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bbgem329 · 3 years ago

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Things Are Never As They Seem… Chapter Nine

Pairings—Sebastian Stan x Actress!Reader, Sebastian Stan x OFC (PR relationship)

Summary

You and Sebastian Stan have been dating privately for over two years. Everything is perfect until he is coerced into a PR relationship when he signed with a new agency to advance his career. Trouble ensues…

Warnings

MINORS DNI. 18+. Language. Fluff. Angst. Mentions of addiction? Readers dad sucks but at least she has seb!! Seb is good bf. Mentions of PR and HW.

Series Masterlist

—————

October 5, 2020

“Baby?”

You sniffled softly, reluctantly lifting your head from your hands to meet Sebastian’s concerned gaze.

“You okay?”

You rubbed harshly over your reddened, puffy eyes, praying he didn’t notice the little wobble in your bottom lip or the tremble in your shoulders.

“I’m fine.” You mumbled, plastering on what you hoped would be a convincing enough smile. You knew it was pointless, Sebastian could read you like a goddamn book. When it came to you, nothing got past him. “Just don’t know what to do.”

The handsome man on your laptop screen frowned, eyebrows furrowed in thought and blatant concern swirling in those cerulean hues. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly snapped it shut before scrubbing a hand down his face.

You couldn’t necessarily blame him, you didn’t know what to think about it either. To say you were shocked when you’d woken up to over a dozen texts from your wayward father, would be an understatement.

Almost two months since he’d disappeared from the rehab hospital and he was only reaching out now?

You knew exactly what that meant.

“What did he say?” Sebastian asked, voice soft, almost hesitant. You knew he wanted to know but didn’t want to push you, you could tell by the grimace on his face. “If you don’t mind me asking…”

You huffed out a soft sigh, eyes flashing away from the screen to gaze out the window before snatching your phone from where it rested on the window sill. “He um…” You inhaled sharply as you opened the messages with an unfamiliar number. It had a NYC area code which only made you feel worse. It meant he was sticking close, most likely trying to find you. “He just sent a bunch of heartfelt messages, apologizing for—well, everything.”

Your bottom lip wobbled, eyes stinging with strain, and before you had a chance to stop it, the tears were welling up in your eyes and rolling feebly down your rosy cheeks. “He started talking about my mom. Telling me…” You wiped your sleeve covered wrist over your wet cheeks, a futile attempt to subdue your cries. “Telling me how proud she would be if she saw me now. How I look just like her.” You sniffled, rubbing harshly at your runny nose. “And I have her ‘soft, golden’ heart and breathtaking smile. How he wished he’d done better—tried harder for me.”

Sebastian said your name softly, the unmistakable glimmer of tears in his own steel blue eyes. Your pain was his, it had been for a long time. There was nothing he hated more than to see you cry, even more so when there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. Not when he was however many miles away and things with your father were completely out of his hands.

He’d only met the guy a number of times and every single time he wanted nothing more than to sock him square in his doped up fucking face.

Interacting with him only seemed to hurt you more and leave you feeling emptier than before.

And Sebastian hated it.

“I know,” You croaked out, shaking your head as your chest heaved with every gasping breath, “I know he doesn’t really mean it. That this is him kissing up because he needs something but,” A pained whimper slipped from your lips, hand slapping over your mouth to hinder the sob clawing up your throat, “I wish he meant it. Wish he didn’t just reach out when wanted money or found himself at rock bottom. I just want him to be my dad. Like the ones you see in the…in the-”

“Shh.” He shushed you softly, “I know. I know you do, pretty girl.” He shook his head, eyes squeezed shut as he wiped a few tears that had spilled down his cheeks, “And I wish so badly you could have that. If anyone deserves that it’s you.”

You pulled your bare legs into your chest, burying your face in your knees as your body shook with each and every heart clenching cry and choked back sob.

“It’s okay.” Sebastian mumbled, voice cracking slightly. He wanted nothing more than to reach through his screen and tug you into his arms. To be able to comfort you in the way he wished so badly he could. “I’m so sorry, baby. I wish I was there. Wish I could take away the pain.”

“It’s okay.” You managed out, throwing your head back as you scrubbed a hand up your face. “It’s not your fault. I don’t know why I let this affect me like this every single time. It’s nothing new,” You sighed, running a hand through your snarled, frizzy hair. “You’d think it would start to hurt a little less at this point.”

“You’re only human.” He offered with a small, encouraging smile. “And you have such a big heart and not a selfish bone in your body. You can’t fault yourself for that. Besides, it’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”

“I love you.” You whispered, tilting your head to one side to rest your left cheek on your knee, eyes finally meeting his softened gaze through the camera, “And you’re right.”

“I love you too, Y/N.” He breathed out a sigh of relief, scratching anxiously over the scruff of his beard. “Did you end up answering him?”

“No.” You shook your head, bottom lip worried between your teeth. “I’m not going to. We both know why he reached out—what he wants.”

Sebastian nodded halfheartedly, tongue darting out to wet his lips, “Good. Good. I think it’s best if you don’t. I know it’s hard but he’s not going to change, baby.” He winced, gnawing at his bottom lip, almost as if it physically pained him to say, “Not after all this time. And I’m so sorry for that.”

“I know.” You admitted, arms wrapping comfortingly around your knees before you started slowly rocking from side to side in your seat, “I know he won’t. I just have a really hard time accepting it.”

He was quiet for a moment. By the furrow in his brows and the faraway look in his cerulean eyes, he was lost in thought. “Did you talk to Sharon about it?”

“I texted her.” You sighed, giving your shoulders a little shrug. “She said she can squeeze me in for an over the phone session tomorrow.”

“Okay, that’s great.” He exclaimed, smacking his hands on his thighs before rising from his seat. You watched curiously as he sauntered around the kitchen island, snatching his phone off the charger plugged in on the counter before strolling back to his seat at the dining room table. “And have you eaten breakfast yet?”

You huffed, biting your lip to suppress the guilt ridden smirk threatening to split across your lips, “No.”

“Good.” He chuckled, swiping eagerly at his phone, “Then I’m ordering you breakfast.”

“What?” You gasped, “How? You can’t do that, you’re not even here.”

“I most certainly can.” He laughed, gaze filtering up to shoot you a playful wink, “Let’s see,” He hummed to himself, scrolling through the menu to your favorite breakfast diner up the street, “Waffles with strawberries and whip cream…. Extra bacon, of course… and a side of hash browns.”

“Ketchup too?” You squeaked out, sporting a subtle blush and a little bashful grin. “I forgot to pick some up at the store the other day.”

Sebastian gasped, blue eyes wide when they lifted from his phone, “Babe are you okay? Did you forget your list?”

“Shut up.” You giggled, waving a hand at the screen before burying your face in your knees, “I didn’t have time and I was tired, okay? Won’t happen again.”

“So you’re telling me,” He shook his head, sly smirk adorning his pink lips, “Miss Organized Queen, went to the grocery store without a list?” He tsked softly, tongue peaking out to lick his lips, “The world must be ending.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up.” You rolled your eyes, a light laugh bubbling up from your chest, “It happened one time. I shouldn’t have even told you.”

“In all the years we’ve been together.” He exclaimed, voice gravely and rising in pitch, “I’ve not once seen you go without your color coded, fucking categorized list. Do you remember how upset you were when I left it on the kitchen table that one time and how you refused to even step foot in the grocery store without?” He waved an accusatory finger at the screen, the laugh he let loose echoing throughout your entire apartment, “We were already almost there and we had to walk all the way home to get it.”

You scowled, “We always end up spending unnecessary amounts of money if we don’t or forget something we need.” You waved your hand animently in the air, “Don’t even act like you don’t appreciate my grocery lists. I know you love them just as much as I do.”

“I do.” He wheezed out, “I do appreciate them, baby.” He shifted, slouching back in his seat as he attempted to wrangle himself back under control, a big goofy grin split across his handsome, flushed face, “I totally took advantage of that before because dammit, I miss your grocery lists. I never know what to buy and always come home with the most random shit.”

“See.” You exclaimed, playfully rolling your eyes, “Thank you.”

“And don’t even get me started on your cooking.” He groaned, heading lolling slowly back as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m back to eating out all the time.”

“Aww,” You pouted, “My poor baby.”

“I know.” His face scrunched up, pretending to cry. “I’m barely getting by without ya.”

It was only then that you noticed how much better you felt. That in a matter of seconds, Sebastian had effortlessly lifted your mood and turned your entire day around without lifting a damn finger.

You’d been so distracted by him, you’d forgotten all about your father and his ruse to earn your forgiveness and take advantage of your giving heart.

And you wanted to keep it that way. At least for a little while longer.

“I’m sure you’ll survive.” You giggled, bottom lip caught between your teeth to suppress a smile. “At least a little longer.”

“I don’t think I can.” He sighed, tugging a hand through his hair, tousling his thick, messy locks. “I miss you too much.”

“I miss you more.” You said softly, “I would absolutely kill for some Seb cuddles right now.”

“Those are the best, aren’t they?” He chuckled, nose wrinkled. “They have the ultimate heart healing powers.”

You nodded your head frantically, a smile growing across your face. “I need ‘em so bad.”

“Soon, baby.” He whispered, the sweetest pout on his plump lips, “I promise the next time I’ll see you we will cuddle to your heart's content.”

“That seems like forever away.” You whined, lips tugged down in a frown. “When I come to Atlanta, you’ll be heading to Prague. We keep missing each other.”

“Come on, sweetheart. It won’t be that long.” He sighed, scratching at the stubble lining his jaw, “Once I’m done with filming, I’m going to see if I can swing by to see you before I have to go to Tulum with Catalina.”

“Oh.” Your entire posture sagged, disappointment settling in your gut, “I forgot about that.” You shook your head, sucking in a harsh breath, “Another pap shot at a beach resort in a skimpy bikini. Sounds like so much fun.”

“It won’t be.” Sebastian grimaced, scrubbing a hand frustratingly down his face. “I will most likely spend most of those two weeks in my room.”

You exhaled a soft huff, “Don’t let her ruin a free vacation for you. You should enjoy it while you can before you go back to work.”

“It’s not enjoyable when she’s following me around like a lost fucking puppy dog, pretty girl.” He groaned, thumping back in his seat, “The contract requires one Pap shot there and some footage for future use. That’s the only time she’ll get with me, the rest will be spent hiding in my room.”

“God, I hate that.” You grit out, shaking your head, “That you literally feel the need to lock yourself away to escape her. That’s so fucked up.”

“It’s okay.” He breathed out, offering you the smallest of smiles, “I’m actually feeling okay right now because she finally flew back to Spain this morning.” He let loose a content sigh, a blissed out expression across his handsome face, “I’ve got a decent four to five week break from her.”

“Oh, I figured she’d go to Prague with you.”

“She can’t.” He chuckled, giving a lazy shrug of his shoulders, “Prague is technically still in lockdown. Without a legitimate reason, she isn’t welcome there.”

“That’s a relief.” You smiled, “At least you don’t have to worry about that for now and can focus on wrapping up.”

“Right?” He exhaled a delightful little laugh as he rubbed his hands together, cerulean hues alight with excitement. “She is not happy about it but to keep her from throwing a tantrum, my team gave her permission to post a blurry picture of us from the bonfire I was forced into last weekend.”

“Really?” You chuckled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear, “You had to bargain with her? Like a toddler?”

Sebastian shrugged, tongue darting out the wet his lips, “Yeah. She couldn’t tag me in it and you really can’t tell if it’s me because we’re like-” He waved his hands expressively through the air, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to explain, “jumping in the air, and Eli took the picture from a good distance away.”

“Oh my god.” You huffed out a small laugh, shaking your head, “And it worked?”

“Somewhat.” He winced, bottom lip worried between his teeth, “Her comment section isn’t very friendly but she’s getting attention over it so I’m sure she’s fine.”

You snatched your phone from where it slipped between the cushion and the back of the chair, interest piqued, “I wanna see.”

You opened up your Instagram, typing Catalina’s name into the search bar before clicking on her account when it popped up. Sure enough, the first image was a blurry picture of them jumping around a fire pit, a second a picture of her gazing into the fire with her hood on, and then the third was a slow mo video of her throwing a folded up piece of paper into the fire.

“Wow.” You breathed out, nodding your head slowly as you scanned through the images, pausing to zoom in on Sebastian’s face. “How romantic… Did you write your hopes and dreams on paper and throw it in the fire too?”

He belted out a laugh, slapping a hand to his chest, “No. I didn’t even know she did that. I only showed up for a few pictures and then left. Pretty sure Molly stayed back to entertain her.”

“Oh.” You quirked a brow, “Are they getting along?”

Molly was Eli’s wife, and had been around long before you. The two of you got along pretty well, and you had even grown to consider her somewhat of a good friend over the years. You know she most likely was just helping Sebastian out by hanging around with Catalina, just as Eli did from time to time, but you couldn’t help but feel put off by the idea of them becoming friends. It was just another connection Catalina could use to stick around Sebastian in the future–years down the road when the contact was long over.

“Eh,” He shrugged, handsome face pressed into a pained grimace, “They’re both foreign models. Eli mentioned offhandedly that Catalina has connections to an agency that Molly has been interested in for a long time.”

“Ah,” You hummed, running a hand through your hair. “Makes sense.”

“The intentions aren’t pure on either side.” He huffed out, rolling his steel blue eyes, “They’re just using each other. She’ll probably help the entire contract because both our teams offer rewards to anyone who helps sell the relationship or show their support.”

“That's disturbing.” You frowned, eyebrows furrowing even further. “Sounds like a fame game.”

“It is.” He groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face, “That’s why I’m selective about who to involve. It’s kind of a test of friendship. It’ll help to discern the leeches from the real ones.”

“That’s true.” You nodded, bottom lip worried between your teeth. “I guess we will find out when you go to LA. That’s where most of your friends will be, especially the fame hungry ones.”

Before Sebastian even had a chance to respond, there was a knock on your door, inadvertently ending the discussion of that matter at hand. Something you were more than thankful for, there was nothing you hated more than to talk, let alone think, about that particular downside that came with life in the spotlight.

“That’ll be your breakfast, pretty girl.” Your lover cooed, eyebrows wiggling suggestively and boyish grin lighting up his handsome face, “Up and at ‘em.”

You huffed softly, playfully rolling your eyes at him before dragging yourself over to the door. Not before throwing on a pair of loose gray lounge pants hanging over the back of the couch because you couldn’t very well answer the door in your panties.

Sebastian remained on the call, chatting aimlessly as you scarfed down your breakfast.

“Oh, my god. Babe!” He gasped out, nearly falling out of his chair when he jolted forward, pressing his face directly against the screen. “I almost forgot to tell you. I’ve been in contact with Mimi Cave, the director of that movie ‘Fresh’ I auditioned for last month.”

You nearly choked on your food, eyebrow quirked curiously as you cleared your throat and waited for him to convery.

“I actually,” He laughed softly to himself, a subtle blush rising to the apples of his cheeks. “I actually sent her a video of myself dancing in the kitchen with a knife after our zoom call yesterday evening.”

“You did not.” You giggled, slapping a hand over your forehead. “Sebastian.”

Sebastian’s blush darkened, a bashful smile tugging at the corner of his pink, plump lips. “I really want this role, baby. But now I’m nervous that it was a little too much because she hasn’t responded yet.”

You remember how stoked he was when he’d first read the script, even more so when he found out that Daisy-Edgar Jones was set to play the female lead, Noa. You were both beyond impressed with her performance in the TV series ‘Normal People’ after binge watching it during lockdown. Daisy was an amazing actor and from what you’d heard, she was extremely sweet and down to earth. You couldn’t blame him for wanting to work with her, you wanted to too.

Not to mention the role was probably one of the most unhinged characters he would ever get the chance to play and Sebastian was always looking for a challenge–something to push him out of his comfort zone. A cannibal, serial killer was right up that alley.

You may be a little biased but he was practically made for this role.

If anyone was going to pull it off and do it well, it was going to be Sebastian.

“You’re telling me,” You giggled, struggling to maintain a stoic glare, “That you made this video yesterday and you didn’t send it to me.” You tsked softly, shaking your head, “Sebastian Stan. Send it to me right now.”

“No.”

“Sebastian.” You whined, bottom lip jutted out in what you hoped was a convincing enough pout. “Please. It would make me feel so much better. I’ve had a hard-”

“Oh fuck off.” He cackled, slapping his hand against his thigh as he slumped back in his seat. “Don’t even pull that shit with me. I just bought you breakfast-”

“And I’m so thankful,” You interjected, eyes wide and pleading, “But this would make it even better-”

“Baby,” He huffed, tugging a hand through his hair, “It’s embarrassing. I don’t want you to use it against-”

“I would never!” You exclaimed, hand pressed to your chest in offense, “And don’t act like you don’t have the most embarrassing videos of me. I know you never deleted that video of me ripping ass in my sleep-”

“Your butt was practically in my face.” He defended, voice rising in pitch and volume. “I woke up to you farting in my fucking face, Y/N. Numerous times. That was fair fucking game.”

“And that’s highly more embarrassing than you dancing in the kitchen.” You argued, biting back a smile, “You dance in the kitchen all the time. I love when you do that. I literally join in every single time.”

That shut him up, eyebrows furrowing further and lip pressed into a thin line as he studied you skeptically, blue eyes practically narrowed into slits.

“Fine.” He growled out before snatching his phone up from the table, permanent scowl slapped across his face as he angrily swiped at the screen. “You’re a brat.”

“But I’m your brat.” You cooed, swallowing down the laugh bubbling up from your chest. “You love me.”

“You’re right.” His expression softened drastically, a soft grin replacing his frown instead, “I love you so much.”

Your phone vibrated against your thigh and your smile turned wicked, “And I really love you. Thank you, baby.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sebastian sighed, waving his hand dismissively in front of the camera. “Whatever you say.”

You eagerly opened the video, excitement coursing through you as you pushed play. You shot him one last smile, only to find him hiding behind his hands, before focusing your attention on the video. Not even ten seconds in and you were nearly falling over with how hard you were laughing.

“Get into it, baby.”

“Oh, oh.” You cheered, eyes widening as he swiveled his hips, “Damn. Didn’t know you could move your hips like that.”

“You’re so fucking cute.”

“Stop.” Sebastian croaked out, rubbing harshly over his flushed face, “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

You ignored him, gasping when he reached over the counter and snatched up a big ass knife.

“Oh My God.” You giggled, wincing as he waved it wildly around. “Makes me so nervous that you’re going to stab yourself.”

“Yes. Yes. Yes.” You laughed, watching as he thrust his hips forward and made a hacking gesture with the knife.

Almost two entire minutes of that and there were tears streaming down your face. You swore there was absolutely no way you could ever love him more but after watching that video, that was proved to be untrue.

“Holy shit.” You choked out, wiping the tears from your cheeks. “That was the best thing I have ever seen in my entire life. There is absolutely no way you’re not getting that fucking role, baby. If you didn’t have it in the bag before, you do now.”

Sebastian looked skeptical, gnawing anxiously on his bottom lip as he scratched at the back of his neck, “Do you mean it? It wasn’t too much?”

“No, honey.” You smiled, “That was perfect. God, I knew you could dance but..” You shook your head in disbelief, “Damn. Where did that come from?”

A hearty laugh slipped from Sebastian’s lip, bright blush painted across his entire face as he slapped both his hands over his beaming, handsome face. “I honestly have no clue.”

“You’ll have to show me in person when I see you next.” You smirked, a sly glimmer in your eyes, “I’d like to see those hips movements firsthand, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh my god.”

—————

Tag list

@justlovelifeblog @inlovewith3 @buckybarnesandmarvel @sleutherclaw @snugglingbucky @perlaluna @littlewhiterose

@idontwannagomrstarkk

#sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfic #sebastian stan x female reader #sebastian stan x you

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sweetsubharry · 4 years ago

Note

do have any mpreg fics? (harry gets pregnant ofc)

Yes I do!! 💖 also of course ;) there’s about 54 in this list if I counted correctly!! so it’s a long one!

Please stay safe and read the tags everyone!!

Worth the Wait by lovelarry10

“Harry, you’re scaring me. Why did you need me to come home? I don’t mind, not if you need me, but… tell me what’s happening, love.” “I…” Harry cleared his throat, but still the words wouldn’t come. His shaking hand reached down and pulled out the picture, his breath coming in shallow pants as he handed it to Louis, who took it from him, frowning down at it.

“Whose is this?”

Louis’ blue eyes met Harry’s green then, and Harry knew he had to tell the truth.

“It’s mine. Ours. I’m pregnant, Louis.”

*****

Louis and Harry had long ago come to terms with the fact they couldn’t have children. Rapidly approaching their forties, they’re settled at work, and more than happily married.

Life, however, has other plans for the Tomlinsons.

Fill My Heart With Sweetness by loopdelouis

Harry's a late bloomer, but since his luck is shit, it's no surprise that he'd be the last to get a heat, but the first to get pregnant. In high school.

Count The Wolves And We'll Sleep Tonight by scribblewrite

Louis's the Alpha of a powerful pack and Harry's his omega.

When Harry's taken by rogue alphas, Louis will do anything to bring him home safely.

yes, you make my life worthwhile by orphan_account

Harry whispers to him that this feels like every dream he’s had for the last three years and Louis kisses his temple, behind his ear, across his cheeks and by the edge of his jaw. He runs the back of his finger across Winnie’s sleep-warm cheeks and sighs, the weight of the world finally off his shoulder.

Louis' a pediatrician, Harry's a preschooler teacher, and they're having a baby.

Weigh Us Down (We're In Love) by orphan_account

Harry’s eyes widen slightly at that. “We’re friends?”

Louis nods eagerly, smiling even wider. “Of course we are! You’re like, my first ever friend here. We just moved in, you see. Did I already tell you about that? Anyway! Maybe you can stay for dinner and I can show you my toys?”

Harry smiles. “You’ll let me play with you?”

Louis nods again, excited. “Of course!” He looks thoughtful for a moment, and then he’s slipping off the couch and crouching in front of Harry. “Oh, and Mum always kisses my wounds after she fixes them up. It makes me feel loads better all the time, so.” He leans forward and puckers his lips, pressing them over the bandage on Harry’s knee.

(harry and louis first meet when they’re eight and ten. this is their story throughout the years.)

love is so good when the love is young by drunkonyou

Louis falls for his pregnant best friend who has a bit of baggage. They make it work though.

fell in love in the morning sun by lumineres

“I'm going to die,” he wails. After about ten minutes of being in the car the discomfort got to be too much and Louis had to pull over so he could get on his hands and knees in the back seat, the only position that seemed to appeal to him. He let's out another pained cry, then grits out, “But not before I fucking kill you. This was your idea, I swear, what the fuck Louis.”

Louis does not correct him this time, he'd made that mistake two contractions ago and nearly lost his head. It had actually been Harry's idea, he'd told Louis that he hadn't forgotten the condoms, he wanted a baby. It really wasn't any trouble at all for Louis to oblige. Within a month of trying (what a wonderful month, honestly), Harry was full of Louis' baby. Like magic.

or, harry's in labor for 30 hours. louis believes in magic.

Vanished by FicNess

Harry loved Louis, Louis loved Harry. It was perfect. But after a small slip-up during some rather poorly planned sexytimes, Harry made the decision to run away. He was pretty good at hiding but Louis was also pretty good at seeking. And when Louis found him he also found a little surprise.

resolutions and lovers in the kitchen by orphan_account

Their dinner’s probably going cold, but this feels monumental. So instead of sitting them down on the table and talking about it face to face over chicken and pasta, Harry just puts his hands over Louis’ where they’re settled on his lower stomach, not letting the moment slip past them. He takes a deep breath, carefully arranging his thoughts. “She looks really lovely, Louis. Positively glowing. Her bump’s so big, and…” he trails off, breath hitching slightly when Louis lifts his hand higher, settling it right over Harry’s stomach, and that’s—

“And what, baby?” Louis asks, voice now dropped to a whisper, and Harry has to take a moment to collect his thoughts.

“She, um. She knows about you, of course, and she asked me when we’re—when we’re having a baby of our own.”

(harry teaches little kids and louis writes sports articles. they're trying for a baby.)

I'll Stand By You by harrystanslouis

Harry and Louis have been hooking up for two years. What happens when an unexpected surprise is thrown into their world?

-An mpreg, A/B/O AU featuring stupid boys in love, lots of pining, and a happy ending.

So Long I've Been Waiting by kikikryslee

Niall held up his glass in a toast. “Cheers.” Harry stared at Louis as he brought the glass up to his lips, unsure of what to do. It wasn’t like he could refuse the drink, but he certainly didn’t want to have any champagne. Louis monitored everyone else, and as soon as they all had their heads tilted back, drinking their mimosa, he reached out and knocked Harry’s glass right out of his hand, sending it crashing to the floor. “Oh, no!” Louis pretended to be shocked at what had just happened. “Harry, you’re so clumsy. You dropped your glass.” “Yes,” Harry said seriously. “I am very clumsy.” --- Or, the one where Harry and Louis are having their first baby, and keeping it a secret until the end of the first trimester is a lot harder than they thought it would be.

We Made These Memories for Ourselves by supernope

Breath held, Harry squints his eyes open and focuses on the first stick. A blue line. Harry breathes out an unsteady breath. He’s pretty sure he read that one blue line is a negative, but he fishes the box from the bottom of the pile just to make sure.

“Negative,” he confirms, voice echoing around the small room. “Next.”

Now that he’s feeling a little less shaky, he scans the rest of the tests at once, is met with a headache-inducing mixture of pink plus signs and blue double lines. His heart rate picks up until it’s pounding triple-time in the base of his throat and the pit of his stomach, thundering in his ears and throbbing in his temples. He flips over the rest of the boxes slowly, but he knows what they’re going to say before he even looks.

[or, Louis is a footballer, Harry owns a bakery, and they're having a baby.]

Nothing I'm Running From by swallowsmateforlife

The odds are one in a million. Chances are it's not going to happen to them.

It does happen to them and Harry Styles is pregnant.

deep in my heart i know there's only you by ballsdeepinjesus

"Will you do it?” Harry whispers. Louis has to lean closer just to hear him. He furrows his brows and shakes his head, not knowing what Harry means. “Would you donate for me?”

Louis is dumbfounded. “I’m sorry, I thought you just asked if I’d donate my sperm. Can you repeat yourself?”

[harry and louis are best friends who engage in some platonic baby-making. very platonic.]

hard to confess by hereforlou

One, they only did it without a condom once (and a half) and not during his heat. Never during his heat. Two, he never once forgot to take his birth control (he’s almost sure). Three, his plan is to be married for a year before he even starts trying for a baby, and not only is he very, very single, him and Louis aren’t even sleeping together anymore. Which brings him to reason number four why this can’t be happening: Louis. Louis doesn’t want a baby with Harry.

(Or, the one where Harry knows he messed up and Louis knows nothing.)

Piece by Piece by SadaVeniren

He rubbed his hand over his lower stomach and closed his eyes. Louis was going to lose his fucking mind.

(aka Harry tells Louis he's pregnant and it goes as expected)

Fallen Far From the Tree by SadaVeniren

“I’m so excited.”

“Me too,” Louis said. “Just think, it’s gonna be you and me forever.” He even managed to sing song the end of the sentence.

Harry snorted. “That’s not how the line goes. And besides, it’s not gonna be you and me forever. It’s gonna be you, and me, and this little one.”

He could see the smile stretch across Louis’ face. “Yeah. You’re right.”

(aka Harry and Louis go through the ups and ups of pregnancy)

Right Here Waiting by lovelarry10

Louis and Harry are expecting a baby. Harry's heavily pregnant and nesting madly, determined to make their home ready for their baby.

(i didn't mean to) fall in love tonight by zouisclimax

Harry texts him back a thumbs up emoji before leaning forward and throwing up again. He groans, but stands after he’s done, wiping his mouth with toilet paper, and flushing the toilet.

He washes his mouth out as best as he can before steeling himself and heading back to class, trying his best not to cry. He tells himself that there is no point in worrying when he doesn’t even know if there is anything to worry about yet.

He still feels sick.

[or, the American boarding school AU where Harry's infatuated with Louis and one night flips his whole world upside-down]

you fit me better than my favourite sweater by brightbluelou

Harry didn't mean to fall in love with his best friend, and he definitely didn't mean to get pregnant. Despite that, it’s probably still the best thing that’s ever happened to him. And after that, well. It just kept getting better.

or; the one where Harry and Louis are friends-with-benefits and Harry unexpectedly gets pregnant. Harry never wants to stop getting pregnant after that, but Louis thinks seven kids is probably enough.

Running Down To The Riptide by sweaterpawstyles

"I can't give you your present yet, Lou."

Louis furrowed his brows. "And why is that, my love?"

Harry smiled at his lap. "Because your present is under my sweater," he pulled his free hand that wasn't laced with Louis' and gently laid it on his stomach. "I'm pregnant."

It's New Year's Eve and Harry has a surprise under his sweater

When I'm Lost I feel so very Found by sweaterpawstyles

Louis posted a picture a few minutes later of Harry kissing his cheek and captioned it as "My baby is having our baby :)"

It ended up getting almost a million likes in just a few hours and Louis' phone was blowing up with texts of congratulations from his friends. Harry couldn't stop blushing.

Or, the one where Harry is an average university student who winds up pregnant with rising actor Louis Tomlinson's child

Gasoline Stars by galacticlourry (orphan_account)

It reminded him of stardust, of the history of suns, and he supposed that was what the boy asleep on his shoulder had been created out of. The history of suns.

...

Or, an AU where it's all nice and innocent until someone ends up pregnant. (That would be Harry.) Also known as the Mpreg AU I've doubt you've read before.

Answer All Your Wishes by SadaVeniren

Harry and Louis met when Harry was thirteen and as first impressions go theirs was memorable enough to start a life long romance.

AKA a Tom Fletcher/Giovanna Fletcher AU where Louis is part of One Direction, Harry is the love of his life who blogs, and they have many, many children.

Claire de lune by Neondiamond

"We're having a baby Lou." he heard him say softly.

"We are babe, we are." Louis whispered into his husband's curls. "We're having a baby."

OR: Harry and Louis have wanted a baby for a while now, and now Harry's finally pregnant.

we've got a lifetime to kill by louislovesharry

harry and louis have a three year old daughter, evie, who is their whole world, and another little girl on the way. when harry falls and is put on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy, louis and evie must adjust - but it is all worth it for their newest addition to the tomlinson family.

Dirty Little Secret by therogueskimo

“Can’t let Gemma … she can’t find us,” Harry gasped against Louis’ lips, kicking his jeans off.

“Why?” Louis breathed against his mouth, working his lips down along the line of his jaw and onto his neck.

“Just … I don’t want to – god, Lou – don’t want to deal with her reaction. Just want it to be us.”

“Our dirty little secret, eh?”

_____________

Or the one where Harry and Louis fall in love, but can’t figure out how to tell Gemma. That is, until Harry gets pregnant, and they don’t have much of a choice.

Come In and Change My Life by lightswoodmagic (sarah_writes)

He’d had the same neighbours since he’d moved into the building, a lovely, wealthy couple in their late sixties who had always invited him around for tea on Sundays. Martha had dropped off homemade biscuits the day he’d moved in, so Harry figured he may as well repeat the sentiment. He could hear someone getting closer to the door just as a flush ran through his body; oh fuck. His heat was close, too close to be knocking on a potentially unknown alpha’s door, but it was too late. The door swung open, and Harry’s mouth dropped. He’d never been overly interested in football, couldn’t find the fascination in watching men run around after a ball for hours aside from their uniforms, but he knew who this was. Louis Tomlinson, alpha, captain of Manchester United, star in a number of Harry’s heat addled fantasies, was his new next-door neighbour.

Or, Harry and Louis become friends when Harry looks after Louis' cat during away games, until one night at a party changes everything between them. It's just a shame Louis' going to be away for the FIFA World Cup for three months.

Put It Into Words by orphan_account

“It’s a good storm though, our families,” Louis says, flopping down on to the bed and cuddling close to Harry. He tucks his arm around Harry’s waist, kissing his temple. “The Cheshire house is perfect to raise the baby; your mum’s close, and my mum can stay in the guest bedroom when she visits.”

“And until then we have the long weekend to ourselves.”

Or, Harry and Louis go on a babymoon.

I Get To Love You by lovelarry10

A one night stand leaves Harry with a permanent reminder of the night he spent with a stranger.

Louis has no idea who the handsome stranger he took to bed is... until his friends make a shocking discovery.

A baby is on the way, and Louis and Harry have nine months to get to know each other before they become a family...

Dancing Shadows by SadaVeniren

The house was quiet by the time Louis walked up to it. He’d been away for a week and while it wasn’t the longest he’d ever been away from the pack, it was the longest he’d been away from Harry and the kids.

A Perfect Reason by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)

During a visit to a charity he'd like to support, Prince Louis--next in line to the throne of the United Kingdom--meets Harry, the man of his dreams. Trouble is, Louis is not out, and the law says his heirs can only be born of a woman. Louis is determined not to let that stop his pursuit of Harry. His determination doubles when Harry accidentally becomes pregnant. He and Harry will have their little family--and change the monarchy while they're at it.

Another Constellation to Trace by screwstyles

Louis wiggles his eyebrows. “I’m winning that bet.”

“What bet?” comes Niall’s excited voice from behind them, followed by footsteps. “I wanna be in on the bet!” he shouts, prompting Harry to quickly roll down his shirt sleeve and straighten his shirt where it’s still crinkly after Louis’ hands.

Niall takes one look at them and purses his lips in a tight line. “Were you guys making out again? Isn’t the fire meant to die down a bit after eight years?”

“Trust me, the fire is still very much alive,” Louis winks at Harry. “One could even say it’s cooking something.”

Mpreg AU: Louis and Harry bet on who can keep Harry's pregnancy a secret for longer. Neither of them is particularly good at it, and it doesn't help that their soulmate tattoos make it even harder.

Made From Love by lovelarry10

It's almost Christmas, and amongst the preparations, Louis' realised something about his husband Harry.

Harry, however, seems to be oblivious.

Louis' determined to open Harry's eyes and make him realise the real magic that's happening this Christmas...

years go by, whether you want them to by louislovesharry

A girl. They were having a little girl, and Harry couldn’t be happier. He had dreamed of having a daughter for as long as he could remember. A tiny little angel that he could dress up, have tea parties, pick flowers with. And if that wasn’t her thing, Louis could play footie with her, they could teach her how to play guitar and play with toy trucks. There was nothing Harry wanted more than to have and hold this beautiful creature that they had made together out of pure love, and nurture and cherish her for always.

The 'Oh my God it's twins!" Drabble. by FicNess

The 'Oh my God it's twins!" Drabble.

another pair of feet by honey_beeing

where Harry is pregnant and Louis is an oblivious idiot.

I will Only have these eyes for you by Dysia

Harry's pregnant and Louis' more in love with him than ever.

Don't ever let this day stop by Dysia

Louis comes back home earlier than he was suppose to and he's surprised with the best present ever.

i will rearrange the stars (pull 'em down to where you are) by orphan_account

Except-- the antibiotics. They'd fucked to celebrate Harry finally feeling better and not being contagious after his fight with strep-- but the antibiotics had likely still been present. And everyone knew suppressants and birth control didn't work when on antibiotics.

"Lads," Harry repeated once again, blinking slowly as his eyes filled with tears. Liam and Niall were staring at him in bewildered silence. "Lads. I'm, like, ninety-eight point seven percent sure I'm up the duff."

Alternatively, the one where Omega!Harry gets pregnant

To Carry Love by dimpled_halo

During One Direction's hiatus, Harry becomes unexpectedly pregnant, and Louis does his best at becoming the most supportive husband he can be.

Fists Alongside Hearts by mpregharryqueen

Louis is a superhero protecting New York City. He never planned on having a sidekick and especially never planned on having a baby with said sidekick.

AU based very loosely on the cinematic masterpieces, Sky High and The Incredibles.

On His Way Home by denisemuriel

“Ehm, yeah.” Harry looked down onto his lap, fumbling with his fingers. “It’s Louis’.” He replied quietly. “Oh my god.” A voice that didn’t belong to his sister Gemma replied. When Harry looked up from his lap, he saw Lottie standing across the room in the door frame and his eyes grew as wide as hers. She was Louis’ fucking sister, damn it. And now she knew that he was pregnant with her brother’s baby. “Lottie, your fucking brother got my baby brother pregnant!” Gemma exclaimed.

Or the one where Harry is set up on a blind date with his sister's best friend's brother

We Were Made to Love by supernope

“Everything all sorted? Need help with the buckles? I know they’re a bit tricky in this compartment.”

The voice startles Louis out of his daze, and he turns toward the voice to let him know he figured it out. When he catches sight of the owner of the voice, though, his response dies in his throat. Whatever he had imagined the conductor of a children’s train that rides around the shopping centre in Leeds would look like, this is certainly not it.

Leaning through the window, arms folded across the sill, is a green-eyed angel with cherry red lips stretched wide in a smile and dimples flirting in his cheeks. A black conductor’s hat is the only confirmation that this is not some gorgeous stranger who’s come to flirt with Louis through the window of a children’s train, but is just a man doing his job.

[or, Harry drives a kiddie train in the shopping centre for the summer and is obsessed with babies, and Louis never stood a chance.]

Baby, What a Big Surprise by kiwikero

As Harry settles into his seat, self-consciously adjusting his shirt over his slightly distended stomach, he can’t help but wonder how he got himself into all this. But he knows, of course he knows. It isn’t exactly easy to forget the moment that changed his entire life forever.

It all started with a party.

Or, the one where shy, quiet Harry has no idea he's a carrier, and a one night stand with the most popular boy in school shows him just how wrong he was.

Featuring Lottie as Harry's best friend, Niall as her boyfriend, and, of course, Louis as the popular boy with a soft spot for his little sister's quirky friend.

here comes the sun by orphan_account

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Louis promises, his pink, chapped lips moving slowly in the cold. It matches the beanie on his head—pink, because they found out this morning that they’re having a girl and that’s just.

Harry’s going to be a dad. To a little girl. Five months from now he’ll be holding her in his arms, and she’ll be so lovely and small.

They’re going to have a spring baby and she’s probably going to have Louis’ eyes. What a blessing that would be. Harry crosses his fingers on the hand inside his pocket, hoping that she does. He’ll love her either way—blue or green or even brown eyes, it doesn’t matter—but he’d really like them to be blue, he thinks.

[Harry is a pediatric specialist, Louis is a neurosurgeon. All they want is a baby.]

and the sun shines upon your face by rosegarden

“It's just – it feels weird. To tell her that her twenty year old closeted son got knocked up in the middle of a stadium worldwide tour.” Louis laughs and Harry's heart squeezes at that beautiful sound. “Well it does sound weird when you put it like that.” “I don't 'put it like that'. It's the truth.”

the one where Harry really, really likes making plans but plans don't really like him, Louis is an overprotective-future-dad-to-be and Niall, Liam and Zayn race to be the godfather.

everywhere (i wanna be with you) by itiswhatitisbutterfly

Harry and Louis meet because they have terrible friends, they fall in love because something feels right in a world of uncertainty and shifting grounds. Louis is an actor and Harry is a model at the top of his game, the best things in life are the most unexpected ones and the things that hit you when you are least expecting it.

Featuring winter in London, nights in Paris, early mornings in New York, burning heat in Monte Carlo and an enduring love spent transcending four corners of the globe.

kiss full of color, makes me wonder where you've always been by louislovesharry

after a rough day dealing with his three kids and louis being gone, a very pregnant harry is exhausted. louis helps make things better, always.

you make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong by orphan_account

“Curly?” Louis says, stepping into Harry’s sight. “You okay?” Harry looks up from where he has two things in his hands, a thick winter coat sized for a newborn, and a sweatshirt fitting a grown man such as himself. He looks up at Louis, stricken, and holds them out for him to see. “They’re the same price,” he says. “They’re both forty dollars! Forty dollars for such little material.”

(or, Harry is pregnant and stops at the mall to buy cheap baby clothes. Louis has extra money from working a long shift, and he can't think of a better way to spend it than on him.)

i'll be your sunflower by scagnetism

“What do you think’s gonna stop us now?” Harry says cheekily, laughter in his voice as he looks up at Louis. “Something’s gotta get in our way like always, doesn’t it?”

“Ha,” Louis grins, kissing his cheek and holding open the door for him as they make their way toward the car. “Nothing’s gonna interrupt us this time. ‘S gonna be perfect, just like Pumpkin.”

Or, a few interruptions aren't going to stop Harry from having a perfect pregnancy and having the family he and Louis have always dreamed of.

The Original Mpreg!Harry by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)

series

i'll put my future in you by louislovesharry

series

Picture Perfect by LittleBubbleStyles

an AU where Louis Tomlinson is a misunderstood football player, and Harry Styles is a misunderstood photographer. Somehow, they're understood together.

*just a note to say this is a wip but it is almost completed and updated regularly!

159 notes · View notes

wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch38: Lost And Fallen

Intro: The Battle was lost, Thanos won and succeeded in eliminating half of all life across the Universe. But for Katie and Steve the loss is bigger than they could ever had possibly imagined…

Warnings: Bad Language words. Things getting dusted and death. Mentions of miscarriage- if this is a trigger please stay away.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Please heed the warnings… once again huge kudos to @angrybirdcr for being my creative partner in crime, and to my beta who read this over again before this repost...I love you!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 37 Part 2

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

The silence that hung over Wakanda was haunting, punctuated only by the odd yell that reached Steve’s ears as people were calling for their fallen friends, family and loved ones. He was vaguely aware that people were gathering around the spot where he and Katie were sat on the floor, no one saying anything, until the still was shattered when Okoye came rushing through the trees. Steve looked up as she stopped short at seeing them all, but she was visibly shaking and her breathing was shallow.

Steve knew what she was going to say before she said it.

“The King is dead.” She announced shakily.

Steve looked at her and bowed his head before his eyes fell once more on Katie. She tore her eyes away from the spot she had been focussed on and turned her face to look at the distraught woman, but still she didn’t speak.

“He did it.” Rhodey spoke gently, looking around. “He got the stones, and he did it.”

“I should have gone for the head.” Thor bowed his eyes in sadness, his voice cracking. “He told me. If I had gone for the head I could have stopped him snapping his fingers and…”

“Thor, once Thanos had all of those stones, we never stood a chance.” Natasha sighed, her voice hoarse.

Steve glanced around the small clearing, there was no sign of Sam either. They’d lost him, Vision, Bucky, Wanda, T’Challa and he had no idea about Tony.

“I must to go back to the palace at once,” Okoye straightened up, “ensure that the princess and Queen Mother weren't…” she paused to regain her composure, "…among the fallen.”

“That might be the best idea.” Bruce looked around “For us all.”

“We can’t.” Katie shook her head, talking for the first time. "We can’t just…” She trailed off, gesturing at Vision’s body.

Thor knelt down next to her, his eyes locking onto hers, his hand reaching out to rest against her neck. “We can come back for him, Little Stark, right Captain?”

Steve looked up and nodded, jerking himself into action.

“Our first priority has to be getting everyone who is injured back into the city for attention.” He stood and offered Katie his hand and she took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. With trembling fingers she gripped Steve’s hand and he squeezed his palm gently around hers. “Okoye, once you are there can you organise transport for everyone?”

“Yes Captain.” She nodded, straightened her shoulders and made her way through the line of trees.

Together the rest of them made to follow the same route, Katie and Steve dropping back, trying to snatch a stolen moment of privacy. Steve wanted nothing more than to hold his wife, and he knew her well enough to be able to read her body language and understand she felt the same, but on some subconscious level it was almost like the two of them knew they had to keep a distance out of respect for the others.

The relief Steve felt that neither of them had lost the other was insurmountable, but how was it fair that so many others hadn’t been so lucky? He was merely grateful for the fact she was still here, and he knew it wouldn’t be fair to show that until they were alone.

But then, besides him, Katie gave a sharp hiss and clutched at her stomach as she felt a searing pain across the lower part of her abdomen and all pretence at keeping that stoic front flew from Steve’s mind.

“Sweetheart? Are you alright?” He stopped, stooping slightly so he could catch her eyes, his hands cupping her face.

“Just took a few knocks but nothing I can’t walk off.” She waved his concern away, straightening up as the pain subsided, taking both his hands in hers. “You?”

“He gave me a pretty hard whack.” He muttered and watched as her eyes travelled over the trickle of blood that was on his temple and his split lip. “But I’m fine.”

Katie looked around to see that everyone had continued to walk before she glanced back at him and felt a wave of tears springing up on her.

“You’re still here.” She whispered. “So many of them, Stevie, I was so scared you…” He wrapped his arms around her, chin resting on her head and she was surprised to feel him shaking. “Me too, Doll, if…” his voice cracked “…if I’d lost you…”

How long they were there they had no idea, but it was when Katie felt another searing pain that they split apart, and this time she doubled over and the sound that left her mouth was a cry, not a hiss.

“That’s it, you need a medic.” Steve instructed, his hand on her back as he yelled out. “Thor!” Katie was aware of heavy footsteps, as another wave of pain hit her and she went light headed. She staggered backwards and glanced up at Steve who had reached out and caught her, his strong arm wrapping round her back, his blue eyes full of concern.

“I don’t…I can’t…” She began, and then her eyes rolled back into her head as they fluttered shut and she went limp in his arms.

“Katie, Sweetheart.” Steve’s voice cracked as he brushed his hand over her forehead. He looked up at Thor, panic on his face and the god nodded.

“I’ll get her to the palace.”

With another swallow, Steve gently moved Katie so she was in his arms and with a flash Thor took off.

“She’s probably just badly bruised and a bit…” Natasha began to speak, her hand gently squeezing Steve’s forearm as the Soldier simply looked up at the sky, before he sprinted after them, not looking back.

***** “No, that’s not…” Steve ran his hands through his hair as the Doctor looked at him. “I mean, she was…” He took a shaky breath as he looked through the window to where Katie was led on the bed in the hospital room, covered in a crisp white sheet.

“I’m sorry, Captain Rogers.” The Doctor looked at him, sympathetically “We’ve operated and removed…” he took a deep breath and Steve looked away, tears stinging his eyes before he looked back.

“Is she,” he sniffed, his voice wobbling with emotion, “is she gonna be ok?” “She should be fine.” The Doctor assured him. “Her vitals are good and there’s no other injuries bar some bruising. You can sit with her if you like.” Steve nodded and the Doctor gave him one last look before he moved away. He paused at the doorway, his hand shaking as he moved to push it open but a voice stopped him.

“How is she?”

He turned to see Natasha. She had been coordinating ensuring the injured and dead that hadn’t been dusted were recovered and looked tired and shaken, like they all were.

“She’s okay.” He said, his voice thick.

“Did they find out what was wrong?” Nat asked and Steve took a shaky breath, as he looked at her, the tears clouding his vision and she frowned “Steve? What is it?” “She was pregnant, Nat.” He stuttered, his voice nothing but a whisper. “All that time over the last few weeks she thought she was ill, and she wasn’t, she was, she was having our baby.” “Oh shit.” Nat mumbled as she wrapped her arms around his bulky frame. Steve buried his face into her shoulder and his chest heaved with the force of his quiet sobs. Nat screwed her face up fighting her own tears as she wound a hand into Steve’s hair, gently soothing him as he cried, helpless to do anything but lend him comfort.

Eventually he pulled away, wiping at his face. “Sorry.” he mumbled and Natasha scoffed.

“You don’t need to apologise, Steve. God, I’m so sorry.” Steve took a deep breath and turned back to the door. He paused again before he looked at her. “No one is to know, not until…” Natasha nodded. “If anyone asks I’ll tell them she took a bad blow.”

Steve sniffed again, and steeling himself, he pushed open the door and crossed the room, taking a seat by his wife’s bed. He took her hand in both of his and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles, before leaning his cheek against the smooth skin on the back of her hand.

She’d been expecting their baby, and neither of them had known.

God, kids really hadn’t been on the agenda, certainly not for the foreseeable anyway, not whilst they were living in the shadows, but now Steve couldn’t help but feel empty. Empty at the thought that they could have been a family but it had been so cruelly taken from them.

He sat in silence for a while, until what must have been an hour or so later the door opened and he looked up at Natasha as she crossed the room.

“Still sleeping.” Steve answered her silent question and she gave a little nod.

“Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m okay.” he managed a gentle smile, “Thanks.” Natasha nodded and Steve let out a soft sigh. “And thanks for…you know, before.”

“Steve.” a croaky voice from the bed caught his attention and he whipped back round to Katie. Her eyes weren’t open yet, but her face was scrunching up as she began to blink.

“Hey, Doll.” He said softly, his hand tightening around hers as he moved his chair closer to the bed. “You’re your time.”

Katie’s head felt like it was full of fluff, but she turned in the direction his voice was coming from, blinking as his face swam into focus.

“I’ll go fetch someone.” Nat said softly.

“Give me five minutes.” Steve spoke, looking over his shoulder, shooting Nat a significant look. She nodded and Steve turned back to Katie, smiling softly.

“Welcome back.” His hand gently stroked her hair. “What happened?” She asked, looking around the room in confusion.

“You collapsed.” Steve took a deep breath. “After the fight.” She turned back to look at him, frowning. “I can’t have been hit that bad, I had my suit on.” Steve hesitated for a moment, looking down at where his hand grasped hers. How the fuck did he tell her this?

“I err…” He looked up again, taking a deep breath and Katie was surprised to see his eyes were watering.

“Steve, what is it?” She asked, sitting up a little. “Is it Tony? Has he-“

“No, I mean…I don’t know, we haven’t…”

“Then what?” She demanded, her eyes searching his.

“You were err you were…” He swallowed, and the last word stumbled from his lips. “Pregnant.” The words hit Katie like a sledge hammer.

“No, that’s…that’s not possible. I had an IUD, I can’t…” She trailed off as she looked at Steve’s face as his eyes brimmed with tears and then his words registered even more.

You were…not are…

The look on her Soldier’s face said it all as it hit her just what was going on. “No…no,no….”

“Sweetheart…” Steve watched as she frantically pushed down the bed covers, whilst he tried to placate her, but she ignored him and hitched up the top half of the white shorts and T’shirt the Doctors had put her in her. Her hands and eyes gently moved over the inch long incision mark that was already fading thanks to the Wakandan technology, before her hands flattened on her stomach and Steve felt his heart break all over again.

“Was it the snap?” She asked, suddenly needing to know.

“It looks that way, yeah, they had to err…they had to operate.” “He took our baby.” She looked at him, and a tear fell from Steve’s face as she took a deep rattling breath “Oh Steve.”

He wrapped his arms around her and she pressed her face into his chest, as her heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces.

“I’m so sorry.” She sobbed through her tears. “I didn’t know, I swear-” “Hey, hey. You have nothing to be sorry for, you got that?” he pulled back to look at her, moving so that his hands were cupping either side of her face, driving his message home “Nothing…”

“I should have known.” she sobbed as he wrapped his arms around her again “I should have known. I thought it was a bug or food or…”

“Baby, listen to me.” Steve spoke, his voice firm but gentle. “This is not your fault. Nothing could have stopped Thanos and what that snap did.”

Katie heard his words, but she wasn’t really listening. She was numb. How could she have not known? Had she seriously been that wrapped up in herself, in everything else that she had missed the signs? As she wracked her brains, her face crumpled once more and Steve pulled her even closer, burying his face into her hair.

***** They left Wakanda late the next day. Katie hadn’t slept all evening, neither had Steve. He’d laid by her side, curled round her, the feeling of loss for a baby they didn’t even know they were having was suffocating and neither of them knew what to do or say.

She should have realised her IUD needed swapping out. She should have sussed she was pregnant sooner. So many should haves, and now she really wanted the comfort of her brother’s arms too, but they had no idea where he was. None of the tech in Wakanda had picked anything up. One thing she was thankful for was that no one bar her, Steve and Natasha knew about the baby. She wasn’t sure she’d have coped with the constant sympathy that would have come her way. She’d tell them, eventually, but for now, she wanted to come to terms with it with Steve alone.

The jet landed back at the compound and they all filed off, heading through familiar hallways, only they were now void of life. Steve couldn’t bring himself to look at anything, not to mention the piles of ash that were littered around, instead he simply watched as his wife walked in front of him towards their old living quarters. When they arrived, Katie paused at the door and Steve realised that her hand was shaking. Without saying a word he reached round and gently pushed his palm to the security lock, FRIDAY greeting them somewhat forlornly, and the door swung open.

They stepped in and took a deep breath, walking from room to room, for no reason other than to take everything in. Nothing had changed. Glasses were still on the kitchen shelves, the TV was still on the side, the sofa was exactly how they had left it and their clothes were still in the drawers and closet, toiletries still in the bathrooms. And it was clean. Tony clearly having paid someone to keep up with the housework, just in case. At the thought, Katie’s eyes once more began to sting with tears and she sat on the edge of the bed and removed her boots, dropping them wordlessly to the floor.

“You want to take the bathroom, Sweetheart?” Steve asked, kneeling in front of her and she had to smile, which made Steve do the same as he knew what she’d found amusing. Despite all of Tony’s technology he had never managed to fix the issue that you couldn’t run the two showers in the apartment at the same time without the water running freezing cold. Katie reached out to touch Steve’s face and nodded, offering him a quiet thanks as she headed into the en-suite. She closed the door, but didn’t lock it. She never did, the thought of shutting Steve out of any aspect of her life was alien. She passed the His-and- Her sinks, turned on the waterfall shower and removed her clothes before stepping under the hot water, tilting her face up to greet it, willing it to wash away the events of the past God knows how long.

As she lathered her hair, washing away the dirt that was lodged in it, she felt nothing but an empty hopelessness. Try as she might, she couldn’t help her thoughts straying to Tony and how he was likely to be feeling the same only stranded somewhere millions of miles away from home. If he was alive.

Their baby sure wasn’t.

It was then that the tears and the sobs began to come again, and this time she didn’t even try to choke them back. Their friends were dead along with trillions of other people, her brother was MIA, and they had no idea how to fix any of it.

Steve unzipped the top half of his dirty uniform and dropped it onto the bed, his fingers skating over the star shaped hole in the middle. It had certainly seen better days, like him. He heard the water start in the bathroom and then, as he dropped onto the bed to remove his leg wraps and boots he heard Katie’s crying over the sound of the shower. With a weary sigh he stood up, removed the last of his clothing and headed into the bathroom. As the steam cleared he could see his wife was stood with her hands pressed on the cool tiles of the large shower cubicle, head bowed, her small frame wracked with sobs. Blinking back his own tears, he stepped in gently behind her and she turned to him burying her face into his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist as the water continued to beat down on them. Steve held her shaking body close, squeezing his arms around her and dropping his head to rest on top of hers, his tears escaping into her wet hair.

Steve had no idea how long they were in the shower, but eventually the water started to drop in temperature and he reached round and turned it off, Katie still clinging to him, as if letting him go would mean he would disappear too.

“Honey,” he said gently, his hand tangling in her hair, “you’ll get cold, come on…”

She nodded and allowed him to step out of the shower, where he handed her a large towel before grabbing one for himself.

“Are you hungry?” He asked as they both exited the bathroom. “I can try and find something.” “No.” she said, her voice croaky “I just want to go to bed.”

He dropped a kiss onto the side of her head and then the pair of them set about drying off. Katie pulled on an old Stark Industries T-Shirt that was in one of the drawers, towelled her damp hair and crawled into the familiar sheets. Steve followed shortly, without saying a word as he pulled her to him so her back was clutched to his chest as he dropped another tender kiss to the back of her neck.

“Steve.” she whispered, her tears falling to the pillow as her body began to shake again. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh, Doll.” Steve’s voice cracked slightly as he pulled her tighter and she lay her hands over his arm which was wrapped firmly around her waist, and before long she couldn’t fight the sheer exhaustion that overwhelmed her and she drifted off, the sounds of her gentle crying growing silent and her shaking shoulders grew still.

Steve stayed awake well into the night, letting his own tears flow down onto his pillow because whilst she slept, he didn’t have to be strong.

******

The next morning Steve woke long before Katie, although he wasn’t sure if he’d actually slept properly anyway. She had tossed and turned all night, waking a few times crying and he’d simply rocked her back to sleep. Now, with her face pressed into his chest she looked peaceful, so he stayed still for another hour or so. Then, as the first tendrils of light from the morning sun sneaked in through the blinds he felt her stir a little before she gave the usual, adorable twitch of her nose as she woke and he dropped a kiss to the bridge of it as she let out a small murmur and pressed further into his chest as she blinked. He could tell her eyes hurt and he wasn’t surprised, they were red and swollen she’d been crying that much. He didn’t say anything for a moment, instead they simply lay tangled around one another, his hand reaching up to gently stroke through her hair.

Eventually he had to give into his bladder and with a sigh he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Kitten, sorry but I gotta pee.”

She gave a soft chuckle and sighed, moving away from him. “I suppose that’s okay.” He gave her a soft smile and then untangled himself from around her and sat up, stretching as he moved the covers back to stand, wincing slightly as he did so. His ribs were pretty damned sore. Katie took a deep breath as she saw the extent of the bruising on his side. He bruised fast, part of his accelerated healing process but it still shocked her to see sometimes, especially after a particularly brutal fight. He paused, turning to look at her, and then she noticed the purple hue also surrounding his left temple and eye socket, and the various cuts and marks on his handsome face.

“Give it a day or so and it will be gone.” he said gently, clocking the look on her face, before he headed into the bathroom.

Katie sat up, looking around at the solid oak furniture that she had handpicked for their room when the facility was being built. It felt so long ago, a lifetime ago. As Steve went about his morning routine she pulled a pair of old faded blue jeans from the drawers along with a purple vest top and white Nike hoodie, all items of clothing she forgot she had even owned. She was scraping her shoulder length hair back into a French braid when Steve emerged from the bathroom in his boxer shorts, a sight that would normally turn her into some form of hormonal teenager. But not today. Instead she rose from her position in front of the mirror and headed into the bathroom, taking the soft kiss he offered, but not saying a word.

Once they were dressed and Katie had gently rubbed the arnica into Steve’s bruises they headed out of their quarters. The Compound was still eerily quiet. Given that it was still early, as they headed through the lifeless halls to the conference room, Katie assumed they would be the first ones up, but they’ weren’t. Natasha and Rhodey were sitting at the table, both looking like they hadn’t slept a wink.

"Morning.” Rhodey greeted them as he looked up.

“Morning.” Katie said touching his shoulder briefly. Natasha pushed the plate of various breakfast items across the table towards them and Katie suddenly realised she hadn’t eaten in almost forty-eight hours. To Steve’s relief she dived for a croissant and began to pick at it. It wasn’t much, but at least she was eating.

Steve leaned back in his chair and looked at Natasha

“Have you heard anything from Barton?” he asked softly.

“I tried calling, but nothing.” she shrugged.

“We’ve been trying to figure out how we can get a headcount of all the people that might have disappeared in the Snap.” Rhodey offered “See how far this stretches, which world leaders are still here, what happened to the authorities everything. Then we can figure out who’s left and what we can do from there.

“It stretches across the world, at least.” Nat said, gently as she swiped over the tablet she was holding causing several holograms to appear, with various snippets of footage. “Emergency broadcasts all started coming through in the early hours…”

“As horrible as it is, it needs to be done.” Steve nodded.

"Anything from SHIELD? Fury? Agent Hill?” Katie looked at Natasha.

“I’ve sent out calls and messages, if there’s anyone left they’ll respond.” she replied as she continued to tap at the computer.

“Good.”

“I spoke to Pepper earlier” Rhodey looked at Katie. “She’s on her way up, Happy’s driving her.”

Katie moaned in disbelief that she hadn’t even thought about the woman that she’d loved as a sister for so many years “Pepper.”

“Hey, don’t.” Steve said, gently squeezing her shoulder “We’ve all had a lot to cope with and think about.”

“He’s right Kiddo.” Rhodey nodded “The main thing is she’s alright. “

“Still nothing from Tony?” Katie asked tentatively

Rhodey shook his head. “I think…” he looked at Steve who took a deep breath. “I think we have to assume the worst.”

“No, we have to hope for the best.” she countered, not looking at anyone as she shoved another snippet of croissant into her mouth. It was a hope she was clinging to, because the alternative, even though it was more likely, was unbearable and every time she contemplated it, it was as if someone had tightened that rubber band around her chest even more. She couldn’t cope with losing her brother as well.

Steve looked at Rhodey and gently shook his head, causing the other man to take a deep breath and they all looked up as the other members of the group trickled into the room.

"We’ve been trying to get a signal from my ship” Rocket offered, “So far, nothing.”

"No sign of my people either.” Thor bowed his head.

“I thought that-” Steve began in a confused tone but Thor cut him off.

“When Thanos attacked our ship, half of the people on board escaped so some of them will still be out there. I just need to find them.”

“So what do we do now?” Bruce asked, and all heads turned to Steve, their leader.

“We wait until we find something useful. Then we do what we have to, what we can.” Steve leaned his elbows on the table top. It was all he could suggest.

“You can wait all you want.” Thor shrugged, “But I’m going to find Thanos.”

“Oh yeah?” Rocket rolled his eyes “And then what?”

“I’m going to kill him.” Thor replied simply.

“How?”

“I’ll cut his head off, bring the stones back and we can figure out how to undo this unholy shit stain of a mess that he created.”

“If we’re going to have any hope of going after Thanos and being successful then we need to come up with some form of plan, otherwise we don’t stand a chance.” Steve looked up at Thor.

“I’m done with planning!” Thor growled, and there was a clap of thunder outside making Katie jump. “How can you sit here, waiting for something to happen? We need to be out there, looking for this bastard!”

“And we will.” Steve started to placate him and Thor simply snorted before pointing at him.

“This man killed half my people, murdered my brother and stabbed my best friend through the heart with a sword!”

“We all lost people, Thor.” Steve tried again and Thor snorted.

“I lost everything. No offence, Captain, but what exactly did you lose? Because as far as I can see the person you love the most is still here and-”

He was cut off by Rhodey who jumped in to tell him he was out of order, but as Katie listened to the two of them start to bicker, she glanced at Steve who had his head hung down, looking at the table, biting the inside of his cheek. She reached out to gently touch his arm and he looked back at her, his eyes swimming with tears.

And that was it, her temper snapped.

“Best friends?” Thor was loudly responding to Rhodey “Well pardon me if but I don’t particularly feel-

“We lost our baby, Thor!” Katie yelled, looking up at the God as she cut him off, her voice cracking. “That good enough for you?”

There was a pause and Steve felt the atmosphere in the entire room thicken as he swallowed and looked at his wife. Her eyes were blazing as she was glaring at Thor, whose own eyes had grown wide with surprise and something that looked like remorse. Steve’s hand gently crept to Katie’s back, and he felt hers fall to his knee, her gaze on Thor never moving. “I don’t understand.” Thor continued, looking around.

At that point Katie looked down at the table and licked her lips, steeling herself to respond, but Steve did it for her

“Katie was pregnant.” He said softly, looking up. “But we didn’t know. Not until…” “Oh Jesus.” Rhodey sighed, running his hand over his face “Guys, I…” “I don’t want sympathy.” she said, as Steve’s hand moved to take hers. “We don’t want sympathy, I just thought you should all know.” “I’m sorry.” Thor bowed his head.

“He snapped away our baby.” Katie took a deep breath and looked up at the God “So yeah, Steve lost a lot. We all did. But that aside you’re right, we do need to find him, get those stones and reverse what he did but you can’t do it alone, and we can’t do it without you.” She looked round the table. “If we are going to have any chance of succeeding, we need to be clever as fighting him like we did in Wakanda won’t work.”

Thor looked at her, then his storm blue eyes locked onto Steve’s as he sighed and nodded.

“Okay, Captain, we will do this your way. But I’m still going to cut his head off when we do find him.”

No one dared suggest otherwise.

The rest of the morning was spent in the Control Room. No one spoke much other than to comment on the various provisional numbers that kept coming in from the Countries all over the world. Provisional because no one could confirm anything, until official census reports were completed. And no one was starting official census reports because the governments were in disarray. Basically, the only thing any of them could be sure about, was that the world was in a monumental fucking mess.

At about half past three in the afternoon FRIDAY spoke, making them jump slightly, to announce that Pepper and Happy had arrived. Suddenly Katie’s mouth went dry, it wasn’t just her brother she had walked away from two years ago. She stood up from her seat and made her way down the hallway and met them both halfway towards the conference room. There was a moment where Pepper paused, and Katie took in her appearance. Her hair was pulled back into an immaculate pony-tail, but she was dressed in a pair of jeans, trainers and a simple button down, far from the famous Pepper Pots crisp suits and Manolas everyone associated with her. Katie met her eyes which were red raw and then Pepper stepped forward, opening her arms with a sob. Katie fell into them hugging the woman back.

“I’m so glad you’re ok.” she said gently.

“You too.” Pepper croaked.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Katie’s voice cracked as she pulled away gently, looking at her.

“We missed you, we all did.”

“I’m sorry.” Katie sniffed, bowing her head “I really am, if there had been any other way.” “Don’t.” Pepper urged her “You had your reasons. Tony knew that.”

“Have you heard from him?” Katie asked gently.

Pepper shook her head, “Not since he went up after that ship. You?”

“No, but we have every scanner we can going.” Katie turned to look at Steve, Nat, Rhodey and Bruce who had now gathered behind her. “We’ll find him.” “I hope you’re right.”

“Well whilst we have hope, we have something huh?” Katie said, wiping at her eyes before she turned to Happy, releasing Pepper who was instantly swept up into an embrace by Steve.

“Hey Kiddo.” Happy smiled sadly, pulling her into a huge hug, his large arms circling around her back. “It’s good to see you.”

Katie couldn’t find any words to respond.

Eventually everyone finished their greetings and they all made their way back into the main office where they had been sat, watching the reports.

“There’s a Racoon.” Happy eyed Rocket as he walked passed.

“Yeah, his name’s Rocket.” Katie replied. “It’s a long story.”

“Not like we got anything else to do.” Pepper sat down and looked expectantly round the table. “Tell me everything.” So they did. The entire tale, start to finish. It took a good hour and a half to explain and answer all her questions, everyone chipping in when and where they could and she gripped Katie’s hand, fresh tears springing in her eyes when she learned about the baby. Rhodey stepped out at one point to take a call, returning about twenty minutes later with an unreadable expression on his face, one which caught Steve’s attention but the man simply shook his head and Steve turned back to the conversation.

“The one thing we do know is that Tony wasn’t alone.” Bruce concluded the tale “He was with Peter Parker and this Dr Strange guy. We’re running scans, but we’re limited to what the StarkSats can pick up.”

“Yeah well I might be able to offer a bit more.” Rhodey spoke “The call I got before, it was Ross. The President is asking for a debrief. They need something to tell the public. Said I’d go but I could do with back up.”

Steve was about to offer to accompany him but Katie beat him to it.

“I’ll do it. That is unless anyone else particularly wants to?”

Steve took a deep breath and looked at her, grappling with the fact he was pleased she wasn’t holing herself up, hiding away like she could have been, but on the flip side, he wasn’t sure if she was up to it both physically and mentally.

“Are you sure you’re alright to do this?” He asked her. “You should be resting and-“ “Don’t.” she looked at him, silently pleading with him. She needed to do something, anything to stay busy.

“Alright.” He acquiesced eventually, knowing her well enough to understand if he pushed it any further it wouldn’t end well. “If you’re sure?”

She nodded. “Always a pleasure to see Ross.” she looked up at Rhodey who nodded.

“I’ll tell them we’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

******

“So as I was saying,” Ross looked down the table, “the US Government is attempting to start a census to compile a list of the Vanished. We need to understand just what we’re looking at.”

“What we’re looking at is simple.” Katie folded her arms. “Thanos had one goal. To wipe out fifty percent of everything across the Universe.”

“He’s a Titan.” Katie recalled what she knew from Rocket and Bruce “He has been systematically working his way from planet to planet, wiping out fifty percent at random because he believes that the Universe’s population would essentially consume all resources and condemn it.”

“From what we know he started to look for Infinity Stones to help him complete his mission.” Rhodey said. “Once he had all 6, he was able to do it with a simple snap of his fingers.”

“Was this guy not on SHIELDs radar? Or the Avengers radar?” A man to the right of President Ellis asked.

“The Avengers haven’t existed for the past two years.” Katie looked at him, before she glanced at Ross. “Your Accords put paid to that.”

“Those Accords were ratified by over a hundred different countries.” Ross looked at her “I couldn’t just overrule or ignore the fact you broke the law.”

Katie snorted and looked around the room, pointing at Ross as she turned back to him.

“Seriously, half the population of the world crumbles to dust and you survive?”

“Kiddo.” Rhodey cut her off and lay his hand on her arm, she ignored him and carried on.

“We broke the law trying to keep you safe!” She shook her head. “Those other soldiers in Siberia, if they had been alive then the entire world could have fallen. We knew what the consequences would be, but stopping that threat was far more important. And what did we get for it?” She glared at Ross, her temper rising. “You locked half of us in a jail. Put an eighteen year old girl in a straight jacket and a collar that stripped her of her power and her dignity. Do you know she suffered nightmares for months after we got her out? Months!” Ross at least had the grace to look a little abashed.

“And you wanna know the worst part? During those years on the run we still did the dirty jobs SHIELD didn’t want to do. We bust illegal arms traders, took down drugs cartels, all to keep the very people that exiled us safe.”

“I appreciate there has been a lot of water under the bridge and you may feel aggrieved but what matters now is how we go forward.” Ross looked at her. “We lost, the world lost…” “You’re not getting this are you?” Katie snapped. “We lost because we weren’t together. And we weren’t together because of you!”

“Mrs Rogers,” President Ellis was calm as he looked at her, “I understand emotions and tempers will be running a little frayed. Your team has suffered. You, your husband and friends were criminalised and I realise now that we were wrong to do so.”

The President considered something for a moment before he leaned toward Ross to speak. Ross took a deep breath and looked around before he nodded and the President spoke again “I’m going to pull the US out of the Sokovia Accords. You’ll all be pardoned immediately, all charges dropped.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Rhodey said, and at the same time Katie asked

“What about Bucky?”

“What?” President Ellis looked at her.

“Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.”

“The Winter Soldier?” Ross frowned.

“That’s not his name.” Katie said fiercely “And that’s not who he is, who he was.” She corrected herself “Not anymore.” “After Siberia, Captain Rogers took Barnes to Wakanda.” Rhodey supplied at the puzzled glances from around the table. “He underwent treatment to remove the HYDRA programming from his brain, which was successful. He was on the battle field with us.”

“He went in the snap along with Sam and Wanda and he deserves to be honoured alongside them with a full unequivocal pardon.” Katie looked at Ross, holding his gaze. “He saved my life a few years ago when he pulled me out of that shit hole in Canada, he didn’t bomb the UN and he’s no more responsible for the atrocities HYDRA forced him to commit than you or I.”

President Ellis nodded. “Consider it done. We’ll also give you access to the equipment we have, people, anything we can at NASA to help you find your brother…”

“Thank you, Sir.” She nodded to him.

“And we don’t know if it will help in any way but Fury’s SUV was found in DC along with some belongings. In the absence of anyone else to look through it, we thought…” The President trailed off and Katie looked down at the table. She’d been hoping that Fury was going to pop up soon, help them formulate some kind of plan with a trick up his sleeve like he normally did. But instead, here they were, getting the confirmation that he was gone too.

“We’ll take a look.” Rhodey nodded.

“We can have it delivered to the compound or you can take a look at it in situ.” Ross stated and Katie looked at Rhodey, the pair of them instantly agreeing which option would be best.

“Compound would be better.” Katie stated.

“Ok, we’ll make it happen right away.” President Ellis nodded. “This afternoon we’ll issue a full statement to the world, tell them what we know. Then I guess we need to try and regroup what is left of our Armed Forces, get some kind of census going.” He stood up, signalling the meeting was over and Rhodey and Katie did the same.

“The Avengers were Fury’s greatest achievement.” Ellis spoke. “He had faith in you. Absolute faith. Right now, I’m hoping that faith is justified as frankly, I don’t have a clue where any of us go from here.” “No one does Sir.” Katie shrugged, holding his gaze before she gave him a nod. And then, as she made to leave the room, Ross spoke from where he was stood, not far behind her.

“Give Captain Rogers my regards.”

She stiffened instantly and stopped dead, taking a deep breath and besides her, Rhodey let out a soft groan, knowing full well what was coming. In a flash she spun round and her fist connected straight with the man’s face in a perfectly executed right hook.

Ross reeled back, crimson billowing from his nose, and in the corner of her eye, she saw President Ellis hold a hand up to stop the guards that had stepped forward, and she was sure he was smirking a little. She turned her attention to Ross who was wiping at his face, looking at her in shock.

“I’ll be sure to pass on your greeting, Mr Secretary.” Katie arched an eyebrow, before she wheeled round and left.

*******

Steve choked on his coffee, spitting half of it down his shirt as he looked at Rhodey, his eyes wide. “She did what?” “Punched him, straight in the face. Great right hook.” Rhodey chuckled as Steve let out a groan as he wiped at the liquid that had spilt onto his Henley. “Oh he was asking for it, Cap, telling her to pass on his regards to you, sarcastic asshole. Next thing I know she’s whacked him and he’s blowing scarlet all over the place.”

Steve scratched at his beard, shaking his head.

“And then she just smiles at him and says…” “I’ll be sure to pass on your greeting, Mr Secretary.” Katie finished Rhodey’s sentence for him as she strolled into the kitchen and went straight to the fridge for a coke. “Thought my ears were burning.”

“You punched Ross in the face?” Steve looked at her.

Katie shrugged “He deserved it.”

Steve watched her as she took a long drink of the soda, a smile twitching his lips. God, he loved her fucking sass-bag nature. “So what is President Ellis planning to do?” He asked, clearing his throat.

“They’re putting out a statement later.” Rhodey said, “Emergency broadcast, not sure when but we’ll keep the news channels tuned.”

“When’s Fury’s stuff supposed to be arriving?” the Captain looked at his wife.

“Not sure, they just said as soon as possible.”

***** As soon as possible turned out to be three pm that afternoon. After a quick search, the only vaguely interesting thing they found was some form of pager that had been found at the rear of the car. According to the Government Agent that handed it over, they weren’t even sure if it was Fury’s but they had gathered it up anyway.

Katie and Natasha had never seen anyone in SHIELD use a device like that before, neither had Steve, so in an attempt to try and find out exactly whether or not it was Fury’s, Natasha hacked into the CCTV footage of the area in which it had been found. As they watched, Nat fast forwarded through to the point of the snap and they watched it unfold. The pager was the last thing Fury went for.

“Fury wasn’t the kind of guy to waste time.” Steve spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen across the room. “And I doubt he would be making an exception to that rule in this situation.”

“So why was that thing so important?” Rhodey asked, looking at it. “Who was he trying to reach if it wasn’t us?”

“No idea.” Natasha sighed, “But we should find out.”

“It’s dead.” Katie pushed a few buttons on the pager. “Battery probably died.” “I can try and wire it into the mains.” Bruce took it from her, turning it over in his hands. “It might not work but…” Katie watched, half listening as Rocket hopped up onto the table and asked Bruce to see the item for a moment. He frowned, holding it up to the light.

“This is a Kree Booster.”

“A what?” Bruce looked at him.

“Kree, they’re another race and this is a piece of their technology on the back. It uses all available communications links- satellites, phones, ships, relays and normally makes the reach of the signal impossible to miss.”

“So he was contacting someone on another planet?” Steve frowned.

Rocket shrugged “Maybe.”

“Well whoever it was he was turning to them for help.” Katie nodded, “Lets fire it up and see.” Bruce took the pager with him, Rocket following just in case he might be able to help. Steve watched them leave, hoping that the pager would lead to something

. They could do with a win, however small.

******

President Ellis’ address was broadcast at little after six pm. The group settled in the communal lounge to watch what he had to say.

“3 days ago the world suffered an attack. Firstly there was the ship over New York which Tony Stark was taken by, and a little over sixteen hours later, the world suffered a catastrophic event whereby people watched friends, family and love ones vanish in front of their eyes.

This attack came at the hands of a being called Thanos. Someone who believed he had the right to destroy half of life throughout the Universe with a snap of his fingers. Most of us didn’t see it coming. But a small band of heroes did. The Avengers, including those who were outlawed two years ago by the Sokovian Accords. They, plus others and countless Wakandan Soldiers fought to the bitter end to try and prevent this event. But they couldn’t, and what’s evident now is that no one could.

The Avengers Wanda Maximoff and Sam Wilson along with the Wakandan King T’Challa were just three of those heroes who met the same fate as half of the rest of the world along with Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. He stood alongside the rest of the Avengers fighting to keep the world safe, a world which for many years had shown him nothing but cruelty and pain.”

At that Steve glanced down at his hands and he felt Katie slide her arm round his shoulders where she sat next to him on the couch, gently laying her head against his. He knew she would have had a hand in that particular point and he slid his arm around her back, pulling her closer.

“Tony Stark remains missing along, whilst the remaining Avengers are back where they belong, on US soil and are currently following any leads they can. In light of recent events, I would like to hereby issue them all formal pardons and furthermore, the US has officially withdrawn from the Sokovia Accords with immediate effect. For now, I ask for your cooperation and patience as we begin the necessary steps to rebuild going forward.” As they watched the President took a deep breath before he continued, his voice wobbling slightly.

“I am sorry that I cannot give you more answers, I cannot tell you why some people lost no one and some people lost everyone. But what I can tell you, and anyone else who is listening is that Earth IS strong. We will NOT be defeated, and we WILL rise from the ashes.”

At that cameras started to click and flash and the inevitable chatter started up from the journalists that had assembled. The President wasn’t taking any questions though, and made a swift exit.

No one in the room said anything. There wasn’t much to say. Suddenly Steve found it all too stifling so he stood up, excusing himself and headed out for some air, dropping a kiss to Katie’s head before he left. Heading out of the doors at the back of the compound he walked the well traced path to the jetty by the river which curved the edges of the grounds and sat down with a sigh on the bench.

He was totally out of ideas. The entire team was looking to him to lead and he had nothing. He was drained, he’d hardly slept, too worried about Katie who had tossed and turned all night again last night, waking with a full blown nightmare which had taken him a good half a minute to rouse her from and she had still managed to go to the White House and sit through hours of questionings and debriefs. And he knew the dreams could come again, and that made him feel even more helpless, because he didn’t know what to do. Nothing he could say would make her feel any better about what had happened, hell, he couldn’t make himself feel any better.

Sniffing slightly he wiped at his nose and glanced out at the sun which was just retreating behind the trees that lined the other bank of the river, when he heard familiar footsteps behind him.

“I forgot how beautiful it could be here.” Katie sighed as she sat beside him, looking out over the water as the deep purples and yellows of the sky bounced off the surface of the Hudson.

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Steve shifted slightly so he could drop his arm round her shoulders.

“Steve,” Katie let out a slight sniffle, and Steve swallowed, pulling her into him even tighter. “I know, Baby.” He took a deep breath, laying his head against hers, as her tears began to fall “I know.”

**** Chapter 39 Part 1

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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carelessannie · 4 years ago

Text

maybe it goes like this: tony courts peter (part 4)

Read on A03

Read the Stuckony backstory

Starker focus (Tony x Peter), Stuckony (Steve x Bucky x Tony), (Clint x Peter x OFC), also a bit of WinterHawk and SpiderHawk

Starker first date goes about as well as expected with Bucky and Clint as their chaperones...

Major warnings: D/S Au, A/B/O Au, Panic Attacks, Clint Barton is a mess

—

Maybe it goes like this:

“Alright Petey, you wanna quiz me?”

Peter rolls his eyes, and gives Clint a little push, “Are you sure it’s me going on this date, and not you? You’re literally incorrigible.”

“And you love me.”

“And I love you, you whore.”

Clint cackles, “I’ll take it.”

They decided to walk from their apartment to the coffee shop, Peter insisting that the chilly walk in the early November air would bring a natural blush to their complexion and wind-swept quality to their hair. Clint can’t complain— he loves Washington Square and walking around with a pretty Omega on his arm. Sue him.

“— packmates?”

And no one ever gave him an award for a stellar attention span.

“Sorry Pete, what was that?”

“I asked, what are the names of Tony’s packmates?”

Clint pretends to think as Peter gives him a searching look, “Steve and James. But James likes to go by Bucky.”

Peter does a small skip-hop in joy, “Yes! Perfect!” and reaches up on his tiptoes to dot a kiss on Clint’s cheek. Making Peter happy and receiving little kisses has been the biggest incentive to learn trivia about the Omega’s new boyfriend.

“Okay, okay, next one: how old is Tony?”

“Thirty,”

“Yes! And as a bonus, how old are his packmates?” Peter gives him a smug grin, playfully challenging Clint to answer right.

“Steve is twenty-five and Bucky is twenty-four.”

Peter claps his tiny hands together, with a little squeal of joy, and stops Clint in his tracks, pulling him down for a peck right on his lips.

He ducks his head, sheepish from the affection of his gorgeous packmate, and a blush blooms red across his cheeks. Peter doesn’t give him a moment to recover, quickly tugging him along as they finish their trek across the Park.

“Alright, last one, C.” Peter presses the crosswalk button, even though the way is clear, but before he can ask the question Clint squeezes his hand and pulls him across the street. Peter lets out a small protest of no, Clint, we can’t as they run, but the crosswalk is short and the street isn’t busy, so they are almost immediately on the other side.

“Clint—�� Peter goes to lecture him, probably about road safety and traffic laws, so Clint interrupts him,

“Last question? Look, we’re almost there,” and they are, so it’s a good distraction for his pouty packmate.

“Oh goodness, you’re right. Okay. Last one then: how long have they been together?”

Knowing that Peter has talked about this a few times, and might expect a few different answers, Clint gives him the long one, “Well. You said they’ve been a pack for two years,”

“Right,”

“That Tony met Steve four years ago, and Bucky the year after, but Steve and Bucky were already together,”

“Right again,”

“And Steve and Bucky have known each other since they were kids, but didn’t get together until college.”

“Right, right, right! Gosh, I’m so proud of you, C.” The younger boy looks so happy, and Clint can’t help pulling Peter’s hand up to place a light kiss across his knuckles, waiting for the last crosswalk light to turn.

“I’m proud of you, Pete, and you’re gonna have a great time with him today. You just pretend like we’re invisible, and I’ll just casually pry for personal information and signal to you if we need to run, okay?”

Peter giggles and his smile brightens as he pulls Clint across the street to the coffee shop, “Somehow I feel like we’re gonna be fine.”

---

It was sheer stupidity to worry about Clint getting along with Bucky.

The moment they enter the coffee shop, Clint can hear a loud voice calling, “Peter,” and looks to his side to gauge Peter’s reaction, realizing the tiny Omega is already halfway across the cafe.

Clint trails along slowly, amused by the handsome, older man cooing over his small, beautiful date. Peter is dwarfed in the larger man’s arms, and Clint has never seen him look this content. And it’s been like twenty seconds.

“Tony! This is my packmate, Clint,” he reaches forward to shake Tony’s hand, exchanging good to meet you’s, as the older man grips tighter and quirks his lips up in a secret smile. The expression elevates his charm even further, and Clint lets his hand be dropped in awe.

“Oh, and this is Bucky,” Tony steps a little to the right to reveal another dark, stunning man, who flashes him a heartbreaking smile. Damn, where does Peter find these guys?

He doesn’t even hesitate, grabbing Bucky’s hand and pulling him a little closer, as Bucky’s smile turns from amused to knowing. Bucky leans closer, and whispers so only he can hear,

“I have a thing for blondes.”

Fuck.

Clint turns to Peter, “Let’s marry them. Please.”

Peter just giggles, turning killer doe-eyes on Tony, and it looks like Tony wants to mate the Omega right then and there. Clint is a horrible chaperone, but glad they all seem to be on the same page.

Bucky claps his hands, pulling all three of them out of their mild trance, and suggests grabbing tables and ordering coffee. He gives a pointed stare to Tony, and then turns it on Clint.

Oh. That’s a hint to get lost.

Tony pats Clint on the shoulder, nodding his head towards the counter as they leave the other two men to acquire tables.

“So Tony,”

“So, Clint. What— uh. What does Pete usually drink?”

They get in line, and Clint gives the menu a critical eye.

“Doesn’t he drink coffee in the lab?”

Tony looks a little uncomfortable, but answers easily, “Sure, but he usually drinks the drip coffee black. I want to get him something special, so I figured you would know what he treats himself to.”

“Alright, make a guess.”

“Huh?” Clint smiles a bit at Tony’s confusion,

“I know what he likes, but I want to see what you would get him, what you think he likes.”

Now it’s Tony’s turn to eye the menu, humming in thought—

“Something sweet, but with a little twist. Maybe salted caramel? Uh. I’m gonna go with salted caramel latte, with extra whipped cream.”

It’s a good guess, and honestly Peter probably would like it, but Clint wants to watch this man be proved wrong.

“Maybe,” immediately Tony’s smile deflates a bit, “but a few months ago he discovered the London Fog, and it’s his guilty pleasure drink. You were right he likes a twist, and the earl grey adds like... a spice, or something, to the sweet vanilla latte— but he actually doesn’t like coffee all that much. He actually prefers tea, but coffee has more caffeine.”

Tony nods, seeming intrigued and distracted, before focusing back on Clint,

“But you like it black, don’t you?” tilting his head, it feels like Tony is answering a question he studied hard for.

And he’s not wrong, “Yeah, I prefer it black, Tony.”

“Okay, good.” and that’s the end of the conversation. Tony steps up to order as Clint waits behind him— just a little irritated when Tony orders for all of them.

In addition to the London Fog and large black coffee, Tony places an order for a small cappuccino and a large dark chocolate iced coffee with extra whipped cream and a doppio shot of espresso. As they carry the orders back to the table, along with a half dozen pastries, Clint is torn between his excitement to see Peter’s reaction and his anticipation to see which drink Tony ended up with— and which one is hot-Bucky’s.

“Here, honey,” Tony hands over the London Fog to a grabby Peter, who inhales deeply and lights up in surprise.

“H— how did you know, Tony? Oh my god, this is my favorite, thank you—”

Clint and Bucky exchange an eye roll at the sappy couple, and Tony swoons, “Honestly, Clint tipped me off. I had no idea that you prefer tea, baby.”

They take this as their cue, and Clint grabs his mug, waiting to see which drink Bucky will take before making their way over to a nearby table.

Naturally, Bucky grabs the iced coffee, smiling softly, and places his hand on Tony’s shoulder, giving him a short kiss on the lips. Both Peter and Clint stare in shock as Tony deepens the kiss, pulling Bucky closer and… yep, that’s his tongue. They pull away, both looking smug, and Tony turns back to Peter as if the world didn’t just stop spinning.

Bucky leads the way back to their table, and Clint has to adjust himself in his pants, thankful for the comfy seat and a table in between them as they sit down.

“Okay, first of all, that was hot.”

He gets a wink in response as Bucky sucks his straw into his mouth, slurping obscenely instead of responding, and Clint quickly takes a swig of his coffee as a distraction, sputtering as it burns his tongue.

“Aw, coffee, no.” and Bucky is laughing now, reaching over to grab his arm as his posture relaxes.

And there’s something else— underneath the coffee shop smell, the scent of Oranges and Milk Chocolate and HappyContentRelaxedOmega.

Oh. Alright then.

Clint’s experience with Omegas is limited to his two packmates, so he lets himself enjoy the calming scent coming from the beautiful man across from him until—

“Hey man, you good?” concerned steel-blue eyes gaze across the table at him, and he feels completely out of his depth.

“Yeah, just burned my tongue,” he takes another sip, mindlessly, and immediately regrets it, “Ow— shit.”

The mug is pulled out of his hands, “Wow, you’re a human wreck, aren’t you?” but Bucky’s expression is indulgent and teasing instead of cruel, so Clint smiles along, grateful.

“All day, every day, gorgeous.”

And after that, conversation flows naturally, both men laid back and enjoying a day to people-watch and drink expensive coffee. Occasionally they turn their attention back to Tony and Peter, the couple sitting close together and feeding each other small bites of pastry.

Bucky and Clint both shudder simultaneously. Gross.

So they mostly ignore their packmates, instead bonding about sports. Like idiots. Clint learns about Bucky’s past in baseball and football, and he shares about his time in the Olympics, to which Bucky—

“You’re shitting me, right? You’re the amazing Hawkeye? I literally followed your career when you were in Rio, and oh my god, you were in Rio,” Bucky looks around frantically, as if he’s trying to find a witness to this story, and Clint just grins.

“Clint fucking Barton—”

“— and that is officially my middle name—”

“— shut up, and you medaled, right?”

Aw, such a cute Omega. “Gold and Silver, hot stuff.”

It’s not often that Clint can make an Omega swoon, and technically there has only been one official occurrence of said event, but he basks in the praise that Bucky gives him for this, thanking the all-powerful archery gods for his performance two years ago.

“Clint, that’s literally so cool. I mean— Tony does cool stuff all day long in the lab, and— and I can flex about my degree and high school sports stats, or my Alpha’s career in the Army, but—”

“Wait,” Clint interrupts, suddenly going still at Bucky’s words, “you had an Alpha?”

Bucky looks confused, “No, I have an Alpha. Tony and I do— didn’t Peter mention Steve?”

He feels the walls closing in around him. Of course he’s heard about Steve, but had no idea—

Drawing his imaginary bow, he catches Peter’s eyes and releases the arrow. Peter signs back a discreet I love you in ASL.

Clint heads for their table, knowing Peter has received his distress signal.

---

Bucky’s not quite sure what just happened.

He sits at the table, watching silently as Clint walks over to Peter, pulls him to the side, and the two packmates have brief, intense conversation.

Tony looks his way, curiously, and all he can do is shrug his shoulders.

He retraces their conversation quickly— was it the Olympics? No, Clint was perfectly happy to preen about that. Was it about his time in the military? Some people are hesitant to ask about that, but Clint had seemed fine. That is until he mentioned—

“We’re leaving, I’m so sorry, Tony,”

Peter is now tucked protectively underneath Clint’s arm, the Beta avoiding all eye contact, as his packmate apologizes for the inconvenience.

“— we have personal stuff that just came up, pack stuff, and need to cut this short.”

Tony gently strokes the Omega’s concerned face, smoothing out the lines of worry.

“Honey, do whatever you need to, okay? And please call me if you need anything. I swear, Pete.”

Peter nods seriously, “Of course, Tony. And we’ll have our second date soon, right?” a hopeful expression coming over his pretty features as Clint noticeably pulls him closer.

“... of course, Peter. I would love nothing more.”

With a quick kiss to the back of Peter’s hand, Tony lets him go— Clint sweeping the smaller boy out of the coffee shop and back down the street.

Bucky still hasn’t moved, and Tony is frozen with his hand still raised, watching the two men hurry away.

“... What did you say.”

Tony turns slowly, face carefully blank, as he takes a step in Bucky’s direction.

Bucky shakes his head, “I— I don’t know—”

“Don’t lie to me, James. What did you say to Clint?”

His vision is starting to get fuzzy, and all Bucky wants to do is sit, but he’s trapped under the weight of his Beta’s gaze and Dominant voice.

“J— jus’ said. St— Stevie,” he chokes on his next breath, “Stevie’s our… A—alpha.”

He still senses anger from his Beta, and instinctively hunches in his shoulders, making himself smaller, as exposes his neck in submission.

“Shit,” Tony curses, and Bucky whimpers, unsure why his Beta is so displeased with him.

“Someone bring us coffee, please? My mate is dropping—“

Oh, coffee. Coffee is good.

He sips on the warm drink that’s placed in his hands moments later, but then remembers Clint’s FearProtectEscape scent, and the mug almost shakes out of his hands, hitting the table in front of him.

Tony takes it gently, pulling his seat closer, and Bucky is so scared at how easily he’s swung submissive. It’s been years since the last time he made a scene in public, and he can’t get a grip on himself. But it doesn’t matter as everything slips away.

There are suddenly fingers on his chin, lifting his gaze back to Tony, and his Beta stares into his eyes for a moment before cursing again and pulling out his phone, letting Bucky’s head drop.

Down.

At the low urgency of his Beta’s voice, he sinks down, down, down, further into his head.

He sinks down, knees hitting the hardwood flooring and face planting firmly into Tony’s thigh. He breathes in deep, and is pleased to feel calloused fingers petting his hair. The rhythm pulls him down, and all he can think about is the steady thrum of his Beta’s pulse and the solid grounding of the wood under his knees. He mouths absently at the fabric in front of him.

And then he’s flying. Up.

But wait. He can’t fly.

Oh— a summer thunderstorm. Maybe he is flying, then. Up, up, up, he’s lifted by strong arms, and a familiar low voice. His vision swims in front of him, brief images flashing and drifting past his subconscious, and he’s content to be wrapped tight in the scent of home.

“A— alpha, please,” he whispers, and feels a low rumble start on his right side, warm and content.

He floats.

Time passes.

But then he’s cold again.

Confused, he feels around for the comforting warmth from before, but can’t find it. He opens his eyes and it’s dark. He tries to move, to climb out of this dark place, but his arms are trapped, pinned by his sides.

His breathing picks up.

“No, no no nooo—” he’s so alone. He tries to think back to what happened, to what he did to be punished this way, and remembers his Beta’s displeasure, the disappointment. He can’t remember, doesn’t understand—

“Bucky?”

“No, please, ‘m sorry sir, please, no—”

“Dammit Tony, I knew we shouldn’t have left him—”

He cries harder as he’s shifted around, hoping his punishment will be quick.

Instead, his arms are freed, and a merciful, bright light, brings him up, closer to the surface. Warm again, Bucky sobs in the safety of strong arms, whispering sorries into his Alpha’s neck as he’s cradled close.

At some point he must pass out, because he wakes up slowly to the familiar scent of their den at home. He hears low murmurs of his packmates talking nearby, and tries to blink open his eyes. He takes in the feeling of being held, wrapped with both sets of arms around his waist, and hums in appreciation. The voices go silent as one arm lifts to brush his hair off his face,

“Buck, are you coming back up?”

He takes inventory before responding, checking his senses and pushing through the cloudiness in his head to give his Alpha a nod yes.

“Good boy, so proud of you,” the sweet voice croons back to him, and he feels himself smile at the praise. “Tony, grab the tray we set out, two water bottles and the juice.”

He’s moved, sitting now, and blinks open his eyes to watch his Beta place the tray in front of them on the bed and hand a bottle of water their Alpha. The pieces of food on the tray are his favorites, he knows, but doesn’t waste energy figuring it out. His Alpha and Beta will take care of that for him.

“Tony, do you want to hold him or feed him?”

There’s a small pause, and a sigh, before his Alpha is speaking again, “Fine, you’ll hold him.”

He’s picked up, his Alpha scenting him briefly, before setting Bucky in between firm legs, propping him up against a rigid chest.

Bucky tries to curl up again, already feeling the hesitation and rejection coming from his Beta, but a low growl from their Alpha has both packmates stilling, before relaxing together.

“I swear to god Tony, do not put your insecurities on him. Comfort our Omega, or I swear to god I will lock you out of our den for a week, understood?”

Bucky doesn’t have to turn to look to know Tony’s face is scrunching up, even as he answers, “Yes, Alpha,” and Bucky can’t help but laugh a bit, closing his eyes and wiggling back into Tony’s arms as they close around him.

He peeks to look at Steve, and sees the tail end of a fond smile aimed towards both his packmates.

The water bottle is opened with an audible snap and gently pressed up against his lips as Steve murmurs drink, baby and he obeys, the cool liquid bringing him up even further and satisfying his thirst.

After a few moments, the bottle is empty and Steve is praising him again as he replaces the water with a few pieces of cheese and sweet chocolate. Bucky watches as Steve gathers each piece intentionally, before feeding them to Bucky— each time praising him for the simple task of chewing and swallowing.

With the fourth bite, Bucky sucks one of Steve’s fingers into his mouth, giving it a light nip before Steve pulls it free, be good falling from his lips, even as his eyes darken and stay glued to Bucky’s mouth.

“Feeling better, love?” Tony whispers into his shoulder, dropping a small kiss onto the skin right above his Alpha’s sweatshirt— the one they like to wrap him in when he floats after a scene. Bucky tries to twist and see Tony’s face, but the Beta keeps him facing forward as he confesses, “I feel horrible that I dropped you in public like that. You were there, helping me out, and I really hurt you. I’m so sorry, baby—”

Now Bucky really breaks the hold, turning in his Beta’s lap to see his face— pulling Tony’s hands out of the way,

“Tony, it's okay now. I’m safe, and you did the best that you could. ’m not mad at you.”

If anything, Tony’s face looks even more upset and devastated, “But I didn’t, though. I yelled and left you alone in the car and was way too focused on the Omega that I’m trying to court, and completely forgot that it’s you I’m committed to, and you I’m responsible for—”

“— okay, first of all, you are not responsible for me,” Bucky cuts in, “Yeah, we’re mates and look after each other, but even Stevie here isn’t responsible for me. I’m in charge of that, got it? We scene together and look after each other, but just because you’re my Dom doesn’t give you control of my life,” Steve rubs his back in encouragement, and this gives him the strength to finish, “Second, sweetheart, I had the best time meeting Peter and Clint. It’s my fault Clint freaked out, and I don’t know… something about that caused me to swing really fast.”

Steve speaks before Tony can, “Wait, what happened with Clint?”

“Oh, I guess I didn’t mention,” Tony answers, pulling Bucky to his side and throwing an arm over his shoulder, “something freaked Clint out and he left early with Peter.”

“But what—”

“Steve,” Bucky grabs his mate’s hand, “I think it had something to do with you being pack Alpha.”

Even Tony tenses up at Bucky’s words, and before Steve can say anything else, he tries to explain, “I don’t know what happened. One minute we were talking about the Olympics— which, Stevie, he’s like a crazy talented archer, you wouldn’t even believe it— but I mention our pack Alpha and he flips. He makes some sort of signal to Peter, and the two of them practically ran outta there.”

“Oh man,” Steve says as Tony curses under his breath, “what do you think— Tony, did you know about this at all?”

“I swear, I had no idea. Pete said his whole Ado-pack was excited to meet you guys, so I assumed…”

The Alpha shakes his head, “No, I get it. He must have some sort of trauma— maybe a previous pack with an abusive pack Alpha.”

Bucky reaches forward, pulling their Alpha’s hand in a silent invitation. They readjust, letting Steve lay in the middle, and curl up on either side of him. He traces a finger around Steve’s abs, teasing a little lower until he hears a throat clear, and Tony laces their fingers together instead. Bucky shakes with laughter, and kisses Steve’s side, “Baby, there’s nothing you can do. It wasn’t you.”

“Love you, Steve,” Tony adds, "I’ll talk to Petey, see what the damage is. You guys come first— Peter knows that.” he sounds resigned, so Bucky squeezes his hand, sending over an empathetic smile.

Steve strokes both of their heads, protective and affectionate, “I love you guys,” leaning down, Steve brushes a kiss over Tony’s forehead, “Don’t worry, my Beta, I have a feeling you won’t have to choose.”

Tony’s mouth ticks upward in a grin as he lets his eyes close, “I hope so, Alpha.”

---

A few hours earlier

Clint measures his steps, walking fast without drawing unnecessary attention, as he approaches Peter and Tony’s table. He grabs Peter’s arm, and the younger man is already standing, looking up at him with concern and fear in his eyes.

“We need to leave, now.”

“What happened? Did Bucky—”

“No, Bucky’s fine, it’s me. I have to get out of here.”

“Do I need to call Annie? Are you gonna drop?”

“Maybe. I don’t know,” it’s now taking physical effort to breathe normally, “please, Pete.”

Peter nods once, studying Clint’s face for a moment before tucking himself under Clint’s arm, and he focuses on the glass window, pretending he’s outside and far away from this place. He hears Peter’s voice, and Tony’s voice, but all of it muddles together as he concentrates on keeping his head clear.

“... nothing more,” Tony’s saying, giving a brief kiss to Peter’s delicate hand, and Clint pulls the Omega closer, mind focusing on the singularity of getting them home, keeping his pack safe.

He steers Peter through the door, walking them in a haze back across the busy streets, park sidewalks, and a few blocks further to their apartment. His Omega is obediently silent, beautifully pliant, and Clint instinctively rewards him, stroking through his hair and kissing his fingers as they work their way through the building and up the stairs to their apartment.

They stop in front of the door and Clint grunts open it, sweet Omega and keys jingle in the lock, his Omega perfectly opening the door and letting them through. He wraps his Omega in both arms, scenting deeply, and enjoying HappyContentRelaxedOmega.

But he’s on a mission.

He grabs his Omega, “Nest.” and waits for the verbal confirmation, “Yes, Beta.” before continuing, trusting his Omega to follow his order.

He scents the apartment, walking through the rooms at a steady prowl until he catches sweet Strawberries and Salted Caramel coming from the kitchen.

He sees his Omega in the kitchen, gathering food and water for their nest. She sees him standing at the entrance, but doesn’t submit. He growls at her in warning, but she just returns his gaze.

“Omega.” he gives one more warning, and she finally drops her eyes. Good.

He stalks closer, moving her hair to the side, and scenting her thoroughly, offering his own wrist for her to use. A few kisses to her neck, and he enjoys the scent of HappyContentRelaxedOmega for the third time tonight, silently urging her to gather the materials for their nest and follow him to find their Omega.

He makes his way toward the bedroom. His Omega has built a beautiful nest, warm and inviting, with perfect lighting and ample protection from outside threats. Both Omegas finish setting up the fortress, and start to strip.

He growls slightly, and they stop obediently, submitting to his wishes. He steps forward, slowly pulls both of them out of shirts, shoes, and pants, leaving intimate parts covered and perfect skin unveiled.

“Me.” he commands, and both Omegas move quickly, stripping his shirt and pants until all of them stand in a similar state of dress.

He steps forward to inspect the nest, already having approved of it thus far, and crawls towards the center, checking the scent distribution.

“More. Annie.” and a shirt is tossed his way. He scents the item and places it in their nest, continuing his path to the center.

“Come.”

One at a time, his pack joins him in their nest, and he settles them next to each other, covering their vulnerable areas with soft blankets, and cushioning their heads with pillows.

He joins them, sliding in between so that they are curled into his side, protected under his arms. Safe. Warm. Home.

“Sleep.” he growls, letting himself drift now that his pack is safe.

---

A few hours later, he starts to climb back into consciousness.

He can hear his pack talking near him, but it’s mostly nonsense. His mind feels heavy and blank, and all he can think about is keeping them safe. Keeping himself safe.

He opens his eyes, sitting up suddenly, and his packmates turn to look at him.

He goes to command them, needing control over the situation, but his Omega sits up taller, refusing to bare her throat to him.

“Apple,” she stares into his eyes, gripping his jaw, firm, and coaxing his mouth open. She slides the fruit between his lips and he knows— it’s familiar—

“Chew, Clint. C’mon.” and he obeys, taking a crisp bite. As he chews, he enjoys the sweet and tangy flavors, grounding him. He swallows.

“Banana,” oh, he knows now, and opens his lips to let Annie feed him a small bite of banana, letting the sweet and soft tastes contrast clearly in his mouth, and he hums appreciatively.

“Last one, Clint. You’re doing great, and I need you to answer. What is this?” Annie holds the last piece up to his lips, and Clint gives her a sweet smile,

“Carrot,” and Annie slips it into his mouth, letting him crunch down on it. So different from the fruits, Clint feels the hard veggie pull him back to the present, and he blinks in awareness.

Oh, shit.

Clint feels tears sting his eyes, as he looks for Peter,

“Pete, I’m... oh my god, I'm s-so sorry, I don’t even know what happened—”

The small Omega crawls towards him on the nest, making sure not to show his neck and continues to maintain eye contact, cupping his cheek tenderly,

“Hush. We’ll talk about it in a minute— but... Clint, you dropped in the coffee shop, I think, and you swung dominant.”

He knew it was something bad, and Clint starts to pull away, terrified of hurting his pack further—

Thump!

“Ow!” Clint grabs at the stinging on his temple, right where Annie just flicked him,

“You absolute idiot,” she chastises, turning his face to look her way, “Clint do you even know how wonderful of a Dom you were this afternoon? Even in your drop you protected us so well, so of course we kept you safe.”

He stays silent, dropping his eyes, and Peter presses up against his side in solid comfort.

Annie continues, “I know swinging dominant is hard for you, I get it. But you’re not like him, okay? You kept us safe, and we kept you safe. Give yourself a break.”

It’s hard to believe, but he nods anyway, murmuring a quiet thanks to his packmates.

They are content to sit in silence for a few moments, filling their nest with Happy and Home.

Annie breaks the silence again,

“So— who’s gonna tell me what happened?”

Clint defers to Peter, hoping to get their smaller packmate to gush about his date, but Peter doesn’t take the hint,

“I’m drinking tea with Tony, talking about improving efficiency of hydroelectricity in international power exchange, and suddenly Clint is giving me the panic sign and we’re running out of there,” he takes a sip of his tea, “okay, it’s your turn, C.”

Damn the pretty minx.

“I— okay, it’s not all clear to me. One minute, I’m hitting it off with this gorgeous Omega— yeah, Pete, you were right— and then he mentions his pack Alpha and I just lost it,” he turns to Peter, feeling hurt again, “why didn’t you tell me they had a pack Alpha?”

“C—clint I honestly… I had no idea. Tony never even mentioned that Bucky was an Omega, I guess I thought— I’m honestly so sorry, I assumed they were both Omegas, like our pack. Tony’s just so dominant—”

“No, it’s not— it’s not your fault, Petey.”

“How dominant?” throwing a sly smile, Annie redirects the conversation innocently, and Peter lets out a scandalous gasp.

“Annie!”

She laughs, grabbing at him to tickle his sides which makes him squeal,

“I wanna hear all about our future pack, guys, so tell me: how dominant is this guy? You said he’s a Beta, right?”

Clint and Peter exchange a hesitant look, and Peter speaks up, “Future pack?”

Annie looks between them and rolls her eyes,

“Well, you had a compatible memory with Tony, right? And Bucky sounds like a whole snack. We’ll work up to meeting Steve, but for now, it’s a definite possibility.”

Clint wants to protest this, upset at how his best friend is so easily dismissing his past trauma, but takes a moment to think. He did really like Bucky, and Tony is incredibly handsome and charming. Oh, and he looked like Peter’s second half— even on their first date.

While he’s silent, thinking over the options, Peter has been sharing details about his admirer with Annie, who is looking more and more intrigued by the second.

“— so he brought you your all time favorite drink—”

“— by Clint’s suggestion—”

Annie waves it off, “and then what?”

Ah, Clint almost forgot about that kiss.

He moans, dramatically and indecently, but it gets Annie’s attention,

“Watching Tony and Bucky kiss almost had me fucking coming in my pants, Annie—” she snorts a laugh, and Peter shakes his head, interrupting—

“No, Annie, it was so hot. You know how you like it when I make out with Clint?” she nods, mouth hanging wide open, “like that— but it was Tony.”

At that, Clint rolls his eyes, “It was Toneeyyy,” he mocks, getting both Omegas to laugh as Peter throws a pillow at him.

“Shut up, Clint,” Annie smacks him in the arm lightly, “leave the horny Omega alone.”

Peter gasps again, “Betrayal!”

Both of them cackle and pull Peter close, ignoring his pouty face and snuggling him close. Clint relaxes around his pack, thankful again to have them so close to him tonight, and is surprised when Annie, and then Peter, start purring.

Clint hums, “You two are my favorites.” and his packmates both press closer.

He’s unsure about the future. Unsure about things changing so fast. But as long as these two stick next to him, he can face his fears, knowing he’s not alone.

“Good,” Peter whispers, “because I want Tony to visit soon, and formally meet our pack.”

#starker #stuckony #stucky #stony #d/s fic #panic tw #clint barton #peter parker #tony stark #Bucky Barnes #winteriron #ofc #fluff #angst #fanfic #MiGLT #omegaverse

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the118firefam · 4 years ago

Text

no, but i get that there might be a lot of heartfelt reunions in Heaven but IMAGINE the awkward ones :

kelly and the winchesters.

you think for a minute she isn't gonna deck them at least once for trying to get her precious baby boy killed? oh, hell no. and like 99% sure jack's gonna be in the background going "mom, stop! you're embarassing me!" and he's gonna whine like a typical teenager and then she's gonna be like "you listen to me, you try to harm my boy again im gonna kick your ass so hard. you think he's powerful cos he's god? im god's mother." and sam and dean are genuinely scared before she finally pulls them into a hug and thanks them for protecting him

adam and his mom versus john and mary.

OH THE AWKWARDNESS! everyone in a two mile radius can feel the tension radiating and sam and dean will probably be in the background with popcorn ("oh, c'mon cas, let us have this. this is golden!") mary would go straight up to kate and hug her and apologise and both the ladies become good friends pretty quickly. adam, on the other hand, just straight up goes and decks john and walks away bcos fuck him. mary and kate would also leave almost immediately leaving a shocked john and barely-able-to-control-their-laughter sam and dean behind.

castiel and john.

castiel would first go up to mary, hug her and apologise and she'd just shush him and tell him her death wasn't on him. ("i saw what you did castiel. we all did. thank you for saving them– saving him.") and then he would move to john. he'd size him up and so would john and mary would scoff and leave the room. cas would go all s4 on his ass, with his blue steele meets bamf glare and even john winchester would kinda be fucking terrified. he wouldn't even say anything but the rage would literally radiate from cas. then he flies away and john would be very close to passing out because hot damn, he wouldn't wanna piss that angel off

jimmy novak and castiel.

im not even gonna say anything about that cos you can imagine the hilarity that would ensue. and the finally jimmy would break the ice by saying "so, castiel. finally made your move, huh? proud of you." and cas will blush so hard and john who would somehow be in the vicinity would be so confused because castiel, the powerful angel is blushing and that's something he would never have thought would happen.

AND the last one i could think of : DEAN AND CAS.

here's cas who's probably like "oh, i don't have to deal with that rn" and he's drowning himself in work so much that he doesn't even realise that dean's here until he's there. and he just panics so hard cos fuck, he's really not prepared and so every time dean's in the area he goes invisible girl or he whooshes away (jo and charlie LOVE this because c'mon, you know they would) then finally, finally dean corners him and he's left a blubbering mess before dean just pulls him into a hug, calls him an idiot ("cas, you sonofabitch you leave like that ever again im gonna kick your fucking ass. c'mere. dumbass. ofc you had me. you've always had me. clueless idiot.") and then they kiss and in the background you can see charlie smirking and jo giving her money because hey! jo didn't know dean had grown out of his emotionally constipated bs

#im basically here for any reunions with j*hn that ends in him getting decked #spn #supernatural #awkward reunions #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #kelly kline #jimmy novak #jo harvelle #charlie bradbury

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steele-soulmate · 1 year ago

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Tattooed Wings, CHAPTER 572, Peter Steele & OFC, Soulmate AU

SUMMARY: Mary Claire Bradley meets her soulmate- literally- the famous Peter Steele of metal group Type O Negative. But will obstacles including trauma, stalkers, and toxic family members get in the way of their life?

WARNING: mentions of child rape (nothing graphic) PTSD, milk kink, soft smut, grinding, assault, fingering, hand jobs, blow jobs, 69, P in V sex, blood, noncon rape, violence, death, vandalism, graffiti, attempted kidnapping, break-ins, wild animal attacks, terrorist attack (sabotage) consensual impregnation, bareback, impregnation kink, creampies, terrorist attacks (shootings) hit and run pedestrian accident, precipitous labor, neonatal death, abandoned baby

WORDS: 1210

“Peter!” I called out as a beat up dark navy blue Volkswagen pulled into the driveway. “I think Jackie is here!”

It was December nineteenth, and my little sister was to arrive at the Ratajczyk household to take pictures of the family for Christmas. Adam had dropped the twins off the night before and James dropped little girl off the afternoon before. Needless to say, there wasn’t a quiet room anywhere in the house.

I opened the front door just as Jackie reached it, ushering her inside and taking her coat and scarf to hang up in the coat closet while she kicked off her shoes and stashed them into the shoe chubby by the front door.

“Hey, MC!” she greeted me, bending to give Daisy all the pets and ear scratches that the now ninety six pound dog deserved.

Primrose skidded into the room just then, barreling over to Jackie before shoving Daisy out of the way and demanding love from the kneeling woman with a chittering purr, relaxing into a limp puddle as she received all the love.

“Auntie Jack Jack!” screamed little girl, racing over towards her aunt and knocking her over in a tackling hug. This only encouraged Baby Tommy and Baby Noah to join in with the attack on one Jaquelynn Elenora Lindsey. Jackie had changed her last name shortly after our sperm doner married his gold digging bitch of a wife, not wanting to associate herself with such a disgusting, perverse pairing.

All seven of my older brothers changed their last names too- Adam and the twins adopted Anna surname before marriage, Benjimen decided on Johnson, Caleb changed his name to Julie’s last name, Daniel decided on Williams, Ephriam changed his last name to his husband’s before marriage, Frankie boy claimed Moore, and Gideon decided on Maddison as his new last name.

Sammi had long since legally changed her name to Samantha Anne Heart to fit with her “professional slut” lifestyle. I greatly disapproved of her habit of finding a good dick while out at the grocery store picking up milk and eggs and then being fucked within an inch of her life. She had been like this since her sweet sixteen birthday, where her gift to herself was losing her virginity with Travis Grey from the soccer team under the football bleachers at lunch.

Jackie was laughing as the babies were giggling- Baby Tommy and Baby Noah were each on an arm while little girl claimed her spot on Jackie’s chest. The picture was so sweet that I had to capture it on my cell phone for a rainy day.

“Uh oh,” meeped Baby Tommy with a funny look on his chubby man face.

Sure enough…

POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT

Jackie automatically began to hack as Katie swooped down to the rescue, plucking up her little brother and whisking him off to go pay a visit to the potty.

Sammi began to crack up, having been in the sunroom, reading a book on Egyptian history that I had loaned her.

“Mommy, Baa bee Tom Tom got a sinky butt!” Baby Noah bemoaned, rolling off from Jackie’s arm and onto the carpeted hardwood floor. He looked up at the ceiling, softly babbling to himself as he kicked his feet rhythmically.

“Yes he sure does!” Sammi was cackling as little girl began to poke at Jackie’s face, just being absolutely utterly adorable (same as usual)

“Pook.” POKE “Pook.” POKE “Pook.” POKE “Pook.” POKE “Pook.” POKE “Pook.” POKE “Pook.” POKE “Pook.” POKE

“BOO!” Jackie shouted all of a sudden, making little girl jump three feet into the air before bursting into messy tears.

“Don’ cwy liddle gurl!” Baby Noah shot his aunt a dirty look. “Auntie Jack Jack pooh pooh head!”

“Ah, but of course Auntie Jackie has contracted the pooh pooh head virus!” I said in a teasing tone of voice, bursting into an amused cackle at the look she gave me.

“Ha ha ha, very funny MC,” she grouched as she collected her bag, taking out her camera and fitting a lenses to it.

“Hey, Baby Noah said it first- not me!” I ratted him out, pushing my lips out into a dramatic pout as Peter came in from the basement, where he had been busing changing the oil in the Doom Buggy 3.0. “Besides, you know me- outrageously dramatic and I don’t care!”

“You’re exhausting,” Jackie grumbled. “Plain and simple.”

I was quiet and she began to snap pictures of the family-

Little girl, Baby Tommy and Baby Noah looking outside at the thick layer of snow that covered everything.

Elizabeth and Katie building a blanket fort out from the dining room table.

Peter walking around the house, giving the Ratajczyk triplets skin to skin.

Baby Eve crawling around and pulling herself up to stand on wobbly feet.

Isabelle making her infamous crock pot hot cocoa and adding cinnamon and whipped cream to her mug.

Peter kissing me under a branch of mistletoe that he held over the both of us.

DING DONG

“I got it!” Sammi called out, going to open the front door. “Hello?”

“Hi, I’m sorry, but something just came up at work and I really need to drop Baby Kit off for a few hours,” I heard Walter saying as I peeled myself away from my husband’s smoldering eyes and electrifying kisses and snuck up behind my baby sister. “I called Peter’s cell phone, but I kept reaching voicemail.”

“It’s fine-” I told him, screaming when Sammi yelped at my sudden appearance before bursting into wild cackling. “It’s fine, you can leave her here. But my younger sister, Jackie, is taking pictures of the Ratajczyk family for Christmas.”

“LIDDLE GIRL!” screamed Baby Kit, peeling away from her father and racing to leap onto little girl with a gleeful screech.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand… the circle of babies is at long last completed!” I giggled as Baby Mattie began to fuss, clearly wanting some mommy milk.

TAGLISTS ARE OPEN/ ASK BOX IS OPEN/ REQUESTS ARE OPEN/ PLOT BUNNIES ARE WELCOMED

If you liked this, then please consider buying me a coffee HERE It only costs $3!!!

PETER STEELE TAGLIST

@rock-a-noodle

@ch3rry-c01a

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need-a-fugue · 5 years ago

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Why Not? - Chapter Three

Summary: With a garage to run and a young daughter to, well… run after, Bucky Barnes doesn’t exactly have time for dating. And with his relationship track record – and the constant meddling of a certain overbearing best friend – he’s not so sure that’s a bad thing. But then he meets Annie – a rather insistent, pretty damn cute fellow car enthusiast – and it’s got him asking himself, despite all his hesitations, why not?

Author’s Note: Written for Little Darlin’s Mystery AU Challenge. Thanks to @sourpatchkidsandacokecan for triggering this… sprawling thing simply by supplying me with the prompt of Mechanic!AU for Bucky. It’s taken on a life of its own already… look at what you’ve done!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC

Warnings: Your teeth may rot from sweetness...

Chapter Three

The place is nearly empty – not so surprising for four o’clock on a Sunday – and it makes their little meetup look more like a quick bite out between friends than a first date. But when Bucky texted late Friday night – Sorry, Lana’s sitter cancelled. Can’t make it for dinner tomorrow. – Annie’s slightly overzealous, more than a bit insistent nature burst forth in all its tenacious glory and pushed and pushed until she got him to offer up this small window of free time. She had berated herself – out loud in front of the bathroom mirror – for at least an hour after their text exchange ended, absolutely horrified that she had backed him into a corner and somehow turned their date into an early bird special at the pub down the block from where his daughter is having a swim lesson.

But her doggedness had set something off in Bucky. And it wasn’t the fact that she seemed so interested in meeting up with him that did it. Though it had been a long time since a woman pursued him to this degree. It was actually something about her perfectly controlled attempts at organizing this date – her swift and methodical breakdown of his, admittedly, all-over-the-place schedule – that weirdly… turned him on. She took control of the whole damn thing, and damn if that didn’t just give flight to a horde of butterflies that – even now as the two sit in awkward silence across from one another in a dark and empty pub – are beating their tiny wings mercilessly into the lining of his stomach.

The silence is finally cut through when Annie clears her throat, delicately cocking her head to the side as she looks over at him. “You, uh,” she mutters, leaning forward and reaching out to gingerly swipe her thumb across the side of his neck. A rather uncomfortable giggle ripples out of her as she pulls away, settles back into her seat, and holds up her hand to show him the small red glob she managed to pull off of him. “Looks like… jam?” she questions, inspecting it herself before quickly wiping it away onto the napkin in her lap. She catches him giving her a curious look, corner of his mouth curling ever so slightly into a coy grin. “Sorry,” she breathes out, ducking her head to hide the sudden blush blazing its way up her cheeks. “I just… I noticed it…”

“Yeah,” he says lightly, breathy chuckle following on its heels. “No, we… uh had waffles with strawberry jam for breakfast.” He clears his throat awkwardly, the stilted sound pulling her attention. When she looks back up, it’s to find him smiling nervously as he rubs at the back of his neck. A small snort, a tentative glance, a twitch of his fingers as his hand slowly rolls around to his jaw, swiftly scrubbing at the thick scruff. “Shit. I guess that’s been there all day.”

“Well,” she breathes out, biting down on the corner of her lip to keep from smiling too wide at his obvious embarrassment. “Can’t blame you for saving some. That does sound pretty delicious.”

“Yeah?” He grins, all crooked and charming, the ease with which he shifts from nervous to confident actually startling him a bit. “You wanna skip out on burgers and come over for waffles instead?”

Her eyes blow wide, thick, apprehensive laugh bubbling up from her chest and spilling out along with a teasing, “You’re very forward!”

“Nah,” he hums, waving a hand absently through the air. “I just have about four dozen extras in the freezer now that I need to get rid of.” He looks up at her, locking his dazzling blue eyes onto hers and raising a single dubious brow. “You don’t even have to come inside. Really. I’ll just run them out to you. You’d be doing me a favor.”

Annie leans back and laughs, the light, melodic giggles flowing so easily into the small space between them, seeping into his pores and setting his skin aflame. “Do you have enough strawberry jam for all of them?” she asks, steeling her features in an attempt at a serious inquiry.

He shakes his head – “Definitely not.” – and relaxes in his seat, letting his shoulders slacken as he lays his forearms out onto the tabletop, absently twisting his fingers together. “But we’re going through a testing phase right now. Trying out different things. One day it’s strawberry jam on the waffles, next day whipped cream…”

“Oh, there should always be whipped cream,” she interrupts, chin and lips tightening into a stolid directive.

He chuckles a bit before going on to list, “hot fudge sauce, orange marmalade,” stopping briefly to wrinkle his nose in disgust. “Maple syrup,” he declares, quirking a very stern stare her way, “the way it oughtta be.” Then his features soften once more, delicate smile splitting his face. “Last week was butterscotch… just glad we made it over that disgusting hurdle.”

“Out of curiosity,” she intones, brow furrowing in deep interest, “is it you or Lana who’s so set on this testing?”

A swift, breathy laugh falls from his lips, his head shaking languidly. “Not me… I get pretty stuck in my ways. No,” he mutters, tone taking on a sort of wistful twang. “No, my baby girl’s the adventurous one.”

“That’s a good thing, though, right?” she asks, leaning forward to mirror his posture, elbows up onto the table, shoulders slumped and relaxed. “My niece is three and I don’t think she’s eaten anything that isn’t some shade of yellow in about a year and a half.”

“Yellow?” He lets out put-on shudder. “We went through a green phase last year. But that really just meant a lot of spinach and green beans.”

“Ah, yes… we have wax beans. And corn. Lots of bananas. And far too much cheese.” He snorts out a laugh, shaking his head in a sort of miserable solidarity with her sister – with all toddler parents. “I babysat last week,” she goes on, “and I had to coat each chicken nugget in mustard ‘til they were dripping just to get her to eat them.”

“Svetlana won’t eat mustard,” he announces simply. “But if you like ketchup, I’ve got about fifty gallons in the cupboard.”

The two share a soft laugh, each pulling back and sitting upright when the waiter comes by to take their order. A bacon cheeseburger for Bucky, no onions, extra pickles. Annie quirks an almost suspicious brow at him as he hands over his menu, giving the waiter little more than a sidelong glance as she says, eyes still plastered to the man across from her, “Same. Medium rare.”

Bucky catches her gaze, the corners of his mouth quirking just a little bit higher, skin around his eyes crinkling just a little bit deeper as he watches her with an amused sort of interest. He says nothing, simply scooting his chair closer and leaning forward once again, his bright blue eyes never leaving hers.

It’s little more than a moment before the silence becomes too much for her bear – not that any sort of silence has ever been particularly bearable for Annie – and she clears her throat again, ducking out of his piercing stare. “Svetlana,” she starts, forced casual note to her voice. “That’s a beautiful name. Don’t hear it too often.”

He nods lightly, winding his fingers together once again and twiddling them distractedly as he nibbles at the corner of his lip. “Yep,” he says, letting his lip pop loose along with the P. “Means light,” he goes on, brows rising appreciatively before his countenance takes on a soft, almost wistful character. “Light of my life.” He shrugs. “’Course, poor baby girl still can’t actually say it.”

A small hum escapes her as she watches the man across from her, rather silly, crooked grin tugging at her face as his almost seems to glow. “It’s Russian?” she asks simply, chin falling to her open palm as her body unconsciously shifts forward, leaning closer to him.

His eyes flick back to hers, the dreamy quality slowly dissipating as he answers, “Yeah. Yeah, her mom is Russian.”

She nods, a bit hesitant to ask, but too keenly curious not to… “Right. You said you were divorced. Was that… recent?”

“Nah,” he says, shoulders lifting in a casual shrug. “We split a couple years ago. Never really shoulda gotten married to begin with.” Another shrug, this one looking almost forced. “Just seemed like the right thing to do.” His gaze drops down to his hands for the briefest of moments, forehead furrowing as he watches his fingers shift and clench, white knuckling as they worry each other. He pulls them apart and shakes them out swiftly before reclining back in his chair. “We were always better at just being… friends.”

Something in her chest catches at that – the solemn sincerity with which he breathes out those words, better at being friends – and she feels suddenly… lighter, the tension she’d been carrying in her muscles, ever since brazenly asking Bucky to dinner the other day, finally easing, if only a bit. “And you’re still friends now?”

He looks up at her, seeming almost surprised by the question. “Yeah. Yeah, Nat’s great. She loves Lana like crazy… great mom. And she’s pretty relaxed about the schedule, you know?” The light blue of his eyes begins to haze, a sort of gray cloudiness pushing over his irises. “It’s easier right now, though. Just daycare and swim lessons to juggle.” He breathes out a short chuckle. “And soccer. But that’s… not real soccer right now, you know? Not like the games really mean anything, or like she’s missing anything if we skip a practice.” He shrugs blithely and bites down on his bottom lip. “She starts kindergarten next year, though. Not sure what it’ll be like once she’s in school.”

Annie’s brows tug tightly together. “What do you mean?”

He shifts uncomfortably in his chair, rocking it a bit and dragging it across the wood floor with a small scrape. “Just… Natasha wants to put her in this private school by her.” The clouds in his eyes thicken despite the soft smile that tugs at his lips. “It’s a good school. I’m all for it. But… it’s right by her. ‘Bout forty minutes from me.” A quick shrug, an almost painful laugh. “It’d probably be easier… better… for her to stay over there during the week.”

Ah. Annie pulls in a deep breath, finds herself nodding slowly as she takes that in, lips pursing as she thinks on what to say… thinks on how she might be able veer away from this obviously sensitive subject. First date, she reminds herself, those two words rolling around inside her head as she continues to watch Bucky absently gnaw on his lip. This is supposed to be a first date, not a damn therapy session.

“It’s good, though,” he spurts out suddenly, pulling himself upright in the chair. “It’ll be good for her. To have that stability. It’ll just be hard… on me.” Some light returns to his eyes as he offers another smile, small but genuine. “Might have more room in the freezer, though.”

She laughs lightly and quickly takes the out he offers, pulling away from any talk of exes and custody arrangements. “Why did you make so many waffles?”

He cocks his head and looks at her as though she just asked him why the sky is blue. Because it is. Because that’s just how it is. “Because Lana wanted to.”

She nods slowly, realization washing over her. Of course it’d be that simple.

“You know,” he breathes out, pensive look on his face. “You’re pretty easy to talk to.”

“I am?”

He lets out a gentle laugh. “You didn’t know?”

She shrugs blithely, crooked grin blooming. “I may have been told that before. I think it’s just what happens when you show genuine interest in a person.”

“Oh,” he intones, brows rising and face pulling into what she’s already beginning to recognize as his teasing guise. “So you’re genuinely interested? In me?”

Another shrug, the forced casualness of the motion being just over the top enough to cause an expectant tingle to trace up Bucky’s spine as he watches her. “Maybe.”

He shakes his head lazily back and forth, blows out a long sigh as he does so. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I think your boss might be even more interested. I mean, he practically stalked me for weeks.”

“Ugh,” she moans out dramatically, falling face first atop the table with a dull thud. Her shoulders shake with silent laughter, the man across from her snorting out a sudden and thoroughly amused chortle of his own as she lays splayed out before him for a moment longer. She pulls herself upright, trailing her fingers through her long, thick hair in an attempt to right it, and locks onto Bucky’s thoroughly entertained gaze. “I told you,” she practically whines. “I didn’t know he would do that. And I am so, so sorry.”

“Yeah, you better be,” he says with mock offense.

Her eyes narrow accusingly. “You know, I have access to all of his receipts. I saw how much he’s been paying you. You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you?” he snorts. “He needed a job done. I did it.”

A single brow cocks high, the rather indignant expression setting off those damn butterflies in Bucky’s stomach once again. “He’s a mechanical engineer. He runs pilot programs out of MIT. His father built the first working model of a flying car.” She leans heavily over the table, positioning herself close enough to him that he can almost feel her breath hot on his face. “Tony Stark can do his own tune-ups.” She flops lazily back into her chair, smile brimming with snark and sass, and Bucky realizes that the heat on his cheeks may not have been from her breath after all, but from his own body betraying him with a fiery blush. “Hell, he could build a robot to do all of that for him.”

He clears his throat thickly, eyes shifting away for a beat so he can… regather himself. “All of a sudden, I’m feeling very used,” he mutters vaguely, gaze bouncing back to hers upon hearing a bright shock of laughter. “It’s true,” he deadpans, not at all succeeding at keeping the grin off his face. “And honestly,” he mutters softly, the thought only just now occurring to him, “I can’t help but think that someone who helped her dad rebuild a Mustang might just know how to change her own oil too.”

A look of alarm flashes across her face, leaving a slightly embarrassed – slightly charmed – crooked smirk in its wake. “I guess you’re on to me,” she admits with a sigh. Then, leveling him with the kind of overconfident stare he had not yet seen – nor expected to see – on that delicate, dimpled face, she says, “Now that you know what I was willing to do just to get to know you a little better… what kind of hoops are you willing to jump through for me?”

He takes a moment to answer, his pale blue eyes boring into her, stabbing deep down into her soul as he gazes tenderly at her. “Well,” he says finally, never shifting his stare. “I guess I could pay for your burger.”

#bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #ldamc #dad!bucky #Bucky Barnes #marvel fanfic #bucky imagine #bucky barnes imagine #avengers fanfiction #avengersau #bucky x oc #bucky x original female character #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x original female character #bucky barnes x original

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what-is-your-plan-today · 5 years ago

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Stark Spangled Banner Ch38: Lost And Fallen

Intro: The Battle was lost, Thanos won and succeeded in eliminating half of all life across the Universe. But for Katie and Steve the loss is bigger than they could ever had possibly imagined...

Warnings: Bad Language words. Things getting dusted and death (also alludes to a miscarriage- if this is a trigger please stay away)

Pairing:Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist

The silence that hung over Wakanda was haunting, punctuated only by the odd yell that reached Steve’s ears as people were calling for their fallen friends, family and loved ones. He was vaguely aware that people were gathering around the spot where he and Katie were sat on the floor, no one saying anything until the still was shattered when Okoye came rushing through the trees. Steve looked up as she stopped short at seeing them all, but she was visibly shaking and her breathing was shallow.

Steve knew what she was going to say before she said it.

"The King is dead." Okoye announced shakily.

“He did it.” Rhodey spoke gently, looking around. “He got the stones…”

“I should have gone for the head.” Thor bowed his head in sadness, his voice cracking “He told me. If I had gone for the head I could have stopped him snapping his fingers and…”

“Thor, once Thanos had all of those stones, we never stood a chance.” Natasha sighed, her voice hoarse.

Steve glanced around the small clearing, there was no sign of Sam either. They’d lost him, Vision, Bucky, Wanda, T’Challa and he had no idea about Tony or the others he was with.

"I must to go back to the palace at once," Okoye straightened up, "Ensure that the princess and Queen Mother weren't…” she paused to regain her composure, "…among the fallen."

“That might be the best idea.” Bruce looked around “For us all.”

“We can't," Katie shook her head, talking for the first time "We can't just..." she trailed off, gesturing at Vision's body.

Thor knelt down next to her, his eyes locking onto hers "We can come back for him, Little Stark, right Captain?”

Steve looked up and nodded, jerking himself into action.

“Our first priority has to be getting everyone who is injured back into the city for attention.” Steve nodded gently as he stood up. He offered Katie his hand and she took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. She twisted the bracelet on her arm with a shaking hand, the nano-bots flowing back into the metal leaving her in her combat pants and top. With trembling fingers she gripped Steve’s hand and he squeezed his palm gently around hers. “Okoye, once you are there can you organise transport for everyone?”

“Yes Captain.” She nodded, straightened her shoulders and made her way through the line of trees.

Together they all made to follow the same route, Katie and Steve dropping back, trying to snatch a stolen moment of privacy. Steve wanted nothing more than to hold his wife, and he knew her well enough to be able to read her body language and understand she felt the same, but on some subconscious level it was almost like the two of them knew they had to keep a distance out of respect for the others. The relief Steve felt that neither of them had lost the other was insurmountable, but how was it fair that so many others hadn’t been so lucky? He was merely grateful for the fact she was still here, and he knew it wouldn’t be fair to show that until they were alone.

Suddenly, besides him, Katie gave a sharp hiss and clutched at her stomach as she felt a searing pain across the lower part of her abdomen.

“Sweetheart? Are you alright?” Steve stopped, stooping slightly so he could catch her eyes.

“Just took a few knocks but nothing I can’t walk off.” she waved his concern away, straightening up as the pain subsided. “You?”

“He gave me a pretty hard whack.” he muttered and her eyes travelled over the trickle of blood that was on his temple and his split lip “But I’m fine.”

Katie looked around to see that everyone had continued to walk before she glanced back at him and felt a wave of tears springing up on her.

“You’re still here.” she whispered. “So many of them, Stevie, I was so scared you...” He wrapped his arms around her, chin resting on her head and she was surprised to feel him shaking “Me too, Doll, if…” his voice cracked “...if I’d lost you…”

How long they were there they had no idea, but it was when Katie felt another searing pain that they split apart, and this time she doubled over, the sound that left her mouth was a cry, not a hiss.

“That’s it, you need a medic.” Steve instructed, his hand on her back as he yelled out “Thor!” Katie was aware of heavy footsteps, as another wave of pain hit her and she went light headed. She staggered backwards and glanced up at Steve who had reached out and caught her, his strong arm wrapping round her back, his blue eyes full of concern.

“I don’t…I can’t…” she began, and then she went limp in his arms.

“Katie, sweetheart.” Steve spoke, gently, his hand brushing over her forehead. He looked up at Thor, panic on his face and the god nodded.

“I’ll get her to the palace.” he said. Steve gently moved Katie so she was in his arms and with a flash Thor took off.

“She’s probably just badly bruised and a bit…” Natasha began to speak, her hand gently squeezing Steve’s forearm as the Soldier looked at her, and swallowed thickly, before he sprinted after them, not looking back.

“I’m sorry Captain Rogers.” the Doctor looked at him, sympathetically “We’ve operated and removed…” he took a deep breath and Steve looked away, tears stinging his eyes before he looked back.

“Is she…” he sniffed, his voice wobbling with emotion, “is she gonna be ok?” “She will be fine.” The Doctor assured him. “You can sit with her if you like.” Steve nodded and the Doctor gave him one last look before he moved away. He paused at the doorway, his hand shaking as he moved to push it open but a voice stopped him.

“How is she?”

He turned to see Natasha. She had been coordinating ensuring the injured and dead that hadn’t been dusted were recovered and looked tired and shaken, like they all were.

“She’s ok.” he said, his voice thick.

“Did they find out what was wrong?” Nat asked and Steve took a shaky breath, as he looked at her. She saw the tears in his eyes and frowned “Steve? What is it?” “She was pregnant Nat.” he stuttered, his voice nothing but a whisper “All that time over the last few weeks she thought she was ill, and she wasn’t, she was…she was having our baby. But he snapped and…” “Oh shit.” Nat mumbled as she wrapped her arms around his bulky frame. He buried his face into her shoulder and his chest heaved with the force of his sobs. Nat screwed her face up fighting her own tears as she wound a hand into his hair, gently soothing him as he cried, helpless to do anything but lend him comfort.

Eventually he pulled away, wiping at his face. “Sorry.” he mumbled and Natasha scoffed.

“Stop it.” she looked up at him. “You don’t need to apologise.” He took a deep breath and turned back to the door. He paused again before he looked at her “no one is to know, not until…” Natasha nodded “If anyone asks I’ll tell them she took a bad blow.”

Steve sniffed again, and steeling himself he pushed open the door and crossed the room, taking a seat by his wife’s bed. He took her hand in both of his and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles, before leaning his cheek against the smooth skin on the back of her hand.

She’d been expecting his baby, and neither of them had known. Kids hadn’t really been on the agenda, certainly not for the foreseeable anyway, not whilst they were living in the shadows, but now he couldn’t help but feel empty, empty at the thought that they could have been a family but it had been so cruelly taken from them.

He sat in silence for a while, until what must have been an hour or so later the door opened and he looked up at Natasha as she crossed the room.

“How is she?” she asked.

“Still sleeping.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m ok.” he managed a gentle smile, “Thanks.” Natasha nodded and Steve let out a soft sigh “And thanks for…you know, before.”

“Steve.” a croaky voice from the bed caught his attention and he whipped back round to Katie. Her eyes weren’t open yet, but her face was scrunching up as she began to blink.

“Hey, kitten.” he said softly, his hand tightening around hers as he moved his chair closer to the bed.

Katie’s head felt like it was full of fluff, but she turned in the direction his voice was coming from, blinking as his face swam into focus.

“I’ll go fetch someone.” Nat said softly.

“Give me 5 minutes” Steve spoke, looking over his shoulder, shooting Nat a significant look. She nodded and Steve turned back to Katie, smiling softly.

“Welcome back.” his hand gently stroked her hair. “What happened?” she asked, looking around the room.

“You collapsed” he said, taking a deep breath “After the fight.” “Why?” she turned back to look at him, frowning “I can’t have been hit that bad, I had my suit on.” Steve hesitated for a moment, looking down at where his hand grasped hers. How the fuck did he tell her this?

“I err…” he looked up again, taking a deep breath and she was surprised to see his eyes were watering.

“Steve what is it?”

“You were err you were…” he swallowed and the last word stumbled from his lips. “…pregnant.” The words hit her like a sledge hammer. She’d been feeling ill for a while, but she’d never once considered that, after all she was on birth control, she had a damned IUD fitted.

And then his words registered even more ‘you were…not are…’

“Were…” she trailed off as the look on his face said it all as it hit her just what was going on ”No,no,no....”

“Sweetheart…”

“Was it the snap?” she asked, suddenly needing to know. Could she have prevented this?

“It looks that way, yeah, they had to err…they had to operate.” He watched as she frantically pushed down the bed covers, whilst he tried to placate her, but she ignored him and hitched up the top half of the white shorts and T’shirt the Doctors had put her in her. Her hands and eyes gently moved over the inch long incision mark that was already fading thanks to the Wakandan technology, before her hands flattened on her stomach and Steve felt his heart break all over again.

“I lost our baby.” she looked at him, and a tear fell from Steve’s face as she took a deep rattling breath “Oh Steve.”

He wrapped his arms around her and she pressed her face into his chest, as her heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces.

“I should have known.” she sobbed as he wrapped his arms around her again “I should have known. I thought it was a bug or food or…”

“Baby, listen to me.” Steve spoke, his voice firm but gentle. “This is not your fault. Nothing could have stopped Thanos and what that snap did.”

“We’ll get through this.” he whispered gently, his voice cracking “I promise.”

After a final check with the doctors, who were satisfied Katie was well enough to leave, not that that was going to stop her anyway, they bid goodbye to the Queen, who assured them that Wakanda would be open to them whenever they needed, just as T’Challa would want. The trip home wasn’t punctuated with the usual chat, no one really spoke other than to occasionally break the silence about what they needed to do next. Thor was wanting to head straight out when he got home to see if he could locate Tony or Thanos and Bruce was trying to get him to wait a while. But as they made plans Katie found she had no real input, so stayed quiet, lost in her thoughts. She should have realised her IUD needed swapping out. She should have sussed she was pregnant sooner. So many should haves, and now she really wanted the comfort of her brother’s arms too, but they had no idea where he was. None of the tech in Wakanda had picked anything up. One thing she was thankful for was that no one bar her, Steve and Natasha knew about the baby. She wasn’t sure she’d have coped with the constant sympathy that would have come her way. She’d tell them, eventually, but for now, she wanted to come to terms with it with Steve alone.

They stepped in and took a deep breath, walking from room to room, for no reason other than to take everything in. Nothing had changed. Glasses were still on the kitchen shelves, the TV was still on the side, the sofa was exactly how they had left it and their clothes were still in the drawers and closet, toiletries still in the bathrooms. And it was clean. Tony clearly having paid someone to keep up with the housework, just in case. At the thought her eyes once more began to sting with tears and she sat on the edge of the bed and removed her boots, dropping them wordlessly to the floor.

“You want to take the bathroom, Sweetheart?” Steve asked, kneeling in front of her and she had to smile, which made Steve do the same as he knew what she’d found amusing. Despite all of Tony’s technology he had never managed to fix the issue that, although they had two bathrooms in the apartment, you couldn’t run the two showers at the same time without the water running freezing cold. Katie reached out to touch Steve’s face and nodded, offering him a quiet thanks as she headed into the en-suite. She closed the door, but didn’t lock it. She never did, the thought of shutting Steve out of any aspect of her life was alien. She passed the His-and- Her sinks, turned on the waterfall shower and removed her clothes before stepping under the hot water, tilting her face up to greet it, willing it to wash away the events of the past God knows how long. As she lathered her hair, washing away the dirt that was lodged in it, she felt nothing but an empty hopelessness. Try as she might, she couldn’t help her thoughts straying to Tony and how he was likely to be feeling the same only stranded somewhere millions of miles away from home. If he was alive.

Their baby sure wasn’t.

“Honey,” he said gently, his hand tangling in her hair, “you’ll get cold, come on…”

She nodded and allowed him to step out of the shower, where he handed her a large towel before grabbing one for himself.

“Are you hungry?” He asked as they both exited the bathroom. “I can try and find something.” “No.” she said, her voice croaky “I just want to go to bed.”

“Steve.” she whispered, her tears falling to the pillow as her body began to shake again. “I don’t know what to do.”

Steve stayed awake well into the night, letting his own tears flow down onto his pillow because whilst she slept, he didn’t have to be strong.

******

Eventually he had to give into his bladder and with a sigh he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Kitten, sorry but I gotta pee.”

“Give it a day or so and it will be gone.” he said gently, clocking the look on her face.

“I’ll get some arnica.” she murmured, and he smiled sadly, running the finger of his right hand across her bruised cheek.

“Think you need some for yourself.” he said, gently before he stood up and headed into the bathroom.

Once they were dressed and Katie had gently rubbed the arnica into Steve’s bruises they headed out of their quarters. The Compound was still eerily quiet. Given that it was still early, as they headed through the lifeless halls to the conference room, Katie assumed they would be the first ones up, but they’ weren't. Natasha and Rhodey were sitting at the table, both looking like they hadn’t slept a wink,.

"Morning." Rhodey greeted them as he looked up.

"Morning." Katie said touching his shoulder briefly. Natasha pushed the plate of various breakfast items across the table towards them and Katie suddenly realised she hadn’t eaten in almost forty-eight hours. To Steve’s relief she dived for a croissant and began to pick at it. It wasn’t much, but at least she was eating.

Steve leaned back in his chair and looked at Natasha

"Have you heard anything from Barton?" he asked softly.

"I tried calling, but nothing." she shrugged.

"We’ve been trying to figure out how we can get a headcount of all the people that might have disappeared in the Snap.” Rhodey offered “See how far this stretches, which world leaders are still here, what happened to the authorities everything. Then we can figure out who's left and what we can do from there.

“As horrible as it is, it needs to be done.” Steve nodded.

"Anything from SHIELD? Fury? Agent Hill?" Katie looked at Natasha.

"I've sent out calls and messages, if there's anyone left they'll respond." she replied as she continued to tap at the computer.

"Good."

"I spoke to Pepper earlier" Rhodey looked at Katie. "She's on her way up, Happy's driving her."

Katie moaned in disbelief that she hadn’t even thought about the woman that she’d loved as a sister for so many years “Pepper.”

“Hey, don’t..” Steve said, gently squeezing her shoulder “ We’ve all had a lot to cope with and think about.”

“He s right Kiddo.” Rhodey nodded “The main thing is she’s alright. “

"Still nothing from Tony?" Katie asked tentatively

Rhodey shook his head. "I think…” he looked at Steve who took a deep breath. “I think we have to assume the worst.”

Steve looked at Rhodey and gently shook his head, causing the other man to take a deep breath and they all looked up as the other members of the group trickled into the room.

"We’ve been trying to get a signal from my ship” Rocket offered, “So far, nothing.”

"No sign of my people either." Thor bowed his head.

"I thought that-" Steve began in a confused tone but Thor cut him off.

"When Thanos attacked our ship, half of the people on board escaped so some of them will still be out there. I just need to find them."

"So what do we do now?" Bruce asked, and all heads turned to Steve, their leader.

"We wait until we find something useful. Then we do what we have to, what we can." Steve leaned his elbows on the table top. It was all he could suggest.

“You can wait all you want.” Thor shrugged, “But I’m going to find Thanos.”

“Oh yeah?” Rocket rolled his eyes “And then what?”

“I’m going to kill him.” Thor replied simply.

“How?”

“I’ll cut his head off, bring the stones back and we can figure out how to undo this unholy mess that he created.”

“If we’re going to have any hope of going after Thanos and being successful then we need to come up with some form of plan, otherwise we don’t stand a chance.” Steve looked up at Thor.

“And we will.” Steve started to placate him and Thor simply snorted before pointing at him.

“This man killed half my people, murdered my brother and stabbed my best friend through the heart with a sword!”

“We all lost Thor.” Steve tried again and Thor snorted.

“I lost everything. No offence Captain, but what exactly did you lose? Huh? Because as far as I can see the person you love the most is still here and-”

And that was it, her temper snapped. None of them had any idea what he had lost, what they had lost.

“Best friends?” Thor was loudly responding to Rhodey “Well pardon me if but I don’t particularly feel-

“We lost our baby Thor!” Katie spoke loudly, looking up at the God as she cut him off, her voice cracking “That good enough for you?”

There was a pause and Steve felt the atmosphere in the entire room thicken as he swallowed and looked at his wife. Her eyes were blazing as she was glaring at Thor, whose own eyes had grown wide with surprise and something that looked like remorse. Steve’s hand gently crept to Katie’s back and he felt hers fall to his knee, her gaze on Thor never moving. “I don’t understand.” Thor continued, looking around.

At that point Katie looked down at the table and licked her lips, steeling herself to respond, but Steve did it for her

“Katie was pregnant.” he said softly, looking up. “But we didn’t know. Not until…” “Oh Jesus.” Rhodey sighed, running his hand over his face “Guys, I…” “I don’t want sympathy.” she said, as Steve’s hand moved to take hers “We don’t want sympathy, I just thought you should all know.” “I’m sorry.” Thor bowed his head.

“He snapped away our baby.” Katie took a deep breath and looked up at the God “So yeah, Steve lost a lot. We all did. But that aside you’re right, we do need to find him, get those stones and reverse what he did but you can’t do it alone, and we can’t do it without you.” she looked round the table “If we are going to have any chance of succeeding, we need to be clever as fighting him like we did in Wakanda won’t work.”

Thor looked at her then his storm blue eyes locked onto Steve’s as he sighed and nodded.

“Ok Captain, we will do this your way. But I’m still going to cut his head off when we do find him.”

No one dared suggest otherwise.

“I’m so glad you’re ok.” she said gently.

“You too.” Pepper croaked.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Katie’s voice cracked as she pulled away gently, looking at her.

“We missed you, we all did.”

“I’m sorry.” Katie sniffed, bowing her head “I really am, if there had been any other way.” “Don’t.” Pepper urged her “You had your reasons. Tony knew that.”

“Have you heard from him?” Katie asked gently.

Pepper shook her head, “Not since he went up after that ship. You?”

“No, but we have every scanner we can going.” Katie turned to look at Steve, Nat, Rhodey and Bruce who had now gathered behind her. “We’ll find him.” “I hope you’re right.”

“Well whilst we have hope, we have something huh?” Katie said, wiping at her eyes before she turned to Happy, releasing Pepper who was instantly swept up into an embrace by Steve.

“Hey Kiddo.” Happy smiled sadly, pulling her into a huge hug, his large arms circling around her back. “It’s good to see you.”

Katie couldn’t find any words to respond.

Eventually everyone finished their greetings and they all made their way back into the main office where they had been sat, watching the reports.

“There’s a Racoon.” Happy eyed Rocket as he walked passed.

“Yeah, his name’s Rocket.” Katie replied, “It’s a long story.”

“The one thing we do know is that Tony wasn’t alone.” Bruce said, concluding the tale “He was with Peter Parker and this Dr Strange guy.”

“So that has to count for something right?” Pepper sniffed

“We’re running scans.” Bruce ignored question. “But we’re limited to what the StarkSats can pick up.”

Steve was about to offer to accompany him but Katie beat him to it.

“I’ll do it.” she looked around. “That is unless anyone else particularly wants to?”

Steve took a deep breath and looked at her, grappling with the fact he was pleased she wasn’t holing herself up, hiding away like she could have been, in grieving but on the flip side, he wasn’t sure if she was up to it both physically and mentally.

“You’re needed here” she looked at him. And he was, she wasn’t sure they’d cope without his calmness and his level headedness at a time like this. No, this was something she could do, something that would help.

“Are you sure you’re alright to do this?” he asked her. “You should be resting and-“ “Don’t.” she looked at him, silently pleading with him. She needed to do something, anything to stay busy.

“Alright.” he acquiesced eventually, knowing her well enough to understand if he pushed it any further it wouldn’t end well. “If you’re sure?”

She nodded. “Always a pleasure to see Ross.” she looked up at Rhodey who nodded.

“I’ll tell them we’ll be there tomorrow morning.”

******

“So as I was saying,” Ross looked down the table, “the US Government is attempting to start a census to compile a list of the Vanished. We need to understand just what we’re looking at.”

“What we’re looking at is simple.” Katie folded her arms. “Thanos had one goal. To wipe out fifty percent of everything across the Universe.”

“What do we know about this Thanos?” President Ellis asked and Katie took a deep breath before she looked at Rhodey. They were half an hour or so into the debrief and questioning and she was already starting to get a headache. They had arrived at the White House just after ten am and been ushered straight into the large meeting room where the President was waiting flanked by various remaining members of the National Security Council and a few guards. He had opened with a statement about how lucky he had been, both his wife and daughter had survived. Other members of his family, his friends, his cabinet hadn’t. He had given them his utmost sympathy for their fallen friends, politely asked Katie if there was any news on her brother and then he had dived straight into the drilling. They had explained about the Infinity Stones, where they had been hidden, how they had been taken and now they were getting into the nitty gritty of Thanos and what he wanted them for.

“From what we know he started to look for Infinity Stones to help him complete his mission.” Rhodey said. “Once he had all 6, he was able to do it with a simple snap of his fingers.”

“Was this guy not on SHIELDs radar? Or the Avengers radar?” a man to the right of President Ellis asked.

“After Sokovia, Thor departed to track the rest of the Infinity Stones down. He didn’t find them and he didn’t know about Thanos.” Katie shrugged “None of us did, but let’s not forget the Avengers haven’t existed for the past two years.” She glanced at Ross. “Your Accords put paid to that.”

“Those Accords were ratified by over a hundred different countries.” Ross looked at her “I couldn’t just overrule or ignore the fact you broke the law.”

Katie snorted and looked around the room, pointing at Ross as she turned back to him.

“Seriously, half the population of the world crumbles to dust and you survive?”

“Kiddo.” Rhodey cut her off and lay his hand on her arm, she ignored him and carried on.

“We broke the law trying to keep you safe!” she shook her head “Those other soldiers in Siberia, if they had been alive then the entire world could have fallen. We knew what the consequences would be, but stopping that threat was far more important. And what did we get for it?” she glared at Ross, her temper rising “You locked half of us in a jail. Put an 18 year old girl in a straight jacket and a collar that stripped her of her power and her dignity. Do you know she suffered nightmares for months after we got her out? Months…” Ross at least had the grace to look a little abashed.

“And you wanna know the worst part? During those years on the run those very people you outcast still did the dirty jobs SHIELD didn’t want to do. We bust illegal arms traders, took down drugs cartels, all to keep the very people that exiled us safe.”

“I appreciate there has been a lot of water under the bridge and you may feel aggrieved but what matters now is how we go forward.” Ross looked at her. “We lost, the world lost…” “You’re not getting this are you?” Katie looked at him “We lost because we weren’t together. And we weren’t together because of you!”

“Thank you sir.” Rhodey said, and at the same time Katie asked

“What about Bucky?”

“What?” President Ellis looked at her.

“Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.”

“The Winter Soldier?” Ross frowned.

“That’s not his name, that’s the weapon Hydra made him.” Katie said fiercely “And that’s not who he is…who he was” she corrected herself “Not anymore.” “After Siberia Captain Rogers took Barnes to Wakanda” Rhodey supplied at the puzzled glances from around the table. “He underwent treatment to remove the programming from his brain, which was successful.”

“He fought with us against Thanos.” Katie took a deep breath “He went in the snap along with Sam and Wanda and he deserves to be honoured alongside them with a full unequivocal pardon.” she looked at Ross, holding his gaze. “He saved my life a few years ago when he pulled me out of that shit hole in Canada, he didn’t bomb the UN and he’s no more responsible for the atrocities HYDRA forced him to commit than you or I.”

President Ellis nodded. “Consider it done. We’ll also give you access to the equipment we have, people, anything we can at NASA to help you find your brother…”

“Thank you Sir.” she nodded to him.

“And we don’t know if it will help in any way but Fury’s SUV was found in DC along with some belongings. In the absence of anyone else to look through it, we thought…” Katie looked down at the table. She’d been hoping that Fury was going to pop up soon, help them formulate some kind of plan with a trick up his sleeve like he normally did. But instead, here they were, getting the confirmation that he was gone too.

“We’ll take a look” Rhodey nodded.

“Given who’s vehicle it is, we’ve had guarded. We can have it delivered to the compound or you can take a look at it in situ.” Ross said.

“Compound would be better.” Katie looked at Rhodey who agreed.

“Ok, we’ll make it happen right away.” President Ellis nodded, “And this afternoon we’re going to issue a full statement to the world, tell them what they know. Then we will try and regroup what is left of our Armed Forces, get some kind of census going…” He stood up, signalling the meeting was over and Rhodey and Katie did the same.

“The Avengers were Fury’s greatest achievement.” the President spoke “He had faith in you. Absolute faith. Right now, I’m hoping that faith is justified as frankly, I don’t have a clue where any of us go from here.” “No one does Sir.” Katie said, the tears springing into her eyes. “No one does.”

As she made to leave the room Ross spoke from where he was stood, not far behind her.

“Give Captain Rogers my regards.”

That was enough to make her see red. Maybe he didn’t mean it as a jibe, maybe he did, but she didn’t care. She took a deep breath and besides her Rhodey let out a soft groan, knowing full well what was coming. In a flash she spun round and her fist connected straight with the man’s face in a perfectly executed right hook.

Ross reeled back, crimson billowing from his nose, and in the corner of her eye she saw President Ellis hold a hand up to stop the guards that had stepped forward, and she was sure he was smirking a little. She turned her attention to Ross who was wiping at his face, looking at her in shock.

“I’ll be sure to pass on your greeting Mr Secretary.” Katie arched an eyebrow, before she wheeled round and left.

*******

Steve choked on his coffee, spitting half of it down his shirt as he looked at Rhodey, his eyes wide. “She did what?” “Punched him, straight in the face, great right hook.” Rhodey said as Steve let out a groan as he wiped at the liquid that had spilt onto his Henley. “Oh he was asking for it, Cap. We were walking out, after a pretty productive meeting. Ok it had gotten a little tetchy in places but it ended on good terms and then he had to go make a wise crack, telling her to pass on his regards to you. Next thing I know she’s whacked him and he’s blowing scarlet all over the place.”

Steve scratched at his beard, shaking his head.

“And then she just smiles at him and says…” “I’ll be sure to pass on your greeting Mr Secretary.” Katie finished Rhodey’s sentence for him as she strolled into the kitchen and went straight to the fridge for a coke. “Thought my ears were burning.”

“You punched Senator Ross in the face.” Steve looked at her.

Katie shrugged “He deserved it. President Ellis thought it was funny.”

“You had the President eating out of your hand all meeting.” Rhodey looked at her and grinned. She shook her head.

“I was just honest with him. No point bullshitting.”

Steve watched her as she took a long drink of the soda, a smile twitching his lips. He should have known her going would end up in a confrontation of sorts with Ross. But he wasn’t mad, if anything he was kind of pleased she’d got it out of her system. Plus, he had to agree, at times he imagined smashing his fist straight into the smug bastard’s face.

“So what is President Ellis planning to do?” Steve asked.

“They’re putting out a statement later” Rhodey said, “Emergency broadcast, not sure when but we’ll keep the news channels tuned.”

“When’s Fury’s stuff supposed to be arriving?” the Captain looked at his wife.

“Not sure, they just said as soon as possible.”

Katie and Natasha had never seen anyone in SHIELD use a device like that before, neither had Steve, so in an attempt to try and find out exactly whether or not it was Fury’s Natasha hacked into the CCTV footage of the area in which it had been found.

“Where was it again?”

“10th Street West…hang on…” Rhodey said, reaching over for the details that had arrived with the items and pointed out the grid location to Natasha who nodded and punched a few more buttons.

“Alright, we got it. “

As they watched the CCTV footage sprang up on the screen. Nat fast forwarded through to the point of the snap and they watched it unfold. The pager was the last thing Fury went for.

“Fury wasn’t the kind of guy to waste time.” Steve said “And I doubt he would be making an exception to that rule in this situation.”

“So why was that thing so important?” Rhodey asked, looking at it. “Who was he trying to reach if it wasn’t us?”

“No idea.” Natasha sighed, “But we should find out.”

“Huh,” he said, “this is a Kree Booster.”

“A what?” Bruce looked at him.

“Kree…another race, this is a piece of their technology on the back. It uses all available communications links- satellites, phones, ships, relays and normally makes the reach of the signal impossible to miss.”

“So he was contacting someone on another planet?” Steve frowned.

Rocket shrugged “Maybe.”

. They could do with a win, however small.

******

President Ellis’ address was broadcast at little after six pm. The group settled in the communal lounge to watch what he had to say.

“3 days ago the world suffered an attack. Firstly there was the ship over New York which Tony Stark was taken by, and a little over 16 hours later, the world suffered a catastrophic event whereby people watched friends, family and love ones vanish in front of their eyes.

This attack came at the hands of a being called Thanos. Someone who believed he had the right to destroy half of life throughout the Universe with a snap of his fingers. Most of us didn’t see it coming. But a small band of heroes did. The Avengers, including those who were outlawed 2 years ago by the Sokovian Accords. They, plus others and countless Wakandan Soldiers fought to the bitter end to try and prevent this event. But they couldn’t, and what’s evident now is that no one could.

“Tony Stark remains missing along with Dr Stephen Strange and Spiderman after they fought the ship that attacked New York. The remaining Avengers are back where they belong, on US soil and are currently following any leads they can. In light of recent events, I would like to hereby issue them all formal pardon and furthermore, the US has officially withdrawn from the Sokovia Accords with immediate effect. For now, I ask for your cooperation and patience as we begin the necessary steps to rebuild going forward. Those of you left will soon be invited to partake in a census to enable us to understand who is missing.” As they watched the President took a deep breath before he continued, his voice wobbling slightly.

At that cameras started to click and flash and the inevitable chatter started up from the journalists that had assembled. The President wasn’t taking any questions though, and made a swift exit.

He was totally out of ideas. No idea where Tony was, no idea where Thanos was… the entire team was looking to their Captain to lead and he had nothing. He was drained, he’d hardly slept, too worried about Katie who had tossed and turned all night again last night, waking with a full blown nightmare which had taken him a good half a minute to rouse her from. After which she had broken down, but still managed to go to the White House and sit through hours of questionings and debriefs. He really should have gone but she had insisted she wanted to go. For the most part today she had seemed relatively ok, but he knew it would be a different story when she was lone with him later. And that made him feel even more helpless, because he didn’t know what to say. Nothing he could say would make her feel any better about what had happened, Christ, he couldn’t make himself feel any better. Sniffing slightly he wiped at his nose and glanced out at the sun which was just retreating behind the trees that lined the other bank of the river, when he heard familiar footsteps behind him.

“You ok?” Katie asked, dropping onto the bench next to him.

“Just need some air.” he replied as she laid her head against his shoulder.

She could tell he didn’t feel like talking, so instead they both just sat in silence for a while, watching the sunset.

“I forgot how beautiful it could be here.” she sighed, looking out over the water as the deep purples and yellows of the sky bounced off the surface of the Hudson.

“Artist’s dream” Steve shifted slightly so he could drop his arm round her shoulders. “Thank you.” “What for?”

“For getting Buck a pardon.”

“Least he deserves.” she said softly “to be remembered as the hero he is…was…fuck.”

She cursed at her slip up again and took a deep breath. Steve’s grip round her tightened “I know. I can’t get used to it either.”

“I wish it was different.” she said with a slight sniffle, “I wish…” “I know, baby” he said laying his head against hers, as her tears began to fall “I know.”

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preface2adreamplay · 5 years ago

Text

Under Your Spell (Part 10) - Ashes On My Shoes

Summary: A Jared Padalecki/OFC fiction.

Stef is a musician, recently gone solo. Happy with her life as a forever single person until Jared makes it his mission to get close to her. (For the purpose of this fiction, I have liberated some lyrics from various artists and their videos. This is fiction, with real people mentioned.)

Chapter warnings: Flirting, swearing.

Chapter WC: 2,458

The night of the Texas show was here. Stef was always nervous for every gig, why wouldn’t she be? There were a hundred and one ways that things could go sideways. Most of them had already happened during her career. But Jared would be at this show. He had text her to say he was incoming, ’With the boys.’ She assumed Jensen would be joining him.

The bus was parked up next to the venue, the first of bands that were playing with them had started their set. Stef was already dressed for the stage, usually she kept it simple enough but tonight she made a special effort to be a little more flamboyant. Claire had helped her put together this flowing ensemble. A dress with a plunging neckline that just about reached to her navel, long sleeves and a train of black and silver material that followed her around as she walked. It was a flirty, Morticia Addams inspired dress with a slit up the front that came up to her knees. When she moved it dragged behind her, showing off her long legs.

The legs that Jared had kissed and ran his fingers up and down teasingly the last time they were together. He said he loved her legs. She loved them when they were wrapped around his waist.

‘Focus, Stef.’ she scolded herself in the hand held mirror she used to put on her make up.

Just then her tour manager pulled open the door, shouting ‘you decent?’

‘Yeah, come on in,’ Stef had one more coat of mascara to do and she was done.

‘Wow, you look great. You going on a date afterwards?’ Jeff was cool, he was a friend from years back, from the beginning. Always a good guy to have with you on tour. You needed a snack at 3am, he got it. You needed a replacement guitar string before you ran on stage, he had it ready.

‘Maybe.’

Jeff carried on with his checklist, talking to himself more than to her.

‘Your stuff is on stage, the band are hanging in the waiting room. You staying on the bus?’

‘Nah, I’m going to go in now.’

‘Just so you know there are some fans at the gate, waiting for you.’

There were always a few people hanging around the venue before her shows. The first time she got off a bus with people shouting her name was definitely one of the highlights of the business for her. They were the reason why she still did shows. Her fans were always hungry for more music.

Recognising a few of the faces in the crowd, Stef hung with them for a few minutes.

They were complimentary about her ‘new style,’ asking if it was for the new album.

She agreed, butterflies nesting in her stomach again at the thought that she had made this effort just for Jared. What had become of her?

Smiling and doing her best poses with the fans, she waved them goodbye. Promising to give them a shoutout from the stage.

The venue was packed. Though she put that down to the most excellent support acts that were with her. Slipping into the backstage area through the rear entrance, she noticed her band mates were rowdy.

‘What is it about the Texas crowds that get you guys so wound up?’ She laughed, watching the empty mini bottles of Jager tumble down from their ludicrous game of dominoes.

‘What is it about Texas that’s got you looking like that?’ Evan queried, the boys wolf whistled.

‘Settle down.’ She scolded. Forever the mother. These guys had been around nearly as long as Jeff. She found them all adorable and annoying, referring to them as her ‘hairy ass babies.’

Curing her nerves with two glasses of whiskey, she saw the second support act coming backstage, sweaty and loud.

They’d be up next.

Jeff appeared again, ‘Hey Stef, c’mere.’

‘Your friends just arrived,’ he said in a hushed tone, nodding his head towards Jared and Jensen. Misha stepped out from behind the two taller men and waved energetically. ‘Hey!’ he called across the corridor at her.

Stef ushered them into the room. Giving Jensen and Jared a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. Jared was smiling from ear to ear, but said nothing.

‘Hey hot momma,’ Jensen tried to keep a straight face, glancing at Jared. ‘Can’t wait for the show. We brought this idiot, he loves your music too.’

‘I’m a new fan.’ Misha pulled her into a tight hug. ‘Not as big a fan as Jared, but I still love your stuff.’

Misha seemed to be a guy you could instantly like. Stef patted him on the back, letting him know that the hug was done.

’Sorry, I’m excited to meet you. Jared talks about you non stop.’

‘Do I?’ Jared was looking at Stef, taking her in, his eyes pausing on all the right places of the dress.

‘You do, actually.’ Jensen clapped his friend on the back. ‘Come on, let’s get ready for this show then.’ He gave Misha a playful push out the door and threw Jared a look that said ‘hurry up.’

When they had disappeared, Jeff pointing the way up to the box Stef had booked for them, Jared was still standing over her. ‘You look beautiful.’

She could feel herself getting a little bashful. ‘Thank you,’ she replied, deciding it was best to just say it rather than pass it off as ‘this old thing?’

‘Good luck, I can’t wait to see you play.’ He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips. That surprised her, she didn’t think he wanted to advertise that they were somewhat ‘together.’

‘I can’t wait to play for you.’ Stef smiled, giving his chin a little tug.

‘You got about five minutes,’ Jeff came back and took Jared by the arm, leading him out of the door.

With the lights glaring into her face, she could never see the crowd. That often helped with her nerves. Being up there made her feel so vulnerable, that was why she loved doing it so much. It was like therapy, pouring her heart out into the songs and letting them take over. The crowd were waiting impatiently when the lights went down. It was her cue to walk on stage. The guys were at their instruments, playing the intro to the new single. Stef reached the mic as the beat kicked in, her words flowing easily. Everything sounded right. In the moment, she forgot everyone around her. Forgot about Jared sitting forward in his seat taking in the show, watching her move with the music, doubled over when the high notes required it.

There was little time to chat between songs, Stef preferred it that way. It was easier to just get on with it.

She hated the ‘hey there..*insert city* you’re the best.’

Halfway through the set, she thanked the crowd for coming out, introduced the band and pulled out her acoustic guitar.

‘This isn’t usual for me, I like to kick it full steam ahead for you guys. But, someone recently sang this song to me and it revived some old feelings. Despair and lost love. Sounds good, right?’ The crowd whooped and cheered.

‘Ok, cool.’ Stef started right into the song, keeping the pace that Jared had set when he sang it to her on the floor of Jensen’s cabin the night they first made love.

Burning soft skin of two

Trying hard to let go of you

Hoping it will do

Pulled right out from underneath you

She heard the crowd singing it along with her, her breath caught in her throat when she finished the song, pushing her guitar aside and holding up her hands in thanks to the fans.

‘You know what, I don’t usually say this, but y’all ARE the fuckin’ best.’

Backstage, everyone was in high spirits. The whiskey was flowing and Stef was so buzzed. Misha was taking pictures of the band, wanting her to strike some ridiculous poses with Jensen and Jared.

Several of the shots made it on to instagram. Jared and ‘the boys,’ each posted a picture with Stef, exclaiming about how great the show had been and how excited they were to be invited backstage.

Stef even posted one with Misha, Jensen and Jared holding her up as she lay across them. There were so many comments on it, she just didn’t have the energy to read them.

Back on the bus, the guys were continuing their little party in the ‘living area’ behind the driver. Jared had come back with Stef to have a chat before they had to go.

Checking that no one was watching, Stef pulled him halfway into her tiny bunk, there was no way the both of them would fit in there but they managed to squeeze in, legs dangling out from behind the curtain. Giggling like teenagers, they made out for a while. Jared punctuating each kiss with how much he enjoyed the show. Eventually, after several phone calls from an increasingly pissed Jensen, Jared took his leave. Kissing her wrist to her shoulder and then giving her several kisses that made her head spin, he left.

‘Stefanie’s got a boyfriend!’ One of the guys stuck his head out through the sliding door of the living area, he was so drunk he could barely stand.

‘Shut the fuck up,’ Stef threw a pair of his balled up socks at him. ‘And clean up after your-damn-selves.’

The next day they were playing a much smaller venue, but the crowds were still coming out, thankfully.

Stef had taken a moment to look at her tagged posts on social media. There were a few great shots taken the night before, she was incredibly grateful her tits didn’t pop out of her dress.

‘Wow, you know J2?’ ‘OMG Jensen’ ‘OMG Jared’. Was how most of the comments were going. Several were suggesting she was fucking one of them, or all three.

‘She sucks, her music sucks and she’s ugly.’ Charming. Stef often deleted the nasty ones, coz who wants to see them, right?

There were more followers on all platforms, that was nice. More people to hear the music, she supposed.

Her heart skipped a beat on seeing a post on insta from Jared. It was a picture of them striking a ridiculous pose, his arm around her waist. They were doing their best blue steel. The second was a shot of him, Jensen and Misha heads together at the show and the third was Stef on stage, she couldn’t recall what part of the night it was.

‘If anyone gets a chance to see this girl live, go see her. You rocked us last night, Stef. So proud of you.’ Several love hearts.

Misha commented, ‘get your hands off my girl, Jared.’

Jared: ‘And how long do you know her that you think you can lay claim?’

Jensen posted several laughing emojis, ‘as MJ said boys, ‘the girl is mine.’

Stef liked each of the comments. Adding her own ‘I’d take all three of you, no problem.’ To which Jared added a sad face and a broken heart.

Her phone began vibrating, the long stream of comments disappearing. Oscar’s name was flashing on screen.

‘Hello, Oscar.’ Her voice was a little husky from the night before.

‘There she is. I see your show was well received last night.’

‘Oh?’ She feigned ignorance.

‘There is a write up about it already, some fans of Supernatural are getting quite excited about it. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone from the show would you?’

‘Maybe.’

She heard Oscar sighing down the phone where there would usually be laughter.

‘You better not be messing around with a married man, Effie.’

‘Why would that be any of your fucking business, Oscar?’

‘I thought as much, you won’t deny it either. I noticed something about you when you came down for Dar’s party.’

‘You noticed what?’

‘Well, don’t get me wrong you are always lovely but you were simply glowing when you arrived at the airport.’

‘Oh shut up, you’re so full of crap.’

‘Am I?’

She supposed he wasn’t. But again, she didn’t want to tell him he was right.

‘Yeah, your silence speaks volumes.’

‘I’m a big girl, Oscar. I look out for myself. Always have.’

The last two words stung him and she knew it. He shifted in his chair, she heard him clear his throat the way he always did, before he wanted to launch into a speech about how she was getting herself into trouble.

’Before you start, because I know what you’re going to say!’ She warned, hearing him start to tell her to watch herself.

‘I appreciate your concern, but I’m not getting myself into anything I haven’t thought about for many sleepless nights. We have...an agreement.’

Oscar scoffed, ‘so you’re fucking a married man. That’s fine is it?’

‘It is for us, Oscar. Please don’t judge me.’

‘I can’t not judge you. What’s with you lately? You’re not really acting like yourself.’

‘Hey, you told me I needed to loosen up a bit.’

‘Loosening up a little means go out with your friends more and have some fun. Not start a relationship with a married guy. A famous married one at that. Jesus, Stef, you have to be more careful.’

‘Oscar, I appreciate the concern.’

‘That’s it? No fighting back?’

‘I don’t want to fight, not with you. I can’t fight with you anymore.’

Oscar was sighing again. ‘Promise me, you’ll be sensible. I can’t stand seeing you broken hearted.’

‘Oh don’t start that shit again, please.’ Stef buried her face in the crook of her arm, laying across her bunk.

‘I mean it, Stefanie. Don’t do that to yourself, you’re worth more than that. You’re more than a mistress.’

‘I know that. And as I said, it works for both of us right now.’

‘Yeah, yeah sure. You frustrate me so much, you know that?’

‘I do. It’s why you love me though.’

Perhaps she had chosen the wrong words, his voice which had been pleading was now just sad.

‘Fuck sakes. I’m shaking my head right now, but you can’t see me.’

Stef bit her nails, ‘yeah but I can imagine it, vividly. You still got that nice head of hair?’

‘Yep, I’m shaving it off as soon as this movie is done.’

‘I hate your bald head.’ Stef complained.

‘I am doing it just to annoy you, and I will be sending pictures.’

‘Ugh, delete me from your life please.’

‘Never,’ he smiled a little, ‘I gotta go.’

‘Later Oscar.’

‘Goodbye, love.’

CHAPTER 11

#jared padalecki fic #jared padalecki #jared padalecki fiction #jared x ofc #jared padalecki x ofc #oscar isaac #oscar isaac fic #oscar isaac x ofc #oscar isaac smut #jared padalecki smut #smut #it's nearly smut o'clock #o'ready writes #real person fiction #real person fic #supernatural fic #supernatural #spn #under your spell

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drwnng-ophelia · 6 years ago

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Hunter and Prey

Chapter 8

Previously on Hunter and Prey: One, Two, Three

Pairing: Michael Langdon/OFC

Genre/Warnings: Rated M for smut, as in dirty-devil-worshipping-sex!

Summary: “I’ve learned now that you were trying to escape it, trying to escape your darkness and demons. But why bother? Why not bask in it, embrace your hunger for evilness. Stop turning the mirrors around, and look at yourself. At what you can become.

I have posted this fanfic on Archive Of Our Own, too, so feel free to check it out over there

I slumped down on the couch and looked at Michael with pulled up eyebrows, “I’m sorry. I can’t exactly remember our heart to heart where you told me all of your plans for the future.” Michael shot me an icy look and I started to doubt that he would want to undress me tonight.

“You already know them,” he said brusquely. “Oh, please. I may have given into you too quickly, but I’m not an idiot. I know that you want something more than just becoming Supreme. You keep your secrets, and I keep mine.” “Secrets,” he spat the words at me mockingly and started to pace back and forth before the fireplace. “Why does this upset you so much? How does this change anything? I’ve mentioned Clémence before and I accidentally told you that I’m an heiress. You could have made the connection yourself, you know. It’s not that hard,” I argued. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me viciously. “Unless,” I straightened and regarded him intently, “Unless, no one has ever told you anything about all of the things that are actually hiding out there, in the dark. What exactly did they teach you here? And who taught you before that?”

“That is none of your concern,” he snapped. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at this giant baby from hell. Granted, I had already guessed that his background was even more complicated than my own but why weren’t the warlocks teaching their students about mythical and supernatural creatures? After all, we had coexisted for centuries, and mostly peacefully.

I rose from the couch, closed the distance between us, and came to stand before him. But when I reached for his hand, he pulled away. Hurt jolted through me at his clear rejection.

“Michael, you knew about the bloodstone. You knew that I would become one of them. You knew that I was important,” I pleaded and clenched my fists to keep myself from reaching out again. Ever so slowly, his facial features softened as if my words started to register with him.

“So what if I’m the future Queen of the Undead? I didn’t hold it against you when I found out that you’re the Antichrist. And didn’t you want me to embrace my darkness? Don’t you think that the embodiment of Hecate, turned into a soulless, undead, seductive creature that lives off of the living is the epitome of darkness? Next to you?”

As my nails dug into my palms, I took a deep breath and waited for him to understand, to react.

“Don’t use that word in here,” he eventually noted and lifted his chin. My eyebrows nudged together, “I didn’t even say it. I hate to say that I will become a vampire, it sounds so cheesy.” His eyes lit up when I finally used the phrase that I loathed so much. “That’s not the one I meant, but thank you for finally saying it.”

“Oh,” I realized, “Don’t worry, I won’t mention your father to anyone. But if you honestly believe they won’t find out, then not even my goodwill can help you. You may believe yourself above these people, but they aren’t mentally challenged. At some point, they will figure it out.”

“I liked you so much better back at the house,” Michael shook his head and sighed through his nose, obviously tired of listening to me. Good. Because I was tired of having to explain basic shit to him. “And I liked you so much better with your head between my legs, but we don’t always get what we want,” I shrugged and saw how a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Conceited ass.

“I might just be willing to grant you that wish, depending on how well-behaved you are tonight,” he chuckled and I shook my head in disbelief. His mood swings were making me dizzy. Michael looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties but sometimes he behaved so much younger. He was clever and had, undoubtedly, come to terms with himself completely, knew himself and what he wanted. And yet, something just didn’t add up. I filed the thought away for later and decided to change the topic, more than ready to close the heiress-discussion for now.

“Since we’re here, in this spacious and well-assorted library, I should maybe give you some insight into the society I belong to. Maybe you’ll stop thundering against me then,” I turned on my heel and headed towards one of the many shelves, letting my instinct guide me to the scripture I needed.

“I swear, sometimes I don’t even know why you kept me around when you seem to resent me so much,” I mused quietly to myself as I flipped through the pages of an old grimoire. Michael’s arms snaked around my waist from out of nowhere and pulled me against him. Immediately, memories from the day before flashed before my eyes and I felt my heartbeat flutter. The way he held me, the way he knew exactly how and when to touch me. I wanted him. So much.

“I could never resent you,” Michael admitted and kissed the top of my head, “What would make you think I’d do that?” Involuntarily, my body leaned against him, welcoming his embrace, eager to get closer to him.

“Because…,” I took a deep breath and considered my words, “You appear to have certain expectations of me and I’m not sure I can live up to them. You expect me to support your cause without knowing what exactly you want to achieve, and I’m unwilling to do that. I will not just let myself be manipulated by you. It’s obvious that you usually succeed in getting others to do your dirty work but I won’t be one of them.” “That could never make me hate you. It makes you annoying, capricious, and intractable. But you challenge me and that…draws me to you,” he concluded, his voice tinged with uncertainty and wonder. He hadn’t foreseen to become fond of me, just as I hadn’t planned on becoming fond of him.

“Like a moth drawn to a flame,” I agreed and let my fingers bush over the back of his hand, savoring his warmth, “Let’s just hope that neither of us will burn their wings.”

“I thought you could control fire?” he breathed the question against my neck before pressing his lips against my skin. Oh, I knew where this was going. “Nice interrogation technique, albeit a little obvious and unfair,” I bit my lip and tipped my head to the side, giving him more space. “Answer me this and I’ll reward you for it,” he offered, “Generously.”

I didn’t even pretend to consider his offer before I extinguished every single flame in the room with nothing but a minuscule thought. Now, with darkness wrapped around us, his hands started to pull up the skirt of my dress with agonizing gradualness. The grimoire fell to the ground with a thud. “Let’s play later,” I gasped and stopped his hands, sensing something in the rooms beyond. “Why later?” he crooned and turned me around so he could kiss me deeply, carefully maneuvering me against the stacks. I didn’t have enough self-control to ask him to stop again.

“Because you’re no longer alone. Your room is ready,” a man’s voice said out of the darkness. Michael broke away from me and looked over his shoulder to see who had the audacity to disturb us. “What he said,” I mumbled and craned my neck to see past Michael as the flames lit up around us once more. A handsome and eccentrically dressed warlock leaned casually against the archway, his steel blue eyes scrutinizing us with distrust and a certain repulsion.

“You must be a very unfortunate creature considering that Michael Langdon touches you like that,” he said contemptuously and pushed himself off of the archway. He had some nerve addressing me like that. Quickly I decided that it wasn’t Behold Chablis who posed the biggest problem, but rather this man.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Michael noted drily as his fingers interlaced with mine in a silent demonstration of partnership and he tugged at me gently so I would come to stand next to him. This felt very different from how he usually preferred to make me feel. Right now, I wasn’t just a possession — I was a companion, a playmate, an ally. And a very strong one at that. My bond with Michael sizzled in response to this new form of solidarity.

“I never expected Clémence to put the future of her community into the unproven hands of a young witch,” he remarked and took a few steps towards us. Michael drew in a breath to retort something, but I beat him to it, “What makes you think I’m unproven? If you knew anything about my mentor, you’d know that she chose me with great care and consideration.” He shrugged nonchalantly, “I like to believe that I know the Queen of the Undead.”

I could only laugh at the smug smile that flashed across his face, knowing perfectly well what he was implying, “Oh, please. Just because you’ve shared a bed with her doesn’t mean she would share any of her political plans with you. Who are you, anyway?” His smile faltered slightly. Michael was clearly enjoying this small banter as I could feel a reassuring sense of contentment flowing through our bond. It was obvious that he disliked this warlock.

“I’m John Henry Moore,” he introduced himself and searched my face for any sign of recognition. Clémence, in actual fact, had never mentioned him before and I arched an eyebrow to let him know. “Is she aware of the company you keep?” John Henry demanded and folded his arms in front of his body protectively. I shook my head, “She doesn’t need to know everything about me. I’m still very much my own person, thank you for asking.” “Maybe someone should let her know that you have submitted yourself to the warlocks’ boy wonder,” his words triggered a darkness within me that rarely unfolded itself. But now, it washed over me like the suffocating, icy water I had almost drowned in. Michael shifted slightly to look at me, clearly confused by the sudden deviation of my power.

The place I hadn’t wanted him to see this morning was suddenly broken open and displayed itself. He squeezed my hand encouragingly, curious to witness how I would defeat the warlock. “I don’t do well with provocation or threats, Mr. Moore. You should tread carefully,” I warned him and felt the earth tremble around us, answering me willingly. “Was this small trick supposed to be a display of power?” John Henry scorned, a grin plastered to his face. And I had always thought Michael to be cocky.

I remembered how I had told him that these people weren’t my subjects, that I was not interested in stripping them off their powers, to make myself known to them. However, if I was met with so little comity I might reconsider.

Gently, I pulled my hand from Michael’s and took slow, deliberate steps towards the rude warlock, my skirt hissing against the floor with every movement. Unwavering, John Henry looked at me defiantly, “Should I be scared now?” “Yes,” Michael warned, “You should.” But the warlock ignored him.

I paced around John Henry and sized him up just when the darkness engulfed me completely and swallowed up any warmth, kindness, or compassion. My power crept into him unnoticed, quietly latching on to every single magical gift he possessed, while he still looked utterly self-complacent.

“Well, I don’t feel anything, young lady,” he prompted with a triumphant grin when I stopped in front of him, mirroring his mask of superiority. Behind me, Michael drew in a sharp breath, anticipating my next move.

“Tell me, Mr. Moore,” I started and let my gaze wander over him as I started to drag my claws over his gifts lazily to give him a sharp, malicious foretaste of what was to come, “Do you feel this?” The moment I unveiled my influence, he cringed, fear and pain flashing in his eyes as I broke into him and started to pull. Under my heavy impact, his gifts trembled before they started to crumble, slowly disintegrating. I could wipe them away with a single blow but decided against it. Where would the fun in that be?

“Repeat yourself, Mr. Moore,” I challenged and tilted my head with predatory grace, “Tell me how I’m unproven, weak, and insignificant. And while you’re at it, tell my mentor that I’m here and that I have surrendered myself to one of you, that I am no longer imperious and in charge of myself.” John Henry whimpered and slumped over, completely unprotected and helpless. “I said,” I hissed and loosened my control, “repeat yourself.”

A gasp of relief escaped him when I decided to retreat only to leave his gifts in shambles. I looked down on him with icy distaste, “I told you, I don’t do well with threats. Now apologize and I will restore your magic.”

“Restore it? How could possibly undo what you just did?” he panted. Michael came to stand beside me and regarded his teacher with fascination, “Maybe you should just do as she says.” “I…am sorry,” he spat the words and tried to push himself up but failed piteously. With a satisfied sense of victory, my darkness furled up like a content, purring kitten and put an end to its own menace and terror.

Without my dark side’s authority, it was as if I looked down on the beaten warlock through different eyes. I swallowed hard and realized what I had done: not only had I broken someone, I had done so just because I could. As if it had been nothing but a game that I only wanted to win to prove a point. My eyes slid to Michael who looked utterly pleased. He had waited for this part of me to show itself.

“I accept your apology,” I hurried to say and squatted down, my black skirt pooling around me like the darkness had only a moment ago, “Let me heal you.” When I extended my hands, John Henry flinched, fear radiating from him intensely. “I promise, I won’t hurt you again,” I tried and waited for him to take my hand. For a moment, he regarded me with suspicion but eventually put his hand in mine. The moment he touched me, I let my power wash over him. Within the blink of an eye, I rebuild everything I had destroyed, restored his gifts, and added to them as an offering of remorse.

I straightened and helped the warlock stand up. “How did you do that?” he asked with wonder, “You obliterated my magic and rehabilitated it without moving a finger, without uttering a single word.”

“You shouldn’t have condemned me like you did. Clémence chose me as her successor because I am very, very powerful. And that’s all you need to know,” I concluded and pulled my hand back so I could smooth over my dress.

“But,” he started and closed his eyes to feel for his magic, “I feel more powerful now than before. I feel better than when I walked in here.” “That’s because I regretted what I did to you and I believe in righting my wrongs. Thoroughly,” I explained, “Now, do I have your word that you won’t go running to my Queen?”

He paused for a moment but eventually nodded, “I was done with her anyway.” I shook my head slowly when I realized that he was no longer in her good graces, “I’m pretty sure she was done with you. Nice bluff, though.” What a waste of breath.

A nervous laugh escaped him and he looked slightly uncomfortable, “Let me show you to your room. You should still be familiar with it, Michael.” The men shared a glance that was filled with equal repulsion. “Then there’s no need for you to come with us. I’ll show her myself,” Michael noted dismissively and I felt his hand at the small of my back as he started to guide me out of the library, “We will see you at dinner. And in the meantime, you should count your blessings.”

The moment we had stepped through the archway and started down a hallway, Michael’s arm wrapped around my waist. “You were mesmerizing,” his voice was barely more than a whisper. To him, this had been arousing, a thrill of pleasure.

With swift steps, he ushered me up a winding staircase and down another corridor. I was grateful to have him by my side because this place was labyrinthine. The school’s bareness and its golden light made every hallway, door, and nook look identical.

“This is my old room,” he announced when we stopped in front of a dark mahogany door and he gestured for me to enter. Just like the rest of the school, the room was mostly bare and only illuminated by candles and a crackling fire that was contained by a fireplace in the corner. Next to the door was a minimalistic dark dresser and across from it was another door which probably lead into a bathroom. The neatly made bed took up most of the room as the only other furniture was a simple desk.

I took a few steps into the room and asked myself how anyone could possibly live down here for longer than a few days. “Didn’t you miss the moon down here?” I asked and turned around as Michael had been oddly quiet since we had entered.

“Take off your dress,” he instructed hungrily and leaned against the locked door, “You deserve your reward.” His tone immediately made heat pound between my legs.

“No,” I said and folded my arms in front of my body, “If this is my reward, I want to be in control.” Michael looked surprised when he pushed himself off the door, his steps unhurried when he closed the distance between us, “Then so be it.”

Patiently, he waited for me to put my arms around his neck and to lay my lips on his. But at my touch, his self-control dwindled away and his fingers started to work on the buttons of my dress. This time, he wanted me. This time, he needed to get his hands on me. I realized that when he had offered to reward me in the library, it had only been to conceal his own desire. Today he wasn’t drunk on my blood, but solely on my power.

My hands stopped his, so I could slide off his dinner jacket and start to unbutton his shirt. Eventually, he stood before me in nothing but his pants, clearly eager to undress me next. Teasingly, I let my fingers dance down his beautiful body until they slipped into his pants. He pulled in a breath when my hand found his excited length. At the feeling of him in my hand, I got impatient myself and helped him discard his last clothing. “May I undress you now?” Michael checked breathlessly and I breathed my ‘yes’ onto his lips.

Although I had chosen the lingerie with care this morning, he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he was preoccupied with feeling me, so every touch, every caress was placed tactically and with ease.

“I thought I was in charge?” I reminded him and pushed him onto the bed. Fire burned in his eyes when I looked at him, only to then trail kisses down his chest. A moan slipped over his lips when I put his erection into my mouth. Slowly, I started to suck and moved up and down his shaft with tight lips. It was my plan to tease him with the same agonizing pace that he had used on me the night before but when I increased both intensity and tempo, I felt him tense under my touch. “Stop,” his raspy voice ordered.

“How do you want me?” I asked and planted a kiss under his earlobe, “I’m yours.” He didn’t utter an answer but instead grabbed my hips and moved me on top of him. I obliged and straddled him with a smooth movement. With very little guidance, I eased onto him and savored the feeling of him filling me. Michael pushed himself up so his arms could circle my body, binding me to him as he kissed me deeply.

When I started to move up and down, he joined me expertly and met me with a thrust every time. While our rhythm was slow at first, neither of us had the patience to keep it that way and it didn’t take me long to tip over the edge. The feeling of me coming undone around him resulted in his own release and I held onto him for dear life when he breathed my name against my skin.

Breathlessly, we collapsed onto the bed. “You, my dear, are ravishing,” he announced and pulled me into his arms. “Dinner is still a few hours away,” I reminded him after a while, “So let me be a seductress once more.”

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#Michael Langdon #Michael Langdon x OFC #Michael Langdon Fic #ahs apocalypse #ahs coven #ahs8 #ahs fanfiction #ahs fandom #ahs #fanfic #fan fiction #ofc #hunter and prey #chapter 8 #cody fern #behold chablis #john henry moore #baldwin pennypacker #ariel augustus

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crashdevlin · 6 years ago

Text

Marion: 2-Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

Marion Masterlist

Author’s Note: Originally posted to ao3 (This is an edited and improved version). This started as an excuse to write some Castiel/OFC loving, but it blossomed into an epic-length fic and even an AU where Marion was with them the whole time.

Summary: Castiel bridges the gap between the twins to catch Marion up on Dean’s memories, which is not without its problems.

Pairing(s): none yet

Word Count: 2478

Chapter Warnings: slight language, memory fuckery

Dean bit his lip as he walked into the hospital room and looked at his twin, who had her hair tucked behind her ears as she was skimming through one of her many books. He didn't know where to start. "Marion..." Dean tried.

"What caused you to leave the safety of the Cornwells' home? Why now, after twenty-seven years?" Castiel demanded from behind Dean.

"Who's this?" Marion asked, lightly, smirking as she tried to see around Sam. "Another brother I've never met?"

Castiel stepped up next to Dean. "No, I'm not your brother. I'm an-"

"A friend." Dean interrupted. He ran his hand through his hair. "His question might sound invasive and tactless, but it's important. I don't think they just recently let you out of the basement, Mare. So, why escape now?"

Marion sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know!" She exclaimed, quietly. Her voice was so soft that he wasn't sure she was upset. "I just... I couldn't be there, anymore."

"Why?" Castiel pressed.

"Because of the dreams!" Marion took a deep breath, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I kept having these terrible dreams. This old chubby guy telling me that I had to find Dean, that the fate of the world rested on Dean saying 'yes' to something and I had to... to show Dean God's grace." She looked up at the trio, eyes glistening. "I thought you were dead, they told me you were dead, so I just wrote it off as a crazy dream, but... then he started to get angry with me. He told me that... I would be punished by Heaven if I kept ignoring him. He told me to stab Mister in the heart and leave! I... I couldn't do that, but he made it clear that... if I stayed with Mister and Missus, that something very bad would happen to me."

Marion looked away from them, fiddling with the hem of her white shirt. "One of the books I have i-is an anatomy text so I was... I was careful to put the knife in Mister's stomach, made sure to miss the major organs and arteries and I ran. I know how crazy it sounds, Dean, and I'm sure I belong here in the psych ward, but... that's why I left." She finished, quietly.

Dean leaned over and wrapped his arms around her. "You aren't crazy. I have a million things to tell you. About my life, about that dick who made you stab that old man. I just don't even know where to start." He whispered into her ear.

Castiel cleared his throat. "In the interest of saving valuable time, may I facilitate the link between the two of you so she might remember it all herself?" He asked.

Dean pulled back and looked up at the blue-eyed man. "The what, now?"

Castiel gave a slightly exasperated look, like he couldn't believe what the Winchesters didn't know sometimes. "You are twins. A link between your souls was created when you were developing in the womb together. If I reconnect this link, I could transfer your memories into her. That way she would know your life and you would not have to explain twenty-seven years of your life."

"Will it hurt?" Marion asked, meekly.

"I'm sure the emotional impact will be tremendous, but physically, you'll be fine. I will keep your memories in place. There is no need for Dean to know your life."

Marion nodded. There was no need for Dean to know about sitting in a basement for most of her life. "Okay. I want memories of my dad and baby brother. Let's do this."

Dean looked her in her eyes. "Are you sure?" Marion nodded, so Dean took a deep breath and steeled himself in preparation for a flood of bad memories. "Hey, uh, Cas, don't give her any, uh, personal memories. You know what I mean?"

"I will attempt to hold back any memories of coitus, Dean, yes." Castiel placed a hand on Marion's upper abdomen and the other hand in the same spot on Dean's torso.

Almost immediately, memories started flowing from Dean and into Marion. It didn't take long for tears to start running down her cheeks. When the angel pulled his hands away, Marion crumbled to the floor, face in her hands as sobs wracked her body. Dean instantly felt guilty, knowing his memories had put her in that state, so he dropped next to her, rubbing her back. "Come on, sis. My life isn't that bad." He tried to soothe.

"Mom was murdered!" She screeched. It was the loudest they'd heard her get. "And Dad gave his life to the thing that killed her so that you'd live! And you wasted that gift to bring Sam back! You spent forty years in Hell! How can you possibly say your life isn't bad?" Her shouts were muffled by her hands as she tried to will her eyes to stop leaking.

Dean stood, quickly, his eyes narrowing at Castiel. "You didn't give her my memories of Hell, did you?"

Cas looked shocked, like he knew he'd messed up in his haste. "I-"

"He did, but it doesn't matter!" She pulled her hands away from her face and stared up at Dean. "You... you spend every moment of your life fighting, but you gave up. You stopped fighting. You gave up your fight in order to bring Sam back to life a-and you gave up in Hell. And you-" Marion was nearly breathless with her tears when she turned to Sam. "You thanked him by choosing a demon over your brother, the only family you thought you had left?! You bringing about the end of the world is one thing, but how can you redeem yourself from the betrayal?"

Sam swallowed, looking down. "Can't." He said, quietly.

Marion's hands found her face again and she slumped over onto her side, like she was trying to sink into the tiles. "Mom's dead. Dad's dead. The whole world is full of evil! No one... nothing is safe." She sobbed.

Dean pulled her up off the floor and moved her to sit on the bed. "I know this is all big and scary, what's going down in the world right now. I know, and I know it's fucked up, what the Winchester clan has done to and for each other in the past... but we're gonna get you out of this hospital, we're gonna get you some weapons training, and we're gonna figure out a way to gank the Devil."

Marion looked up, reddened eyes catching his in instant contact. "What if I don't want weapons training, Dean? I-I know that you think I'm supposed to be this vi-virgin yin to your man-slut yang, but... what if I want to go get my GED and go to college like Sammy did? What if I just want to be normal?"

Sam scrunched his eyebrows together at her calling him 'Sammy'. Dean took her hands in his, running his thumb across the soft skin on the back of them. "You are the ying to my yang. We're twins. Gemini, you know, Remus and freakin' Romulus. And you can't just abandon me, okay? You are a Winchester. You may not have grown up the way we did, but your upbringing was just as fucked up. Just like Sammy, even if you left us, you'd get brought back eventually. Why fight that?"

Marion took several shuddering breaths. "Dean, I just... I just wanna lie down. I need s-some time to-to process. My head hurts. My heart-"

"I hate to be the one to say this, but... if Zachariah brought here here, then he's going to be watching her. We don't have much time." Sam warned.

Dean closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again, catching his sister's eyes again. "The life we lead... it's not easy, but since when is life supposed to be? Sammy and me, we have our problems, but we're still closer than any two people you've ever met. Yes, he picked a demon over me and, yes, it jump-started the Apocalypse... but I've ignored his whiny ass in favor of a piece of tail before, too. In the end, though, we'll come together, as a family, and fix this." Dean bit his lip and shook his head. "But you're my missing piece, Marion, and Zach, he'll take you away from me again if I leave without you. We'll never see each other again. Please, Marion. Please, come with us."

She pulled her hands from his and wiped at her eyes. "You're just making it seem like a choice, aren't you?"

A small smirk crossed Dean's lips. "If you refuse, I'll have Cas knock you out and bamph you out to the Impala. I'd rather you didn't make me do that."

She looked around the room at the serious faces and sighed, much louder that she normally would've expelled any noise from her body. "My books come with me. I won't leave without them."

"We'll take 'em for now, but we don't have a lot of space in my Baby so we'll have to drop 'em off at Bobby's." Dean said, grabbing a heavy stack of books and handing them off to Castiel.

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

Marion bit her lip as she stared out the small back side window of the Impala. There was so much of the world she'd never seen before, she'd never been out of Lawrence, but this scenery was familiar. Dean had driven this road, many times. He'd listened to this cassette tape many times. She'd never heard these songs, but she knew every word. The trees flashing past her were almost hypnotic and she felt herself dozing off.

She knew it was a dream because she could no longer hear the sound of Led Zeppelin in the air around her, but she could still feel the dull vibrations of the ride. And someone was sitting next to her, someone she'd never met. The man she turned to had dark blond hair and blue eyes, wearing loose denim jeans and an open plaid-button-up over a grey t-shirt. "How's it feel to be out of that hospital, Mary? Lock a sane person up long enough, they can go a bit nutso. I know that from experience." He said, turning on the back bench seat to look at her.

Marion leaned back as close to the black metal as possible. She knew she was dreaming, that this wasn't real, but the anxiety she was feeling was very real. "Who are you?" She knew. There was a memory of Dean's telling her 'danger', but her mind was so jumbled that she couldn't pinpoint a name.

The man smiled. It was meant to look soft, but it just looked menacing. He offered her a slice from an orange she hadn't noticed he was eating. "I'd like to think I'm your friend, Marion." As she started to think that she didn't have any friends, he smirked. "Don't worry. I'm not any friend of Zachariah's. To be honest, I'm not really a friend to Sam and Dean, either." He scooted across the leather to be a bit closer to her. "But I'd like to be your friend."

She took the orange slice he offered, but he didn't eat it, tucking it into her palm. "Why?"

"Because you're so different from them, Mary! You were supposed to die! Twenty-seven years ago, John Winchester was supposed to let Dean steal his attention for a few minutes and you were supposed to fuck off like four year old kids do and get hit by a Chevy truck." His eyes sparkled as he described her intended fate. "Instead, you were preserved, taught to fear God and love Him. You've never exorcised a demon or ganked a ghost... and you don't really want to start now, do you, Mary?"

Marion looked down at the orange slice in her hand, pushing her thumbnail into the flesh. "Please stop calling me that. It's my mother's name. She passed."

He rolled his eyes. "I know! I'm the one who set Azazel on the path to kill her... and every other mother whose maternal instincts got the better of them. Listen... Marion, your brothers, they're in the midst of something huge. Bigger than anything they've ever played with. They can't stop this. They were made for it. Dean, he's going to say 'yes' to Michael, and Sam, he's gonna say 'yes', too. But you... weren't supposed to be here. You were preserved... because Heaven thought they could use you. But, you have no part in this." He leaned closer to her. "You don't have to be here, Marion. Dean is a big boy. He'll make his decision on his own and so will Sam. If you want to stay, I can make a place for you in the Apocalypse, but if you don't want to be a party to this... I can make your escape route."

He leaned back, wanting to alleviate some of her discomfort as he continued speaking. "I'll even keep you safe after Michael loses the battle and the Earth is thrown into chaos. All you have to do, Marion Winchester, is tell me where your brothers are before you go. It's that simple." Marion opened her mouth to speak but he just shook his head. "Don't answer now. Think on it."

Marion twitched as she woke. She'd never pictured Lucifer that way, as an attractive middle-aged handyman, but she was certain that's who she'd spoken to.

"Bad dream?" Castiel appeared next to her in the back seat. Marion bit her lip and debated telling everyone about the dream, but she just nodded and looked away back to the flashing trees. Something told her that Castiel might already know what she was dreaming and she didn't want her brothers to doubt her decision.

"How'd you find us, Cas? Thought the enochian etching on our ribs kept us off the radar?" Dean asked, looking into the rear view mirror at his angel. He wouldn't admit to calling Cas 'his angel' but their mother always said there were angels watching over them and Cas was the only angel he'd met that seemed to fit that description. So, while all of the other angels in Heaven were 'those dicks', Cas was 'my angel'.

"I assumed you were on your way back to Bobby's so I stood by the road until I heard the Impala approaching."

"Yeah, that's not creepy." Dean muttered.

"I thought I might be able to assist with Marion's combat training." Castiel continued. He seemed just a tiny bit nervous as he spoke the words but only one Winchester noticed.

Marion licked her lips. "I know how to fight. At least, I mean, my brain does." She looked over at Dean. "I have all of these memories of Dad training you and I remember which maneuvers have failed you in the past."

"But your muscles don't know this stuff. Your muscles know how to pick up a book, not a gun. We'll fix that, though, don't worry." Sam smiled at her.

Marion smiled back and then turned to look at the angel in the back seat with her. "I'm sure that riding in this little, slow machine must be driving you mad, since, you know, you're more used to flying. You could just meet us at Bobby's, if you'd rather."

Castiel's lips twisted into an awkward half-smile. "It's fine. I would only be waiting around for you all to arrive. I would rather ride along with you."

"You stood by the road until you heard the Impala, not even knowing if we were taking this route, but you don't wanna wait at Bobby's? You're weird, Cas." Dean said, looking away from the mirror to focus on the road again. Castiel just looked away from Dean and focused out the window.

Supernatural Tag-@letsby

#spn #spn fanfic #sister winchester #epic fic #castiel/ofc #season five

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