#and then they go back to Cap's quarters to bone obviously

[electronic-elevator]

engie rutting up into his soaked jumpsuit 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 whimpering and gasping for the cap and imagining its their hand, not his 😳😳😳😳 engie not knowing if he’ll cum or piss himself first 🥴🥴🥴🥴 he gets more and more secretive and having accidents on purpose in private, deliberately “””forgetting””” caps reminders so he can savour the caps attention on him and the pulse in his bladder going straight to his cock a little longer..... cap not knowing why he seems to be pulling away from them, worried, but engies just horny and trying to hide it (not well ofc) but when cap confronts him, so concerned and thinking they’ve upset him somehow, engie feels just so bad and has to admit to it..... cause the only thing worse than the cap knowing how gross he is would be the cap thinking he hates them..... and then maybe once they’ve both finally admitted their feelings and attraction, the cap can have mark squirming and grinding on their lap, trying not to leak onto his captain, but sooooo desperate..... 💖🥰💖🥰

🥴 ooo man Engineer purposefully evading Cap's earnest, helpful reminders b/c he's found he likes holding it?? OOOO

this got long af so

Engie feeling guilty about it, but oh god their release is just so much sweeter when they think about the burn of their cheeks when they have to admit to another accident, about the Captain's sympathetic face as they promise him it's okay... the first red flag is that all of a sudden Engie wants to clean themself up, and little does the Captain know they're getting off in their wet jumpsuit first >:3

orrr hurrying away "to use the bathroom," but after locking himself in his quarters or a private stall, unable to resist touching first -- stroking their cock while squirming in front of the toilet they could use at any time, and wetting as soon as they've cum; piss trickling down still-shaking legs as they stifle their moans with their only clean hand. having to report that he didn't make it -- which isn't a lie, but it's also not really the truth

it can't continue forever, though; for one, when Engie's head is actually clear he feels awful about it, but the Captain is so sad that he seems to be pulling away from them again that they're the one to bring it up first, and then Engie is HORRIFIED and just has to admit he's come to like the feeling but that he's so fucking sorry for basically using them like that. promising not to do it again, not to involve the Cap anymore even with his legitimate issues, but Cap interrupting like NO please let me keep doing this for you I WANT to do this for you. probably not outright admitting they'd guiltily pleasured themselves to the same idea in reverse but not denying that their interest in helping him with this may not exactly be platonic either

it's an AWKWARD encounter and Mark still avoids Cap for a few days. forcing themself to actually use the toilet when they need to go, as soon as they need to go, and changing themself with no fooling around if they don't make it. (they can't stop the direction their fantasies turn in the evenings, though...)

but... god, he misses the Captain, so it doesn't take too long before he's accepting invitations to lunch again; seeking them out to watch a movie or just to talk after work hours. and of course, if they're together, the Captain will cover for him so he can get to a toilet on time or go change; will offer to bring him dry clothes if he needs

(ok. an aside. picture Engie w/ his jumpsuit rolled to his waist, tied so the arms just mostly cover the evidence of having leaked for long enough for him to get back to his room. that sleeveless turtleneck meaning people are probably Not going to be looking at the wet patch anyway...)

...but maybe they've stopped reminding him to go, if only because they still feel awkward. And maybe one night Mark's infodumping about something, and the Captain notices he's dancing around in that tell-tale way, but... they don't say anything like they would've done just a couple weeks prior.

Something makes the Engineer catch up with himself, though. maybe he leaks; the sudden wet heat breaking his concentration and bringing him to a stammering halt. "H-hey I, um, need the bathroom; I'll be right back," he admits, blushing, but before he can make a run for it, the Captain can't help but stop him.

"No, don't go yet."

"C-captain?" Engie would stammer -- forced to bend over and hold themself just to keep from leaking again. The Captain hasn't ever delayed him from the bathroom before. But how many times has Mark fantasized about it? They're alone, but in a public area of the ship -- not exactly appropriate to just... wet himself in. Not that a logical thought like "appropriateness" was left in their head. Their cock was stirring, adding to their humiliation.

"Hold it," the Captain instructs, a little uncertainly. "I want you to. And... you like it, don't you?"

Engie nods, ashamed. "But I-I'm-- I'm not going to be able to. Not for long."

"I know," the Captain whispers, and Engie is somehow shocked to hear the lust in their voice. "But I want to see how you try. Tell me how it feels."

The Engineer swears under his breath. "Really bad. Er, I-- I need to go really bad. It feels... good. Fuck, Captain, I can't think straight; I don't know."

The Captain wanted to press him further but he yelps and adds, "Fuck, I leaked again-- Cap--"

The Captain can see the evidence, this time, even past the Engineer's clutched hands, and openly stares at the glistening patch of fabric running down Mark's thigh. "Does it feel better when you hold it to the very end?"

The shame runs hot through Mark's body as he shakes, trying so hard to regain control. "Yeah," Mark whines. He's never done this on purpose with someone else -- let alone the Captain -- right there. So close. And little leaks keep spurting out of him. "FUCK. I can't-- can't control it."

"Just keep trying; you're doing so well."

Mark is shocked by the effect the simple praise has on them -- their cock twitches and they whimper, and at the same time, they feel calmer -- no less frenzied, but safer. "T-thank you, Captain... Could you-- fuck, say that again? Please?"

"Say what?"

"That I'm good," Mark whimpers. All his squirming is getting him awfully close to that point where his need to cum rivals his need to piss.

"You're so good, Mark... holding so much in; I know that's hard for you... and letting me see you like this. So desperate; you're so pretty."

Mark whimpers again. The logical part of him, still banished to the deep recesses of his mind, knows they have GOT to talk about this -- about them -- at some point. But, oh, his Captain thinks he's pretty when he's about to make a mess of himself like this.

Really, he already has; he's soaked down to his knees from all the leaking.

"Captain," Mark pants. He's fighting to keep holding -- he'll do anything if his Captain asks him to -- but there's just no way to keep it up; his weak bladder gives out. "G-gonna-- oh f-fuck, I'm peeing--!"

The Captain's eyes widen; the hiss of Mark's pee and pattering of it soaking through his jumpsuit then onto the floor is surprisingly loud in the quiet room, and Mark's moan makes their own arousal twitch. "Fuck, Mark... holy shit." The Engineer's next sound is more distressed, and the Captain remembers to add a reassurance: "I-- just let it out, love; that's alright; that's perfect..."

And neither of them are too sure who moves first -- bridging the few inches left between them to finally kiss, wholly unconcerned with the state of Mark's clothes

[asprinterandamarathon]

BOTR - Day 29 - July 13, 2024

We woke up early but we were glad to lie in bed for a while. It was cool outside and we had the window open. That and we were able to slip back into our morning routine… Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee.

Breakfast downstairs was simple but filling. We had fruit with yogurt, muffins, hard boiled eggs, coffee/tea, and fresh squeezed orange juice. It gave us the calories we needed for the first hike of the day.

We drove out of town past the ski area to the Snodgrass Mountain Trailhead. Although it was around 10am, we had not prepared to the number of people we would encounter. Main parking lots were full and people were looking for overflow. We lucked out at a roadside pullout about a quarter mile from the trail head.

Looking up from the trailhead.

Once on the trail, the draw for the crowds was obvious. The wildflowers were astounding! Initially, we marched up the trail through meadows covered in green, yellow, red, purple, blue, and white. As we climbed higher, we walked through aspen groves with openings that gave us views of the mountains. As we trudged over 11,000’, fir trees dominated the forest. Interestingly, we never got over the tree line. Further north, in Banff for example, the tree line is closer to 6,000’.

Above the crowds.

Fields of wildflowers!

They go on forever.

Coming down the trail puts different strains on your body. Regardless, it felt good to give back the 1,500’ we had gained over 5.5-ish miles.

Max elevation today!

Diane has been working towards a goal of 65 miles hiked in the two weeks before her birthday. With that in mind, we did a second, shorter hike after lunch.

More gorgeous flowers!

Just on the edge of town we hiked the Woods Walk Trail for about 2 miles. Again, the meadows were rich with wildflowers. We also had a lake view and views of the valley across to Mt Created Butte. Also quite visible were peaks that still had more snow than bare earth. This was the perfect cap on the day in advance of a wonderful pre-birthday dinner for Diane.

They go on forever.

The evening started with a cocktail at Eldo on Elk St. Closest thing to a rooftop bar in CB. We sat on the second story deck overlooking the street. A gent, Bobby from Charleston SC, struck up a conversation with us. He has been coming to CB for twenty years and obviously owned a home close by. In addition to talking about how much he likes CB, he also recommended Eldo’s food. We already have reservations for another restaurant so we had to pass on their Himalayan fare (curries, dumplings, etc.).

CB local humor!

Dinner was at Marchitelli’s based on Paul H’s recommendation. It’s his favorite in town. And we can understand why, the food was quite good but the owner and staff were wonderful. Michael, the owner, gave us an excellent, private, cool (no AC) table after I mentioned Paul’s name. Michael also made a point of sitting with us to get acquainted and check on our satisfaction. Stacy, our server, was attentive and made sure that we had a nice relaxing meal at the slow pace we were looking for.Just an FYI, Diane enjoyed the elk cannelloni and I very much enjoyed the osso buco (with an abundance of bone marrow)!

Osso buco. YUM!

The meal left us satisfied and exhausted. We were back to our room before 10pm and asleep shortly after!

[pitubea1910]

Ready

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Featuring: Avengers

Word count: 5k

Warning: some swearing, alcohol, mention of sex, a bit of teasing.

Tags: -

Request: -

Notes: -

Masterlist

A few months ago, you and nine other recruits received a phone call saying to be at the training facilities first time in the morning. Once you got there, you were told that you would be receiving extra training, long hours and double effort. Whenever you asked why, they just said it was classified.

After two months of training ten hours per day, seven days a week, being put through several trials and tests, you were called to the office of Maria Hill –the head of all the recruitment process-. To your surprise, she wasn’t alone when you got there: Nick Fury was there.

You had never met him in person, although you had heard many stories about him. And his presence was as intimidating as you imagined. Or even more. He had a deep voice that shook to your core, a way of talking that let you know he was someone not to mess with, he owned S.H.I.E.L.D and he knew it.

“Agent (Y/L/N)”, Hill started as soon as you took a seat after recovering from the surprise of finding Nick Fury in the room. “Let me introduce you to Nicholas Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Yeah, I know who… he is”, you said with a small smile. There was no one around the facility who didn’t know who this man was. Maria Hill smiled too.

“Nice to meet you, Agent (Y/L/N)”, Fury said. “I have been following your training for the last two months quite closely.”

Your felt your mouth go dry. He had been following your training?

“And I have to say it is quite impressive”, he added. He took a tablet from Hill’s desk and swiped the screen a couple of times. “When it comes to strategy there’s no one who can beat you, you’re strong, fast, your combat skills could be a match for Black Widow’s… definitely impressive.”

“Thank you, sir”, was all you could say. You knew you were good, but you never thought you would be good enough to hear it from Nick Fury himself. He was a legend.

“As you know, these last two months we have been testing you on a daily basis”, Hill said and you nodded. Of course you knew. You could feel it in every bone and muscle in your body. “What you don’t know is why.”

“And I guess you’re going to tell me?” You asked, looking at the two of them.

Fury put the tablet back on the desk without taking his eye off you. You would be lying if you said he didn’t make you nervous, but you had the feeling that looking away wouldn’t help you there, so you were determined to hold his eye. After a few minutes, you thought you could see a hint of smile on Fury’s lips, but you probably just imagined it.

“The Avengers have requested a new member for their team”, he simply said.

If you had been drinking something, you would have choked on it or spitted out for sure. Out of all the things you thought this meeting was about, the last thing you expected was something like this.

“The Avengers?” You asked. “As in… Captain America, Black Widow and Iron Man?”

“Are there any other Avengers that we don’t know of?” Fury asked with a teasing tone.

“Fair enough”, you mumbled.

“We chose 10 candidates and we have been putting you through tests and trials without telling you why”, Hill said now taking the tablet and showing you some graphics. “All of you started off with enthusiasm, showing the best results you had got since you got recruited. However, as the weeks passed, most of your colleagues’ performance started to deteriorate.”

“We had meetings with them”, Fury said. “We asked if there was something wrong, why this change when they had proven to be among the best of their class. They said that they were tired. That they didn’t know what was going on, what was the point of all this suffering.”

“I never got any meeting”, you said.

“Because your performance only got better”, Hill said, showing you a graphic with your name on it. “You have been the only one who, despite not having a purpose, a goal, not knowing what was going on, kept on working as hard as you did on the first day.”

“And that, Agent (Y/L/N)”, Fury said, “is exactly what we need. Someone who won’t fail, who won’t slow down, who will be there every day no matter what, with the same spirit as the first day. However, as much as we thought you are the perfect candidate, we are not the ones who have the final say.”

“Then?” You asked confused.

“We sent all of your files to The Avengers, with all the progress of the last two months. And they have made a decision. They want you, Agent (Y/L/N).”

A week later you packed all of your belongings in a suitcase and left the S.H.I.E.L.D HQ in a black SUV to move into The Avengers Headquarters in Upstate New York. Their welcome had been incredible. Since the very first moment you walked in the residential quarters of the huge compound, you were warmly welcomed by the team.

It took you a time to get used to your new life. You still had to train every day and soon you found out that it was a harder training than the one you did as a simple recruit. Obviously, they didn’t hold their punches. At first, you ended up at the infirmary most of the days, but eventually you started getting stronger and getting used to this new way of fighting. There was less theory and more instinct. And, soon enough, you started going on missions.

At first, they would be recon missions, nothing major. However, in a few months you proved yourself to be able to do more. You would never forget your first mission with Steve, Tony, Bucky and Natasha. It was the most exciting, exhausting and hard day of your life and, despite coming back injured, everyone kept on telling you how amazed they were by you, your work and your skills.

They took care of you, visited you every day until you got better, helped with your recovery and to get back on your feet in no time. You had found a family in them and it looked like they saw you as one of them now.

“You know what day is it tomorrow?” You asked when you walked into the kitchen.

You had just finished your training and had walked into the kitchen to have a smoothie. As usual, since you had the same training hours scheduled, Bucky was there as well.

Since the beginning, you had started training with Bucky as your mentor. You didn’t really fight against him, since he could knock you out without even trying, but he was there to observe and correct, give you advice, put more weight on your weights and push your limits.

When you first started training with him, he wouldn’t talk much. But, eventually, he started opening up and you gladly discovered that underneath all that sulking attitude was a really funny, easy going, teasing and loving kind of guy.

You spent so much time together that soon you found yourself looking around for him every time you walked into a room, sitting in front of him in every meal, next to him every time you would watch a movie, spending hours in his room just talking or playing videogames. You just couldn’t picture your life without him in it anymore.

“Saturday?” He said, throwing a bottle of water at you, which you caught without problem.

“Something else?” You asked, unscrewing the cap. Bucky thought for a moment and shook his head. “Really? I should be offended. A year ago, your life changed.”

“Did it?” He asked, a smirk forming on his lips. You narrowed your eyes and threw the cap of the bottle at him. He laughed and dodged it. “I know, I know. It will be a year since the most annoying person in the world walked through those doors with that lost puppy look on her face.”

“I wasn’t lost!” You exclaimed.

“So you’re annoying?” He teased.

“Not as much as you are”, you said and stuck your tongue out. “Maybe we should celebrate.”

“Why?”

“When was the last time someone put up with you for so long?” This time, he was the one narrowing his eyes at you, which made you laugh. “But seriously, it doesn’t have to be a party. But we could have a drink all together or something.”

“Ask Tony”, Bucky said. “He will organise anything in the next 45 minutes.”

“Good point”, you said nodding your head. “I’ll talk to him.”

You were about to walk out of the kitchen, fully intending to talk to Tony as soon as possible, when Bucky called your name. You turned around to find him walking over you.

“Yes?” You asked.

Once he was standing in front of you, he sighed and moved some hair that had flown out of your ponytail and put it behind your ear. He caressed your cheek and looked into your eyes, making your heart beat louder and faster. You took a deep breath, trying not to look down at his lips.

“A year ago, I met the most important person in my life”, he said. “She’s strong, funny, annoying as hell and incredibly oblivious. But I wouldn’t change her for anything.”

He leaned in and kissed your cheek softly before winking an eye at you and walking out of the kitchen, leaving you flustered, confused and on the edge of fainting.

***

Just like Bucky had said, as soon as you said to Tony that you would like to have a little celebration, he took out his phone and started organising a little party. You made it clear that you didn’t want or need anything big, but once Tony started organising a party there was no way of knowing the size of it until you were in it.

“I thought you didn’t want anything big”, Bucky said when you stepped into the main living room of the residential quarters the following evening.

Looking around, you barely knew anyone. You had no idea how Tony had managed to pull this out in such short notice. There was people everywhere, food, alcohol music and banners everywhere saying ‘Happy Avengesary (Y/N)’. It was incredible.

“This is what happens when you leave Tony in charge”, Steve, who walked in after you two, said.

“I’m not complaining”, Natasha said with a huge smile as she looked around. “See you later guys.”

“Where is she going?” You asked, looking at her as she got lost in the crowd.

“She has seen that IT guy she likes”, Steve said with a chuckle.

“I say we make the best out of this and get a drink”, Sam said.

“And that’s the most intelligent idea I have heard so far”, you said and took Sam’s hand to follow him through the crowd.

The bartenders that Tony had hired knew exactly who you were and the reason you were having this celebration. So the moment they saw you, they made sure you had a drink in your hand without even asking for it. It looked like Tony had told them what you liked.

The next couple of hours went by in a blur. Despite not knowing most of the people in the party, it was obvious that they knew who you were and many kept on stopping you to congratulate you on the work you had been doing the past year or just to take a photo with you. Definitely, that was something you would never get used to: being a public figure.

When you finally managed to sit down on the couch, next to Bucky, you didn’t even know how many hands you had shaken, how many photos you had taken and how many hugs you had given. But your mind was buzzing.

“How you doing, superstar?” Bucky smiled when you let yourself fall on the couch.

“Exhausted”, you admitted.

“It will wear off, don’t worry”, Sam said, patting your shoulder. “Once they get used to you, they won’t pay much attention.”

“Unless you’re Captain America or Thor, of course”, Clint winked.

“Shut up”, Steve rolled his eyes.

“It took us an hour to get some milk from the grocery store”, Clint said. “An hour because people kept on asking Steve for photos and autographs.”

“One would think that after a century, no one would be impressed by Captain America right?” Sam laughed.

“It’s not Captain America”, you said. “It’s… you.”

“What?” Steve asked confused, which made you laugh.

“Are you really that oblivious?” Wanda laughed as well.

“You’re a specimen, man”, Sam winked playfully, making you all laugh.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that”, Steve said as you could all see him blushing.

“Oh, trust me. It is”, you said. “Everyone has a crush on Captain America”, you added.

“Do you?” Bucky asked, his arm casually over the back of the couch and your shoulders.

“Don’t you?” You asked back with a laugh.

“I saw him putting newspaper in his shoes to look taller”, Bucky shrugged. “It’s kind of a turn off.”

“So that means that there is a turn on?” Clint asked wiggling his eyebrows.

“There’s always at least one turn on”, you smirked.

“Oh really?” Bucky smirked. “What turns you on, (Y/L/N)?”

“Right back at you, Barnes”, you said, looking at him with a playful smile.

“Okay, this just gave me an idea!” Sam said.

You forced yourself to look away from Bucky, whose eyes were burning through yours. You had felt that electricity running between you two many times before, but you had never felt the heat you felt at the moment. So you needed to focus on something else beside the warmth of his body next to yours.

“Please, enlighten us”, Natasha said.

“What about an old good game of Truth or Dare?” He suggested. You laughed out loud, just like Wanda and Natasha.

“Are we 16 now?” Steve said, although he didn’t look like he rejected the idea completely.

“Afraid of airing your dirty laundry, Rogers?” Clint asked.

“I have no dirty laundry to air”, the alluded said with an innocent smile.

“Yeah right”, Natasha laughed. “Okay, let’s do this”, she said.

“Seriously?” You asked.

“Why not?” Natasha shrugged. “It’s always fun to get to know each other in different ways”, she winked.

You sighed and shrugged. It looked like you didn’t have a choice. As soon as you all agreed, Sam asked a waiter to bring a couple of bottles of tequila, shot glasses for everyone and an empty bottle. In addition, Bucky he asked for a bottle of the Asgardian liquor Steve and Bucky used to drink in these situations.

“It’s no fun if two of us can’t get drunk”, he explained once they brought the small bottle and everything was settled.

“Fair enough”, you laughed. “Okay, who goes first?” You asked.

“You’re the honouree, so…” Sam said.

“Okay”, you laughed and spun the bottle that stopped pointing at Sam, who smiled widely at you. “Truth or dare?”

“Let’s start with a truth”, Sam said.

“Have you ever practised kissing in a mirror?” You smiled.

“First, that’s a lame question. Second… yes”, he admitted, making you all laugh. “I was 10, okay? And I was nervous about a potential first kiss”, he shrugged.

“That’s cute”, you admitted still laughing.

“Okay, here we go”, Sam spun the bottle and this time it landed on Bucky.

“Truth”, Bucky quickly said.

“Mmm…” Sam smirked after looking at you for a brief second. “Would you make out with someone in this group?”

Bucky looked at Sam like he wanted to kill him and you felt him tense up beside you. You looked up to him although his eyes were fixed on Sam, whose smiled only grew bigger.

“You can always drink. Although that will give us half an answer”, Sam shrugged.

“I would”, Bucky finally said. You raised both eyebrows and looked up again, surprised.

“With who?” You asked.

“That’s not part of the question, doll”, Bucky winked before spinning the bottle, which landed on Natasha. Yet, you didn’t stop thinking about it.

“Dare, of course”, she shrugged.

“I dare you to go to that IT guy and ask him out”, Bucky smiled.

“You know I don’t ask out”, Natasha said.

“Is Black Widow backing off a dare?” Clint smiled.

Natasha narrowed her eyes, her pride obviously taken the best of her. Immediately, she got up and you all looked at her while she walked up to the IT guy. It was a quick conversation and, by the end of it, the guy looked like was about to marry her while she came back with her face as red as her hair.

“I’ll get back at you, Barnes”, she said, spinning the bottle.

There were all kind of dares and questions. The more you drank, the juicier they got without even realising it. At some point, Steve was playing without his shirt –to the delight of many of the guests-, Clint was speaking only with the vowel E, Wanda was wearing Natasha’s clothes and viceversa and you were on your pyjamas.

“Okay, let’s go”, Natasha said when it was her turn to spin the bottle after reading out loud the last text she had sent –Rated X-. “Finally!” She said when it landed on Bucky. “Barnes?”

All along, every time it was Bucky’s turn, there had been numerous hints of him liking someone, someone he would sleep with, his crush, but no name had come out of his mouth. You didn’t even know Bucky liked someone, which was strange since you spent so much time together, and to say you were curious was a misunderstanding.

“Truth”, he said.

“Playing it safe, huh?” Natasha smiled.

“You’re a dangerous woman, Romanoff”, Bucky said, his fingers brushing your shoulder absently.

“Fine. Have it your way”, she said. “Is (Y/N) the one you’ve been talking about all along? The one you would make out with, sleep with, have a crush on?”

Bucky’s whole body tensed up, just like yours, with that question. It was obvious she had been saving it for quite a long time and it looked like everyone was waiting for someone to drop the bomb. They all looked at Bucky smiling a little, as if they knew something you ignored, waiting.

“Damn you, Natasha”, Bucky finally chuckled.

“Would you prefer a dare?” She smiled widely.

“I don’t trust your dares”, Bucky said.

“Then… answer or drink. Although… drinking would be an answer itself”, she innocently shrugged and winked an eye at him.

You saw Bucky biting his lower lip without looking at you, his eyes fixed on Nat, as he was deliberately trying not to look at you. Your heart was pounding in your ears and you swore you would explode if he didn’t say something soon.

“Yes”, he finally said, taking your breath away. “She is”

And he spun the bottle.

***

The game was finished in no time after that moment. Although you didn’t pay any attention to it anymore. All you could do was look at Bucky, waiting for him to look at you and explain what he had just said. However, all he did was smirking whenever he felt his eyes on you.

“Okay, come here”, he said once everyone had scattered around.

He took your hand and took you through the crowd. You didn’t know where he would take you until he scanned his finger print on the door that lead to Tony’s office. He let you walked in first and looked around to make sure no one was looking before closing the door.

“What was that?” You finally asked after a few moments.

“Do I really need to explain?” He smiled, getting closer to you which only made you nervous.

“I think? Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” You asked.

“When would I say anything? When I was kicking your ass during training?” He asked.

“You don’t kick my ass”, you said. “We never even fight against each other because you’re too afraid of me kicking your ass”, you added, crossing your arms.

“You’re so damn blind”, he laughed shaking his head. “I don’t fight you because I would never forgive myself if I ever hurt you. Even if it happened during training.”

You blinked a few times and looked away, trying so hard not to blush and failing completely. He was now so close that you could even feel his breath on you. It wasn’t the first time he was this close, but it was the first time it made you so nervous.

“That’s just another way of saying it”, you mumbled.

Bucky placed his index finger on your chin to make you look up at him and to his eyes before rubbing your cheek softly. His eyes moved down to your lips, just like yours to his, just in time to see him biting his bottom lip. Your breath got caught in your throat and an urgent need to kiss him overcame you.

“You drive me insane in every possible way, (Y/L/N)”, he said leaning in. You closed your eyes instinctively but his kiss never came. “But you’re not ready for it yet.”

You opened your eyes to see him slowly walking backwards, with a smirk on his face.

“What…? What are you doing?” You asked breathless.

“I could kiss you right now and make you realise that you feel the same way about me”, he said, a hand on the doorknob. “But I have decided that, if I have waited a year, I can wait a few more days and make you want it, drive you crazy just like you do with me.”

“Don’t walk away, James. Don’t you dare”, you said.

“See you later, doll”, he said.

Before you could even take a step forward, he opened the door and walked out the office, leaving you with your mouth open and your brain completely melted.

What the hell had just happened?

You had to take some time before you went back out to the party. Your heart had never beat like this. It felt like it would jump out of your chest at any given time and getting it back to ‘normal’ wasn’t easy.

When you finally made your way back out, you spotted Bucky at the bar, talking to Steve. When he saw you, his eyes were on you for a moment, while his lips formed a smug smirk, and then looked back at his friend to continue the conversation. All you wanted to do was go and punch him in that perfect face to kiss him afterwards. Or maybe kiss him first and punch later. You were confused.

The rest of the night you were completely unfocused. It felt like you couldn’t hold a single conversation, like you were zooming in and out all the time, looking around for Bucky and imagining his lips, hands, body on yours. In the end, you decided to leave the party earlier than expected. It wasn’t like anyone would notice, since most of the guests were too drunk to pay any more attention to you.

Once in your room and in your pyjamas –an oversize t-shirt and your underwear-, you laid on your bed and looked at the ceiling, thinking about what the hell had happened and trying to process how you felt about it.

It would be a huge lie to say that you didn’t have feelings for Bucky. You knew they had always been there, but you had always considered them platonic. He was one of the most attractive men you ever met and he was also kind, funny, witty, smart and incredibly thoughtful. You would have never thought he felt the same way about you. You thought all those times he flirted with you, it was just a game to him. Maybe you had been wrong.

You didn’t even know when you had fallen asleep, but when you opened your eyes, you heard the rain against the huge window of your room. You sighed and rubbed your eyes, your mind immediately racing as memories from last night flooded your head. Damn James Buchanan Barnes.

When you heard the buzzing of your phone, you sighed and picked it up from the bedside table to find a text message from the man himself.

“Training in 10 minutes”, the text said. He had to be kidding you. It was Sunday.

And did he really think he could just act like nothing?

“Sorry. As someone said to me last night: I’m not ready yet”, you texted back.

He read the text immediately, but it took him a little while to reply.

“If you’re not in the training room in 10 minutes, I’ll drag you there myself”, you shivered, knowing he fully intended to act on his threat. But you weren’t going to just do as he told you.

“Didn’t you say I drive you insane? Then good luck, babe”, you texted, smirking to yourself as you pictured the look on his face.

You knew what was going to happen. Maybe you were pushing him a bit, but you weren’t going to let him dictate what to do or when to get up. Especially after how flustered and frustrated he had left you the previous night.

Yes, you were dying to kiss him. That was all you could think about since last night. But, unless you were mistaken, he wanted that kiss as much as you did and you were going to get it, even if you had to drive him insane.

At first, you thought he would go to your room immediately, but it looked like he really waited those 10 minutes in case you showed up. Or maybe he was just waiting outside of your room, because exactly 11 minutes later, there was a knock on your room. You smiled to yourself and stretched out still in bed, but didn’t move.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, can you please tell him that I am not training today?” You said to the A.I.

“You know I can hear you, right?” You heard Bucky’s voice on the other side of the room.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, can you please ask Tony to make the rooms soundproof? That would be extremely useful for certain people”, you said.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, open (Y/N)’s door, please”, Bucky said.

“I’m sorry. I can’t. Each room has its own personal protocols and can only be lifted with the permission of said owner”, the A.I said, which made you smile.

“Too bad, soldier”, you said.

“You know I can just kick him in, right?”

You narrowed your eyes, looking at the ceiling. You knew he could, but did you want to push him until that point? It could be fun, but you didn’t want to deal with Tony afterwards. You knew how much he hated when doors got kicked in –something that happened surprisingly often in the compound-.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, unlock the door, please”, you finally said.

The A.I. obeyed and unlocked the door. In a second, Bucky walked in and closed behind him. You looked at him from the bed, still not moving, and smiled. He was wearing his usual training gear –black sweatpants and a black t-shirt- and was looking at you with an eyebrow raised, waiting.

“Do you need anything?” You asked.

“You were supposed to be in the gym 5 minutes ago”, he said with his arms crossed.

“Yeah, well…” you stretched out again, making sure your t-shirt went up a few inches, enough to let him see your underwear and belly. “I’m kind of having a lazy day”, you said with a smile as you saw his eyes on your exposed skin.

“I know what you’re doing”, he said. You raised both eyebrows.

“And what is it?” You asked innocently.

“Pushing me”, he said.

“Don’t be so egocentric, Barnes”, you said. “Not everything is around you.”

“Oh really?” He said.

Slowly, he walked around the bed, taking a seat just next to you. You got nervous when he leaned in, placing one hand around you to support himself as he got closer. You looked at his lips and then his eyes, which hide the smile he forced himself not to show.

“Tell me you haven’t been thinking about kissing me since last night”, he said in a low voice.

“I…” you mumbled, your eyes moving down to his lips, which finally curved up into a small smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Are you going to tell me that if I kissed you right now…” he said, almost brushing your lips with his, “you wouldn’t melt against me?”

You took a deep breath through your nose, trying to control your heart rate, which felt close to impossible. All about him was overwhelming and you had no idea how to manage his closeness. You just wanted to grab him by the neck and kiss him. However, it looked as if he was reading your mind. Just when you were about to move your hands, he moved his and pinned your wrists against the bed.

“Gym. 5 minutes”, he whispered so close that you thought you would die if he didn’t kiss you.

Then, he just let go, got up and walked to the door. You couldn’t believe this was the second time in less than twelve hours that he was going to leave you like this. You looked at the door to see him smirking before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“Fuck!” You exclaimed, punching the mattress.

Five minutes later, you walked through the doors of the gym, still sulking and flustered. You had been quickly to put some leggings and a training top. If Bucky wasn’t going to give in or let you kiss him, you needed some other way to let your frustration out. Fighting.

“Maybe today we can try something different”, you said to Bucky, acting as if nothing had happened, as if your mind wasn’t full of imaged of him kissing your whole body.

“Oh yeah? What is it?” Bucky asked while he adjusted the punching bag.

“Why don’t we fight?” You asked. Bucky laughed quietly and shook his head. “What?”

“Have you warmed up?” He asked.

“I’m warm enough, thank you” you said making him smile. Anyway, you started stretching since you didn’t want to pull any muscle or cause any injury. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“You know I’m not going to fight you, doll”, he said, taking the bandages from the floor. “I could hurt you.”

Your eyes went to his hand as he started wrapping the bandages around it, wrapping it tightly. You had always loved watching that routine. There was something about the way he moved his hands, how he wrapped the bandages around them that was hypnotizing.

“You won’t”, you said, coming out of your little trance.

“How do you know it?” He asked.

“Because I trust you”, you shrugged. He looked at you for a moment and smiled.

“You just want an excuse to hit me because you’re frustrated”, he said.

“That’s just a bonus”, you shrugged and took the other pair of bandages from the floor when you finished stretching. “I really think it would be helpful to fight against an actual person and not just a bag.”

“You have fought against Natasha, Wanda, Peter, Scott and Clint many times”, he said.

You sighed while you wrapped the bandage around your left hand. You knew him well enough to know he wasn’t going to change his mind. It wasn’t the first time you had this conversation and you understood his fear of hurting you, but you really wanted to punch him. Maybe if you caught him by surprise?

When you finished wrapping your hands, you looked at him. He was checking his own bandages and looked kind of focused on it. Without even taking a minute to consider your next move, you quickly took a step forward and threw your leg up to his stomach. To your surprise, your kick caught him completely off guard. Unfortunately, you weren’t strong enough to make him fall, but he took a few steps back with a hand against his stomach.

“What was that?” He asked with an amused smile.

“If you don’t want to fight me, okay”, you shrugged. “I’ll fight you.”

“Stop before you get hurt”, he said.

“Stop patronising me”, you said through gritted teeth.

Quickly, you launched against him, but he just took your arm before it came in contact with him and pushed you aside as if you were a mundane annoying fly. You groaned to yourself and turned to look at him. He looked at you smiling, which only infuriated you even more.

“It’s just facts, doll”, he shrugged.

You narrowed your eyes but decided to launch again. This time, you went for his face, but he grabbed your arm and twisted so your back was against his chest. You took a deep breath at the contact when his lips were on your cheek.

“Stop”, he whispered and nibbled your neck.

With a grunt, you stomped your heel against his feet. He hissed, which was enough for you to drive your elbow against his ribs and your fist against his nose when he leaned down breathless. You hooked your arms around his neck and used your weight to bring him down, straddling his waist and pinning his arms to the ground.

You knew how easily he could just turn the situation around, but maybe he didn’t expect to find himself like this so easily and all he did was looking at you with a smile playing on his lips.

“What are you going to do now, (Y/L/N)?” He asked.

If you were honest to yourself, you just wanted to tease him like he had teased you. But you also knew you weren’t strong enough, not after last night and that morning. You bite your lip and leaned down, wondering if this time he would finally give in. He didn’t move, but his eyes turned a bit darker as his eyes moved down to your lips.

“I should just leave you wanting it”, you whispered against his lips. He chuckled a little.

“You wouldn’t make it to the door”, he warned you. You knew it was true.

You let go of one of his hands, which quickly moved to your hair, moving it out of the way. You took a deep breath, enjoying the moment, before finally closing the distance between your lips.

The moment your lips touched, you let go of his other hand. Immediately, Bucky flipped you around to have you pinned under him and kiss you deeply. You wrapped your legs around his waist in an attempt to bring him impossibly close to you. A moan escaped his throat, making you smirk against his lips while your hands sneaked under his t-shirt and brushed his warm skin.

You wanted him. Badly. But, of course, he wasn’t going to give you everything in just a moment, let alone on the gym floor. Instead, he pulled away after a few minutes and looked at you.

“You always get your way, huh?” He whispered, gently brushing your nose with his, a gesture you never saw coming from the big and fiery Winter Soldier.

“I have my skills”, you smiled.

With a smile, Bucky got up and helped you up as well, although he didn’t move away from you. He caressed your cheek and kissed your forehead.

“What now?” You asked a bit nervous.

“Maybe we should start with breakfast?” He suggested.

You laughed nervously and nodded, letting him take your hand and lead you out of the gym while all you could think about was kissing him all over again. Maybe over breakfast.

[himbodiaz]

Watch Me Fall Apart (And I'll Be Yours to Keep)

1856 words. After a tough rescue, both Eddie and Buck end up in the hospital. 

title from only love by ben howard. i wrote most of this in one sitting with no beta so just *gestures vaguley* here 

They've both been here too many times to count—covered in soot, smoke in their lungs, sweat plastering their hair to their faces, but never at the same time. Never where the other can't be near to see, to place a hand on a shoulder, to lean against in support. A fire in a high-rise, a family trapped on the upper floors, and that's all it took for Buck to grab the ropes, Eddie behind him, because where one goes, the other follows. It's their routine, their deal, the promise to have each other's backs, to support whenever needed, it's just never ended them both in the hospital at the same time.

Eddie is the first one released—Buck had been the first to go in, and made sure that Eddie was out before him, because of course he did. And maybe Eddie should've insisted that Buck get out before him, should've argued with him for an extra five seconds, should've done something so that Buck doesn't have to spend the night in the hospital alone. But he didn't, and now Eddie is being sent home and the doctor is refusing to let him see Buck.  

"Mr. Diaz," the doctor says, "Your friend is fine."

Eddie wants to argue with her, because friend? Friend? Like Buck and Eddie have been anything but friends for a long time. Like Buck isn't laying in a hospital bed alone, when Eddie should be there to support him. Like by denying him seeing Buck, all the smoke that was in Eddie's lungs returns and it's almost impossible to breathe for the second time tonight.

"He's asleep now and resting," she continues when Eddie opens his mouth to argue, "Which you should be doing, too. You need to go home and rest, you can come see him in the morning."

"But—"

"Mr. Diaz," she cuts him off, remaining polite, but obviously frustrated, "Visiting hours have been over for a long time, and Mr. Buckley will be discharged in the morning. Someone will give you a call, and you can pick him up then."

The doctor's tone is one of finality, but Eddie can't take no for an answer. Before he can continue pleading his case, Bobby arrives. He comes over to Eddie and the doctor, placing a reassuring hand on Eddie's shoulder. "I've got it from here, thanks doc," he says, before steering Eddie toward the exit. They've barely made it out the doors before Eddie shakes Bobby's hand from his shoulder, and turns on him.

"Bobby," he all but begs, "You have to let me see him. They brought us in at the same time, but I haven't seen him since. I know it's smoke inhalation, and probably some fatigue and dehydration, but they won't let me see him." Eddie knows how he sounds, knows it's desperate in a way he normally isn't, but it's Buck. It's Buck, who has ended up in hospitals more times than he cares to count, who is his partner, who made sure that Eddie got out of the building first, even knowing it would land him more time here—he can't just leave him behind.

"Eddie," Bobby says as evenly as possible—it's the same tone he uses on distraught spouses, and Eddie wants to cry, "I need you to take a breath for a minute, okay? Just take a moment to calm down, and then we'll figure it out."

And yeah, Eddie probably does need to collect himself, because while smoke inhalation can be serious, Buck is getting exactly the care he needs right now. There's nothing for Eddie to do, yet it doesn't stop the helplessness that's settled in the space between his ribs, which only worsened after the doctor told him he was being discharged without Buck. So, Eddie shuts his eyes, and allows himself a few moments to just breathe, to focus on the air entering and then leaving his lungs, to focus on the feeling of his chest rising and falling. It helps steady him, helps him come back to a relatively even keel.

"Are you good to drive?" Is the first thing that Bobby asks once Eddie opens his eyes. He doesn't think he can talk without freaking out again, so he nods his response. "Okay, good. What's going to happen is I'm going to drive you back to the station, you're going to get your truck, take it home, see Christopher, and go to sleep. Because the doctor was right, you need to rest. And in the morning, when the hospital calls you, you'll go pick up Buck. Sound like a plan?"

Now that he's calmed down and the adrenaline that's been keeping him alert has worn off, Eddie feels a deep tiredness settle in his bones, and it takes all his remaining energy to stay on his feet. Again, Eddie nods in response, walks over to the car, and says, "Take me to the station, Cap." And that's what Bobby does.

Normally, when one of the crew returns from the hospital, the rest of the shift is there to greet them, but no one is there when Eddie arrives, and he's grateful. His nerves are fried, he's exhausted, and he doesn’t think he could handle the team's questions right now. All he wants to do is shower, grab his bag, and go home—thankfully, he's able to do that without even hearing the low hum of conversation that's ever present in the loft.

Eddie is locking the front door behind him and taking off his shoes while he debates whether or not to wake Chris just so he can give him a hug. It's only when he's finally made it to Chris' door that he has his answer—not because he came to a decision himself, but because one was made for him.

Chris' bed is empty, and for a heartbeat Eddie panics, because Christopher isn't in his bed, but then he remembers: he was injured on hour twelve of a twenty-four-hour shift, so of course Chris isn't here. And Eddie should feel relieved, should feel calmer now, but all he can think about is the fact that he can't see his son, and he can't see Buck, and suddenly it's like the anchors that were holding his mooring in place have let go, and he's adrift.

Eddie tries to breathe, tries to remind himself that both his boys are okay, they're both being looked after, they're both safe. He goes to the kitchen, fills a glass with water, and drinks it all in one go. He fills it again, this time bringing it to his room, setting it down on the table beside his bed. Eddie changes into an old t-shirt that Buck left behind ages ago and an old pair of army sweatpants before he slides into bed.

Now that he's home and in bed, the exhaustion should be catching up with him, all but dragging him to sleep. Except, now that Eddie's alone, he can't stop thinking about how quiet the house is, how empty it feels. Even on nights when Chris is away at a sleepover, Buck would always come over, and they'd watch a movie, or a hockey game, or just talk over beers. The negative space, normally filled by laughter and jokes and, god, even Buck's snoring in his ear, feels like a noose around his neck. No matter what he does, Eddie just cannot sleep.

So, Eddie lays in bed and does his best not to think about the call that ended him up here, and Buck alone in the hospital. Does his best not to think about how he should have told Buck to take the daughter out while he got the father. Does his best not to think about how Buck removed his mask to help the victim breathe, and putting himself in danger. A shuddering sob rips through his chest, and he forces himself to sit up because he needs to get air in his lungs or he'll choke on his guilt and fear.

The clock on beside his bed reads quarter after five, so he figures that's good enough for morning, and gets up. He can't stay in his empty house any longer, so Eddie slips on the worn sweater that he keeps hanging off the back of his door, grabs his keys and wallet, puts on his shoes, and then he's out the door.

The drive to the hospital is quick, but now he has nothing to do but wait. He turns on the radio, but keeps it low so that it's just a hum in the background. At some point, Eddie must doze, because the next thing he knows, he's being startled awake by his ringtone and the clock on his dashboard reads half past seven.

"Hello, is this Mr. Di—"

"Yes," he interrupts the caller, not caring how he sounds, "I'm outside."  

"Okay, we'll send him to you now." And it's all Eddie can do to mumble a quick thank you before hanging up.

He doesn't go up to the doors, but his truck is parked close enough to the front that Buck can't miss him. Still, he gets out, leans against the driver side door, and waits. It doesn't take long, maybe a minute or two, and Buck is walking out the doors, looking side to side, eyes searching. He's clean, his curls are soft, if a little messy, and his whole face lights up the moment he sees Eddie.

"You look like shit," is the first thing Buck says to him. He comes right up to Eddie, less than a foot away, and Eddie has to clutch his hands together so he doesn't reach out and touch. But even without touching him, the weight that has made a home in Eddie's chest since last night melts away, like it's made of ice and Buck of flame.

"Well," Eddie tries to joke, "Not all of us got our beauty sleep." But he can't hide the heaviness in his voice, he can't help how it wavers now that the tension is gone, he can't help but lower his head.

"Hey, Eddie," Buck says earnestly, taking hands he didn't even realize were shaking in his own.  

And it's the softness in his voice, the thumb running over his knuckles, the pulse he can feel once he lets himself grip Buck's wrist, that gives him the strength to answer, "Yeah, Buck?"

"We're okay," Buck tells him, like a promise. Like the answer to a question Eddie hadn't dared ask because it terrified him. Buck's hands move from their grip on Eddie's, one hand sliding around his waist, the other coming to the back of his head.

"Yeah," Eddie whispers into the space between Buck's shoulder and neck, "we're okay."

Buck only holds him tighter now, his lips pressed to Eddie's temple, as he releases a shuttering breath. They stay there, each clutching the other, until they no longer feel adrift, until their moorings are once again anchored in a cove, and no longer lost in the rolling waves of the open ocean.

[nursegracecreates]

Ask Toby Day 1: A Nice Teenage Memory for Once

(Art credit: @blood-on-the-marble , seriously go give them a follow)

Okay guys I can't answer things unless you ask them, so I'm giving a freebie. But seriously, your asks, send em in

One of my favorite memories from before everything went... weird, is of the Crothers family.

Danny Crothers and his dad lived in our neighborhood, in a small one story house across the street and two doors down. I didn't have many friends, really just Millie, when they moved in.

To be clear, I did have a friend, Jason Campbell? I met him when I was a kid, before I had to stop going to school. But, Jason changed between eighth grade and freshman year, he started acting really aggressive and bullying me. He shaved his head and started insisting everyone call him JC. I stopped hanging out with him that summer, kind of just stuck to myself.

I was driving Millie crazy one day, being the annoying little brother because Mom had gone out for the day with Frank. She finally kicked me outside, told me to go bother someone else for a while. But I didn't have anyone else to be around.

So I sat on the front steps, just watching the day pass by. There was a moving truck in front of the house across the road and a van pulled up. An older man got out, the sun shining on his brown skin as he smiled up at it. A boy my age got out, obviously his son because they looked like carbon copies of each other, down to their Denver Broncos shirts and caps.

The boy was looking around and spotted me sitting on the steps of my house. He turned and said something to his dad who hesitated, then sighed heavily and nodded. Then the boy was running over to me and introducing himself as Danny.

Danny and I were fast friends, and his dad made sure I was taken care of. He'd noticed the bruises and marks Frank left behind and first offered to help get me out. But when I told him that Millie and I would be separated and that we were only waiting on me to turn 18, and then we would be out. Mr. Crothers reluctantly agreed but told me that under no uncertain terms, Danny and he had my back.

It made me feel better, knowing someone cared about me besides Millie. He was always doing things like that. One day I went over there and mentioned in passing that I was hungry. I'm gonna have Grace type out what Mr. Crothers did because she's better with catching the mood of the moment.

Danny: Hey Dad, I'm gonna grab some snacks.

Mr. Crothers: *lip smack* welll... we got ten sirloin steaks. We got fifteen rib roasts. Twelve bags of hamburger! We got thirteen rump roasts, about forty chicken leg quarters. We got hot and cold cereal! Hot and cold vegetables! *starts clapping* green beans, tomatah, potatah, *getting faster* chicken, turkey, salad,*preacher voice* you naaaaaame it!

Danny: Dad! We're not doing this again. ©️ David Near (btw guys this video has my voice claim for Toby in it and is where the bones for this Toby come from, enjoy)

Thanks Grace

Anyway, Mr. Crothers did that every time I was around and food was mentioned. I think he always wanted to make sure I knew I had the pick of whatever I wanted. But it always brought a smile to my face that he cared, hell he cared for me just as much as he cared for Danny it seemed.

So Danny was my best friend in high school, and Mr. Crothers? Mr. Crothers was the closest person I've ever had to a father.

I'm glad to have known him, and wish I could see both of them again

[imnotwolverine]

The girl next door - Glass house

The Girl Next Door - Chapter 7 GLASS HOUSE

<Chap 6 | Chap 8>

Summary: Henry is back, and as his normal life comes calling for him, Lizz is sure to wrestle it back into submission. 

Word count: 2.768

Warnings: strong language, bit of wrestling, fluff

Tagsquad: @tumblnewby

Author’s note: Okay. So I thought this would be like the final chapter of this series. But no, this story just rolls on (I just went with the idea of this sketchy paparazzi figure and it all just kind of wrote itself). Anyways, lots of really really fluffy smut coming so buckle up for the upcoming chapter 👨‍🌾yihaa! 

(Link to my Masterlist)

Sweating and red faced Lizz ran down the hill, the patchwork of the houses and their large green gardens coming into view. It was going to be a hot day, the air already thick and oppressive to her strained lungs as her legs skipped over the potholes in the old road. She had been running here for dozens of times now. Although it usually wouldn’t be alone.

For a week now, Henry had been gone. His departure so swift and without proper warning, it had left Lizz quite gobsmacked. If anything, it raised some concern on her part. Was he hiding something from her? Why wouldn’t he tell her a little bit in advance? Why hadn’t he contacted her since? They had this thing going, right? A friendship, neighbourly, sex-buddy thing..ugh..she didn’t even know how to best describe it.

Since she wasn’t quite sure what to do about the two of them, she decided to just leave it be. Perhaps he had a lot of things on his mind, which is why he hadn’t told her, and she was just only some fun diversion while he had been stuck in this countryside house, waiting for the COVID regulations to be subdued. She didn’t blame him. It was quite lonely here on the countryside, especially during the last couple of months. And so..It had been good to be around each other and have some social interaction, even if it was just a little chat across the garden hedge. And even it was just for the time being.

A car. Not his car. Her eyes peered at his driveway, which she could just spot from the last little hill she had to descend before she’d be back home. Strange. Did he..get a new car? Or maybe he owned several cars and he brought a new one. It wasn’t like he was poor by a long shot. Hell, he could probably buy a private jet if he so wanted to.

Curiosity got the better of Lizz and with a skipping heart she jogged down the hill, her legs halting somewhere near the trees that hid her from view. What if he had a visitor? Like..what if he was dating? What if…?

*FLASH FLASH*

Eh? What? Lizz was rudely awakened from her thoughts as she noticed a man sneaking over the neatly mown grass of Henry’s front yard, his hands holding a large camera that flashed every few seconds or so.

‘HEY!’ She shouted, instinct getting the better of her as she stepped away from the foliage, her eyebrows knitting together in dismay. The man quickly turned around, straightening up while aiming his camera at Lizz - as if it might be interesting to capture her too.

‘What’s this all about? Who are you?’ Her voice sounded impressive, she thought. She was glad she had taken a moment to catch her breath - otherwise this moment would have been close to embarrassing on her behalf.

The rather small man swallowed away a lump before squaring his shoulders, his camera lowering as he quickly stepped towards Lizz, his hand fumbling for a little recording device. ‘Good day miss. I’m Herman Smith, press. Do you happen to know who lives here?’ The man pushed the little voice recorder into Lizz’s heated face, her brows turning down into a full scowl.

‘Listen up Mr. Smith. You are intruding on private property. You better leave before I am forced to call the authorities.’ She growled, the man wincing slightly, surprised by the temper of this red headed woman. His face was however quick to turn back into an intrigued squint.

‘Are you in close relations with the man who lives here?’ He questioned, his beady eyes quickly turning towards his camera and moving it higher so he could snap a few shots of her. *FLASH FLASH FLASH*

‘SIR. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!’ Lizz broke out into a full frenzy, her arms striking out in mean strokes, hoping to grasp his camera, but failing as the man was clearly prepared for her. With a quick hop he jumped back, stretching his arm as far behind him as he could, keeping the camera out of harms way.

‘You BETTER delete those.’ Lizz warned through clenched teeth, her body now circling the man, waiting for an opportune moment to strike again.

Like two big cats the two stalked around one another, their feet moving silently over the grass. Lizz still wearing her sweat-soaked green shirt and running shorts, Herman Smith wearing some quarter length slacks and a simple white blouse, his head covered with a cap. The sun beat down on their heated faces. Their hearts strumming a tense rhythm.

Paparazzi ..here? He better not fucking sell those pictures. What a hell ride that would be. Not only for her. But especially for Henry. They weren’t even dating, but sure enough this Herman-guy would make up some saucy number about some hot country fling of Mr. Cavill. Herman sure looked the part; slightly chubby, distasteful and definitely mean-minded.  

‘AAAhhhhhHHH.’ With a bone rattling battle cry Lizz lunged forward, her hand managing to dislodge the voice recorder from Herman, her other hand hooking around his arm, bringing him off balance. Herman was quick to deflect though, his newly freed hand moving to bring her along in his fall.

Yes. This was. Ridiculous.

A red faced neighbour in her running gear and some random paparazzi reporter, wrestling in Henry’s front yard.

It took a good few moments, before Henry could stop looking in surprise - or was it utter shock? - at what was happening here in his garden, his feet slowing to a halt in the middle of his drive way after he had come down from his backyard to see what the scuffle was. He had heard a car arrive, but hadn’t really recognised it. Thought it was probably one of the neighbour’s cars. Or friends of Lizz.

And then he had heard some shouting, making him not hesitate one moment to go and check it out.

He had arrived only some 15 minutes ago, these minutes spent to let out Kal, the dog now racing happily through the backyard. It had been quite a long trip back from London and Henry sure had missed the fresh air and outstretched fields of the countryside. Kal, from the looks of it, too, the large dog nowhere to be seen as he was probably still running circles in the fields at the back of the house.

‘Lizz?’ Henry asked carefully, stepping a touch closer to the wrestling pair. 

The both of them instantly halted their fight, their sweating, scowling faces both shooting up at the sight of him, the reason they were having this Battle Royale in the first place. They hadn’t even heard him approach.

‘Henry.’ Lizz uttered in mild shock, her hand quick to withhold Herman from attempting to make another picture, annoying the man to no end. ‘You…’ He growled, but was quickly snapped back at by Lizz.

‘Fuck you Herman.’ She snarled.

‘Ha..rich..rich..and you..you are..a..’ Herman was trying to find some good comeback, his eyes widening, while his camera-holding hand was still struggling to be released from Lizz’s grip.

Henry quickly intervened, stepping in and pulling up Lizz by her upper arm, easily detangling the two from one another.

‘..a very attentive neighbour. Herman, I understand?’ Henry pushed Lizz back behind his broad chest, making sure she wasn’t able to jump at Herman again. Both for her and Herman’s protection, most probably.

‘Henry Cavill! So good to see you. Herman Smith, press. I actually have a few questions.’ His words tumbled out like a waterfall, his camera moving back up to..

*SNAP*

The camera was pushed to the side, missing its shot as Henry suddenly had stepped in very close, his body towering impressively above Herman.

‘Sir. I’m going to request you to leave. If not, authorities will be informed and my agent WILL press charges.’ Henry’s voice boomed through the air, authoritative yet calm. He was obviously not amused by Herman’s little visit, his jaw clenching slightly as he looked down upon the small man.

With a single nod, Herman scidaddled away, his hands quickly grasping to pick up the voice recorder on the grass while his legs ran full throttle back to his car. Lizz couldn’t help but chuckle, the look of the man scurrying away from the imposing figure that was Henry Cavill was quite amusing to say the least.

As the paparazzi left in a hurry, wheels slipping on the crunching gravel, Henry slowly turned around, clicking his tongue as his eyes met Lizz. ‘You..are quite something.. Miss Lizz.’

‘Hi Henry.’ Lizz bit her lip, still biting back a chuckle.

‘Hi Lizz.’ He smiled, shaking his head in slight disbelief.

‘See you brought some friends from London.’ Lizz smiled, her breath hitching as Henry stepped closer to her. Too close? Or not close enough? Lizz couldn’t quite decide. And neither could Henry, from the looks of it, his teeth also slowly biting his lower lip as he started to nod.

’Not quite intended though. You alright?’

‘I’m fine. Are…are you?’ Lizz sounded seriously concerned, her big doe eyes looking up at Henry.

Henry sighed, looking at the slightly crushed grass where the fight had just taken place. Lizz couldn’t quite read his face. Was he tired? Disappointed? Sad, maybe? Finally Henry shrugged, as if he wasn’t impressed by the whole thing one bit, then nodded to the gate leading to the backyard.

‘Want to join me for some tea..or…?’ His eyes slid down her sweaty, slightly grass-smudged clothing, his eyebrows raising at the sight of her dishevelment. Lizz burst out laughing.

‘OH I can just never ever look and be normal when I’m at your house, can I? I’m so sorry hahahaha.’

Henry chuckled, nodding. ‘You..could say as much.’

‘You know what. I’m going to take a quick shower…’ Their eyes met - together? Shower together? No? Okay no.. ‘..A..a..at home and you make some tea? Be back in fifteen?’

‘Okay Lizz.’

‘Okay Henry.’ Lizz winked, her heart bouncing happily in her chest. She didn’t want to admit it, but she loved to have him back here. She was willing to fend off any paparazzi if that is what it took.

During their tea break Henry spoke of his return to London. He left out the part where it had been just a spur of the moment action, yet the reason he had stayed so long seemed valid. He hadn’t planned on staying longer then a day or so, but his agent had called. A new script had come in, and since there had been some security leak, Henry was asked to pick it up personally at the London office. From there some other appointments had been made - once Henry touched foot in London it usually was work-work-work, and before he knew it a week had passed. All the while he had wanted to speak to Lizz, but he didn’t quite know what to say. So natural as the two were when together, so unnatural it felt when they weren’t. He was afraid it would have come across the wrong way. And also now, he didn’t mention it.

‘I have to admit, I thought about calling you a lot this week.’ Lizz started, putting her empty cup down on the side table. She quickly glanced at Henry, though didn’t dare to look him directly in the eye. ‘You left so suddenly I thought you and I were maybe on like..bad terms, or something.’

‘No we’re not. Lizz. We’re…’ Henry hesitated. What were they? Gods if anyone could answer the question for them, that’d be great. Like..Anyone? Please?

A silence fell as they both weren’t sure how to go about this conversation. Lizz felt a blush creep up her cheeks. Oh! She should have never admitted she had thought about him. What a stupid, stupid..

‘We’re the best thing that ever happened to me.’ Henry finally gulped, he himself surprised by the words that came tumbling out of his mouth.

‘I’m so sorry for disappearing so suddenly. I didn’t..Ugh..Oh Lizz, I’m such a fool.’ His face twisted in pain. ‘I didn’t HAVE to go to London, not yet at least. I was just confused..and then your friends were there and my mind just, figured it would be good for the two of us if we had some time apart. So, I went to London. And then I hesitated about calling you. And so I didn’t. AND…’ He clenched his jaw, all the pent up feeling bursting out through the seams of his usually relaxed appearance.

Lizz gulped, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she stared at Kal, the dog trodding around the garden, playing with a rope.

‘Wow.’ She finally managed. ‘You mean..you like me?’

‘Yes Lizz.’ Henry burst out laughing. ‘Hahaha yes. I like you..a lot even.’

‘Really? Oh my word I thought I had screwed it up so bad..’ She chuckled softly, leaning her head in Henry’s direction.

Without hesitation Henry moved up his chair, the two of them now touching thighs, his arm wrapping around her shoulder as he pressed a kiss on her temple.

‘Let’s just say you have a quite ..unique..approach to things.’ Henry smiled against her shower-fresh hair - his mind thinking back of Lizz appearing in nothing but a towel at his door step, or drunk Lizz tearing at his clothes..or just now, Lizz fighting off some paparazzi. Yes..unique. 

Lizz sniffled, nodding in agreement, the movement rubbing Henry’s nose in her hair some more.

‘Mmm you smell so nice.’ He hummed.

Lizz finally sat up a bit, her eyes meeting his, her big browns slightly watery.

‘Hey..don’t cry…’ Henry muttered.

‘Oh..it’s just..I …oh I’m such a fool.’ She hiccuped, a big fat tear rolling down her cheek.

‘Why are you saying that?’

‘I thought I’d lost you. Like. I just tried to forget about you. But I couldn’t. Every night I’d lay awake. Thinking; did I do something wrong? Or..does he like someone else? And..it’s not like it could ever work..I mean…’ She rattled on, her eyes full with unshed tears now.

‘Lizz, Lizz, Lizz. No need for the waterworks. I’m here. You didn’t lose me. And I’m sorry for all this..’

‘I..I love you.’ She whispered, her eyes looking at him with a pleading look.

Henry didn’t need words. Without hesitation he engulfed her in a tight embrace, his lips meeting hers in something that was close to the most desperate kiss he would ever give to anyone, ever.

‘I think..I love you..too..Lizz.’ He whispered in between another few kisses, his breath choking as he finally said what he had long been dreading to realise.

Lizz broke away, looking at him dumbfounded, her eyes still slightly watery.

‘You do?’

Henry started to chuckle, his hands cupping her cheeks, thumbs brushing over the apples of her cheeks, the tears soon gone.

‘I do, Lizz, I do.’

‘Holy shit.’ The both of them started to laugh, little kisses shared between them.

‘I didn’t even sleep with you.’ She gasped. ‘Or well..not like..’

‘We’ll manage that.’ Henry snickered. ‘I actually bought condoms right after our little..’ He rolled his eyes in embarrassment.

‘Good.’

‘Yea.’

‘I love you! I love you! I love you!’ Lizz squealed, deciding her body wasn’t close enough to him yet, her legs climbing up to sit across his lap. Henry laughed, his lips finding hers again.

‘I love you too Lizz.’ He smiled, his arms pulling her as close as possible to his chest, savouring the feel of having her close to him again, his hands running deliberate circles over her back.

‘Oh my gods..’ Henry whispered in hushed excitement, his sea blue eyes taking in the squiggly looking creatures that were sleeping in their makeshift nest - right in between some vegetable plants.

‘I found them right after you left. Called the SPCA for assistance and they told me to just keep the doors and windows of the greenhouse open and they’d get out by themselves, when the time was right.’

’That’s crazy. Why would they nest in a glass house?’

‘Oh..you probably can’t find a warmer home then this.’ Lizz shrugged, peaking over Henry’s shoulder.

‘Did you see the parents too?’

‘Yep. Blackbirds. Very cheeky blackbirds too. They eat all my berries. These buggers better start paying rent!’ Lizz grumbled, pointing at some blackberry vines that ran through the back of the glass house.

‘Hahaha oh Lizz. Life with you never is boring is it?’  Henry chuckled softly, turning his head to look at her.

‘Well, only one way to find out, nah?’

‘Let’s find out tonight? How about dinner at my place?’

‘Sounds good. I’ll try not to get too drunk.’

‘You better not, I have some plans for you.’ He turned around, his eyes sparkling with sweet, sweet promises.

| Chap 8 >

[theyearoftheking]

Book Fifty-One: Everything’s Eventual

“There comes a time in most lives when we must face the deaths of our loved ones as an actual reality... and, by proxy, the fact of our own approaching death. This is probably the single greatest subject of horror fiction: our need to cope with a mystery that can be understood only with the aid of a hopeful imagination.” 

I had dinner once with a guy who was trying to either relate to me, or impress me... the jury is still out. Once he found out I was from Milwaukee, he told me how he had once seen Ted Bundy’s apartment in downtown Milwaukee. 

Slow blink.

Ted Bundy was never in Milwaukee, dumb ass. You’re obviously talking about Jeffrey Dahmer, and comparing the two is like chalk and cheese. Completely different victim populations, MO’s... basically the only thing they have in common is both being white men. Oh, and Bundy is considered more conventionally attractive. If you were to listen to the Parcast Serial Killers podcast on Dahmer, they described him as, “good looking, by Milwaukee standards...” So, there’s that. 

This conversation still upsets me years later. It should have upset me more that the “Bundy in Milwaukee” guy went on to talk about his wife’s STD, but that’s a conversation for another time. 

I didn’t choose the Dahmer life, it chose me. When he was captured in 1991, I was my daughter’s age, and it was the most sensational piece of news to hit Milwaukee... well, maybe ever. The details about the half-eaten corpses, the body parts in the freezer... I couldn’t get enough of it. Had I not stumbled across my mom’s copy of Small Sacrifices years earlier, it’s possible Dahmer could have been the catalyst for my murderino obsession. Sadly, Diane Downs got to me first. I was obsessed with the pictures in the middle of the book... it was the first time I realized monsters are real, and human monsters are scarier than anything Stephen King or Dean Koontz could dream up. 

Sidebar: check out the Two Face podcast, told by the daughter Diane put up for adoption. I’m obsessed. 

But, Dahmer is my local serial killer, so my knowledge is complete and wildly inappropriate at dinner parties (remember when those were a thing?). There’s even a local neighborhood bar that does a Dahmer walking tour; where my sister talked me out of buying this especially cool t-shirt... she felt it was too on-the-nose. She might be right. I even dragged a friend with me to see My Friend Dahmer... because I was scared of looking like a creeper at the theater alone. Every time we drive past Columbia County Correctional, I make sure to remind my (very annoyed) daughter that Dahmer was killed there. 

My point is, I know a lot about Jeffrey Dahmer. What’s one of the key things I know? HE’S NOT BURIED. HE DOESN’T HAVE A GRAVE. HIS PARENTS HAD HIM CREMATED AND SPLIT HIS REMAINS. 

Once more for the cheap seats in the back: 

JEFFREY DAHMER DOESN’T HAVE A GRAVE. 

Why all the shouty caps? 

Because Steve doesn’t know this. Steve is blissfully unaware that he has a character bragging about sleeping on Jeffrey Dahmer’s non-existent grave. I can’t even give you a good review of Everything’s Eventual, because this bothers me so much. It’s like the fucking Starbuck’s cup someone forgot to remove from the Game of Throne’s scene. It bothers me that much. 

Here was my reading process on this short story collection...

Autopsy Room Four: Creepy! This is the shit that haunts my dreams. Good start to the collection!

The Man in the Black Suit: Fun! A Castle Rock mention

All That You Love Will Be Carried Away: Are we to the Little Sisters short story yet? I need a Dark Tower fix...

The Death of Jack Hamilton: I love a good mobster story. And this one mentions the Dillinger gang shoot-out at Little Bohemia, so yay for a Wisconsin reference! Great story. 

In the Deathroom: Escobar. Meh. If we’re going to do back-to-back mobster stories, the Dillinger one was better. 

Little Sisters of Eluria: Swoon. Double swoon. Steve uses the line, “tintinabulation of the bells.” Tintinabulation is a word Edgar Allen Poe completely made up, but it’s an excellent example of onomatopoeia. This is an example of what I have to show for all my student loan debt (thanks, Cares Act for the deferment!): the fact I can both recognize and give an obscure example of onomatopoeia. And spot Poe like a boss bitch. This story is set post Wizard and Glass, and ties back into The Talisman; and almost makes up for the Dahmer slippage. 

Everything’s Eventual: Thought provoking, but I’m really looking forward to finishing this collection and diving back into The Dark Tower universe. 

L.T.’s Theory of Pets: Trigger warning for violence towards animals. I once had Blood and Smoke- an audio book collection Steve did; and this story was included. I’ve never forgotten it. It’s a classic. 

The Road Virus Heads North: A Derry mention! Oh, and Dahmer too. That’s fun. 

Lunch at the Gotham Cafe: Weird. This is the second story that includes a Dear John letter, and a jilted husband. Wonder what was going on with Steve and Tabby... Oh gross, a Donald Trump and Ivana line. *Swallows vomit*

That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French: Oh good, 1408 is next! 

1408: DAHMER DOESN’T HAVE A GRAVE!!!!!! 

Riding the Bullet: Oh, a Castle Rock mention. But, um, DAHMER DOESN’T HAVE A GRAVE!

Luckey Quarter: Why is lucky spelled wrong? And also... DAHMER DOESN’T HAVE A GRAVE!!! 

So, yeah. Full disclosure. Re-living the Dahmer’s grave story just made me crack open a juice box full of sangria. Fun fact: the friend who made this sangria, is the same one I dragged along to My Friend Dahmer. She is a lovely, wonderful, generous human being; who is not the least bit fazed by my serial killer knowledge. And her sangria is delicious too. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 35

Total Dark Tower References: 51

Book Grade: B- (generous, considering the Dahmer gaffe) 

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Wizard and Glass: A+

Needful Things: A+

On Writing: A+

The Green Mile: A+

Hearts in Atlantis: A+

Rose Madder: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Bag of Bones: A-

Black House: A-

The Wastelands: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Dolores Claiborne: A-

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

From a Buick 8: B

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: B

Storm of the Century: B-

Everything’s Eventual: B-

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Desperation: C-

Insomnia: C-

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Gerald’s Game: D

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

Dreamcatcher: D

The Regulators: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

Next is Wolves of the Calla. I am so stupid excited to finish off The Dark Tower series. Only 18 years of Steve left to go, and a little over 3 months to get it done. Stay tuned.

Until next time, Long Days and Pleasant Nights, Rebecca

[fic-for-fic-sake]

A Harsh Reality

A/N: So this is a historical fanfic, WW2 era Bucky Barnes and biracial black reader. Reader is part of the 6888 troop of the WAC. Timelines are obviously tweaked. Please let me know what you think...I may have more in the works, so this is like a part one

Pairing: Bucky x biracial black!reader 

You sighed as the morning alarm sounded, 6 AM, time to get up. You were never an early riser, it didn’t matter how long you had been in training. Sure, they said you would just be delivering mail to soldiers and everyone else on the front lines but you knew the risks when you signed up. Your training didn’t include crawling under logs wearing gas masks and jumping over trenches for no reason. This was war, anything could happen. 

You rolled out of bed and made your way to the bathroom down the hall, your bare feet slapping against cold tile as you went. Of course the white women's troops had slippers they could wear, you were afforded no such luxury. You were used to it though, scrubbing toilets and mopping up vomit was just another day for you, menial tasks that nobody else wanted to do. 

You brushed your teeth and began to take out your rollers, today was going to be a good day, you felt it in your bones. It was your first day in London and you had a warehouse full of mail to get through, you could do this. You made your way back to your quarters and said a stiff good morning to your cabin mates. 

“Geez, brighten up will ya?” Pat called out from her bunk, having just woken up herself. 

“Lay off her Pattie, you know she’s not a morning person.” Louise reasoned, giving you a reassuring pat on the back. 

“I promise I’ll be better after my coffee.” You reassured them, going in your closet and pulling out your uniform. 

“I wouldn’t count on the caffeine if I were you, don’t know if we have the rations for it.” Pat called, climbing down from her bunk and pulling out her own uniform. 

“What do you mean?” You asked, pulling your slip on over your head, “I saw Captain Thomas with two cups yesterday.” 

“Captain Thomas is white...we ain’t.” Louise responded, quick as a whip. The comment stung like one too, but that was life. All the good stuff went to the white men first, then the white women, then the black men, and finally, whatever was left went to you. To share. 

You huffed out a breath as you rolled on your stockings, pinning them to the corresponding clips. Next you stepped into your tan skirt and hooked it into place. “I just don’t get why that shit still follows us, we aren’t even on American soil for Christ’s sake.” You reasoned, pulling on your white shirt and buttoning it up, shoving the bottom into your skirt. 

“Be my guest to bring it up sweetheart and I guarantee your ass will be back on a boat tomorrow.” Louise reasoned as she headed for the bathroom herself. She was right and you knew it, there was no sense in arguing over spilled milk. The war department had just lifted the ban on black WAC’s so really, you were in a place of privilege, but it didn’t make it any easier. 

You finished getting ready and carefully placed your cap over your newly coiffed hair. One more look in the mirror and you were ready to go. Stepping out into the busy streets of London was like a culture shock to your nerves. You had heard about the Blitz and what it had done to the city but nothing could’ve prepared you for it. Gaping holes where buildings used to be, structural frames still standing but nothing around it, young children playing in the rubble, unaware of the atrocities that had taken place there. Or maybe they were aware but their brains packed those images away, lucky them. 

But besides the doom and gloom London had something else, heart. Tons of heart. Men selling fish and chips, ladies walking around with their dogs and children, chatting like nothing had ever happened. The tide of the war was shifting, you could feel it in the air. You made your way to the warehouse and carefully shut the door behind you, ready to do a day full of sorting. 

“Where do you need me?” You asked June, the commanding officer. 

“Actually, we’re sending you out today.” 

“Oh. Out? Where?” You questioned. You were under the impression that you would be in the warehouse sorting mail for about a week or two before they sent you out into the world. Apparently they had other ideas. 

“We have mail that needs to be delivered urgently, for an infantry that was stationed in Italy. But they’re here in London for a while and my superiors want it delivered right away.” She explained, handing you a brown leather satchel full of letters and giving you a piece of paper with an address carefully printed on it. “If you get lost, ask for directions, it’s pretty straightforward though, you should be fine.” 

“Thanks.” You responded, dumbfounded. You looked at the piece of paper as June escorted you out of the facility. You listened as she explained the walking directions and then you were on your way, she said it was only about a ten minute walk from your current post. As you walked you marveled at the city around you. This was nothing like New York. For starters, the people sounded different. You smiled as you heard kids speak in British accents, things you only ever heard on the radio. 

As you walked you noticed that your heels began to make a different sound, puzzled you looked down to find that you were actually walking on cobblestone! Would you look at that. In New York they had cobblestone but it wasn’t as prominent as it was here. You looked down at your paper and realized you were close to the address, just a few more buildings. You must’ve looked lost because you heard a throat clear behind you and you turned around expectantly. 

“You lost darlin’?” Asked a man with the sweetest Brooklyn accent you’d ever heard. You looked up, hoping to match a face to a voice and your heart beat a little faster in your chest. He looked handsome, and sure of himself. Army uniform on, hair perfectly coiffed, and his hat cocked to the side, to give passersby a peak of his perfect black locks. Clear blue eyes met yours and a cocky smile played on his lips. 

“A little.” You replied tentatively, he was smiling sure, but he was a white man. You weren’t a fool, no matter how cute he was. 

“”Need some help?” He questioned, gesturing to the piece of paper in your hands. You offered it to him and he quickly examined the text before he pocketed the address and gave you another smile, his pearly white teeth peeking out from blush pink lips. 

“What’s so funny?” You questioned, cocking your head to one side, trying to figure out his game. 

“Seems like we’re goin’ to the same place doll.” He replied, extending a hand for you to shake, “My name’s Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes of the 107, but everyone just calls me Bucky.” 

You stared cautiously at his hand, not sure what to make of this Bucky character. He must’ve sensed your reservations because he was quick to offer a joke, “You can shake it, I won’t bite, promise.” He said with a wink. 

You shook his hand before he brought it up to his lips and kissed your knuckles delicately, as if savoring the taste of you. “You’re trouble, I’ll give you that.” You replied as you retracted your hand and turned your head to hide the slight blush on your face. 

“You’re not gonna give me your name back?” He questioned earnestly, putting a hand over his heart like you had wounded him, which you seriously doubted. The man seemed like a grade A playboy, a white one at that, which was worse. 

“Private Y/N Y/L/N, of the 6 triple 8 Women’s Army Corps.” You explained, offering him the same information he offered you. 

“Well, nice to make your acquaintance, Private, shall we?” He questioned, extending a hand in front of him to the now opened door. You nodded your head in gratitude before you walked into the building with Sergeant Barnes, better known as Bucky.

[lisinfleur]

Under Her Skin

Author’s Notes | I would like to thank this dear anon for this request. Such as the one I did for Sigurd (Here, for the ones who want to see!), this request treats about a very delicate and important theme that must be shouted out to the four corners of Midgard: eating disorders aren't mimimi or bullshit. They're real, they're diseases that can consume a person entirely and drag someone into an endless vortex that will lead whether to permanent sequels or death. Always treat this theme with patience, comprehension, and dedication. Be gentle, kind, and supportive with a victim of these conditions. Many times, support is everything a person needs to get rid of Mia’s chains or Ana's cold embrace.

Universe | Vikings Pairing | Hvitserk x Reader Info | Viking Age AU, requested by anon for 5CW6. Suggested soundtrack: All I need (Within Temptation) Words | 2264 ⁑ Warnings: ANGST, mentions of eating disorders, romance. Caution is recommended: the following content may be triggering.

You thought he was stupid.

Hvitserk was convinced you thought he was stupid enough to think that small stains of sauce in your plate were enough for him to believe there was food over that surface and your fingers were really cleaning your mouth with that absolutely clean napkin in your hands.

He was observing you through the last months since his fingers noticed your stomach were flatter and your waistline reducing...

You stopped making your meals with him, dedicating yourself to make company to your husband, sometimes even serving his food in his mouth, but almost never taking pieces to yourself.

It started when Torvi asked you if you were pregnant in the last time his brother Björn feasted in your house with his wife and kids. You were surely in your fertile days - after years by your side, Hvitserk was used to see how your lines and curves were more attractive when you were in these days - but somehow you took his sister in law's curiosity in a different way and now, you were thinner and thinner and somehow any food he could buy or hunt for your cabin was lasting longer...

Of course. The two of you would devour a pan of stewed rabbit with vegetables in a day. But he would take two meals to finish the same pan.

And making the math, sometimes he was taking really twice the time to see the meat finished at the pans or the leftovers going out to the pigs and the cattle to avoid the loss of good vegetables...

You weren't eating.

And now he was sure, for you weren't even disguising it properly anymore: you were so used to his lack of perception that you forgot to simply mess with the food into the pans to pretend it was eaten this time: the rice and mashed potatoes were untouched. Your plate was dirty only with a small stain of the meat's sauce.

Hvitserk giggled, disgusted. The cap of the pan in his hand.

"What? Is there something wrong, husband?" you asked, afraid you had cooked anything he didn't want or didn't like.

You were sure that was one of his favorites!

Yet, he looked at you, serious and seeming to be angry.

"Why are you lying to me, wife?"

That question caught you unprepared and you frowned at him, surprised.

"What are you talking..."

His anger was so vivid that Hvitserk didn't let you express your confusion, bringing the subject straight to the table and taking the surprise away from your face, putting on a horror expression when you realized he discovered what you were hiding so far.

"Don't play me the fool anymore! You're not eating, Y/N! And don't come to me with this stained plate pretending you did anything but spread some sauce in this thing. You didn't eat, such as you didn't eat today at breakfast, yesterday at dinner... Such as you have been skipping meals all the time, thinking I'm stupid enough to not to notice my wife is fucking disappearing inside her clothes!"

You weren't expecting to be uncovered this explicit way and your first reaction was, obviously, trying to keep the disguise, giggling at his absurd comment.

It was absurd, right? You weren't "disappearing into your clothes" as he said. Instead, your dresses were awfully strange in your body and you were sure it was because you were fat like a pregnant woman swollen with the child the gods still didn't have brought into your marriage, but you were already showing in your large body.

If it wasn't like this, why would Torvi insinuate you were enormous enough to be confused with a pregnant woman?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Hvitserk. I'm not losing weight..."

But again, he interrupted you, coming closer.

Those wrinkles in between his frowned eyebrows causing his face to look pretty annoyed.

"Do you think I'm blind?"

You weren't understanding all that anger in his eyes, but Hvitserk was pretty annoyed with that whole situation. Did you really think he was that stupid to not to notice such a change in your life?

"Do you think I care this few about you? To miss such a thing like you skipping all the fucking meals we should be doing together? This is how you see me as a husband? A careless bastard who cannot see his wife's skin gluing to her bones?"

His pride was offended. But his words were making no sense for you! You were fat! You were sure it was the reason why Torvi was so sure of your pregnancy! How could he think you were thinner this way with such a small time and little effort?

Right, you weren't eating more than an apple per day, hiding the parts in a napkin into the kitchen to eat a quarter of it in each meal and it was keeping you kinda alive; drinking water enough to fill a barrel and that was it. Hiding from Hvitserk's eyes by dirtying your plates and pretending you had eaten before him or throwing up the food you were obligated to eat in the collective feasts at the Hall by his side.

It wasn't that much for him to be so annoyed or worried... Was it?

"I... I have been trying to lose some weight, but... It's not that much, husband, I don't see a reason for you to be so annoyed," you said, really confused by all that anger in his eyes.

But he giggled again, looking at you in disbelief.

"You don't see a reason maybe because it must be hard to see yourself in the mirror! For the gods' sake, woman, you're starving yourself! You gonna find a way to get yourself sick! Now stop this shit right now and put some food for yourself or else I won't eat as well and then we can see which one of us will faint first!"

He was so pissed... Why?

Weren't you trying to be pretty for him? Wasn't him your reason for all that effort? Why was he so pissed off when you were trying to prevent him from being mocked because of his wife's terrible appearance?

It wasn't fair! And it annoyed you he was being so rude. Well, he could go to Hella's embrace if he wanted: you wouldn't become a whale just because he didn't know how to be grateful!

You placed a full plate for you, filling it as much as you could and looking at him disappointed and annoyed.

"Are you satisfied now, Hvitserk?"

To what he answered annoyed as well.

"No. The plate is still full. Sit and eat, wife!" he almost ordered, causing you to grunt in anger.

How could he be so ungrateful?

You ate that food until the last grain, pushing it inside with the bigger amount of water you could drink in between the portions. The bigger was the quantity, the easier would be throwing that up after that meal, so you didn't try to economize.

But Hvitserk already had observed that behavior in you as well. Whenever you were in a feast on the Hall, you were eating like that, unnaturally filling yourself with mead, water or whatever there was to be drunk, swallowing the food in large portions. Getting up as soon as you finished.

"I hope you're satisfied. I'll go out to piss now if you don't mind this as well, husband," you said, aggressive.

Out to piss...

Hvitserk didn't miss that either. His eyes followed your steps and he waited for some minutes before following you outside to find exactly what he was predicting: you, on your knees near the bushes, vomiting out everything you had tried to swallow so fast.

"I knew you were doing this!" he pointed out, furious, scaring you, causing you to almost choke and cough a lot. "I knew you were fucking throwing up! What the fuck is wrong with you, Y/N?" he complained, helping you to put yourself straight and pushing a cup of water into your hands. "Why are you fucking doing this, uh?"

He was being so rude! So, you decided to be rude against him as well, drinking the water just to put yourself straight enough to answer him with the same angry tone he had against you.

"I'm doing it for you, you idiot! Cause I don't want you to be mocked by the others because your wife is a damn whale! I'm fucking doing everything I can to keep me pretty for you and this is what you give me in exchange!” you yelled, hurt.

Feeling he wasn't being fair to your sacrifices.

His face twisted in a shocked expression.

"For me? You're fucking killing yourself and you think it would be something good for me?"

Why was he being so extreme?

"I'm not killing myself, Hvitserk. I'm not even thinner!"

"The fuck you aren't! Y/N you used to have curves! Now look!" he placed his hands around your waist and his fingertips almost touched each other in a perfect circle: index near index in your back, thumb near thumb in front of your belly.

Your flat and small tummy you thought was swollen...

You looked at the fabric of your dress, compressed in between his fingers, almost as if it was the only thing preventing his fingertips to touch each other surrounding your waist perfectly. His hands were shaking in nervousness.

"You're fucking starving to death, Y/N! Throwing up meals, fucking skipping them, drinking more water than I never see a human being able to hold and do you really think I didn't see you chewing the pieces of that damn apple you cut in four every day?"

He was so nervous...

It wasn't anger. Your eyes faced his and he didn't look angry for you anymore.

Hvitserk was... Afraid?

"I'm fucking seeing what you're doing! I have been watching you! Stop freaking lying to me!"

He was cursing so many times... His voice was trembling just like his hands and he pulled you into his arms, causing your heart to skip a beat when you felt his heart rushing so fast into his chest.

"You're fucking killing yourself! I'm fucking losing you and I don't know what to do to make you stop! Fucking stop, Y/N! Just stop! Please..."

You could feel his hands into your hair and around your waist, his kisses to your forehead and the top of your head.

"Stop..."

His voice was so cracked, so worried. His heartbeat so fast.

You were doing that for him but... It wasn't making him smile. Or proud. Or happy.

Instead, Hvitserk was scared in a way you never have seen before, holding you as if releasing that embrace would mean losing you to whatever was taking you away from him.

You held him back, slowly. You never wanted him to feel so worried or scared that way.

"I... I just wanted to be pretty for you," you mumbled. "Torvi thought I was pregnant that day... And... I didn't want you to be mocked by your brothers... Or the others... I just wanted to be pretty for you, I swear."

You were shocked. You never thought you had gone so far.

You were feeling weaker these days, but you thought it was a normal thing for someone in a diet, right? You never thought you were that thin...

The image of his hands around your waist was kinda impressed into your mind.

"You are pretty. You are the prettiest woman in Midgard and I don't need you to starve yourself this way! You say you're doing this for me. I don't want to, Y/N!" he said, cupping your face, touching his forehead to yours, "I don't want you to do it. I don't want this. It's not making me happy. I don't wanna fucking lose you, Y/N!"

Your poor sweet prince... He was so scared! So full of fear...

Your hands touched his face, caressing his beard softly the way you knew he liked to feel. And he held your hand, kissing your palm, allowing you to notice there was really a huge difference between your fingers and his.

"Promise me you won't do this again..." Hvitserk asked, kissing your fingers. "Promise me you won't leave me, Y/N."

Leave him...

You wouldn't think about such a thing. Ever.

But his fear was so palpable... Maybe you were really hurting yourself that much.

"I... I don't wanna leave you, my love, I never wanted this to happen," you said, keeping the small caresses, feeling his thumb sliding through your cheek.

"Then stop it. Come back inside. I'll make you some tea to heal your stomach. Then, you'll eat with me, every meal. You don't need to eat that much! But eat with me, like you used to do... I don't mind your curves, Y/N. I love every inch of you and you're taking my inches away..."

You laid your head against his chest, nestling in his neck, kissing softly his jawline, nodding in agreement to his ask, feeling the way he seemed to slowly relax with the idea that terror was over and you wouldn't fight him about that anymore.

"I don't feel hungry..." you mumbled, "But I'll try to make it for you."

"Yes," he mumbled back, near your ear. "This is something I want you to do for me... I want you to live with me, love. I want you to stay with me."

If he wanted that, then you could try.

For him, you could do anything.

Do you like my work? Support me!

Tagged ones:

|| @bluearchersstuff || @ivarswickedqueen || @directionlessbuthappy || @akamaiden || @bang-kim-bap || @cris101071 || @solveigs-temple || @volvas-temple || @alicedopey || @captstefanbrandt || @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla || @lol-haha-joke || @normatural || @readsalot73 || @shutter-bug124 || @rekdreams247 || @slutforasoldier || @naaladareia || @laketaj24 || @therealcalicali || @grungyblonde || @arses21434 || @honestsycrets || @rabeccablake || @2thequietone4 || @blackspiritshake || @vikingsbifrost || @sincerelysinister || @x-valhalla || @allvikingsfanfic || @calum-hoodwinked-me || @lyanna-the-giantsbane || @chinduda || @isthat-tyra98 || @hissouthernprincess || @xinyourdreamsx ||

Want to be tagged? Ask me!

[emotionalgirl101]

Question | Chapter 4

Words: 2,709

Genre: college au, angst, fluff

Pairing: SKZ x reader

Summary: Your best friend, Minho, had been refusing to introduce you to his other group of best friends for months now, with no explanation as to why. One night after getting drunk after work together, he gave in to your pleas. Oops.

Warning: Contains mature content (such as coarse language, violent themes, etc).

A/N: Wrote this surprisingly quickly! I hope my fellow MyDay’s enjoy this chapter, too! Already started chapter 5!~ I’m thinking of adding text message chapters in here as well. What do you think?

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

You weren’t really hung over. You were just drowsy. You felt a headache developing, but there was no throbbing pain. You knew if you had pain killers in the next few minutes, you’d get the better of it.

You woke up in Minho’s red jumper-like shirt. He often wore it over his white hoodie, but seemed to have decided to sacrifice it for your sake. It came down to the middle of your thigh. Modest enough. Although, the neckline exposed your collar bones. Neither really weighed on your mind. You were still rugged up in Minho’s bed, admiring your newly adorned sweater paws. It was your favourite thing about wearing his clothes. Something that had happened on occasion.

You weren’t surprised to find Minho’s side of the bed cold, as you saw lat his alarm clock read 11:36am. Thank god you had done all your shifts for the week. You could enjoy the fact you got to sleep in. You noticed Minho had put the covers on his side back in place, tucking them in at your side. You appreciated those little things he did for you. He knew you did. It went without saying,

You were reminded of why you’d woken up when you heard raised voices through the wall. Your now sober mind able to distinguish the voices of those speaking. A skill you were grateful that your drinking self had acquired over time.

“YOU’RE the one who’s going to wake her up! I didn’t make a noise! YOU were the one that was loud when you dragged me away!” The voice was Jisung’s. You recognised the annoyed tone after the playful banter from the night before. There was a quick reply, your brain not even having to register Minho’s voice. Recognising its various tones was practically a reflex now. “Why were you even going in there in the first place? Huh?” You could just visualise his arms crossed over his chest. An action that usually accompanied his turn voice.

“I need to grab my charger which you. stole.” Jisung emphasised the last two words. “Once I realised she was still asleep, I stopped moving. She’s cute when she sleeps…” You could tell the last part wasn’t meant to be a vocalised thought by the way his soft voice faded out. You slightly blushed at the compliment. It wasn’t everyday you heard yourself spoken of like this. You didn’t read too much into it, preferring to follow the conversation.

“You could’ve just asked. me.” Minho matched, “Let her sleep. She had a long shift last night.” You heard footsteps move away from the other side of the wall. A second set followed not long after. You decided to stay in Minho’s room a little longer, partially to spare Jisung any more flack from your best friend. For the most part, Minho’s sheets were just too damn comfy.

Wen you finally emerged, about twenty minutes after the small-scale altercation that took place outside your door, your eyes lit up at the aroma wafting in the air of the kitchen. “PANCAKES!” You squealed, rushing to hug your personal chef, Minho from behind. In the short amount of time you had known each other, this boy knew you like the back of his hand. All your quirks and what makes you tick. Even your favourite hangover cure; buttermilk pancakes.

“My hero.” You inaudibly mumbled into his back. He chuckled, probably guessing what you had said. “Morning, little one.” He teased, giving you a side-on hug so he could make sure he didn’t burn your precious pancakes. Woojin looked over from the other side of him, leaning over his chopping board and innocently waving at you, not realising he still had his knife in hand. “Morning, Y/n. How did you sleep?” He asked, returning to the task at hand.

“Well, thank you.” You beamed, not minding in the slightest that he didn’t look up to see. You whipped around to see Seungmin pouring over a book, concentration unwavering. That was until he felt your eyes on him. “Noona!” He grinned, sitting up to focus on you. “How’s the hangover.” You smiled at the sweet boy, despite full knowing he was teasing you. “Non-existent, thank you.” You winked. He nodded, mildly impressed. “Can’t say the same for some of the others” he chuckled, returning back to his pages.

Seungmin had reminded you to ask Minho for pain killers. You tugged on the boy’s shirt sleeve. He reached into his left pocket with his spare hand, pulling out a sheet of the drugs. He had anticipated your every move. Man, this boy was good. “This is why I love you.” You hummed nonchalantly. You turned on your heel, heading back to your sleeping quarters from the previous night. You decided to finished the water that was on your bedside table to wash the pills down. You grabbed your phone, unplugging it from Minho’s spare- well, actually, probably Jisung’s, charger. No notable notifications. You left the room, charger in hand.

You went straight to where you remembered the living room to be. You passed through the kitchen without a word, straight to the couches, occupied by the other six boys.

Jeongin was on the floor, leaning on the coffee table, and eyes glued to the tv. He was gaming on his console. You recognised the game as Fortnite, rolling your eyes by instinct. Chan was sitting on the couch on the right-hand side. He was reading the newspaper, a fact that surprised you to say the least. Further along, the end closest to you, was Felix. His arm was draped over his face, covering his eyes from the incoming sun. He occasionally moved it to check Jeongin’s stats, then returned to his previous state.

On the middle couch, the one that faced the tv directly and the one you were standing behind, laid Hyunjin. He was groaning ever so often, drinking water, then letting his gaze wander to Jeongin and his game, or covering them with his hand. He and Felix were obviously the ones Seungmin was referring to.

Changbin was on the couch on the left, that mirrored the couch Chan and Felix were on. He had his headphones in, eyes closed, basking in the sunlight from the window his couch was up against.

You were about to leave to search for the owner of the charger, before you realised he was there all along. His cap, with hoops on the left side of its peak, had successfully hid him from your initial survey of the room. His light hair came out from underneath in soft peaks. He was on his phone, sitting on the floor and leaning his back on Hyunjin’s couch.

You moved swiftly between Changbin and Hyunjin’s couches, taking a seat beside Jisung. He looked up, breaking into a smile from his blank expression. “Good morning, Noona.” He smiled, looking into both of your eyes without blinking. You smiled softly, partially forgetting why you’d sat there in the first place. Not for long, though.

You outstretched your hand to the boy, his charger sitting securely in your palm. “I think this belongs to you.” You watched him take it from your hand, puzzled, as the other members groaned ‘hello’s to acknowledge your presence. Chan smiled at you from over his paper, and Jeongin waved at you with the back of his hand, not having time to turn around. When you looked back at the boy before you, you saw realisation wash over him.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. Please don’t tel-” Your voice cut him off, “I won’t tell Minho, don’t worry. I didn’t come out straight away, purposely to save you from his wrath.” You both chuckled. The moment was cut short.

“Pancakes!” Minho announced, a tea towel taking place over his forearm. He was acting as your personal waiter. You giggled at his antics, more so when he swatted away Jisung’s hand from the plate. “They’re Y/n’s.” He stated, matter-of-factly. Jisung pouted. “Hyung~”.

-

You had left the apartment at about 2pm. Minho dropped you home, staying at yours until he had to head to his shift at the bar. You had offered to wash his jumper, saying you’d give it back the next time you saw each other. Knowing you two, that could be as soon as tomorrow.

Too lazy to cook, you made instant ramen, a meal with minimal effort required. All you had to do was fill the water to the right height and time the cooking process. Soggy noodles would ruin it.

As you waited for the kettle to boil, you leant on the counter opposite, an angle at which you could glance at the calendar displayed on the back of your of your pantry door. You had completely forgotten your plans to meet up with Jae tomorrow. You had also met him through uni. He worked there for a brief time in your first year. You easily became friends, bonding over your mutual love of music. A thing many had in common at your age.

You finished dinner, which left you feeling fatigued. You weren’t usually one to have an early night, whether it was planned or not. You put on Netflix in the background, hoping the voices would provide the white noise you needed to fall asleep. You found yourself reminiscing on the night before. The thought of the boys laughter ringing in your ears before your eyes slipped shut.

-

You had woken up on Monday and gotten dressed, prepared to be on time to your catch up with Jae. Despite having plenty of time when the day started, it seemed to slip away from you. You were ten minutes late to the café, but Jae couldn’t have cared less.

His glasses were perched on his nose, his blonde strands kissing the top of the frames. You smiled at you. “Look who it is.” He smirked playfully, and wrapped you in a one-armed hug. An affectionate act you had grown accustom to when spending time with the older guy.

You only just noticed the tray of coffee cups in his other hand. You pointed at it, drawing his eyes to follow what yours were trained on. “I ordered. You change your order a lot-“ you cut in mid-explanation to correct him. “Or, you never can remember my order.” He nodded, with a small smile on his face. “Yeah, that. Jae needs help.” You couldn’t contain your laugh, and neither could Jae. He moved on after referring to himself in the third person, “ANYWAY, I grabbed you a hot chocolate, just to be safe.” You smiled, removing the cup from his grasp with a smile painted on your face. “Perfect~” you hummed.

“So,” you continued, sipping away at your hot chocolate. You were still leaning on the outer wall of the cafe. “What did you want to do today?” You could see he felt guilty about what he was about to ask of you. You were more curious than concerned. Jae could be bad, but he was never THAT bad. “I wanted to know if you’d mind running some errands with me? I have to go on campus and drop off some sample files to a friend.” You were blunt in response. “Seriously? That’s all? Why did you look so guilty? Of course I don’t mind running errands with you!” The sheepish look tainted with fear quickly dissipated from Jae’s face. You has scared him for a second there.

Jae was a post-grad at the Music Academy, not too far from the campus of your own university. It was only logical for him to go there, as he wanted to stay close with his family. He knew he’d probably need to move overseas at some point, so every precious moment with them was one he had to make count.

You arrived on the campus, talking about mundane things like work and life updates of mutual friends, following Jae subconsciously. You didn’t even realise you’d wandered into a music store. Record lined every inch of the store. They seemed to have gotten popular, again. They say trends repeat themselves. It made sense. The was a centre piece filled with CDs of old classics from around the world. Your fingers traced over the likes of Nirvana, Biggie, Crowded House. It was all music you grew up listening to. You had your mum to thanks for that.

Jae strayed from your side, presumably to go seek out his friend. You had explored almost every inch of the store, before deciding to go see what Jae was up to. He was at the counter, talking to the guy on shift. He was hidden behind Jae’s big head. You chuckled to yourself, then approached.

You didn’t look at Jae’s counterpart, mainly because he had his back to you by the time you’d approached the two guys. You felt a sense of familiarity, but chalked it up to Jae’s laughter that filled the space. The aforementioned boy turned to acknowledge your presents. “Done snooping?” He teased. “Shut up.” You mumbled, gently waking him. You looked at your phone, just because it was something to do. Jae’s voices brought your attention back to reality. “Y/n, this is-“ You were starting to lift your head when you heard the familiar voice of someone else. “Y/n.”

Your eyes locked with the tall brunette with soft hair, “Chan?” You couldn’t hid your smile at the surprise, and neither could he. Jae was confused. “You guys know each other?” His wrist flicked his finger from you to Chan, to you, to Chan. “Yeah. He’s friends with Minho.” You kept smiling at the boy behind the counter, proceeding to ask him probably the dumbest question you could have right then. “What are you doing here?”

Jae and Chan both laughed, then you realised how obvious the answer was. Working. I work here, remember?” He teased you. The facts just clicked in your mind. Chan said he studies at the Music Academy, working at the on-campus music store. Jae also dragged you to the same campus, which he also attends. He had taken you to said music store.

“Wow, I’m slow today.” You were saying it as more of a fact than a joke, but smiled at the reactions the other two had.

You didn’t stay long, give Chan a quick wave goodbye and a ‘see you soon’ over your shoulder. You left the store, and spent the rest of the day with Jae. The coincidence of seeing Chan only adding to the pleasantry.

The second one was also, in a way, your own doing. You went the campus library to try and sell off some of your old textbooks from the previous year. The money could always come in handy.

You stood at the main desk near the entrance, with no blue-shirt stuff member in sight. You scrolled through your phone, absentmindedly. A call came from behind you, circling around to your left, and then behind the counter. “Sorry to keep you waiting.Give me one second.” The staff member that had appeared before you had eyes down, finishing off something before tending to you. You smirked at Woojin, as he hadn’t really realised just who he was talking to.

“So formal. I could get used to this, Woojinnie~” You sung, purposely informal. He snapped his head up, and his face lit up at the sight of you. “Y/n! I forgot you went here.” He smiled, not afraid to admit his lapse in memory. This encouraged the same honestly from you. “I forgot you worked here.” His eyes creased, warmth and friendly radiating from him. He was a sweetheart. “What can I help you with then?”

Woojin wasn’t kidding when he said to go to him if you needed help. He knew pretty much everything, solving a number of problems you would’ve had if you hadn’t spoken to him sooner. Anything he didn’t know, he still fixed, having someone he knew able to solve the issue for him. The boy made your Tuesday a lot more bearable than you had expected.

>>

[allonsysilvertongue]

Golden Circle

Three times Tony spent time with May and Peter, and the one time he couldn't. Part II

Hello again, I'm back with a new 3 +1, I hope you're not bored of it yet!

i.

Tony grabbed the marker lying on the table, moving closer to the bed where Peter was. He pushed the blanket away, revealing the bright red cast underneath it. Without a word, he signed on it.

“There – just bumped up your cool factor by about a hundred,” he declared, capping the black marker before tossing it aside.

Peter grinned, craning his neck to take a better look.

“That’ll shut Flash up,” he told his aunt sitting on his right. “Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“No problem. Back to what we were talking about before the doctor interrupted us… So, you’re telling me that there’s a whole discourse out there about Star Trek and Star Wars.”

“Yep,” Peter nodded.

“Why can’t they just like both?” May frowned, confused.

Tony was quick to jump onboard, agreeing with May on it, “Exactly. Explain it to me, kid.”

Peter shifted on the bed, adjusting his casted leg carefully. He fielded off question of ‘are you in pain? Do you need painkillers?’ from May away.

“I – I don’t really know, Mr. Stark. I haven’t actually seen Star Trek, you know? Like, I’ve only seen an episode here and there when it’s on reruns on TV but I’ve never really follow up on it the way I do with Clone Wars. I guess it’s – it’s like Stark Industries with Oscorp Industries? It’s sort of same but also different…. It just doesn’t mix?”

Tony blinked, a little offended that Peter even thought to think that his company was in any way similar to Oscorp but put it that way, he was starting to see the whole Star Wars versus Star Trek in a different light. Personally, he had seen both and they were both alright.

“Alright, alright, I see where you’re coming from. Still, you made the deduction that Star Wars is in some way superior without ever having watched Star Trek saved for that one or two episodes you caught,” Tony stared down at him. “Here I thought you watched a lot more shows and movies.”

“Hey, that’s not cool. Star Trek was during your time. You must have had the time to watch them growing up. For me, I have to actually play catch up, you know, and there’s just like so many other stuffs to watch.”

May stood up, wandering away from the arm chair she had claimed as her own to talk to one of the nurses. Tony caught wind of ‘incessant pop culture argument’ and he whipped his head in her direction, unable to believe that she was telling on them to the nurse; a nurse of his pay roll.

“And like, I mean, with Ned it’s always just – just Star Wars. We never really got the chance to watch any Star Trek. I – I know there was like a movie that came out in 2009 with Chris Pine, wasn’t it? Uncle Ben was – um – supposed to bring us to the theatre to watch it but he had to take on some work or something and it sort of just never happen?”

Out of all the things that came out from the kid’s mouth, he was most surprised by the mention of his uncle. Peter hardly ever talked about him.

Tony offered him a soft smile.

“I’ve never caught the movies myself, only the television series with Leonard Nimoy. So tell you what, kid, let’s watch that movie right here, right now. We’ve got time and you’re not going anywhere – not with that leg.”

“It’ll heal in a few days,” Peter shrugged.

“Exactly, you heal so fast the doctors might even remove the screws instead of waiting for months. We gotta keep you occupied before you get bored and hop around on that leg when you’re not supposed to.”

“Alright, Mr. Stark,” he acquiesced. “Let’s watch Star Trek.”

“Good boy,” he ruffled the kid’s hair much to his chagrin. “You can’t make conclusions until you have all the data in front of you. F.R.I.D.A.Y, put on Star Trek.”

Coming back to her seat, May was shaking her head. “I can see why you two get along quite well.”

Tony spared her a glance, trying to gauge if that was meant to be taken as a compliment or if it was sarcasm. He was still a tad wary of her. The dressing down and harsh reprimand he got from her four months ago after she found out he had given Peter the suit was still rather fresh on his mind.

He didn’t hold it against her, naturally. Peter was her kid and if his kid was running around with enhanced powers that he had kept hidden for nearly a year, dressed in a multi-million dollar suit to play vigilante in their neighbourhood, he would have probably reacted the way she did or worse.

To her credit, she was coming around. She did acknowledge that even without Tony Stark in the picture, Peter inadvertently would still have been roaming around Queens as Spider-Man. This way, at least, she knew that someone else has got Peter’s back, someone that understood what he was up to.

“Let me guess… Spock’s your favourite character,” Peter commented half an hour into the movie. “Am I right, Mr. Stark?”

“Obviously.”

“I do like him too,” May added, completely focused on the movie. “He is quite poised and blunt. Although, I must say, Cadet Kirk does have the looks…”

“May, don’t make comments like that,” Peter scrunched his face, trying to reach forward towards the tray.

Seeing him struggle, Tony pushed the chocolate pudding the kid was clearly going for into his hand. He checked his watch, noting that it would be another hour before the nurses would pop by to check on Peter for the night. Tony had no obligation to sit with the kid and his aunt here in the Compound’s med bay but truth be told, he was enjoying this companionship.

Ever since the Avengers fell out, it had been a little quieter with only Rhodey and Vision around the private living quarters. Whenever Peter came around for suit upgrades, it was like a breath of fresh air. He lifted the spirit and aura in the Compound, not that Tony had ever told him that.

Tony had other things to do, sure. He needed to upgrade the exo-skeleton for Rhodes. In fact, he was putting in the hours for the nano technology he was developing when F.R.I.D.A.Y had alerted him to the distress signal Karen had put up from Peter’s suit. Somehow, the kid had managed to trap his leg in a small gutter behind an abandoned warehouse and had broken his tibia in three different places and fractured his fibula. Tony had extracted the kid, flew him to the med bay before sending Happy to retrieve his aunt.

Post-surgery with screws holding his bones together, Peter was confined to the bed as they waited for his enhanced healing to speed up the process. The medical team, thoroughly briefed on Peter’s condition, was expecting him to heal within weeks what would have otherwise taken months. Tony made sure to visit him each day. He was usually never on the same ‘shift’ as his aunt until today but as it was proving out to be, spending the time with May and Peter Parker together wasn’t all that bad.

“That was quite good,” Tony remarked once the credits rolled.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool, Mr. Stark! Maybe we’ll watch the sequel tomorrow?”

“Sure. How ‘bout that, May?”

“I’ve got the afternoon shift tomorrow. I’ll only come by at night so you boys have fun.”

“Aw, no, we can wait for you May. We can, can’t we, Mr. Stark? We started the movie together so we should see it through together.”

“Guess the kid has a point,” Tony shrugged.

“Well, since you managed to get him to a hospital and get medical treatment by a doctor, which I never could, I guess I can do this one little thing.”

Tony frowned. “What’s up? You don’t like doctors?”

Peter fidgeted, casting his gaze away before dragging it back to the adults in the room.

“N – Not since the spider bite, Mr. Stark. I – I was just afraid that they might … find something different with me and I wouldn’t – I can’t explain it to them.”

Tony and May exchanged a look.

“This is one of my many struggles with our spider kid,” May laughed quietly, squeezing Peter’s shoulder.

“Alright, okay,” Tony exhaled, trying to calm his racing heart. He had never considered that the kid would have nowhere to go when he fell sick. “You’ve got this place. Right here, alright? May, I don’t want you to worry about getting him medical treatment if he even so much as got the flu. You call me and I’ll get him to the med bay. These doctors … They’ve got his records now and they were onboard when the Avengers were still around so they know, alright? They know what’s at stake… They know what they are dealing with.”

“Thank you, Tony,” May nodded gratefully and she looked as if a weight had just been lifted from her shoulder.

He swore this kid was going to be the death of them.

This was based on THIS tumblr post I made yesterday.

[fiti-vation]

Can you train as a vegan ?

Hey,

I would firstlike to apologize for the long layoff before replying. I have been busy in thepast few months with school, track meets and work.

Iam not a vegan myself, but I don’t see why one couldn’t train as a vegan. Anecdotally,people do fine. There are plenty of elite athletes who are vegans. As a matterof fact, one of the most-cited vegan athlete success stories is of Carl Lewis,who credits his outstanding 1991 results in part to the vegan diet he adoptedin 1990. But he is not the only one. There are other vegetarian athletes whohave risen to the top as well, without the help of meat. I did publish a post about 2 yrs. ago on vegan elite athletes.

That said, considering that I am not a vegan and there’s notenough research to know how vegetarian — let alone vegan — diets affectathletes (nobody has researched the health benefits of the vegan diet forcompetitive athletes), I can only try to answer your question to the best of mypersonal knowledge as a varsity tracklete. Also, my answer will be pretty general considering that I have no idea what your lifestyle is like; are you anathlete? If yes what type of athlete are you? An endurance athlete? And mostimportantly what type of vegan are you?

Vegan Lifestyle: Different Kinds Of Vegetarians

There are different kinds of vegetarians:

Anyhow,enough chit chat let’s get to the core of your question.Asmentioned earlier it is possible for vegans to train. However, vegans have tobe more cautious about their diet and supplementation because there are variousnutrientswhich are essentialto athletic performance thatyou can’t get from plant foods. For instance,  creatine and vitamin B12 can only befound in animal foods, such as fish, meat, dairy products and eggs.

VitaminB12 is an essential nutrient found in virtually no plant foods. Also known ascobalamin, vitamin B12 is a water-soluble nutrient involved in the developmentof red blood cells, maintenance of nerves and normal brain function. Vitamin B12is particularly important for endurance athletes, since it affects red bloodcell production. Without supplements or enriched foods, vegetarians are at ahigh risk of vitamin B12 deficiency (1).Ifyou’re a lacto-ovo vegan, dairyproducts and eggs are an easy way to get adequate amounts of protein andvitamin B12in a plant-based diet, obviously, but this is much more challengingfor vegans. The signs, symptoms and risks associated with deficiency include:

Weakness, fatigue (8).

Impaired brain function (9).

A variety of neurological disorders (10).

Psychiatric disorders (11).

Neurological disorders in babies of breast-feeding mothers (12).

Megaloblastic anemia (13).

Possible links with Alzheimer’s disease (14).

Possible links with heart disease (15).

Vegansmust get vitamin B12 by taking supplements or eating enriched food or certaintypes of seaweed. Many processed foods have been enriched with vitamin B12.These include enriched yeast extracts, soya products,breakfast cereals, bread and meat-substitutes (3, 16).Manyprocessed foods have been enriched with vitamin B12. These include enrichedyeast extracts, soyaproducts, breakfast cereals, bread and meat-substitutes (3, 16). Inaddition, a few plant foods naturally contain small amounts of bioactivevitamin B12. These include:

Nori seaweed, a type of marine algae (17, 18, 19, 20).

Tempeh, a fermented soy product (21, 22).

 Noriseaweed is considered the most suitable source of biologically availablevitamin B12 for vegans (23).

Keepin mind that raw or freeze-dried nori may be better than conventionally dried.It seems that some of the vitamin B12 is destroyed in the drying process (19, 24, 25).Anotherplant food often claimed to contain vitamin B12 is spirulina.However, spirulina contains so-called pseudovitamin B12, which is notbiologically available. For this reason, it is not suitable as a source ofvitamin B12 (26).

Further readings: 6 Sources Of Vitamin B12 In Vegan Diet

Anothernutrient which is important to athletes and vegans may not get enough of iscreatine. Creatineis a molecule found in animal foods. Most of it is stored in muscles, butsignificant amounts are also concentrated in the brain. It functions as aneasily-accessible energy reserve for muscle cells, giving them greater strengthand endurance (27).Forthis reason, it is one of the world’s most popular supplements for musclebuilding.Studieshave shown that creatine supplementation can increase both muscle mass andstrength (28).Creatine is not essential in the diet, since it can be produced by the liver.However, vegetarians have lower amounts of creatine in their muscles (29). It’spossible that some vegan athletes are low on creatine, creatine can help duringshort bouts of intense exercise, like sprinting, though supplementation isn’tnecessary.Placingpeople on a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet for 26 days causes a significant decreasein muscle creatine (30).Becausecreatine is not found in any plant foods, vegetarians and vegans can only getit from supplements.Invegetarians, creatine supplementation may have significant benefits. Theseinclude:

Improvements in physical performance (29).

Improvements in brain function (31, 32).    

Manyof these effects are stronger in vegetarians than meat eaters. For example,vegetarians taking creatine supplements may experience significant improvementsin brain function while meat eaters see no difference (31).

Othernutrients that vegans may not get enough of include: carnosine, cholecalciferol(Vitamin D3), docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), heme-iron, and taurine. I made a littletab below showing the nutrients that you can’t get from plant foods.

I think one mistake many vegetarians make is removing foods (like meat,dairy, eggs, etc.) but not replacing these foods with plant-based alternativesthat are similar in nutritional value. For every food group a vegetarian orvegan removes from his or her diet, something has to be added back in forbalance. That means:

Replacing meat     with other high-quality protein sources, such as edamame, tofu, beans, lentils,     legumes, eggs or egg whites (for ovo-vegetarians) or meat analogs (like     veggie burgers made of soy, beans, seitan or other proteins). Read more     about the     best meatless protein sources.

Replacing dairy     products with other calcium-rich foods such as non-dairy “milks”     that are enriched with calcium (like almond milk, rice milk, soy milk,     etc.) and possibly even taking a calcium supplement. Read more about dairy-free     calcium sources here.

When done right, a vegetarian or vegan diet can be very healthy. But it’simportant to include plenty of highly nutritious foods into your diet at thesame time.

Further readings:

Essential Muscle Nutrients Which Are Found Only in Animal Food [X]

Take home message

Vegetarian and vegan diets may be veryhealthy for some people. However, there are a few important nutrients that areimpossible to get from commonly consumed plant foods. If you plan to completelyeliminate animal foods, then be extra prudent about your diet and make sure youare getting everything your body needs.

SUPPLEMENTS: VEGAN VS. REGULAR CAPSULES

Since you may have to take supplements toavoid nutrient deficiency if you consider becoming a vegan, keep in mind thatyou also have to cautious about the type of supplements that you’ll be taking –in terms of the capsules used.Regular capsules use animal gelatin (or animal ‘jelly’ - made from boiledbones, skins and tendons of animals) while Vegetarian caps are all-naturalnon-gelatin based. Vegetarian caps can also be made from Agar-agar, which isderived from seaweed, (but expensive). It can also be made from Kazu.Products like Jello, gum and snack pack can potentially have gelatin init, but there are variations of each of these products made by the samecompanies without gelatin.So, if aproduct has 'gelatin’, it can’t be vegan

PROTEIN:

As a vegan not only do you have to be prudent aboutnutrients deficiency, but you also have to be diligent about protein intake. Vegannovices may think that putting a few chickpeas in my salad is enough, but that’snot going to do it. Women for example, need about 60 to 90 grams ofprotein a day, and athletes are on the high end of that. That means you have toeat cupfuls of chickpeas. And you can’t eat a quarter of that cake of tofu. Youneed to eat the whole thing. It’s not that there aren’t good sources of veganprotein. But it’s not as bioavailable as meat. So, you need to have more.All athletes have higher-than-normal protein andcalorie needs. And animal sources of protein are complete and bio-available,[meaning the body can use of them more readily], compared to protein from plantfoods. That said, by carefully choosing complementary protein sources andmonitoring overall intake, vegan athletes can consume adequate amounts ofprotein to fuel their performance. Becoming a vegan competitive athlete mayrequires more meticulousness in terms of nutrition.Also keep in mind that distance athletes need[protein] for muscle repair, whereas strength athletes require it for musclemass.

Useful Advicefor Vegan Athletes (and the People Who Train Them)

Educate yourself, whether for your own  sake. “A lot of vegans don’t understand how little protein there may be in their diet. They have a couple of chickpeas on their salad and think they’re set. Plant foods aren’t very concentrated sources of protein. You have to eat a lot of peanut butter and hummus.

Be careful not to be overly restrictive. Eat a variety of foods to avoid nutrient—and energy—deficiency.

Consult a registered dietitian if you’re thinking about converting to a vegan diet.

Conclusion:

There youhave it. There are many benefits to eating a vegetarian or vegan diet—and myreply is not meant to scare you away from it! However, making smart foodchoices is essential. Next time you’re deciding between the veggie burger andthe faux turkey slices, consider more than calories. Zero in on the nutrients discussedabove to help you make the best decision for optimal health. And remember that thereare hundreds of apps out there that enable you to easily track each of thesenutrients to see how you’re doing day to day and then make adjustments asnecessary.Here’s to a healthy and balanced plant-based diet!

Xoxo Steph 🙂 

[thornescratch]

I want to watch old Washington Capitals games but I don't know which. If you have any favourite games from the past, would you mind recommending some? It could be your favourite because they won, or they were hilarious while loosing, or even because something memorable or amusing happened at the game. I am asking you because you obviously have a lot of passion for this team, and also because you might have fellow Caps fan followers who might be willing to offer recs too. Thank you in advance!

Oh! This is a super fun question, so thank you. Hmm. This is hard because I know I’m going to write a ton and then remember “I LEFT OUT SUCH AND SUCH GAME” as soon as I hit post. So, yeah, if anyone’s reading this and wants to chime in with their favorite Caps games, please feel free!

And I’m not sure how you’re going to watch these games– hell, I’m not sure all the ones I’d recommend are available, but, I’ll try to be cognizant of that. So. That said. I should probably take this moment to note that if you want to have an actual convenient DVD, Amazon sells one of the 10 Greatest Capitals Games. You used to be able to buy it in the team store, but I haven’t seen it there in a couple years, so.

That particular DVD is very much geared to the Ovechkin era, which I don’t really see as a bad thing, but I don’t know you. And if you’re looking for much more of a deep dive into past Caps history, the DVD does include some of the most exciting and seminal games, but it’s much more current in general. I do get the mindset of people who have been around for this entire franchise and scoff at only focusing at 2005 on. I do get it! But the thing is, when you try to watch old games, you run into the fact they’re one, hard to find, two, generally of terrible video quality.

…Also the reviewer on Amazon who bitches because they think it should include the 4 OT Easter Epic should be soundly donkeypunched. Look, buddy, we all signed up for a disproportionate amount of disappointment as Caps fans, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be memorialized on a DVD. With that said, here are the games I love to rewatch or remember or I just think they’re neat. I’ll start with the DVD games because that’s convenient, and then go on with some other ones I like

Here’s what the DVD includes. All of these are good games to watch.

4/16/1988 - Dale Hunter scores the series’ winner in overtime as the Caps beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 to win Game 7 of the Patrick Division semi-final. This was the one they used in that “History will” series of NHL commercials because we have so few good playoff highlights.

4/17/1996 - In the Eastern Conference quarter-final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team rallies from a three-goal deficit to win 6-4.

6/4/1998 - Joe Juneau scores the overtime winner in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, and the Caps go onto their first (and only) Stanley Cup appearance.

10/5/2005 - Ovechkin’s first NHL game. He scores two goals, hits a dude so hard the glass pane falls out, and Caps beat Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2.

11/23/2007 - First Bruce Boudreau coaching game, an overtime win against Philadelphia. Ah, Bruce.

1/31/2008 - Ovechkin’s (first) four goal game against the Habs, where he broke his nose (again) and won the game in OT.

4/5/2008 - Caps win 3-1 against the Florida Panthers to gain their first playoff appearance in five years, after having to win 11 of 12 down the stretch and pushing to the last day.

4/11/2008 - Ovechkin’s first NHL playoff game, with him leading the team to a come-from-behind win over Philadelphia.

4/28/2009 - Russian legend Sergei Fedorov, in his first and last season with the Caps, provides the game-winning goal in Game 7 against the New York Rangers, leading the Caps to win 2-1 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. God, that goal. (Also, don’t look now, but that was a Game 7 the Caps won.)

5/4/2009 - The Ovechkin-Crosby dueling hat tricks playoff game with the Caps winning 4-3. (This was also where Crosby complained about hats being thrown on the ice. Like, there are many other reasons he’s never going to be on my Christmas card list, but this was him at some of his whiniest and pettiest, and when I think of reasons why I don’t care for the dude, this one tends to flash across my mind. Because I am also petty. EXCELSIOR.)

OTHER PLAYOFF GAMES.

HEY YES I KNOW EVERYONE MAKES FUN OF US ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS WELL HERE ARE SOME PLAYOFFS GAMES YOU CAN WATCH AND ENJOY.

4/20/2011 - Game four of the series with the New York Rangers. Yeah, yeah, the Caps have had their share of OT pain with the Rangers. But this comes from one of the shorter playoff series the Caps enjoyed in the Ovechkin era, and hey look, it’s a double OT WIN, which came about after the Caps had fallen behind 3-0 in the game, and then forced OT and won it on what was described as a “freaky sort of development play”. Marian Gaborik, in an attempt to clear the puck, accidentally yanked it away from Lundqvist and passed it directly to Jason Chimera, who promptly put it back in the net, and then skated the length of the ice in basically two seconds while his teammates tried to catch him for hugs. (Game 5 of that series was also pretty good because it’s one of the few times where the Caps were closing out a series and never looked worried during it. Just a nice solid win.)

4/25/2012 - Game Seven of the series with the Boston Bruins. Yeah, yeah, the Caps and Game 7′s. HERE’S ONE THAT WE ACTUALLY WON. This series was so fucking close and insane and it was the NHL playoff debut of a young Braden Holtby who came storming up from the AHL after both Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth went down to freak injury and went on to become the Bruins’s worst nightmare. (If you love Braden Holtby, you should remember that ex-Cap then-Panther Marco Sturm falling on Michal Neuvirth is what propelled Holtby into the playoffs out of necessity, and therefore most Caps fans probably owe him a drink.) And of course, this was the game of Joel Ward��s OT winner, with a helping of Mike Knuble’s gigantic ass in Tim Thomas’s face, (and I’m frankly still amazed the Caps didn’t get boned with a GI call on it), and man do I love me some Joel Ward.

4/27/2015 - Game Seven of the series with the Islanders. ANOTHER GOOD OUTCOME GAME SEVEN. This game seven on the other hand wasn’t as close (though every Caps fan was puckered and freaking during it) and the Caps were dominating. Joel Ward scored first for the Caps, and they outshot New York and were handling the Isles with ease, only to have everyone almost lose their shit when Holtby made a mistake and let Nielson tie. However, just as the Bruins series was Holtby’s debut party, the Isles series was Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Big Show. He scored with just over seven minutes left in the game on Halak, the goalie who’d tortured the Caps in 2010, and it was another successful Game 7 and series win. Since we don’t have a ton of those, enjoy it.

4/18/2016 - Game Three of the series with the Flyers. This was the, uh, Bracelet Game. But it was also a game where the Caps scored five goddamn powerplay goals to win 6-1 and took a 3-0 series lead for the first time in– well, ever. (At least in the seven game series era.) This is why it narrowly beats out Game Two, which had the Steve Mason “OH NO” goal given up to Jason Chimera.

4/19/2017 - I feel like I should include a Leafs playoff series game here from 2017 for completeness sake. Uh. Hmm. Let’s go with Game Four, since it had Tom Wilson saving a goal, then going down ice to score a goal, and was high-scoring, super-close, and barely squeaked away from going to OT.

OTHER REGULAR SEASON GAMES

1/1/2011, 1/1/2015 - Both Winter Classics. CAPS ARE UNDEFEATED IN OUTDOOR GAMES. Plus, they both serve as a good excuse to rewatch the HBO 24/7 and Epix Road to the Winter Classic specials.

2/7/2010 - Snowvechkin. Ovi had a hat trick against the Pens, the Caps had to come from behind, there was bizarre reffing, and Caps won. This was all the more impressive because DC was essentially under two feet of snow at this point and for the intrepid souls who basically walked into the city on foot to see the game, they got a real gem.

2/6/2011 - The Caps shut out the Pens 3-0 on Superbowl Sunday, but more dramatically, shaved ape on skates and career injury-causing cockmonger Matt Cooke tried to go knee on knee with Alex Ovechkin in the process and Nicklas Backstrom did his best to punch everliving shit out of him for doing it. It’s great seeing Backstrom get in Cooke’s face and throw hands afterthe shot on Ovechkin. If “ice in his veins and murder in his eyes” Backstrom is that visibly emotional,then somebody done done somebody wrong.

3/7/2011 - Holtby comes on in relief of Neuvirth in a game against the Bolts, when Neuvirth takes a shot off the mask and gets a sliver of metal in his eye. He held the Caps in it, and went on to help get the shootout win, 2-1. This was the very beginning of his career, and he’d go on to start the post-season against the Bruins and really blossom.

1/24/2012: Matty Perreault tricks the Bruins. This was an interesting game because it was one of the games Ovechkin was suspended for, after the NHL decided to make an example out of him and suspend him for a hit on Michalek but still require him to go to the ASG. Ovechkin not eager to play the NHL game of cookie-cutter villain / showdog to trot out and make money (boy, if you ever want to get an earful of rant, start me off on that particular suspension because I will not shut up about it, ever) and withdrew from the ASG. With Ovechkin out for suspension and Nicklas Backstrom concussed by noted shitstain Rene Bourque, and Mike Green also injured, it wasn’t looking good– until diminutive hero Matty P stepped up (and later got a shaving cream pie, courtesy of his proud captain who essentially rushed out of the press box in his suit and down to the ice to do it) to win the damn game with his hatty.

Fun fact with this game: Perreault somehow managed to high-stick Chara in the face during this game.Ponder that one for a minute. One might wonder how Perreault could even high-stick someone who routinely gets calls from Logan Airport to please move his head sothe planes can take off, without sneaking a ladder onto the ice or something.

2/24/2012 - Caps beat Habs 4-1. There’s an Ovechkin pretty goal in this one, but this real thing I remember is that Mike Green was itching to get back at Rene Bourque for concussing Backstrom, and boy did he. Green was playing Bourque because of the puck coming his waynear the net, but as soon as he saw the puck was past and out of danger, heturned his full attention to absolutely nailing Bourque and shoving him face-first into the goal-side. It was awesome.“Oh, did I fling you into the goal post? My bad, man.”

3/29/2012 - Matt Hendricks wins the shootout for Washington 3-2 and completely turns Tim Thomas inside out. At that point, you expected players like PKane or Datsyuk or Oshie to make beautiful, awe-inspiring SO moves.Matt Hendricks? Well, that’s a secret Caps fans knew and reveled in, and then welaughed at the other teams when they went, “Matt Hendricks, seriously? That’swho you're—oh, fuck. Fuck! fuuuuuuck! Where the fuck did that come from?!”

4/16/2013 - Ovechkin nearly tears Jay McClement’s head off for boarding Backstrom. This was a Caps 5-1 win over Toronto, and you’ve probably seen the clip in question. It was encouraging to see how much the team rushed to start a line brawl for Nicky’s sake. Backstrom, it should be noted, stood right back up and threw himself after the guy throwing himself at Ovi, so it went both ways.

12/10/2013 - I could describe all of Ovi’s four goal games, but this one against the Bolts, a 6-5 shootout win, was super dramatic and his first since 2008, a five year span. I’m just going to quote the RMNB recap of it: First, Mike Green committed a penalty and the Lightningscored. Then, Mike Green committed a penalty and the Lightning scored. Then, ina Shyamalany plot twist, Mike Green was on-ice when the Lightning scored. Holtbywas like, “Sick of you, Mike,” and he peaced out; Grubauer in. AlexOvechkin put the team on the board with an instant-score following a faceoff.Okay, buckle up. Here we go.

Troy Brouwer proved unable, so Nick Backstrom finished off the powerplay for him. Then, Alex Ovechkin happened. After Richard Panik earned a 5-minute major for boarding Karl Alzner, the Russian machine made Tampa pay. Twice. First, he laid up a cross-ice pass from Marcus Johansson, then he took a one-timer from Green to tie the game. Hats rained down. Another three-goal second period for the Washington Capitals.

Ondrej Palat put the Bolts back up in the third, taking advantage of some observational Capitals defense, but the Caps weren’t done. With the Caps net empty, Alex Ovechkin struck again, scoring his 4th goal of the night. HIS FOURTH FOARTH GOAL OF THE NIGHT.

12/13/2014 - Backstrom’s natural hat trick against the Lightning. He’s just so silky smooth.

10/23/2015 - Evgeny Kuznetsov’s hat trick and five point night against the Edmonton Oilers.

11/16/2016 - Nicklas Backstrom has another 5 five point night as the Caps skull the Penguins 7-1. Fun fact: At that point in time, Backstrom had had five five-point games, one more than Ovechkin, equaling Crosby, and one less than Malkin. And… no All Star Game appearances or Selkes, because the NHL is stupid.

If you want to know his other five point games up until then, they were:

11/16/2016 against Pittsburgh Penguins – 2 goals, 3 assists12/10/2013 against Tampa Bay Lightning – 1 goal, 4 assists02/04/2010 against New York Rangers – 1 goal, 4 assists12/05/2009 against Philadelphia Flyers – 1 goal, 4 assists11/15/2008 against New Jersey Devils – 1 goal, 4 assists

1/7/2017 - Backstrom’s 500th assist, on a TJ Oshie goal. It’s harder to pick out favorite Backstrom games because his game is so quiet and focused on operating in the shadows. Usually he’s having some kind of tremendous game that people focus on the dudes scoring the goals off the magical moves he’s making.

1/22/2017 - Ovechkin’s 1000th point. 35 seconds in, against the Pens. FUN FACT I WAS THERE FOR THIS ONE. I have a good friend from out of town who is a Pens fan (I’m as shocked as you), and for the past couple years she’s come to town from across the country when the Caps play the Pens, and my record with her was ABYSMAL. Until this game, I had never seen the Caps win in person at Verizon while she was there, but then this one happened, and she very kindly didn’t shove me over the ledge of the nosebleeds to my death, as she would have probably been in full rights to do after all the hooting and capering I was doing.

LOSSES? UH….

I don’t have a lot of recs for Caps losses because, well, I’m not a masochist. But if you must, I would recommend two particular ones first because the fights were bonkers.

11/21/1998 - Caps vs. Bruins. These is notable because of the goalie fight. Most notably, the one that’s been called “The Dance” between Byron Dafoe and Olie Kolzig, since– well, you’ll know it when you see it. The backstory is, Dafoe and Kolzig were close friends– best men at each other’s weddings, even. And when the Bruins and Caps threw down in their line brawl, Dafoe grabbed Dale Hunter (Dale Hunter having been just momentarily pried out from the dogpile and had just been separated from Ken Belanger) and Kolzig came down the ice to get in on the action. However, Kolzig decided to fight Ken Belanger (since the refs had turned around to deal with Dale Hunter) which was… uh, probably not a good idea.

Dafoe and Hunter had simultaneous “Ho-shit, son,” realizations, immediately stopped fighting each other, and flung themselves at Kolzig and Belanger respectively. Dafoe grabbed Kolzig and basically waltzed him away from Belanger before he could get his head smashed in, and Hunter went back to fighting Belanger. Kolzig and Dafoe pulled each other’s jerseys off while Kolzig seemed torn between trying to yell at Dafoe for yanking him out of the fight and laughing at his friend. Everyone on the ice got tossed and the Caps lost 5-4 in OT.

1/12/2010 - Caps vs. Bolts. You actually don’t really have to watch this whole game, which was a 7-4 loss. You just need to watch Steve Downie and Alex Ovechkin drop the gloves and prepare to fight, only to have Matt Bradley come streaking in at the last second and literally steal the fight out of Ovechkin’s hands. Dan Steinberg did a great write-up of it for the Sportsbog. It’‘s kind of hilarious because, well, Ovi and Downie were both completely taken by surprise. If you catch any of the later analyst clips, you can see Bradley watching Ovi and Downie yell at each in the box, keeping an eye on the unfolding events like a hawk, screaming urgently at Eric Fehr to get the hell off the ice so he can get on without getting the instigator, and then just making a direct beeline for the fight so he can get in front of Ovi and punch Downie in the face.

12/16/2014 - The never ending fucking shoot out with the Panthers. Ugh. I refuse to even google this to find highlights. WE WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE GODDAMN ROSTER. EVEN BROOKS FUCKING ORPIK SCORED. ON A TRIPLE DEKE. I still refuse to believe the entire thing wasn’t a fever dream from the mind of Roberto Luongo while passed out on the can. It did at least give us the notable mic’d up quote of “Coach Korn has a pitched tent in the stands right now,” though.

WAIT IT’S BAD LUCK TO END ON A LOSS, LET’S END WITH SOME MORE WINS.

1/08/2016 - This game had everything I say, in my best breathy Stefon voice. A quick two goal lead for the Caps. Giving up three goals to fall behind. Nicklas Backstrom slamming in a loose puck with less than ten seconds left to tie it. OT madness. Nate Schmidt and his skate helping Holtby save an almost slam dunk Ranger goal off the faceoff in OT. Ovechkin grabbing the saved puck and going end to end to score in OT. Ovechkin falling on his face. Happy, huggy chaos by the Caps on Madison Square Garden ice. Ovi one away from 500 goals…

1/10/2016 - Ovechkin’s 500th. This might be my favorite game (for now…), not because it was a blowout win, not because Ovechkin actually had two in this game, one of which involved dangling Erik Karlsson’s pants off, but watching the team come to celebrate with him, seeing how much they loved him and were overjoyed for him and had actually planned it out in advance without his knowledge… that’s just something special. It was just a really, really good moment that very little can spoil for me, no matter what.

[random-imagines-blog]

Memories of a Survivor {Bucky Barnes Oneshot}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 1700 Warning: Contains Violence.

Apart from the two busloads of school children, the museum wasn’t all that busy. Evidently, that would be because most workers lunch hours were over, the toddlers were at home taking their afternoon nap and the current exhibits have been out so long, there was no rush for people to come out and see them. Even so, it was your afternoon off of work and there was nowhere else that you would rather be. The large white columns out front of the museum seemed to beckon you on it, and were much more inviting than the cheerful tourguide who would show you around for the third time that month.

You were here to look at the same exhibit as you had the previous two times. The legendary Captain America, and everything that was associated with him. You had to admire his patriotism but there was another hero who was here today, someone that hit a little closer to home.

You skipped past the marvelous works of art, the dinosaur bones and the life-sized animal enclosures and went straight to where you wanted to go. You ignored the drone of the tourguides, the excitement of the children as they dared each other to touch the elephant, and went straight into the room where James Buchanan Barnes would be staring at you from more than one angle. He was on the wall next to the infamous Steve Rogers, looking as heroic as one would expect from a war hero. But you preferred to look at the portrait in black and white, where he was on his own.

It was this face that used to give you nightmares. Sure, when you had seen him, he looked different. Less put together, less heroic, definitely more chaotic than the army-groomed man that you were seeing in front of you. You had seen a monster behind those eyes while in this picture, you just saw determination, a will to protect this country and his friends. The differences between the men were completely astounding.

You tore your eyes away from his face, and you saw it yet again. But this time, it wasn’t in any of the pictures or the slideshows or the videos. It was in front of you, hidden behind a baseball cap and some scruff. You looked down quickly at the floor, your heartbeat starting to race. You’ve been confronting yourself with his image, but you had not expected to see the real thing in front of you again.

You still dreamt about him sometimes. It had been a couple of months, and you had considered it progress, but the scenes had always stayed with you. The memories that were associated - horrendous. You remembered everything vividly, like you were watching a high definition movie of it. You were from a small town that housed horrible people. At least, they had seemed horrible to you. All strangers did. You were only a child. Your parents had done well to teach you about stranger danger.

You were always welcome at the bar. The man who owned it was a family friend, a kind man with a large smile who would always say ‘Drinks for...” and then announce your name loudly as he would put down a coke for you, complete with a little wedge of lemon. It always made you feel special, more grown up. He’d give you your own bowl of peanuts, fresh from the package, and slide over a couple of quarters so that you could pick a song from the jukebox or play a round of pinball. Nobody ever seemed to mind you being there. Your parents knew that the barowner would keep an eye on you, and it was safer knowing that you were there rather than running out in the streets where it was harder to keep track of you.

It was a Sunday afternoon, the bar was filling up with the usual weekenders. You steered clear of most of them, preferring to remain at the actual bar rather than take one of the tables or the booths where someone could slide in and trap you. You were biting into the peanut shells, then spitting them out and letting the nuts fall into your hand, then popping those back in. The salted outsides made you thirsty so you had a large, sweating glass of coke in front of you. You remembered the way the green tinted glass seemed like it was shining with the condensation.

The door opened and everyone in the bar went silent. You tried to look over to see who had come in, but a large man was in the way. Then suddenly - he wasn’t. You thought for a second that maybe he had turned around and sneezed for you felt something go across your face. Liquid, definitely. You grimaced and tried to wipe it off, and that was when you noticed that he had fallen off the chair. A sneeze wouldnt do that. You looked at where he had been, and in your new opened vision, you saw a man in black, with shoulder length brown hair, a large gun in his hands. He turned it to a man that was in the booth, and then the screams began.

You fell onto the floor, hiding as much of yourself under the deadman as possible. You’ve read somewhere, or saw in a movie, that sometimes the best thing to do is to play dead, put a little blood on your face as disgusting as that was. And so you did. But you flinched everytime that you heard a gunshot. Groans, screams, gurgling sounds that were absolutely disgusting, and then only the sound of boots. The gunman had stepped in a couple puddles of blood. They were squelching. And they stopped in front of you. You squeezed your eyes shut ‘Don’t breathe - don’t breathe - don’t breathe -’ But the boots did not walk away. They remained right in front of you.

You thought that perhaps you could make a break for it. Maybe he wasn’t even looking at you, and you could crawl past him and make your way out the back door.

That plan was squashed pretty easily. A large hand grabbed your shoulder and yanked you up like you were just a rag doll. You dangled in the man’s grip. The man with the long hair and the troubled eyes. You have never seen him before in your life. You never wanted to again - not until later in life when you would realize who he was and start to understand that this was not him or his decision.

“Bars aren’t for kids.” The man said, walking you over to the door. he dropped you in an empty booth next to it, leaving you alone and afraid, and he walked out, back into the sunshine. You didn’t dare what what car he got into or if he was just walking down the road. You waited a good ten minutes to make sure that he wouldn’t be back, darted towards the phone behind the bar and made the 911 call that would make history, your frantic voice being all over the news station, your words in the newspapers and your face below the headline ‘Child survivor’.

You remembered all of this like it was a painting in front of your eyes. A movie would require motion, but you hadn’t seen that many movements. By the time you opened your eyes and had seen the carnage, everything was still. And for a second, the real world in front of you - the people looking at the Captain America exhibit, the killer standing quite close to you - that was all completely still too. A tableaux.

Bucky Barnes must have seen the recognition in your eyes, for he turned away and started to make a run for it. You followed along behind him, but could not keep up. He was fast. The only way that you were able to catch up to him is when you saw that security was making a move to catch him. Anyone running around a museum like that was obviously up to no good. You knew you had to stop Bucky, not for his sake, but for the lives of the guards. You had seen what he could do. You had seen the anger, the violence that he could bring down upon these innocent security guards.

“Wait!” You called out. Bucky hesitated for a moment, which meant that the security guards were able to trap him between them, grabbing onto each arm. You noticed one of the guards seemed more nervous than the other, like there was something not right. You put on your best worried face. You’d never been much of an actor but desperate times called for desperate measures. You walked up towards the criminal, and lightly pressed your hand on his chest.

“I’m sorry, my friend here has panic attacks. Afghanistan.” You came up with quickly. “We’ll take our leave, sorry to make you nervous. He’ll be fine once we get outside.”

That was enough for the rent-a-cops to let go of Bucky. You took his arm and rushed him out, through the cramped hallways and the crowds, back out to the bright sunshine of the New York day. The security guards had followed you out and lingered at the door as you walked away from the entranceway.

“An eye for an eye.” You stated, letting go of him. “I’ll never forgive you for what you did to my town, Bucky Barnes.” There was a weird flinch as his name was said, like he wasn’t used to it. Or he didn’t like it. “But you spared me and that is why I helped you. It won’t happen again.”

You checked your pockets to make sure nothing had been dropped during your hasty exit from the museum, was satisfied with what you found, and walked away, leaving the Winter Soldier to stare at your back and remember the pain that he had caused, facing head-on what he had not thought about in years.

[klovenhooves]

If These Walls Could Talk, Chapter Two

As accustomed as she was to early rising, Anna’s eyes still fluttered open at 7 a.m. the next morning, in spite of her hangover, in spite of her desperate attempts to forget what last night had entailed and the potential embarrassment it could bring. Still, she was wide awake, the throbbing in her head a steady beat that couldn’t lull her back into dreamland. Instead, she was forced to sit up, her head in her hands, her hair falling around her shoulders and subsequently shielding her eyes from the early morning sun.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, her mind tracing over the previous night without lingering too long on that one bit she didn’t want to think about, before she was roused from her reverie by a knock at her front door. With a groan, she heaved herself to her feet, grabbed her robe from the little hook by her bedroom door, and slipped the satin material over her shoulders.

She just barely caught a glimpse of pink, glittery lipstick on the inside of her wrist as she reached for the front door. Mary’s lipstick.

“I figured if anyone needed a bone dry, no foam cap, it would be you,” Ben’s voice was just slightly raspy, a reaction to alcohol, and Anna gratefully took the cardboard to-go cup. “Want to go outside? Walk through the park and talk?” His eyes landed on Anna’s robe; he raised his eyebrow. “After you change, of course.”

Anna surveyed her friend, dressed in pressed khakis, a dark blue v-neck shirt and a dark green sweater with leather elbow patches. He looked his usual self, but there were bags under his eyes, an extra tussle to his hair that wasn’t usually there. His smile was encouraging, almost teasing, but his eyes were worried.

She took a sip of the scorching liquid, hissing as it burned her tongue. “Why do I have a feeling this is important?” she asked.

“I don’t usually pull a hungover Anna Strong from her bed on a Saturday morning,” Ben acknowledged. “Only when I have something to discuss with her.”

“She understands, begrudgingly,” Anna tossed over her shoulder on her way to her bedroom. “Grab a croissant from the bread box,” she added as she heard him step farther into her home. “One for me too!”

Ben had the croissant in question ready for her when she emerged from her bedroom, her long hair tied into a high ponytail and her jogging clothes firmly in place. He passed it to her with a raised eyebrow.

“We going jogging?” he asked.

“Shut up, I need to do laundry,” she grumbled, tearing a piece of the croissant and staring at it before putting it in her mouth. Ben stared at her while she chewed pensively, as if trying to decide if she made a good decision in eating. “I thought you were taking me to the park,” she said pointedly.

***

“So…I finished my croissant almost a quarter of a mile ago,” Anna said, her eyebrows raised. “Are you going to tell me why you asked me into the sunlight so early on a Saturday? Or am I supposed to just guess?”

Ben chuckled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Finally, her curiosity and her concern piqued, Anna grabbed his arm and stopped him. They paused in the middle of the walkway, the occasional jogger slipping past them like a phantom breeze while she studied his face.

“Ben,” she coaxed. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

He nodded, but still didn’t speak. Anna wanted to let him find the words himself, she truly did, but at this point, she was nervous, and when she got nervous, she started talking.

“Come on, what did you do?” she asked, nudging her friend in the arm. “Did you get too drunk last night at the Halloween party? Did you misnumber the pages on one of Arnold’s briefs and you need me to sneak into his office and replace it?” Ben laughed for real this time, the sound rich and comforting, and Anna relaxed a little. “Did you,” she drew out the word, casting her mind around for a possible explanation, “did you drunk dial one of those little old lady clients that keep coming to you for frivolous lawsuits so they can see you in your tight pants?” he rolled his eyes. What, did you sleep with Arnold, finally?”

The laughter halted, almost frighteningly fast, and Anna had to slowly bring her eyes up from her coffee cup to Ben’s bright red face. “Benjamin Francis Tallmadge, you didn’t!”

“You’re right, I didn’t – ”

“How dare you get my hopes up like that –”

“But I did…I did maybe, sort of hook up with one of the name partners –”

Her screech of glee shook some birds from the tree nearest them. Ben grimaced at the sound, covering his still blushing cheeks with his free hand. “But it wasn’t Arnold?” she needled. “You’ve been crushing on that man since he laid eyes on you.”

“No, not Arnold.”

“Then…Andre?” Anna guessed. “Because I was pretty sure he was hooking up with Robert –”

Very slowly, Ben shook his head again.

“Benjamin fucking Tallmadge –”

“That’s not my middle name –”

“You hooked up with George Washington?” she was borderline screeching again, and this time, Ben covered her mouth with his hand, shushing her as a biker turned his head to better hear her as he sailed by. “I’m sorry,” she said against his hand. “I’ll behave.” He lowered his hand from her mouth, his eyes still squinted, as if waiting for her to start yelling again. “So…how was it?”

He glanced away from her, as if trying to find the right words for question he never thought she’d ask. “It was…well…” he chuckled slightly, a breathy exhale that Anna jumped on.

“That good, huh?” she asked with a smirk.

He didn’t answer. She considered his face closely for a moment, catching sight of a lot more than just embarrassment and giddiness on his face. Finally, he turned back to her, spotted a bench not far off, and directed her to it.

“If it was good, then what’s the problem?” she asked.

“He – he asked me to keep it a secret,” Ben admitted, worrying his lip between his teeth. “But…”

“But you’re terrible at keeping secrets,” Anna finished. “That presents a problem.”

“It does,” he said leadingly, just enough that Anna furrowed her brow, trying to decipher his meaning. “But I figure you can help with that.”

“Me?” Anna asked. “I – I don’t understand –”

“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend,” Ben said it so fast, the words so muddled, that Anna had to ask him to repeat himself several times before the statement sunk in. Even after that, she struggled to find the right words that weren’t rude.

“Ben, I’m not sure I can,” she said honestly. “I mean…what will Abe say?” What will Mary say? “And Caleb?”

“I’ll tell Caleb so he’ll keep his mouth shut,” Ben waved off his best friend’s name. “And who cares what Abe says? I thought you were done with him?”

“I am!”

“Anna,” he reached for her hands, settling on only one of them when the other one brought her coffee to her mouth. “I’m a much better actor than I am a liar. I can’t let this – indiscretion – ruin my possibility to become junior partner. If those lawyers know that I’m…”

“That you’re gay,” Anna finished for him, feeling an ache in her chest. Self-consciously, she wiped her wrist, still stained slightly pink, onto her tights.

“It’s a weakness they can exploit,” Ben finished. “Please, Anna.”

There were so many things Anna wanted to say. How could this weakness cripple his career if Andre, Arnold, and Washington obviously had no trouble indulging in dalliances with other men? How could Ben think this would keep him from upward mobility? But even as she thought it, she understood her own situation, a harsh reality she didn’t want to think about: while Ben could probably survive that scandal unscathed, she and Mary would not. There was a distinct difference in the acceptance of two men in a relationship than two women, especially in their profession.

Two women together was frivolous, was done for attention, and was definitely a cause for ridicule.

She couldn’t do that to Mary.

“Fine,” she relented, squeezing Ben’s hand before extricating it. “But we tell Caleb and Robert, and that’s it.”

“Deal,” Ben said immediately. “Thank you Anna, you’re the best.”

“Best friend,” she said firmly. “But I suppose I can be the best girlfriend too.”

***

Monday came far too quickly for Anna’s taste; she felt like she was getting ready for the first day of school. Nerves coiled in her belly all the way to her chest, enough that the steady increased rate of her heartbeat felt like a harsh kick drum. She had to put her coffee in a travel mug, her hands already too shaky for her to, with good conscience, add more caffeine to the disaster recipe.

Ben met her downstairs, his tie perfectly knotted, his hair perfectly coiffed. Anna felt, momentarily, slovenly standing beside him.

“You look great,” he said quietly to her. “Don’t be nervous.”

“Who said I was nervous?” Anna asked bitingly, her eyes fixed on the elevator.

“You’ve completely bit all of your lipstick off your bottom lip,” he replied. “You do that when you’re anxious.”

“Oh, how boyfriend-y of you to say,” she answered sarcastically, already fishing in her purse for her lipstick. He chuckled but did not answer her, and it wasn’t until the silence lingered a little longer that Anna realized that he must be even more nervous than she was. He hadn’t looked at her for longer than half a moment yet, his eyes fixed on the numbers at the top of the elevator, his hand tight around his briefcase.

Gently, tentatively, with all the grace of a brand new fake-girlfriend, she took his other hand.

“It’s going to be fine,” she said soothingly. “Just be as normal as you can. We’ll meet up for lunch in the café downstairs so we can be seen, and that’ll be it.”

In response, Ben squeezed her hand gently, a silent thank you that she accepted. They stood that way for a few more moments, waiting for the elevator doors to open. As the doors finally, mercifully, slid open, Anna heard the quiet clicking of heels that brought her reeling back to the Halloween party. She had a momentary urge to pull her hand out of Ben’s, but there was no use. There was no way Mary didn’t see them holding hands.

“Anna?” As if to make the day even better, it wasn’t Mary’s voice that called her name, but Abe’s. “Ben?”

Blue eyes met brown ones, and Ben raised his eyebrows. She could read his expression there as easily as her own. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

“Morning, Abe,” Anna said, struggling to sound completely unbothered. As she pulled Ben into the elevator, she managed to catch sight of Mary standing beside Abe, her eyes still on their joined hands. “Mary.”

“Ms. Strong,” Mary’s voice was cold, almost icy, and Ben cleared his throat quietly in the silence that followed.

“So…” Abe seemed to be struggling to find the right words. “You two are…”

“Yep,” Ben pulled Anna closer to his side, releasing his hand from hers to wrap his arm around her shoulder.

“Since when?” Abe’s eyes were on Anna’s now, a tempest swirling in his gaze that she recognized. Jealousy. Mary lowered her eyes to the floor.

“Since…” Anna trailed off. They had never decided when they started dating. How had they forgotten that important detail? “Since…you know…”

“A couple of weeks ago,” Ben said firmly. “Isn’t that right, Annie?”

His fingers very gently pressed into her arm a little harder than before. Still, Anna’s eyes were on Mary, who was determinedly studying the floor. Finally, the door opened on their floor and Mary was able to push her way out, leaving Abe, Anna, and Ben behind.

“A couple of weeks ago?” Abe repeated. “Why didn’t I hear about this?”

“You didn’t ask,” Anna shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go….file…something. Babe,” she practically choked on the word – she loathed its usage, but Ben turned to her, surprise written all over his face. “See you for lunch?”

“Of course,” he replied, pressing a momentary kiss to her cheek. To avoid Abe seeing her blush, Anna rushed off, through the crowd of first-year associates, and was completely unsurprised to hear his footsteps follow her.

“Anna, wait!” he called. Instead of slowing down, she sped up. “Anna, come on.”

Finally, as she reached her cubicle, Anna was forced to stop and let him catch up to her. Still, she kept her eyes on the files on her desk, haphazard from a weekend away. She felt him sidle up beside her, as if trying to keep their conversation private, despite the dozens of other associates in the same room.

“You and Ben?” he asked incredulously. “You expect me to believe that?”

Anna shrugged. “Believe what you want, Abe, it’s a free country.”

“Oh don’t give me that,” Abe snapped. “What about us?”

“What about us?” Anna replied sharply. “You mean…the us that ended when you and Mary got divorced? The us that you couldn’t keep up with because you wanted to enjoy being single? That us?”

“Don’t be petty –”

“Why not?” Anna asked. “You expect me not to notice that you came to work with Mary this morning, and then you have the nerve to question my relationship with Ben? Pot calling the kettle petty, don’t you think?”

“Mary and I had breakfast together to talk about Thomas –”

Ignoring the sharp pain in her chest at the idea of Mary and Abe on a breakfast date, Anna scoffed. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“Anna –”

“See how I did that?” she asked sarcastically. “I let you do what you want, because we are not in a relationship. You should try it. I’ll wait.”

“You and I both know that you and Ben have been friends since childhood,” Abe hissed. “I don’t know what you two are trying to prove, but it’s obvious that you’re not dating.”

“Did you know, Mr. I Know Everything About Anna’s Life, that Ben was my first kiss, in the fifth grade?” Anna asked, relishing in the shock that washed over Abe’s face. “Yep, under the slide at recess.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re in a relationship now,” Abe pointed out.

“Fine,” Anna snapped. “Believe what you want. I don’t care.”

“Yes you do,” Abe’s voice was smug, “or else you wouldn’t be so angry.”

With a huff that made her nose ache, Anna stomped away from Abe, who followed, apologizing in that way he was wont to do, with platitudes and justifications without any sort of genuine apology. She ignored him, her eyes searching the cubicles and offices for the person she was looking for. Finally, she spotted Ben standing beside Caleb’s cubicle, his arms full of briefs.

He managed to catch her eye for half a moment before she kissed him full on the mouth, knocking the briefs out of his hands and onto the floor. It was surprisingly easy to kiss him if she kept her eyes closed and tried to forget that she knew Ben when he was too tall for his knobby knees and his teeth had that little gap in them before he got braces.

Finally, after a moment, he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, a laugh escaping his mouth when she pulled away for a moment before dropping another peck on his lips. She hoped he could see the apology in her eyes; she hoped he could see Abe’s infuriated face behind her and would understand. But she didn’t stick around to find out.

“Real enough for you?” she asked Abe before stomping away and leaving all three childhood friends standing in stunned silence.

[reallifeishorror]

So today I was having a look at some Jane Does when I stumbled upon this one case from the late sixties in North Carolina. From what I can tell, the burned body of a woman was found the day after several people witnessed her walking towards a church in Wake County. They did not recognize the woman, but noted the green polka dot dress she was wearing as she walked along ten ten road. 

A quarter of an hour later when the witnesses drove back the same way the woman was nowhere to be found. They noticed smoke rising up from a nearby field, but assumed the source of it was nothing untoward and probably just a local farmer disposing of some unwanted materials.They were shocked when the following day they heard the news that the burned body of the same woman they had driven past the day before was found. I consulted Googlemaps to get an idea of what the location looks like and followed ten ten road to the nearest church, which appears to be the Holland united Methodist church. However if you follow the road along, you can find two more churches including The McCullers community Baptist church and Highland Baptist church. The Doe network profile for the unidentified woman states that she was found near the town of Fuquay-Varina if that shines any light on the matter. There doesn’t really seem to be much information regarding this case, and the DN page even states at the bottom that “The whereabouts of the victim's remains are unknown” – It’s unclear if this is due to her burning overnight (although they recovered clothes, makeup items, I imagine bones etc. as well as some hair and fragments of her clothes obviously) or if her remains were simply lost or whatever. I’m leaning towards the remains were lost because they have a reconstruction image of Jane Doe from the newspaper report, and were also able to reveal that she was around 35 years of age, 130lbs, around 5”4 in height, had dark brown – black hair with signs of graying,noted a scar on the left side of her lower stomach and remarked that she had very small ears. She was thought to be Caucasian and possibly native American. Her dentals are on record as well as her blood type, so even though her remains are no longer around, there is still DNA, dentals and finger prints to go on. The Namus profile checks the “All body parts recovered” box.

The death was treated as a murder of course, and there was only ever one suspect who died in 1992. The DN report doesn’t identify him, but a newspaper article named him as Tobacco planter called Robert Reagan. Reagan’s family rejects the accusation, pointing out that he isn’t around to defend himself or stand a fair trial; however the man himself confessed that he followed the unidentified woman in a car with an acquaintance to get a look at her, but she disappeared from view. Apparently Robert Reagan used to work in Canada and there’s this theory that the two met there and planned to meet in Wake County and he ended up killing her. I know she was from out of town and no one recognized her in the local area, but other than Reagan once working in Canada I’m not sure if there’s anything else that links Jane Doe to the country. I mean it’s a good idea to extend the search and circulate the missing posters there of course on the off chance, but there’s nothing else that I can see that suggests she was Canadian as no one talked to her and she didn’t have any items on her that would indicate she was.

Now for the items found with her body:

-She had a transistor battery

-A pair of tweezers (“Permo Tweeze” brand)

-A possibly navy hair net.-Hair clips (Bobby pins?)

-A pair of brown and gold bifocal spectacles.

-A single razor blade folded in paper (Gillette)

-What was probably a make-up mirror in several fragments.

-Two buttons.

-Various toiletries and makeup by Helena Rubinstein New York including silk fashion liquid foundation, overnight cream and “Skin dew “crème.

-What is listed as “_ilk of _intimate” on the DN profile. A quick search turned up that it was most likely “Silk of Intimate” a fragrance by Revlon at the time. -A ballpoint pen cap with “Unipeco Mt. Vernon N.Y. U.S.A.” inscribed –Some people imply that this meant she could have been from or in New York. All a search brings up is a pencil manufacturing directory website that lists as “Unipen co.” with the following information: “Union Pencil Co. - AKA Unipeco Mt. Vernon, NY USA”.-I found a vintage pen by them for sale on eBay, so that gives us an idea of what it may have looked like (although there is various colors and designs of course) Unless the cosmetics and pen were gifts from New York, it looks more likely that she’d traveled from there than rather than Canada. A bag isn’t listed on the items found, so unless it was taken it’s weird that someone would carry those items without a bag of some sort. Also, if she wasn’t from North Carolina or nearby, where was she staying? Did she just hop off a train or get a ride or what? If so why? And how did she end up burned alive? Her case was entered into Namus in February of this year.

She remains unidentified. If you have any information contact the relevant authority on 919-856-6800

Note: Strangely, while searching for more information on this case, I found a similar report, although considerably more recent. Just 18 miles away in February 2017, again in Wake County, NC, the body of a burning woman was discovered by disc golf players who didn’t even realize that the burning mound was a human body and attempted to put out the blaze. Although completely unrecognizable, the Doe was later confirmed to be a 59 year old woman identified as Elizabeth Marie Vandenbout, who had apparently committed suicide. There was reportedly a propane tank at the scene, as well as a cell phone.Link

MORE <<