “As someone once told me,you’re not a perfect soldier.  You’re agood person.”

You were renderedcompletely speechless as he turned back to the stove.  For years, you’d considered yourself amonster.  Hell, others had told you assuch just because of a power you didn’t ask for.  Your parents had.  And even after you’d joined the littlerag-tag group you considered your family, you’d always thought of yourself as abackground member.  You weren’t the onethat people looked to for guidance, the one people held parades for.

Steve slid a platein front of you, concern in his eyes.  “I’msorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

Rapidly shaking yourhead, you quickly tried to explain.  “Ijust—I—”  Letting out a sigh, you tried tocalm yourself down.  “I never thought ofmyself as a hero, let alone a leader.”

The smile he sentyou was warm, fond, and you did your best to ignore the fluttering in your chest.  The last thing you needed was feelings.  “If only you could see yourself the way I seeyou,” he murmured, but it seemed as though he was saying it more to himselfthan you.

You ducked yourhead down, staring at your coffee as you willed yourself not to blush.  Not that it would work, of course, because whythe fuck wouldn’t you embarrass yourself?

“Lady Y/N!”

Both you and Steveturned to see Thor heading down the hall towards you.

“Good morning,”you said with a soft smile as he came to stand beside you.

He raised aneyebrow at Steve, who was staring at him with a truly withering look.  “Why are you all sweaty?”

“I just got doneworking out,” he said through gritted teeth. He didn’t even notice that the pancake he had been making was startingto burn.

Thor chuckled, restinghis arm on the back of your stool.  “I wouldhave done the same, except your mortal instruments are, uh…”  There was a smirk on his face as he leaned a bitcloser to you, his hot breath fanning your ear. “… too weak for a god such as myself.”

“Is theresomething you wanted, Thor?” Steve bit out, the tips of his ears turning red.

He turned his blueeyes back to you, fixing you in place.  “Iwanted to ask if the Lady Y/N would accompany me to town.”  He leaned in a bit closer, and you swore thesmell surrounding him mimicked the earth right after it rained.  “Even after my many years on Midguard, I stillfind it best to have a companion.”

“I think Tonywould be better.”

“I highlydisagree, Steven.”

You cleared yourthroat, catching the men’s attention yet again. “I can go with you to town, Thor. Just give me time to eat and get ready.”

And that’s how yousomehow found yourself in the singular grocery store of the town close to thecompound.  The Asgardian had foregone abasket, insisting that he could carry everything himself.  He was overladen with items, and you kepthaving to catch them as you walked through the aisles.

“Would you pleaselet me carry some of it?” You asked with a laugh.  You knew that the man had caught theattention of several women in the store, but he only seemed to have eyes foryou.

“Absolutely not,Lady Y/N,” he boomed, grinning down at you. “It wouldn’t do for a lady of your station.”

“A lady of my station?”You questioned, crossing your arms over your chest.  “I don’t have a station, and aren’t you a prince?  A king-to-be?”

He shrugged with abit of a smile, still not handing anything over to you as he led you throughthe fresh produce.  “If we were onAsgard, you’d be a queen.  I’m sure of it.”

Again, with thefucking blushing.

“You think I’d bea queen?”  You laughed loudly, throwingyour head back.  “Are you out of yourmind?”

Thor scowled atyour reaction, moving to stand directly in front of you.  “Lady Y/N, you are one of the best people Ihave ever had the pleasure of meeting. Your heart is better than that of any king I’ve met, Asgardian or not.”

Your heart skippeda beat as you two stood there, staring into each other’s eyes for what seemedlike an eternity.  When you felt him leaningin, you quickly turned your head.  “Weshould go,” you stammered, rubbing your suddenly sweaty palms on your leggings.  He seemed to be disappointed, but followedyou to the check out anyway.  “Why didn’tyou just put this on the shopping list F.R.I.D.A.Y. keeps for us?”

He smiled down at thegroceries he was scanning.  “I wanted tospend time with you outside of the compound.” He glanced over at you, a small laugh falling from his lips.  “And truthfully, Stark’s artificialintelligence, as he calls it, unnerves me.”

Two days later,you found yourself on the quinjet.  Youwere about five minutes out from landing, when you’d have to go into the low-threatlevel HYDRA base and gather information. You had a flash drive in your pocket, ready to go.  Steve, Wanda, Bucky, Thor, and Natasha werealso going with you, but their task was to clear the base and make sure therewere no agents left hanging around.

For your firstmission without a babysitter, it was pretty easy.  Tony and Steve had given you a talk abouteasing yourself into the missions and not overworking yourself.

Getting into thebase and to the control room was easy. Almost too easy.  You sat down atthe chair of the center computer, plugging the flash drive in.

“Y/N, you make itto the control room?” Steve asked, his voice crackling over the comms.

“Just stuck theflash drive in.”

You workedquickly, transferring over everything you saw. You knew that anything could hold information, even the filesuspiciously titled ‘AP English.’

You’d leave Tonyto find out if it was porn later.

The room wascompletely silent except for the clicking of keys, yet somehow you missed theopening of the door behind you.

“Look at what wehave here.”

You gasped sharplyas you felt a hand on your head, and you were whisked away.

STEVE’S ENDING

There was nothing but destruction aroundyou.  Debris everywhere, smoke cloudingthe air.  Ash filled your lungs as you whirledaround, desperately looking for someone.

Someone.

Your heart was pounding against your chestas you screamed, “STEVE!  STEVE, WHEREARE YOU?!”  You stumbled through therubble, almost coughing up a lung as you did so.  You couldn’t see anyone.  Not Natasha, not Tony, not Wanda.  No one.

You were alone.

“STEVE!”

A low moan sounded somewhere ahead of you,and you scrambled towards it.  You were hoping,praying that it would be the familiar blond super soldier.  Your foot caught on a slab of concrete andyou hit the ground with a curse.

But you kept going.

Anything to get to him.

“STEVE!”

“Y/N…”

Your cheeks felt suspiciously wet as youspotted the soldier a few feet away. Blood was pooling underneath him, his suit ripped and torn beyond recognition.  “Steve,” you croaked as you ran to him, fallingto your knees beside him.  “Come on.  Come on, baby,” you said, cradling hisface.  His lip was bleeding and he had ablack eye.

He weakly smiled at you, wincing at theeffort it took.  “Hey, sugar.”

“Come on, we gotta get you back to the jet,”you said, though you had no idea which direction it was.  You started to try to get him to his feet,only for him to stop you.

“Let me just look at you for a minute,” hewhispered, his voice cracking.  His callousedhand shakily moved to cup your face, his thumb caressing your cheek.

“No, no, no, no, no,” you stammered,tugging on him yet again.  “We’re gonnaget you out of here, and we’re gonna go home, okay?  You promised to let me take you ice skating.”

He grunted, his eyes squeezing shut beforehe took a deep breath, internalizing the pain. Steve opened his sweet baby blues, rimmed with tears.  “Rockefeller, right?”

“Yeah, baby,” you said, beginning to shakeas you started to realize what he already knew.

He wasn’t going to make it back to thequinjet.

“Tell me about it, sugar,” he said.  “Tell me about Rockefeller.”

“It’s big,” you said with a weak laugh.  “And there’s a giant Christmas tree thatlooks over the rink.”  Your hand moved tocover the one that cradled your face.  “It’scrowded all the time but—”

“I’ll rent it out for you,” he interrupted,a cheeky grin pulling at his lips.

“Yeah?” You giggled.

“The whole place, sugar.”

You drew your bottom lip in between yourteeth as you thought.  “We’ll go later atnight, so that we can see all the skyscrapers around us lit up.”

“Hey, Y/N?” Steve murmured, fighting tokeep his eyes open.

A choked sob fought its way out despite howhard you fought it.  “Yeah, baby?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” you croaked.  You shook your head desperately as his eyesclosed, his hand going limp against your cheek. “Steve?”  You whispered, barely audible.  “Steve?”

But he was gone.

Yourchest was heaving as you came back to the present, the man who’d come in behindyou throwing you to the ground with a thud.

“How sweet,” he chuckled as he loomed overyou.  His eyes, a startling shade ofwhite, were sunken so far into his face that you thought he might be a walkingskeleton.  His thin, cracked lips werepulled into a sinister grin.  “America’sGolden Boy and the Walking Fire Hazard.” You scrambled backwards as he walked towards you, his steps slow andlanguid.  He clearly knew he had theupper hand.  “Does he even know how youfeel about him?”

You yelped as a shot rang through the air.  The man slumped to the ground with a hole inthe center of his forehead, revealing Steve Rogers standing behind him with agun still raised.

You couldn’t evenask why the hell he had a gun, tears streaming down your cheeks.  He dropped the gun as he ran to you, cradlingyou against his chest.  “You’re okay,”you whimpered, hands running over him. The vision the man had put into your head had felt too real and you justneeded to make sure he was still alive.  “You’realive.  You’re okay.”

“Shouldn’t I bethe one asking you that, sugar?”  Heasked, holding you close to his chest. His lips pressed against your forehead and you could feel his shaggyhair tickling you.

“Hey, Steve?”

“Yes?”

Your fingers movedto run through the blond strands.  “Pleasedon’t cut your hair.”

He let out a laughas he nodded, glancing back to where Natasha had grabbed the flash drive you’dbeen loading information onto.  “Okay, sugar.  I won’t cut it.”

The redheadpocketed the drive and nodded towards him. “You got her?”  When he squeezedyou closer to him, she started to lead you towards the door.  “Let’s get out of here.”

When you got backto the quinjet, Steve still didn’t put you down.  He sat in his seat with you in his lap, hisfingers gently pulling your hair out of the pony tail you’d thrown it into.  Your head was resting against his broadchest, and you could hear his heartbeat through his suit.  It was beginning to lull you to sleep and youneeded to ask him something first.  “Hey,Steve?” You said slowly, closing your eyes.

“Yeah, sugar?”

“Are you evergonna ask me on a date?”

His cheeks went adark red as he stared straight ahead with wide eyes.  Natasha walked over from where she’d beentalking with Tony, sliding into the seat right across from him.  There was a smirk on her face that made himwary.

“Would you wanna go on a date with me?”

“I’d like that.”  You shifted slightly, curling up closer tohim, if it was possible.  “I love you,”you murmured, half asleep.  All thoughtsof Thor were gone.  All you could think ofwas the man holding you as though you might disappear at any second.

His grip tightenedon you, and you could feel his heart rate speed up.  “I love you, too.”  His fingers ran through your hair, gentlyuntangling the strands.  “Get some rest,okay?”

“’Kay…”

You trailed off,falling away into a deep slumber, and Steve watched you for a long moment.  His heart felt warm and his head felt fuzzy.

“The guy hadpowers like Wanda’s,” Natasha said, drawing Steve’s eyes away from you.  She nodded towards where Tony was already goingthrough the files on the drive.  “Madeher see her worst fear.  Something makesme think it involved something really bad happening to you.”

“I’ve flirtingwith her for months, trying anything to get her to notice me,” he said withmirth in his eyes.  “And apparently allit took was some man attacking her on her first mission without a babysitter.”

THOR’S ENDING

You stepped into the ornate throne room,your dress billowing around you.  “Thor?”You called as you headed towards the far end of the room.  You could see Loki standing in front of theone your husband occupied, blocking the view of the burly man.  “Hello, Loki. I didn’t expect to see you today.”

But Loki didn’t move.  You could see the heavy rise and fall of hisshoulders as you came closer, knowing that he was at least alive.

“Loki?” You said, a frown tugging on your lipsas you neared the steps that led up to the two golden thrones.  The crown on your head suddenly felt veryheavy as you tentatively took one step up.  “Loki, what’s going on?”

The dark-haired man slowly turned, finallyletting you see your husband.  His headhung low, his long blond tresses hiding his face and chest.  Something felt off.

As you looked at Loki once again, your eyeslocked on the dagger dripping blood in Loki’s hand.

“What have you done?” You choked out as youran up the steps.  Your hands trembled asyou reached for Thor’s head, sitting him up straight.

But what greeted you was dead eyes, devoidof their usual brightness.

Your knees buckled as you saw the bloodcoating his shirt, draining from the wound over his heart.  “No, no, no,” you stammered, panic rising in yourchest as you pushed his hair back.  “Thor,no.  No, no, you can’t leave me.”  Hot tears coursed down your cheeks as youclutched your husband’s face in your hands. “Thor, wake up.  Wake up, baby.”  You whipped your head around to scream atLoki, “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

“I think it’s rather obvious what I’vedone, Queen Y/N,” the man sneered, his lips pulled back in a snarl.

Bile rose in your throat as you watched himgrab the hem of your dress, wiping his dagger clean on the pearlescent fabric.  The dark red stained caused another sob toerupt from your throat and you tried to yank the dress away from him, only to ripthe hem.

“Bring him back,” you begged, stillclutching onto Thor.  His hands felt socold and it was a stark contrast to the usual heat that radiated from him.

“Why in the world would I do that?” He asked,eying you with disgust.

“I know you can,” you said, your tearsblurring your vision.  “Bring.  Him. Back.”

But he fixed you with a cold stare, a smirkon his lips.  “No.”

Your chest washeaving as you came back to the present, the man who’d come in behind youthrowing you to the ground with a thud.

“How sweet,” hechuckled as he loomed over you.  His eyes,a startling shade of white, were sunken so far into his face that you thoughthe might be a walking skeleton.  His thin,cracked lips were pulled into a sinister grin. “The God of Thunder and the Walking Fire Hazard.”  You scrambled backwards as he walked towards you,his steps slow and languid.  He clearlyknew he had the upper hand.  “Does he evenknow how you feel about him?”

You yelped as a thunderrang through the air, the metal door to the room blasting open.  Thor stalked in, his eyes glowing as heturned a steely glare to the man looming over you.

Before the manwould even say anything, he stormed towards him, his hands going to either sideof the man’s head and twisting.  Yourattacker went limp, his neck broken, and Thor let him fall to the floor.  His eyes, now back to their usual blue,turned to you and he rushed over.  His largehands pulled you into a bone crushing hug before picking you up.

“You’re okay,” youwhimpered, pulling back so you could run your hands over his face.  The vision the man had put into your head hadfelt too real and you just needed to make sure he was still alive.  “You’re alive.  You’re okay.”

“I believe Ishould be the one asking you that, sweet Midguardian,”  He chuckled, holding you close to hischest.  His lips pressed against yourforehead and his long hair formed a curtain around the two of you.

“Hey, Thor?”

“Yes?”

Your fingers movedto run through the blond strands.  “Pleasedon’t cut your hair.”

He let out a boominglaugh as he nodded, glancing back to where Natasha had grabbed the flash driveyou’d been loading information onto.  “Alright,my dear.  I won’t ever cut my hair.  Just for you.”

The redheadpocketed the drive and nodded towards him. “You got her?”  When he squeezedyou closer to him, she started to lead you towards the door.  “Let’s get out of here.”

When you got backto the quinjet, Thor still didn’t put you down. He sat in his seat with you in his lap, his fingers gently pulling yourhair out of the pony tail you’d thrown it into. Your head was resting against his broad chest, and you could hear his heartbeatthrough his armor.  You would’ve askedhow it was possible, but then you remembered that he was, quite literally, agod.  But, it was beginning to lull youto sleep and you needed to ask him something first.  “Hey, Thor?” You said slowly, closing youreyes.

“Yes?”

“Are you evergonna ask me on a date?”

His cheeks went adark red as he stared straight ahead with wide eyes.  Natasha walked over from where she’d beentalking with Tony, sliding into the seat right across from him.  There was a smirk on her face that made himwary.

“Would you possible want to accompany me on whatMidguardians call a… ‘date?’”

“I’d like that.”  You shifted slightly, curling up closer tohim, if it was possible.  “I love you,”you murmured, half asleep.  All thoughtsof Steve were gone.  All you could think ofwas the man holding you as though you might disappear at any second.

His grip tightenedon you, and you could feel his heart rate speed up.  “I love you, too.”  His fingers ran through your hair, gentlyuntangling the strands.  “Get some rest, mysweet Midguardian.”

“’Kay…”

You trailed off,falling away into a deep slumber, and Thor watched you for a long moment.  His heart felt warm and his head felt fuzzy.

“The guy hadpowers like Wanda’s,” Natasha said, drawing Thor’s eyes away from you.  She nodded towards where Tony was already goingthrough the files on the drive.  “Madeher see her worst fear.  Something makesme think it involved something really bad happening to you.”

“I have beenflirting with her for months, trying anything to get her to notice me,” he saidwith mirth in his eyes.  “And apparently allit took was some man attacking her on her first mission without a guardian.”

[alri-xo]

Sea of Stars (Steve Rogers x Reader)

A/N: Hi again... So today, I'm just feeling like writing and I thought it would be nice if I wrote about Steve this time. Hope you enjoy ❤

Pairing: Steve Rogers (Captain America) x Reader

Word Count: idk

Warnings: mention of a strip club, and 'sugar-coated' representation of sexual desire.

Italic, underlined texts are picture links.

Normal POV

You and the Avengers have arrived. Tony thought that taking you guys on a vacation would be really nice. All of you have been training and going on missions non-stop, to keep everyone safe... So, for a treat, he took you all to Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives.

The resort staff opened the door of your black van, shared by you, Natasha and Wanda. They greeted you with warm smiles as you hopped out of the car in your breezy summer attire... It's not anything slutty... Just an airy, white, off shoulder maxi dress with your hair down your back.

On the side of your eye you saw the boys get down from their van. Tony, Steve and Bucky, gracing the resort lobby with their presence, followed by Thor, Bruce and Vision... They said Peter and Clint will be with T'Challa and Shuri in the next day...

You got checked in to the resort, it's absolutely stunning ambiance with a mix of tropical and modern... You thought of already getting a cocktail at a bar somewhere. As you were walking, a large hand made its way down your back...

"Hey, beautiful girl..." Steve purred in your ear, barely audible to the others... You blushed as he pulled you closer to him, "Hi, Stevie..."

Tony glared at the both of you... Once again being the bitter person that he is, since Pepper couldn't make it for some reason...

"This way please..." the staff said gesturing the the gorgeous cabanas that graced the clear waters of the island. You all stared in awe... Looking at the clear water and sky above you...

You looked at Steve, his face in awe as he walked down the boardwalk with you, still holding you close against his muscular frame... He held you like this as he wanted to let everyone know you're dating.

You felt that you were already getting stares from the rest of the group, as they noticed how touchy Steve was to you, as you were very lowkey about your relationship back home.

You had to share a cabana with Wanda and Natasha, placing your beauty products on the vanity, making it look in order. Natasha hung some of the dresses you guys picked out as Wanda connected to the speaker to listen to some music.

"What's up with you and Spangles?" Natasha asked cheekily...

"Steve? Oh... It's just a bit of a cute move..." you blurted out sheepishly earning a giggle from her.

"You legit look like a couple going on a honeymoon..." Wanda laughed as you brushed it off as a joke, even it's true from the looks that you and Steve were giving...

"I guess... I don't see why you're not allowed to think that..." you smirked making them poke you and laugh...

His POV

"Hello, men... It's currently uh... 6:10 PM..." Tony said as we stared at the sunset, beer in hand. I already know where this is going...

"So?" Bruce raised an eyebrow looking at the billionaire pacing back and forth...

"Wanna go to a local strip club?" He asked proudly as we looked at him with confusion with a hint of disgust as we just didn't want to go anywhere but here. Especially me who has a secret agenda for me and y/n.

"We just got here, Tony... And you're all itching in your pants?" I said as he scoffed rolling his eyes...

"How about you trying to get under y/n's skirt?" He said earning a laugh from the rest of the men drinking...

I fell quiet for a moment, "She's my girl..." I smiled a little... Earning sounds of shock and awe...

"No wonder you don't wanna get danced on, Spangles..."

Later that night

I went up to the girls' cabana... It's 10:00 PM and the other guys are already sleeping, hiccuping from the liquor. Especially Tony and Thor as the god decided to bring liquor from Asgard, which can pack a punch on a mortal like Shellhead.

I knocked on the door, breathing into my palm to check if I smell like beer.

"Stevie?" She said quietly, being careful not to wake the other girls, who were already dozing off...

"Yeah... Let's go to the beach... Come with me..." I said taking her hand as we walked down the boardwalk and set foot on the beach...

The water that met the sand had a beautiful blue glow... like stars in the ocean... She stepped on the wet sand below her feet and it formed a foot print in blue, glowing on the sand.

She gasped, "Bioluminescence..."

I looked at her confused... "What?"

"This happens when impact makes contact with the tiny plankton in the water, causing them to glow blue..." she made me step onto the wet sand as a footprint of my larger foot glowed right next to hers...

We walked down the shoreline... Hand in hand, laughing, peppering kisses on each other and just looking into each others eyes... Me getting lost in her (y/e/c) ones.

The sea looking like a sea of stars... I know she loves stars, may it be on the sky or on the land, in the form of city lights. But seeing her so happy walking and splashing on each other at the shoreline with tiny glowing 'stars' in the water, just made her look like a goddess to me...

I grabbed her arms so she would stop splashing water at me, "My goddess..."

She looked at me, as her eyes grew and her face flushed and heated up... I looked into her eyes as I pulled her closer to me... "You're so perfect... My beautiful girl..."

"You too, my Stevie..."

We joined our noses and rubbed them against each other gently as she giggled as we did... I picked her up and spun her around in the water, waves crashing against my legs as I held her and kissed her...

"I love you, Spangles..."

[fanficimagery]

Imagine being the step-sister to Pepper Potts. When the rest of your family decided to take their anger out on you and put you down every chance they got, she and Tony Stark decided to take you in. There were rules to living with them, obviously, but you didn't mind. Especially since Tony granted you an entire floor of Stark (Avengers) Tower in the underground basement levels when you expressed not wanting to be anywhere near his explosions.

Bucky X Reader (Gen Fic)

Living in the basement levels of Stark (Avengers) Tower was... not quite what you expected. Pepper had first set you up in the upper levels of the Tower in a rather swanky apartment, but it just wasn't you. Sure having superheros as next door neighbors was pretty legit, but never knowing when Doctor Banner would go green or when one of Tony's experiments would explode left you in a constant state of anxiety. And just when you thought no one was paying you any attention and saw how uncomfortable you were with everything, Tony swooped in and escorted you to the lower levels of the Tower.

Your new apartment ended up being an entire floor of said tower, it being an open floor plan. That said, the only doors your apartment consisted of where that of a few closets, the bathroom, a pantry and the kitchen cabinets. Everything else- your bedroom, the kitchen, a small art and crafts area, and the sitting area- is accessible without having to go through doors or walk around a wall. It left room for no privacy, but it was absolutely perfect in your eyes.

Finding a job, which was part of the rules to being taken under Pepper's wing, was harder than expected. Fortunately for you, Tony Stark had come through yet again. The job wasn't something usually sought after since being a barista didn't have the benefits one needed to stay afloat as an adult, but being a barista in the coffee shop located one floor above ground level inside Stark Tower came with a lot of pay and surprising benefits. The hours were from six in the morning to three in the afternoon and you've never had it any easier.

And though the other Tower occupants knew of your existence- you had nothing but friendly encounters with the entire team in passing- they opted to leave you be unless you sought them out.

After nearly a year, however, things were bound to change up. So it's no wonder that one day after work, you walk into your apartment and find one lost super soldier standing beyond the elevator and glancing around in confusion.

"Uhh... Sergeant Barnes?"

Bucky Barnes turns around, sparing you a long look before facing your apartment once more. "There are no windows," he mutters. You huff a laugh and walk around him, heading for your coffee table to set down your phone and wallet. "Why don't you live upstairs with everyone else?"

Shrugging, you plop down in the armchair and keep your eyes on him. "I know pretty well what the outside looks like. As for my living arrangements, I'm just more comfortable this way. I adore the team, but living up there with them would be constant noise and that's draining to me."

Bucky hums and you gulp as he heads over to your art center, his gaze trailing over the various canvases you have hanging around. "You paint all these?"

"Yeah. I get bored very easily and teenagers will surprisingly pay money for something painted from one of their favorite fandoms. It's easy money."

"Ever paint the team?"

You snort and stand up, cautiously walking towards the super soldier. "Thor is the most popular right now. He's the first to sell out when I post pics of what I'm selling." Then walking further into the art center, you pull free a folder that has various rough sketches in pencil and hand them over to Bucky. "When I run out of inspiration, I ask people what they would like to see. They'll describe what they want and I sketch it out. If it's to their liking and are willing to pay, I'll put it on a canvas for them. Tony and Bruce have a few of my things in their rooms. Natasha, too, if I remember correctly."

"Your Miss Pott's sister. Right?" He asks while thumbing through the sketches, stopping on a sketch of himself and Steve from the first war they fought together- the both of them dirtied and laughing. "I think I've heard about you."

"Mhm. Pleasure to finally meet you, Sergeant. I'm Y/N."

"Bucky. All my friends call me Bucky."

"Well then, Bucky, since we're friends and all... if you want that sketch you got there you can keep it." His lips faintly twitch and you can't help but smile. "Or if you want me to paint it, put the sketch on top of the pile and I'll start on it after I get my new batch of canvases in."

"What does a painting of yours usually run for?"

"For you? Free." He sharply looks up at you, expression blank. You shake your head at him. "I didn't charge Tony or Bruce or Nat. I'm not going to charge you."

Bucky frowns, but eventually nods. "Okay. When you have the time, I think I'd like a painting of this."

As he moves the sketch of his choosing to the top of the papers in his hand, you grin at him. "You got it."

The next time you see Bucky is two weeks later while you're at work. He walks in with Steve and the both of them place their order, you then making their drinks for them. As you're bagging their treats, you smile kindly at them while handing everything over.

"Miss Y/L/N," Steve greets.

"Y/N." Bucky nods in greeting.

"Gentlemen," you grin. "How's your day going so far?" Bucky shrugs as he accepts his drink, carefully sipping it as Steve tells you of the boring day they've had so far. Then as they're leaving, you remember you have something to tell Bucky. "Hey, Barnes! If you want, you can drop by tonight and pick up your painting. It's finished."

Steve's eyebrows raise in surprise as he glances between you and his best friend, the darker haired of the two faintly grinning. "Already?"

"Yep. Didn't have any plans, so I got a lot of work done."

"Okay. I'll be by later."

"I get off at three!" You shout after them. "Any time after four is good though."

Outside as the two super soldiers make their way down a short hallway and stop before the elevator, Steve clears his throat. "So Y/N... I didn't know you two knew each other."

"Drop it, punk."

"What? I'm just saying."

"Mhm." Bucky then sighs, knowing full well Steve won't leave it alone. "I noticed people talking about Miss Potts' sister, but realized she didn't live on the floors higher up. I got curious and found her place."

"And she painted you something?"

"...yeah. I think you'll like it. We can hang it in our living room."

Over the next few weeks, Bucky becomes a constant visitor to your apartment. If he's not watching you mix colors to get the perfect shades of blue, purple and greens for a galaxy piece you got inspired to paint, then he's either playing the video game console or muttering remarks about your terrible taste in movies.

"Are you planning a party?" He wonders one day as he eats a bowl of cereal at the kitchen bar. "I've noticed there's more food than usual in your fridge."

Glancing up from carefully packaging your latest painting for a tumblr follower, you nod. "Sort of. The Super Bowl is in a couple of days and my favorite team is playing."

He quirks an eyebrow at you. "You like football?"

"Duh. I'm from Texas. I spent my entire junior high and high school careers attending football games every Friday night, Barnes. It's in my blood to get hyped over football, but especially this Super Bowl since the Dallas Cowboys are playing."

"Who else is coming?"

You open your mouth to answer, but realizing you hadn't actually invited anyone you let your mouth snap shut and sheepishly smile. "No one. Wanna join me? I'm making some snack foods to eat throughout the game."

Huffing a laugh, Bucky shrugs. "Sure. Should I bring anything?"

"If you want. I'm making some wings, loaded cheddar and bacon potato skins, and some sandwiches."

"So drinks and chips? I can do that."

"Okay. And if you come over wearing even a hint of orange, I will punch you in the throat and kick you out."

"Then what colors am I allowed to wear?" He smirks.

"Navy blue. The Cowboys are blue and silver, but your arm's got the silver down so you're good on that front."

"Whatever you say, doll." As Bucky stands to rinse his bowl off in the sink, he looks over his shoulder at you. "Can I invite Stevie? I'll make sure he wears orange so you can punch him."

"You're hilarious, Buck. Now if you don't mind, can you please mail this for me?" You ask while sliding the large box over towards him. "I have to start picking up around here and get a start on the laundry."

"Mhm. Whatever you need." Before he takes his leave, you can't help but grin as he gives you a side hug, he then subconsciously pressing a kiss to your temple. "I'll be back later." He actually pauses as he picks up your package, his actions registering in his mind. Various emotions seem to pass over his features and you laugh while pushing him towards the elevator.

The affection given by Bucky is fairly new, but it's not exactly romantic. However, it is a huge improvement since what you've heard of him before you got to know him painted him as a sulking shadow to the Captain, and you're glad he's opened up to you and offered his friendship. He threw a wrench into your plans to just exist without surrounding yourself by anyone other than Tony and Pepper, but you wouldn't have it any other way.

[new-blog-new-things-blog]

Are you kidding me?! Part 9

Bucky x Reaer

Word count: 2118 Warnings: Swearing? Slow burn af

“Why are you running Clint?”

Bruce inquired side stepping the archer who hadn’t noticed that Bruce had rounded the corner.

“Don’t tell the goat where I am!”

Clint yelled as he sped past without pausing, Bruce just shook his head and looked back at his tablet in his hand, continuing on. Not even a minute later furious tapping caught the doctors attention, suddenly just at Clint said Bruce was face to face with me as a small goat.

“I am going to guess that is you Y/N and not just a random goat in the tower.”

I bleat happily at him, tilting my head in question.

“He went up towards the roof by the way.”

Bruce laughed and I gently head-butted his leg and scurried off after Clint. Shortly after my encounter with Doctor Banner I made it to the roof but Clint was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly there was a loud bang behind me, followed by someone screaming my name. I have no idea what happened to me but I involuntarily jumped into the air, my arms and legs locking underneath me and I fell to the floor without being able to move. With this Clint appeared behind me doubled over with laughter, phone camera pointed at me.

Damn I’ve been played, this was his plan all along.

When my body decided the shock was over Clint was still laughing, slowly I shifted back to my human body. Folding my arms and giving him my best ‘you are in deep shit’ look he puts his arms arm in surrender.

“I am so sorry I just could help it, I did get in on video though and this should be so good to watch.”

I froze.

He recorded me.

He was gunna post it just like Callie did. I needed to get out of here. Clint noticed the change in me straight away.

“What’s wr-“

“I have to go.”

I cut him off turning on my heel and speeding off towards the door leading back into the building, Clint was faster though grabbing my arm before I could reach it.

“Y/N what just happened?”

I couldn’t do this again, I lost everything the last time this happened. I braced myself for the pain as I shifted quickly into a pigeon surprising Clint, who let go and took a step back at my transformation. The pain blinded me for a moment, making me fall to the floor. Clint to a step towards me and I burst into flight.

I had no destination in mind it was just amazing to be free for a while. I realized I haven’t left the tower in weeks, I needed to get out more I decided maybe start up my pole fitness lessons again. Somehow I found myself perched on my nans nursing home window, peering in I can see she is asleep in her bed and an ache grows in my stomach. I missed her so much, I miss mum too even after everything. I miss Callie too, well I miss the friendship I had with her my whole life. Suddenly for the first time I felt alone which was silly I guess. I mean I have Sam and the rest of the gang but they got stuck with me didn’t they, they didn’t choose me like Callie did.

“See anything good?”

I turned my head as another pigeon landed next to me on the window sill.

“Just stopping for a rest, do you land here often?”

The other bird ruffled its wings getting settled.

“Yep, this is my normal route, why is that?”

“The lady in this room is she happy?”

The bird turned to look at me.

“What a weird question, she seems it, they treat her well anyway. Why is that?”

Damn why would a bird care about a human, I am not good at any of this. I should go back to the tower before I do anymore damage.

“It’s fun to people watch? Never mind, see you around.”

I took off back into the sky, heading back to face the music. I flew through an open window that led to the living room, perching upon the arm of the massive sofa that dominated the room. Exhausted was a light term for how I felt when I shifted back to human form, I held on to the wall to steady myself as I dared a few steps. I needed to eat.

I reheated the pasta I had made the night before, guzzling it down like I hadn’t eaten in years. Damn I must look like a pig, good thing no one was around to see, I wonder where everyone was anyway. I mean I don’t overly want to see anyone at the moment but there is normally at least one person kicking about.

“Fuck!”

I swore as I took in the time, I’m going to be late for training with Nat if I don’t get a move on. Hurrying up to my room, I throw on my gym clothes and make my way to the elevator. Walking into the gym I hold my hands up in submission.

“I’m sorry I’m late Nat, it’s been a really shitty day so can we skip the lecture.”

“I won’t tell her if you won’t sweetheart.”

I spun on my heels to spot Bucky leaning against the wall, on foot resting on it and his arms crossed over his chest. Grey track suit bottoms were hung low upon his delectable hips, his black top clings tightly to his body in a sinful way which has me looking anywhere but his chest.

“Oh hey Bucky didn’t see you there, where’s Nat?”

I walked over to a yoga mat that is laid out on the floor, starting to do my daily stretches as Bucky spoke behind me.

“There was a call downtown, everyone but me and Bruce weren’t needed so Natalia asked me to help with your training today.”

I inwardly sigh, carrying on with my stretches. Are you kidding me?! Why couldn’t today just end already, but I didn’t want to upset Bucky with my own inner turmoil so I plaster a smile on my face a turn to face him.

“Of course Bucky, thanks for helping out. What do you wanna start with then?”

Turning I held back a flinch, expecting Bucky to be in the same spot across the room but he was now standing behind me almost face to face with me. I hadn’t even heard him take a step.

“Wanna start with a few hit on the bag?”

He was so close out breaths were mingling and I had trouble looking anywhere but his striking blue eyes. A distraction came in the form of his hands being brought up to slide through his hair, putting it up in a messy bun. It looked good, really good. Stop looking Y/n! Jesus Christ.

Shaking my head I take a step back, then another, then another. I roll my shoulders a few time to give myself a reason not to look at him again so soon.

“Sure, you’re the boss.”

Walking over to the bag I inwardly cringe at myself. You’re the boss?! I actually just said that for fuck sake. I grab the tape from the side of the punching bag and start to wrap it awkwardly round my left hand until I hear a sigh from behind me and Bucky appears in front of me again, this time taking the tape from my hand and starts wrapping them much more efficiently then I was previously attempting. For a moment we stand in silence as he moves swiftly onto my other hand, I watch as his fingers move gracefully across my knuckles. How can something so gentle be so dangerous?

“Have you ever played an instrument?”

I spoke before I could stop myself. Bucky glanced at me quickly then looked back to my hands.

“No I haven’t.”

Finishing with my hands, he gestures to the bag and for me to start working.

“You should try you know, you have pianist hands.”

I laugh as I remember the routine I have gone through with Nat before. Slowly Bucky walks around me observing my movements.

“Tighten your core.”

Suddenly he placed one hand on my stomach, the other on the base of my back. I felt him lean in before he spoke soft, teasing words into my ear.

“What do pianist hands entail exactly?”

I know I shouldn’t but I turn my head to look at him face to face, a smile playing on my lips.

“Soft, nimble, the ability to create some amazing things?”

I have no idea when I stopped punching but now I am standing here basically pressed up against his chest, I should move away. He has a girlfriend. I think. Probably. Most likely.

A harsh laugh left his mouth, which was now set in a grim smile.

“Maybe not then, all these are good for are destroying not creating.”

Pulling his hands away from my body, Bucky stares at them as if he could see everything he has ever done with them. I start throwing punches again, trying to get this fluttering feeling from my stomach.

“Do you think that because of the whole winter soldier thing?”

Silence.

I turn my head to take him in, His body is stiff as a board, eyes cold.

Shit, I probably shouldn’t have brought that up.

“Bucky I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I just don’t think you should let your past hold you back from doing something you want to…”

I am babbling now and god help me I just can’t stop speaking.

“But hey what do I know I guess.”

Fuck why can’t I shut up?! I feel a giggle slip from my mouth and I see his jaw clench. This bullshit nervous tick is going to ruin my goddamn life.

“No you don’t, so keep your nose out of my business.”

His reply was cold and calculated.

“I am so sorry Bucky, I wasn’t trying to be rude, I was trying to get to know you better. I mean you are the only one I haven’t really spoken to since arriving here…”

I take a step towards him as if being closer will help but he takes a step backwards. Oh god I have really done some damage here. Good job Y/N you fucking asshole.

``We are doing hand to hand combat, you’ll get to know me pretty well during that.”

Bucky turns abruptly, stalking to the centre of the room and taking up a defensive stance. Hesitantly I make my way over but before I can even stop in was on my ass.

“Get up.”

So I do. Before I can blink I am on the floor once more.

“Get up.”

Again I get to my feet only for him to knock me down before I have even registered he has moved. Now I am starting to get mad.

“What is your problem? Or at least what is the point in all of this?!”

I snap at the assassin and this time I don’t get knocked down, he just circles me like an animal, a pure predator. His voice is so low it almost sounds like a growl.

“My point is that you are weak. You can’t fight and I see no point or advantage on you being on the team. All you are doing is wasting all our time training you. You don’t know me or any of us, no one wants you here so do yourself a favour and stay out of anything that doesn’t concern you.”

Shoulder barging me as he passes Bucky basically punches the door off its hinges and exits the room leaving me stood alone.

I don’t even realise I’m crying until I feel one of my tears hit my hand as it falls. I furiously wipe at my face, embarrassed that I let one man’s words bring me tears. Why does the thought of him being right about me affect me so much? It’s probably because it was all true, how I am meant to be a hero? How am I meant to be anything except the waste of space everyone thinks I am.

No.

No I will not be everything he just said, I will not let this be just another failure to add on to the never ending list that is my life. So I get up and I train. I train late into the night, I train until I am so exhausted that I can barely stand, until I have to basically drag myself back to my room and let sleep find me instantly.

Part 8                                                                 Part 10

Tags: @fuckthatfeeling @projectxhappiness @captain-chimichanga @laramitk

[multi-fandom-imagines8]

The New Recruit

Part 7

Part one, two, three, four, five, six

Masterlist

Taglist

Summary: Steve changes his attitude towards you. You go on dangerous mission and he doesn't like the way you handle things. Later, you face him in the training session.

Warnings: killing, fighting, arguing

Word Count: 2411

Ever since you went to Asgard the smile never left your face. You were shinning and everyone noticed.

“what's all this about?” Tony asked.

“what?” you didn't what he was referring to.

“that smile. That mood you're in. It's like you're a whole new person” he informed you.

“Oh that. Well, I'm happy. Is there something wrong about that?” you asked.

“oh no, not at all. I prefer you like this. You finally started visiting more and even go on mission without arguing and you're volunteering. What happened?” Tony was glad you finally did what he wanted.

“I don't know. Ever since I went to Asgard, I started seeing things differently. I mean there's a whole different planet out there with different species. It opened my eyes to many things” you explained and as you mentioned Asgard, Steve lifted his eyes from the book he was reading and looked at you in concern for a moment.

“any one wants tea?” you asked as you headed to the open kitchen in the living area.

“and now you're serving tea. I'd love to try your tea” Tony said in excitement.

“I'd like one as well, if I may” Bruce said polity.

“make that three” Nat added.

You noticed that Steve was very still and hadn't annoyed or talked to you in days. “Rogers, what about you?” you asked.

“No” he didn't even look at you.

Everyone noticed how cold he was that moment.

“Is everything alright, Rogers?” Tony asked but before he could answer Sam returned to the tower after a long run.

“what did I miss?” he asked.

“Y/n is making us tea. Can you believe that?” Tony sarcastically said.

“Are you planning on putting a poison in the tea?” Sam gave you a suspicious look.

“Dammit. You ruined my plan” you joked.

“I'll have one then” it came more like an order and you raised one eyebrow. “Please! Can I have one?” he corrected.

“of course, since you asked very nicely”.

You weren't the kind of girl that would cook, wash or clean. But tea was one of the things you enjoyed, so your tea was different from the rest.

“Damn. That's a good tea” Sam complimented.

“Thank you” finally someone who appreciates your tea.

“It really is good Y/n. What did you put in it?” Bruce asked.

“If I tell you, I have to kill you” you joked.

“Clint would've loved it!” Nat informed you.

“Cap, you're missing on some really good tea here” Tony tried to encourage him to try it.

“Not thirsty, Stark” he gave him a look and continued to read.

- - -

“Y/n this is different from the other missions you went on. This one is dangerous and risky. Are you sure you're up for that?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. I want to do this” you confirmed.

“I still don't know why you're bringing her with us. She's new and has never been on a mission like that. She could screw this up” Steve tried to convince them not let you go.

“Uhm... I'm right here. I won't screw this up. People's lives depend on it. If those agents were to escape, many people would get hurt. I know what I'm doing” you reassured him.

- - -

“Three of them are escaping and I can't get to them at the moment” Nat informed the team as she fought dozen of agents.

“I got it” you were fighting is a place close to Nat. then they heard a gun shot and a few seconds later, three more gun shots followed.

Tony and Steve rushed to the place you and Nat were in. Nat gave you a shocked look.

“What the hell happened?” Tony asked.

“Uh. They're dead” Nat told them.

“Three of them tried to escape. Nat was busy and I had on tough guy. I shot him, then I went after the rest. No one escaped” you informed them.

“are you nuts?” Steve got angry.

“you said we can't let them escape. I did what I had to do” you justified.

“we don't kill people” he told you.

“of course you don't. You're all righteous now. Those days are behind you. All of you have killed and would still do, if you had to. If I didn't kill them, they would've escaped and activated the nuclear bomb. A. nuclear. Bomb, Rogers. Are you really willing to risk the lives of millions for the sake of three murderers?” you explained your actions.

“we would've found another way. Besides, I thought you were supposed  to save people's lives not end them” he reminded you.

“Yeah I swore an oath, but I'm not here as a doctor. I'm here on a mission to stop criminals from killing more people. To eliminate a threat that might end many people's lives, do the math. And take it from someone who's seen what keeping bad people alive up close what it does, I won't hold back against my enemies, cause they won't and when it comes to doing what they want they'll kill anyone who stands in their way mercilessly” you informed him.

“what do you know about bad people?” he asked.

“there are a lot of things you don't know about me Rogers. And if you don't like the way I work, then you shouldn't have called me to join the team” you added.

“I didn't. I was against it. Tony wanted you” he harshly said.

“good to know where you stand”.

Tony and Nat noticed the tension between the two of you. “Let's go home. The mission is accomplished” Tony suggested.

“Come on” Nat led Steve out by the shoulders and Tony walked next to you.

“so are you comfortable with killing?” Tony tried to ease the tension.

“No. But do I feel guilty? No, I  don't regret what I did, Stark. These weren't innocent people. They are the reason, that many people arrive dead at the hospital. They are the reason, people die while I'm trying to remove bullets from their bodies. It had to be done and I'd do it again. I joined this team, because we are supposed to protect the innocent. Sometimes you have to use violence and kill to achieve that. It doesn't always end up in peace” you explained to him and he was convinced.

- - -

You were annoyed by Steve and he was mad at you. The training session wasn't go end well for you. The more annoyed you were, the more you wanted to fight him and win. The only problem is, that he's is much stronger and now he's mad at you, which means he's not gonna take it easy on you. You didn't mention that he told you the next time you're training, you;ll be up against him, you hoped he'd forgotten about it.

You were up against Nat and she won for the third time.

“I yield, I yield” you surrendered.

“what is up with you today?” she asked.

“I'm just not having a good day. That's all” you informed her.

“does this have something to do with a handsome, blond, strong man?” she asked.

You thought she was talking about Steve so you said yeah, kinda.

“I don't blame you. I mean he's gorgeous. Thor will be back in a few days” she said and Steve looked at you and remembered.

“what? No, no, no. that's not what I thought you were trying to say. I thought you were talking about him” you moved your head to the side pointing towards Steve.

“oooh, you like Rogers?” she asked.

And before you could deny it, Steve interrupted “y/n you're up. Or did you forget that you going up against me” he reminded you.

“No captain. I didn't forget. I just hoped you would. I'm not feeling well today, can we do it another time?” you crossed your arms.

“no, training mat. NOW!” he commanded.

“chill. I'm coming”.... “ you're not gonna take this easy on me, are you?” you asked.

“this is serious. You up-ed your game so now you get what you want. You wanna kill people, then expect from them to do the same” he said with a serious tone.

“shit!” you muttered.

“come on, what are you waiting for?” he motioned with his hand for you to come forward.

You grunted as Steve slammed your back into the wall and wrapped his hand around your throat “and with a bit more pressure on your neck, It'd snap and you're dead. Again” he ordered.

You gathered your strength and wanted to punch him in the face, but he sidestepped to the right and you missed his face, hitting the wall behind him. “God dammit” you shook your hand and it was slightly bleeding.

“Don't stop. Don't hold back or I'm gonna break you” he threatened.

You tried to do a back-turning kick but he caught your foot before it reached his face. He then threw you roughly on the floor and wrapped his hands on your throat again.

“and you're dead. Again. It's like you're not even putting an effort into this”.

“I told you, I wasn't feeling very well. And the people I'm gonna fight aren't gonna be like you. You're the only one with a super serum inside of you” you stated.

“Is that what you're gonna tell them? I'm not feeling very well today. That won't stop them from killing you. Now less talking, more action” he ordered and by that time everyone else stopped training and watched as you two fought. You were nothing compared to him, yet he treated you like you were as strong as him and gave you a hard time.

“concentrate y/n. Come on, I know you can do it”you tried to encourage yourself.

You knew what you had to do. You distracted him with making him believe you were gonna throw another punch, but as soon as he caught your arm, you kicked him in the balls, real hard. He deserved it. He groaned in pain and leaned forward.

“apparently, not every part of your body is super strong, what a shame” you teased and he caught you off guard, punching you in the stomach. You couldn't breathe for a moment or talk. The pain was excruciating, specially since his hit is 10 times stronger than a normal man.

Everyone noticed the tension and Tony stopped the fight.

“alright, that's enough” he stood between you two and Nat came to you.

“are you alright?” she asked trying to help you up.

“I'm fine” you stood up alone, not wanting to look weak.

“what the hell man?” Sam asked Steve.

“what?” Steve pretended not to know what he's talking about.

“really Rogers? ;letting your anger out on her? That fight wasn't fair and you know it” Tony added.

“she needed to learn. To know her boundaries” Steve tried to justify.

“know her boundaries? Is that what it's all about? You wanted to teach her a lesson, to not talk back to you. I mean what she did the other day wasn't great, but she had a point. Get your shit together and apologize to her. She really tried. You almost broke her hand. She was bleeding and kept fighting through the pain and you told her she wasn't even trying. Come on man, that's not like you” Tony told him.

“I took it too far, didn't I?” Steve was regaining his senses back.

“yes, you did” Tony informed him.

- - -

Later that evening, as you were preparing for bed, you heard a knock on your door.

“come in” you didn't look at who it was, you thought it was Nat asking if you want help, since you couldn't use your right hand anymore, for now.

Suddenly, you saw Steve helping you get the bed ready.

“here, let me do it” he suggested.

“I can do it myself” you told him.

“I know you can. You're tough. But it'll spare you some time” he was right so you let him. You stood behind and crossed your arms as you watched him do the bed. You saw the guilty look on his face.

“Y/n, listen, what happened today wasn't-” you interrupted him.

“what happened today was a  lesson”.

“it wasn't my intention to hurt you. I'm sorry, I was hard on you. I realized that too late” he apologized.

“it's fine. It was a lesson. To never let my guard down, not even for a second. And that people could look innocent or nice, but these are the people that end up hurting you or worse killing you” you informed him.

“Y/n I'm truly sorry. That really wasn't my intention. I'd never ever want to hurt you that way or want to kill you” he assured you.

“relax Rogers. I wasn't hinting at you. I'm just saying what I learned today”.

“how can I make it up to you?” he asked.

“do you really wanna hear the answer to that?” you asked.

He hesitated for a moment “yes”.

“right now, all I want to do is sleep, it's been a long day, so if you could please leave and close the door behind you, it'll be great” you smiled.

“are you sure? You a night-owl” he reminded you.

“how do you know that?” you asked.

“we're neighbors  and our bedroom were next to each other, just like these temporary ones. I can hear the TV at night” he explained.

“why didn't you say something?” you asked.

“would you've turned it down?” he already knew the answer but asked anyway.

“probably not. I would've probably made it even louder” you teased and chuckled.

“Good night y/n”.

“night, captain”.

@markusstraya @purpstraw @berruneko09 @5aftermidnight @hshdhhshehhdh @fangirlofmidgard @dark-night-sky-99 @lilulo-12 @remikey @betterfeelsorethansorrytomorrow  @jeansongg @spacemarkimoo @babymorganna @projectxhappiness @deluxedepression

[crimsonwritesstony]

Selfless Pie: Chapter Four

And here is the final piece of this story! I'm so happy that people seem to be enjoying it, so I won't take too long here. <3

Chapter Three link here

“Ten years and they still haven’t changed this wobbly deathtrap. Lord knows I’ve given them plenty to update it. I blame Fury.” Steve didn’t move from his spot on the path just outside of the bleachers, his eyes quietly tracking Tony’s fingers dipping along the rusted metal of the structure. “Based on the current level of erosion and decay, I can’t expect these things to last another two years. I’ll have to talk to Bruce about setting up a plan to work it into the funds and get new bleachers for all the fields before next summer.”

“Tony, why are we here?” He hadn’t meant to sound so strained, but the sharp pains echoing in his chest with each heartbeat were making it hard to push out his words. He hated this memory and had tried to wash it away any way he could throughout the years. The feel of Tony’s cheek in his hand stained his skin like ink that couldn’t be scrubbed off. His show of vulnerability burned against the back of the soldier’s eyelids for months, and silently Steve would beg that something would show him mercy when he’d sleep. He couldn’t stop the younger man’s wounded face from running through his brain any time he went to bed, and distortions of the night would manifest into nightmares. The only time he’d been able to truly forget about Tony’s pain was when he went to war, knowing it was too selfish to let lingering regrets cloud his mind.

“This is the place your punch knocked Brock into.” Two fingers tapped a specific beam on the bleachers, his smile genuine when he glanced back to Steve. “I thought you killed him for a second. His little cronies nearly wet themselves in fear. I think there’s still a dent here from Rumlow’s thick skull.”

“Not one of my best moments,” Steve admitted with a roll of his eyes, glancing back out at the field he’d called a second home in high school.

Despite the bitter flashback lingering in his mind, he knew there was more to remember. He’d met Sam here, and he could recall how impressed he was with the freshman’s agility on the bases during tryouts. Even as a freshman, his friend refused to be treated with kiddie gloves, and rose to every expectation Mr. Fury had given him without a protest. And he’d never hesitated to give Steve advice, whether it was about baseball or adolescent hangups, making the man a truly trustworthy friend.

A glance to the right field made him think of Clint. Cheerful and optimistic despite some of the surlier friends of their group, Clint was compassionate and always there to give a unique take on any situation. Many times he’d stay late to catch fly balls that seemed impossible to track down for anyone but the nimble outfielder. The jokester had always tricked one of his friends into staying with him, not that any of them minded. It took until the middle the Sophomore season to realize their friend was scared to go home while his alcoholic father was still awake.

It was a year later Natasha learned she was adopted. In the middle of practice, the redhead walked onto the field, eyes distant and movements coiled tight as a new guitar string. She made it until Clint’s hand touched her shoulder, the girl collapsing into her best friend’s arms. Steve hadn’t hesitated to tell Mr. Fury they had to go, knowing it could jeopardize his chances of getting captain senior year. He and Bucky scrambled to grab their stuff, Clint’s steady arms carrying her to his car without a second thought. Mr. Fury later told Steve that his dedication to supporting his fellow teammates, no matter the consequences to himself, was just what he needed in a future captain.

That very field was where Bucky met his soulmate, though that hadn’t been an easy road. Sam and Bucky clashed the first year, unaware the tension between them wasn’t hatred. Junior year had seen the two learn each other, and connect in ways they’d never done before with another male. It had scared Bucky enough to make him avoid Sam for the last month of school. A summer night of the original four hanging out at the baseball field ended with Steve confronting his friend with the truth; he liked Sam. He’d gotten a left hook to the face in reply. They’d only stopped when Clint and Nat forced them apart, and for three weeks there had been radio silence between the two. It’d been the longest time he’d gone without talking to Bucky. They even made up on the field, tricked by Sam to meet while being unaware he’d been the reason they fought to begin with. Senior year, the dirt diamond had been witness to Steve helping Bucky accept that it was okay to fall for a goofy smile, even if it was connected to a boy.

He was just as surprised to realize that he’d held many memories with Tony there, as well. The earlier memories were mundane, strictly studying on the bleachers. The two argued through their sessions and stomped away childishly at the end, frustrated and sure the other would quit their arrangement. But animosity and hatred ebbed away, replaced with subtler feelings. There was an afternoon where Tony asked about Steve’s curveball, and the pitcher had left their science books on the dilapidated metal to drag Tony onto the mound. Or when it had started raining on them, and for the first time, Tony had offered his house as an alternative to the field.

Then the genius randomly started popping by during practice with excuses too elaborate to be real. Tony made a new signs system for Nat to use with the team when their old set had been leaked online. He’d helped Sam fix his swing with data collection and bought Clint a better glove when seeing how worn out his old one was. Tony would be at as many games as he could get to with his hectic schedule, even though he made sure to remind the snickering Bucky how much he hated the sport. He learned baseball slang to harass Steve with in the hallway and recited pointless sports trivia during late night phone calls. When Jarvis was hospitalized for pneumonia, Tony had asked Steve to show him how to ‘hit something hard’. Steve pitched for hours to the emotional genius until Tony’s knees gave out, and didn’t hesitate to hold the brunet while he cried into Steve’s chest.

It was where he realized he was in love with Tony Stark, even if he was too much of a coward to say it out loud. Good or bad, mundane of life-changing, Steve owed the place for the memories it kept for him. All he needed to do was return, and like the ocean against the sand, waves of memories would drag him back to a time where he’d felt the most alive. He loved his life, was proud of the man that he had become. But there was something about the time captured in the grass and dirt of the baseball field that he knew would never be replaced. Taking a slow breath of the chilled air, Steve closed his eyes and let go of the final traces of anxiety that had clung to him throughout the night.

“Tony,” he started, but his words were halted when the quiet voice of his companion piped in.

“Can I ask you something?” Brown eyes didn’t lift from the metal in front of him, Steve slow to step closer to prove his attention was focused on the brunet. “That last night we were here, after you went super Saiyan on Brock’s face...was I the only one who felt something there?”

“What?”

“I think about it, probably more than I should. And I just...I question if it’s an error in my programming. Question where I went so wrong that I thought that someone like Steve Rogers would ever wanna be with me. But then I think about that night, and I’m sure that I saw...something. Don’t ask me what exactly because I was hopped up on coffee and awake for almost two days, so maybe I was just drugged from the caffeine ingestion and hallucinating, but I thought...were you gonna kiss me?”

“You’re rambling.” It was the first thought that came to Steve’s mind, knowing it was a clear indicator that Tony was nervous when they were younger. Tony’s hand tightened on the metal in his grasp before he winced, the reaction sending up red flags in Steve’s mind.

“People always want to kiss me now, you know. And why wouldn’t they? I’m smart, made of money and have been voted the sexiest man under thirty for three straight years. But back when I went here, we both know that wasn’t the case. I was still smart and my dad was the one with the money, but I was crazy to think I’d attract anyone. Pretty sure the only person who thought I was cute was the cafeteria lady with the mole on her nose. Why I got it in my head that you would be...this is stupid.”

Tony’s head shook slowly, as if the movement would dismiss whatever was filling his complex brain. Something welled up in Steve’s chest at the scene unfolding in front of him. Tony was closing himself off, just as he’d done the night Steve had chosen Tony’s future over his own feelings. For the second time in his life, he was watching a glimmering moment dim with doubt and rejection.

“You’re asking-”

“Nothing, I’m not-I just brought you out here to check out Stark field; thought you’d get a kick out of it being named after me when you practically lived on it. But we should’ve went back by now; Jan’s wanted to climb you since junior year and I probably just ruined her plan-”

“I did want to kiss you.” The truth was easy this time around. Tony’s head lifted from the slumped pose it had dropped to during his berating, staring at Steve with eyes a little wider than normal. Steve’s hands shoved themselves into his pockets and he nodded, refusing to hide his face while he confessed. “The truth is, I had a crush on you. Probably from the moment I saw you, but I didn’t really admit it until Senior year. So that night, I was sure someone out there was giving me a shot to finally tell you how I felt. But...when I realized that you were this young prodigy about to change the world and I was going off to be some army brat...I knew you were too good to keep on hold. Why would someone like you wait for me?”

“Because you’re Steve Rogers? You’re hot and kind and way more talented with a cherry stem than I could ever dream of and...you were Mr. Perfect. Seriously, is this a real question?”

“You were never swept up in any of the hype when it came to me. You saw past all that and treated me like the awkward teenage student I was. And it was...nice,” Steve admitted, feeling a bit of a grin grab at his face when noticing how thrown off Tony had become. “Nice to have someone call me out when I made a mistake. Infuriating at times, but nice. You treated me normal. Teased me when others were too nervous to smudge my ‘perfect’ legacy or something. But it was different than Bucky or Sam. Felt different, at least. Was kind of endearing, when you weren’t being a sarcastic pain.”

“This is...not really happening right now. Really, I don’t need you to lie to me about this. My pride will totally shake off your rejection after a bottle of whiskey and a Grey’s Anatomy marathon.” The skepticism that trickled through Tony’s voice was broken up with moments of hope, as if he wasn’t sure which emotion to truly believe in. “I know what I was in high school; you don’t need to keep trying to save me.”

“That’s not all I do, you know.”

“It’s sort of your calling card, Cap. Though the fake pining story must be clashing with your honor code.” Stubbornness started to flare its head in the genius, and Steve’s need to shake the other was almost too tempting to ignore. Instead, he took a slow breath, glancing around the area while trying to think of a new approach to the discussion. It was only natural that the field came back into vision, Steve’s mind flickering with an idea.

“Did you watch the baseball game?”

“I’m sorry?”

“You told me that you were going to try and get my game on the plane. Did you end up watching it? Specifically the fourth inning?” Tony’s eyes searched Steve’s expression as if waiting for the other man to flash a grin and take back the random questioning. The blond kept his face as serious as he could, feeling his shoulders tense up until Tony gave a nod.

“Yeah, I watched it. Almost didn’t, cause of...but I did. Nothing else really to do on the plane.” Tony glanced to his fingers picking at the rust on the bleachers, another attempt at casual despite the tension in the air.

“There was a clip that they cut out of the reruns of the game later, but during the live broadcasting, Clint did something.” That was putting it mildly. The outfielder had started to scream bloody murder in the mid-inning, going as far as tossing his glove and kicking at the dirt on his way to the outfield. The loud cries of ‘why didn’t you do it?!’ had been recorded for the millions of people to see, but the only person Steve was currently focused on was now snorting.

“Clint throwing a temper tantrum and rolling around in the grass on live television was the highlight of the game. I thought Fury was going to get arrested for killing him!”

“He got close,” Steve admitted, remembering the look of death that crawled over Mr. Fury’s face when they came off the field. The only thing that had saved Clint was the amazing catch he’d made later on in the game after getting his emotions in check.

“So, besides reminding me of something I need to tease Legolas about when we get back to the reunion, why are you bringing it up?” Some of the strain that had been holding Tony hostage looked to be disappearing from the younger man’s body, using the bleacher’s beam to support his weight.

“I was the reason he had his meltdown.” The intrigued look Tony gave Steve urged him to explain, the blond clearing his throat before talking through the blush. “I guess before the inning started, Bucky let it slip that I didn’t kiss you the night before. And Clint...well, he was sorta positive that we were gonna fall in love in high school. Even went as far as to bet some pretty decent money on it with Sam, so when he heard about what happened, and that you had left for MIT without us kissing he...lost it.”

“That beautiful bastard.” Tony let out a small chuckle at Steve’s awkward explanation, his eyes shining with mirth as he tilted his head in a way that flipped the blonde’s stomach. “I thought you looked pretty flushed on the mound that inning, but I attributed it to your Irish skin being in the sun too long.”

“No, I knew exactly what he was yelling about, and unlike Clint, I remembered it was national television. Something you’d said you were going to watch. After that, there was no way I could talk to you.” For the first time since his admission, Steve glanced away from Tony, staring at his shoes toeing the dirt of the pathway. “Every time I even looked at my phone, I was scared you’d seen it and would ask. We’d never really...talked anything out, and doing it on the phone felt cheap. I tried to save up the money to come see you at MIT, but by the time I got it, I was shipping off for basic training.”

“Did you forget I was rich back then, too? I could have bought you a plane ticket first class with just my allowance alone. Like seriously, wouldn’t have even put a dent in my wallet. I was going to do that anyways until that almost-not-really-probably-hallucinating kiss we didn’t have.”

“I couldn’t use you for your money, Tony. That’d be selfish.” Tony stared in pure shock at Steve’s explanation before his arms shot into the air in obvious frustration, though Steve couldn’t understand the anger.

“I was in love with you, Rogers! I watched baseball for you. Baseball. You could have asked me to buy the moon and I would have done it without question! NASA would have fought with me about it, but honestly I could have swayed them with ideas to improve their equipment and we’re on a speed dial relationship at the moment so it would have worked out-” the second round of rambling was cut off by Tony himself, seeming to realize mid-sentence what he had said. Before the genius could lapse into his fight or flight response, Steve stepped forward, rushing his answer out.

“Me too! I mean, I loved you, too.” They stared at each other for a moment, letting the shared confessions sink in. A warmth settled in Steve’s chest that he didn’t want to lose. Tony had loved him. It felt like he’d known the information already, but hearing it was a different sensation. He was sure he was blushing, but the embarrassment over that simmered away when realizing Tony was quite pink himself. Tony Stark never blushed, and this was the second time Steve had gotten the opportunity to see it. Rushing to seize the opportunity presented to him, Steve didn’t hesitate to reach forward and grasp Tony’s hand. “And even now, I…”

Except, for just a moment, the soldier wondered if anything had changed. Tony was still a star thousands of miles out of Steve’s reach. For ten years, the older man had dedicated his life to protecting the weak, just as he’d always done. But the man in front of him had changed the world with his technology. He’d given Bucky his arm back and helped Sam’s organization flourish. He donated money to charities, fundraisers, and a school that had rarely shown him kindness or sympathy. Tony Stark wasn’t just on a different level than Steve; he was in his own galaxy. Ten years ago, he’d let the charming young man slip through his fingers to keep from tying him down. He’d already given up their moment so Tony could shine brighter. But could he walk away again, knowing the first time was one of the biggest sacrifices of his life, without saying something?

Who says he wants you to walk away? The small voice of hope questioned, and Steve knew he didn’t have an answer for that.

But there was only one way to know the truth.

“Even now, you what?” Tony didn’t seem willing to let the conversation die either, fingers quick to sneak between the space of Steve’s. He hooked them as if afraid the blond would pull away, just like he’d done the last time. And God, Steve knew in that moment he never wanted to hurt this man again.

“I still-” The loud blare of a ringtone interrupted Steve’s confession, the brunet vocalizing Steve’s frustration with a growl that boarded feral. Snatching the device from his pocket, Tony didn’t release Steve’s hand, using his other one to turn on the speakerphone.

“Bruce, normally I’d be tickled pink to provide you phone sex, but you’re totally interrupting something that I’m 92.5% sure is important and/or life-changing.” A quick glance at Steve’s face had the genius recalculating, pressing the phone closer to his mouth. “Make that 96%.”

“Sorry, Tony, but Jan is 100% ready to hunt you down if you don’t return to the reunion with Steve in the next five seconds. She’s been waiting for twenty minutes to get this class photo done, but since you two missed the last reunion, she refuses to do it without you. We’ve been trying to stall for you two, but she’s a hard woman to deter when she’s on a mission.” Bruce did sound apologetic for the interruption, but he didn’t seem to be in a position to try and buy the pair any more time.

“Tell her we died. Tragic...bear accident. Cap fought till the bloody end to protect me and it was magical. She can send flowers to my house in Malibu, I prefer yellow daffodils-”

“Tony, no.” Steve scolded, having to bit back his smile when the brunet glanced up at him and rolled his eyes.

“Well I doubt a rabid raccoon digging through the school’s dumpster is gonna take you out, so Yogi’s the way to go.” The atmosphere from before was broken when Steve laughed, the blond pulling the scowling genius closer to speak into the phone.

“We’re on our way, Dr. Banner. Please extend our apologies to Miss Van Dyne.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Steve ended the call with the teacher before he pushed the phone back to Tony, whose face showed his obvious displeasure in the decision.

“You are literally trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Says the one debating which animal should maul me to death.”

“For good reason!”

“It’s just a picture,” Steve replied, shaking his head before he pulled the stubborn man back toward the school building. “We’ll take the shot and then we’ll find a place to continue this conversation.”

“You do realize we have the worst timing in the history of the world? I think we give Titanic a run for its money.”

“Picture, then talk. It’ll be fine.”

Except, like most situations, Tony was right. The picture took forever, as managing to get that many people in the shot without one of them sneezing, blinking, or getting threatened by Logan was a tedious endeavor. As soon as the photo was taken, the genius got yanked into a conversation with Reed Richards and his wife, Sue, regarding thermonuclear chemistry. Steve’s attention was pulled to helping Scott Lang find his missing watch and then tossed into a tense debate between Jean Grey and Emma Frost about the definition of cheating. He’d only escaped that by offering to help Jan clean-up the buffet table, followed by a few dances with many girls he faintly remembered from high school. He’d looked for Tony while using the excuse of needing to use the restroom, but he couldn’t catch sight of him. Right when he spotted the man of the hour flailing his arms at a song Peter Quill had convinced the DJ to play, Carol Danvers was yanking on his sleeve to play ‘would you rather’ (“Aren’t we a little too old for high school games, Danvers?” “Aren’t you a little too old to be staring at Tony like a lost puppy, Rogers?”), leaving the blond no time to seek out his moment.

And then, in a blink of an eye, the reunion was over.

“That was way better than last year!” Clint’s loud proclamation proved that he’d had his fair share of drinks, and Steve gave a concerned glance to the redhead keeping Clint from stumbling through the parking lot. Her fingers lifted high enough to show the keys of the truck, the soldier releasing the breath he’d been holding.

“I had a lot of fun,” Bruce added, giving a full smile toward Natasha before glancing to his right. “What about you, Tony? You happy we convinced you to come?”

“When has a Stark ever regretted going to a party?” Tony’s smile was large, mischievous, and completely fake. Steve could tell how hard he was forcing himself to play the part he’d been cast in for years, but it was phony. Fingers twitched by his side, wanting to reach over and grab the man. Though their group was walking out together, it meant the chance of finishing what they had started a decade ago was rapidly closing.

“Well, I’m just happy that we all got through it with no broken bones or wardrobe malfunctions.” Pepper’s head was resting on her husband’s shoulder as he led her along the pavement, and Steve wondered if the flush on her face was from the heat of the gymnasium, the cold outside, or the wine she’d been drinking throughout the night.

“The night’s still young, and Lang was starting to unbutton his shirt. Wonder if he was a stripper in a past life.” Bucky grinned at the slight buzz he had, linking his fingers between Sam’s as he swayed.

“It’s like I said before; just like old times.” Clint’s declaration was met with a hum of disagreement from Nat, who gave a casual glance toward her boyfriend.

“Some things have changed.”

“But the basics are the same. Like...like...oh!” Clint sharply turned to face the large group, holding his hand out to count down the fingers while he spoke. “Brock’s still the biggest asshole I know.”

“Okay, one point for Clint,” Pepper teased, though the blond didn’t seem to care as he continued.

“Stephen Strange still wears a cape around.”

“To be fair, it’s made of much better material than before.” Tony’s words were mumbled as he clicked away at something on his phone, which he’d had glued to his face since Clint had started his rant. The observation was surprising, considering the two men never got along in high school. Strange and Tony were similar in the worst ways, and their differences only increased the tension. But there was no bitterness or annoyance in the brunet’s comment, and Steve wondered if they’d mended bridges throughout the years.

“Then there’s the fact that I’m still the best dancer of the group-”

“You are milky white and have no rhythm.” Sam’s deadpan reply was waved off by Clint despite the snickers from the group.

“And the biggest thing that hasn’t changed is that Tony and Steve.” Like a vacuum sucked the good mood from the air, all signs of laughter evaporated. The only man who was still smiling was Clint, too drunk and proud of himself to read the scene. “They are going to hopelessly pine for each other for another decade, and we’ll have to listen to them be miserable but be too chicken to do shit about it until the next reunion.”

Steve’s stomach flipped as he glanced at Tony, who continued to stare at his screen despite no longer moving his fingers. It was obvious he was tense, proving he’d been paying more attention than he let on. The fingers on the back of the phone were tapping, and Steve knew the sign. It’d always been a tic of his, and Steve realized that even after a decade, he hadn’t forgotten the small nuances of the genius. Just like Tony remembered his favorite flavor of sour patch and knew the exact spot Steve had punched Brock’s head into. If Steve was being completely honest with himself, he was sure he’d never forget the things he’d memorized about Tony in their youth, no matter how long they went without talking. And it didn’t take much introspection to realize why.

“That’s not gonna happen.” Steve’s bold proclamation dragged Tony’s attention up from his phone, the tall blond taking the few steps across the parking lot to stop in front of him. He didn’t look away or flinch at the murmurs behind them, instead keeping his focus on the way Tony worried his bottom lip with his teeth.

“You a fortune teller now?” It was tossed out as a joke, but Steve wasn’t willing to take the easy way out. Instead, he reached forward, grabbing Tony’s free hand in his own and linking their fingers together again.

“I owe you a talk.”

“You think this is the best place for that?”

“No, which is why I’m gonna ask you out on a date now.” The wince that had started in the brown stare in front of Steve quickly turned to surprise by the end of the bold statement. Refusing to back down from the fight, Steve took a slow breath and continued. “ Let me take you out for dinner, and we can talk about what I was gonna say behind the bleachers. Um, if you’re still interested.”

“If I’m still interested,” Tony parroted back, and for a split second, Steve wondered if he’d read the entire night wrong. The genius had admitted how he felt when they were kids, but what about now? Had Steve been too late, and asking for a second chance made the situation awkward? The need to backtrack rushed through him, Steve’s eyes dropped to his feet while he stepped back.

“But you’re busy with running your business and helping Sam’s foundation so I shouldn’t have assumed-”

“No no, you don’t get to pull that selfless pie crap right now.” Tony’s phone was shoved into his pocket before Steve could blink, the newly free hand grabbing Steve’s tie and yanking him forwards.

“Woah, Tony-” But the words he meant to say lodged in his throat when getting a good glance at his counterpart’s face. Anger and desire bloomed in the glare sent his way, the grip around his tie only tightening while Tony spoke.

“If you want something with me, you take it right now or you walk away again and we spend another ten years...whatever the hell Drunk Arrow called it.”

“Pining.”

“Sure, that. Did he tell you I made him his own archery playground? Honestly, I don’t listen to him most days, but I like looking at his arms when he strings a bow. I mean, they’re nothing compared to your gorgeous body- okay, delicious thought, but not where I meant to go with this.” Tony’s eyes flickered across Steve’s face, as if making sure he still had his undivided attention. “Here’s our options, man with a plan. You can try to make up another pathetic excuse for why we can’t have this and take back your offer to wine and dine me. Then I can go to my lab with Platypus on speaker phone, moaning about the Meredith-Derek relationship we got going on. That’s a choice; terrible one in my opinion, but still a technical, sex-less choice.”

“I don’t-” But the genius seemed quite done listening to Steve’s excuses, steamrolling over whatever he planned to say next with a raised voice.

“Or, you could man up and for once in your life be selfish. Cause I’ve got NASA on speed dial, and I’m still willing to make that call for you. You want the moon, you got it. And that’s not going to change, no matter how many ways you slice your stupid pastry. But another ten years is too long to be left in limbo if we’re both feeling the same thing. And I want this. I really want this. ” A hiccup of softness rounded the expression on Tony’s face, and Steve’s heart skipped when the once bold voice lowered in a quieter confession. Then, as if the change never occurred, Tony’s bravado was back in full force. “ So what’s it going to be, Rogers? Am I going to be stuck growing old and watching baseball forever with you or not?”

It was the worst love confession Steve had ever heard, full of rambling and half-baked thoughts that didn’t show a hint of the genius IQ Tony was known for. In fact, part of the time he was blatantly hitting on one of Steve’s close friends. He insulted the best sport known to man, had implied the two-time receiver of a medal of honor was a coward, and somehow brought NASA into it. Why was he so set on giving Steve the moon? All in all, Tony’s speech was a train wreck of a statement, filled with far more glares than Steve had envisioned on nights he wanted to torture himself over thoughts of ‘what if’. The whole thing should have had Steve running for the hills.

But the blond didn’t hesitate to smile at the man watching him, leaning down to steal the kiss that was ten years overdue. The warmth pressed against his mouth felt charged with electricity, and Steve’s hand leaned up to cup Tony’s face while he deepened the connection. The tie was left dangling between them when slender fingers slid into Steve’s hair, angling his mouth lower for the genius to deepen the kiss. In what felt like the far distance, the sound of cheers and hollers pricked the back of the soldier’s ears, but he ignored it to run his tongue against the parting lips under his mouth. Everything felt right, like a piece of a puzzle Steve hadn’t known he was missing found its place in his heart. Tony moved as if he was on the same page, hand clinging tightly to Steve’s while their mouths became fully acquainted. Feeling the lean curves pressed against his body made the taller man shiver before pulling away, panting from the kiss. His forehead easily dropped down onto Tony’s, closing his eyes to enjoy the feeling of holding the other man in his arms.

“About fuckin time, punk!” Bucky’s loud call made Steve glare over to him, though another tug on his tie brought his attention back to Tony.

“Focus, hot stuff.” The hand that slipped into his back pocket made his eyes widen, though Tony’s fingers seemed more interested in snagging the cell phone than mapping the curve of the captain’s ass. A look of irritation crossed his face when staring at the flip phone, and Steve had to hold himself back from leaning down to taste Tony’s pout. “This is just an insult. It’s sacrilegious that I’m even touching this piece of junk.”

“What’s wrong with prepaid?” His tease actually got a shiver from Tony, who finished typing something in before pushing the phone into Steve’s chest.

“Pick me up at Stark Tower tomorrow. Eight sound good? Oh, and I’m giving you a new phone because I refused to be in love with a Motorola caveman.”

“You still love me?” Steve asked, hoping the tremble at the end of his question was covered by his sheepish smile. Tony’s smirk was instant, rising to his toes like a sleek panther. A final, sultry kiss was stolen by the genius, and Steve’s hands twitched with the need to yank the warm body hard against his own. But before he could give in to temptation, Tony pushed away, his eyes smoothing over Steve once more before turning.

“Guess you’ll have to stick around and find out.” The blond knew the sway in Tony’s hips was purposeful, yet the man couldn’t keep his eyes off the motion. Pepper and Happy exchanged their quick goodbyes with the group before they scurried after the man, leaving Bruce behind with his thoroughly amused girlfriend. Steve was instantly weighed down by Bucky and Sam’s arms, which each took a post on a shoulder. The couple took their turns ruffling the blonde’s hair, wearing matching grins.

“I’m proud of you, man.”

“Yeah, looks like little Stevie finally got his fella.”

“You two are too much,” Steve muttered, hating how warm his ears were feeling despite his smile.

“Boys,” Natasha sighed, rolling her eyes while leaning closer to Bruce. The expected reaction had the soldier laughing, but the sudden wail of their final companion turned the group’s attention to Clint.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“What’s wrong with you?” Sam asked, crooking an eyebrow at the distressed friend.

“If I knew it was that easy to hook you two up, I would have won the bet in high school!” The cry of unfairness set the friends into a loud roar of laughter, Clint’s drunken scowl only increasing the craziness of the night. Steve’s smile softened as he glanced across the parking lot, eyes lingering on the baseball field.

And he knew out of all the memories he’d had of this place, this one would always be his favorite.

And that's it! Poor Clint, just wanted to make some money. But at least our boys are happy! Thank you all for taking the time to read my first Stony story, I have a BINGO card I'm working on currently as well as two stories my Discord friends helped convince me to write, so you'll be seeing those pop up here soon. Until then, reblogs and comments are always good ways to let me know if I'm doing something right! thanks again <3