#and the spider was bigger than a quarter and slowly made its way to me before jumping down

[a-crimson-impressionism]

I just saw a spider crawl across my ceiling and jump down towards me. I have spent the last 5 minutes looking for it, and it is nowhere, and I really fucking hope it's just a hallucination

[ladyeckland28]

The Spider's Web

By Ms Darkwood

"Dude, check this out!" Jake called excitedly from his computer. His roommate, Alex, peered over his shoulder at the screen.

"'Rare Amazonian Spider for Sale,'" Alex read aloud. "Jake, you can't be serious."

Jake grinned, already reaching for his credit card. "Come on, it'll be awesome! We've never seen anything like this before."

Despite Alex's protests, Jake placed the order. A week later, a small, nondescript package arrived at their apartment.

With trembling hands, Jake opened the box, revealing a glass terrarium. Inside, barely visible against the dark soil, sat a spider no bigger than a quarter. Its body was an iridescent blue-black, with intricate red patterns swirling across its abdomen.

"Whoa," Alex breathed, leaning in for a closer look. "Okay, I'll admit, that's pretty cool."

Over the next few days, the roommates took turns feeding the spider small insects they caught around the apartment. They marveled at the speed and precision with which the tiny arachnid dispatched its prey.

But as the days passed, something strange began to happen. The spider started to grow at an alarming rate.

"Is it just me, or does Emperor look bigger?" Jake asked one morning, using the nickname they'd given their eight-legged pet.

Alex frowned, studying the terrarium. The spider now looked to be about the size of a golf ball. "Maybe it's just... well-fed?"

But the growth didn't stop. Within a week, Emperor had doubled in size again. The roommates exchanged worried glances.

"Jake, I think we should get rid of it," Alex said nervously. "This isn't normal."

Jake shook his head stubbornly. "No way! This could be a scientific breakthrough or something. We just need to figure out what's causing it."

As Emperor continued to grow, the roommates' fascination turned to unease, and then to fear. They stopped feeding it, hoping to slow its growth, but that only seemed to make the spider more aggressive. It would throw itself against the glass walls of its enclosure, its now baseball-sized body making audible thumps.

One night, Alex woke to a strange scratching sound. Groggy and disoriented, he fumbled for the light switch. As the room illuminated, he let out a strangled cry.

Emperor's terrarium was empty, the lid askew.

"Jake!" Alex shouted, leaping out of bed. "Jake, wake up! It's out!"

Jake stumbled into the room, his eyes wide with panic. "What? How?"

The two searched the apartment frantically, but there was no sign of the spider. As dawn broke, they collapsed onto the couch, exhausted and on edge.

"We have to call someone," Alex insisted. "Animal control, or the police, or-"

His words were cut short by a soft thud from the kitchen. Both roommates froze, hardly daring to breathe. Another thud followed, then another, growing louder and more frequent.

Slowly, they turned towards the kitchen doorway. A massive, hairy leg emerged, followed by another. Emperor, now the size of a large dog, squeezed its bulbous body through the opening, its multiple eyes fixed on the terrified humans.

"Oh God," Jake whimpered. "What have we done?"

The spider moved with lightning speed, leaping towards them. Alex and Jake scattered, running in opposite directions. Alex made it to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. He could hear Jake's screams from the living room, abruptly cut short.

Trembling, Alex backed away from the door, searching desperately for a weapon, an escape route, anything. But there was nowhere to go.

The door burst open, splintering under the force of Emperor's massive body. Alex found himself face to face with the creature, its mandibles clicking ominously.

As Emperor pounced, Alex had one final, horrifying realization – they hadn't been feeding the spider.

It had been growing stronger, preparing for when it could finally feed on them.

Days later, when the landlord came to check on the overdue rent, he found the apartment empty. The only signs of the former tenants were two large, person-shaped bundles hanging from the ceiling, wrapped tightly in thick, silken webs.

And in the corner, barely visible in the shadows, something large skittered out of sight, leaving behind only the echo of clicking mandibles and the faint impression of swirling red patterns.

[veritable-trash]

Golden Boy

Pairing: Ben Miller x F!Reader

Words: 1.9K

Warning: just pain. this one's sad for literally no reason. i'm sorry Benny i don't know why i did this to you :)

A/N: HOly fuck. Pardon my french but jesus christ this was hard. I got this idea and started writing it and then HATED IT and so pretty much started over from scratch and now I like it??? I think??? There will most likely be multiple parts to this because again I do not know how to just write a short little drabble even if there was a gun to my head. GIVE ME EXPOSITION. GIVE ME EMOTIONS. This is definitely a bit angsty and sad and if I do continue this(which I'm gonna try really hard to do pinky swear!!!!) it's gonna hit a turn around. Again this was literally only like the first quarter of the original idea I had so there is still a lot ground left to cover. OKAY enjoy :) this definitely isn't something I'm super confident about because this Benny is a bit different than I expected me to write him but I'm here for a bit of a darker Benny. Still a dick head, but you know anxiety and sadness. ALSO I dedicate this to sweet sweet @wyn-n-tonic because firstly she's like 90% of the reason I'm in love with Benny. But also because I've been seeing all the bullshit hate she's been getting and listen up fuckers. I will find you and I will mess] you up with my tiny little fists. Send any hate you have for her my way because I am an emotionless robot and she only deserves hugs. Ok anywaysssssssss I'll get on with it. Love anyone who reads this even if you hate :)

part two HELL YA i did it :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Benny had always been your best friend. It all started in 3rd grade PE. He kicked a ball straight into your gut, you punched him in the face, and it was a done deal. You were the chaotic duo. The two of you had “accidentally” broken too many windows to count. Had pissed off so many teachers you were banned from ever being in class together. And though you had been the calmer side of the coin, the two of you had always been two peas in a pod. Elementary school was your kingdom, and you two got to rule it however you pleased.

But no utopia could ever stay perfect. Middle school was the new kingdom, but you were no longer its ruler. It was easy for Benny and complicated for you. Benny grew three inches the summer between 5th and 6th grade and was now a tall, golden haired, ocean eyed, tween heartthrob. And as Benny became the apple of literally everyone's eye, you became the entry point for every single preteen girl who wanted to land their first kiss with the Benjamin Miller. Every single invite to hang out was followed with the customary,

“Make sure Benny comes too, ok?”

You always said yes, because you wanted to be popular. Thought that if you could fit in maybe the distance forming between you and Benny would stop growing. That eventually those cool kids would accept you, and you and Benny could go back to being best friends just like you used to be.

Every time he promised it would be just the two of you, you would show up to a crowd. Every hang out full of inside jokes you were no longer a part of. It started to sting, to burn your heart. You slowly stopped accepting his invitations, making up excuses that you were busy, homework. And Benny didn’t even seem to notice. Didn’t seem to care. The cracks started to spider, fracture, grow bigger. He was the golden boy and you, well you turned to the shadows. Started writing, making art, hiding away at lunch so you didn’t have to see his stupid face that made your heart squeeze. You were trying to run away from the pain he left you with. You didn’t know it then, but you were already in love with the idiot. Already mourning the loss of something you didn’t even understand yet.

~~~

By the time high school came around, you and Benny barely spoke anymore. He had started dating Heather Parker and that was when you knew Benny was starting to forget you. Heather had always tortured you, always had a sly way of making it known she thought you were the dirt stuck to her shoe. You had complained about her to Benny a 1000 and one times throughout your friendship, and at first he had always been on your side, had your back.

“Do you want me to tell her that her hair looks stupid?”

“I can ‘accidentally’ spill my orange juice on her shirt if you want.”

“Honestly I think she smells weird so what does it matter what she thinks anyways?”

But now you were high schoolers, and Heather was hot. Heather was popular. Heather was the head cheerleader and Benny was captain of the football team and they were homecoming king and queen and how could they possibly get anymore perfect?

You lived out high school on the periphery, kept to yourself so that you didn’t get your heart stomped on. You were no longer naive and had now fully come to the realization that you were in love with Benny. And you were pretty sure Heather knew too. You had stopped even trying to get close to Benny, the risk of Heather’s wrath far too great. She scared the hell out of you and you weren’t willing to get into a cat fight over a guy who still believed Bigfoot was out there somewhere.

~~~

Graduation came and went without a blip. And then came the even of the summer. Benny and Heather broke up in the middle of the biggest graduation party of the year. It almost felt like a play. Immaculate streaky mascara tears, Grey’s Anatomy level dramatic dialogue, and the perfect backdrop of a cliche high school party. You watched the whole affair, smiling smugly into your drink trying to pretend it didn’t make you so fucking happy. You didn’t even care what the cause of their demise was, couldn’t be bothered to listen. Fuck Heather and fuck Benny and fuck high school for leaving you with the world's worst heartache. You were drunk and for once in your life you didn’t give a single fuck. You traipsed around the party, listening in on everyone's plans of greatness and college debauchery. The chaos that felt so reminiscent of elementary school days, of the world being your kingdom ready for you to rule as you pleased. You didn’t even realize that you had a ghost. That Benny hadn’t been able to tear his eyes from you since you stepped into the house. Waiting for the perfect time to have his moment with you.

He realized about a month ago that he was starting to forget the sound of your laugh. It scared the shit out of him. You had been his north star. Guiding him through the choppy seas for so long, and then somewhere along the way he lost sight of you in the fog. The fog of Heather, of homecoming king, of being the golden boy. He had let Heather whisper in his ear about how you had left him. How he was better off without you. It let Benny pretend that he hadn’t let his best friend slip away. Hadn’t let the fog overtake him and pull him under. It wasn’t until he saw you crossing the stage at graduation and his heart tried to jump out of his chest that the fog burned off. And he finally had to confront that he hated Heather. Come to the realization that she was mean to him, to Will, but even worse to you. He started to remember how she used to make you cry in elementary school. How her and her friends would pick you apart till you had tears streaming down your face and would run straight into his tiny little arms. How he would take your hands and tell you that no one would ever hurt you again as long as he was around. And now too many drinks in and too many thoughts in his head, he saw clearly for the first time since the summer before 6th grade.

~~~

You had snuck out into the backyard, hidden yourself under the shaded gazebo tucked into the corner of the yard. The stench of sticky sweet alcohol was starting to claw at your nose and lungs and you were starting to feel light headed. The music, the people, the party, life were all moving too fast. You needed a moment. A breath.

You heard a twig snap and your chest deflated. God you just wanted to be left the hell alone. Wanted to just have five god damn sec-

“Hi…”

Your head snapped up, breath sucked deep into your lungs, as your eyes settled on Benjamin Miller in the flesh.

“Hi.”

You couldn’t tell if you were holding your breath or starting to hyperventilate. Fucking alcohol. His feet faltered on the steps of the gazebo as if he was afraid to come too close. All his moves so tentative, so unlike Benny. His nails scratched at the remnants of the label on his beer bottle, his foot tapped in a syncopated rhythm against the wood boards sending vibrations up your legs. It all felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Who had body snatched Ben?

“I-uh I know we haven’t really talked in a long time. I know it’s my fault. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to talk to you and my brain just keeps racing with the thought that you hate me because you should hate me you should totally hate me I mean I am extremely hateable-“

“Benny, shut up.”

“I’m not not mad at you, because you did hurt me. Are still hurting me. But I don’t think I could ever truly be mad at you. Even if I tried my fucking hardest.” You huff out a laugh and risk a glance and there he is. Crystal blue eyes shining down at you just like you remember.

“I’m so sorry. God I’m so sorry.” He drops to his knees in front of you grabbing your hands. The bottle long forgotten with you now his only focus. “I mean I dated fucking Heather. How could I have dated fucking Heather? She hurt you and now I’ve hurt you and I love you-“

Benny falters at that and it’s like time has frozen in place. His eyes no longer locked on yours, drifting, fidgeting, glancing at everything that isn’t you. His energy shifts so quickly like quicksand and now you’re left wondering what changed in that moment. Because hearing those threes words hits you like a bus, but Benny was flippant. And you have always been just best friends.

“Ben you don’t have to be so nervous. I know it’s been a long time but I always knew you still loved me. You are my best friend, have always been my best friend, even if you suck at being my best friend.”

His hands were shaking in your grasp, and now you were starting to fidget. Starting to worry, question, wonder. Benny had always been Mr. Confident, Mr. Suave, shit eating grin and all. And now he was on his knees in front of you looking like the boy you remember from the 5th grade. Nervous and shaky and beautiful and your heart is fluttering so hard you’re surprised it has sprouted wings and flown out of your mouth.

“I enlisted.”

Time flickers. His eyes are back on you, and you almost sense a pleading behind them. Like he’s begging you to ask him to stay. Begging you to pull him off the edge.

“Oh Ben! Tha-that’s great. Seems you’ve never been able to stop chasing Will, huh? Uhm when-uh, when are you leaving?”

“Next week.”

“Oh.”

And now time stops. You can still remember his hollow eyes when Will left for the army. How even from a distance, you could see the worry. The fear. The challenge.

You always thought you and Benny would get time. Would have time once Heather, and high school, and stupid bullshit finally ended. And yet here you two were and all of that was over, but there was no time to spare.

“Can we talk? Somewhere else? Anywhere else? I miss you. I have so much to say. You have no idea how much I’ve been thinking about you-“

You shoot up, losing his hands in the process. “I-I have to go Ben. I can’t be here, can’t be with you. I just- I can’t listen to you tell me how much you miss me all while I now know you’re leaving, again! I ca-can’t, I can’t, I can’t…”

You’re running at that point, words smearing behind you as you try desperately to get away. You can hear him yelling your name, crying out for you in a tone that almost rips you to shreds. But you don’t care. You can’t be here anymore. Can’t listen to him say everything you’ve always wanted him to say knowing it means nothing. Because in a week he’ll be gone and your heartache will only grow with the distance. Only multiply with the knowledge that Benny was only good at one thing. Leaving you.

[treechangeseachange]

The return

It’s coming up to 3 months since we returned to our block and it took us 8 weeks to slow down. On the weekend we slowed down we enjoyed the first official Friday night catch up with our neighbours as the full moon rose. On Saturday we went out for brunch. No sport on Sunday morning meant a sleep in. I played handball with my boys for the first time ever in my life. Lamb shanks slow cooked on the wood heater. We squeezed in a late Sunday afternoon fishing trip. It took us 8 weeks to find some calm. We had forgotten how to do normal. I haven’t written for this blog since um wow December?! My leisure time since then has been extremely limited and when it occurred I prioritised my mental wellbeing and sleep.

This journey has brought me to the edge of my psychological and physical limitations. I watched my husband do a terminator style non stop renovation while trying also to commence a rebuild. His promises to take time off over Christmas dwindled to 2 days. There was so much to do. I helped with whatever jobs I was able to and then focussed on the household and occasionally, our boys. Midway through January this year we realised trying to work on both the renovation and the rebuild was insanity. The local real-estate market was booming. Post COVID, Sydney city dwellers realised they could put in a few days in the city then work from their coastal holiday pad the rest of the week. We decided to get our investment property, come bushfire haven, onto the market before the summer ended. We mapped out each remaining job and the days required to accomplish them. We calculated selling time, settlement time and remaining bank balance. What were need to do’s and what were optional extras. If everything went to plan, we could pay to get some work done at the block and make it habitable enough to move into. It was an extreme test of time, energy and resources.

It worked. We listed by the end of February, sold in three weeks and settled five weeks after settlement. I write that all in one glib sentence. Of course all of that only happened with considerable focus and effort. Life for the boys was hectic. 99% of their toys were packed and moved into storage weeks before the house went on the market. As the house neared completion we stressed about them damaging something. When the house was on the market we stressed about them getting things dirty - the walls, the windows or the cupboards. I banished them from the bathroom, they had to brush teeth in the laundry and shower outside. Luckily it was warm and didn’t rain much in those few weeks! Anyone who has sold a house while living in it knows how painful open homes are. The logistics and effort of cleaning and styling, while working full time from home, scheduling everything between work appointments, getting the dog out of the way and the boys to school, nearly broke me. Thankfully the selling process was short, but we packed a lot of opens into that time and by the end of it all, I had become a shouty, grouchy mum and wife. It was also a real highlight to hit menopause and bring some phenomenal hormonal energy into the mix. Phew.

Before we packed up and left I was lucky enough to have a week away with the boys. My fully wired self hit Melbs and my family gave me refuge and forgave my intensity. We managed some fun and the change of scenery was a big relief. Husband, however, stayed behind to work on the temporary shed home. Holiday behind me, I returned to packup and clean and polish the house for the financial return of our lives. Literally.

Can you then imagine our triumphant and spectacular return to our block bathed in happiness and light? Um well perhaps instead picture this - we arrived exhausted to an unpowered, work in progress temporary residence in the middle of a mice plague and endured 200ml of heavy rain in four days leaving us surrounded by mud. Happy to catch the rain in our tank? I wish! The new tank leaked 8000L the week before we moved, and only our neighbour’s spare tank loan meant we had any water at all. But being so small, it overflowed and made even more mud. The heavy rain was so loud on the tin roof it frequently woke the kids in the night (who then woke us), mice ran across the floor, huntsmen spiders dropped from the ceiling. With nowhere really to unpack things, cooking became like the biggest ever memory game, which box were the bowls in? Where did I pack the cutlery? The rain delayed our solar power install so for 10 days we lived out of an esky and by torchlight. We both kept working full time, getting the boys to school, after school sport commitments and then husband kept building after he got home and into the night. After a week of stress and chaos we knew something had to give, fortunately husband could take time off work to focus on our build and family life.

Fast forward to now. The financial pressure of the summer has eased. The temporary living quarters are functional and steadily improving. We have a beautiful wood heater. Our off grid solar system is powering us even during these short winter days. I have more kitchen cupboards than ever before, plus a dishwasher! I have hung up my clothes in a full wardrobe for the first time in nearly four years. The boys each have clean new wardrobes. Their separate rooms are still being built so they are in what will be our room which is insulated and wall paneled. We can cope with an outside shower and toilet. My husband is a legend.

What’s it like actually being back? I confess I was nervous about my own and the boys emotions. Eldest son is extremely happy to be back. Youngest son has taken time to adjust but that has more been due to his fear of the dark. The noises of the bush are unfamiliar and there are no streetlights out here! There has only been one time where a prebushfire memory overwhelmed me. Every person’s bushfire experience and recovery is unique. Unlike many others we are fortunate have the opportunity to not have to build on the exact footprint of the old place and I think this is psychologically helpful. It’s not the same space, and with some trees dead and gone the landscape is altered, its a slightly different perspective. The boys are older now, so our lifestyle is different too. Slowly we are finding a new rhythm on our land. The boys are absolutely loving being back on their bikes on bush tracks.

I was excited to resume my morning walks, although maybe not as excited the dog! He’s happy to have his off-lead roam again. But the first week of walking I found tough, the burnt and recovering state forest I traverse didn’t bring me the joy it used to. In the heavily logged areas where only isolated saplings were left unlogged, they couldn’t survive the heat of the fire or they didn’t have community trees to share nutrients through their roots to support recovery. The undergrowth is now the canopy and is booming with all the extra sunlight but when I look at it, all I see is fire hazard. Then as the weeks went by, my view softened, I recognise the bush is healing like me. I am appreciating small wonders of nature. A spider’s web highlighted with morning dew or the fascination of new plants thriving. There are trees that have fully recovered, others seem to be doing well, and there is much green in the landscape to enjoy.

On my morning walk I also see which animals are about in the night from what they leave behind. There is at least one very busy wombat! We see wallabies reasonably often and last week one morning I found big roo prints in the clay right near our place. We hear a boobook owl calling most nights and more frogs chirping croaking from the gully than I ever remember. Which now makes sense, we definitely were in drought for some years prior to the fires and the creek has this year been running for months. Less exciting is hearing foxes at night, my son especially dislikes their eerie calls. In daytime the bird life is altered. We are down to one lyrebird, there used to be two with adjacent territories battling loudly with their extraordinary mimicry. But at least there is one, how a ground bird survived I can’t imagine. The yellow robins aren’t around us now, we have wrens in the cleared spaces and in the lush shrubs busy brown gerygones dart and chirp. A shrike thrush has made a nest in our bushfire remains pile, her song is piercing and wonderful. Rarely are the yellow crested black cockatoos here now. This past weekend we did see two circling wedge tailed eagles the silent assassins of the sky wheeling high over the gully with that phenomenal wingspan.

Surprisingly my greatest source of happiness in these first few months being back has come from the sky. Unobstructed by buildings, the sky feels bigger in the bush. I’m loving the late winter sunrises. My very favourite time is just after the sun has risen when the horizontal sun rays set tops of the trees bright orange. Those are magical minutes of golden tinged trees. The sunsets. The stars. The moon. the sky has been a revelation and a source of happiness. Maybe because I’m spending more time outside I notice it more. Seeing glittering stars through the steam of a hot outdoor shower makes the cold walk inside completely worth it!

Slowly I am regaining my sense of gratitude for this place. The quiet. The privilege of not seeing another house. Having no curtains and that not mattering. Not worrying about noise and neighbours. Lack of street lights at night.

All of a sudden things aren’t hectic and we are settling in. It still amazes me after 6 moves in 5 years how intense moving is and then how imperceptibly things transition to not being new anymore. Normalcy sneaks up on me every time. Clearly this isn’t really normal but we’re enjoying this new start in our old place.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 65

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I rolled up on Seventh Heaven with a backfire or two from my bike. It was starting to become familiar to me. I walked inside to see Avalanche around and getting ready for the operation.

I handed Bisque his new weapon and harness and he grimaced. He took his current one off and put on the new one. "Any advice on how to use it?"

"No. It's a gun. I don't like guns. What's hard about point and click?"

"More than you think," he returned. Fair enough. A lot went into a sword fight, too.

"So… what's the plan, Cloud?" Wenge asked.

I pulled my explosives from behind me and juggled them a little.

"Should you be handling explosives like that?" Wenge asked again.

"Probably not. But I'm not a little bitch . I'd survive. The plan is to set the deck on fire and teleport onboard with Neo. We let them evacuate, we kill robots, we put a hole in the hull. Pretty simple."

"No killing," Bisque said.

"No killing," I agreed. "We'll make that shit look easy, too."

"Let's just hope Taurus agrees," Jasper muttered. "He was insisting on being involved when he was last here."

"Good. We could use another killer on deck," I said.

"No killing?" Wenge asked. His voice came out a whinge.

"No killing, but," I drew out the noise, "we could always use another professional. Y'all are amateurs. You could die. Taurus will take a bite out of those robots, chew on ‘em, and spit them out."

"Well aren't you Mr. Take Charge," Jasper came up and wrapped a hand around my neck and pulled herself close to me.

"Well I have to be. None of you know what the fuck you’re doing and could die." I disentangled myself from her and stepped to the side. Her aura at that range tasted of blueberries. It was a delicious flavor, though, not one I would have thought myself partial to.

We wouldn't be a good idea, Jaune. Remember that. You're probably not a good idea for anyone.

I let the self depreciating thoughts rule me. It was better that way. I allowed the familiarity of it to relax me. Someone getting close to me like that had made me tense.  

Neo waltzed up from beside me and put both her elbows on the counter and leaned her head down on her hands.

"Are you feeling alright Neo?" I asked.

She gave me a tired thumbs up. She might just be sleepy. She'd be awake when it came time to work.

"So how have you been handling the training?" I asked.

"I'm sore." Wenge stretched. He twisted side to side.  

"You're a monster, Cloud," Jasper informed me. "What's a girl got to do to make you take it easier on her?" Her fox tail swished behind her in red and white. Up and down it went. I tried not to stare at her behind, or close to it. It drew the eye, though.

"Not ask me for help with it for one. You think you're up for this? Not too beat up?"

"I'm all ready," Jasper said. She flexed a bicep at me as though that would prove it. I chuckled a little at her antics.

"Me too," Wenge echoed her. He didn't flex, though.

"How about you Bisque?" I asked.

"I'm green. This ought to help. Thanks Cloud." He checked the chamber of his new pistol expertly. He was getting used to the new mechanisms as we spoke.

He examined the loaded magazines and strapped them to a bandolier on his person.

"I have more ammunition for it. You shouldn't need it for this operation. Leave most of the robot killing to me, Neo, and Taurus."

"Hey Cloud, you're not really, um, going to kill Taurus are you?" Wenge asked.

"I might have to. He's unwilling to play the game."

"And what game is that? The drug game? We don't play that either," Jasper said. "You haven't threatened to kill us yet, though."

"You still play along with it. You play the information brokerage game. You still play like your lives matter and you don't kill just because it might be the easiest option. Taurus doesn't. It's his way or the highway. That makes him unreliable for anything other than his agenda."

"I think I get it," Bisque said. "You can't threaten him. You can't barter with him. He's not like you. You're willing to compromise. He's not."

"Exactly. He doesn't do business. I do. A lot. I trade favors, I sell my skills. He's not about that life."

The bar door jingled and Taurus came striding in. His white mask on, katana by his side.

"Speak of the devil," I said.

He snorted. "What's the plan to take down the ship?" He asked. No beating around the bush. No chit chatting. He was straight to the point.

I held up one of the explosives. "We've got two of these. We're going to plant them on the inner hull." I flicked open the map of the ship on my scroll and showed the group where we'd be setting up the bombs. "I go in first with a fireball to set up the evacuation of the people onboard. Then Neo teleports the rest of you to the deck. One of us stays behind and watches the vehicles. That'll be you Wenge."

"It would be easier and quieter to kill the guards. They'll set off an alarm. We'll only have minutes," Taurus growled.

"Which is why we'll work fast. Neo will teleport us back out. Once we reach the rendezvous point, that is. Here near the command deck."

I pointed out the deck of the ship I was referring to on my map.

"We fight through any machines that stay onboard and get in our way. In and out, five minutes."

Taurus looked at my face and that of Avalanche. "It would be easier to kill the crew."

"No killing. None," Bisque said. "This isn't the White Fang. This is Avalanche. If you can't handle that, you're out."

He had guts talking to Taurus like that. Adam could rip his guts out and show them to him. The only thing stopping him was a tenuous alliance.

"Anyone I knock out will go down with the ship when we sink it. It would be more merciful to kill them," Taurus said. I winced. I'd used similar logic before. It wasn't a far leap for me to see his side. And the operation would be easier if we killed the sentries. But Avalanche had rules and I made the plan live within them.

"We'll give them plenty of time to get off the ship. We've got a teleporter on our side," Bisque shot back.  Adam hunched over his weapon like he might draw it. He coiled like a spring, ready to strike with alarming speed. I made myself stand relaxed. If he attacked I'd just have to deal with it.

Neo had spun around on her stool when Adam had walked in. She gave a slow barely perceptible nod when she was brought up.

"Very well," Adam grunted. He uncoiled slowly. But he was no less dangerous. I was sure he could draw his weapon fast enough.

"Then it's settled. We'll only have minutes between when the fires start and emergency responders show up. We'll need to be fast and split up. Neo and Bisque will make up one team. Jasper, Taurus, and I will be the other."

I gave one of the bombs to Bisque. "The bombs are both hooked up to my scroll. I'll set them off once we're clear. Any questions?" I asked.

No one had any. They just stared at me in silence.

"Then let's get started."

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The smog of the town refracted the sunset. Casting red and orange light all across us as we drove. Me and Neo were on my bike and all the others piled into Avalanche's truck.

When we came up on the docks I jumped off the bike and hung in the air. I crushed a dust crystal and cast a fireball forward. It splashed in and through the top deck of the ship we were targeting. The White Whale was bold across its side. It's name wasn't the important part of the story. The cargo was the real focus.

Almost immediately an alarm started to blare and red lights flashed in a cyclic fashion that glinted mutely compared to the fading dusk sun.

I didn't land back on the bike with Neo. Instead I glid forward on the air currents and landed on the deck of the ship. I hid behind a mooring station as people rushed past my hiding place and off the ship. Some took to the plank that led down to the docks and others made for the lifeboats.

I let them past me without making a sound from where I hunched down. There was a shattering sound as Neo appeared next to me with Bisque, Jasper, and Taurus.

The alarm wailed for a moment and no more people came rushing up. Machines began to come from beneath deck and put out the fire with extinguishers.

Adam snarled and rushed them. He cut through them with ease, sheathing and redrawing his weapon as he moved. I got my first look at his style then as he side-flipped in place and cast his blade through the machines.

I gave them all a nod and we worked our way beneath deck. Our two parties split up.

We came across more of the small humanoid mechs and I crushed them with my bare hands where they got in my way.

I drew my long sword and I stabbed through a robot's head. I swung to the side as much as I could in the tight quarters and cut another in half at the waist.

I kicked another to the ground as I descended the stairs and I crushed it's chest under my boot. These machines really stood no chance against me. Most were still armed with fire extinguishers rather than sleek Atlesian rifles. They reminded me of ants. They were responding to only one emergency at a time.

It was easy to destroy these smaller robots and there wasn't really the room for bigger ones beneath the hull.

I came across our planting location and began to plant my bomb. I set it against the outside hull and pressed a few buttons on it. A green light flashed and it was good to go.

We ascended back through the ship once more. We got to the command deck and here there was room for larger mechs and for fighting.

I slashed my way through a robot and felt my semblance activate. I pulled my shield from my back. The titanic broad mobile cover allowed me to protect myself from a firing squad of robots and make my way up on them.

I cut through wave after wave of the Atlesian droids. A massive spider bot dropped from the ceiling. I flew at it and Cross-Slashed it before it could do us any real harm. It fell into smouldering pieces with the wires exposed and flickering.

An explosion rocked the ship and I stopped moving. Something was wrong. The ship began to tilt. Something was beyond wrong.

We fought for a moment longer and Bisque came up on us. He was carrying Neo who was singed and soaked both.

"Your bomb went off on her," he said. "I don't think she's going to be able to teleport us out."

I rushed over and put a hand on her face. "Neo…" I murmured.

She opened one eye and looked up at me. She rubbed her face into my hand and sighed a little. She'd be okay. She'd have to be.

A thousand apologies were on the tip of my tongue. I fucked up. I thought my bomb was set up fine but instead it just went off. There was some irony in this. In her getting hurt instead of me when I was the one who deserved it by screwing up.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her.

She smiled and nodded.

I deserved to be the one hurt. I'd been so flippant with those bombs. Instead it was Neo who took the explosion. It should have been me.

She leaned into my palm firmly. I drew back. I felt shaky.

"Keep carrying her. We'll make for the docks. Past the fires-"

"You turned on us, I knew you couldn't be trusted," Taurus prowled up on me nice and slow. More like a cougar than a bull. He had his hand on the hilt of his weapon but it still wasn't drawn.

"Me?" I asked. "How would I benefit from our plan getting fucked. The part where I almost lost Neo? Damn it!"

The ship tilted a little more. Taurus's footing remained sure.

He growled and paced into my range. I stepped back and fronted on him. I drew my broadsword against him.

He slashed at me, drawing his weapon from the scabbard lightning fast. I blocked and activated my semblance. I swept upon him with a glowing blue light.

"Wait, you two! We're still on the freighter. The whole thing is sinking, can you really afford to be fighting?!" Jasper called out.

"Let's find out," I whispered.

"I've had enough out of you, human," he said.

Our blades met between us in rapid horizontal strikes. He quickly sheathed his sword and drew it out again in a dancing fast motion which swept all across my body as he side-flipped in place.

I blocked it all. Then I hit him with my baseball style swing, shoulder to waist with my hips turned into the motion and a shout on my lips.

The blow sent him flying back when he blocked it. And he'd been upside down in mid flip as I swung it at him.

He landed neatly despite the brutality of my attack. He pulled his sheath from his side and fired at me. Shotgun pellets buzzed past my head and I floated into a roll. My hand outstretched to get a grip on his collar.

He backed up and swatted at my hand with his blade and twisted. He fired off two more shots from his shotgun. One hit me in the shoulder and made me falter and the next hit me in the stomach and made me gasp.

He sheathed his weapon and blurred at me in a wide strike in the tight confines of the ship we hardly had room to fight like I wanted and our blades scored trenches in the metal around us.

I front-flipped in a tight fashion and brought my blade down on him in a wave of blue. He stepped to the side but I side kicked him, then I roundhouse kicked him, then I brought my blade around at his head in a tight arc which clipped his stomach and made him grunt.

He slid back and I approached him with a back flip. It was an empty hop, all aggression with zero commitment. He held out his blade partially sheathed to block but I just landed in front of him and waited for his block to drop.

Then I Cross Slashed him. He wasn’t ready for it. They never were ready for it the first time. He blocked the first two lightning fast slashes. But the next three lit him up. It flung him down the corridor of the ship and deeper inside.

He approached me again, faster this time because I didn't have Limit Breaker. He unsheathed his blade as quick as a bullet and slashed at me. Then he slapped me in the face with his hard sheath.

I growled and pressed on.

"Go. Take Neo and get yourselves out of here," I ordered. She was at the forefront of my mind. My slip up could have killed her. Even as I fought my mind raced to find the point where I might have fucked that bomb's construction up.

It must have been somewhere and it must have been costly.

It was distracting me in this life or death battle.

"But-" Bisque started. He and Jasper hovered to the side of Adam's and my battle.

"Don't worry about me, just go! Get Neo somewhere safe. Tell her I'm sorry."

I held my ground and Taurus's and my swords met a half dozen times in a matter of a second. Then we seemed to pause with his blade sheathed once more, me with my weapon back over behind my head, ready for a massive overhead.

Then we flickered out again and that impossible moment broke. He came at me from the side. I blocked and sent my blade in a wide sweeping diagonal cut.

He deflected it and came back at me in an overhead slash that tore into the ship above his head. I countered and riposted but I was finding the amount of room I had to move within the bulkheads lacking. I slashed at him diagonally and he twisted to the side and put a firm boot against my chest. He pushed against me.

I stumbled back a step. The ship tilted more to one side as we fought. I came at him again with my enormous weapon making his look like a toothpick. I cut at him twice horizontally, once from each direction. He blocked both by holding his weapon vertically and shielding himself behind it.

He sheathed his weapon and drew it once more in a flash and came at me with a narrow front-flip. He cut me shoulder to hip and I was forced back a little more.

I gave a narrow rolling side-flip. I slashed at him again and cut his chest once more. I tore at his red aura. Ripping away at it, I landed neatly on my feet inside of his range.

He cut me a half dozen times. I had over extended and his cuts came like flashes. They swept over me from seemingly every direction.

I got out of it by kicking him hard in the side of the knee. He came twisting down and I kneed him in the face hard. Unable to bring my weapon to bear against him I grabbed him by the collar and threw him up into the bulkhead and slammed him down into my knee.

I charged in place for a moment. Storing a little bit of time away where I saw the opportunity, I hesitated mid-fight.

I dragged my weapon around and he slashed forward knocking it aside and cutting me across the chest again.

In that moment I became Limit Broken. We'd traded enough hits that I crossed the damage threshold alarmingly quickly. I came at him in my Limitless state. He swept under a bulkhead, around and stabbed at me. I easily blocked to one side. He furiously cut at me and I blocked each and every single one of his strikes in turn.

He did a tight back-flip and slashed at me. He caught me across the chest and ripped a chunk of my aura out. He shuffled back a step.

Then I Limit Break blade beamed him. He quickly sheathed his weapon and left it partially uncovered. He absorbed it into his weapon. The energy went from deep blue to crimson. It crackled for a moment.

There was a moment where he grinned at me beneath his mask. In that second I knew I'd fucked up again. Maybe just as bad as when I got Neo hurt.

He lit my world up.

Taurus slashed at me and released a beam of red energy that washed through the bulkheads and my aura. The world was painted red and black for a terrifying moment as he slashed forward.

It opened my chest and pierced right through my aura. It left my golden aura bubbling off to the side of the cut. The attack flung me back and my head slammed hard into a wall.

The ship was sinking quickly now and I was bleeding all over the floor. I drew my scroll and with a press I set off the second charge as Taurus paced towards me like a tiger.

The explosion shook the ship once more. Taurus stumbled. It was enough.

And like that I ran. I flew away and up stairs. I made it to the top deck with Taurus hot on my heels. I hovered to the slipping bow and I jumped. I floated away, my half cape fluttering behind me.

I flew all the way to one of the buildings near the docks and collapsed on a roof.

I watched Avalanche's truck make it's get-away. They left my bike behind. That was fair enough, I suppose. I felt a touch delirious. Blood loss can do that to you. I examined my chest wound. I'd probably need stitches. It would have been worse if not for my armor.

I was slipping into unconsciousness. I tried to hold on desperately but I was hurt pretty badly. I leaned against a wall and I collapsed.

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-WG

[fire-the-headcanons]

“HEY! I THOUGHT YOU COULD CLIMB!” Summer shouted, kicking at the branch under her feet and shaking it like a fly trapped in a spiderweb. Wait, no, bad analogy. I want to be the spider. Or a fly with a gun that kills spiders. “COME GET ME, MORONS!”

Follow the Beacon Summer—Half Cocked

[Link to Masterpost]

Landing was slightly trickier without the arrow. Summer slotted in the magazine of gravity Dust rounds and flicked out the footholds on Gungnir’s muzzle, planting her feet against them and pointing the rifle down at the forest floor below. The secondary handle slid from the other end at the press of a button, replacing the lost length.

The Dust detonated at the slightest brush of the trigger, slowing her descent but threatening to send her spiraling out of control. Summer took a moment to stabilize and fired again. And again. Six rounds later, she rolled to a stop on the forest floor, collapsing Gungnir back into a rifle and bringing it up to a ready position.

Without the arrow her options for close-quarters combat were limited. She needed to find Tai, and fast, but if she called the arrow too soon—before he landed and caught his breath—he could drop it and she’d lose him. She forced herself to count slowly to two hundred, eyes glued to the ground, listening for the sound of approaching Grimm or students.

Hope that’s long enough. She glared at the rifle in her hands—the recall circuit wasn’t designed for small pulses, an oversight she was regretting now. Unless Summer wanted the gravity Dust to drag her a half mile, she’d have to manipulate it with her own aura. 

A tiny spark of bright white jumped from her fingers and sank into the receiver. Gungnir leapt in her hands like a dog on a leash, pulling to the left. At the other end, the arrow would have done the same. All they had to do was follow the pull and they’d find each other. Summer set off at a brisk walk that she could maintain for a few hours if need be, pulsing the Dust every minute or so, and each time the gun pulled back toward the cliffs. He must not have flown as far. He’s a lot bigger than me. It sucked to be going the wrong direction, but finding Tai quickly was the most important thing—

“Or the second-most important thing,” she amended, raising the rifle at the four Ursa waiting in the clearing she’d just stumbled into. BANG. 

The first one cut off mid-roar, hitting the ground with a heavy thud as smoke streamed from the hole where an eye had been, but the others were charging now. Summer aimed and fired again, cracking the faceplate of another but failing to budge it from its course. Shot number three missed altogether.

“I don’t have time for this!” she shouted, slotting the gravity cartridge back in and planting the barrel into the ground. Another shot flung her into the air, over the heads of the confused Grimm, and the next finished the one with the cracked faceplate while propelling her safely into the top of a tree. A few branches whipped at her aura, but it was easy to get securely perched out of reach.

The last two circled the base of the trunk, rearing and clawing at the bark. It was too hard to line up a clear shot at their eyes through the foliage, and Ursa had notoriously thick skulls—she could waste all her ammunition and only piss them off.

“HEY! I THOUGHT YOU COULD CLIMB!” Summer shouted, kicking at the branch under her feet and making the whole thing shake like a fly in a spiderweb. Wait, no, bad analogy. I want to be the spider. Or a fly with a gun that kills spiders. “COME GET ME, MORONS!” 

One reared again, slamming its weight against the tree and sending her swaying alarmingly. She glared at the next tree over. There were maybe six rounds left of the gravity Dust, she couldn’t jump between trees forever.

“Ugh, what else do I have,” she muttered, checking her belt. Electric Dust could work, stun them long enough to put a shot into their faces, and she had plenty of that. Ugh. What she really needed was her arrow.

The new magazine clicked home, and Summer took aim at the larger of the two bears. This didn’t need to be so precise, just needed to penetrate the Grimm’s thick hide—

“GYYYAHHH!”

The Grimm made a comical “Hungh?” sound, halting their assault on the tree and turning toward the source of the yell—the one Summer had been about to shoot reeled back at the sound of a gunshot, pawing at its face. Before it could recover, the student responsible pelted into view, slicing into the back of its neck as he vaulted easily over it. Summer turned on the smaller one, sinking the electric round into its pelt and sending it crashing, twitching, to the ground. 

The boy walked casually around the tree, cape swishing behind him—the Grimm twin from the shuttle again. He pointed the length of his sword at the thing’s face and sprayed it with buckshot. Probably hit both eyes, but there was way too much smoke around Summer now for her to tell. Coughing, she quickly dropped branch to branch back to the forest floor and clean air.

“You okay?” the boy asked as she tried to catch her breath.

“Yeah. Lungful of Grimm smoke, y’know how it is,” she said, switching back to her regular ammunition. “Thanks for the help. I’m not carrying enough Dust for this nonsense.”

“Nice to see you again,” he said, somewhat nervously, offering his hand. “I’m Crow.”

“Wait, really?” she stared at him. Who in their right mind would name their kid Crow?—and then froze, realizing her mistake and dropping her eyes from his. “Oh, oh no—I’m supposed to find my friend—”

“Oh, I’m already partnered up!” he said, jerking his head over his shoulder at his sister, standing at the edge of the clearing with her arms folded and a sour expression. “Thanks for the help, Raven.”

The girl’s scowl didn’t budge. “You had it handled.”

Oh. Raven and Crow. That made some kind of sense.

“Well, thanks again.” Summer’s smile wobbled as she sparked Gungnir’s core again. Why hadn’t Tai found her yet? They couldn’t have landed that far apart. Gods, if this didn’t work she’d risked her life for no reason—

“Temple’s the other way,” Raven said.

“My friend’s this way. And he has my spearhead, so, really need to get that.”

“You’re running around here with half your weapon missing?”

“It’s the best way to find him,” Summer snapped. This was a waste of time.

“Well, we’ll help you,” Crow offered.

Both of them turned to stare at him, disbelieving.

“Crow, we have an objective.”

“It’s the blond guy, right? He launched right before I did, he can’t be far.”

Summer didn’t particularly like the idea of spending more time with Raven, but this was Grimm territory and she didn’t have the luxury of being picky with her allies. Squaring her shoulders and swallowing her discomfort, she nodded. “Well, I’d appreciate it. I’m not as good at close quarters with only half my spear.”

Next Chapter: Raven—No Need to Get Personal

[tcohs-messenger]

monster au Nadia and fem mating ritual during or before sex? sorry if that's really wired

Sorry this took so long dearest!!! And no it’s not weird at all~! This turned out a bit longer and was very descriptive of the actual courting, so I hope that’s okay ;-;

With a Fem!Apprentice

She knew she was ready- she knew it months ago- but she just waited long enough to know that Nadia might feel the same. They’ve kissed before, just soft press of puckered lips against her mandibles, and every time they do it- Nadia shivers and wrings her hands with blushing cheeks. It wasn’t nervousness- but that anxiety that always presses in on a first time. 

So she scoured the library she had built, books upon books in monster and human language alike. The kind and bubbly sphinx had lingered, passing over the books with equal interest even though she could not read half of them. She asked her about ‘social interactions’ and she very quickly brought her to one section. Her paws nudged at a few books until one of her claws caught on the binding of one and she held it out to her. “Thank you-”

She kept the book in her room, reading as much as she could every night. She had learned what she wanted to but kept on reading, and learned more and more about Nadia’s kind and others. The social hierarchy and interactions of monsters had been so vast that she didn’t even comprehend until now. After a few more days of heavy reading- she decided it was time.

There wasn’t necessarily a specific way or order to go about it, so she started off with wearing each and every dress that Nadia had made for her. She tried a new one each day and was consistently amazed with its quality, the silk softer than anything a human could make. Was it spun from actual webbing? She wasn’t sure- but the colors popped and made her stand out. There was that- but also the loads upon loads of jewels and artifacts that Nadia had given her that were unique and beautiful each in its specific way. Did these come from a different land, embroidered in intricate spirals that humans just…never completely comprehended?

She wore as much jewelry as her body could reasonably carry and was out to find her dearest spider. It was still early in the morning, so her best bet would be the quarters. And behold, Nadia was there wrapped up in silken sheets and still in blissful rest. Her bed was like any other, with pillows and blankets to shade her, but suspended slightly by webs of her own creation. She had always found it amazing- how much effort and coordination was put into the webs.

She climbed tenderly, dipping the bed slightly with her weight- but the strength of the webs was not touched by the increased weight. The mage stopped for a moment, trying to gain her footing, and then continued climbing. She paused at the lip of the webbing where it sunk down to the beds and her spider. Apparently, the movement had woken her (she wasn’t surprised), and Nadia was peering up at her with her bigger, dominant eyes.

A soft, breathy trill comes from her as her legs stretch out. Just as she’s about to move, perhaps to get out of bed, the mage stops her with a soft hand. She climbs down then, settling down into the bundles of blankets and into Nadia’s awaiting embrace. As Nadia’s arms slowly, unsurely settle around her, she realizes that this is the first time they’ve properly hugged- snuggle even. Their first time- gods, she didn’t even know if she was doing this right.

“I don’t know if I’m doing this correctly,” she explains softly, knowing that Nadia would appreciate the honesty. Nadia tilts her head back, giving a brief chirp in question. The mage gives a shy smile back. “I’m a little embarrassed, but I was reading a book about arachnid cultures- especially ahhh… their romantic customs.” Nadia’s extra eyes open, as though peaked with curiosity, and it makes her blush. “Perhaps it would just be best if I said it- I love you, Nadia. So much-” Upon finishing her admittance, the mage holds Nadia’s cheeks and pull her closer, giving chaste kisses along her soft mandibles.

When Nadia pulls away, she’s clutched a hand to her chest with fist clenched and thumb and pinkie pointing out. Me too.

(Wanna see something else? Shoot me a message~!)

[andinewton]

Healing the Hurt - Avengers Redemption Series - Part Two - Chapter 46

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Amelia Richards (OFC), pretty much everyone from the MCU appears at some point!

Pairings: Bucky x Amelia (ofc)

Warnings:  Chronic pain, physical disability, implied smut, eventual smut, swearing, fertility issues, pregnancy, angst with a happy ending, Stark has a heart.

Word Count:  151372 (complete with additional epilogues added)

Summary: 
Everything is going well at Avengers Tower, Bucky is integrating into the team slowly but surely; he longs for his confidence back but knows it's going to be a long road, never more than when he meets the new secretary at his doctor's office.

Amelia Richards is a career SHIELD agent, recruited straight out of college into the "company" but now she finds herself passed around from department to department, her latest position as a secretary at Avengers Tower proving monotonous compared to her former life, but when James "Bucky" Barnes walks into her office one Friday evening everything changes…

Join Bucky as he rediscovers parts of himself he had thought long lost with someone who considered herself broken for a long time, helping one another heal in more ways than one…

Master List

Chapter 46

Summary:  Time for the Christmas Avengers party!

This chapter crosses over directly with Second Chances - Loki/Sigyn Epilogue 3! And we all remember what happened in that one, right?

Research into the super soldier healing serum was well underway by the time Christmas rolled around. Amelia felt no worse for all the events, her pain had not returned, and she made the most of every day. Stark was slowly building a department around her, letting her lead him as the work grew, her input in additional staff and their needs being paramount to its success. The intel she could access helped the team no end, and if any data was gathered on missions it was delivered straight to her. Many a late night was spent with Stark and Banner, going over data while quizzing one another on pop culture references. Bucky sometimes joined them, just because after a mission he wanted nothing more than his girl close by, and that didn’t have to mean anything more than being in the same room. They still didn’t share a room, Amelia was working some late hours from her adjoining office when she needed to, but they did share her bed most nights, and the arrangement worked for them.

The night of Stark’s annual holiday party rolled around and Bucky had arranged to collect Amelia from her room at eight. What he didn’t know was that Wanda and Natasha had joined her for a few glasses of wine as they got ready. ‘First holiday you’ve been able to drink at in…how long?’ Wanda checked as she refilled their glasses. ‘Too long.’ Amelia smiled. The two women had made sure that now she could Amelia saw some of what the city had to offer, including a once weekly girl date, either just for coffee or lunch, and one or two shopping trips, including the one that had bought them all their current outfits. Amelia’s dress was black, a solid sleeveless bodice that fell to her knees, overlaid with spotted mesh that covered her shoulders and arms to her elbows and fell to just below the solid hem, contrasting against her hose covered legs. Her shoes were a good three inches and she had increased her practice in them so her balance wasn’t shot. She had caught her hair back from her face, letting it tumble in waves down her back. Nat looked stunning in a dark blue dress that fitted her every curve on the way down, simple yet elegant, her hair styled neatly, and Wanda wore a full length gown in deep purple with black trim, a wide belt at her waist accentuating her figure, her hair caught up behind her head with a little help from Nat. ‘And now you can drink, you have the healing serum rushing through you so you don’t get absolutely hammered.’ Nat toasted her with her glass. ‘That’s probably a good thing. We all remember what happened the last time I was off my head.’ She wrinkled her nose in embarrassment. ‘You told the man of your dreams you’re in love with him. That wasn’t a disaster.’ ‘Okay, it did work out in my favour. I admit that.’ She crossed one leg over the other, something else that was still novel. ‘But who knows what else I might have come out with.’ ‘How about asking Bucky when you’re going to start cohabiting?’ ‘Not again, Nat.’ She said warningly. ‘You know this works and we’re quite happy as we are.’ ‘If you ask him he’ll jump at it, I promise you.’ She got up from the couch and walked across to the built in wardrobe, pulling the sliding door open. ‘He has more clothes here than in his own room.’ She pulled on one of his shirt sleeves and waved it at her to make the point. ‘It’s just a few things.’ Amelia argued. ‘Isn’t this his too?’ Nat said as she closed the door, heading for the cologne and deodorant on the dresser. ‘Yes.’ She sighed. ‘And his Stark Pad?’ Wanda pointed out. ‘Okay, fine, he has a lot of stuff at mine.’ She admitted. ‘And what do you have at his?’ ‘A few things.’ ‘He’s gradually moving in here.’ Nat said as she came and took her seat again. ‘He just doesn’t know it.’ ‘Ask him.’ Wanda leant forward in her chair. ‘Or at least bring it up. Because it took him weeks just to ask you for a date.’ ‘Sometimes men need a little nudge.’ They both looked at her expectantly and she sighed. ‘No.’ She said firmly. ‘Milly…’ ‘Sorry, which of you is in a relationship right now?’ She looked between them. ‘Because I’m trying very hard to do this at Bucky’s pace. I can’t rush him, and I don’t want to be rushed either. We need to do this when we’re both ready.’ Wanda and Nat shared a look, but it was The Black Widow who answered. ‘Milly, sweetie, you are both ready. Just because you don’t have the whole reincarnation love lost and found thing going on that Loki and Sigyn have doesn’t mean it’s not meant to be. Take a risk.’ She sighed heavily. She knew they wouldn’t let this drop until they had an answer, one way or another. ‘I’ll see. I’ll drop some hints.’ ‘Not too subtle.’ Wanda insisted. ‘Fine. I’m going to need something stronger than wine.’ She shook her head and finished the glass in one, wishing it gave her the fuzzy confidence it once would have. ‘What’s his problem now?’ Sam asked as he watched Bucky pacing the kitchen as Steve fixed his tie. ‘Nerves.’ ‘What the hell has he to be nervous about? She loves him, he loves her, they’re almost always together.’ ‘But she likes her space.’ Bucky argues as he passed again. He was wearing a new suit he had bought especially, black with a grey shirt and grey and black diagonal striped tie. He hadn’t felt comfortable with the idea of a tux and Steve had assured him he looked fine, he would fit in. ‘How much can she like her space when you’re never apart other than work?’ Sam asked in disbelief. ‘Isn’t your stuff at her place?’ Steve reminded him. ‘I mean I know you’ve not got a lot of stuff but all you have got is at hers.’ ‘Not, not all of it.’ He said defensively. ‘What, couple of dirty socks you lost under your bed? A quarter down the back of the couch?’ Sam teased. ‘This isn’t hard, man, just ask her.’ ‘It is hard.’ He glared at him. ‘What if she says no?’ ‘Fuck, it’s like the date all over again.’ Sam rolled his eyes. ‘Grow a pair and ask her.’ He said slowly and pointedly. ‘You guys aren’t any help.’ He said as he checked his watch, knowing they were trying but not offering him anything new to work with. ‘I gotta go.’ ‘Ask her!’ They both yelled after him and he flipped them off as he left the room, buttoning his jacket as he went. They were one of the first guests to arrive at the party and Bucky got them drinks before finding them a quiet corner. He still wasn’t a lover of crowds and Amelia still didn’t know a lot of the people Tony had invited, although her circle was getting bigger. She had met most of The Avengers now, save for Spider-Man, who Tony insisted was only a honorary member, and Scott Lang, who had flown in especially for the party. She was looking forward to meeting him, the details of how he had hacked Vistacorp and redistributed the stolen funds to its customers were legendary in hacking circles. Steve and Sam joined them and minutes later Wanda and Nat entered, both gesticulating that Amelia wasn’t doing what she had said she would. All she could do was make shooing motions at them and try and ignore them. It really wasn’t long before the place was buzzing, so many people drinking and laughing, enjoying the canapés laid on and the company they were in. ‘Well, as pleasant as this is,’ Bucky took Amelia’s mostly empty glass from her and put it on a side table with his own, ‘my girl hasn’t had her dance today.’ ‘I wondered when that would happen. This is late for you.’ She remarked as he took her hand. ‘You two dance every day?’ Sam narrowed his eyes at them, realising he would often walk in on them in the common area, just holding one another and swaying to some music. ‘I made a promise.’ Bucky gave him a small sideways smile. ‘And other than missions he’s not broken it yet.’ Amelia replied as she started away from them, leading Bucky behind her. ‘And he makes up any that he missed.’ ‘Save me a dance, Amelia.’ Steve called after them. ‘Get your own, punk.’ Bucky flashed him a grin. ‘Ask her.’ Sam coughed and Bucky’s smile slipped into a glare as he followed her to the clear area where a few other couples were dancing. They danced together for a few minutes, now knowing the smallest movements of one another’s bodies and having danced every day a simple shift in Bucky’s hold on her signalled her he planned to spin or dip her. He didn’t care who was watching, he loved being able to twirl her as he wished and to hold her close, the serum enabling him to dance with her the way he had always imagined. He very deliberately steered her towards the nearest ball of mistletoe and when he dipped her he made sure she could see it before he grinned down at her. ‘You’re trouble.’ She beamed at him. ‘You wouldn’t change me, doll.’ He bowed his head and kissed her softly parting after just moments. ‘And you're the one causing trouble in those killer heels.’ ‘They’re causing me trouble.’ She admitted as he raised her again and held her close. ‘Pinching?’ She shook her head. ‘Just a little higher than I’m used to.’ ‘Well, they look beautiful, sweetheart, just like you always do.’ She felt her cheeks warm at his words, he was always complimenting her and the looks he gave were just for her. ‘You’re such a flatterer.’ ‘Only with you, darlin’, and you know I mean every word.’ He danced her around a few times before he found the courage to start the conversation he was dreading. ‘So, Amelia, I’ve been thinking,’ ‘What did I tell you about that?’ She grinned at him. ‘It did give me an idea.’ He admitted, her teasing making him relax. Being with her, even just doing every day mundane things, made him happy. He didn’t want to be without her. ‘Like I said, I was thinking and maybe, after the holidays, we could…’ The emergency alarm went off, the music cutting out abruptly as FRIDAY’S voice came through the system. ‘Avengers code red. Please report to the briefing room. Repeat, code red.’ ‘We’ll finish this later.’ Amelia smiled apologetically as she let him go and pulled off her shoes. ‘Go to work, hero.’ ‘Kiss for luck?’ He bowed his head and stole one anyway, as he always did when there was an emergency. ‘Go save the world.’ She smiled before turning and sprinting across the room. ‘I’m going up to the lab!’ She said to Tony as she passed him heading towards the elevator where the rest of The Avengers were gathering. ‘We’ll speak to you on comms, Willow.’ He touched her arm as she went by. Her ability to log in remotely and download every piece of information, decode any and every item while they were still on site and disable most security protocols were proving invaluable. By the time she had reached her room, changed and grabbed her laptop the team had gone, the party had resumed, just without The Avengers. She hit the lab at a run and plugged her laptop into the central desk, bringing up four floating screens and attaching an earpiece. ‘Richards, checking in.’ She said and the comms team acknowledged her arrival. Making sure everything was running smoothly and ready to go she made a pot of coffee, knowing it could be some time before she was needed. While she waited for her services to be required she set a couple of other monitors running some data that was queued for Monday then settled herself at her desk. For her this was the second worst part of the job. It could be hours before they reached their destination, although less before she received intel to work on from the right department, so she tried to keep busy, but the worst part, the absolute most terrifying part, was having to listen on the comms as Bucky and their friends went into battle. She was trained with several weapons but had never had to fire a gun in combat, had never had to fight her way into an enemy facility, but she sometimes woke with the sound of gunshots still ringing in her ears and that was just what she heard over the comms. Being a secretary hadn’t been half as stressful but she wouldn’t swap what she had for the world. For a short while there was some commotion, Loki and Sigyn had had some sort of argument and had disappeared from the jet, promising to meet the team at their destination, and Amelia realised from what was being said that Sigyn was pregnant and Loki hadn’t wanted her along. She was pleased for them, they were a great couple and Sigyn seemed to have turned Loki all the way around from the megalomaniac under duress who had tried to conquer the earth not that long ago. He was a complete gentleman, definitely with a mischievous streak, but he doted on his wife. Amelia was sure they would make great parents. Finally, after half a pot of coffee, endless yawns, downloading of floor plans and a good deal of data processing for Tony, the team had arrived at their classified location. They had their plan for going in, Sigyn would stay on board with Bruce and monitor comms, the others had their own pairings to infiltrate the base, Nat was paired with Steve, and their objective was to reach a data point Amelia could access from. Once the perimeter was secure Tony would join them to assist in any way he could, either with the transfer or as more muscle, but everyone else was to split up and take as many HYDRA agents in as they could. The place was a factory, with a large industrial floor and offices above, but intel suggested there may be more in an underground basement. That was where Bucky and Vision were being sent. ‘Milly, here comes your connection.’ Nat’s voice came over the comms clearly as she went through the motions. ‘Got it.’ Amelia replied as her laptop sprung open a new window. ‘Give me a minute.’ Her fingers flew over the keys, initiating various protocols and programs, picking their firewalls and safeguards to pieces in minutes. ‘Okay, data dump has begun, but…there’s a hole?’ ‘A hole?’ Steve asked as the sounds of fighting from elsewhere in the building still sounding over the earpiece. ‘Like a gap. I need to check it, nobody touch anything until I say. It could be some sort of trigger.’ ‘Show me.’ Tony’s voice came across the comms next and she pushed back on her wheelie chair to the monitor behind her and sent Stark what she could see. ‘Looks like there’s more there than we thought. All the servers are present, I can get into them, but it’s like one’s a dummy. Are the servers in the room with you, Nat?’ ‘They are. What are you thinking?’ ‘Count them?’ She frowned, closing various gateways and paths so as not to touch the hole. ‘It’s like a tech black hole.’ Tony remarked. ‘Can you get through it, Angel?’ ‘I’m trying not to.’ She replied. ‘I count eleven.’ Nat replied. ‘One’s a dummy.’ Amelia murmured. ‘Something else is going on there, guys, be careful.’ ‘We’re always careful.’ Tony said. ‘Okay, Mr Reckless, if you say so.’ Amelia said before concentrating on what was going on. ‘I’ve got a line off the dummy, seems to run further into the building. Crossing it with the building schematic. Can you see this, Tony?’ She asked as the two matched up before her. ‘I can see it, not sure I believe it. Call it, Amelia, what do you think it is?’ ‘I think it’s a booby trap.’ She breathed as the hole suddenly lit up. ‘Everyone get out, now!’ She yelled, jumping to her feet although it would do no good. ‘Evacuate! Go!’ ‘You heard her! Avengers, abort!’ Steve yelled. Amelia listened as everyone sounded off they were heading for the nearest exit, her pulse pounding loudly, her heart in her throat. ‘I’m trying to lock it down but it has fail safes built in.’ She explained. ‘It’ll take me time to get through.’ Another screen popped open, a timer counting down with the HYDRA logo beside it. ‘There’s a timer come up! Three minutes! Get out of there!’ She typed quicker, trying to break through, but it was as though they wrote this to be a quick yet difficult technique, an attempt to quickly destroy any invaders. She could break this code, she just didn’t think she could do it in three minutes. Two forty-five now. She sent the countdown to Tony who kept the team apprised of how long they had, and the answer was not long enough. There was a lot of audio chaos as she fought to try and stop the countdown, but it was no use. The timer finished it’s too fast scroll to zero and the comms went silent. Nothing happened. No data wiped, no EMP’s, no nothing, just…the explosion rocked everyone on the team, Amelia ripping out the earpiece as it screamed in feedback, and once it subsided she reinserted it, terror running through her. ‘Teams sound off.’ Steve said and she sighed knowing he was okay. ‘Clint and Wanda?’ ‘All good.’ Came Clint’s reply. ‘Scott and Sam?’ ‘Present and correct, Cap.’ Sam said. ‘Bucky and Vision?’ There was silence over the radio and Amelia found herself holding her breath. They were on their way to the basement, they had the furthest to come. ‘Buck, Vision, you there?’ Steve repeated, and after a little crackling there came a reply. ‘I am here, Captain Rogers, however I am afraid Bucky and I have been somewhat separated.’ Vision said. ‘Separated how?’ ‘By several feet of rubble. The ceiling has collapsed.’

Chapter 47