#and we know Thor loves Asgardian ale

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Cracked my first beer. Who's you're drinking buddy of choice?

[brunchable]

The Morning After

Part I || Doctor Strange × f!reader × Steve Rogers

Word count: 7.5K Characters: Black Widow Reader, Strange, Rogers, The Avengers Summary: You wake up in Stephens bed after drinking the Asgardian Ale Thor brought from Asgard. Warning: One night stand, Love Triangle? A/N: The photo ain't mine, I saw it on pinterest and I thought. . . what if y/n woke up in Stephen's bed? Also inspired by this song lol. I think all of my fics is inspired by a song. HELP. This is a multiple part story. I hope you enjoy.

PART II [R18+]- Coming soon.

“Gather 'round, friends, it’s Thor, the God of Thunder, here to tell the tale of one fateful evening—a night when the legendary Asgardian Ale, brewed in the heart of the golden city. A brew so potent, it has brought down the fiercest of warriors, now, this tale is not of epic battles or heroic deeds, but rather of a night where this very ale claimed yet more victims from among the finest heroes of Earth.”

"Now, let me set the scene: it was a grand feast in the tower of the Man of Iron, where Midgard’s greatest heroes gathered to celebrate their triumphs. The mood was joyous, the laughter loud, and the drinks… well, the drinks were stronger than even the mightiest of Asgardians would dare admit!”

"Enter Doctor Stephen Strange, master of the mystic arts, and Y/N, the ever-resourceful Black Widow. Brave, cunning, formidable—yet even they were no match for the enchanting pull of the Asgardian Ale. Oh, they thought they could handle it, that it was just another drink… but little did they know, the ale had other plans!”

"And so, as the night wore on, the ale did its work. It loosened tongues, softened hearts, and—most importantly—muddled minds. By the time the moon had set and the sun was ready to rise, these two found themselves in a most… shall we say, unexpected situation.”

"For when the morning light crept through the windows of the Sanctum Sanctorum, the good Doctor and our dear Black Widow awoke to find themselves in a predicament that no amount of sorcery or spycraft could easily explain. There they were, side by side, both equally confused and—dare I say—horrified by the night’s unforeseen outcome!”

"What follows, dear friends, is a tale of confusion, awkwardness, and a series of events that might just lead to something more… or, at the very least, a very, very interesting morning."

× × × ×

The morning sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting a warm, golden glow that danced across the ornate rugs and ancient relics scattered around the room. Doctor Stephen Strange stirred, his mind still foggy from the remnants of sleep, feeling an unfamiliar weight on his arm. 

The silk sheets, usually cool and comforting, felt oddly warm and heavy. He shifted slightly, the soft rustling of the fabric the only sound in the stillness.

As he blinked his eyes open, the grogginess quickly gave way to sharp clarity, and he was greeted by a sight that immediately jolted him awake: You, the Black Widow, your tousled auburn hair splayed out on the pillow next to his. The vivid auburn strands created a stark contrast against the deep blue of the pillows, and the way the sunlight caught the strands made them seem to glow. 

His movements woke you up, your eyes, wide with shock, were locked onto his, mirroring the panic that he felt.

Stephen’s mind raced, trying to piece together the events that could have led to this surreal scenario. The faint scent of your perfume, mingled with the familiar, comforting smells of the Sanctum, filled his nostrils. The warmth of your body next to his was both foreign and startling, a stark reminder of the unexplainable situation he found himself in.

Simultaneously, you both glanced down at the sheets, lifting them cautiously. The sight underneath made your eyes widen further. 

You exchanged a horrified look, your faces a mirror of disbelief. Quickly, you dropped the sheets, looked at each other again, and then, as if needing confirmation, peeked under the sheets once more.

"AHHH!" Stephen screamed, jerking away from you.

"AHHH!" You echoed, scrambling to sit up, clutching the sheet to your chest. "What the hell, Strange?! Look away!"

"What the hell, Y/N?!" Stephen shouted back, equally horrified but with his head turned away from you. "Why are you in my bed?!"

“Your bed?!” You looked around, recognizing the distinctive décor of the Sanctum Sanctorum, “Why am I in your bed!?"

“Shit.” Stephen rubbed his face, still trying to wake up fully.

You both sat there for a moment, the awkward silence, the sound of Wong humming a catchy tune as he walked past the door with a tray of breakfast pastries resonated into the room. He paused, glanced into the room, and then continued on his way without a word, though his eyebrows were raised high enough to practically touch his hairline.

"This is not happening.” Stephen groaned, running his hands through his hair. 

You remained quiet, looking traumatized while staring into space, forcing your brain to form any recollection.

"Last thing I remember, we were having that ridiculous amounts of Thor's Asgardian ale. Then we. . . we—”

Suddenly Thor laughing in ridicule echoed in his head. You Midgardians truly are a delicate lot, he said.

“We what?!”

“Underestimated it. . .?”

Just then, Wong finally walked in, this time holding a tray with teapots and cups. He paused mid-step, his eyes darting between the two of you. 

"I see the Doctor is taking 'house calls' a bit too literally now," he said, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Wong, this is not what it looks like!" Stephen exclaimed, scrambling to his feet, the sheets tangling around his legs and causing him to trip while trying to cover his bottom half. He flailed, grabbing onto a nearby chair for balance, only to have it tip over, sending him crashing to the floor.

"Very graceful.”

Wong shook his head, setting the tray down on a nearby table. "I've seen strange things in this Sanctum, but this... this takes the cake. Breakfast is ready, by the way.”

"Wong, I swear, I don't know how this happened.” Stephen managed to extricate himself from the sheets and stood up, his face a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. 

"Sure, you don't. Just like you didn't know how the Eye of Agamotto ended up in the fish tank last week?” Wong raised an eyebrow. 

“That was a magical mishap!" Stephen protested.

Wong chuckled, heading toward the door. "Well, whatever happened, you two might want to get dressed before the rest of the Avengers show up for the morning briefing. Can't wait to hear the explanation for this one.”

Without a word, Stephen quickly conjured a portal to another room, vanishing through it in a swirl of golden sparks to get dressed and, more importantly, to escape the awkwardness.

You hurried to get dressed as well, eager to avoid lingering in the uncomfortable silence, and made your way to the meeting room. 

As you head to descend the grand staircase, your mind is still racing, seeing Stephen without his clothes—an image you've never dared to imagine before. You turned a corner and—thud!—collided directly with Stephen, who had just stepped out from his portal.

"Whoa!" you both exclaimed simultaneously, your voices overlapping in a jumble of startled sounds.

There was a moment where you both froze, staring at each other, shocked to see each other so soon when you planned to avoid Stephen the rest of the day. . . or indefinitely. 

Stephen recovered first, awkwardly adjusting his cloak as though it might somehow smooth over the situation.

"Uh, sorry, I—didn't see you there," he stammered, trying to step aside and give you space.

"No, no, it's fine," you replied quickly, waving it off with a forced laugh that sounded more nervous than casual. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

You both tried to continue walking as if nothing had happened, but in your haste to act normal, you ended up sidestepping in the same direction, then awkwardly shuffling the opposite way, only to block each other again.

"After you," Stephen said, his voice a bit too high-pitched with forced politeness.

"No, no, you go ahead," you insisted, waving him forward, though your hand gesture came out more like a nervous flail.

Finally, after an excruciatingly long moment of shuffling and half-smiles, you managed to move past each other, continuing down the stairs at a brisk pace, trying to put as much distance as possible between yourselves. 

You both knew you'd failed miserably at playing it cool, but neither of you dared to look back or acknowledge it. As you reached the bottom of the stairs and headed toward the meeting room, you couldn’t help but wonder if this day could get any more embarrassing. Judging by the start, it seemed likely. 

× × × ×

As you entered together, Tony Stark was already there, phone in hand. He didn't say a word, just snapped a photo the moment you both walked in.

"Morning, lovebirds," Tony said with a mischievous grin.

You groaned, shaking your head. "Seriously, Stark?"

Tony laughed, pocketing his phone. "Oh, this one's for the highlight reel. Don't worry, I'll send you both a copy."

As you took your seats, trying to ignore Tony's teasing, Thor walked in, grinning broadly. "Well, well, looks like my ale claimed a couple more victims. Didn't I warn you about its strength?"

Stephen groaned. "We might have underestimated it a bit."

"A bit? I think I need a new liver." You grimaced, rubbing your right side.

"Next time, perhaps you two will heed my warning. Asgardian ale is not for the faint of heart!” Thor laughed heartily.

You rolled your eyes, still in a grimace. You didn't remember him giving an actual warning, "Thanks, Thor. We'll keep that in mind."

"Next time, we're sticking to the lightweight stuff. Like water." Stephen added.

"Wise choice. But where's the fun in that?” Thor shrugged.

Just then, Barton sauntered in, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, I heard we had a slumber party at the Sanctum last night. Everyone had fun?"

"What did I miss?” Wanda raised an eyebrow.

“Oh these two here tasted the might of my Asgardian Ale!" Thor declared proudly, slapping Stephen on the back so hard it nearly knocked him out of his chair.

You and Stephen exchanged a quick glance. "Something like that," Stephen said.

Thor nodded, grabbing a seat. "Ah, the joys of revelry. Once, I woke up in a field surrounded by screaming goats. No idea how I got there.”

"That sounds... interesting, Thor. Thank you for sharing." You say with your best sarcastic tone.

“You’re welcome. The best stories come from the nights you can't quite remember. Especially when you wake up in unusual company.” Thor laughed with cheer, obviously taking a jab at the situation.

Steve, who had been quietly observing with a smile at the corner of the room, suddenly narrowed his eyes, sensing the tension.

You sank into your chair, pinching the bridge of your nose in frustration. "Tony, what did you do?”

"Sorry," Tony replied with an unapologetic grin, "I think I accidentally sent your highlight reel photo to that unwanted group chat Banner created.”

“Wow, thanks Tony.” Bruce mumbled.

"Great, just what we needed," Stephen muttered, rolling his eyes.

Cap, ever the gentleman, quickly stepped in to steer the conversation back on track. “Alright, since everyone is here, let's focus on the briefing. Stephen, how's the mystical side of things?” 

× × × 

Stephen cleared his throat, trying to compose himself and focus on the task at hand. "Right, uh... mystical threats. So, recently, we've had some minor disturbances in other dimensions, particularly around the... um…”

He trailed off, his mind suddenly flashing back to the previous night. He remembered the two of you huddled in a corner, both of you giggling like kids, as you attempted to teach him how to perform a simple card trick without using magic. You had insisted it was a basic skill every “sorcerer” should know, and despite his vast knowledge of the mystic arts, Stephen struggled with the sleight of hand. Each time he messed up, you would burst out laughing, and eventually, so did he, the two of you caught in a cycle of laughter that seemed endless.

 Stephen blinked rapidly, trying to refocus. "Uh, disturbances... yes. There was an issue with a, uh, pocket dimension, near the, um..." His voice wavered as another memory surfaced.

This time, it was the two of you back at the Sanctum, stumbling through the portal he had opened, both of you laughing hysterically at something neither of you could now recall. You had accidentally knocked over a priceless artifact, and instead of being concerned, you both had fallen into fits of uncontrollable laughter. The sound of your laughter echoed in his mind, making his heart skip a beat.

He coughed, desperately trying to get back on track. "Right, so the, uh... the pocket dimension. We managed to stabilize it, but there were... complications. Minor, really…”

But his voice faltered again as another memory slipped through. This one was quieter, more intimate. The two of you were sitting side by side on the balcony, sharing a drink. The atmosphere was calm, almost serene, as you both watched the flamingos fly away. You had leaned against him, your head resting on his shoulder, and he remembered the warmth of your presence, the soft sound of your breathing in the quiet night. He couldn’t recall what you had said, but he remembered the way it made him feel—content, at peace, and something more that he wasn’t ready to name.

"Doctor Strange?" Steve’s voice cut through the haze, bringing him sharply back to the present.

"Uh, yes, sorry," Stephen stammered, feeling his face flush. "What I mean to say is... the mystical threats are... under control. Nothing major. Just a few minor disturbances that we've, uh, managed to contain.”

As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily drifted toward you, catching your gaze for just a split second before he quickly looked away, his face turning an unmistakable shade of pink. He turned his head abruptly, pretending to adjust his cloak to hide the blush that had crept up his cheeks.

"You sure everything’s alright in the mystical world, Doc?" Tony asked, the teasing tone in his voice barely concealed.

Stephen nodded quickly, trying to compose himself. "Yes, absolutely. Everything’s fine. No major threats. We’re good. All clear.”

But as he finished, another flash of the previous night’s events hit him—a quick, jumbled memory of you leaning in, your lips brushing his ear as you whispered something that made his stomach flip. He had no idea what you had said, but the memory of your breath on his skin was enough to make his heart race all over again.

"All clear," he repeated, though the words sounded hollow even to his own ears. His mind was anything but clear. If anything, it was more muddled than ever, filled with fragmented memories that both excited and terrified him.

Steve, sensing something was off but choosing not to press, simply nodded. “Alright then. If there's nothing else, we'll wrap this up.”

Stephen exhaled in relief, glad the briefing was over, but as everyone began to file out, Tony's grin only grew wider. He had clearly picked up on Stephen's discomfort. 

As you stood to leave, Stephen risked one last glance at you, his heart still racing. You were avoiding his gaze, your expression unreadable, but he could tell you were just as distracted as he was.

× × × ×

After the meeting wrapped up, the Avengers began to disperse, each heading off to their respective tasks. Just as you were about to leave, you felt a presence behind you. Turning around, you saw Steve Rogers standing there, his usual calm demeanor in place, but there was something softer in his eyes as he looked at you.

"Y/N," Steve began, his voice gentle but carrying that unmistakable authority. "Got a minute?”

"Of course, Cap. What’s up?” You nodded, though you felt your heart skipped a beat. 

Steve smiled slightly at the use of his nickname, "I couldn’t help but notice you seemed a little… distracted today. Is everything alright?”

"Yeah, just… you know, last night's party and all that. Still trying to shake off the effects.” You hesitated, trying to decide how much to share.

"I understand. But if there’s anything more to it, you know you can talk to me, right?” Steve nodded slowly, but the way his gaze was glued on you made it clear he wasn’t entirely convinced. 

“Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that. Really, though, it’s nothing major.” You offered a small smile, appreciating his concern.

Steve studied you for a moment, his blue eyes holding an intensity that made your heart flutter. He seemed to be debating something internally before he finally spoke again, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Listen, Y/N… I was about to head back to the compound, and I was wondering… do you need a ride?” 

"A ride? On your motorcycle?” 

Steve nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah. I know it’s not the usual mode of transport around here, but I thought you might like some fresh air. Clear your head a bit."

“That sounds nice, actually. I could use a little fresh air.” You couldn’t help but smile at the thought of riding with Steve on his motorcycle. It was such a classic, straightforward gesture—so very Steve.

“Great,” Steve said, and you could hear the relief in his voice, “Shall we?”

As you walked out toward the front of the Sanctum Sanctorum, your thoughts still spinning from the day’s events, you heard a voice call out your name.

“Y/N, wait,” Stephen’s voice, a little rushed and breathless, echoed through the hallway. 

You turned around to see him approaching, his expression serious but laced with something else—something you couldn’t quite place.

“Stephen?” you said, your hand resting on the doorframe. “What’s up?”

“I, uh,” Stephen hesitated, his eyes flicking from your face to somewhere over your shoulder, where Steve was waiting by his motorcycle. He seemed to be searching for the right words, but they didn’t come easily. His brow furrowed slightly as if he was wrestling with something internally.

You waited, feeling the weight of the silence stretching between you. There was a tightness in your chest, a nagging sense that something important was about to be said. 

You took a small step closer, trying to catch his gaze, but his eyes kept darting away, unable to meet yours for more than a fleeting moment.

“Stephen?” you prompted gently, your voice softening as you tried to encourage him. “What is it?”

He finally looked at you, really looked at you, and for a split second, you saw the vulnerability in his eyes. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a carefully guarded expression, but that momentary glimpse was enough to make your heart skip a beat.

“I just wanted to have a quick chat before you head out,” Stephen finally said, though his voice was quieter than before, almost as if he was second-guessing his decision to speak up. “It won’t take long.”

The hesitation in his voice was palpable, and it only added to the growing tension between you. You could see the conflict in his expression—the way his jaw tightened, the way his hand flexed slightly at his side, as if he was holding himself back from saying something more.

You nodded, though a part of you was still trying to decipher the emotions playing across his face. “Sure, no problem.”

As you turned back to Steve, you caught a glimpse of him watching the exchange with a blank, unreadable expression, but it’s obvious that he was paying close attention. The realization that both men were acutely aware of each other’s presence only added another layer into your growing anxiety.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” you said to Steve, forcing a smile that you hoped would mask the unease that was creeping into your chest.

“Take your time. I’ll be right here,” Steve replied, his voice steady and reassuring, but his gaze lingered on Stephen for a moment longer before returning to you.

You offered Steve a grateful nod before turning back to Stephen, who had already started walking toward a quieter corner of the main hall. As you followed him, you couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this conversation than either of you were willing to admit.

Once you were alone, Stephen stopped, his back to you for a moment as he seemed to gather his thoughts. When he finally turned to face you, his expression was conflicted, his usual confidence replaced by uncertainty since he doesn't know where or how to place himself.

"I just… I wanted to make sure everything’s okay between us after this morning," he began, his voice careful, measured. "I know things are a bit… awkward.”

There was a pause, and in that silence, you tried to read the emotions flickering across his face. His eyes, usually so focused and intense, were softer now. It was as if he was waiting for you to give him some kind of reassurance, something to ease the tension that had settled between you.

"I mean, everything's been chaotic," you replied, your own voice laced with a nervous edge, "but I don’t want it to make things weird between us either.”

Stephen nodded, though you could see the way his shoulders tensed slightly, as if he was bracing himself for something. "Yeah, I feel the same way. It’s just… I’ve been trying to piece together what happened last night. . .”

His words hung in the air, unfinished, as he hesitated again. You could sense the unspoken question lingering behind his words, the uncertainty that mirrored your own. But even as he spoke, his eyes searched yours, as if looking for an answer that neither of you were ready to give.

“It’s pretty clear what happened,” you interjected, your tone firmer than you intended. “I think it’s best if we just leave it as it is. . . My mind is already a mess, I just need some time.”

Stephen’s heart sank at your response, but he tried to hide it, his expression tightening for just a moment before he forced a nod. The disappointment that flickered across his face was subtle, but it was there, and it made your stomach twist with guilt.

He had hoped—needed—there to be more to say, a way to unravel the confusion that had been left hanging between you both, but your words made it clear that you preferred to bury the past, to move on without digging deeper. 

It wasn’t the answer he had wanted, but he couldn’t bring himself to challenge it.

“Yeah… maybe you’re right,” he finally said, though the words felt hollow as they left his lips.

A heavy silence settled between you. Stephen opened his mouth as if to say something more, but then closed it, his shoulders slumping slightly in defeat. The weight of unspoken thoughts and unacknowledged feelings hung heavily in the air, filling the space between you with a tension that neither of you knew how to break.

You searched his face one last time, trying to understand the depth of what he wasn’t saying, but his expression had shifted back to that carefully controlled neutrality. Whatever he had been about to say, he had chosen to keep it to himself.

Finally, you took a small step back, glancing toward the door where Steve was waiting. “I should probably go. Steve’s waiting.”

At the mention of Steve, Stephen’s heart gave another uncomfortable lurch, and this time, he couldn’t completely mask the flicker of jealousy that crossed his face. It was brief, barely noticeable, but you caught it.

“Yeah, of course,” Stephen said, his voice more strained than before. “Don’t keep him waiting.”

You offered him a small, apologetic smile, sensing the shift in his mood but feeling it was necessary to draw a line. “Thanks for understanding, Stephen. I appreciate it.”

He gave a nod, though the word “anytime” felt almost like an afterthought, his voice lacking the usual warmth. There was something deeply unsettling about the way this conversation had ended, but you knew that pressing further might only complicate things even more.

With that, you turned and walked out of the room, leaving Stephen standing there, his thoughts a chaotic mix of regret and uncertainty. 

He watched as you joined Steve outside, noting the way Steve’s face lit up slightly when he saw you. The two of you exchanged a few words, and then Steve handed you the helmet with a warm, reassuring smile.

Stephen’s heart twisted painfully as he watched you climb onto the motorcycle behind Steve, your arms wrapping around his waist as you settled in. The sight of the two of you together, so close and comfortable, stirred a deep sense of jealousy within him—something he hadn’t expected to feel so intensely. 

He had kept his feelings hidden for so long, not wanting to complicate the dynamic between you, but seeing you with Steve, even for a brief moment, made him wonder if he had waited too long.

As the motorcycle roared to life and sped down the street, Stephen stood there, alone in the quiet Sanctum, grappling with the realization that he might have missed his chance to tell you how he really felt—a part of him couldn’t shake the thought that maybe forgetting wasn’t the best idea after all.

And as Steve drove, he glanced briefly in his side mirror, catching a glimpse of Stephen standing in the doorway, watching you both leave. Steve’s grip on the handlebars tightened slightly, his jaw clenching as he forced himself to focus on the road ahead. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the ride back to the compound had become far more complicated than he’d anticipated.

While the motorcycle sped down the road, the world around you seemed to blur into a whirlwind of emotions—confusion, guilt, and something deeper that you weren’t ready to face. 

You tightened your grip around Steve’s waist, trying to ground yourself in the present, but your thoughts kept drifting back to the look on Stephen’s face, the things you didn't give him a chance to say. And with each passing mile, you couldn’t help but wonder if you had made the right choice—or if you were leaving something important behind.

× × × ×

The motorcycle roared down the winding roads, the wind rushing past you as you clung to Steve’s solid frame. The world around you blurred into streaks of color—trees, buildings, the sky—yet the rush of the ride did little to quiet the storm of thoughts swirling in your mind.

You should have felt the thrill of the ride, the freedom of the open road, but instead, all you could focus on was the conversation with Stephen. The way he hesitated, the way his eyes darted away from yours, as if he was hiding something—no, not hiding, holding back. The tension in his voice had been undeniable, and now, as you sped away from the Sanctum, you couldn’t help but wonder what he had really wanted to say.

Being Black Widow, you were trained to compartmentalize, to push emotions aside when necessary. But the events of the morning, combined with the tension between you, Stephen, and Steve, made it hard to keep everything neatly locked away. Stephen’s hesitation, his guarded expression, and Steve’s quiet concern—these were things you couldn’t easily ignore.

Your thoughts were interrupted as Steve turned slightly, his voice carrying over the noise of the motorcycle. "You okay back there?" he asked, his tone gentle, but with an undercurrent of concern.

You realized you’d been holding your breath and quickly exhaled, trying to shake off the lingering tension. "Yeah," you called back, forcing a smile that you knew he couldn’t see. "Just… a lot on my mind."

Steve nodded, though you could feel the way his body tensed slightly beneath your grip, as if he wasn’t entirely convinced by your answer. He knew you too well; he could sense when something was deeply weighing on your mind. "If you want to talk about it…"

His offer hung in the air, but you didn’t respond right away. What could you say? That you were torn between the memory of a night you couldn’t fully recall? That you were struggling to untangle your own emotions, not knowing if you should pursue them or let them go?

The motorcycle continued down a long, empty stretch of road, and you assumed you were headed straight for the compound. But after a few moments, you noticed Steve taking a turn down a road that didn’t lead in the direction of the compound. It wasn’t the familiar path back—this road led toward the outskirts of the city, a more secluded area.

"Steve?" you called, a note of curiosity creeping into your voice. "Where are we going?"

Steve didn’t answer right away, his focus on the road ahead, but you could sense the deliberateness in his actions. After a moment, he glanced back over his shoulder, his expression calm but with a hint of something more—something determined. 

"Thought we could use a detour. Clear your head a bit before we head back. I think you need it”

Steve continued down the road, the city slowly fading away behind you. The landscape became more open, with rolling hills and patches of forest lining the sides of the road. It was a route you hadn’t taken before, and the unfamiliarity of it was oddly comforting—a break from the routine, a moment to breathe.

After a while, Steve slowed the motorcycle, turning onto a narrow, tree-lined path. The air was cooler here, the dense foliage creating a canopy overhead. Eventually, he brought the bike to a stop in a small clearing by a quiet, shimmering lake. The water was calm, reflecting the sky and the surrounding trees in perfect stillness.

Steve cut the engine, and for a moment, the silence was overwhelming. You both sat there, the only sounds being the rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds. It was peaceful, almost surreal, after the whirlwind of emotions and confusion you’d been dealing with all morning. He took off his helmet and dismounted, looking back at you with a soft hesitant smile. 

"I figured you might need a break. This place… it’s always been somewhere I go when I need to think."

You followed suit, removing your helmet and stepping off the bike. The ground felt solid beneath your feet, and the cool breeze off the lake was refreshing, grounding you in the present moment. 

"It’s beautiful," you said softly, taking in the serene surroundings. "I didn’t know a place like this existed around here."

Steve nodded, his gaze fixed on the tranquil water. "Not many people do. It’s kind of a hidden spot, but it’s been here for as long as I can remember. I come here sometimes. When things get… complicated."

You glanced at him, his words resonating more than he might have realized. "It’s peaceful," you acknowledged, though your tone was still guarded, your mind alert even in this serene environment.

Steve watched you closely, his expression understanding. "You don’t have to talk about what’s on your mind," he offered, his voice gentle. "But I’m here if you need to."

It was a simple statement, but it carried weight. You were used to relying on yourself, keeping others at arm’s length. But Steve’s quiet presence, his never-ending support—it was different. Disarming, in a way you weren’t accustomed to.

There had been a time, not too long ago, when you had harbored a crush on Steve—a deep, confusing mix of admiration and affection that you had tried hard to push down. He was Captain America, after all—the embodiment of everything good and noble, and for a while, you couldn’t help but be drawn to him. 

But you had convinced yourself that his heart belonged to someone else, that he was still in love with Peggy Carter, the woman from his past who seemed to cast a long shadow over his present. You had seen the way he looked at Peggy’s picture, the way he spoke about her with such reverence, and it had made you believe there was no room in his heart for anyone else.

So you had buried those feelings, told yourself it was better to move on, to focus on your work, on the missions. You had even started to convince yourself that those feelings had faded, that they were nothing more than a fleeting infatuation. But now, standing here with Steve, you felt them stir again, refusing to stay buried.

And then there was Stephen. Your growing affections for him had caught you off guard—what started as a mutual respect for his intellect and strength had slowly turned into something more, something you hadn’t quite been ready to confront. 

The way he could be both infuriatingly arrogant and deeply compassionate, the way he had made you laugh at the party, the way his presence had a grounding effect on you—it had all begun to carve out a space in your heart that you hadn’t anticipated.

"It’s not easy to sort through," you admitted, your voice low, almost reluctant. "There’s a lot to unpack."

Steve nodded, his gaze steady. "You don’t have to unpack it all at once," he said quietly. "Take it as it comes."

His words were kind, but there was an undercurrent of something more—a tension that hummed just beneath the surface. 

You met his eyes, and for a moment, the usual defenses you kept so firmly in place wavered. Steve’s patience, his willingness to let you take things at your own pace—it was a kind of understanding that you weren’t used to, and it made the knot in your chest loosen, just a little.

But as the silence stretched on, you couldn’t ignore the way Steve’s gaze lingered on you, the way his jaw tightened slightly, as if he too was conflicted by something. There was something he wasn’t saying, something that made the air between you feel charged, like the calm before a storm.

You felt a pang of guilt as you remembered the way Stephen had looked at you that morning, the way his voice had faltered when he tried to talk about what had happened. 

And now, here you were with Steve, who was looking at you with that same unspoken emotion in his eyes—only this time, it felt different. More complicated.

"Steve…" you began, unsure of what you wanted to say, but needing to break the silence that was becoming increasingly heavy. "I appreciate you bringing me here, but…"

"But you’re thinking about Stephen," Steve finished for you, his voice quieter now, his eyes darkening with something you couldn’t quite place—was it hurt? Jealousy?

You blinked, taken aback by his directness. "It’s not like that," you said quickly, but even as you spoke the words, you weren’t entirely sure they were true.

Steve turned away slightly, his gaze drifting out over the lake, but his expression was tense. "Maybe not. But something happened last night, didn’t it? Between you and him.”

You didn’t answer right away, the truth of his words settling heavily between you. "I don’t know what happened," you finally admitted. "It’s all a blur."

“But it’s on your mind,” Steve pressed gently, though there was a tension in his voice that hadn’t been there before. 

You tilted your head, sensing the shift but not fully understanding its source. "You’re acting a little… weird, Steve.”

Steve’s eyes flicked away from yours, out over the lake, as if gathering his thoughts. "Weird? No, not weird," he said, "Just… trying to figure something out.”

"Figure out what?" you pressed, genuinely confused. You knew Steve well enough to recognize when something was bothering him, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was this time. "Is it about the mission? Or something with the team?”

Steve exhaled slowly, his shoulders tensing as he processed your words. He wasn’t angry—not exactly—but there was a quiet intensity in the way he looked at you now, a mix of emotions that made your heart race. 

"It’s not the mission," he said finally, his voice low but steady. "It’s about you.”

"Me?" you repeated, caught off guard. "What about me?”

"You and Stephen," Steve clarified. There was no accusation in his tone, but it was clear that something about the situation was weighing heavily on him. "I saw the way he looked at you this morning. And I saw the way you looked at him.”

"Steve, I—”

"You’re on his mind, Y/N," Steve interrupted, his voice softening, but the tension in his posture remained. "And he’s on yours. I can see it.”

There was no use denying it, not when Steve was looking at you with that penetrating gaze, as if he could see right through you. “Yeah,” you said softly. “He is.”

"I can’t compete with that," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper.

You frowned, still not quite understanding where this was coming from. “Why would you need to compete, Steve, what are you talking about?”

Steve’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, he didn’t respond. When he finally did, his voice was rougher, more vulnerable than you’d ever heard it. "I care about you, Y/N. More than I probably should. But seeing you with Stephen… it made me realize that maybe I’m too late. Maybe I should've just been honest from the start.”

The air seemed to leave your lungs as his words sunk in. “Steve..”

“I didn’t want to say anything," Steve continued, his eyes still focused on the water, as if he couldn’t bear to look at you. “I didn’t want to make things complicated between us. But now… I can’t pretend I don’t feel this way. I can’t pretend that knowing that something happened between you with him doesn’t… doesn’t hurt.”

You stood there, stunned into silence. Steve’s confession was the last thing you had expected, and the weight of his words settled heavily on your shoulders. You had always known Steve cared about you, but this… this was something entirely different. And it brought all those buried feelings rushing back, feelings you had tried so hard to forget because you thought his heart was already spoken for.

But then there was Stephen, who had slowly, subtly made his way into your heart. The warmth of his smile, the way his eyes softened when he looked at you, the way he could make you laugh even in the direst situations—it all made it impossible to ignore the connection that had been growing between you two. 

And now, you found yourself standing at a crossroads, torn between the man you adore and the man who had become an unexpected part of your life.

"Steve, I didn’t know," you whispered, your voice shaky with the shock of his sudden confession. "I never thought…"

"I know," Steve said quickly, finally turning to look at you. "I know you didn’t. And I don’t blame you for that. But now that it’s out there… I just need you to know. I need you to know how I feel about you.”

The raw honesty in his voice made your heart ache, and for the first time in a long time, you felt truly at a loss for words. You had always seen Steve as your rock, your steady, unflappable friend, but now, standing in front of you, he seemed almost fragile, vulnerable in a way you had never seen before.

"I don’t want to lose you," Steve said, his voice barely above a whisper as he reached out, his hand gently cupping your cheek. The warmth of his touch sent a shiver through you, and you found yourself leaning into his palm, the closeness between you suddenly overwhelming. His thumb brushed softly against your skin, his eyes searching yours with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. 

"But I don’t want to stand in your way, either. If you have feelings for Stephen… if you want to be with him… I’ll step back. I’ll let you go.”

His words broke something inside you, and you felt tears sting your eyes, though you fought to hold them back. The way Steve was looking at you—so full of raw emotion, so open and unguarded—made your heart twist painfully in your chest. 

"I don’t know what to say— I don’t want to lose you either.” you said, your voice trembling.

Steve’s face was so close to yours now that his forehead touched yours and you could feel his breath on your skin, the warmth of it sending a surge of conflicting emotions through you. 

For a moment, you thought he might kiss you—there was a part of you that wanted him to—but he didn’t. Instead, he just held you there, his hand still cradling your cheek, his eyes filled with an emotion that you thought would look at you that way.

"You won’t lose me," Steve promised, his voice low and full of conviction. But there was a vulnerability in his words, a silent plea for you to understand just how much you meant to him. The weight of it settled heavily in your chest, making it hard to breathe, hard to think.

Your mind raced, caught between the intensity of the moment and the memories of everything that had led up to this. You remembered the times you’d watched Steve from afar, admiring his strength and kindness, wishing for something more but always telling yourself it could never be. And then there were the recent moments with Stephen—the shared laughter, the way he’d looked at you during the party, the connection that had grown between you when you hadn’t even been looking for it.

"I… I don’t know what to do, Steve," you admitted, chuckling as a way to cope. "I care about you, I really do.”

Steve’s eyes flickered with something—understanding, pain, maybe both. "It’s okay," he said softly, though you could hear the strain in his voice. "I just needed you to know. Whatever happens, I’m here for you. I always will be.”

The sincerity in his words made your chest tighten with emotion. How had things become so complicated? You had tried so hard to move on from your feelings for Steve, to protect yourself from the heartache of unrequited love. And then Stephen had come into the picture, turning your world upside down in ways you hadn’t expected. Now, the idea of hurting either of them made you feel sick to your stomach, but you knew that avoiding the truth wasn’t an option either.

You reached up and placed your hand over Steve’s, still cupping your cheek, and the warmth of his skin against yours was both comforting and confusing. 

"Steve, I… I need time to figure this out," you said, your voice shaking with the weight of your own indecision. "I’m so torn right now.”

Steve nodded slowly, his thumb brushing gently across your cheek one last time before he let his hand drop. 

“Take all the time you need,” he said, though there was a trace of sadness in his eyes, “Whatever outcome you choose, I won't change, I'll still care for you just like how I do now.”

× × × ×

Stephen paced back and forth in the Sanctum’s main hall, his thoughts tangled and uneasy. The morning’s events had left him shaken, not just because of the unexpected situation he had woken up to, but because of the emotions that had surfaced in its wake. He had tried to push them aside, focusing on the day’s tasks, but every time his mind wandered, it inevitably drifted back to you—your shocked expression, your voice as you insisted that it would be better to forget what had happened, and the lingering warmth of your presence beside him.

He needed to understand. Not just what happened, but to confirm he doesn't want to let this go easy. After last night. . . he thinks he’s now in love with you.

Stephen leaned back in his chair, his thoughts racing. There was a spell he could use—Memoratus Arcanum, a memory recall spell. It wasn’t a spell he used lightly, but this wasn’t a decision he was taking lightly either. 

The spell would allow him to relive the events of the previous night with perfect clarity, to see everything as it had happened, unclouded by the fog of alcohol. Most importantly, it would help him understand the feelings that had been awakened in him.

With a steadying breath, Stephen stood up and moved to a small table in the corner of the room. The study was filled with the familiar scent of old books and the faint, lingering aroma of incense—comforting smells that helped him focus. He gathered the items he needed for the spell: a small silver mirror, an incantation sheet and a candle to help center his thoughts.

He set the items on the table and sat down cross-legged in front of them, the silver mirror resting in front of him. Lighting the candle, he watched the flame flicker for a moment before closing his eyes, centering himself as he began to chant the incantation. The words flowed easily from his lips, a familiar rhythm that calmed his racing thoughts.

As he finished the incantation, the mirror’s surface began to shimmer, the room around him fading as the spell took hold. The mirror now showed the swirling mists of memory, and Stephen leaned in closer, his heart beating faster as the mists cleared to reveal the events of the previous night. . .

[missymysticc]

The lowly gardener

Pairing: loki x reader

Summary: a gardener of frigga and loki fall in love. Loki is about to have an arranged marriage. They're love is forbidden.

Warning: just angst, fluff, and no smut. No use of y/n. Forbidden romance

A/n: i uploaded the wrong thing the first time. This is a reupload. I accidentally posted half of the first draft.

"Meet me at our spot "

I read the note Loki slipped into my basket. It's risky, I know, we've been sneaking to meet each other for the past 2 years now. It's a miracle we haven't gotten caught.

I am just a gardener. The queen Frigga's gardener to be exact. I tend to the gardens of this palace. While Loki, he's the prince of asgard. no one in my status should even ever be talking to someone like him without permission. But the day he spoke to me, something I never expected, soon became the best moment of my life.

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

Two years ago~

"You missed a spot" I look to the left where a small branch or leaves peaked out.

"Oh, apologies, your highness. I didn't notice"

I notice he smells of strong asgardian ale. It lingers, the scent, it's so him. Whenever I walk past Loki after parties he always smells of liquor. I don't mind it, the smell always tells me he is approaching.

"I'm going to ask you something. As someone who isn't close with Thor, what do you think of him?" He asks. This feels like a set up. He has always been jealous of Thor, the ladies he slept with, his status, and most of all, how the allfather favors him. It doesn't take someone near to him to notice.

"I don't think I should answer that question"

"Come on, it's not like anyone's here. It'll be our secret." He winks. I look around making sure no one else is here.

"He's... respectful, he's polite. Oh, and he once picked up the fire lillies I so carelessly dropped. So I guess he's nice” I give a tight lipped smile.

"But...?" Almost as if he read my mind. No wonder he's the God of lies.

"I guess...Look, if you're trying to get validation off of a lowly gardener, trust me, my opinion doesn't matter."

"It matters to me" he steps closer. He looked at me in a shifted demeanor.

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

Present day~

I walk quietly into the garden. To the part of the garden where it's covered. Our spot. The vine covered dome; the lilies, who's scent can cure sadness; the tulips, my personal favorite; but none of it matters since my eyes land on the gentleman standing at the corner.

"You came" he seemed surprised.

"Was there a time where I didn't?" I chuckle at his doubtfulness.

"You were hesitant the first few times we met."

“Yet, I still met you every single time you asked”

I took a few steps closer to him and wrap my arms around his neck. He leans his head on mine. I feel comfort in his arms.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I lift his head up by his chin. He never looked this upset. I've seen him at his worst, his expression shows a different type of devastation.

"I'm getting married. Father arranged me to marry some princess I have never even met. Like I even bothered to learn her name. I-I can't be married! Not if it's not with you!"

"Love, we knew that we can't be together from the start. We knew that getting into this. I know it's difficult, but all of this was meant to end in due time." I search his face for some sort of clarity. Instead, he pushes me back with confusion written all over his face.

"Do you love me?"

"What are you even asking me?"

"Just answer" my hand cups his cheek wiping of the tears dropping of his eyes.

"Of course I do!"

"Please say it. I just need to hear you say it."

His voice cracks as he looks to the side, then back to me.

"I love you, I'll come back to you more times than the number of all the stars combined. I have loved you ever since the night you asked me such a ridiculous question, and I will love you till the very last sentence you could ever mutter. I love you, and only you." His doubt of my love has always been there. His insecurities that he masks with his so-called self pride, I see through it, I see through it all. It has always been prevalent for me.

"Then why are you alright with me getting married off? You are fine with me with another woman beside me in bed?"

"Of course not! I'm just saying you need to face reality. We were never meant to be together. What reality do you think a mere servant gardener and the all mighty prince of Asgard can be together peacefully?"

He pauses for a minute searching my eyes for something. He sighs, anger surfaces to his face, pushing me back further. He storms off.

The very next day, at sunrise. Someone knocks on the door of my chambers.

“Tyra, I'll be ready in a few-”

My chamber doors open and it isn't Tyra.

“Love.” Loki calls out to me.

“Hey you” I smiled at him. He approaches me and holds both of my hands nearing them to his lips and kisses them.

“You shouldn't be here”qzd

“Would you rather I leave?”

I chuckle

“No, I'd much rather you stay here.”

“I want to apologize. I know I acted irrationally last night. Sometimes I just doubt how anyone as lovely as you could ever want me”

“That's ridiculous! I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have been so unbothered about your arranged marriage. You were upset and instead of comforting you, I made it worse.”

“I really tried to convince my father not to marry me off. He wouldn't budge”

“I know, while you're not married, let's just enjoy each other's company. Not worrying about the future. Just you and me. What do you say?”

He kisses me gently. His lips lingered onto mine longer than usual. No words needed to be said.

[povlvr]

Matchmaker Matchmakers 🎄🎄

Request from @jbuckybarnesfan

"I was just wondering if you're still taking requests, could you do one where Bucky & reader have a crush on each other, neither one will do anything for fear of getting hurt/rejected & it takes Steve, Sam, Natasha, & Wanda to do a WHOLE LOT of match making?!?!?!?! Thanks!! "

Pairing: Avenger Bucky Barnes x Avenger Reader

Summary: You have been in love with Bucky, he loves you right back but neither of you want to make a move, Tony & the gang aren't as willing to wait as long as you two though.

Word Count: 6.5k

Warnings: Fluff, evil masterminding, Bucky with a boner, swearing, angst.

Graphics: @firefly-graphics

A/N: Thank you so much for the request, I loved writing it & always love a fluffy Bucky & at this time of year it had to be Christmas themed. Chapter 4 of Your Love Gets Sweeter Everyday will be up on Saturday FYI.

Anything small & italic is a flashback to the meddling.

Life in the Avengers tower was finally calming down for the Christmas break, it always surprised you that world ending threats typically had a shut down period allowing you some time off, kind of considerate if you think about it. Your fellow team members were your family, you were all each other had so typically your festive period would be spent in New York, surrounded by Tony’s ostentatious decorations, ridiculous parties & most importantly the love of your life Bucky Barnes.

Except he didn’t know he was the love of your life, you had been pining for him for years, he was an absolute flirt with you at times, especially when he had some of Thor’s Asgardian ale, so you forever got your hopes up just to have them dashed each time. It hurt & would inevitably lead to an intervention from Natasha & Wanda, they would beg you to make the move, put yourself out there for him to take but you couldn’t face the idea of rejection & ruining a great friendship you had built.

Your lazy morning lounging around the living area had been rudely interrupted by a far too perky Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson after their 10 mile run in the freezing cold, you had practically become one with Bucky on the sofa trying to steal some of his body heat having refused to put more appropriate clothing on, your cotton pj shorts & hoodie were too comfy to swap so you just attached yourself to him as you watched TV.

Slowly the other team members filtered in to join you, all rolling their eyes seeing their desperately in love friends snuggling on the sofa living in denial that the other felt the same, suffering through the sickeningly sweet way you would treat each other, Tony was constantly on the brink of just shouting it out loud for you both to hear, admit your feelings & stop this charade. 

After a vomit inducing tickle fight during the commercial break with you constantly telling him you were too cold Bucky threw you over his shoulder & declared that you could watch the movie together in bed where it was warm, leaving the other Avengers shaking their heads at the pair of you yet again ditching them to be alone.

When the coast was clear Tony let out a big sigh pinching the bridge of his nose, ‘ok I’m just going to say the thing I shouldn’t say.’

‘Tony’ Steve warned, sensing he was about to say something reckless involving his best friend & the girl he was hopelessly in love with. 

‘No Capsical, anyone else absolutely sick of them tip toeing around each other?’

‘Absolutely yes, I swear if he flirts with her one more time & wimps out of asking her out I’m going to the press to tell them in detail what a pussy the winter solider is.’ Wanda declared.

‘Well, the bet we had going was only fun for the 1st year & seen as everyone timed out, I think it’s about time we do some meddling to get those idiots together.’ 

‘They’ll get together when they’re ready Stark.’ Steve was ever the optimist which frustrated Tony no end sometimes, he was sure Bucky would eventually confess how he felt, with what he had been through it was totally understandable to be hesitant & he didn’t want to push his best friend too much. 

‘No Rogers, they’re wasting time & they will regret the chances missed if they’re not careful.’

‘So how do we play this?’ Natasha was all in, she was the one that had to deal with you moping around when you got down about being in love with someone who you didn’t think felt the same, so if a bit of matchmaking got you everything you had ever wanted she was ready to meddle.

Tony drummed his fingers on his chin like he didn’t already have a plan in place, ‘I’m betting tin man is the jealous type?’.

Sam nodded, ‘Bingo, he once threatened me once because I helped her get a mug down from a shelf instead of him.’

‘Wow, ok jealously we can do, anything else?’

‘They need to be alone; we disturb them all the time & he hates it, that’s why he just runs off with her.’ Everyone looked at Wanda puzzled as to why Bucky would share that information with her. ‘What? He has very loud thoughts sometimes.’

‘Ok ok, my brain is concocting some things, keep going.’

You felt sick, dread, a tidal wave of unease at the situation you found yourself in, singles night at the tower was apparently a genius idea by the not so single Tony Stark, agents & avengers paddling in the dating pool with each other, that meant you were being forced to socialise with people’s who’s names you definitely forgot & worse still Bucky would be inundated with pretty women throwing themselves at him & you would have to sit & watch. 

Tony had declared himself the host, allegedly come up with an indisputable personality algorithm that would match you with people on your frequency & then the compatible pairs have 10 minute dates, all whilst enjoying the finest Christmas cocktails & festive music. The idea that the Avengers sat down & the agents were the ones being herded around gave you a major ick & you tried to get out of it several times from the moment of inception but here you were, sat down waiting for the 1st round hoping it would be over & done with sooner than later. 

‘How to get tin man jealous in one simple step, well several & lots of planning by yours truly. Gather round children & listen to a genius at work.’

Nat couldn’t help an eyeroll, ‘So modest.’

‘I know, tis the season of goodwill so how about a little gathering & I host a Love Train speed dating night, I’ll send round some personality tests & match avengers with agents after passing this with HR so we’re not violating anything of course.’

‘How is setting them up with other people going to bring them together Mr Stark?’ Tony clutched his chest & scrunched his face at the naivety of the young Avenger.

‘Oh Peter my dear child, we don’t pair them with their actual matches, we pick the worst ones so they have a miserable time & instead of one guy, Barnes can freak out over the fact he has 10 people to compete with. Whaddya say kids, who’s up for some flirting with a martini for true love?’

‘I told you I’m not getting involved Tony.’ Steve’s blank expression hadn’t changed at the ridiculous suggestion from the so called genius.

‘How about I invite that brunette you ogle at every training exercise Rogers, Lorenza is it?’ His raised eyebrows irritated the Super Solider no end, but he wasn’t about to turn down that invitation.

‘Fine I’ll participate in the dates but that’s it. I don’t want the blame when this all blows up on your face.’

‘It won’t, who knows if she’ll even get to the 2nd date. He’ll probably just throw her over his shoulder & march off with her.’

Steve pondered the thought for a moment crossing his arms over his chest, ‘Well don’t come crying to me when he does & still doesn’t say anything to her.’

Well Phil or was it Paul? No Phil was fine, a bit plain & boring, it made you think that this was your ‘frequency’ the way Tony kept bigging up his personality test bullshit, hold up, were you boring? No, no, it must have been a glitch, was he 6ft, broad, dark haired & blue eyed? No, so therefore wasn’t your type, he didn’t stare once not even a glare, ugh, so once he had left the table you added a cross to his box. Next.

By round 5 you started to believe you must be the worst person in the world, you & Bucky had spent the night exchanging looks, silently communicating the absolute torture of the night, everyone else looked like they were having a blast typically. You quickly downed your drink ready for the next guy, hoping to God this one could hold a conversation, so you didn’t have to do all the work, 10 minutes was a surprisingly long time.

‘That bad darlin’?’

You looked up at the man sat directly in front of you, of course you hadn’t heard him sit down, he moved like a ghost sometimes, your face lit up & for the first time that night you smiled.

‘Bucky, what are you doing?’

‘Looks like I’m number 6 on your list.’ He made a show out of crossing out whoever was on his list & replacing it with your name & gestured you to do the same as you giggled at how silly he was being. Of course that 10 minutes flew by, you were lost in each other talking about the usual nonsense you always did & when the inevitable bell sounded your shoulders hunched & you stuck your lip out in protest, before you knew it a vibranium thumb was releasing your pout & you were stuck in his gaze wanting him to lean in, to just sweep you off your feet & not have to endure anymore of this nonsense.

A not-so-subtle cough from suitor number 7 sounded next to you & you gave him a scowl even the Winter Solider would have been proud of, Bucky released your face & stood up, squaring up to the agent who cowered under the intense scrutiny the solider studied him with. 

Bucky leant down to your ear, ‘Say the word Doll & I’ll throw you over my shoulder & we can get out of here.’

You giggled shaking your head whispering back ‘it would be rude, come get me after number 10.’

‘I’ll be counting down the minutes flower.’ 

He gave you a quick kiss on the cheek & headed back to his table where Becki from the sniper team was sitting, ugh they had things in common, damn algorithm.

The night finally wrapped up when Tony gathered the team, in typical Bucky fashion he had scooped you up on the final bell, you had barely finished the cross next to the absolute misogynist you had just endured 10 minutes with before he picked you up from your chair, he deposited the forms with the smug host & took you for some one-on-one time.

 ‘Great work team, that was a complete success.’ Tony brushed his hands off like everything was taken care of, Nat, Thor & Sam weren’t seeing things quite in the same light.

‘They were constantly staring at each other, ignoring their dates & then Bucky threatened one of her matches & took his place’, Steve boasted knowing this plan wouldn’t work.

‘Hmm & I so happen to know that they only ticked each other, no one else.’ He wafted the score cards in the air for effect. ‘I swear to god these two are going to give me an aneurism with how sweet they are on each other.’

‘So, it was a complete fail.’ Sam added.

‘Absolutely not, I’m percolating & concocting as I speak.’ He wiggled his eye brows as the next stage of getting you both together came to him, ‘All’s fair & love & war, right?’

The next morning you walked into the kitchen noticing a few of your friends were attempting to soothe a hangover, you felt fresh as a daisy with Bucky cutting your night short, you ended up walking around the grounds of the compound together sharing stories of the evening, particularly getting caught up with Steve’s interest in one of the agents who seemed equally infatuated with him.

‘Hear ye hear ye, the results are in of the Avengers love train singles night, the numbers have been counted & verified & ladies, gentlemen, Super Soldiers & Gods we have a winner.’

You could see Nat wince at how boisterous & loud he was being, you threw him a bone though & took the bait, ‘How is there a winner?’

‘There’s always a winner dear child & you girl are IT. You officially got the most numbers hot stuff, enjoy your gift card to the Olive Garden for being the most prestigious bachelorette in the building.’

‘Eww please don’t call me hot stuff … & seriously, more than Nat?’

Bucky’s jaw felt like it was going to crumble he was clenching his teeth so intensely, Steve tried to offer a sympathetic smile to his old friend, but it didn’t stop Bucky’s pulse from racing, his stomach bile from rising & the potential bottom lip from trembling at the thought of him losing you to some random agent.

‘And don’t think I didn’t see you two getting your 10 minutes in, that one was null & void.’

He threw the envelope of the potential suitors to you along with the gift card, you leant over to your super soldier wiggling the gift card & whispered ‘Fancy dinner on Tony?’ 

‘I heard that.’

‘I meant you to.’

Without hesitation he threw you over his shoulder & marched you out the room so you could get ready for dinner.

‘Well, that was another utter failure & why is he always carrying her places?’ Scott was now officially Team Iron man in getting you two together, his plan for a love heist had been benched for now after Tony heard his pitch & tried not to laugh at how ridiculous it was. Shrinking yourself down & acting as a devil on the shoulder constantly telling him to ‘kiss the girl’ was not a heist, it was a scene directly out of The Little Mermaid.

‘Did you not see him? An absolute success. That will fester I guarantee it.’ Tony sat drumming his fingers against themselves like some sort of stereotypical evil mastermind. ’On to part two of my plan.’

You couldn’t believe it, a week before Christmas & you were assigned a mission, a mission in the freezing cold tundra, a dead end & a never ending search for a safe house. Thankfully you were paired with Bucky, his survival skills made up for your lack of wilderness exploring experience, you were trying not to moan too much, but you were so fucking cold, your skin stung like it was being repeatedly stabbed with needles & the boredom had kicked in miles ago, you were on the verge of doing a slut drop into the fresh powdery snow for some entertainment. 

‘Bucky I’m so booorrrreddd.’ You whined. 

‘Not far Doll I promise, then we can get you warm.’

‘How far? & hold up, how did you know I’m cold.’

‘A couple of miles, & I’m cold so I figured Miss ‘I’m freezing’ stood in a desert must be a solid ice block by now.’ He chuckled at the memory & how much he appreciated your cold body pressing against his in the middle of a sand dune.

‘The wind was chillyyyy.’ You wined; they wouldn’t ever let that go.

‘Only to you Darlin’. What can I do to make you unbored?’

‘Dunno, can’t play I spy, hmmm how about we talk. Done all your Christmas shopping?’

‘Almost, one left to get. You?’

‘Yes. I do mine all through the year, I see something & think hmm that’s something Bucky would want & I buy it.’ You seemed to find a lot more things for him though so your backlog of gifts for him sat in your closet, wrapped & waiting for any occasion to give him one. He always laughed when you celebrated even the most miniscule achievement, ‘you didn’t threaten Sam today, here’s a gift.’, ‘Oh you smiled at a pedestrian instead of scowling, here’s a gift.’.

‘But what about the secret Santa?’

‘I prepare in advance & have a list of what I would get everyone, then once I know the name I go get it.’

‘Who’d ya get?’

‘Not telling you.’ You shook your head & crossed your arms defiantly, he may have been a trained assassin, but you could outsmart his interrogation if you needed to. 

‘Come onnnn.’

‘No, it’s secret Santa, not tell your bestie Santa.’

‘Hmmm, I’ll get it out of ya before we get back to New York darlin’.’

‘Good luck.’

‘Speaking of which, did you get any luck from the singles night?’

You wondered why he had asked it, you never mentioned dating to each other, you wanted to keep your head buried in the sand regarding his love life & you figured he didn’t really care about yours or lack thereof. Tony had given your number to a select few agents who scored the highest with you & you had been texting them which was a nice distraction from your pining for the 6ft Super Solider currently acting as your windbreaker against the frigid air but there was nothing to it, you wouldn’t ever see them outside of work.

‘Well, as you know I was the champion.’ 

‘Of course you were.’ He practically sighed out the sentence.

‘Well I’ve been texting a couple of the matches, Toni gave my number to the ones that seemed semi-normal.’

‘Oh.’

He regretted asking the second it left his lips, but he’d been losing sleep since Tony gave you the envelope, wondering if he lost his chance, but when Tony specifically mentioned that his date with you was null & void he had hoped you’d put a tick next to his name. He wanted to throw up because now he got his answer, you weren’t interested, never would be, he knew it, Steve almost convinced him you were into him but why would someone with as much going for them as you choose a 106 year old broken ex-brainwashed assassin.

The cabin was finally within touching distant, Bucky had been pretty silent after he picked up the pace, you tried pulling some kind of conversation out of him, but he wasn’t being very forthcoming, so you decided to conserve your energy & just focus on getting to the safe house. 

Your feet were numb, your fingers were hurting from being so cold, you were chilled to the bone & your teeth uncontrollably chattering. Bucky was constantly checking over his shoulder on you, he knew he had to get you some shelter & warmth, he was trying not to get mad at you, he had absolutely no reason to, but it hurt & right now being alone with you would be too much, to have everything he wanted be so close, but always out of reach felt cruel. Why did he have to ask? He was looking forward to having some one-on-one time with you, he always got so annoyed when the others insisting on crashing your movie nights or when you made him dinner after missions away, he would always end up just picking you up & running off with you to have you to himself.

Your limbs felt like lead when you stumbled up the stairs & they quickly gave way underneath you & you braced yourself ready to hit the deck only to be caught by a warm pair of Super Solider arms.

‘Fuck, you’re blue darlin’, why didn’t you tell me you were this cold?’

Bucky was desperate to open the cabin, he stopped short of kicking the door in when the latch finally gave way, he didn’t know how the fuck the technology worked in the place to put the heating on, but he could start a fire. He sat you on the dust covered sofa & quickly stripped off his jacket wrapping it around you, holding your frozen fingers to his mouth & blowing firmly on them to heat you up.

‘You stay here, I’m going to see if there’s any blankets in the bedrooms that I can grab for you.’

You nodded, teeth still chattering as you struggled to speak as Bucky darted in & out behind doors, he finally found the bedroom.

‘You’ve got to be fucking kiddin’ me.’

One bed.

‘Honestly, I should be an evil mastermind, I don’t know how I think these things up I really don’t, quick someone go & get Alpine, so I can pet him & go through part two.’

‘Just get on with it T.’ Bruce pleaded at this point, he had no idea why he was getting involved in all this, like Steve he thought you guys would get together in your own time.

‘So the jealousy is taken care of, that will eat away at Barnes, so how about we sort out some alone time? I’m thinking abandoned hydra base with some critical intel planted in the computer, log cabin safe house, a short trek through a snowy ravine. Oh, maybe when they arrive there’s no heat & they have to warm each other up.’ 

‘You’re not turning the heating off if there’s snow on the ground Tony.’

‘A bit of mild hypothermia won’t kill them Cap.’

‘Absolutely not Tony, Buck will be fine, she will not.’ Steve very firmly stated resulting nothing but an eye roll from the eccentric billionaire.

‘I swore Bucky took her to burning man once & she wore a coat. Keeping her in the freezing cold intentionally would be like torture.’ Sam warned, yes, he wanted you both together, but Tony’s plans were getting out of control.

‘That’s kinda my point, she’ll be freezing & he’ll be the human hot water bottle needed to warm her up. Oh & guess what, there’s only one bed.’

Nat shook her head grimacing at how Tony’s mind worked, ‘You’ve been reading too many romance novels.’

‘Absolute classic trope & yes, I enjoy fingering through Ms Potts bedtime novels on occasion.’

Sam looked horrified, ‘Eww come on dude.’ 

‘It’s true, look, what is Bucky an expert in? … apart from scowling? Surviving. I’m pretty sure he spent 50 years in Russia, so he knows how to efficiently heat someone up.’ He wiggled his eyes at Natasha knowing she also obtained these crucial survival skills during her time as a black widow.

‘Oh god Tony, no, she will be mortified.’ As the red head shook her head once more Tony was nodding enthusiastically with a smug grin on his face.

Looking completely lost in what was being implied Scott perked up ‘What, what did I miss?’ 

Nat sighed, hoping you didn’t have to resort to this if Tony had the gall to set you up, ‘The quickest way to heat someone up safely is skin to skin contact so they’ll have to strip down & cuddle up against each other mostly naked.’

‘Hey presto, there’s a hot rod waiting for entry. Nat, you’re in charge of packing her most scandalous underwear.’

‘That’s it, too far.’ Steve stormed out.

Tony rolled his eyes at the Super Soldier’s dramatics, ‘Such a prude. She’ll thank me when she’s hanging off the grumpy guys arm.’

‘I’m so glad you said arm.’

Bucky had been frantically searching for any kind of heat source to help heat you up, the fire he had started was just beginning to take hold, but you were still ice cold & lethargic.

‘Not long til we get you warm darlin’, Just think of the time I bundled ya in 4 duvets wrapped up like a little burrito & Alpine was ticklin’ ya feet.’ He rubbed his hands up & down your arms trying to generate some friction as you managed a smile at the memory.

‘K.’ You could feel yourself shutting down, everything was numb, but it was like your brain was working in slow motion.

Bucky suddenly appeared in your vision, ‘Sweetheart you’re going to have to get close to me, so my body heat will help regulate your temperature.’

You nodded holding out your arms, ‘k’.

‘No darlin, really close. I mean skin on skin, we’re both going to have to strip down & lay in front of the fire to get you warm as soon as possible.’

Bucky could see you slowly processing what he meant, you were trying to wrap your head around the idea of seeing Bucky practically naked & for him to see you, thank the Gods for Natasha insisting you pack nice underwear just in case anything happened & you needed cutting out your suit. That woman thought of every eventuality known to man.

Your fingers were trembling as you attempted to unzip your coat, he could see you struggling, ‘here let me sweetheart.’ Bucky let out breath, when he imagined stripping you of your clothes it was always under different circumstances, in one swift motion he unzipped you & began to remove your clothes making sure to keep his eyes on your face.

He worked quickly to strip himself & put down some cushions in front of the fire, before removing the last of your layers, he manoeuvred you to the makeshift bed careful to not look, stubbing his toe in the process. You giggled at how respectful he was being, you can’t say you hadn’t had a cheeky glance at him, you couldn’t be blamed with him being all muscle & vibranium stood in his scandalously small black boxers & it certainly helped in increasing your body temperature, ‘Y … You can look Buck.’ 

You watched as his gaze slowly moved down your body, he gulped trying not to look as desperate as he was feeling & prayed to everything holy that he didn’t get hard, but as he pulled you down on top of him he knew that prayer wasn’t going to be answered. He felt you breathe a sigh of relief as he covered you with the two coats & wrapped his arms around you, tucking yourself into the crook of his neck. 

Experiencing Bucky’s surprisingly soft skin against yours was so comforting, it was something you had both done clothed many times before, but this time it felt so different, so intimate & everything you had been imagining when you allowed yourself to dream of waking up in his arms every day.

The feeling was finally coming back in your limbs & with it, a mild tingling which had you wriggling in his arms, trying to rid yourself of the pins & needles plaguing you. You definitely felt it, you knew he had registered the contact when he suddenly took a sharp intake of air, you wanted to read into this; that he wanted you, there were many times you had been in this position & he never showed any signs of anything in that region, but it was there plain as day. It would be so easy to kiss him, to finally have what you’ve been pining for, but you were so fed up of being disappointed you had to rationalise it as the lack of clothes & rubbing, just biology, nothing more.

He whispered under his breath ‘sorry’ mortified that you felt his arousal, he was always so good at deflecting your attention when you made him hard.

‘It’s ok.’ You placed a kiss on his skin landing right on his collarbone. 

His eyes fluttered shut at the feeling of his lips on his neck, he wanted to flip you over & cover you in them, ‘Not helping Darlin.’

‘Sorry.’ You giggled wanting to do it again, to see how long he’d have it, you wanted to feel every inch of him pressed against you.

‘I forgot to tell ya sweetheart, I found the bedroom, but we’ll have to share.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Once we’re warm we’ll settle in for the night.’

You tried to keep your smile hidden at the thought of waking up with him, you may have watched movies cuddled up in bed, but you never stopped the night in each other’s rooms, this was definitely a first.

You woke to a smiley content Super Solider looking at you, if you let yourself get carried away you would have thought it was a look of love, but he probably was just glad you made it through the night, with his furnace like body glued to you there wasn’t a chance you’d freeze. He had spent an hour watching you sleep, you looked like an angel in his arms, the heating had somehow turned on by itself & even though he knew you’d be warm he couldn’t bear to let you go, if this was the only time this happened he was determined to memorise every second.

Christmas Eve was always a special night in the tower filled with traditions, you would always have an over the top meal prepared by Tony’s chef accompanied by Wanda’s famously delicious eggnog, once you were all suitably merry you would play pool & darts, which Bucky & Clint naturally excelled in, you did not. Then it would be time for Secret Santa followed by a Christmas movie, you were so excited to get Bucky this year, when you pulled his name out of the hat you almost squealed knowing how many gifts you could give him.

‘Ok, so the speed dating & the Cabin didn’t yield the results as quickly as anticipated.’ Tony declared disappointed, he had fully expected the Super Soldier to be carrying you down the Quinjet’s ramp declaring your love for one another, instead he was greeted by a pissed off Bucky interrogating him as to why the Cabin’s heating was broken & something about you nearly losing a finger.

‘They were a total failure & you almost gave her pneumonia.’ 

‘You best not be Team Cap now Lang.’

‘Absolutely not Iron Man.’ Scott reassured with a thumbs up.

‘Good thing I already anticipated these two being as stubborn as mules, so my final play is going to be Secret Santa.’

Scott completely misinterpreting his suggestion couldn’t help commenting, ‘She sits on his lap all the time so I don’t think him pretending to be Santa & asking her if she’s been naughty will do the trick.’

Somehow Natasha was seeing the funny side of all these ridiculous ploys, ‘You know she’d say she’s been a bad girl.’

‘No, eww no … but you’re right.’

Nat raised her brow with a smirk.

‘We rig it, she picks him, he picks her & then we swap out the gifts before they open them.’ Tony stated like it was as simple as that.

‘What do we swap them to?’

‘Maybe a note that says I am in love with you?’, not his finest idea but he was running low at this point.

‘They’re not in kindergarten, how about we really set them up, one of us talks to each of them & get them to confess their feelings, we record it & it plays when they open the gift.’

Tony’s eyes were wide at the former Spy, ‘That is an absolute invasion of their privacy … & genius.’

‘I’ll talk to her.’ Nat

‘I’ve got him’ Sam

You had just finished a game of round the clock on the dart board, as per usual you were last even with Bucky helping, you didn’t see the eye rolls from the team when he was pressed up against you whispering in your ears with his hands on you, guiding you into the perfect shot that you fluffed each time being so utterly flustered by him.

You all crammed in the lounge area, every available chair occupied by an Avenger, you opted to sit on the floor between Bucky’s legs as Tony distributed the secret Santa gifts. You wanted to look back at Bucky to see his reaction, so you twisted yourself around, you his gift wasn’t the one you wrapped, but before you could say anything Tony declared ‘3,2,1 OPEN’ & everyone followed the order.

You removed the paper eager to work out who chose your name from whatever you received, you were usually fairly astute in guessing, in a modern sleek frame sat Bucky’s speed dating card, all names crossed out except one tick next to your name that he scribbled down. You smiled, running your fingers across the glass, wondering who gave it you. At the same time Bucky had opened your framed card, all names crossed out except his along with a couple of heart doodles, a warm smile burst on his face, he knew you ticked him from the way Tony said it was null & void. He decided one way or another he was going to put his cards on the table tonight & see how you felt, he had already planned on doing it with another gift, but this cemented it in his head, surely this was a sign but maybe you were just being you, of course you’d tick him over the others the way you described them. He was so torn on what to do.

Before you all settled down for the film you needed a quick bathroom break after all Wanda’s Eggnog, ‘I’m just going to the ladies, be right back.’ You pushed yourself off the floor & headed out the door.

Steve immediately sat at Bucky’s side whilst Tony & ‘Team Iron Man’ gathered in the corner fuming that neither of you pressed the play button on the frame to hear each other’s confession, whisper yelling at each other about making the frames auto play. 

‘You need to tell her Buck.’

‘She’s talking to other guys from the speed dating night Steve, I told you she’s not interested.’

‘She isn’t talking to anyone, she was being polite & messaged them back after Tony gave her number out but that’s it.’ He had asked you about it after Bucky destroyed four punching bags when you arrived back from the mission.

‘But what if she says no & I ruin our friendship?’

‘It wont. Look, what if someone comes along & you lose her? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life wondering what she would have said? Just go find her & tell her.’

Steve left him contemplating, he could hear whispering, but it didn’t really pay it attention with the possibility of laying his heart out on a plate for you, his feet were moving before his mind gave him chance to think & he followed in the direction of where you would be.

You found Bucky mid thought pacing outside the bathroom, clearly lost somewhere in his head & you startled him as you spoke.

‘You ok honey?’

This was it, he had to say something.

‘Yeah, sure, erm, can I talk to you?’

‘Sure.’

He gently moved you to one side & you could see how nervous he was looking, your eyes darting around his face trying to find some clue on why he was acting so shifty, so nervous almost & then you spotted it.

Mistletoe, hung right above your head & your breath caught making Bucky’s eyes travel up to see what you were looking at. 

This was it.

You turned your cheek & pointed to it ready for him to give you a peck, that was usually what happened when you were both caught under some, you realised after the first disappointment that he was too much of a gentleman to kiss you on the lips.

His hands cupped your face & he gently turned your face to look at him, his eyes darting around your face, focusing on your lips, before pulling you closer & pressing his mouth to yours, you wanted to cry, this was everything you ever wanted but you knew would be ripped away a moment later. 

Bucky only pressed further, harder until you mouth parted & he deepened the kiss, one arm moved around your waist so your bodies were joined, you followed his lead wrapping your arms around him holding him as close as you could, fearing he could disappear from your grasp any moment.

When he pulled away for air your lips followed him, but he didn’t waste a single moment staring into your eyes & finally telling you how he felt, ‘I love you.’ 

With that he took your breath away entirely, you were sure this was a dream, maybe you were still in that cabin, your body & mind shutting down & this was your comforting final moments dreaming of words you had waited so long to hear, they were all you needed to die happy. 

He could see you lost, from the way you kissed him he knew his feelings were reciprocated so he just needed you mind to catch up with him, those familiar crystal blue eyes met yours, your sob came next & finally you jumped up in his arms, tears streaming down your face with a smile he wouldn’t ever forget.

‘I love you too Bucky, so so much.’ He held you around him & your lips met again, hungrier than the first, hands exploring each other’s bodies as he pushed you against the nearest wall, trying to control himself as much as he could.

Steve & Tony watched as you & Bucky finally confessed to each other how you felt, once it got a little heated they decided to give you some privacy & headed back to the others.

‘I didn’t even get mistletoe. Pepper said it’s a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen so banned it.’

Steve looked at the puzzled hero somewhat smugly ‘hmm must be some kind of Christmas miracle’

He stopped in his tracks pointing an accusing finger at the blonde Super Solider, ‘Hold on, you did this? You said you weren’t going to meddle.’

‘I didn’t meddle, I just strategically put up some flowers, they stood under them.’

‘It’s mistletoe dude, you have to kiss it’s the law.’

 ‘Maybe, but I hoped that it would get them to act on their feelings instead of it being a throw away kiss.’

‘You sneaky son of a … they’ll name their first kid after you now instead of me, all the effort I went to as well. Unbelievable.’

You both returned to the lounge hand in hand, having been clearly sharing some intense kisses from swollen red lips you were both sporting so inebriated with each other you didn’t even notice all the eyes glued to you.

‘What the hell guys, we missed it?’

Tony & Steve smugly sat watching the realisation from each of your friends that you were finally on the same page as you both stood smiling like fools in love, Bucky couldn’t resist kissing you in between answering the questions you were being bombarded with how exactly it happened.

Sam was the first one to react, ‘Mistletoe, that’s seriously all it took?’ He was practically beside himself laughing, ‘So all Tony’s matchmaking shit was a waste of time?’

You both turned to him somewhat confused, ‘What do you mean matchmaking?’

A/N: Is everyone (who is celebrating) ready for Christmas, I've bought all the gifts but not in the Christmas spirit at all, watching Christmas with the Kranks to try & make me feel any kind of festive!

[dimeurz]

I have another one for the lyric prompt :D

"Buff and his skin looks gorgeous/How can someone ignore this?/We took a trip down a new road"

sorry it’s been a hectic week! hope you like it :)

The sun has almost set in Delacroix, Louisiana. The remaining rays illuminate the lake, orange like clementine, while the crescent moon is slowly making its appearance in the sky.

Most of the cook-out guests have left, and since everybody had come together to clean up after, it was quick. Only a few chairs and tables remain, but they’re supposed to go back to the house’s attic, so Sam had told Sarah to leave them for him and Bucky to throw into the truck.

Bucky dips his feet into the cold water, swaying them while Sam sits beside him with a grunt. Sam gives him a bottle of beer in which he opens with his metal hand, then switches with Sam so he can open his. Bucky is on his seventh, Sam on his third.

“You gotta drive us home,” Sam says with a smile, lowering his feet into the lake as well. He whistles at the temperature. “Must be nice to never get drunk, huh.”

Sighing, Bucky shrugs. “I guess. Unless you’re really trying to get drunk and it just won’t happen.”

“We should ask Thor for his Asgardian ale, then.”

Bucky chuckles, then chugs his beer. He drinks it like water and leaves it halfway done before putting it down. He looks at his feet as they make ripples on the water. He doesn’t quite remember the feeling of loud laughters doused with tipsiness among friends. Today was close, except he doesn’t really get drunk. He notes the way Sam’s thigh touches his, crowding into his space despite the possible elbow room. Whatever thoughts Bucky is thinking right now are sober thoughts and it makes him nervous.

He looks at Sam through a shy side eye before angling his head better. The remaining seconds of the golden hour cast a beautiful hue on Sam’s face, the flow of his swashing in the water sounding too much like home. He and Sam have been through a lot ever since the plane to Munich, and they do deserve this serene moment, just the two of them. Bucky had realized that the legacy of Steve had never been the shield — it was him, and most importantly, it was Sam. He was so stressed out about protecting the legacy, how to do so, but he’s been absentmindedly doing it from the start. Sam is the only reason why he’s back fighting the good fight again. He’s someone that Bucky is willing to be rightfully devoted to.

“Are you drunk?” Bucky asks out of the blue.

Sam takes a swig and exhales with a smile, turning to Bucky. He winks an eye as he thinks and hums. Bucky finds him adorable. “No– Maybe. I don’t know. I guess it is kinda getting to me now... Why? Do I look drunk?”

After a careful pause, Bucky continues, “Will you remember tomorrow if I told you that I loved you today?”

Sam blinks. He knew that. Well, he knew that at some point, Bucky started caring about him, right? And that’s love. He knows the general rules of love.

“What?”

“If I told you that I want to be by your side for as long as you let me? That you’re my purpose and my will, that I realized you’re the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life?” Bucky goes on, breathless. He feels as if he had just poured his heart out. He might’ve. “Because I think I’m in love with you, Sam Wilson.”

Sam feels like he’s just been splashed by cold water, his eyes big as he stares at Bucky in surprise. He opens his mouth and closes it a few times, his brain buffering along with the tad amount of alcohol seeping into his system. Since when? And how did he never notice? Now he’s overanalyzing every action Bucky has done around him, or all the words he has said to him that may have meant something else. He feels fuzzy in the chest, as if he’s a high schooler being asked out to prom. Sam averts his gaze while Bucky tilts his head in an attempt to chase it.

The sun has gone down officially. The stars are high in the sky, and the only source of light they have is the lamp post situated just before the dock ramp. It’s been silent for an uncomfortable amount of time that Bucky slowly starts regretting everything. Maybe it’s the way he said it. Maybe it’s the timing. Fuck, he’s panicking. The last thing he wants is to lose the one person that makes him want to try to live again.

Bucky shifts in his seat and picks his feet up from the water. “Forget it. Sorry, I– uh, sorry.�� He whispers, his face turning red in embarrassment. He’s biting down on his lips as he hastily stands up, one of the empty bottles beside him tipping towards the others. They topple down like bowling pins, making Bucky kneel to quickly collect them so they don’t fall into the water.

However, just before Bucky could grab one of the bottles, Sam holds his wrist and yanks it a bit, making him face him. Once he is looking, Sam reaches for his neck and pulls him into a kiss.

Bucky melts into it almost immediately.

Sam doesn’t give Bucky a gentle first kiss. It’s intense but not exactly passionate — their faces are mushed together too much, like they can’t get close enough. He lets go of Bucky’s wrist, allowing Bucky to place a hand on his back, his metal fingers gripping on his jacket to gesture more, more, more.

They’ve kissed other people many times before. Bucky before the war, behind bars and after school; Sam in movie theatres and at the back of his old Mustang. They both think this is the first time they’ve felt this way, however, and Sam believes that he feels the same as Bucky — he has also unknowingly waited for this his whole life.

Once they’ve broken the kiss, their foreheads rest against each other while catching their breaths.

“You’re not gonna forget this, right?” Bucky asks again.

Sam laughs. He gives him another quick kiss. “No, but remind me again tomorrow, will you?”

“Sam... I’ll remind you every damn day.”

[ffverr]

Now that we're starting with previews, I'll try to comment as many thoughts as I can as the series goes along!

First page. She looks absolutely gorgeous ofc in this design!! The highlight is truly the hair! I simply can't think of her with straight hair again!!! It gives her so much more life and personality!

I am SO insanely curious to know how her sanctuary looks!!! We now have the teaser of the entrance, beautiful patterned glass, thunderbolt motifs and ofc PLANTS! I feel like it's going to be very greenhouse inspired! We already know Ororo decorated the Xavier attic as such so it only makes sense that her sanctuary would have botanical garden vibes! LOVE it!!! The lights are also so dramatic! Beautiful 🤩

I wonder if the shot is just exposition or is she welcoming someone in? Since Ayodele said that in the first issue Storm is completely alone, I feel like this would be the last image that sets off the series. A bit of a "we're open in business" feel. But it seems a bit unlikely to share the last page of an issue doesn't it? I guess we'll have to see 👀

Second page. Ororo seems to be standing in front of a sort of computer/screen. I don't know if the pictures in front of her are supposed to be actual pics or just showing to the reader that she's thinking of these eras.

She seems to be in casual inside clothes featuring the great return of her turban!!! (I missed it honestly!)

As for the eras! We have Asgardian Goddess Ororo, a flashback to the New Mutants special issue and more recently in Immortal Thor by Al Ewing. We then have 90's Storm, Greg Pak solo Storm (a version mentioned as inspo for Ayodele) and ofc Ororo of the Storm, speaker of Sol! (Oh how I miss this look😫)

Our girl seems to be reminiscing and as always this indicates exploration of Storm's character under multiple lights! As ayodele has mentioned in many interviews, we will be getting some good character study from an especially emotional pov!

I am SO excited!!!

Sharing this very useful pre-order links link tree made by @/Worldofantoine on twitter!

https://linktr.ee/MarvelStorm

Previews of Storm (2024) #1 out October the 2nd !

Pre-order your issue now!

[mysticalmayhem1930]

A Tale of Two Weddings: Midgardian Mayhem

A Loki x Eva (OC) story

Part Three of Loki’s Dragon

>>Part Twenty Nine <<

A/N I don’t own any of the Marvel characters. Just my own creations. This was originally posted in Wattpad. But I rewrote the parts as I transferred them, so there are some differences.

Summary: Loki has his mother son dance and the toasts are given

Pairing: I originally wrote this as Loki x Eva but it can be read as Loki x Reader if you desire.

Link to previous chapter

Link to next chapter

Link to Masterlist

Credit to artist

Overall Warnings: Smut, Fluff, Angst, Adult Language

>>>18+ ONLY<<

The opening bars to My Mothers Eyes started as Loki led Frigga to the center of the floor. "Loki this wedding is amazing. You and Eva look wonderful and I'm very happy for your future. When will you allow me to share your happy news?"

"I'm sorry mother...what are you talking about?"

"Son, you can not lie to me or disguise the truth. I know Eva's pregnant. I'm so pleased you're going to make a wonderful father."

Loki smiled and kissed her cheek and began singing

One bright and guiding light,

That taught me wrong from right,

I found in my mother's eyes.

Those baby tales she told,

That road all paved in gold,

I found in my mother's eyes.

Just like a wandering sparrow,

One lonely soul.

I walked the straight and narrow,

To reach my goal.

God's gift sent from above,

A real unselfish love,

I found in my mother's eyes.

"Loki you have a lovely singing voice."

"Thank you, and I wish to thank you and father for coming to this wedding, it was a nice surprise."

"Loki I'm glad I was able to convince your father. He is actually enjoying himself, you both have some very interesting friends, and with all or at least most of them being warriors Odin has been talking battle all night...not to mention Thor's stash of Asgardian Ale didn't hurt." She laughed. "Thank you for this dance and the thoughtful lyrics."

"Of course mother, and you can spread the news after Eva's next appointment, she wants to make sure all is fine before we make an announcement. Also we are hoping to find out if it's Jotun, that's the biggest problem, no pun intended."

He spun her around the room a few times, and took his seat next to Eva for the toasts.

Tony began "hey, everyone quiet down, I'd like to propose a toast to the happy couple. Loki and Eva, never did I think I would see the day my little Pips and Green Day here would be married. But here we are, Loki I know I have given you a lot of grief on teamwork and then on your relationship with Pips, for that I do apologize. Once she knocked some sense into me, quite literally, I began to see you through her eyes. The love you share is contagious, I am forever thankful that she gave you that chance so many years back. Looking back through the years I saw how you were her calm and her rock. The times you both were hurt how you cared for the other. The fact that you know all of her hiding spots. Now, my wish for you both is that when you go to sleep at night the others face is the last thing you see, and when you wake up it is the same. I love you both. Skol, Salute ! ваше здоровье (vashe zdorov'ye) and cheers!"

Thor stood and make his toast. "Brother, Sister, I am so pleased to be here with you this day. Eva, you have always brought out the best in Loki. His outlook more positive is the most noticeable. Loki, you show her how much you care by doing the small things, things most of us overlook. A kind word on how she looks that day, the smitten way you look at her. When you two are together it's electric. But now I must fulfill my duty her this evening. You all know I'm the god of thunder, but I am also the god of fertility." Walking over to her Thor smiled placing his hand on Eva's belly,  "May you be blessed with as many children as you wish, may each pregnancy be smooth and the day you deliver your child be the most joyful in your lives. May Loki watch over you and protect you and your family for all of  his days. Skol!!" Thor smiled at them and took his seat after handing the mic over to Stephen.

"Ok so I'll make this short and sweet like my little one. Loki and Eva I wish you both all the happiness in the nine realms. Be patient with each other and Eva please continue seeing the best in everyone. The day she first saw him,we all know that Loki told Thor he would one day marry her, but what you don't know is she made the same prediction. Hers was more there is something, some kind of pain he's hiding I know there must be good in him, perhaps one day I'll marry him just to annoy you. I guess in the end it was more of a threat. They” funny thing is that it took them so long to find out what the other was hiding, even though they spent a lot of time together. They bring out the best in the other. She gets him to laugh, and he gets her to smile. Truly a couple for the ages. I love you both Skol, Salute ! ваше здоровье (vashe zdorov'ye) and cheers!"

Stephen took his seat as dinner was served. After dinner Eva stood to greet her guests. "I'd like to thank everyone who managed to make the trip here for Loki and I, normally we'd thank the out of town guests, but in our case we really need to thank the people who flew through space to be here, Quill, Rocket, Gamora, Nebula, Groot, and  Drax, and also the King And Queen of Asgard as well as Brun, Sif and the Warriors Three. Thank you all for being here. This wedding is one of new beginnings, I am looking forward to starting our own life, and thanks to Thor's blessing, hopefully start a family soon. "

After dinner the cake was wheeled onto the dance floor for the cutting ceremony.  It was created by Duff Goldman himself, at Charm City Cakes. The wedding cake had multiple tiers with different elements of Loki and Eva's battle gear. There were also her wings and his horns. Everyone oohed and ahhhed at the cake. "Oops, I almost forgot something, Loki, your wife has a surprise for you." Said Duff. He came back with another cake that was covered and placed it next to the tiered cake. Smiling his biggest grin Duff removed the cover and Loki let out a laugh. They created the tesseract, his helm and his blue handled daggers out of cake. "Oh wow, that is awesome thank you all." The came the cutting of the cake. They were handed a knife which Loki put down, and pulled out the blue handled daggers. Smiling he placed the dagger and she placed her hand on top of his. They each gently fed the other a piece, Loki using his finger to remove excess frosting from her face. He leaned down and kissed her. After cake was served the DJ started playing music they could dance to. And wove in Thor's dance as well as Tony's .  The floor cleared for each of them to start the dance alone. Loki took the opportunity to dance with Nat while Thor danced with Eva and to dance with Pepper while Eva danced with Tony. They danced with their friends and enjoyed a night off.

[moonlitdesertdreams]

Your Fool.

Summary: Loki and the reader have fun at a party in Avengers Tower. Set in a happy universe where we're ignoring Infinity War and Endgame and the Avengers are a big happy family :) Inspired by the train scene in Loki 1.03 "Lamentis"

Tags: Avenger!Reader, Loki, Loki Series, Alternate Universe, Loki x Reader, happy universe

WARNINGS: context spoilers for 1.03 of Loki i guess..? Other than that, nothing, just fluff and cutesy shit.

Word Count: 1001

“I think I’ve had a bit too much to drink for this.”

You dug in your heels as Loki attempted to pull you onto the dance floor. Your actions almost sent you both into a tumble, and the God narrowed his eyes playfully.

The Avengers Tower was lit up in twinkling lights and disco balls, celebrating the anniversary of the team’s official assembly. Considering all of the gaudy parties were organized by none other than Iron Man himself, this one was rather tame. Various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and higer-ups milled about, and most of the Avengers, apart from Wanda and Vision, were present. Natasha, Pepper, and yourself had been chatting idly on the sidelines, all rather buzzed and sated for the evening. Steve, Sam, and Bucky sipped Asgardian ale beside Thor.

Thor, who happened to share a bit too much ale with his younger brother tonight.

It was not often Loki allowed his guard to slip around his former enemies, but the liquid courage he had been consuming to calm his nerves seemed to have shot to his head after the first hour. He wore a toned down version of his Asgardian formal wear, more soft fabrics in dark black and subtle flashes of green as opposed to his customary shining gold accents and emerald tunics.

“It can never be too much to drink, darling, only too little.” Loki protested.

Natasha and Pepper smirked at the exchange. “I think Loki’s idea is great, Y/N.”

You blushed red as you tuned back into the Asgardian notes which the band had received sheet music from Thor to play. Tony protested it as much as humanly possible, but as it turned out, the poor musicians were more scared of offending the God of Thunder than the Man of Iron. Regardless of the ancient origin, most of the songs were upbeat and strong, supplemented by the occasional Earth drum to spice it up.

“I don’t know any of the steps, and I’m not sure I can even walk a straight line! I don’t wanna embarrass myself, Loki.” You motioned to the few journalists who had been given VIP access to the celebration. “If I end up in People magazine drunk and dancing, the public will really have a field day.”

“Stark is always intoxicated and doing foolish things in front of the camera!” Loki’s responses were still sharp and witty despite his obvious intoxication.

The God of Mischief was much more unsteady than usual, swaying on his boots and standing far closer than he normally did. Despite your known relationship, public displays of affection were low on his list of favorites.

You sighed as Loki pleaded with his eyes, and lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of your nose. “Alright, alright.”

Loki smiled brightly, leaning in to kiss your lips briefly. “Phenomenal. Come now, we shan’t waste time!”

As Pepper and Natasha laughed at your lack of a backbone, you pointed at the once-threatening supervillain.

“I have two rules, Lokes.” You tapped his nose with your finger, “No spinning, and no magic teleportation. I’m gonna be hungover already.”

Loki wrinkled his nose at the nickname, but smiled nonetheless. “Understood. Come on.”

You allowed your insane partner to lead you onto the dancefloor, glowering at the corner where Tony and Rhodey wolf-whistled from.

“I hate you, Tony.” You called, giving him the biggest smile you could manage.

“Love you too, spitfire.” He teased.

“Enough babbling. Take my hands.” Loki demanded your attention from Tony, grasping your hands in his.

He proceeded to talk you through a jilting dance, making the jig sound like a simple cakewalk. You stared blankly at him until he began to lead, and you were forced to avoid his rapidly moving feet. The pattern you fell into was easy after a few minutes, and you giggled whenever Loki tugged you close and spun in a slow circle. The happiness in his eyes was almost tangible, spreading over you like a warm breeze.

“I never knew you were so talented, Mr. Laufeyson.” You teased and prodded at his cheek when the current song slowed.

“Only when there's a beautiful partner on my arm.” He returned. Loki lowered his face to yours to claim your lips.

You hummed softly into the kiss, pulling back when he nipped at your bottom lip.

“Don’t start here.” You warned, wrapping your fingers into his lapels and tugging down, “It’s too early to leave.”

Your partner only muttered something nonsensical against your temple, stumbling a bit in his drunken fervor. The music began to rise to a higher volume again, and Loki paused from his ministrations. His blue eyes lit up, and he wordlessly opened his mouth as if he was waiting for something.

Much to your surprise, Loki began crooning to you in Old Norse to the beat of the music, all soft consonants and long vowels. His voice was butter, melting its way across your skin and through your stiff limbs. The low singing continued for a few lines, until the music picked up and he kept pace with it, chanting out a harsher and less delicate beat.

Loki wrapped an arm around your shoulders then, pulling you in a circle and continuing to chant. You threw your head back in a laugh, gobsmacked and beyond amused at his ridiculousness. It wasn’t until that moment you noticed the number of gazes set upon the pair of you, and you paused.

“Loki.” You laid a hand on his chest, catching your breath. “We’re attracting attention.”

“Well of course,” He broke into English easily, the Nordic accent slipping away, “I’m a fantastic performer, and you look ravishing tonight. Why wouldn’t they look?”

You could only laugh, wrapping the God of Mischief in a tight hug as sarcastic applause echoed off the walls. You stood on your toes to put your mouth beside his ear. “For a gazillion year old deity, you sure are a fool sometimes.”

“Yes, my dear, but I’m your fool.”

Marvel Masterlist || Send me ideas

[justthehiddleswrites]

Warm Up | Loki x Reader

A/N: I live!  I write.  Well not really.  I wrote this up a couple days ago and it has been posted on Ao3 and I am finally getting around to getting it up here.  It was inspired by some RPing I do and how the character who is involved with Loki is literally the worst liar ever.  And how fun that would be to play with.  I am hoping to maybe write more with these two.  Oh and basically unedited. I die with my boots on.  

Pairing:  Loki x Aesir/Vanir Reader

Summary: Loki is convinced you are in love with him because whenever he talks to you, you are the worst liar ever.  He tests his theory over a dinner.

Warnings; fluff.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY STORIES!!

--

“I don’t know how you can possibly know that, Brother. She has barely spoken two words to you.” Thor commented as both him and Loki headed down one of the palace halls towards dinner. 

Loki grinned widely at Thor. “And yet, dear Brother, I am telling you what I say is true. She is hopelessly in love with me.” His eyes softened for a moment as he ponders over you. “It’s all rather adorable. Just watch her and you’ll see.”

Thor chuckled. “I will, if only to prove you wrong.” He pushed the door to the cavernous dining hall open, walked in and immediately locked eyes with you. 

Not that you noticed. Your vision closed in the moment your eyes caught sight of Loki. Your cheeks heated from the inside out. Your eyes darted around the room as the two princes make haste towards you. Your rational brain reasoned it is because you are a guest of the palace and they are being polite. The dark corners of your brain, the spot where your overactive imagination lived, ran scenarios of how they were coming over to ask for your hand in marriage, to kick you out of the palace, to quiz you on the history of Asgardian loom weaving. The list goes on and on, and you only snapped back to reality by the deep timbre of Loki’s voice.

“You’re flushed.” His face pasted in an expression of worry. It takes every fiber of self-control and discipline for his mouth not to break out in a huge Cheshire cat grin. “I hope it’s not the Asgardian ale disagreeing with you. If you feel ill, I am more than happy to escort you to the healers.” He reached out and takes your hand. 

“Ale? Flushed?” your brain struggled to come up with a plausible reason for your appearance. Anything but the truth. “No! No. I’m fine. I was just… I was just…” Her flight or fight instinct filled in the rest. “… doing jumping jacks!” You fought the urge to wince, not what you wanted to say.

“Jumping jacks?” Loki’s face twisted in a confused expression. “Why in the Nine would you be doing that?” 

“To… warm up! For… dinner!” You dived headfirst into the ridiculous lie. “I read somewhere once that having a warm body before eating helps the food digest.” The servants entered with platters of food. “Oh look food, Let’s take our seats.” You took off for your seat, lunging the entire way just to sell the story.

Loki smacked Thor’s chest. “See what I mean? Completely smitten.” he chuckled.

Thor grinned back at Loki. “She is completely something all right. Completely insane.” He grabbed a leg of some unknown animal off a tray and ate it while making his way to his seat.

Loki held up a finger, following behind Thor. “Counterpoint. She’s not insane, but so infatuated she gets flustered when I speak to her.” He chuckled as he sat down. “She is the worst liar. And lunging across the room. She really commits.” 

“Whatever you say, Loki.” Thor chuckled.

-

The rest of dinner went relatively smooth. You spent most of the meal chatting with Thor or one of Frigga’s ladies-in-waiting. Just as they served the dessert, your favorite part, Loki leans over the table, his eyes piercing right through you. 

“So I need you to settle a debate we are having over here.” 

You perked up. “Oh, what about?” you scooped up a large bite of mousse and popped it into your mouth.

Loki smirked. “About the mating practices on Ria.”

Your spoon clattered to the plate. “M.. mating practices?”

“Precisely. Now settle the debate, clothes on or clothes off?”

You pushed away from the table. “I have to go.” You bolted for the door and ran towards your chambers. 

Loki wiped his mouth, and with his long stride, soon caught up with you.

“Did I embarrass you? My deepest apologies.” He bowed at the waist as you turned to his voice.

“No! No! Not at all, my prince. I… burned my tongue on dessert. I was going to see the healers.”

Loki chuckled as he stepped towards you. He is soon toe to toe with you. “You are the worst liar, my dear.”

His laugh ignited something inside of you. You stomped your foot against the polished floor. “I am not! I burned my tongue!” 

Loki’s chuckle stopped, and his hand wrapped around your waist. “You burned your tongue?”

You nodded. “Absolutely.”

“On chocolate mousse?”

Shit! “A cold burn.”

Loki’s brows raised. “Of course. And you were headed to the healers.”

“Naturally. I mean, I’m injured.”

“Were you taking the scenic route because the healers are that way?” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder.

Your shoulders slumped. “Oh.”

Loki’s lips curled into a smile as he leaned down to whisper in your ear. “You are so adorable when you try to lie. I find it…” You heard his lips smack together. “… irresistible.”

“What—” Loki’s lips pressed against yours stopped the rest of your sentence. You melted for a moment before flattening your hand on his chest and pushing back.

“But you’re the God of Lies and I’m… I’m…”

Loki chuckled and grinned as his grip tightened. “I know. The one person I don’t have to use that power on is you. It’s rather refreshing. And ironic. Come back to dinner. I promise to not fluster you on purpose.”

“Will you kiss me again?”

“I will kiss you as often as you want, darling.” He pecked your lips again as he walked you back to the dining hall. 

“Then lead the way.” you giggled as you leaned into his embrace. You were so caught up in everything, you didn’t notice Loki mouth “I told you” to Thor as the two of you re-entered. And if you had, you wouldn’t have cared. 

[girlfromasgardsblog]

Headband

Asgard📍

The Yule Solstice began with smell of fresh ale and delicious cuisines while people exchanged gifts with each other as the rituals calls for it. Asgardian halls were open for commoners for the revels. So your “girl from Asgard” got the opportunity to share some lively nights with the gods and goddesses. The 12 nights feast filled a feeling of pleasure and delight in all of us. Just as I entered the revel halls Fandral the dashing was greeting every other gorgeous maiden in the gathering. Loki was seated in the corner with a glass of ale talking with Freya, the sorceress. Thor, the would be king, grabbed everybody’s attention with his handsome and intimidating personality. From the table, we can see Sif offering him berries and he thanked her gently.

Thor : Lady Sif that would be enough. Come have a seat. Drink some ale with me.

Sif : Well thank you Thor. I would gladly share drinks with you but I have errands to complete.

Thor : Oh alright then, Greetings Sif!

( He noticed the crowd silently. A gleam of happiness can be seen on his face, I saw a goddess whose fingers flickered emerald glow, yes, how can I not recognise her. She was Amora, the enchantress, the witty and glamorous sorceress. She fastened her pace to her Thunderer)

Amora : Thunderer! How are sitting so quietly? Come have a drink with me and also a dance as you promised!

Thor : Look who it is. I thought you would be spending your evening with Loki, tricking people and turning them into frogs.

Amora : Ugh, grow up Thor. We don’t do it anymore. And I came here to have a wonderful eve with you.

Thor : Really. (he chuckled)

Amora : Don’t laugh ok. Now May I have a dance with you?

(I can see her eyes glowing. A moment she always wished for. Thor got up, holding her by the waist, taking up the dance floor. Everyone’s eyes on them and far away I observed Sif’s face lowering. The fact she denied his company was her. She saw her approaching him and who would wanna quarrel with this stubborn lover of his.)

Amora : Are they looking?

Thor : Who?

Amora : People dumbo!

Thor : Ye…yes. Why tho?

Amora : Nothing just keep looking in my eyes Thunderer.

(Just as he was about to take a turn, he giggled.)

Amora : What now? You’re so weird sometimes. You know I came here as early as possible to avoid All Father’s sneers.

Thor : Which led you to dress so elegantly! Look at those cat ears on top of your hair so perfect. I wonder how come Loki’s started to listen to my requirements.

( As she listened to him, her hand went up to touch her hair. True, we all saw two cat ears on her head which Loki just put on her with magic, all because Thor asked him to. A little prank for the Enchantress. Obviously it’s their turn to be ready now)

Amora : Loki! Thor I’d kill you. Yes I agree the last week’s trick of golden retrieve’s ear on you in the school was funny and wrong but it doesn’t mean you’d do the same to me. I’m the enchantress after all. Just you wait Thunderer. The dance is over.

( She undid the spell and walked away from the dance floor. All her plannings for the night ruined. They were friends after all. He could never look at her the way she did. Thor sat back on his chair looking at her with flirtatious eyes and laughing as she approached)

Amora : Not so funny! I bid you farewell Thor. I’ll talk to Loki.

Thor : Love you enchantress. How come she not react to the prank? he thought .

Fandral : Thor are you ok?

Thor : Hello my friend, Yes, I am perfectly fine. Why?

Fandral : I don’t think you are, otherwise why would you dress up as a midgardian Barbie with a headband!

Thor : What the ?

( Yes, she would not let this go easy. Instead of blowing out over him, she had given him a pretty headband for the night. I saw her innocence and chirpy essence. She went outside smiling and greeting Fandral before he approached Thor.)

Fandral : Had a fight with Amora again I guess?

Thor : Yes my dear friend, yes. She’s so stubborn and mischievous. I’ll go to Loki for the undo of the spell. Enjoy the revel.

( He went to find his brother with a curl on his lip. Enchantress I’ll see you at night, he spike lowly.)

[insomniumstella]

a hell of a deal

steve x female!reader

summary: drunk Steve tries kissing y/n on New Year’s Eve just to get turned down, resulting in the two nemeses deciding upon a deal that’s about to make their whole year extremely confusing.

warnings: unspecified age gap (reader is in her early 20s), explicit language, alcohol consumption

word count: 10k

“Twenty seven!” It was the last New Year’s Eve at the Avenger’s tower, but y/n had no desire to make it memorable. New Year's Eve parties sucked. A time reserved for false hope and imaginary joy. “Twenty six!” Refilling her glass of champagne, she turned her head to look in Natasha’s direction. Love is disgusting, she thought, when Bucky peppered kisses from the base of Natasha’s neck all the way to her jawline. “Twenty five!” ah, these people couldn't have yelled any louder if they tried, and besides, nobody should ever start counting that soon.

At least, everyone was too busy finding their New Year’s kiss partner to notice her escape onto the balcony.

“Too crowded in there?” Steve swiftly joined her, placing his right arm on the ledge to lean against it.

“Something like that.” She locked her eyes with his. They were different that night, a shade of darker blue and shimmering with mischief. It wasn’t a bad look on him.

“Twenty!”

“Wanna kiss?” He chuckled, and y/n raised her eyebrows. Even their usually strict Captain couldn’t resist getting drunk tonight. To say they've had a rough year would be an understatement.  

“How much mead did Thor give you exactly?”

“Fifteen!”

“Enough to speak the truth?” He admitted, but it came out more like a question. Enough to speak the truth.

“And the truth is?”

“Ten!”

“You're beautiful.” While y/n had been forced to listen to many, too many jokes tonight, this one was by far the funniest. What a fool, she contemplated. Steve couldn’t stand her guts for no apparent reason. That same Steve also enjoyed addressing her as a kid and had harshly rejected y/n when she had asked him out on a date. Thus, the one-sided hatred had turned into a mutual dance. That Steve was so going to kick this Steve’s ass tomorrow. He might also kick hers if he won’t be too hungover for training.

“Tell me more.” She gave him a sly smile. Oh poor Stevie, you’re so getting blackmailed.

“Seven!”

“I think you’re really pretty and kind, and I like you.” He brushed her cheek with his thumb. “Is that so unbelievable?”

“Three!”

“Kind of.”

"One!"

Everyone inside was coupled up at that point, with most guests making out before the official announcement — Natasha and Bucky were not an exception to the fact. On their own, they were great people to have around and hang out with, but together? A big mess of PDA overload.

“Happy New Year!” People inside were overjoyed to ‘start fresh’. As if one day of the year carried a ton of significance. She was expecting Steve to say something else, but what she didn’t see coming was him wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her close.

“What are you doing?” y/n managed to choke out when Steve leaned in for a kiss, their lips brushing together.

“Kissing you.” Steve whispered and tried putting his mouth on hers.

This was one hell of a weird situation. Bewildered, y/n pushed Steve off her body. Thor must've given the Captain too much of his Asgardian ale. While the man was a super-soldier, Steve wasn't a God. Luckily, the drunk version of Steve was much easier to push around than the sober.

“I don’t want you to, lover boy.”

Pouting, Steve crossed his arms on his chest. “Let’s make a deal.” He was so drunk and out of it, y/n wished for nothing more than to have her phone and capture the glorious moment. A moment Steve will hate to remember if he’ll even remember it at all. “A deal I’m calling we might pretend to hate each other, but we both know we belong together.”

“That’s a mouthful.” y/n let out a sigh.

Drunk Steve was even worse than regular Steve, and regular Steve was already pretty annoying. The man had never understood when to quit.

“I had a crush on you for three years.” No amount of convincing would ever make y/n believe the words that left his mouth. People don’t reject and bully their crushes. People don’t yell at them for being stupid and whine to others because they’re 'borderline obnoxious' to be around. That was something better left to old-school teen romance movies she loved making fun of. “Next New Year's Eve, same place, same time, we meet up, and if you’re still single by then, we kiss.”

“And if I’m not?

“I don’t worry about that much.” He smirked. Even intoxicated, Steve was still a fucking asshole. “I know you have too big of a crush on me to want somebody else.” Steve stepped away.

Getting a boyfriend any time soon had not been on her agenda, but Steve had just presented her with a challenge she wasn’t going to lose. Proving Steve wrong was the girl's favorite pastime activity. I do not have feelings for this jackass.

An irritating thing about Steve was that he'd always remain true to his promises, even the drunken ones, and granting Steve a real kiss that would imply she did, in fact, like him, sounded like a nightmare, y/n would never experience. The only way you’re kissing me is if I’m six feet under.  

January 6th.

“You’re pulling your punches.” Steve pointed out.

The blonde's posture was perfectly straight, rigid almost, with his hands resting on his hips as if he ruled the place. In some ways, the gym was Steve’s kingdom. He was a king perched on a throne of gym mats in an empire that constantly smelled of sweat. The thought made y/n chuckle.

“You’re pulling on my nerves.” She was done with his remarks and comments.

Both knew she was one of the best hand-to-hand fighters on the team; quick and light on her feet. No super-soldier serum, but smart enough with her movement to make the soldiers lose time after time. Lounging at him, y/n took Steve by surprise and forcefully kicked him in the chest. Managing to knock the man down, she moved to wrap her legs around his neck and began choking him. An easy, swift move guaranteed to shut him up.

“Stop or I’ll tell everyone about New Year’s Eve.” She loosened her grip after Steve tapped on her thigh for the fourth time.

“First, no one will believe you,” he gasped out, cheeks reddened. The proudness that overtook her body when Steve had to take a couple moments to catch his breath was immeasurable. “Second, I was drunk and didn’t mean it,” he got up from the mat, and y/n followed, looking up to stare into his eyes, “third, you’re so aggravating no man would ever want you.”

Red was all she saw. It took approximately three seconds for a bruise to form on Steve’s cheekbone after y/n decked him straight in the face. We’ll see about that, dickhead.

February 14th.

“You’re kidding, right?” Steve was in disbelief from the sight in front of him. There, just a few feet away, wearing Bucky’s red henley and tight-fitting jeans, was y/n. “Bucky doesn’t wear heels.” She glanced down at the Louboutin heels Tony gave her for Christmas and shrugged.

“I do."

When Sam had first invited her to spend Valentine’s day with him and Steve, she had said " fuck no", but the more she had contemplated, the more the idea made sense. Sure, Sam hated the situation when Bucky first joined his and Steve’s duo, but he had soon noticed that the trio had a great dynamic, and yes, he'd never admit it, but not having Bucky around affected that dynamic. A trio of the serious, the funny, and the calm.

Sam enjoyed hanging out with Steve alone, but he had gotten used to having a third person around to balance everything out, so inviting y/n along, when Bucky had made plans with Natasha, was a no-brainer. Mad after her date canceled, y/n had taken the role of Bucky a little too serious. Sam’s words of “imagine how badly your presence would annoy Steve” had only fueled her mischievous idea even further.

Strutting over to Steve, she placed her hands on his shoulders. “Tonight,” she gestured to herself, “I’m your best pal Bucky.”

“The only thing you are is annoying.” To that answer, y/n paid no mind.

“Let’s play some pool boys, shall we?” She gave Steve a half-smile before turning around and striding to get the cue sticks. Sam was shaking his head when she came back and immediately removed himself from the situation that was about to unfold. Irritated, Steve grabbed a cue from her hands.

“I’ll order us beer.” Sam spoke up, but the other two were too occupied to notice him leaving.

“I’m breaking.” She declared, walking around Steve and purposefully bumped her shoulder into his. Bending down, she broke up the pool balls, pocketing a purple, solid one. She moved spots to sit on the rail of the table, and moments later, two more solid balls were in the pockets. “Forgot how good I am.” She stood up from the rail and smoothed out her jeans.

“You’re using the cue wrong,” Steve commented, “that was dumb luck.” With a few steps forward, he was right behind y/n, her ass brushing his crotch area. Putting his hands over hers, Steve guided her. Another solid ball fell into the pocket. “Now, that was a nice clean shot.”

Trapped between the table and his arms, "is this how you and Bucky usually play pool?” y/n snickered and spun around to face him.

“Go to hell.”

“I’ll take you with me. It’s nice there,” she turned back to the table, this time bending down lower, much lower, so her ass was fully pressed up against Steve’s crotch and pocketed her fifth ball, “warm.”

March 9th.

Steve might've had the body of a Greek God, but what he never had, was taste. Picking up shirt after shirt, each uglier than the other, he tried finding Bucky a gift. Finding the perfect gift for your best friend should be effortless. However, finding the perfect gift for the same man who had attempted to assassinate you in the last eighty years may be somewhat difficult.

Locating y/n by the accessories section, Steve shoved barf green and a pee yellow shirts in her face. “Which one?”

“Please, stop.” She responded, tone dripping in horror. A single girl could only withstand so many monstrosities before it became too much. “Neither.”

Sighting, Steve returned the shirts to their original locations. The spy was looking at the belt section when he appeared beside her. Noticing a black leather one, she picked it up to show the super-soldier.

“I’m not gifting him a belt.” He crossed his arms over his chest and locked eyes with y/n. “He doesn’t need it.” Tilting her head, she stared Steve up and down. Most days, he'd wear the same shoes and belt. Both were so worn out, if they could talk, they’d ask to be replaced. Confused, Steve glanced at himself and raised his eyes back to hers as if to ask, “what?”

“Why bring me here if you’re not going to listen to my suggestions?” She put the item down, only for Steve to grab it.

“You were the only available girl Avenger.” Steve examined it again. The belt was a little out of his price range, but Bucky would certainly enjoy a gift like that. “Thought you could be useful.”

She punched him in the arm out of irritation. It had been four hours since they had arrived at the mall, and each passing minute was becoming worse and worse with Steve’s indecisiveness and disregard for her ideas.

Snatching the belt out of his hands, she headed for the cash register, Steve following right behind. Noticing he was about to say something, “I’ll say I made you buy it if he doesn’t like it," she commented, shutting him up.

“If Bucky doesn’t like it, it’s all on you.” He waved a finger at her, and she pushed his hand down. One day, he'd be the death of her, that much she was sure of.

“Hello.” The cashier spoke, her voice coated in pure excitement. Great. Noticing her staring at Steve as if she wanted to devour him whole any second, y/n laced her arm around his bicep. “How are you?”

“Hi, sweetheart.” Putting on a genuine-looking smile, “we’re doing just great," she answered and patted Steve on the stomach.

Having paparazzi follow their every move was exhausting, but on the flip side, starting rumours was a fun way to treat her boredom. Usually, it’d come back to bite her in the ass, resulting in an hour-long lecture from Tony, but all the crazy headlines magazines would come up with would be well worth the trouble.

Putting the belt on the register, she looked up at Steve, who was gawking at her as if she was a crazy person. “I’m sure Natasha will too.” y/n removed her arm from Steve's bicep when the cashier started scanning their purchase. The sentence confused Steve even more, but before he could ask what she meant by the remark, y/n quickly placed her index finger on the man’s lips and shook her head. “You don’t want me to tell you.”

“The receipt is in the bag.” The cashier was only staring at Steve, but he was paying her no mind. Taking the bag from the girl’s hand, y/n gave her a quick smile and dragged the blonde out of the store.

“You don’t want me to tell you.” She repeated with a sly smile on her face. It was scary how suddenly y/n was able to change from one person to another. Her fake, overly sweet demeanor was promptly turned into her usual, sarcastic one as she continued giving Steve a sly, knowing smile. Steve would probably get a heart attack if he'd learn about everything that went down in his best friend’s and Natasha’s bedroom. “It’s rough.” Noticing a cafe nearby, she grabbed Steve’s hand to drag him towards it. “Rough and scary.”

April 1st.

Standing in Steve’s shower was not how y/n had planned for her day to go, but there she was, Steve’s shampoo in one hand, blue hair dye in another. Not only was it the Avenger's first week at the compound, but it was also April Fool’s day; this had to be memorable.

“Our blondie uses conditioner.” She peaked her head from out of the shower, chuckling.

Natasha looked at her unamused.

“Bucky does too. Conditioner doesn’t have a gender.” She shrugged, and y/n gave her a knowing look. While conditioner didn't have a gender, Natasha unquestionably liked sneaking her hands into someone’s hair to pull on it during sex. y/n was almost sure it was Natasha who had introduced Bucky to the great thing that was conditioner. Before dating Natasha, Bucky would look a bit, in less harsh words, a little dirty. “Hurry up, he’ll catch us, and I’m not taking the blame for your ass.”

“So rude.” She responded from the shower. Steve’s shampoo was now replaced with the dye, and y/n couldn’t wait to see his reaction. “Have a nice bath, Stevie!” She threw the empty dye bottle into the bag Natasha brought and stepped out of the shower, giving the bag to the redhead. “Preferably a long one.”

While it was sad to miss Steve’s initial reaction to his now blue hair, the sight of him, however, furious and only in his boxers, was glorious. Tony gave Steve a pointed look when he ran into the kitchen.

“Hello, popsicle.” Tony put down his phone to really take in Steve’s hair. “That’s quite a change.”

“Did you do this?” Storming up to Tony, Steve pointed to his head. Dyeing Steve’s hair blue would never be above him.

“As much as I wish I have, I had much more important things to do today.” Tony raised his hands. Chuckling, y/n looked at Natasha’s face. The spy was trying her best to hold in her laugh, face so red, it looked as if she had stopped breathing.

“I think it suits you.” y/n got up from the barstool and ruffled Steve’s hair before placing her and Tony’s dishes in the sink. “What do you think, Natasha?”

“It really does.” Natasha finally let out the breath she had been holding. “Matches your eyes.”

“You’re dead,” Steve turned his body in y/n’s direction, “dead," and suddenly lounged at her.

Amused, she jumped over the bar and took off in the opposite direction. The public might know Steve the kind, selfless hero, but when it came to getting revenge on y/n, the man could spend hours if needed. He chased her all the way through the first floor and then the second. Chased her through hallways, conference rooms, the gym showers. The compound they just moved in was a maze of countless cement walls, but the fact she had no idea where she was going didn’t stop her from trying. Accidentally finding the recruit training area, she sat down on the ground.

“You’re okay?” Sam asked after giving the recruits an exercise to practice, and she smiled at him.

“Better than ever.”

Her break, however, was cut short when Steve barged in, running around the confused recruits in training. Jumping up, she waved goodbye and snickered when Steve stopped to say a short hello to Sam. She quickly took off running again when her eyes met Steve’s. It didn’t matter that her lungs were out of air, or that her legs were burning, what mattered, was getting away from Steve. It was an unfair race. A game of cat and mouse where the winner is clear from the start. Nonetheless, y/n ran, wherever, and as fast as she could.

“Looks like there’s nowhere for you to go.” Steve observed once they were standing outside. Luckily for him, y/n had terribly overestimated her abilities and was now walking backward in the pool’s direction.

Stopping in her tracks, “Does it?” She asked him before trying to sprint past Steve.

It was easy for the super soldier to grab her waist and throw her over his shoulder. “Got any last words?” He questioned proudly.

“I do actually,” y/n chuckled. “You look like an idio-“ The sentence was cut short as her body got submerged in the pool’s water. Icy, freezing cold water.

A few days later, she turned up with a cold, and Steve couldn’t have been happier. What an asshole. An asshole with barely faded blue hair.

May 17th.

Sadly, the blues hadn't lasted as long as y/n was hoping they would, but on a brighter note, Steve’s regular hair made it much easier for them to blend in during an undercover mission.

“I could tell you the brand I used.” y/n suggested after ordering a drink. Steve was leaning on the bar, body facing the dance floor, his face cold and neutral. “If you miss the blue.” She took a sip when the bartender brought her the drink she ordered and gave him a seductive smile. “Could use a little more vodka.” y/n told him, and the bartender smirked.

“One second.” He winked at her.

Rolling his eyes, Steve turned his body to face y/n. “Would you please stop flirting with the bartender?”

For reasons unbeknownst to his own mind, y/n’s flirty behavior was annoying the living hell out of him. The unwelcoming atmosphere of too many people, dim lights, and loud music wasn’t exactly helping. Raising her eyebrows at Steve’s comment, y/n swiftly changed her expression when the bartender came back with the stronger drink. She gave him a coy smile upon tasting it.

“Much better.” She observed, sliding a fifty over the bar. “I like mine strong.” Flexing his arm on purpose, the bartender slipped the bill into his jean’s pocket before finding a pen and writing his number on a tissue.

He disappeared to serve other guests as quickly as he gave her the napkin, but y/n didn’t mind. Standing beside her was a man she wanted to toy more with anyway. Noticing Steve’s annoyed expression, she made a point to slowly slide the napkin down the plunging neckline of her dress.

“It’s going to fall out.” Steve looked down at her cleavage. “You don’t have a bra on.”

“And how would you know?”

“Can see your nipples from miles away.” Steve teased her. “They’re shining through the dress.” Clearly, his intention was to make y/n feel bad, but the only thing she did was look down at her boobs and shrug.

“Oh well,” was not a reaction Steve expected.

“Would you please stop drinking?” He spoke up minutes later. Y/n was halfway through her drink already. Letting out a sigh, Steve grabbed the glass from her hands and chugged the rest of the cocktail. “This is your third.” He waved the glass in her face before setting it down on the bar.

“Technically, I only had two and a half since you just drank this one.” y/n fixed the collar of Steve’s shirt. As tight as usual, but in the unusual color of black. This shirt suited Steve well; the pale blue never did do him any justice. “You look good,” she ran a hand down his chest, “red jacket, 9 o’clock.” Moving it down to Steve’s thigh when she noticed the man take yet another glance. “Is that a gun, or are you just happy to see me?” She teased Steve, peering up at him.

“Please take your hand off of my penis.” Steve grinned innocently at y/n as her eyes widened. “The gun is a bit to the left.” He replied, and she quickly removed her touch.

“Just checking, sorry.” She muttered, pressing her lips into a tight line. “He’s still staring.”

“Yes, I know, Captain Obvious.”

“What do we do?” The woman didn’t get an answer as Steve clutched her hand and gently dragged her to the dance floor. For a man as confident as him, he sure looked awkward. Uncertain of what to do herself, y/n placed one of his hands just above the curve of her bottom, the other on her waist. Her own hands she loosely wrapped around Steve’s neck and started moving her body to the rhythm. “Think he recognizes us?”

Letting his hands roam around y/n’s back, waist, and ass, Steve peered over her shoulder. “No idea.” He pulled her in closer. “Where’s your gun?”

“On my right thigh.”

Setting one arm on y/n’s upper thigh, Steve brushed his fingers over the gun to make sure, then gripped y/n’s leg below the holster before dipping her. Though the dip was a staple move in many dancing styles, the action, coming from her Captain himself was quite bold. She wouldn't have anticipated he'd be brave enough for it, but despite her confusing emotions, her face returned to a neutral expression.

Perhaps it was just one of his tactics to make her feel inferior. Steve always treated her as an idiot during missions, and it was infuriating. Of course, she had her gun, but he just needed to make a show out of confirming it.

Placing a hand on her neck for support, he stared her down before speaking. "See that green door?" She could barely make out anything through the heavy crowd of people. Seeing upside down wasn't helping either, but she managed to spot the door, and Steve raised her back up as fast as he dipped her. Releasing the hold on her leg, he bent down to reach her ear. “Meet me there in three."

He was soon gone, and y/n rolled her eyes at the man’s oblivious behavior. She didn’t have a phone nor a watch. Deciding to follow the song, she met Steve at the door right before it ended.

“I said three, not four.”

“Don’t have a watch, fool.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve took out a piece of paper from the pocket of his pants. “This is the combination to the safe, I’ll guard the door while you go in.” She wasn’t hearing anything the soldier was saying as their target was heading straight in their direction. “Be quick.” She didn’t catch that either.

If only y/n could cause a distraction, he wouldn’t recognize them, right? Without thinking, she placed her hands on Steve’s neck and captured his lips in a kiss.

“Go along with it.” She muttered into his lips and weaved one hand into his hair. Realizing he was completely frozen, Steve hurriedly put his hands on the small of her back. Moving his lips in rhythm with hers, Steve took no time to deepen the kiss and pull y/n in closer. Now, this was such a strange move it took them both by surprise.

“Did Natasha teach you this?” Steve chuckled when they pulled away. “She did the same thing a few years ago.”

The sentence left y/n completely dumbfounded. Shaking her head no, y/n also tried to shake away the ugly feeling, which goes by the simple name of jealously. “No,” y/n mumbled. “she did not.”

June 5th.

“I’ll be right out!” y/n slipped on her dress, leaving the zipper undone. “You’re not Wanda.” She noted after opening the door and finding Steve on her doorstep.

“No.” He scanned her up and down. “I needed to go over yours and Bucky’s mission report.” He waived a pile of papers in his hand and sat down on the bed.

“Can’t you talk to Bucky about it?” She questioned, trying to zip up her dress. Every attempt proved unsuccessful as her arms were simply too short to reach all the way down her back. Groaning, Steve stood up, walking up to y/n. Swatting her hand away, he easily zipped the garment and returned to his previous spot.

“I would, but he’s on a mission with Sam.”

Rummaging through the drawers of her dresser, y/n pulled out the jewelry box she was looking for. While Tony and y/n bumped heads often, he couldn’t help but feel a warm affection towards the younger Avenger. She was a friend, a teammate, and a daughter wrapped in one, to which Tony was grateful every day.

“Just wait till he gets back!” The girl yelled, disappearing into the bathroom. “I’m in a hurry!”

“A two week long mission.” Steve informed her when she came back with a container of makeup. “Why are you getting ready anyway?” He questioned when she pulled out five, seemingly the same, tubes of lipstick and chose her favorite one.

“It’s none of your concern,” y/n started off, “but I have a date.” She told him after finishing the makeup. “With a real, human man.” She pointed her index finger at Steve after noticing he was about to say something snarky. Chuckling, Steve leaned back and propped himself on his elbows.

“And where is this real man taking you?” He challenged, gesturing to her dress.

God, if Steve could get any more irritating. Her dress was tight and had a couple cutouts, but it was an appropriate outfit for a nice meal in a luxury NYC restaurant. Those kinds of restaurants weren’t her scene, not exactly. Still, why not give Steve a double fuck you by not only finding a boyfriend but a rich one at that.

“We’re going out to dinner. He’s picking me up in two.”

“Explains the douchey car outside.”

“Here’s here, and you didn’t tell me?!” y/n puffed out and quickly found a pair of heels she’s been wanting to wear for some time now. Deciding to give Steve the benefit of the doubt after noticing his admiring face, she sat down next to him. y/n put on the shoes before asking the man, “what?”

He stayed silent while she grabbed her purse and took one final look in the mirror.

“You look good.” He smiled. “A bit like a hooker, but-” he didn’t get to finish as y/n smacked him across the head with her clutch. “Kidding!” He put his hands up. “Stripper is a better word.”

“Out.” She ushered him out of the room by smacking his head over and over. “I hate you.”

“Have fun, kid!” He teasingly yelled after her when y/n stepped into the elevator. “Have fun, kid.” He repeated in a more jealous tone, but y/n wasn’t around to hear it.  

July 4th.

“Tony, let yourself be forever damned.” y/n sighed, looking at herself in the mirror.

Not a woman to shy away from tight dresses and heels, her current outfit was nothing short of a stripper’s uniform. A huge American flag was pictured on her boobs, along with the words “PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN” right under.

The bet had seemed easy, seemed being the keyword there. Tony wasn’t a fan of training, but he'd often come down to the gym to watch, so on one of those days, they had made a bet. If Natasha was to knock Bucky down first, she'd have to do whatever Tony would ask of her on Steve’s birthday, and if Bucky was to succeed, y/n would get unlimited access to Tony’s cars for a week. The stakes had been incredibly high — Tony would rarely come up with good ideas, but unlimited access to his cars? It had sounded incredible. Despite formerly being known as The Winter Soldier, Bucky had been knocked down to the ground a few minutes into the fight. Super soldiers, what are they good for? Nothing.

“Sweetie, you ready?” Tony singed out, too pleased with himself. No one else at the compound knew what Tony and y/n were up to that day, but no one usually questioned anyway. Those two were never up to anything good. “Show our Captain his best gift.”

She cursed underneath her breath.

“Oh yes, Steve, take it in because I’m never wearing it again.” y/n responded from around the corner, and even though she couldn’t see Steve’s face, she was sure he was utterly confused.

Taking a deep breath to calm her anxiety y/n stepped into the living room. A wave of oohs and ahhs and giggles filled the room. The woman wished for nothing more but the earth to swallow her whole in that very moment.

“C'mon, sit on the Captain’s lap.”

A bet was a bet. You can always punch Tony later, y/n. Putting on a fake smile to play the character Tony so greatly wanted her to, she gracefully sat down onto Steve’s lap sideways.

“Happy Birthday, Captain.” She said in a lower, sultrier tone.

Wait, that cannot be his, she shifted around to get comfortable entirely mortified. If not for the others clapping and cheering, the whole situation would’ve been so much more awkward than it already was for the pair. Steve’s mouth formed an o shape, his face burning up.

“Happy Birthday to you.” She kissed his cheek. “I hope you enjoy your gift.” She gestured to her all-American dress, and Sam whistled. “The dress.” She looked Sam dead in the eyes and shook her head. “Not me, asshole.” Sam only raised his eyebrows and gave her a crooked grin.

The dress wasn't something Steve found attractive — too short, too skimpy. Yet much to his dismay, it suited y/n's figure, showcasing her curves in all the best ways. The feel of y/n's body on his and the word "captain" coming out of her mouth in a deep, sultry tone did nothing, but add weight to Steve's arousal.

“Thank you.” Steve choked over his words, and his eyes caught Bucky’s. “The dress is-“ his best friend had a knowing look on his face and gave Steve an amused smile, “nice.” Steve finished and quickly stilled y/n in place when she started squirming.

Firmly placing his hands on her hips, he pushed her down. She stilled for a while, but by this point, y/n’s body was closer to his than the soldier found comfortable. Not around other people anyway. Moving one final time, y/n positioned herself, so her back was leaning on his chest. Yeah, that’s his boner I’m feeling.

“Smile for the photo!” Tony smirked, holding his phone and snapping a few pictures. The genius wanted both of them to feel as uncomfortable as he could make the pair. That’s what the two nemeses get for spending his money. “Steve, please put your hands around y/n.” He instructed, and Steve cleared his throat before hesitantly placing his arms on y/n’s thighs. “Closer, Captain,” Tony encouraged, ”really hold her close.”

Holding her close was the last thing he craved. On the contrary, the blonde burned with desire to shove the absolutely sexy girl in a tacky dress off his lap because, and he'd never admit it, she inadvertently forced his body to react in ways Steve wasn't too fond of.

The Captain was too hot, too aroused, and too embarrassed from all the looks thrown their way. His own body had betrayed him. Begrudgingly, the super-soldier wrapped his arms around y/n’s waist, letting his hands rest on the upper part of her thighs, and nervously smiled for the photo. Steve wasn’t the only person whose body acted quite treacherous at that very moment, and y/n had to excuse herself to the bathroom the second Tony was done.

August 28th.

“Wanna play 21 questions?” y/n suggested, putting her feet on the dashboard.

Pushing them down, “I’m not 16.” Steve answered.

The ride to the Avenger’s tower had been awfully quiet. While not the biggest fan of small talk, y/n wasn’t going to spend another three hours back to the compound in tense silence. Bored out of her mind, she picked up a piece of technology they had retrieved at the tower. Presumably, it was something important as Tony had been adamant the movers couldn't access certain rooms.

“Put it with the rest.” Steve commanded.

She turned her head to look at the mess in his trunk and placed the item on a stack of other, in Tony’s words, super important, things. The pile was the perfect representation of Steve and y/n. While the items the blonde had packed were neatly wrapped in bubble wrap, y/n’s, well, the items she had packed were either stuffed into boxes or messily wrapped in scraps of bubble wrap she had found after Steve had finished.

“I’m bored.” y/n admitted putting her feet on the dashboard once more.

Pushing them down again, Steve stayed quiet for a few minutes before giving in to her suggestion. The awkward stillness wasn’t his favorite thing in the world either.

“Why did you kiss me?” He was heading straight for the important questions.

“To keep our cover from being blown. Why do you always wear these ugly shirts?” Another major issue.

“Oh my God, always picking on my shirts. What’s up with you and my wardrobe?” Steve exclaimed.

“It’s ugly.” Y/n shrugged. “Boring, outdated, unflattering.” The last one was only sort of a truth. “Plain, mismatched, I could go on and on.”

“Please, don’t.” Steve stopped her from speaking when she opened her mouth to start listing more bad adjectives about his clothing.

“Will you miss it? The tower, I mean.” She took off her shoes, and Steve threw her a strange look. “My feet smell great, actually.” Unbuckling her seatbelt, y/n held up one of her legs to Steve’s face and laughed at his disgusted grimace.

“Put it away, and no.” He glimpsed at her before his eyes were back on the road. “How was your date?”

“For your interest,” y/n started out, “I’ll miss the tower. Also, what date?” She questioned him.

“The date you dressed as a stripper for.”

Opening the glove compartment, she found Steve’s hidden stash of unhealthy snacks. Packs of candy, chocolate, and vinegar chips were amongst the variety. She easily disregarded the disgusting Lay's flavour as the inferior snack option, and snatched up a bag of sour worms.

"That was months ago," she giggled, launching a pink and yellow worm at him. "I thought you meant the date I went on last week."

“Didn’t expect you to take the deal seriously.” Steve bit his lower lip. Something inside him didn’t like the fact he missed y/n going on a date. Something inside him didn’t like the part of her going on a date with a different man at all.

“I’m not losing.” She threw another worm at Steve, and he gave her a pointed look which she laughed off. “I have no interest in kissing you," she threw yet another worm to piss the soldier off, "and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to kiss me either, kid.” y/n mocked him.

“Don’t you dare throw another worm at me.” Steve threatened when she raised her hand. "Besides, we already kissed." He recalled.

“Are you stupid?” She held up a blue and pink gummy. “These ones are the best. Also, yes, we might've, but that kiss wasn't real.”

“Who came up with the idea for my birthday?”

“Tony.”

“Why?” Steve demanded to know. Something like that wasn’t above Tony. He was a grown-up with the brain of a genius and the behaviours of a child, but it was still a strange idea. y/n's comment about their kiss on the mission Steve forced himself to ignore.

“What’s this about? Was the dress not up to your standards?” She raised a brow. “I lost a bet. Overestimated your best pal Bucky.” y/n was still sour about it. The man knew every single one of Natasha’s weaknesses and still managed to get knocked down first. What a loser.

“Not sure if you noticed with all the writhing around in my lap,” Steve glanced at her and snatched the bag from her grasp, “but it was a weird situation.”

“A hard one.” y/n teased him, and Steve knew exactly what she was talking about. “It’s normal for guys to get boners when I sit on their laps.” Steve noticed her smirking from the corner of his eye. “Tony just wanted you to have the best birthday ever!” She exclaimed and settled her feet on the dashboard despite his protests. “Assuming from the clear, hard facts,” She teased him again. “You enjoyed it.”

“Shut up.” Steve groaned.

“Always so rude.” To that, he didn't answer, ending the conversation before asking y/n about their New Year's Eve deal.

Steve thought about calling it off but decided against it. He was going to make sure she loses. Not to kiss y/n for real of course, no, that would be disgusting and imply that he actually had feelings, but it would, however, clear up a lot of questions. The important kind of questions Steve needed answers to because he while surely didn't have a crush on the way younger girl, nothing made sense anymore. She succeeded to turn his brain into a mush every time. That girl was also his teammate, and that same girl he had spent the last three years tormenting. They couldn't like each other; Steve had made sure of it. One day those questions would be the end of him.

September 14th.

“Someone had fun.” Bucky made grabby hands at Natasha when she stumbled through the door. y/n appeared in the living room seconds later, just as drunk, if not more, as Natasha.

“These lovely gentlemen bought us so many drinks.” Natasha sat down on Bucky’s lap, and he laughed. How Bucky wasn’t jealous was beyond Steve. “One even gave y/n their number.”

“He did.” y/n held up her phone after falling face down onto the couch. “He’s sooo cute too.” She drunkenly exclaimed, and Steve quickly took the phone from her. “I wanted to text him!” She turned around to lay on her back and kicked Steve at the end of the couch.

“I know.” He sighed. “It’s why I took the phone away.”

“But we’re going on a date tomorrow.”

Laughing, Bucky wrapped his hands around Natasha and looked at y/n. “Then text him tomorrow.” He smiled and scrunched his nose when y/n made a sad face.

Before dating Natasha, Bucky would always look after y/n whenever she'd get drunk. He'd have fun doing it too. It'd be like Russian roulette, where the man could never know what he should be expecting. Sometimes, she’d cry, and other times, Bucky would be forced into doing karaoke. On rare occasions, she'd just be herself. Intoxicated, but herself nonetheless. With no walls to hide behind, no filter on her speech. On those days, Bucky and y/n would have endless conversations about boys, girls, astrology, movies, food —  anything she could think of before sleep would devour her, and he’d have to carry her to bed.

“Please carry her to bed.” Bucky stood up. The redhead was soundly sleeping in his arms. “She hates waking up on the sofa.”

Begrudgingly, Steve picked up y/n bridal style, and she giggled. It was one of the first times Steve ever heard her giggle. “You’re cute too.” She wiggled her eyebrows and poked his cheek. “Kind of mean, though.”

Steve bringing y/n to bed was an easy task as she fell asleep as soon as he stepped foot in the elevator. After gently placing her on the bed, Steve was about to walk out.

“Don’t have a crush.” He muttered to himself upon deciding to take off her heels. The dress, while wildly beautiful, looked wildly uncomfortable, so cursing underneath his breath, Steve quickly removed the garment from her too. Guilty about looking at y/n in only her underwear, Steve threw a blanket over her sleeping form. Rummaging through the mess that was y/n's room, he soon found an unopened water bottle.

“Stay?” She sleepily called out after he set the water on the nightstand. “Please?”

This version of y/n was so much different than he’s ever seen before. Usually calm, collected, and closed off, tonight, she was giggly, sweet, and open. No snarky comments, no sarcastic remarks. Tired enough to sleep through hurricanes and earthquakes.

“Why did you kiss me on that mission?”

“I already told you.” y/n yawned and moved to make space for Steve to lay down. “To save our cover.”

“There were about three different routes you could’ve taken.” Steve kicked off his shoes and laid down. “Why the kiss?”

“It was the first thing that came to mind,” y/n smiled and snuggled up to Steve, “seemed logical.” Resting her head on his chest, she closed her eyes. “Maybe even fun.”

“Rest easy, kid.” Steve whispered when her body relaxed into his, and her breathing turned even. Calling y/n by the nickname kid didn’t feel right anymore. A nickname that had been used for teasing and mocking no longer fit in the pair's dynamic. “Sweet dreams.” He whispered once more, and after kissing y/n on the forehead, slipped from the bed, disappearing from the room altogether.

October 31st.

“That’s not a costume, that’s underwear.” Steve remarked when y/n walked into the kitchen with an outfit of a black bodysuit, fishnet tights, and bunny ears.

“How would you know?” She unwrapped a cherry lollipop, putting it in her mouth. “You’ve never seen me in my underwear.”

Steve had to break their eye contact, and y/n laughed. If only she knew. For the first time in quite a while, y/n felt truly desirable. Sure, she had been on multiple dates in the past few months, where Wanda would do her makeup and find the perfect outfit, but this was something different. A good different. This was seductive, skimpy, yes, but sexy nonetheless. It was also liberating. Freeing. She didn’t care about Steve’s opinion or Tony’s weird looks. All that mattered was that she, herself, felt amazing. In contrast to her everyday baggy suit pants and an ill-fitting top, this outfit was a real confidence booster.

“What are you even supposed to be?” Steve stared her up and down. He hated to admit that jealously was rearing its ugly head.

“A Playboy bunny, duh.” It was time for Pepper to give her a weird look. In fact, the three of them were looking at her in a very, very strange way. “What?” She released the lollipop from her mouth with a pop.

“Have you had anything to drink already?” Pepper questioned, a worried look in her eyes. Pepper was the mom of the group, including being a mom to her own husband sometimes. Pepper expected to look after Tony the most tonight, but this kind of behavior was unusual for the girl.

“No.” Y/n rolled her eyes and turned on her heel after grabbing another lollipop. “See you later, guys!”

Tony’s parties were always great, but this Halloween, he had truly outdone himself. From the decorations to the music and the food, the entire scene looked straight from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The party was already in full swing when y/n managed to find the people she was looking for.

“Boys!” y/n greeted the infamous Avengers trio. “Meet Todd.”

“Hey.” Here came the ugly feeling again.

“A fan of PDA, I see.” Steve gestured to Todd’s arm over y/n’s waist, but the other man just laughed.

“Yeah.” He looked at y/n, giving her a big smile. “Can’t ever take my arms off of this gem.” Could easily make you, Steve thought and immediately got rid of the idea. Not the place, not the time, even though a great opportunity to punch him presented itself when Todd started non-stop rambling about baseball.

“y/n? Would you mind helping me bring some drinks over?” Steve asked when his beer bottle turned empty. The girl knew exactly where this was going, but excusing herself, she followed after the soldier.

“Who the fuck is that?” Steve finally spoke up when they reached the bar.

He felt infuriated, jealous, and something else, he, himself, couldn’t quite place a finger on. While not a fan of swearing, this seemed like an appropriate time.

“My boyfriend.” She waved at Todd when he turned to look in their direction. “I think.” She added when he turned around. “Could I also get a shot of tequila?”

“You think?” Steve was out of his mind. Of course, he expected y/n to take the deal seriously, he just never imagined that she’d be fine with being around some random guy if that meant winning.

“Yes.” Thanking the bartender for the tequila, she took the shot, welcoming the burning sensation spreading down her throat. “Actually, could I get another?” She pointed to the empty glass.

“The woman is fine, thank you.” It was the first time Steve has ever called her a woman. To say it took y/n by surprise would be an understatement.

“I’m trying to hook up tonight, Captain.” She quickly leaned over the bar when the bartender wasn’t looking and poured herself a shot. “You’re ruining my chances.” She made a face after setting the glass down. Tequila was a dream and a nightmare. Deliciously rough but malicious at mornings.

“y/n, I’m calling the deal off.” Steve stopped her from pouring herself another shot. “You don’t need to prove anything.” Too bad the damage was done already. About half a bottle of liquor coursed through her veins. Sorry about the lie, Pepper, she thought, recalling back to earlier.

“You’re not calling anything off. I’m not insufferable. Not annoying. Certainly, I’m not so aggravating,” she mocked Steve, “that no man would ever want me. I’m kind,” she poured the third shot anyway, “caring,” swallowing the burning liquid, “hot.” y/n exclaimed, pushing her index finger into Steve’s chest. “Look at me.” She did a messy twirl to make her point, but it only worried Steve further, because she was drunk, and out of it, and about to have sex with a man she’d never sleep with sober. “There are hundreds of men who want me.” She hiccuped. “Men who deserve me.” y/n tried to step up closer to Steve but accidentally stumbled, and he quickly caught her in his arms. “You, however,” she got out of his hold and smoothed out her costume, “will never be one.” Grabbing the tequila bottle from the bar, y/n turned on her heels and started heading in Todd's direction. You will never be a man who deserves me. Those words hurt a lot more than Steve would dare voicing.

November 24th.

“Don’t.” y/n put a finger on Steve’s lips. “Don’t want to hear it.” Her red eyes and teary cheeks were enough of an indicator that the evening went wrong. Pressing his lips into a tight line, Steve sat back down on one of the benches. Despite it being deep into fall, the night was beautiful. With clear skies for stars to shine through and a big, round moon, giving off enough light to illuminate both of their faces.

“I wasn’t-“ Steve thought for a moment, “wasn’t going to ridicule you.” Sitting down beside him, she leaned her head on Steve’s shoulder. It was another indicator of all the shit that had went down if his so-called nemesis was seeking out his comfort. “Want to go out for ice cream?”

y/n didn’t want to go to bed yet. Not yet. The feeling that crept deep into her bones after Todd’s actions was still there. She couldn’t go to sleep just yet. “Sure.”

12:47 am. All the ice cream shops already were closed by now. Steve was going to get a heck of a lecture for this tomorrow, but he didn’t care. Leaving y/n alone, Steve went into Tony’s garage, accessing his not-so-secret spot where Tony keeps his keys, and emerged in one of his supercars minutes later.

“Best case scenario, he kills you. A slow, intimate death” y/n chuckled, getting into the car, and immediately turned on the heating.

“And in the worst-case scenario, he?” Steve found the button for the seat heater.

“He fires you from The Avengers.” y/n nodded her head and she was right. Steve have always cared more about his newfound family than dying.

“Tony can’t fire me.” Steve spoke up when they reached McDonald's. It seemed like a good time to say something considering y/n looked calm and composed, with dry cheeks and no longer red eyes. Besides, the silence was starting to eat at him.

“He absolutely can.” y/n thought out loud after they ordered. While not a fan of ice cream in colder seasons, Steve ordered himself some fries for moral support. “I’m taking these.” y/n gestured to his food after they picked up their order and he laughed.

“You can have a couple.” Scrunching her nose, she stole some, putting them in her milkshake. She snuck a couple extra when Steve wasn’t looking.

“The deal is still on, by the way.” She declared after the food was mostly finished and Steve had driven them to an empty parking lot. It felt good to be around someone who didn’t ask a million questions about when, why, and what happened. Never in a million years would she have expected that person to be Steve, but she was grateful. It was the first time she felt grateful to have Steve in her life. Through the best, the worst, and somewhere in the middle.

“Still got a month.” Steve made a face y/n didn’t recognize. It was the kind of impression he’s never used around her.

“And if I’m still single,” she locked her eyes with Steve’s, “we kiss.”

“Yeah.” He laughed slightly. “We kiss.”

A comfortable silence fell between the two. It wasn’t awkward, wasn’t confining, wasn’t rushed. It was the kind of silence with no pressure to speak unless it feels right to do so. The kind of silence they had only experienced years ago, when they had first met, and Steve hadn’t decided that he wanted to be an asshole to y/n yet. The kind of silence y/n haven't even realised she missed.

“Wouldn’t be the end of the world.” Steve suggested after some time, and y/n shook her head no. “We kissed before.” He recalled.

“Yeah.” She truly laughed and Steve was glad to hear it. “Touched your penis that night too.”

“It was actually my gun, I just wanted to mess with you.” Steve admitted and y/n’s mouth fell open. What an asshole.

“You have no idea the embarrassment!” She hit Steve in the back of his head and he chuckled. “I thought about that moment for weeks!” She hit him again. “Weeks!”

“Sorry.” He caught her hand so she’d stop hitting him. Gently lowering it back to her lap, Steve gave y/n a sheepish smile. “Was that because you enjoyed it or-“ catching y/n’s daring look he suddenly went quiet and nodded. “Embarrassment. Got it.”

“You should be embarrassed too.”

“Why?”

“Stuck your whole arm up my dress just to check if I had a gun.” Steve’s cheeks reddened. “I’m not a kid, you know ” She stuck out her hand and Steve shook it, the handshake declaring a truce.

Not friends just yet, but not nemeses either.

“This was a weird year.” Steve blurted out. y/n couldn’t help but agree with the statement. Weird and a little unsettling. A year of big fights out on the field, and even bigger wars inside their own minds.

“Kind of want to stay single.” y/n admitted but regretted it as soon as she saw Steve’s expression. “What? It would be a weird end to an even weirder year. Very fitting.” She looked out the window.

As much as Steve wanted to kiss y/n, and he wanted to greatly, Steve didn’t want her to kiss him just because it seemed fitting, or just because it'd be a weird end to an even weirder year. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted their kiss to be genuine, real. For y/n to have as much passion and desire for him as he had for her. Desire he spent so long suppressing, it was about to spread like a wildfire.

December 31st.

Besides Steve surprising y/n with her gift late on Christmas Eve, the holidays had come and went with no other events of significance happening. Still, Steve coming to her room at 11:32pm to give y/n the necklace she’s been wanting for months had been a nice surprise. She had made them cocoa and stolen a few pieces of the leftover pie then, bringing them up to her room with Steve’s help where they had spent the next couple hours talking, openly and honestly. It had been as unusual as it had been welcome. It had felt good to have a conversation without insulting or teasing each other. A conversation that had seemed like a fresh start. Not one to believe in “fresh starts”, y/n had hoped next year would be different. The first New Year's Eve at the compound definitely would.

And as it had turned out, she was right. The party was entirely unrecognizable. Not only had Avengers switched headquarters, but the room had a lot of new faces. In fact, there were so many people, y/n had a hard time locating her friends, and an even harder time locating Steve. He had smiled at her when she first walked into the scene but was quickly nowhere to be found. Gone like a needle in a pile of hay.

“Fifteen!” The deal wasn’t off and she was still single. “Fourteen!”

Steve’s saying of same place, same time soon proved to be difficult to accomplish as the tower had been sold to another millionaire, and the compound had zero balconies. Maybe he had known about the move then, and had proposed the deal on purpose.

A deal impossible to keep true. That wouldn’t be beyond Steve. Can’t believe he’d do that. The old Steve who called her a kid would. It suddenly dawned on her that while the compound lacked in balconies, the one thing it did have was a rooftop.

Sprinting out the room and into an elevator, she pressed the button to the top floor. Ten. Nine. If only this elevator, designed by the super genius philanthropist playboy himself, could go any faster. Eight, seven, six. A small hope of making it there in time was still burning inside her heart. Small, but strong enough to burn down forests. five, four, three. As much as she tried convincing herself that she was rushing like a crazy person because they had made a deal, the deep parts she tried burying under all the walls, understood better. Two.

“Happy New Year.” She gave Steve a sheepish smile after the elevator doors opened.

“Happy New Year.” He smiled back. Not giving herself time to rethink the idea through, y/n ran straight into Steve’s arms and grabbing his face in her hands, kissed him.

It was the kind of kiss that felt as explosive as the fireworks outside. The kind of kiss that warmed them both from the inside, despite it being deep into winter. The kind of kiss that made the world disappear, with no regard to the shouts of drunken people, or the freezing snowflakes falling on their cheeks. A kiss that felt real, because as scary as it was for them both to admit it, was real. Swiping his tongue on y/n’s lips, Steve asked for permission, which y/n happily granted. No thoughts, just the feeling of his lips on hers. Wrapping his arms around y/n’s waist, Steve pulled her in closer. Close enough to feel her body heat and the quickly beating rhythm of her heart. Their tongues fought for dominance until y/n ultimately let Steve win, and gently bit down on his lower lip to jokingly taunt him.

“So what do we do now?” y/n asked him when they pulled back for air.

“First,” Steve bent down and captured her lips in a kiss again, “we kiss. Second,” he peppered small kisses all around her jawline with a few speckled around her neck, “I do this.” He gave her a nervous smile, but was glad to find y/n enjoyed it, “and third,” he went silent, and gave her a confused look “we stop fighting?”

“Stop fighting.” She tilted her head. “Perhaps become friends.”

“I take you out on a date.” Steve nodded. “One that doesn’t result in tears.” y/n shook her head yes. “And we then go from there.”

“We then go from there.” y/n repeated. “Sounds-“

“Weird?” Steve completed her sentence when she hesitated for a bit.

“Weird.” She agreed and let out a breath. “Very weird.”

“Well, I know you must at least find me attractive because you asked me out two and a half years ago.” Steve winked at her.

“Yes, and you rejected me.”

“I was afraid.” The man admitted and brushed his thumb over her lips. Removing his jacket, he wrapped it around y/n. “Afraid of admitting I had feelings for a twenty-something year old.” Steve was being honest that night. He had been so scared to face the truth that he had feelings for y/n, he tried masking it with rudeness. “It’s scary. Scary to say it as a 100-year-old man.”

The sentence made y/n laugh, truly laugh, and Steve poked her in the ribs. “Let’s start fresh then. I’m y/n.” She removed one of her hands from Steve’s neck to shake his. “No more calling me kid though.”

“Steve.” He chuckled and shook his head no. There were other ways to annoy the woman if he'd ever need to. “Same place, same time next year?”

Weaving her hands into his hair, y/n stood on her tippy toes to kiss him. With as much real passion and desire as Steve had hoped for. “Let’s not go that far.”

“No.” He whispered, gently placing his hands on her neck. “For now let’s be here.”

Because this was exactly where Steve wanted to be and he wasn’t about to let the moment go. Wasn’t about to let y/n go, even though it didn’t matter — this was exactly where y/n wanted to be too. Wrapped in the coziness of his jacket, with Steve’s lips on hers.

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

Hangover

@sicktember​ 2022 Prompt #4

Fandom/OCs: MCU Avengers, Sick!Thor Odinson

Title: The Morning After

Words: 623

Inspiration: None

CW: Mentions of vomiting/wanting to vomit. Doesn't actually happen.

Author’s comments: I don’t write sick Thor often, because it’s hard for me to imagine him catching normal “human” illnesses, so I’m glad there was a prompt in this set that suited him perfectly! And of course we all love a gloating Loki, with a dash of brotherly banter thrown it. Love their dynamic. 

The slightly transparent image of Loki appeared at Thor's bedside. The snoring demigod did not stir–though snoring didn't come close to describing the sound coming from Thor. The violent, thunderous gasping noise he was making was deafening. 

Using more magic, Loki yanked the pillow out from under Thor's head and made the bed vibrate so harshly that Thor was almost pitched off entirely. The snoring was cut off and Thor began to stir, groaning. 

"If you don't stop shaking the bed, I'm going to vomit all over you." Thor warned, not opening his eyes. 

Knowing how serious that threat was, Loki did stop, grinning nonetheless. "Good morning, dear brother. I was sent to collect you for your day of "Avenging." You missed your morning training and your comrades are concerned. Are you ill? Burning with fever, perhaps? I know of nothing else that should keep you in bed."

"I will not be Avenging today," Thor groaned. "I am indeed ill. Tell the others to proceed without me."

Loki lounged in the doorway. "I can't imagine how you became unwell so suddenly. You seemed perfectly fine yesterday when you went with Stark and Barton to that festival. Such an odd name…Oktoberfest, wasn't it?"

Thor moaned, wrapping his arms around his middle. "Please don't bring that up."

"What's wrong, brother? Did you not enjoy yourself?"

Thor simply covered his head with his pillow. "Leave, Loki."

"Ah, then you must've enjoyed yourself too much," Loki chuckled. "I should've known from what I heard when you all returned last night. Some things never change. Though I'm amazed you got yourself in this state with Midgardian ale of all things. I would've believed Asgardian spirits were stronger."

Thor uncovered his face to glare at his brother. "It's because Midgardian ale is so poor that I'm in this state. The subpar ingredients have clearly affected me."

"Indeed," Loki said, with an air of agreeing for the sake of pacifying. "However, I wonder if the others will accept that excuse. Stark and Barton are downstairs eating breakfast and having a grand time as always. Eggs and sausage and I believe waffles. Lots of butter and syrup. The ale doesn't seem to have affected them."

When Loki began to speak about food, Thor went very green and wrapped his arms tighter around his stomach. Still, he managed to scoff. "They're used to the Midgard swill we were drinking. I am not. That is all the excuse they shall get."

"I was sent to get you out of bed and I'm not keen to fail my mission. Perhaps I should bring the Hulk up here if you need further convincing," teased Loki.

"Banner wouldn't dare," Thor grumbled, unconcerned. "Now get out. I would throw something if it weren't going to pass right through you. Your every word is a bolt of lightning to my skull, and I feel I may need to acquaint my face with the toilet very soon. I would prefer you not be present when I do." As clammy as he looked, Loki knew he was deadly serious. 

Loki's smile wavered, whether from distaste at the prospect of seeing his brother be ill or concern for him, it was hard to be sure. He took a reflexive step back. "Fine. I'll go. What should I say?"

"Tell the others whatever you wish. I'm beyond caring," mumbled Thor, curling in on himself further. "As long as they know not to expect me today."

"Alright. As you say. I have no sympathy for you, since your misery is self-inflicted, but all the same… I wish you health, because you're an ass when you're ill. Feel better soon."

Before Thor could think of a reply, Loki's image blinked out of the room.

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

Boy meets girl

Steve Rogers X Stark!Reader, Tony Stark X Sister!Reader

Summary: Boy meets girl, boy treats her right, everyone could see it she was in love and so was he.

Warnings: Age gap.

Song: Boy Meets Girl by J. Hartley

Didn't know my buddy had a sister

Didn't know I'd get drunk and kiss her

Didn't know I'd even miss her

Steve looked up at the sound of the elevator opening. Then he saw you walking in with a suitcase. He stared shocked. He let you the night before at party Tony held.

"Hey there." You smirked at him.

"Hello." Steve smiled at you before taking a sip of his asgardian ale that Thor gave him.

"Y/n what's your name?" You sat down next to him.

"Steve. So what are you doing at a party like this." He looked around at the crowd.

"My brother forced me to come. What about you?" You asked taking a sip of your drink.

"Yeah my buddy force me to come." He said looking down at his drink.

You stepped inside not noticing him sitting on the couch alone. You put your suitcase by the elevator then walked to the kitchen area.

"Hey Friday where's Tony?" You asked with a hum as you opened the fridge.

"He's in his lab." Steve spoke up.

"Ah!" You exclaimed jumping looking behind you. "Jesus! Don't do that!" You groaned.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked.

"My brother. You didn't mention your an avenger?" You said grabbing a pop from the fridge before leaning on the counter looking at Steve.

"Your brother... Your brother is tony?" He asked.

"Oh! I see you two met!" Tony said walking in.

"Yeah.. Met." You smirked remembering last night.

"That's great! Well Steve y/n is staying with us for a little while. She gets the room next to yours!" Tony said before hugging you.

How the hell would I know

I'd drive 600 miles to ohio

I did though, I did though

"Remind me why we're driving to Ohio?" Steve asked as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Because! I have a meeting there and I'm scared of flying." You said casually as you looked out the window.

"Oh of course. But couldn't you have gotten a driver? Your rich like tony."

"But then I wouldn't get to spend time with you." You smirked at him. You two weren't dating you became close and there was definitely more then friendship there but neither of you would admit it.

"I guess your right." Steve smirked.

"Ooh! We should stop for breakfast!" You said seeing a sign for a nearby IHOP.

"Okay." He said turning off the highway.

Boy meets girl, Boy treats her right

Boy she's gonna love you for the rest of your life

She'll build you up, when you break down

Steve was nervous as he knocked on your door. He was holding your favorite flower. You opened it, you had your hair in a towel and was wearing comfortable clothes, and a shirt he was almost sure was stolen from him.

"Hey Steve!" You smiled at him.

"Hi. This is for you, I was wonder if I could take you on a date tomorrow night?" He asked handing you the flower.

"Yes!" You smiled. He swore your smile could light up the darkest room.

"I'll meet you here at 5 then." Steve smiled.

"Okay. Thank you for the flowers."

She'll stand and applaud when there ain't no crowd

Boy meets girl, boy meets girl

Steve looked at you lovingly. It was your fourth date. This one was just spent at the tower watching movies. He let you pick one, which you told him was a master piece he has to watch. He found out that master piece is a kids movie called toy story.

"Stop staring at me!" You laughed looking up at him from where you head laid on his chest.

"I'm sorry you're just so beautiful." Steve smiling leaning down to kiss you.

"Well I knew that." You rolled your eyes putting your attention on the tv once again. His eyes stayed focus on you, how your smile grew everytime Buzz acted like he wasn't a toy.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" He blurted out. Your eyes met his and stayed there for what seemed like forever before you sat up and finally answered.

"Yes!" You exclaimed wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing him.

I was scared a hell to even ask her

To pack up her life

And move to Nashville

She did though, yeah she did though

You were getting tired of living with your brother and the avengers and Steve could tell. To be honest he agreed. He loved the team but you two have been dating a year, were now sharing a room at the tower. He thinks it's ready for the next step.

"We should get our own place." Steve suggested after you finished complaining about Tony.

"You'd want to move out of the tower? I've been scared to mention it." You said as you looked at him.

"Of course! Maybe we could move to Brooklyn?" He suggested.

"Yeah. That would be nice. An apartment of our own." You smiled at the idea. "Let's do it!"

"How are we going to tell Tony and Bucky though?" Steve asked. "And the rest of the team."

"We could do what I did when I moved out the first time." You suggested.

"Oh what did you do?"

"I left him a note and found my own place." You said shrugging.

"We're not doing that."

"Fine we'll just hold a team meeting." You said rolling your eyes, he laughed pulling you into his side.

"There you." He kissed you before resting his head on yours.

"So should we start looking?"

"Yeah probably."

"We should look for apartments out of Brooklyn too though maybe Manhattan? That's where I'm from." You asked.

"As long as your happy I'm happy."

Since her daddy's passed away I was

Terrified to get her brother's okay

I did though

and he said though

Steve was nervous about this. Since your dad died when you were still in high school he was going to be asking Tony for his blessing to marry you. He just didn't know what he'd say. You two have been dating for three years now and have been living together for two.

"Tony, can we talk?" Steve asked walking into the lab where Tony was.

"Sure capsicle what can I do for you?" Tony asked him. Steve sat down next to him.

"I want to ask Y/n to marry me." Steve said. Tony looked at him. They stared at each other for a few minutes.

"Why are you telling me this?" Tony asked after a while.

"I want your blessing please."

"You have it. You've had it." Tony stated.

"Really?"

"You think I would've let you date my sister if I didn't think you were right for her?" Tony asked rolling his eyes.

"Oh. Thank your Tony." Steve smiled.

"Yeah, yeah welcome to the family or whatever."

Boy meets girl, Boy treats her right

Boy she's gonna love you for the rest of your life

Steve shuffled nervously from behind you. He took one deep breath then tapped your shoulder and dropped on one knee.

"Oh. My. God." You gasped starting down at him.

"Y/n Stark will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?" Steve asked you pulling the ring box out.

"Yes!!!" You screamed hugging him. He wrapped his arms around you smiling ear to ear.

"Try the ring on." He said after kissing you.

"It fits!" You said looking down at the ring on your finger. "It's so beautiful." You smiled.

"Just like you." He kissed you again.

She'll build you up, when you break down

She'll stand and applaud when there ain't no crowd

Boy meets girl, boy meets girl

You were currently home alone as Steve was on a mission. You were planning a bit of a surprise for him. You noticed you missed your period and decided to take a pregnancy test, and found that your pregnant. You're super excited to tell Steve but he's not here so you have time to do something creative to tell him. The two of you have been married for 3 years, together 7 years. It was time, so you've been trying for a baby for around 7 months and finally you saw two pink lines.

"Sweetheart? I'm home?" Steve shouted.

"Baby!" You said coming out of the kitchen and giving him a hug.

"Oh I missed you." He sighed happily before giving you a kiss. This mission was 4 days long.

"I missed you too! And I have big news!" You said pulling from the hug.

"What is it?"

"We're having a baby!"

Nine months no time to go

She said he's coming right now here at home

I'll never forget laying 6 pounds 6 ounces on her chest

I said Boy meet girl

"It's a boy!" The doctor exclaimed holding a crying newborn before handing the baby to a nurse who wiped him off then set him on your chest.

"Aw." You cooed.

"What are you going to name the little one?" The nurse asked you.

"Uh me and his dad were thinking James but we're not too sure. He came a little early after all." You said softly looking down at your little bundle of joy.

"I'm here I'm here!" The door opened and Steve came running in. "Oh sweetheart I'm so sorry I was late- fury made us go to shield after the mission an-"

"It's fine just come meet your son." You said smiling.

"Oh he's so precious." Steve cooed.

"You can hold him after we give him a bit of a check up." The nurse told him.

"Oh of course."

"So what should we name him?"

"Well first name is definitely James right?" He asked you smiling.

"Yes middle name should be..." You thought for a second.

"Anthony." Steve suggested.

"James Anthony Rogers... I like it." You said before the nurse came back.

"Dad here's your son." She handed James to him.

"Hi there Champ. I'm your daddy." He cooed. "Yeah buddy." He couldn't believe it he's a dad.

"He has your eyes."

boy treat her right

Boy she's gonna love you for the rest of your life

She'll build you up, when you break down

"Come on buddy!" You said. "You can do it come to mommy."

"No walk to daddy." Steve countered. The one year old looked around before taking a step. He stumbled before landing in the lap of Tony.

"James!"

"Hi there Kiddo." Tony laughed lifting the baby to rest him on his lap. "I'm his favorite."

"You are a traitor." Steve said jokingly to his son.

"He really is he should've come to me I should be his favorite uncle!" Bucky whined.

"Okay calm down boys these weren't even his first steps." You rolled your eyes grabbing your son cooing at him as you left the room.

"Wait those were his first steps?" Tony asked confused.

"He walked to me yesterday, those were his first steps." Steve shrugged before following you out of the room.

"Why didn't you tell me my godson took his first steps!" Bucky shouted.

She'll stand and applaud when there ain't no crowd

Boy meet girl, boy meet girl

Boy meets girl

[yourmcu]

Mesmerized

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Request:

@lostaurorax​ said:

hii!! i love ur writing i was wondering if u could write a natasha x reader fic were reader is part of the guardians of the galaxy and they come to the compound and natasha is just starstruck but reader plays kinda hard to get and then just a bunch of fluff !

Word count: 1,388

A/n: sorry it took a while! I really hope this turned out ok I’m so nervous lmfaosdkdk

Warnings: none

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

gif not mine! credits to the owner^^

Natasha’s outside the compound by the landing zone, taking light sips on her beer occasionally. The Avengers are having some sort of gathering or low-key party inside to celebrate their victory against Thanos a while back.

They never really had time to gather everybody just after the battle, but Tony contacted everybody for this special night. Natasha just wants to take a break from the games and conversations for a minute.

Speaking of conversations, she rolls her eyes at the thought about something Steve said. Because the tables have turned; if she was the one bugging Steve to date a few years back, he's now bombarding her with names of single people they knew, one of them being Bucky.

“He wouldn’t mind going out to dinner with you sometime.” Steve suggested. But Natasha knows the Winter Soldier and herself are better off as friends.

Natasha gets up when after the guardian’s ship lands smoothly against the grass meters away from her. She moves a few strands of her hair from her face to get a clear view of Thor striding out of the ship as soon as the door opens, along with the other guardians.

“Ah, Romanoff!” The god of thunder grins, patting her on the back. She’s never seen him this happy. Probably because it's all thanks to him the whole universe was free from mad titans – at least for now. “How’s life? Oh, yes, I’d like to introduce you to my friends here… of course you already know rabbit, and tree…”

Greetings and hand shaking fills the friendly atmosphere for a moment. Then you finally catch up with them, nudging Thor’s side and thrusting the large barrel of Asgardian ale into his arms.

“You must be the Black Widow,” you breathe out and offer a warm smile to the redhead, your hand outstretches. “Thor’s told me awesome stories about you guys. Y/N, by the way.”

Natasha nods, slightly breathless like you are but because of... well, you. She returns a smile and introduces herself as well.

“Everything’s pretty tech-y now, s’mazing.” You muse, entering the compound side by side with Natasha. The rest are walking in front of you, chatting among themselves. “I missed this planet.”

She glances sideways at you, “when’s your last visit?”

You chuckle. “I honestly don’t remember when but, it was a brief visit to my hometown and everything looked old fashioned, I think these huge compact disks were all the rage that time, vines- no, not vines-“

“Vinyl records?” Natasha raises an eyebrow, smiling. You laugh, which she finds adorable, and nod. “You and Quill are related, then?” She proceeds to ask since you look like a normal human, no antennas or any odd space stuff you could’ve inherited.

“Oh, no, we’re both half human though,” you shrug. “What about you? Tell me about yourself.”

She hesitates to tell a bit of her story at first but you seem nice and - accepting, like you’d never judge her. But she does leave out a few parts for another conversation.

Natasha retreats over to Steve who is behind the bar counter when you receive a big hug from Peter and Tony greets you with a “How’s it going, fireball?” and a pat on the back. She figures you want to meet the others, so she sits down across the super soldier to steal glances at you from afar. 

“Finally, I was starting to think he wasn’t gonna show - hey!” Steve raises his champagne at Thor and he does the same gesture before hurrying after Bruce. “Is it just me or did Groot get taller?”

You're still joking around with Tony, pretending to hit the still-bandaged wound on his chest, Rhodey laughs along, then Wanda offers you a cocktail and you accept it, thanking her.

Steve’s now going on about Wakanda, also sharing the stories from T’Challa. Natasha’s barely listening but occasionally hum and nod.

“Nat, if you don’t close your mouth you’re going to drool.” He laughs lightheartedly, averting his gaze from her to you. “I guess we have a winner, then?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Natasha gets up to grab another beer from the cooler. Steve continues to laugh, having a stupid grin on his face. “Oh c’mon, what’s her name?”

Even saying your name she feels out of breath. There's no point in pretending she isn’t into you now. “This isn’t normal. I just met her tonight and I shouldn’t be feeling this way.”

“You’re infatuated, it’s-”

“Hi,” you sit on a stool across from the two avengers, holding an open pack of marshmallows. Natasha lamely excuses herself to fetch a bottle opener. Steve straightens up and extends a hand which you take. “Nice to finally meet you, I’m-”

“Y/N.” Steve says. “Natasha’s been telling me about you.”

“I just thought you seemed nice,” she quickly recovers but her heart is still pounding.

You raise an eyebrow at her and giggle. “I’m flattered. You’re not so bad yourself, Natasha.” It’s true, you think she ‘seemed nice’ too. Sure she sounded so badass when Thor tells you stories but tonight she looks so cozy with her sweater and her hair braided to one side.

“Being surrounded with people like you guys is great but now I just feel like a party trick.” You take out a marshmallow while scanning the room (Steve is now playing pool with Sam, you notice, and you're alone with the redhead).

“What do you mean?”

You hold the marshmallow between your fingertips, igniting it out of nowhere for a second so it roasts just right, then pop it in your mouth. “Pretty useless, right?”

“Maybe if you only used it for something like that, but no,” Natasha smiles softly. “Fire conjuring, bit scary if you ask me. What if you randomly lit something up?”

“I was born with it. I remember having to wear gloves all the time as a child when I first set a houseplant to flames,” you both laugh. “I’m in full control of it now though.”

“S’that why Tony calls you ‘fireball’?”

You let out a laugh again. “Yeah. Or he might’ve forgot my actual name.”

“Y/N! I took the liberty of putting your stuff in the room you’ll be sleeping at.” Thor butts in, grinning from ear to ear, patting you on the head.

“Oh, right. Thanks buddy.”

“You’re welcome!”

Natasha turns to you, “you’re staying?” In her head she's coming up with ways on how to talk to you again once the party’s over and you return to space with the guardians. This just makes it a whole lot easier to get to know you even better.

“Yup, Thor is too. We both agreed on staying for a few weeks to catch up on stuff.” You reply. “I might actually turn in now, ‘think those cocktails are kicking in...”

“I’ll walk with you.” She says without giving it much thought but you nod and smile appreciatively.

“Perfect. It’s the guestroom beside your room.” Thor claps his hands together and walks away.

-----

“Can I ask you a question?”

You zip your bag and hum before looking up at her.

Natasha's leaning on your doorframe, hesitating. Is she going to fast? Is it too soon to ask? She fiddles with her hands, “do you have any plans tomorrow?”

This is fine. If you say yes or say no then decline her next question, she’ll just forget any of this happened.

“I don’t - well, I think Thor wanted to go out for breakfast but that’s it. Why?”

“Do you... maybe wanna go out?” Natasha asks silently, looking at anywhere but you. “To, you know, catch you up on some of the things you missed. Only if you want to, no pressure.”

But your eyes light up at her words. You kind of expected it, she was showing signs that she likes you all night. And you actually made the Black Widow nervous. “Natasha, I’d love to.”

“Oh,” she sighs in relief, feeling the beat of her heart return to a normal pace. “Well I’ll - I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You walk over to her and place a hand on her arm, then lean over to plant a kiss on her cheek. “Good night.”

[mcubuckyxlokisbitch]

What if part 3

halo, big summer blow out

pretend thats you 

kk 

“Five years ago we lost, we lost friends, we lost family, we lost apart of ourselves, today we have a chance to take it al back you have your teams, you know your missions, get the stones, get them back. One round trip each no mistakes no do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know, that doesn’t mean we should know what to expect, be careful, lookout for eachother. This will be the fight of your lives and were going to win.... Whatever it takes.” Captain America said as you all were in suits on the time portal.

“He’s actually really good at that.” you hear the racoon say as he passes you a miniature ship. 

“I know right.” Scott says passing the pym particles to Loki.

“Don’t break it sunshine, you better know how to drive it.” Rocket snarled.

“Yeah, yeah don’t worry yourself.” you shrugged off.

The time portal turned on on Banners command as you were sucked in.

“See you in a minute you.” Is the last thing you hear Nat say before the portal sucks you all in. 

The  journey was dizzying yet it felt as if you were flying, bright lights flash past your eyes. You feel gravity pull you to a different lane than the others. 

You telaport to a planet called Morag where you, Loki, Nebula and Rodhey were prepping up to seperate as you were to fly to a planet called Vormir for the soul stone while Nebula and Rhodey retrieve the power stone. 

You shake Nebulas robotic hand and and pull her into a quick hug before saying goodbye to Rhodey. “Don’t stick around for a honeymoon you too.”

“We just might.” Loki joked while you two boarded the ship.

“You sit in the pilot seat and adjusted the coordenates to a place Nebula mentioned, VORMIR. 

You look to your side as Loki reached for your hand and you grab it and held it tightly smilling to eachother. 

“I’m here.” you thought, with nothing to worry about.

VORMIR

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

“Thor will be traking the stone on Asgard with Rocket as his partner.” Steve instructed. 

“So great im on drunksiting duty.” Rocket groaned as he rubbed his temples.

“Apologies wouldn’t it be best if my wife and I both well and sober former Asgardians be better suited for Asgard.” Loki said rasing his hand. 

“Sush its fine luv... huge apology captain, please continue.” You said sighing in dissapointment towards your husband.

“Thank you Y/N... Loki to answer your question we actually have another mission for you since the rest of us would be pretty occupied. We don’t know much about the soul stone, both of you as magic users are our best chance agaisnt the unknown in the planet....” Steve said changing the slide to the soul stone slide.

“Vormir ...” Nebula said. 

“What is Vormir exactly.” You asked in curiosity

“The dominion of death. At the very centre of the celestial existance, its where Thanos murdered my sister.” Nebula cutted of as only silence followed.

“I-i’m sorry.” you could only say.

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

You focused back as you and Loki gazed up at the height of the mountain as the sandstorms wind blew Lokis hair and took your breathe away making you struggle to breathe. 

“Your right we should have switched with Thor and the Racoon. He needs the exercise and that trashbag would probably feel nothing climbing this hill.” You grabbed another stone and threw it off the mountain path your were climbing. 

“I told you.” Loki said reaching his hand out as he smiled and pull you up. “Besides I don’t think he is a racoon and Thor would have flown up anyways.”

“Can’t you telaport us instead of continuing to talk ?” You groaned as you continued to hike the mountain.

“Only works to places, I’v been to before my love.” Loki grinned as he made the succesful comeback.

You rolled your eyes and continued to hike through the pain, and wind.

Finally reaching to the top you and Loki take in the view for abit and looked around for any clues towards the stone. 

You kneel on one knee and sighed, you looked down and traced the graphs carved into the stone you stood on. Then you both sense a dark and colder force behind you. You and Loki readied your weapons and you both glared into a dark cloacked figure.

“Loki, son of Odin and Laufey.” It echoed. “Y/N daughter of Heimdall.” It contiued.

“Where is the soul stone.” You say with your spear in hand.

“How do you know our names

“If you seek that of the treasure, the stone lies only ahead of you, as does what you fear, the stone attracts a terrible pain and needs.”

“And what might that be.”Loki questioned.

“A price, the soul holds a special place amongts the infinity stones most might say it holds a certain wisdom. The stone demands a sacrifice, in order to take the stone you must lose that what you love.” The cloacked being said.

You both lowered you weapons and looked at each other. Lose that what you love

“It must be a trick, it can’t be, he must be hiding the stone with him.”Loki rambled.

“Give to the world and don’t expect anything back.” You whispered sitting on a rock focused to the ground.

“I don’t understand.”

“Yes you do. Its not a riddle, the answer was said. Lose that what you love.”You muttered.

“Whatever it takes.” you whispered.

“My love your not actually thinking about.” Loki said as you stand towards the ledge.

“Loki if we don’t do this millions of people stay dead, millions of people stay loosing those of which they love-”

 “And I will forever loose you.... that is a selfish sacrifice for you to make.” Loki argued back.

“You’ve always wished to prove to the world you have changed and that it was the best choice for you to belong on earth.” you breathed out holding his hand tighter.

“And I have, you, Atlas you both are my whole world.” Loki said tightening the grip back. You glanced up towards his green eyes as he leaned towards you and kissed you.

Your lips dancing ontop of eachother, through the cold wind as both refused to leave the other. After savarouing every minute of it, you both take a breathe of air and gazed into eachothers eyes. Loki leaned in on last time laying his forhead on yours and hugging you tightly. While your hands rested around his shoulders. 

You looked up at him and grabbed your spear and held it, “Tell Atlas that I love him.” You dropped your spear into his opened arms. 

The spear went through his hands

Your eyes widened in panic and you turned your head towards the cliff. You see Loki glance at your from the side as he leaned forward. You sprinted grabbing your spear and slide down off the cliff. Using the momentum you used the spear to hook onto the cliff and grabbed Lokis cape. Both of you levered of the cliff dangling onto your strength. You pulled yourself up so your could your your underarms to cling onto the spear while turning the fabric of Lokis cape to tighten your grip. “Let me go love...” He cried out as he pulled out his dagger.

Before he could do anything you holstered him up on the cliff again. The momentum pulled you both up as it latched you to the end of the cliff pulling the spear out of the hole you dug it into.you grabbed onto the corner of the cliff tight as ever in fear of loosing your balance. You looked back at Loki who was trying to regain his balance. You grab your spear and got into position about to fight off Loki to make sure it was you who will jump of the cliff and not him. 

Lokii brought out his throwing knives and looked at your seriously now.

“You have to be the one to tell him.” You said trying to breathe. 

Loki charged towards you saying nothing. he took the first strike as you ducked and slide down. You then used your spear to bring Loki with you. Grunting on impact he fell back again to the ground. You pointed the spear at him. “Tell my son I love him.”

A good blocking from his throwing knives and hilding down your position as he stricked both knives and made eye contact with you trying to push you down. 

You Looked back at his cape and gained an idea not easy to pull of. “Tell him yourself.” You slid your foot and tackeld him down. He used his feet in return to spin you making you fall on the ground. Every move you made he knew how to react to it and block it as best as he could. Until you used a new move, using the blunt part of your spear to stab down at his shoe then twirling it to his face knocking him out slightly. You kicked him back as he plummeted to thr ground rolling backwards. You quickly used your spear to dig it into the side of his stomach withtout worry since you knew of his heeling powers. You then dug the spear into the ground deeper so he had no chance of escape.

He screamed in pain as you winced at his cry, “I’m sorry but my heart can’t bear loosing you again.”

You look into his eyes as you back away from him, he quickly tried to pull out but quickly winced in pain as you had placed a quick spell preventing from doing so and it can only wear off until you wish to or till death.  

You backed away from Loki as you mouthed out, “I love you...” You turn to the cliff as the silence was finally cut, “I’ll always be there for you.” 

Loki screamed out, “UNLEASH ME Y/N.” He glared at you before his look softened at the realisation he will only be free the moment you hit the ground. “Don’t do this...”

You looked at what seems too be a sunset and then back to Loki and took your last breathe before plummeting into the ground. Where you felt pain then nothing....

Loki felt the spear loosen and instantly pulled it out, the realisation hits him that your gone. Loki rushed to the edge of the cliff as he saw your lifeless body on the ground as blood rushed out your nose and your form was pale on the ground.

Loki punched the ground in anger as he knelt down and clenched his fist. He leaned forward and flip forward using his daggers to dig through the stones wall to slow down to the bottom.

But before he could reach to the bottom a strong gravitational pull from the sky pulled him up. He tried to reach for his wife but the light blinded him as he lost conciousness.

Loki started to feel water slip into his ears, but the thing that shocked him back was inhaling the water through his nostrils. He woke up in search of his wife hoping it was all just one bad dream. 

No 

He was still on vormir, he felt a warm object in his left hand and opened it. 

Whatever it takes. They... he got it.

The soul stone....

[blkgojo]

Game On | Chapter 1

Valkyrie x Reader x Carol Danvers

In which, drunk!you thinks sending nudes to the King of Asgard and the most powerful Avenger... is a good idea.

Warnings: None

Here's the thing. Sending Valkyrie your nudes was an accident. Legally speaking, the nudes were meant for Carol. If you wanted to get even more technical, you weren't even supposed to text either one of them unless there was an emergency. You hadn't realized it at first. You curled up next to your cat, practically smug with your boldness. What better way to show you're available, you thought. You had checked your phone again to revel in it only to see the photo had not only been sent to Carol. It was there, right under Valkyrie's name. Wish you were here x.

You were well and truly fucked.

Working as a S.W.O.R.D agent meant few privileges. One of those privileges you had abused. Greatly. You had sent lewd photos to not only an Avenger, but the King of Asgard. Strong 10000 year old alcohol be damned, Fury wouldn't accept that as an excuse.

"You gonna tell me what's up or we just gonna sit here?" Darcy asked. Your roommate munched absentmindedly on a piece of chocolate. She was blessed enough to not have drank the ale. The buzz of it still causing your world to sway even as you began to sober up.

"I sent nudes to someone,” you whined.

She smiled. Patted your thigh. “That's okay, Y/N. We all send nudes sometimes."

“No you don’t get it. I sent them to the Asgardian king.”

“Thor has a phone?”

“No. Valkyrie.”

You can see she's trying her best not to laugh.

“It’s not funny.”

“You’re gonna start an intergalactic war.”

“Fuck off.”

“Fury’s gonna be pissed.”

“Don’t tell him!” Your words dissolved into drunken hiccups. You sloppily tried to take another sip of the ale, but Darcy snatched it. You frowned. “Do you… do you think she read it?”

“She doesn’t have read receipts? An IPhone?”

“No, I think she has an Android.”

Darcy  quietly tittered, mulling the information over. “Who did you even mean to send nudes to?”

"Don't freak out.”

“Y/N.”

“Say you won’t freak out.”

“Just tell me!”

“Darcy!”

“Spit it out!”

“Captain Marvel,” you hesitantly answered. 

Darcy shrugged. “Well, at least you didn’t send it to her, too.”

“No I did.”

One.

Two.

She laughed. "I'm sorry," she said between breathes. "I'm sorry. This is just... you're fucked."

To her credit, she tried to stop laughing. It doesn't work, but she tried. A few minutes past before she finally can speak again - tears having long since stained her face. She wiped them and took a deep breathe.

"You could just text them something like, 'Oh my god. I'm so sorry. This wasn't meant for you," she offered.

"I could." You nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I could do that."

You picked up your phone, ready to send another message. In your hands, it vibrated.

​---

Carol hated texting. Sometimes, she thought maybe that was why her and Thor were so close. She was traveling the galaxy. He was traveling the galaxy. She hated texting. He didn’t have a phone. She preferred communication the old fashion way like through hologram or sheer word of mouth.

She checked her phone as soon as she received the message and now it was waiting on the countertop of the bar face down.

“If someone sent me a picture, I would’ve been all over that,” Rocket burped.

“That’s not what she needs to hear right now, Rocket,” Thor turned to her. “So what are we doing here? Are you going to respond or…”

“I responded,” she said. And she had.

She said word for word, ‘Oh is this an emergency?’

You had sent the photos when she was on some off time with Thor. They all had just gotten back from a mission liberating refugees from a wannabe empire. She had been ready to dash back to Earth when she saw your name light up her phone screen. When she opened the message… completely different story.

Thor scrunched up his nose and shrugged.

“What?” asked Carol.

“If I sent promiscuous photos to a potential love interest, I would want a bit more…” He gestured to the air.

Carol scrunched her brows. “You would want what?”

“I don’t know. Romance?”

Rocket slammed his beer on the table. “Send them a tongue emoji.”

“I don’t like texting. Why couldn’t they just,” she threw up her hands. “I don’t know. Send a hologram.”

“Look. Forget everything else. Do you wanna get laid or not?” demanded Rocket.

Carol cocked her head to the side and begrudgingly nodded. “Then stop dicking around. It’s annoying. Some of us haven’t got laid in years and you’re over here squandering your opportunities.”

“So what? I travel a billion light years away for sex?”

Before Thor can interject, Rocket growled. “You can breathe in space. Going to Earth for you is like me or Thor here going to the bathroom.”

Carol sighed. “The raccoon has a point.”

“Fuck you.”

----

“C’mon Valkyrie. Just once.”

“I will not play Fortnite with you.”

Korg frowned or she assumed he did. It was always hard to tell. “But-”

“No.”

Her phone had long since vibrated in her pocket. A fact that she had chosen to ignore. The Midgardians seemed to always have issues. Even on Sundays which were supposed to be her self-care days. She picked it up, ready to see some frantic message about one crisis or another. The sky is falling. Nuclear weapons. Blah blah blah.

“Oh.” She nearly dropped it.

“What is it?” Korg peered over her shoulder. “It seems like someone sent you a gift.”

There were two photos with the caption ‘wish you were here x’. It was simple enough. Valkyrie tried to remember the last conversation she had with you. Had you been flirting? It was last Tuesday when she had been discussing global affairs with the other world leaders. You had been there, but in between all of the political nonsense, it was hard to figure it all out.

Korg was still peering over her shoulder. Valkyrie quirked her brow at him.

“Sorry.” He went back to his game. “Are you going to respond to Y/N? I like them. Gave me some good rocks once.”

“Rocks?”

“Yeah, I think they thought I eat them. Not their fault. My mum’s boyfriend used to think the same thing. I use them to decorate me flower garden, though.”

Valkyrie nodded and took a sip of her beer. “Should I respond?”

“You should do what your heart tells you.” He sighed. “Sorry. I’ve been watching a lot of them Disney movies. Have you seen the one with the girl on the islands?”

“No, I don’t think I’ve seen that one.”

“It’s good. She sings.”

Valkyrie took another swig of her beer, typing out a response to your photos.

‘This is way better than what I was expecting.’ And waited.

----

"She's annoying."

"I mean, she is right."

"Seriously?"

"What?" Darcy hesitantly took a sip of Thor's alcohol. "I think it's a valid question. Is it an emergency?"

"It is," you half-questioned.

"Is it?"

"It is," you said with more force.

"Then, say that," Darcy took another sip. "This shit really hits you. I get why..." She burped.

Right after you hit send, another message came through. Valkyrie.

"Well," you begin. "Valkyrie appreciated it."

"Of course she did." When you stared at her, Darcy shrugged. "She seems like really chill. Stared at your ass in one of our meetings."

"She did? When?"

"I don't know. It was like, so far ago."

"She said it was way better than what she was expecting."

"So, she wants you."

"Yeah," you said slowly. The King of Asgard wanted you. Wanted more of you. You reread the message. "I'm gonna flirt back."

Darcy nodded, taking another small sip of the ale.

I guess I should've done this sooner, you texted back.

Her response was immediate.  We’ll have to make up for lost time.

"Valkyrie's so hot," you whispered.

Just then, Carol responded. And what would you like me to do about this emergency?

You walked over to the counter and grabbed the bottle, taking a tiny sip of the alcohol. Just enough to give you a boost of confidence. You spared a glance at your friend. Her alcohol tolerance was higher than yours and yet, her cheeks were already pink. She nodded at the bottle, her eyebrows raised slightly.

"You look ah, flustered."

"You look drunk."

She held one finger up, wobbly walked herself to the couch. "Touche."

There was no reason you couldn't have fun, right? They didn't know that you had texted them both. No one knew save for Darcy and she could keep a secret. You could have fun with this. They both wanted you - honestly, you should take advantage of this opportunity. What was that phrase people loved saying? Live life or whatever the fuck.

"Yeah," Darcy cheered.

You hadn't realized you'd been talking out loud.

To Valkyrie, you send: When can we get started?

You took a deep breathe before texting Carol. Your fingers hovered over the send button for minutes longer than necessary.

I'd like you to fuck me, you sent back.

Game on.