#bruce finally learns to bake for new baby

[britcision]

Jason worrying the bats will say something to Danny, tell him what Jason’s really like, and Danny will believe them

Danny, vaguely knowing Jason’s dad rejected him in the “leaves a cut throat scar” way, worrying about meeting his family cuz what if they hate him but also what if he accidentally ectoblasts said dad in the face

Jason, wondering how he can adopt Danny and keep him as family forever, worrying Bruce will try and swoop in and take him cuz who the fuck would win in court, Dead Guy or Bruce Wayne

Danny, who has already legally ghost adopted Jason wondering how to let his new dad know that… yeah, that’s a thing and you have to keep me forever now cuz I’m keeping you

Danny, afraid Jason will stop liking him when he’s not cute and little anymore, playing up the little kid things like the lisp and big sad eyes when he’s worried

Jason, fucking catching on IMMEDIATELY that Danny is doing this, extremely wary when Danny is just regular sleepy or happens to be cute, scooping him up for cuddles cuz he can’t SAY I would never leave you I would never reject you I love you

Danny, who has never felt this loved and cherished, wondering how the fuck to ask Jason if he can save Jazz too

Dick teaches Danny to do backflips and he’s just climbing tables, shelves, all household furniture to practice and the kid can fly but fucking hell Dick you know you only survived your childhood by coincidence

Steph buys Jason a reinforced butterfly net to catch Danny with as an apology. It gets daily use

Everyone tries to treat Danny as an innocent little baby but then he opens his mouth and university level astronomy and physics comes out

Do Not Patronise Baby Danny. Jason will just smile and watch as said baby eats you alive

Damian discovering it is actually fucking great to not be the baby of the family anymore, even more possessive of Danny than Jason

I’ve had this idea in my head for days now and it just won’t LEAVE so here have scraps

So we know those de-aged au’s with Danny right, and the ones where Jason adopts him? YESSSSSS so anyways the thing that’s been ravaging my brain like an anteater on crystal meth is:

So all night has been pretty shit for Jason. Drug dealers, a couple muggings (who even goes out anymore in crime alley, at this time of night???????) and some human traffickers. You know, the usual. So anyways he’s pissed. Not to mention when he comes across some bastard who’s beating his family, jason promptly broke his legs in a couple new ways he liked. Later, deep into the night he’s already seeing a bit of green around the edges and he’s already called in dick to cover some areas while he cools off, so, naturally, as it is in crime alley, something goes horribly wrong that gets him pissed. Beyond pissed. He sees green and only when dick drags him away does he see some red too. A lot of red.

Fuck.

Well, he knows exactly what he has to do, so he pushed dick off of him and starts roof-hopping over to his apartment (where did his bike go?) and dick calls in the others thinking Jason’s going for more weapons/ammo or smthn, and Jason gets to his lil place and carefully opens a window, trying to be quiet because even though he’s in a killing mood he doesn’t want to wake Danny up, what kind of monster would do that?

Anyways Jason’s taking a moment with his helmet off, leaning his arms against the counter to calm himself down taking deep breaths he learned from Danny yes okay he learned from his son when Tim and dick crash through and Jason gets a little more pissed because those assholes probably just woke up Danny!

So here’s Tim and dick wrestling with Jason to get his weapons off of him and calm him down when all of a sudden the lights flick on and there’s a little boy, around 6, with a messy mop black hair and loose space-themed pajamas, rubbing his eyes as he clearly just woke up. everyone freezes in place and Danny looks around, his eyes adjusting to the light before he looks at Jason and–

“Dad? What’s going on?” He asks so innocently with a tilt of his head. While his brothers are stunned to silence Jason shrugs them off as hard as he can (they woke up his son) and walks over to Danny. Dick and tim lurch foreward but Jason just picks up Danny and places him on his hip. Danny reaches forward and carefully pulls off his dads domino and holds it in his hand while he frowns. “Green monsters are being angry again?” And Jason just sighs with his son (his son!!) in his arms and looks at danny; dick and Tim now seeing the green almost completely gone from his eyes.

“Yeah bud. No big deal though, alright? The green monsters are all gone now. So come on, it’s past your bedtime Danny.” To which Danny groans and he turns to look at the two others in the room who are bewildered as fuck because does Jason have a kid????? W h e n?? H o w??? Okay they know how they really don’t but that’s not the point

Anyways they stand there for a minute while Jason puts Danny to bed and when Jason comes back out he stares at them in silence. Then he just *sighs* and stares them dead in the eyes “yes, I have a kid. Yes, he quiets the pit. Yes, it’s past his bedtime. And yes,” Jason cocks his gun, “you both will be getting out of my apartment. right now. Silently.”

Yeah, they guess questions can wait till tomorrow

[sitepathos]

What if Y/N was a dad before Bruce figured out he was gone? Like would he rush to see him and his grandchild? What if the child was like rose being able to control the mold and Y/N now has to deal with Bruce and his sons?

Ok, wow, was not expecting that! But, this ask was too good to pass up! But, let me do you one better: instead of baby Rose, you have an adopted daughter like Eveline, complete with the need for a family and everything! Have fun with that!

You first met Eveline when you stopped at a pit stop at night, craving a slushee, but you saw her, a ten year old girl in wet, torn up clothing and no shoes to protect her bloody and scratched up feet, on the side of the building, looking incredibly weak and filthy.

You immediately got out and started attending to her, asking where her parents were and trying to tend to her wounds.

“Mommy and Daddy said I had to wait in the woods,” she weakly says, coughing in between words. “They said it was a game.”

You immediately realize this wasn’t a game. They left her for dead in the middle of the woods, either to die from starvation or predation.

“ I waited for five days. Did I win?”

“You did, sweetie,” you responded, not wanting to upset her.

(She does not have long,” the Megamycete said as you tried in vain to keep her awake. (She has been without proper care for too long. But she can be saved. All you need to do is inject her with some mold. It will heal her.)

Part of you didn’t want to do that. That making her like you would be cruel without explaining it to her, but she was dying. And no kid should die that young.

So you do it, placing some mold in her body through one of her scratches, which immediately begins healing her.

When she opened her eyes, she latched onto you and refused to let go, apparently having imprinted on you like a bird.

Your first thought was to take her to the nearest authorities so they could take it from there and arrest her parents, but both she and the Megamycete disagreed whit that.

“No,” she cried while wrapping both arms around yours. “Don’t send me away! I promise to be a good girl!”

(We object to your proposal. Keeping the girl would be the most prudent course of action.)

“Alright, you can come with us.”

“Thank you! I promise to be the best girl ever, Daddy!”

The name rubbed you the wrong way. For fuck’s sake, you’re 18! You should be her older brother, not her “daddy.”

But Eveline wouldn’t call you anything else and after an hour of trying to argue with a 10 year old, you finally conceded defeat.

And that’s how you started your weird little “family,” complete with a sentient mushroom in your body and a moldy 10 year old girl as your “daughter.”

Over time, you learned that Eveline had an obsession with the idea of having a family. Apparently, all she wished was for her parents to be like the ones on cartoons, loving their daughter with all their heart, reading her bedtime stories, walking her to school, and baking cookies.

“But now I have you, Daddy! And you’ll be perfect than my old one!”

Not gonna lie, you teared up at her wish for a family. You know that feeling more than anyone. Maybe being a “Daddy” will be good for the both of you.

You just gotta get use to the looks you get when you say she’s your adoptive daughter.

Over the four years, you two became close, doing everything she thought happy families do, from baking cookies and playing games to reading bedtime stories and kissing her goodnight.

When she started showing her powers (mycokinesis, hallucination manipulation, shapeshifting, and superhuman strength, stamina, and durability), you made it clear that she’s never to use them unless in a life or death situation and helped train her to control them.

She took to her new life right away, excelling in school and showing interest in your hobbies, loving the nickname you gave her Eevee (after your favorite Pokémon).

Of course, her obsession with families never left her, always staying by your side and never straying far from home, even at the tender age of 14.

Of course you told her about your Momma, how you lost her, and were forced to live at Wayne Manor where you were treated horribly.

Hearing her Daddy, the nicest person she knows, be treated like that pissed her off. She wanted to go to Gotham and tear Batman and the others apart.

Of course, you couldn’t let that happen (no mater how much you thought of it).

“We’re here, now, Eevee. And they can’t get to us.

“Ok, but if they ever show up, I’ll rip them apart!”

Then, the night of the Gamer’s Gala happened, and oh boy, was it something to behold.

She had been looking forward to meeting Alfred after all the stories you told her (of course, you didn’t tell the poor butler because that’s something you don’t say over the phone), but when she saw Bitch Wayne (her nickname for Bruce) sit next to her, she screamed so loud that everyone in the hall heard her.

She immediately pounced on the man and screamed all sorts of insults and threat at him, leading to security having to pull her off the legendary millionaire.

She wanted to summon a mold tendril and squeeze his head off or create an hallucination so bad he’d claw his own eyes out, but she promised her Daddy she’d never use her powers unless it was life or death.

It was at the security room that Bruce learned that she, a 14 year old girl, was your daughter. Adoptive, sure, but still your daughter.

And oh boy, did that man have so many questions.

But that girl is your daughter, and therefore a part of his family (holy shit, he’s a grandfather!), so he tries to bring you both back to Gotham.

Now, at this point, I can see this going 2 ways.

One: Eveline remains loyal to you and fights side by side against the Bats.

Or two: Eveline falls victim to the Wayne’s manipulation, tempting the poor girl with a big family that would give her all the love she could ever want.

You’re her Daddy and she’ll always be grateful for what you did for her.

But, she still has an uncontrollable need for a family, complete with a Granddaddy, a Great Granddaddy, aunts, and uncles! And pets! And a huge house! With a huge yard!

So, she helps them bring you back to Wayne Manor, her powers combined with the Bats’ gadgets and skills bringing you down.

Of course, all of them are astounded when you both display your control over the mold, but they have you and her, so what doesn’t it matter?

“We’re a big, happy family, Daddy! Isn’t that great!”

[mochegato]

I Can’t Fight This Feeling

Chapter 5

Chapter 1     Chapter 4

The Gotham air was clear and crisp and so very still.  Noises from traffic and strays rummaging through trash floated up, filling the otherwise empty air.  The peace was barely broken by the sound of two sets of feet landing on the rooftop.  They stood there awkwardly shuffling next to each other for a few minutes.  Finally something seemed to break and Red Hood removed his helmet, still not making eye contact with his companion.  Nightwing looked at him for a second before following suit and removing his domino mask.  They were far enough up that nobody could see them and if Jason wanted to talk eye to eye, Dick wasn’t going to deny him.

When Jason still hadn’t spoken a few minutes later, Dick took the initiative and spoke first.  “Thanks for helping us today.  I don’t think we could have handled it without you,” he clapped Jason on the back.

“You would have been fine.  You would have figured it out,” Jason shrugged.  “You always do.”

“Not easily.  Not without a lot of pain,” Dick corrected him.

Jason chuckled.  He gave him a skeptical look from the corner of his eye.  “First time I’ve been accused of not being a pain by you guys.”  

Dick laughed and nodded.  “It’s been a while.”  He paused and watched Jason for a few seconds.  “It felt nice… working together again.  I missed this.”

Jason looked out over Gotham.  “Yeah, wasn’t so bad.  Don’t think B was too happy though.”

Dick grimaced at the reminder.  “Bruce, he… you know he doesn’t approve of your tactics.  He isn’t sure how to handle you, what to expect.  And the bat on your chest.  It makes it seem like he approves of your methods.”

Jason nodded.  “Not going to lie.  That was the original intent.  To mess with B as much as possible.  Cause as much pain as I could.  But that’s not why I use it now.  The bat… I use it so the kids don't get scared.  So they know they can trust me.”  He sighed, his eyes flicked over to Dick quickly before returning to the skyline.  “But, I think they’ve started to figure me out.  They know who I am now, so I can change that. I can take it off, use something different.”

Dick shook his head.  “No, you keep it.  I’ll smooth it over with Bruce.”

Jason nodded absently and kept his gaze focused on the city.  He shifted anxiously for a few moments nervously twitching.  Dick eyed him curiously.  He couldn’t remember the last time Jason looked nervous.  Angry? Yes, he’s seen that a lot. Annoyed, most definitely.  He’s even seen surprise and fear.  But he didn’t think he’s seen nervous since before… well, just before.

“You know, haven't killed anyone in a long time, right?” Jason asked quietly.

Dick’s eyes widened in surprise.  He had noticed, but he wasn't sure if it was intentional or a tactic to lull enemies and Bruce, though Dick wasn’t sure if Jason considered them as separate categories, into a false sense of security.  Dick kept his eyes looking out over the city, matching Jason’s gaze.  Jason was starting to open up, just starting to show some vulnerability, and Dick would be damned if he scared him off now.

“I did notice,” he nodded slightly.  “I just didn’t know the reason behind the change.”

Jason looked down again, shifting even more nervously now.  The sounds from the cars below floated up to them, filling the silence between them while Jason collected himself and prepared for the rest of the conversation.  “I'm getting married, Dickie bird.”

Dick gasped.  His head whipped to face him. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could even figure out what he wanted to say, Jason continued.  “And she's good, Dick.  She's really good.  She used to be a hero, but doesn't remember it.  So when you meet her, you  can't say anything.  I’m only telling you so you understand just how good and trustworthy she is and B can never know.”

Dick stared at him, mouth a gape and eyes wide open.  When?  Did Jason say ‘when’?  He had heard that right hadn’t he?  “…too good for me,” Jason continued, ignoring the effect he was having on Dick.  “But she won't let me say that in front of her.  It's almost like she actually believes it, that I deserve her.”  He chuckled ruefully and shook his head at the floor.  He looked up at Dick searchingly, like the lost little boy Dick remembered from his childhood.  

“Can you believe that? Somebody actually believing that.  She's everything we were ever supposed to be, but better.  She’s more compassionate than you.  She’s smarter than Tim.  She’s more creative than Damian.  She’s braver than me.  She’s perfect.

“And you know how when you actually meet someone that you think really highly of and actually spend time with them, you start to realize maybe they're not as amazing as you thought they were?  That they’re just human and they have issues and failures just like the rest of us?”  Dick nodded absently, still focused on Jason saying ‘when he got to meet her.’  

“She's not like that,” Jason continued.  “I met her.  I’ve spent so much time with her.  Hell, I'm living with her now. And the only thing I’ve learned is she’s even more amazing than I originally thought.  She is everything to me.  She makes me want to be better, but never asks me to be because she already thinks I am.  She’s seen me at my worst and she still thinks… she still loves me.” He looked up at Dick with tears shining in his eyes.  “Can you believe that?  Can you believe someone thinks that?”

Dick gave him a small smile and pulled him into a tight hug.  “Yeah, Little Wing.  Yeah, I can.”  His grin grew wider as he replayed the words in his head.  Jason was happy.  He was really happy.  He was loved. His baby brother was getting married. He let out an excited laugh. “You’re getting married.”  He pulled away to look in his eyes.  “Tell me you proposed in an over the top romantic way.  I’d hate to think all those classic, romantic novels were for nothing.”

Jason chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder.  “I did,” he assured him.  He settled down on the edge of the building and patted the space next to him for Dick to join him.  “Lots of flowers and candles and nostalgia.  She cried.”  He clasped his hands together in front of himself and smiled into them.

“You did too, didn’t you,” Dick teased knowingly.

Jason shot him a halfhearted glare but nodded.  “Yeah, yeah I did.”

Dick sat with him for a few minutes just basking in being able to sit next to Jason peacefully for the first time in a long time.  Finally, he looked over at Jason with a curious look.  “So, she’s the reason you stopped killing?  She asked you to stop?”

Jason shook his head then bobbed his head to the side instead.  “Yes and no.  She’s the reason, but she didn’t ask me to stop.  I stopped before she knew what I did exactly.  I stopped before she found out.  I stopped before I disappointed her.”

“Does she know…” he vaguely motioned to Jason’s costume.

“Yeah.  I told her. She knows everything.  She isn’t thrilled about a lot of it… almost any of it, but she never left me.  So… she knows who you guys are too.”  He grinned at the memory.  “She said the butts definitely don’t match.  Batman has padding.”  He pursed his lips in a pretend annoyed face.  “She said Nightwing’s matches though.  She wants to know your workout.”

Dick barked out a laugh loud enough for it to echo down the street.  Jason narrowed his eyes at him and pointed at him warningly.  “Yeah, so keep your ass away from my fiancé.”

Dick laughed louder and threw his arm around Jason’s shoulders and pulled him into a side hug.  “I’ll make sure to only face toward her at all times when we meet.  No turning around.”  He nodded in mock seriousness.

Jason shoved him away playfully and groaned.  “Don’t make me regret this, Dickwad.”

Dick laughed again.  He grinned over at Jason.  He’d missed this.  He’d missed this connection, the banter, the brotherly teasing.  He’d missed Jason.  “So… has she met anyone else?  In the family, I mean.”

Jason gave him a mischievous grin.  “Oh, she’s met all of you, you just didn’t know who she was.”  Dick looked at him questioningly, his mind started racing through all the women they’d met for the first time in the last year. Having had two galas in that time frame and a launch party and quite a few charity events didn’t help narrow down the possibilities.  “She won’t be a new face to you.  But, Alfred knows who she is.  He’s met her. He’s the only one that knows about us. Alfred loves her.”  He grinned again remembering them together.  His eyes lit up at the memory.  “They bake together.  He taught her how to shoot a shotgun.”

Dick barked out another laugh.  “No way! He won’t even teach us.”

Jason smiled pointedly at him.  “Bruce won’t let him.  But, Bruce doesn’t know about her and he doesn’t control what happens outside of his manor.”  After a few minutes he looked down and furrowed his brow in thought.  “She really likes you guys.  I think she and Tim would be good friends if… if I… if it wasn’t for me.  That’s one of the reasons… Family is so important to her and I want to have one with her someday.  So I thought… I thought maybe I should start with the one I already have.”

Dick nodded.  “It sounds like she’s had a big impact on you.”

Jason smiled back and stood up.  “She has. So, dinner?  Tomorrow?”

Dick stood up next to him and gave him another hug.  “Definitely.  Just let me know where and what time.  I’ll be there.”

“And Dick?”  Dick turned back to him questioningly.  “I don’t… I’m not ready for anyone else to know yet.”

Dick nodded in understanding.  “They won’t find out from me.  See you tomorrow, Jaybird.  Can’t wait to meet your fiancé.”

<><><><><> 

“You’re back earlier than you expected,” Marinette noted with a smile as she looked up from her sewing.  “Is that good or bad?  Quiet patrol?”

“Yeah.” Jason answered absently.  He ripped off his helmet and jacket.  He threw them both on the chair as he made his way over to Marinette. She squeaked as he picked her up and placed her in his lap.  He buried his head in her neck.  “Hey, Pixie.”

Marinette immediately dropped her fabric and wrapped her arms around Jason. She slowly stroked his back and gently scratched his head in an attempt to comfort him.  She nuzzled into his hair.  “Hey. Are you okay?  What happened?”

“It was fine.  I’m okay,” he assured her, hugging her a little tighter.  “I just ran into Dick tonight.”

She sucked in a breath and tightened her arms around him.  “Oh?” she tried to force her voice to stay casual despite the way her heart was racing.

“Yeah.”

Marinette waited a few minutes before continuing on.  “And how did that go?”

Jason pulled away from her so he could see her face.  He brushed some hair over her shoulder and settled his arm back around her before he spoke again.  “It went well actually.  He noticed that I changed.  He’s really excited to meet you.”

“Oh? You mentioned me?” she asked carefully. She knew how he felt about sharing any part of his life with is family.  Hell, she knew how he felt about his family in general so if he was sharing about her, it must have gone really, really well.

“Yeah… and I… um… invited him to dinner tomorrow, if that’s okay with you.”

Marinette’s heart stopped for a second.  He invited his brother to dinner.  He invited his brother back into his life.  This was… this was huge.  “I’m okay with it.  How do you feel about it?  Are you okay with him coming here?”

Jason settled his chin on her shoulder.  “I’m nervous… but excited.  I’m looking forward to it... I think.  I just… I don’t want to be a disappointment.”

Marinette pulled away from him just far enough to cup his face gently.  “The only one disappointed in you, is you. And you are far too hard on yourself.  You don’t deserve the way you treat yourself.”

“And B,” he added.

“Fuck Bruce,” she grunted before pausing.  “Not in a sexual way, obviously.”

Jason huffed out a laugh.  “Obviously.”

She stroked his cheeks gently.  “Parents make mistakes.  They have flaws and foibles just like everyone else.  You don’t become a parent and suddenly you’re perfect.  All the same flaws and foibles you had before are still there, just amplified by stress and fear of making a mistake.  But those aren’t yours to take on.  You aren’t responsible for his flaws.”

Jason chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes.  “Foibles, huh?”  He waggled his eyebrows.  “Oh yeah, talk literary analysis to me, baby.  Break down those characters for me.”

Marinette pushed his face away with a groan.  “Nerd.”  He laughed and hugged her closer.  Marinette looked back up at him adoringly and smirked.  “Just focus on the chaos when he finds out it’s me.”

Jason grinned back at her.  “He’s going to be so annoyed.  You’ve been working with them for months and he never knew.”  He chuckled at the thought.  “It’s going to be brilliant.”

Marinette laughed along with him.  “You should make sure to take a picture.”

Jason turned back to look at her.  His smile turned loving.  “You’re brilliant.”

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “Yeah, sure.”

“You are.”  He moved his head closer to hers.  “You’re brilliant” He kissed her forehead.  “…and beautiful.”  He kissed her cheek.  “…and brave.” He kissed her other cheek.  “…and… um… benevolent.”  He kissed her jaw.  “… and…”

She grinned at him and moved her lips until they were just a few centimeters from his.  “Run out of attributes already?”  She looked down at his lips and back up to his eyes.  “Shame.”  She stood up and walked out of the room with a flirty glance over her shoulder.

“Hey!” he called after her.  “I wasn’t done.  That was just the B’s.”  He grinned as he watched her swish her hips as she walked down the hallway.  “Come back here and let me love you, woman!” He jumped over the back of the couch and raced down the hallway after her.

End

Tags:

@jasonette-july-event @jayjayspixiepop @aespades @how-to-function-properly @pawsitivelymiraculous @maribatserver @toodaloo-kangaroo

[berriusagi]

Stomach Bug Ch3

Future Plans

Thank you everyone who’s reading this fic and enjoying it. It really means a lot that you guys like this fic so much.

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Everything settled down once Alfred stepped in the announce dinner, Jason was forced to relinquish Marinette so she could regain her footing and settle her stomach. Damian helped steady her as she took a few slow deep breaths to calm her stomach. Dick still much too animated, was herding the two youngest into the dining room where the table was filled with a large array of food plates set out and silverware pristine.

Damian helped her to a seat beside himself making sure she was comfortable before taking his seat much to the amusement of his family. “What?” he glared, catching his family all staring at him with a mix of glee and surprise.

“Oh nothing, just didn’t take you for a helicopter boyfriend.” Jason chuckled taking his seat and started to pile his plate full of Alfred’s amazing cooking.

“She’s pregnant, she should be careful.” Damian glared filling his and Marinette’s plate with all the vegetarian options he could find.

Marinette sighed softly watching Damian’s antics, a small smile on her face as he set her plate down in front of her, “Thank you Dami.” She whispered trying hard to ignore the three brothers across from her making exaggerated cooing and gagging noises at them

Bruce shook his head a fond smile on his face as everyone got their food and settled in to eat a comfortable silence falling over them as everyone enjoyed the meal. Of course, this is the Wayne household so silence never lasted long and it was Bruce to break it this time.

“So, Marinette why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself and you’re planning now that you’re pregnant, what do you plan to do for school?” Bruce asked sipping on some wine as he watched the two youngest.

“Schooling won’t be a problem. I was already doing online classes, so it won’t be a problem keeping up with my classes. As for the future I just want to do what is best for the baby and my future.” She smiled sipping on some water.

“And we’ll be there to help her out every step of the way,” Harley grinned, reaching over to ruffle Marinette’s hair.

“Of course, however, we should discuss her living arrangements.” Bruce nodded, setting his glass down pointedly ignoring his three eldest dramatically rolling their eyes and their comments of, ‘oh Christ’ and ‘he has to stop at some point.’

Harley just looked him in the eye and crossed her arms, “She will be living with her mothers, we can provide for her just fine Bruce. She should remain somewhere she is familiar with and comfortable so she doesn’t stress herself out.”

“I understand that, however, I’d very much like to get to know my son’s girlfriend and would like to know that she always has someone with her.” Bruce said eyeing both women at his table, “I don’t mean to sound rude but you two are well-known guests at Arkham.”

“Ivy and I haven’t gotten thrown into Arkham since we got Marigold,” Harley glared, getting to her feet, “And I don’t like your tone you are not just going to swoop in and take my daughter just because she’s carrying your grandchild Bruce. She is staying at home with us where we can help her and make sure she is happy and comfortable.”

“I don’t mean to insult Harley.” Bruce said, raising his hands in a calming manner, “I want what is best for her as much as you. We can get her a private doctor who won’t go to the press if they find out whose child she is carrying. We can watch over her in the event of you two having to handle up on other matters of less legal means.”

Tension filled the room as the kids watched Harley and Bruce go back and forth with their arguments and reasoning for why it would be best for Marinette to live with them as opposed to the other. Jason seemed greatly entertained enjoying the show while Dick seemed to want to play mediator trying to cut in but failing each time as they just grew louder. It wasn’t long until the room was filled with Bruce’s stern voice and Harley’s animated accented speech.

“Maman,” Marinette shouted, effectively shutting down the argument as Harley turned to look at Marinette, “Maybe we can compromise?” she asked a bit quietly.

Harley sighed, sitting down, and waved her hand signaling for Marinette to continue as she grabbed a roll biting into it as she waited for Marinette to say her piece.

Marinette took a moment to breathe and collect her thoughts before turning to look at Bruce, “Mr. Wayne, do you want me to live here?” she asked, getting his nod of confirmation, “Maman, and Mum you still want me to stay at home?” she added looking over at Harley and Ivy getting their nods as well.

She nodded, taking another moment, “How about we have a sort of… custody agreement?” she asked, trying to think of the proper words, “All my schoolwork and projects are at home and I don’t want to completely relocate this late in the year. I can still stay with my moms’ during the week and on the weekend I can stay here. On holidays all of us can come over and spend the break here.” She said looking between the adults, “That way I’m still with my moms and you all can still get to know me and you can keep your eyes on me since no one thinks I can function now that I’m pregnant.”

The adults fell into silence thinking the proposal over. Harley let out a sigh letting her head fall back in her seat, “I suppose it’ll do but if anything happens to you while you’re here we are locking you in your room away from Bruce.” She quickly threw in.

“And if either of you end up in Arkham then she’s being moved to the manor immediately.” Bruce tacked on staring the two women down.

“So… doesn’t everyone agree to the terms?” Marinette asked, looking between the two a bit warily as they continued to stare each other down.

“It’s a good compromise.” Ivy said putting a hand on Harley’s arm, “Right Bruce?”

“Yes it is,” Bruce nodded, finally tearing his eyes away from Harley to look at Marinette, “I’ll have Alfred prepare a room for you.”

Marinette nodded a soft smile on her face as the tension began to leave the room as everyone went back to quietly eating. Until Jason decided to cut in, “You met Demon Spawn through a pen pal assignment, right? How’d that go?”

Marinette giggled softly as Damian got this slightly pained look on his face at the mention of how they met. “I used to go to school in Paris, we had a pen pal assignment. We would send letters back and forth at first it was only for the assignment. I’ll admit I wasn’t aware he was from a well-known wealthy family and since it was just for school we didn’t share many personal details at the beginning.” She admitted.

“What was it that caused the snowball?” Damian asked, leaning back trying to remember.

“You mentioned in your letter that you were in the middle of a feud with your brothers because one of them threatened to eat Batcow and another hid Jerry the Turkey around Thanksgiving.” Marinette said giggling at the memory, “I was so confused that you had farm animals, and then the next letter you sent pictures of your animals. I still have them in an old photo album somewhere.”

“From there we just started talking more when the assignment was due to end she sent me her email and we continued to talk through that later it turned into video calls then we swapped numbers when she came to Gotham.” Damian finished pointedly ignoring his brothers looking at him as if he was a clone.

“Why did you move to Gotham?” Dick asked looking at Marinette a bit curious, “Not many people pick Gotham when they’re looking for new places to live.”

“I came to Gotham because that’s where my moms live. They adopted me a little over a year ago and I was flown out here once the adoption was all finished.” She said her formerly bright and happy smile fading away to a more somber one.

“You mentioned projects.” Jason quickly cut in drawing Marinette’s attention, “are they school projects or hobbies?”

“Oh, they’re commissions for an online store I have. I like to keep them in one spot part of why I don’t want to leave home just yet it’ll take a while to properly pack everything up so nothing is ruined.” She smiled a bit of her shine coming back, “I run a small online boutique and make clothing. The sweater and jeans I’m wearing I actually made. I don’t often buy premade clothing unless it’s to customize.”

Once the sudden round of questioning came to an end other conversations began to flow smoothly after that everyone taking turns to ask a question or to throw out an answer. The tension from the previous custody argument seemingly forgotten as the Wayne boys took turns trying to learn as much about Marinette as possible. However, Marinette made it a tad difficult for them to get any real personal information on her as she seemed to masterfully skirt around certain questions while making it seem like she wasn’t dodging the question.

If anyone noticed her doing so they didn’t comment on it. Soon the plates were cleared away and Alfred was coming out with a plate stacked with macarons of multiple colors and flavors. Alfred walked around and set down a few macarons on everyone’s plate before disappearing back into the kitchen with a few leftovers for him to enjoy. Everyone kindly thanked Marinette for bringing the dessert even though she didn’t have to as they each picked up their cookie to take a bite.

Soft chatter began to fill as the boys began complimenting Marinette on the macarons as they all enjoyed the sweet cookies. “These are delicious Marinette where did you learn to make them?” Dick asked his cheeks ballooned out like a chipmunk as he chewed.

Marinette giggled happiness filling her as everyone enjoying her dessert, “I grew up in a bakery most of my life so baking is just second nature at this point.” she smiled, “I usually make bread for the week on sundays so it’s one less thing we have to worry about getting at the store.” she added.

The Wayne boys nodded as they enjoyed the cookies and continued with their previous attempt of questioning Marinette though didn’t get very far once again. Marinette seemed to know how to handle questioning quite well to answer a question by not giving an answer at all and it didn’t even bother them.

All too soon dinner came to an end and the Isley-Quinzels had to leave so that Marinette could get to sleep for her classes in the morning. They all stood at the front door saying their good-byes and planning when best to drop Marinette off on the upcoming Friday. “We’ve also already found her an OB-GYN we’ll send over the information and when we have appointments settled we’ll be sure to notify you if we keep this doctor,” Ivy said as she pulled on her coat.

“You trust this doctor?” he asked looking at her as the boys were busy trying to say their good-byes to Marinette.

“We won’t know for sure until we’re in her office. Marinette is a good judge of character if she doesn’t trust the doctor then we won’t continue to go to them.” Ivy said as Marinette kissed Damian on the cheek before coming over to join them, “We’ll keep you informed on how everything goes but we won’t be able to set up an appointment until sometime next week.”

He nodded and opened the door for them, “You three have a safe night and I’ll see you on Friday Marinette.” Bruce smiled gently patting her back as she nodded following her mother’s out.

“Have a nice evening Mr. Wayne.” She smiled softly up at him as they all left heading down the stairs as Bruce closed the door and turned to face his sons. He let out a tired sigh watching as they all seemed to be ganging up on Damian trying to interrogate him about Marinette to learn as much as they could before Friday rolled around.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

@myazael @beautiful-disasters-sunshine @moonlightstar64 @moonlitceleste @stainedglassm  @casual-darkness @mochegato @ultimatetornshipper @heemsanddamemes @nathleigh @qualitypeacepainter @killer-frost-ladybug @maskedpainter @demonicbusiness @dood-space @trippingovermyfeet @emimar7 @indecisive-mess-named-me @changelinggarden

[avengersapology-vid]

Avengers: College Edition

Steve: Criminal Justice and Studio Art double major. He doesn't want to torture himself with anything difficult and still wants to study what he loves. He is still an over achiever though. Highkey hates frat parties, saw someone twerking upside down and almost cried but stayed because hes the designated driver (responsible KING). prefers small get togethers with his friends. Roommates with sam and bucky!! Joins Criminal Justice club, jokingly rivals with Engineering (Tonys Club) Everyone on campus loves him including the professors, wins Homecoming king and is very happy. Sam jokingly asks to be his queen, Bucky butts in and says "NO, im his queen". Can be found in the library or art studio, usually with ink or pencil markings on his hands.

Tony: Obvi an engineering KING has physics as a minor. procrastinates to the max "No Bruce I have everything under control" *crams for 46 hours straight on a constant IV drip of Redbull and coffee* Super smart and helps draw the blueprint for the new engineering building. Roomies with Bruce! Tony was in a frat for a bit his freshmen year but hated it and wanted real friends (Throws better parties anyway) met Bruce and all the other avengers during a 1301 intro class. Pulls women like no tomorrow. On the presidents list every semester and tutors math for free on the side. He is basically the Dad in STEM. Tries hitting on Natasha but she is just like :/ nah, when her and bruce start dating tony is surprised because bruce is his "quiet little cinnamon roll." Tony constantly teases bruce and is like "yall fuckin (;" Steve butts in "tONY PLZ I JUST WANT TO WATCH THIS MOVIE" Bruce is thankful for steves intervention. You know how he rivals Steves Criminal Justice club? He butts heads with Business Clubs leader (Pepper) until everyone catches them together at a party. Has a caffeine addiction. Works out with Thor and Bucky one day in the rec and almost dies.

Bruce: Physics and Engineering double major (Hardworking KING) In math club with Vision and Wanda. He loves being roomies with Tony because it helps him out of his shell. Likes to draw with Steve sometimes and enjoys the quiet. Doesn't procrastinate and gets things done in a timely manor. 4.0 icon we all strive to be. Him and Nat already know each other, but bond and get a lot closer while studying in the library and they eventually start dating. He takes her coffee when she works across campus and is always almost late to class because of that (He doesn't care though bc thats his BABY) "Um.. Bruce your class is in 5 minutes" "Okay and?.....Wait I have an ex-" *Sprints to his building* Takes boxing at night with Thor, Bucky, Sam and Steve!!! Loves sparring with Thor and can surprisingly take the big buy on pretty well. Gets his butt kicked by Natasha in a MMA class though.

Natasha: Majors in Criminal Justice and Minors in Psychology. Ballet club AND MOCK TRIAL!! Has a Job at the Criminal Justice Deans office and takes MMA classes on the side. She is on Mock Trial with Loki and they actually get along quiet well once they stop butting heads about the case. Introduces Sam and Wanda to dance and they have so much fun. Coffee dates with Bruce!! Her and Steve become RAs in the following years and are the coolest RAs you know. Prefers night classes, Bruce walks her to all of them. Psychology classes are her favorite and really wants to help children one day. Volunteers at a daycare during breaks. Sis can really out drink Tony and Thor. Puts Wanda under her wing and helps her with fafsa and what not. Her and Bucky get the Russian language credit by simply testing out. Has her sh!t together and while she has a lot on her plate she can take it. She is really the Mom of the group. Can be found dancing or with Bruce. Her and Clint are icons in psychology classes.

Clint: Deaf Studies with education minor! (we stan deaf clint in the comics) In the Archery club and wins nationals for the Uni. Loves to draw with Steve. Helps Bruce ask Natasha out! PRANK ICON! loves to do prank wars with tony, bucky, loki and sam. Was in the same frat with Tony but hated it as well. While he seems to have a more reserved demeanor he is still the life of the party. (Like he knows people at the clubs ya know?) Can get in anywhere and helps everyone rent out a club for the night in celebration of midterms being over. Loves reading in the library and loves morning classes and being productive early in the day. Cracks Tonys netflix and hulu passwords (no tony... tonyr0cks69 is not good enough) Wants to teach at a school for the Deaf. Bruce sets him up with a girl from engineering and that is his future wife.

Thor: Physical Education major and Communications minor! Here on a football scholarship and is in a frat (not the asshole one tony was in) and is a partying ICON. Tries to get Loki to party but Loki just wants to drink wine with the cat he snuck into his dorm. Learns Sign from Clint to prepare for his career in education. Loves working out with Bucky, Sam and Steve. Takes up boxing during football off season and spars with Bruce. Despite being everyones fav himbo he gets really good grades and is a very good writer. Loki dorms across the hall from him. Thor actually rooms with Peter. Peter is the freshman baby and Thor takes peter under his wing and introduces him to everyone and helps him with college stuff in general. Also hooks him up with MJ and brings him to the occasional boxing session. Has a loud booming laughter you can hear in all floors of the library when he sees a funny meme. One time he actually makes a very good point and notices a flaw in one of Tony and Bruces projects leaves everyone stunned. Picks on Loki in big brother fashion. Unironically calls weed the devils lettuce.

Loki: Pre-Law and Criminal Justice. LOVES to argue. (Devils advocate ass) In Mock Trial and Criminal Justice Club. Tony jokingly calls him steves sexy secretary in CJ club. Loves Mock Trial and is the president with Nat as his right hand woman. Sneaks a cat he found at the shelter into his dorm and names it muffin. Stays in the Library writing or going over cases. The one time he was taking Natasha a copy of the Mock Trial case packet and caught her and bruce smooching. (He screeched) "Haha funny joke yall heres the case packet BYE." He automatically texts the group chat "i think nAT AND BRUCE HAVE SOME TEA FOR US HMM". Lets Peter and Bruce come over to his dorm because he knows their roommates can get a little too much sometimes. Loki also becomes an avid twitter user and thats how he gains popularity on campus. (He called the uni out for their awful and expensive parking) Was able to convince the Dean with tony and steve to create a new parking lot. Caffeine addict!!! Him and Tony always bump into each other at the coffee shop. Brings baked goods to meet ups with the gang. Loves to play pranks (especially on Tony) Him and Bucky come up with a genius prank on him and even get pepper involved. Best dressed on campus and is in the fashion club. He is the embodiment of dark academia.

Sam: Criminal Justice Major with Aerospace Engineering minor. Gets introduced to Bucky and Steve during move in and they literally become brothers. Is both in Criminal Justice Club and Engineering Club. In the Historically Black Frat on campus and takes huge pride in that. Parties with tony and thor BIG TIME. Procrastinates by throwing paper airplanes at Bucky until Bucky is like "Um...dude your paper is due in like two hours." At that moment Sam got into work faster than he ever had. Loves gossip sessions with Loki and Wanda. Works out a lot with Bucky, Steve and Thor to get rid of stress. When he and Bucky finish a final they go to loki's dorm and ask "Hey can we see your cat." Helps prep food for friends-giving and decorates the dorm for holidays. HATES 8ams so so so much. Steve promises him pancakes if he gets up and goes. Binge watches shows during weekends and screams when Destiel is finally canon. Loves running and gets a Track Scholarship when Thor gets him to join a sport. Gets Peter to join track.

Bucky: criminal justice major and psychology minor. Buck is also in ballet club with Nat, it really helps him relax and gives him a free space to think (also he runs that shit like no ones business) Criminal justice club as well and LOVES to work out and box. One time Sam accompanies him to ballet and Bucky pushes Sam into a split... the scream was heard for miles. "Sam ballet is good for athletes it helps w-" "Yeah but its not good for my balls" Doesn't willingly procrastinate but once in awhile he will forget an assignment, you best believe his eyes will snap open from his nap and get to work asap. For one of his psyche labs he had to question Steve as if he were Steve's therapist to which Steve responds "Hey bro you dont have to hit a nerve that deep" He also likes to do dance with peter since it helps him get away from Thor for a bit. Not a big partier but once the weight of finals are off his chest you best believe he will go all out. Picks on Nat and says hes gonna steal her man, to which tony interjects and says "Not if I do first" Bucky also has a very comfy dorm, comfy lighting and tons of pillows, the man loves his sleep... and so does everyone else. Sometimes he finds peter, sam, THOR, tONY EVERYONE just napping in his bed before their study time. Overall, bucky is a smart boy and his time in college is kind to him.

Wanda: English Major and Education Minor. After being an orphan Wanda knows what it feels like to not have a parental figure there and she wants to change that for other kids by becoming an english teacher. She volunteers at an orphanage, specifically the one her and pietro were in for a brief moment when they came to the states. She loves to draw as well and takes plenty of art classes with steve. She paints a portrait of the entire gang and gives it to tony as a graduation present (he cried). She loves to do volunteer work for children and also spend a lot of time in the library, She helped Nat calm down before Bruce asked her out. Her and Loki are in constant competition for best dressed. "Loki ill let you win best dressed but you have to let me see your cat" "ugh fine... btw your shirt doesnt match your boots" "hEY" Her and Peter take alot of intro classes together and are constantly running around craft stores trying to get the right stuff for projects. Visits Vision at his Job on Campus and he visits her where she volunteers and eventually they start dating. She is constantly getting visited by pietro at 4am asking "Um do you have milk" "Pietro its 4am what do you ne-" "my OREOS"

Pietro: Track star business major, frat ICON with Thor. poor boy is STRESSED he hates college and is here on a track scholarship, constantly late and running around getting shit done. Queen of late assignments but still gets them graded because he is in Track. Yeah he has alot on his plate but he still parties with thor for hours. When he is drowning in assignments Clint is always there to help him, Bruce also helps him with biology and the more science-y classes. Likes to mess around and race sam at track practice. Not into coffee but will run on all the monster energy drinks you could possibly buy. Seriously is tired of 8 a.m courses, he just wants to nap after practice. Walks into the study room that everyone was in and actually looks more sleep deprived than tony. He gets a lot of tips from steve on how to have an easier time in college and it really helps him.

Vision: Grad student working on a civil engineering masters and a TA. Meets Wanda in the library and she asks him where the biographies are. He mistakenly says they are on the 2nd floor "Uh theyre actually on the third" "Then why did you ask?" "Cause I wanted to talk to you :)" He swooned. Through Wanda he met Tony and Bruce and became their best friend, He helped out a lot with engineering club and got them far. He spends a lot of time doing research for his masters degree, he loves relaxing with the group on weekends and picks on pietro as if he is already apart of the family. Him and Loki bond over intellectual conversations from time to time. Bruce and Nat go on double dates with him and Wanda. Went to a bar once with tony and bruce and had to stop tony from singing Queens entire discography, he had the best night that night. Helps everyone with getting into jobs and into grad school in general while everyone helps him let loose and have some fun.

Peter: Peter is a Physics major and eventually works his way up to biochemistry. (hardworking icon) He is the freshman baby of the group and is introduced to them through Thor. He dances with Buck and Nat sometimes as well. Tony obviously takes peter under his wing and helps him with assignments. One time everyone was in the same study room and him and pietro have a redbull shot gunning challenge. When Peter wins Thor picks him up and almost yeets the poor boy into the ceiling. "VERY WELL DONE YOUNG PARKER YOU SHOULD BE DOING THAT WITH BEER IN NO TIME." "Thor plz" Tony and Thor help him ask MJ out and even spy on them during a dinner date. (Imagine thor with sunglasses and a scarf around his head pretending to be tonys date) He feels so accepted in college because of the gang and gets all his work done on time. Goes out of his way to get everyone christmas presents and is so excited for friendsgiving. Becomes a little stressball during finals and midterms and stays in the library till it closes. He spots loki alot in there and helps loki with science classes while loki helps him with political science classes. He meets MJ through wanda and is obviously blushing the whole time while being introduced. Gets embarrassed when the guys flirt with aunt may. "guys plz stop" This is when Sam earns his "milf hunter" nickname. "Pete hows your aunt?" "She doesnt want you sam i-" its not like that... actually it is like that"

Coulson: Alumni Icon. Is the gangs Intro professor and is the reason why everyone meets eachother. (the class was chaotic indeed) Coulson loved that class so much and he still gets visited by everyone from time to time. He is obviously close with Nick. They were there that night when Tony was signing Queen at the bar and couldnt help but laugh.

Nick Fury: Dean for criminal justice and is heavily involved with criminal justice club and mock trial. He is tired of everyones shit as always. Makes a tiktok account for the criminal justice club and has no idea how to manage social media so gets Loki to help. Has to delete it when Loki commented "hah losers" on the engineering tiktoks page. He looks intimidating but in his office he has a picture with the club and has all the gifts he gets on display. (He even framed lokis comment because it was hilarious afterall)

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 15

first time reader - click here

TW/SUMMARY: Is bad humour a trigger? Cards against humanity. Loki in the wild. Chaotic Tony, chaotic Reader. Team bonding, a gag chapter lmao

My beta is babey 🥺 @miscmarvelwritings

If someone had bothered to ask me what kind of relationship I had with Tony, it would've made my brain glitch. In the weeks we spent fucking, sciencing and hanging out with the Avengers, it never once crossed my mind. We had fun and it was easy. Unlike both of our lives, it didn't require much mental energy for us to get what we wanted from each other. For me, it was easier to ignore my skin aching for Tony when he was already spending so much time on me. I wasn't sure if it would ever be enough, really, so taking exactly as much as he was giving was my best bet.

We built things in his workshop with Pete by our side and it wasn't awkward. The spiderling said he was happy as long as we were happy and didn't mind it too much when Tony got handsy. The man had at least some morals and stuck to kisses, ass-slaps and lewd comments which made Peter snort and fake-retch sure, yet the boy never displayed any real discomfort. It was endearing. He really became the little brother I never thought I would have.

The sex was fantastic, to say the least. We fucked on just about every flat surface on the residential floors. Steve caught us once, although I am almost hundred percent sure Tony staged it all on purpose. The good Captain didn't even blush, instead just silently closed the door behind him as I stared in his face, gripping Tony's head with my thighs.

The weather grew dreary yet both of my parents still stayed out of New York. Mother went back to Canada and dad continued his never-ending party on the West Coast, conquering California and living his best life. My house was dark and cold, and I started hanging around the tower more often than ever. If I wasn't with Tony, I was busy catching up Wanda and Bucky on pop culture, teaching Thor how to bake cakes and doing other meaningless, domestic stuff. The Avengers tower bustled with life at all hours and there always was someone...

I never felt lonely. It was such an unusual experience. Comfort and reassurance was always one room away. Be it Thor with his gratuitous amount of physical affection or his brother's incredibly witty, dark humor, I never had to stay one-on-one with my thoughts for too long.

Personally witnessing Bruce's coming out of his shell was the highlight of my life, no lie. I was so used to the quiet, mousy Banner that my brain refused to acknowledge his amazing sense of humour at first; I wasn't sure if he was joking or ... Or what? Truth to be told, Brucie-bear was as snarky as Tony,Loki and Stephen. The sorcerer had started visiting more often too, under the guise of tutoring Wanda, but all of us saw the way he lingered in the communal areas after their study time came to an end.

If loneliness was a sickness then the tower's inhabitants and frequent visitors were beginning their recovery journey.

"Have you guys heard about Cards Against Humanity?" I asked one evening once the movie credits began rolling. Wanda was squished into my side with her legs in her brother's lap; Clint laying atop both siblings like the trash bag that he was. And I meant it fondly.

On the other side of me, I had Bucky and Loki, who had begun to discuss their respective collections of sharp and pointy things once they deemed the movie lacked action. Legally Blonde and action, did they really think..? Nevermind.

"Yes, and if you're offering, the answer is yes," Clint mumbled, reaching for his second pack of Cheetos.

We gathered in a circle as I brought the shoebox that had the original deck plus a couple of expansions. This was beginning to look interesting. "So, I have the special Avengers edition right there..."

"Say no more," Clint even abandoned his snacks. "But I'mma put on the episode of Lucifer I missed. Multitasking," He winked, wrestling the remote from Pietro. We waited patiently as they finished the obligatory round of horsing before settling down for the game.

I explained the rules of the game, choosing to disregard Loki's scoffing and Wanda's doubt about the quality of the humor in the game. We played a few rounds with me explaining some of the deeper pop culture references. At a point where all of us were engrossed, laughing and poking fun at each other, more of the Avengers parked themselves on the couch.

Stephen, Tony and Bruce evidently had been sciencing, all three men having had their safety goggles perched forgotten atop their heads. Sam, Natasha and Steve - probably sparring. All three of them brought the smell of soap and laundry detergent to the room. All of the newcomers observed us with mild interest, periodically glance at the TV.

It was Wanda's turn to be the card Czar. I had to take a moment to finish my last giggling fit.

"Okay, the white card goes..." She paused dramatically. "I never truly understood blank until I encountered blank." With that, she poked the timer app on her phone. The sixty second countdown began.

I did a quick inventory check. Then I snorted. I had to quickly stuff two knuckles in my mouth, biting down, to attempt to silence the hysterical fit of laughter I was on the brink of. Loki was definitely going to stab me but the opportunity was too good to pass. No fear, we die like men.

"Ooh, she's got something," Clint teased, having noticed my shaking shoulders.

The timer beeped. Naturally, Loki went first. He wore a mildly disgusted smirk. "I never truly understood parting the red sea until I encountered third base," The trickster caved and began chuckling.

Somewhere behind me, Sam and Tony began cackling while Stephen and Steve groaned loudly in mild distaste.

"Press F to pay respects," Pietro clapped Loki on the shoulder with a sympathetic chuff. "I raise you - I never truly understood licking things to claim as your own until I encountered the clitoris," The young avenger struggled through laughter, followed by everyone else this time.

"That's a keeper, ladies," Sam's rich baritone quipped.

I laughed along, inwardly preparing for the inevitable. "Yikes," I whispered, side-eyeing Loki. "I never truly understood daddy issues..." I trailed off, hearing Bucky and Steve beginning to tease Tony. "... Until I encountered Loki, the trickster God."

The room drowned in a sea of laughter, Tony and Clint busting a gut so hard they fell over. Said trickster God was less than amused, however, glaring in my direction with the force of a pissed off bee swarm.

"Ow, that's cold, Princess, that's just cold," Clint squeezed out.

"Loki," I abandoned my stack of cards, crawling over Pietro and Bucky on all fours, settling prettily on my knees in front of Loki. Making my very best puppy eyes. "I love you, with all my cold black heart. And you're technically the patron saint of fun and shit, so that means you must approve of this very clever joke," I pouted, batting my eyelashes.

"Baby girl, I think you're laying it on too thick," Tony gasped, slumping on the couch, holding his sides. Everyone kept laughing, now at my feeble attempt at placating the upset Loki.

Who, by the way, looked a bit spooked. Subtly but surely, the raven-haired Asgardian leaned away from me.

"Don't be mad, I'm too cute to be mad at," I finally snorted, pat-pat-patting him on the shoulder. "It's okay, you can join my club. We have hot old dudes and cookies."

That broke it. First, the corner of his mouth twitched. Then, Loki looked away. I saw the storm before it crashed; with a weird noise of his own and his cheeks puffed out, Loki joined in on the shit-fest, howling full volume and doubling over. I followed suit, until all of us were writhing around on the floor. We'd stop and then someone would make another remark and it would go into another round again.

"Menace," Loki scoffed at me, smiling. "And for the record, the hottest old dude, as you put it, would be me." That said, he went back to calmly waiting for his next turn. "I'm about a thousand years old."

"Thor's older," Bruce noted thoughtfully.

Loki scoffed. "That man cannot chew with his mouth shut. If that's considered attractive, I'm leaving this forsaken planet."

That struck a thought within me. One that was brewing a long time, to be honest. "Thor is the god of himbos," I said with the same tone as "Eureka!".

"Shit, you're right," Sam exclaimed, following with another, weaker fit of laughter meanwhile Bruce had to be the one explaining the term to the poor, poor, clueless members of the Avengers.

I need to find a way to award them some kind of points for learning the gen-z lingo. "Patrick" stars maybe, since they lived under a fucking rock?

"Princess, never a boring day with you around. You don't half-ass this shit," Tony's warmth reached me as he shuffled around on the couch, sitting directly behind me. I leaned my back against his legs.

"I'm not a clown," I shot back. Tony stiffened. Dramatically flailing my hand I announced: "I am the whole god-damn circus!"

As the game progressed, we found out that Clint was That Guy - meaning, the dude every CAH group had, the one who grossly overused the "Bees?!" card and made Star Wars references whenever humanly possible. The only even slightly funny joke was about a lightsaber up the ass, in the end all of us finding out that Bucky knew a little too much about modern sex toys - "Hey, I saw one on Amazon, I'll send you the link, Birdman" - to Steve's open-mouthed horror.

What Loki lacked in references he made up in wit. The play on "During sex, I like to think about genetically engineered supersoldiers" had Bucky scrambling to switch places with Wanda whilst Loki himself was attempting to shoot bedroom eyes at Steve. It was a mess.

Bucky's own play had Steve abandon all pretense at being in any way appropriate as he struggled for air. "The Avengers new rules prohibit using Mjölnir as a dildo." Me and Tony became somewhat of a messy guffawing octopus of limbs for a moment after the super-soldier said it.

"Don't. Tell. Thor!" Strange gritted out, hiding his laughter behind a palm, uncharacteristically having lost his stuffy attitude. By god's will the man was attractive when he smiled.

As time ticked, each one of the starting players had attracted a newcomer. There weren't enough cards for everyone to play (Tony had, of course, ordered additional ones but they wouldn't arrive until the next day) so people kind of whispered and pointed at what they thought would fit.

Natasha conspired with Wanda, Sam went to his bird-bro, Bruce was forcefully dragged by Bucky to his side. Surprisingly, Steve teamed up with Loki which made Pietro stick his nose up in the air and promptly declare he needed no backup.

I already had Tony on my side. The genius wasn't of much help, however, he simply annoyed me out of my skull by randomly giggling and making immature jokes. It should've alarmed me that Stephen was eager to join me and Tony - usually he just butted heads with anyone who had any opinion whatsoever.

I was left bewildered upon discovering the wizard liked drama as much as the Kardashian clan and was quite competitive at causing the most shit.

My clown crown felt threatened.

"This one," Tony poked at a card in my hand.

"If you think that's funny, your intellect is obviously overestimated." Stephen dismissively waved a hand. "This one," It was unmistakable whom the trembling finger belonged to. It pointed at a card on the other side.

"Wizards are just hilarious," Tony seeped sarcasm.

"Try me, Beyonce," Stephen murmured darkly.

That was just background noise to me. I had all my undivided attention on the TV, my last two functioning brain cells focused on the scene unfolding right in front of me. The Lucifer episode, the devil and his insatiable thirst for honey. The timer buzzed but I was still drawn towards Tom Ellis dipping two of his fingers first in the honeypot, then in his mouth, all the while looking like a damn snack himself. Illegal. I've never simped so hard for a fictional character.

A golden glow snatched a card out of my grasp, levitating it.

"Girl, what the hell?" Wanda saw my face and attempted to revert me back to earth. "Someone turn off the TV, there's not enough water in the tower to quench her thirst."

"Hey, did you two just - don't ignore me!" Tony whined, managing to tug on my hair and attempt to reach for the card now held in Stephen's grasp, simultaneously.

"I don't blame her," Clint mused. "That right there is one very fine dude."

I shook my head, clearing any untoward thoughts. Focus. "First of all, Bird, you're a dude. That there," I pointed up at the TV. "Is a man. A Man." I emphasised, getting a jealous poke in the back from Tony. "Second of all..." I turned towards Stephen. "The quaffle, the snitch and the AUDACITY OF THIS BITCH!" The last of my sentence was pitched. The sorcerer had raised his arm, clutching the card, and I struggled to reach it.

"What... What did you just say?" Stephen was laughing, not at all phased by me climbing him like a tree to take hold of what's mine. Tony was actively helping - or, trying to. One-handed. The other hand attempted to snatch the rest of the cards from my grasp.

"And that's an F on teamwork," Bucky's sarcasm was complemented by Steve's famous Captain America Is Disappointed In You look.

"Uhh... Guys? What's going on?" Peter's timid voice leaked confusion.

"Hello, friends," Thor boomed, drowning out the boy's questioning noises.

"We're playing a game. Cards Against Humanity."

Wordlessly, Peter towed Thor along with him to find a spot amongst us. And even if Thor didn't get any of the references, he still was good fun. His laugh was infectious. The way he cheered for every winner was incredibly wholesome. Golden space puppy. The urge to immediately pet Thor and give him endless pop-tarts was strong in me.

Loki was one dramatic, vengeful bitch. "Women get turned on by the Devil himself"? I was ready to throw hands with the trickster. Everybody's laughter drowned out any cursing I might or might have not directed towards Loki who looked far too satisfied with himself. I was going to substitute the sugar for his tea with salt one day, mark my words.

I wouldn't admit it over my dead body, but the way he got back at me for the daddy issues joke was kinda funny. Okay, very funny. It was fucking hilarious. I admire a clever man.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby

[stonecoldjerseyfox]

Jersey on my mind (part 38)

A faint, warm breeze caresses Mila’s face as she and Juri walk along the quiet street, running alongside the newly built wall. A few of the Alexandrian men are working on the final piece, funnily enough nearby the church that caused it to break. It’s been two months since the wall collapsed now, or at least that’s what she thinks. Mila looks at the new construction as she and Juri passes, feeling a sense of calm throughout her soul as her eyes sweep over the repaired structure that has also been expanded; a part of Deanna’s original plan for the community. On the piece of the wall that stood by the invasion, next to the small graveyard, someone has written the name of those who have perished; loved ones, friends, family and those who became family after the outbreak. It’s a nice memorial site, a quiet corner of the community. Since that day, when the walkers poured into Alexandria, everything has gone back to a somewhat normal state.  

It’s a hot mid-summer’s day, the sky is blue and the clouds look extra fluffy. Juri points towards them and gestures as if he squeezed an invisible marshmallow between his soft little fingers.

“Yeah they look tasty.” Mila smiles and squints up towards the floating clouds cruising by without a hurry. “What about-” Softly, she pinches Juri’s button nose. “I try to find us some yummy marshmallows for a barbecue when I get back, huh?”

With glittering eyes Juri nods and hugs her tightly; obviously he is positive about the idea.

“Then it’s a date.” Mila chuckles and hugs Juri back, before putting him down on the ground. “Ufh, you are getting heavy. Soon I won’t be able to carry you around.”

With a proud, sunny face Juri stretches, he’s certainly not a little guy anymore; in Mila’s eyes, paradoxically, he’s still her little baby, while she’s also well aware that he’s turning four in a few months. Where the heck did the years between infancy and two go? With a smile, she thinks of Maggie and what adventure awaits her and Glenn in the years to come. At least they have each other, a small consolation when the world is constantly on the brink of doom. 

“Since you’re a big boy now, you’re going to teach Maggie’s baby a lot of important things. Like Carl does with you and Judith.” Mila says and takes Juri’s hand. “You think you can do that?”

Juri nods, with eyes that take the task very seriously. He adores Carl like an older brother and being addressed as a big boy, doing ‘Carl-stuff’, is everything he’s ever wanted. Juri gestures with his free hand and makes a finger walk in the air; of course he will teach the new baby to walk. But when he lets go of Mila’s hand, to show that he’s going to teach the baby to tie its shoes, Mila raises her left eyebrow.

“Well, I think we have to practice that one a little bit, Malysh.” Mila says.

Stubbornly, Juri signals that he’s already trying to learn, or rather states, very stubborn, that Daryl should teach him. He’s done it before, Juri gestures with a triumphant grin.

“Really?” Mila smiles. “Sure, I bet he’s good at it. What’s left for me then? I’m just gonna sit by and watch?”

By putting his hands together in front of him and pointing his index fingers straight ahead, Juri gestures a finger-gun. He narrows one eye and pretends to aim and fire. He points at her with a smile, clarifies that she’s best at shooting, therefore she should teach him. 

“Spasibo, malysh.” She winks at Juri. “Not quite yet, though. But I promise you, I will.”

Further down the street, both of them catch sight of Daryl and Denise. They part, Denise walks away from them and Daryl turns and starts to walk in their direction. Mila waves at him and Juri starts to run as fast as his short legs possibly can towards their favorite archer. Despite his packing, a backpack and the crossbow, Daryl receives Juri when he reaches him; he lifts him up in the air on straight, strong arms, making Juri’s blonde hair dance around his angelic face. The silent laugh that spreads on his face makes Mila’s heart swell with joy. She had never thought that the surly archer would melt completely because of a, certainly charming, mute toddler; her little ray of sunshine. He even smiles as he lifts Juri into the air. Surely a sight for sore eyes, she thinks as they meet in the middle of the street.

“Ya’ ready?” Daryl greets her as he puts Juri down. “We’re heading out now.”

“All done.” She replies, notices a piece of paper in Daryl’s hand. A shopping list? “That’s a nice little list you got there.” Mila peeks over the edge of the slightly crinkly paper, that looks like it’s been passed around the entire community. “Food, gas, some medicine, more medicine… another medicine-” She frowns her eyebrows. “Orange soda?”

“Dunno.” He shrugs. “Denise wanted to surprise Tara.”

“That’s nice.” Mila nods.

It was decided last night that Tara and Heath would go on a longer supply run. Daryl was asked to follow, but declined. Mila suspected that it was because of her; she’s been a bit under the weather the last couple of days; she’s been tired and just a bit feeble, felt nauseated. Carol was sure it was just her female hormones acting out, which could very well be a possibility. Tracking a period during the apocalypse wasn’t high on her ‘to do’-list, so she brushed it off. Daryl didn’t say anything about the reason for his decision, but Mila guessed that he didn’t feel like leaving her behind, even though she’s neither sick or… well, anything really. Just a bit tired. Instead, it was decided that Daryl and Rick would go on a supply run. Mila offered to come along; Daryl couldn’t possibly stop her from following, so it was settled that she’d tag along. 

They walk to the dusty Chrysler sedan together. Rick’s already in place, assuring that his gun is loaded and attached properly to his belt when they arrive.

“Mornin’.” He greets them with a nod; Once a cop, always a cop. The only thing missing is the wide-brimmed hat. “Ready to go?”

Both of them nod and Daryl hands Rick the list of supplies.

“Ya’ see anything you miss?” He asks.

Rick glances through the list quickly.

“We’re outta’ toothpaste.” He states and lifts his eyes to them, waving the note between his fingers. “Keep an eye open for spearmint and baking soda. Michonne’s orders.”

“Got it.” Mila turns to Juri and squats in front of him. “Okay, be nice to Carol and the others, don’t run away.”

With a serious look, Juri reminds her of the promise of marshmallows.

“I’ll remember.” Mila promises and gives him a kiss on the cheek. “There, davay.” She gets up from the ground as Juri turns and runs over to the porch, climbs the stairs and gets into the house to find Carol. 

They get in the car, Rick and Daryl in the front seat and Mila in the back seat. She puts her handgun and backpack in the seat next to her and Rick rolls over to the gates, where Eugene’s about to push it open for them. On the other side, pierced on a couple of rebar attached to a broken car, a couple of walkers are trying their best to reach for them with their worn, boney arms, all in vain. 

Eugene strutts over to the passenger seat of the car and leans into the open window. The mullet looks more solid than ever as he hands Daryl another note. “I mapped out some of the agricultural supply places in the area.” He says in the heavy Texan accent Mila finds incredibly fascinating. “Even if they’ve been cleaned out, my bet is that the sorghum would be untouched. Now, that there is a criminally underrated grain that could change the game with our food situation from scary to hunky-dunky.”  

No one says anything. Mila rests her elbows on the backs of the driver’s and passenger seats and leans in so her head sticks out in between the two men in the front. 

”I'm talking standability-” Eugene continues. “Drought tolerance, grain-to-stover ratio that is the envy of all corns.” He pauses. “Think about it.”

”Gosh I could listen to him forever.” Mila says and looks at Rick. “Hunky-dunky.” She repeats in an as good as it gets Texan accent, while meeting Eugene’s eyes.

“All right.”

The car drives out through the gate, Rick accelerates and they leave Alexandria behind. 

“I’m having a good feeling ‘bout today.” Rick says cheerful.

“Really?” Mila replies.

“Just-” Rick shrugs. “You know- You just feel it. Today’s the day. We're gonna find food, maybe some people. The law of averages has gotta catch up.”

“We ain’t seen nobody for weeks.” Daryl notes. “Maybe we ain’t gonna find nobody.”

“That’s sunny.” Mila says, strokes his bare arm with her fingertips. “Let’s cheer this bad boy up, sheriff.”

Rick grins and pushes ‘play’ on the stereo. The music starts faintly and Mila recognizes the band as Social Distortion. 

”Oh I like this one!” Mila exclaims and starts to sing along.  

”Thought ya’ only liked country?” Rick looks at her in the rearview mirror. 

”Nuh.” Mila shakes her head. ”I’m full of surprises. Fun fact, I went to a bunch of cool concerts back in Jersey. These guys, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Rise Against, Pearl Jam- Lots of rock, punk, country-” Mila continues to sing along when the chorus starts. ”I made out with the Social Distortion singer, Mike Ness, after a concert. Or at least I think it was him.”

”Think?” Daryl sputters and turns to look at her. 

”I was eighteen!” Mila shrugs easily. “And drunk beyond judgement.” She confesses. ”He was- old, kinda’ handsome. Smelled quite nice, except the sweat. When I think about it, it could just as well be any middle aged guy with tattoos and tons of hair wax working backstage. I will never know for sure. But I’d like to believe it was the singer. Makes the story more interesting.”

Rick laughs.

“Concerts are wild.” He agrees while tapping the steering wheel. “I took Lori to see Tim McGraw once, before Carl was born. Cheap fried hot wings, beer in red plastic cups, great music; great night.”

“Is he the-” Mila starts to hum while drumming on the thighs. “Hu-huuu- I like it, I love it-”

“-I want some more of it-” Rick tunes in and snaps his finger to her beat. “I try so hard, I can't rise above it. I don't know what it is 'bout that little gal's lovin’-”

“Christ sake-” Daryl sighs and slides further down the passenger seat. 

“Here-” Rick hands Mila the worn plastic case of cd’s from the door pocket. “Find something good.”

“Yes, captain.” Mila unzips the case and starts to flip the plastic pages, filled with scratched cd’s, before finding something that looks promising. “Here-” 

“Please, don’t-” Daryl pleads. 

Too late. She leans into the front seat and pushes the cd into the radio.

“Crank it up!” 

Rick turns the volume wheel up to fourteen and both he and Mila happily exclaims “yeeeah” when the intro to “Life is a highway” blasts out of the cheap stereo. 

“Ya’ both crazy!” Daryl cries, in an attempt to drown out the radio. 

“Draws ‘em away from home!” Rick calls before tuning into the catchy chorus with Mila.

Rick knows the lyrics even better than she does; she still stumbles on the fast lines combined with her not pitch perfect english.

After driving for awhile, while continuing their exceptional singalong, Daryl manages to override the music:

”Look-” Daryl points out of the window and Rick hits the brakes in a matter of seconds. ”Back up.”

While Mila stretches forward and turns down the volume, Rick puts in reverse gear and drives the car back to the intersection. About a hundred meter to their right lies a couple of buildings. A silo, a shed and a barn, with ’sorghum’ written all over the dirty white roof. Rick turns the wheel, hits the gas and drives in the direction of the barn. He drives up on the dirt road and parks in front of the red building. It looks untouched, as if no one else knew about the great power of the sorghum. They step out of the car and look around. It’s quiet, no walkers.

“Let’s check it out.” Rick looks around the corner.

”Best to be safe.” Daryl says and walks over to the storage roll up door. He checks the handle, nods as to tell that it’s unlocked. ”Ya’ cover?” He looks up at her and Rick. 

”Yup.” Rick returns, hand on his gun. 

While the two men get ready for combat, Mila throws a glance out over the fields surrounding the barn; keeping an eye open for potential enemies. The door goes up with a loud noise and Rick bursts into the barn. Mila’s eyes land on the back of a truck. 

“No sorghum?” Mila says.

”Doesn’t look like it.” Rick turns to her and Daryl. “We’re good.” He states and points at the truck. ”One more time?” 

”It ain’t locked.” Daryl puts his hand on the handle and thugs at the box truck roll up door that rolls up with a rattle. 

”Wohaa!” Mila exclaims. 

The truck is filled with supplies; food, blankets, towels, everything really. It must be their lucky day.

”How ’bout that?” Daryl says. “Looks like we’re done for today.”

”Let’s get this thing going, grab our gear and come back for the car later. Take another way back and see what we can see.” Rick states. “We still need to find more things.”

”I’ll go start it up-” Mila says. ”If it starts.”

”I think it does.” 

”Also one of your optimistic predictions?” She smirks at Rick, turns and walks over to the drivers side and opens the door. ”Hah, they where dumb enough to leave the keys.”

Daryl unloads the most necessary things from the car, Rick locks it with a ‘beep’ on the key and  they get inside the truck; Mila makes herself comfortable between her two companions and they backs out of the barn and hits the road. They head in the direction Rick drove before Daryl asked him to stop. The road is lined by green, lush forest. The sun has settled behind some clouds, but it’s still warm, a sticky moist heat that doesn’t really make Mila’s tiredness any better. She’s already drinked a whole bottle of water by herself and starts to feel her jeans push at her bladder. In the distance, she sees what looks like a very run-down gas station. 

“Should we check it out?” Daryl looks at Rick, who nods. “Might be some gas left.”

“Let’s find out.” 

Rick parks at the first pump and they get out of the truck. The gas station is a mess; debris everywhere, an abandoned jeep is parked outside and the black color of the roof has begun to flake and exposes the gray metal underneath. The store looks equally miserable. She strolls up to the doors and peeks through the dirty glass, but sees nothing else than darkness. On her right Daryl’s checking out a tipped-over vending machine, filled with soda and candy. Someone must’ve given up halfway through their attempt to move it, Mila thinks.

“Give me a hand with this.” Daryl says.

Rick, looking around the desolated place, turns on the spot and walks over to help. Besides her urge to pee, Mila’s struck by a slight sensation through her head, like nausea, just as she has been doing on and off the last two days. Heck, not now. 

“I just gotta- you know.” She makes a whistling sound, to signal that she needs to find a toilet, or just walk behind the corner of the gas station to pee, or vomit - right now she cannot decide which of them she needs the most.

“We’ll get this.” Daryl nods towards the vending machine.

Mila turns and walks towards the door of the gas station. She thugs at it, then pushes it open with force. It’s barricaded with a shelf and she creates a passage wide enough for her to get through  and walks inside the dark store, gun raised in front of her. She lets her gaze get used to the dark, then sweeps over the empty, chaotic store before she walks towards the back of it, towards the door with ‘staff only’, hanging on just one hinge. The back of the shop, a room that looks like something between an office and a storage, with walls clad in brown wooden panels, is also empty. She quickly finds the ‘staff only’-toilet that doesn’t look far too disgusting to sit down on. She closes the door halfway, to prevent herself from being in total darkness. While unzipping her jeans she curses herself for not bringing a flashlight. As she sits down, she promises herself to wash her whole body with steel wool as soon as they are back in Alexandria; the toilet stinks of urine and It must be a pure bacteria party in the small space. She closes her eyes, feels how the nausea calms down a bit, focuses to breath through her mouth to close out the acrid smell. She takes another breath and feels her bladder relax, happy to release the huge amount of water she drank. 

Despite the disgusting toilet, it feels better to go to the toilet inside than outside. Mila reluctantly remembers the time she had to pee in the woods, and a walker snuck up behind her. With her trousers around her ankles, Mila had to ward off the armless, dead man. It wasn’t her proudest moment for sure. 

Loud voices and thumps make her wake up from her thoughts. Mila almost falls on her nose getting up from the toilet seat with her jeans around her ankles. Swearing over the fact that she might have to repeat her unworthy pants incident, she makes her way out from the bathroom, thuggin’ on her panties and jeans to get them over her ass, to see what’s going on outside. Is there an ambush? She loses balance, while trying to zip her pants, when she makes her way out in between the gap in the door and drops to the pavement. While brushing her hair out of her face, Mila catches sight of Daryl and Rick standing out in the street. The truck is gone. 

“What the heck?!” She cries and gets up from the ground, fiddling with the zipper. “Where’s the truck?”

“Gone.” Rick hollers back at her. 

Mila lets go of the zipper again -whatever if she shows off her undies at this point- and holds out her arms, to show that she noticed that very well on her own. 

“I was gone for like, five minutes, and now you lost the truck?”

“He took it-” Rick continues. 

“He who?” 

“Some goddamn’ hippie.” Daryl scoffs angrily. “Crashed into Rick and then drove off with the truck, swiped the keys.”

“Wha- just like that?” Mila says, more confused than ever. What the hell happened?

“We talked to him.” 

“Okay… and?”

“Told us his name- called himself Jesus.”

“Yeah I’m sure that’s his name.” Mila laughs dryly; right, Jesus Christ would surely show up in the middle of nowhere and steal a truck filled with toothpaste, food and other supplies. “Jesus don’t steal trucks.” She says. “Jesus isn’t even real! And how on earth did he overpower both of you?” 

The two men in front of her transform into two ashamed puppies, that’s been caught peeing on the carpet, in the matter of seconds. Mila suspects that they weren’t overpowered but tricked; muscles and guns are no use for cunning, and she knows a lot about the latter.  

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Mila sighs, squats and ties her boots with an extra secure double knot. “Lets go.” 

“What?” Daryl looks at her. 

“We gotta follow the truck.” She replies and thanks her lucky star for not having eaten anything heavy earlier this morning. “I won’t let someone who believes himself to be Jesus just steal our truck. I went to church back in Russia when I was a child; stealing is a sin, which makes this Jesus a hypocrite. Come on.”

Mila starts to run. Had she known she would have to chase after a truck, she would have taken a pair of running shoes. They pass the vending machine after a few hundred meters, discarded in the middle of the road. Mila brakes and takes a deep breath, wiping sweat from her forehead. The sticky heat is killing her and the three of them drip with sweat. Rick’s shirt is several shades darker and Daryl looks almost freshly showered. Next to her, Rick doubles down and rests his hands on his knees, still hugging the gun.

“How far do you think he’d come?” She pants.  

“Dunno.” Daryl takes a crowbar from his backpack, shatters the display case of the vending machine and starts to stuff orange sodas and some snacks into his bag. He reaches Mila a can. “Here, drink.”  

She smiles, as to say ‘thank you’ and opens the can. The soda is somewhere between lukewarm and warm, but it’s better than nothing. She finishes the can quickly and wipes her mouth on the back of her arm.  

“Isn’t this the soda Denise wanted?” She asks.

“Uhu.” Daryl nods. “Special request.” 

He takes one of the cans, punctures a hole in its side and pours the lukewarm orange drink into his mouth. Very classy.

“Hey, whatever she wants. She saved Carl's life.” Rick replies and receives the can from Daryl. “If there's still people out here, and they're still people, we should bring 'em in.” 

“Still feelin’ positive, huh?” Daryl asks his friend. “Takin’ em in? Like this guy, stealing our truck?”

“No, not this guy.” 

Daryl turns and looks at her, the gaze wanders from top to bottom.

“Ya’ good to go?” The look is caring, protective. As if he was trying to say 'sorry ‘bout the bumpy ride'. 

Mila nods, feels a drop of sweat run down her lip, into her mouth. 

“Let’s get this over with.” She replies and collects her long, sweaty hair on the back of her head, ties it up with a hair tie. “I’ve ran marathons, remember.”

They set off again at a slightly faster pace, strengthened by the soda. Mila breathes calmly as she sprints over the concrete, counts her breaths as she used to do when she was an avid runner and used to go out for a long run for fun. The circumstances are a bit different from back then; no running shoes or comfortable running clothes in bright colors, no iPod filled with upbeat music and no fitness clock tracking her pulse and her route. The boots are actually horrible to run in, the same goes for jeans, t-shirt and denim shirt, plus a backpack and weapons. 

They follow the tire tracks until they reach a crest, where Daryl signals for them to stop. Carefully they ascend the hill until they can peek over the edge. In the hill down on the other side they see the truck, standing still. It has a puncture and Mila immediately sees a long-haired man with a beard, dressed in a long coat and a beanie, which in itself is pure madness. She’s dripping with sweat and would never in her life put on a long coat or hat now. 

“That’s him?” She asks faintly. 

“That’s him.” Rick nods at them to follow him into the woods to the left. 

They carefully make their way over the fallen leaves between the trees, without losing sight of the truck. The man walks around to the back of the car and they see their chance. They quickly get out of the woods, Rick takes the lead and throws himself forward, wraps his arms around the man from behind.

“Hold still and maybe we won’t hurt you.”

If Rick thought it would help, he was completely wrong. The man sends off an elbow into Rick’s stomach and is suddenly free again. He makes a move, kicks Rick in the guts and gets him down on the ground. It's obvious that the guy is a bit sharper than the rest of the knives in the drawer; Mila climbs out of the ditch just as the man is about to set off towards the driver’s door, but is stopped by Daryl. While the men fight with each other, Mila manages to get up on the road just as the bearded man slips out of Daryl’s arms, pushes him into the side of the truck, turns around and loses track completely at the sight of Mila, who -tired of running and still a little nauseous- has pulled out her gun and aims it at him.

“Surprise!”

The brief moment is enough for Daryl to get back on his feet. He sees his chance when the man turns and notices Mila and tackles him from behind, down into the ditch. At gunpoint, they finally have the upper hand.

“Thanks.” Daryl pants and looks at Mila.

“The power of surprise.” She shrugs and looks down at the man. 

He’s about thirty, long brown hair, beard. Yes, she sees the resemblance to Jesus; every time she sat in church and counted the icons portraying him when she was little. The serious man with sloping shoulders, blue dress, beard and well-groomed hair. The difference is that the Jesus in the icons didn’t have a knitted beanie and a leather coat.

The foliage behind the man in the grass rustles. A walker then announces its presence, by a guttural hissing sound.

“Do you even have any ammo?” Jesus looks at them.

Without answering, Mila raises her gun at the walker and shoots.  

“Okay.” Jesus nods, still with his hands raised in front of him. “You gonna shoot me over a truck?”

“There's a lot of food on that truck.” Rick says. “The keys - now.”

“I think you know I'm not a bad guy.” 

Once again, Mila suddenly feels that unpleasant, nauseating feeling, but this time it spreads from her head down to her stomach. She turns around, hurries away a few meters, bends forward and vomits into the ditch. ‘Is she okay?’ she hears Jesus' question, while she spits and feels how she shivers all over her body; fuck, she hates to vomit. But it actually feels better.

“Ey-” She hears Daryl scoff at the poor guy. “Eyes here, dude! The keys!”

“I’m fine.” Mila hollers and waves her arm at them, still folded like a pocket knife.

“You sure?” Jesus calls back.

“Oh shut up!” She shouts. “It’s because of you I’m throwing up.”

“Sorry.”

“Just-” Mila straightens her back. She feels less nauseated, a bit weak but otherwise much better. “Give us the keys.”

For some reason, Mila can’t figure out why, Jesus throws her the keys. It might be out of pity, or the fact that her two comrades are holding him at gunpoint; she nods at him, as a way to say thanks.

While Rick ties Jesus up, Daryl hurries over to her.

“Ya’ okay?” His eyes are worried. “Ya’ sick?”

“No I’m fine.” Mila nods averted. “Probably just too much running and too little breakfast. I’m good now.” She smiles. “Just, don’t kiss me until we’re back and I’ve brushed my teeths, okay?”

He doesn’t look completely convinced, but he grunts a little, caresses her cheek and places a kiss on her forehead instead.

“There’s toothpaste in the back of the truck.” He says, before returning to Rick and Jesus.

Mila gets into the truck, sits down in the middle seat and closes her eyes; maybe she should try to find one of those toothpastes, she has a foul taste in her mouth. She looks around the cab and finds a pack of spearmint gum. As she pushes a third gum into her mouth, Daryl and Rick jump on either side of her.

“Where is Jesus?” She asks.

“On the street.”

“What? We can’t just leave him?”

“Of course we can.” Rick replies, turns the key and starts the car. 

“So long, you prick.” Daryl shouts out of the window as they drive off.

Mila chuckles dryish; She has an underlying sense that something is going to happen. Karma. She takes out the case of cd’s from her backpack, picks the “best of sixties” album and pushes the cd into the stereo. The sound of Connie Francis “Tennessee waltz” crackles out of the speakers and Daryl hands out snacks from the vending machine. 

“Still worked out. Today still is the day.” Rick recalls while snacking on a chocolate-peanut bar. He then points in front of him. “Hey, look at that.”

The truck drives out of the forest, and Mila sees both fields and buildings.

“Yeah, a barn.“ Daryl says. 

As Rick turns off in the direction of the barn, something makes them all fall silent and listen; thumps, like something hitting the truck box, is heard even over the loud music.

“What’s that?” Mila exclaims. “You hear that?”

It’s inevitable what the noise is; footsteps.

“I think that son of a bitch is on the roof.” Daryl says. 

All three of them react at the same time; Rick stands on the brake pedal, the car stops with a howl and Jesus falls down in front of the windshield and tumbles to the ground. Daryl, swearing loudly, throws himself out of the car to follow him and Mila follows Daryl. She has no idea why, but her gut feeling tells her that Daryl won’t be gentle on him. It also tells her that Jesus probably isn’t dangerous at all, which isn’t in his favor if Daryl, who’s all muscles and pretty bad impulse control, gets a hold of him.

“Daryl-” She calls. “No- Stop!”

“I’ve had enough of ya’!” Daryl shouts at Jesus, not hearing Mila. 

This must look ever so stupid, Mila thinks as she sprints after Daryl and the hippy-dippy guy into the dry green field; like one of those silent films, except that the soundtrack in this case happens to be Helen Shapiro’s “Walking back to happiness” playing from the car. Mila running after Daryl, running after this odd long-haired man who seems to believe he’s Jesus. Why in the world would he otherwise call himself that? 

”No- no, stop it!” Mila shouts, as if she was scolding at a bad dog. 

She stumbles and falls flat on her stomach, while Jesus reaches the now stationary truck and throws himself into the driver’s seat. Daryl follows.

“Come here, you little shit!” He barks and starts to drag Jesus out of the car. 

At the same time a walker has snuck up behind Daryl. Mila gets up on her knees, gropes for her gun, but before she has managed to raise it to shoot, she hears Jesus call out ‘duck’; Daryl ducks just in time. A gun finds its way into the walker's skull and it falls back like a bowling pin. 

“Thanks.” Daryl pants, then sends off a punch into Jesus face. “That's my gun! Come here!” 

He throws Jesus out of the truck, onto the grass. He doesn’t remain there for long; instead, he lays hooks for Daryl, who stumbles, giving Jesus time to get up on his feet and set off again.

“Son of a-” Daryl roars and runs after.

“Fuck- knock it out!” Mila shouts and increases her speed, minimizing the distance between herself and her, frankly pissed off, other half. Before Daryl’s able to take another leap in his hunt for the handcuffed, longhaired karate kid, she tackles him to the ground with a thud. ”Stop this!” Mila climbs up on top of him, to prevent Daryl from getting up from the grass. ”This is stupid!” 

”Christ- knock it out ya’!” 

Crap, she doesn’t have time to argue. Mila climbs over Daryl and sets after Jesus, who has slowed down to watch the wrestling match played out in the grass behind him. A surprised expression spreads on his bearded face as he sees her approaching, faster than he imagined. Jesus turns and starts to run again, but he doesn’t get up to speed fast enough. Mila lunges for him and they tumbles to the ground in a bundle of arms and legs, and she starts to wrestle him. He doesn’t fight her, but he tries with all his power to get loose from her grip. Mila gets a sharp elbow in the eye and a cracked lip before hobo-Jesus is ripped away from her by Daryl, who looks like he’s boiling.

“Ey, that’s ma’ girl, ya’ scumbag!”

“Wohaa, jeez.” The long haired, ravaged man, flies like a raggedy Anne-doll through the air.  

Mila gets up from the ground, covered in dry grass and wipes blood from her mouth on the back of her hand. Her eye pounds and already feel swollen, a certain recipe for an upcoming, gorgeous black eye. Daryl pants loudly through his nostrils while holding on to the ravaged man’s coat, the poor guy can barely stand up straight.  

“I had him.” Mila glares at Daryl and spits blood on the ground in front of her feet.

“I’d had him if ya’ didn’t tackle me.” Daryl scoffs back, still holding on to Jesus' collar. 

“You’d kill that poor man if you’d catched him.” Mila replies, pointing at Jesus. “You’re not exactly sensible when you’re angry.”

“Oh yeah right, you’re the one to talk!” Daryl scoffs back. “What about that guy’s kneecaps-”

“I had every right-” Mila cries. “He sliced my guts with a fucking machete!” 

”You two are related of some sort?” Jesus doubtfully breaks in. 

”Married!”

“What?” Daryl sputters, looking both terrified and shocked at her sudden, out of the blue exclamation. 

“Feels like it!” Mila replies and spits more blood; they’re arguing like they were married at least. “Pridurok...” She mutters, eyes locked at Daryl.  

”Oh-” Jesus pants and looks just as confused as Daryl does, plus a bit tufted. “Right-”

“Shut up.”

Pow! Jesus falls to the ground. Mila rolls her eyes; why does he have to punch everyone? She snorts and turns, stepping through the tall grass in the direction of the car. Damn hypocrisy, she thinks to herself. She passes Rick, who walks in the opposite direction out in the tall grassy field, holding his bloody knife, but ignores him. She’s frankly grumpy and her eye hurts. But she halts when she doesn’t spot the truck.

“Where the fuck is the truck!?”

She looks around. It’s nowhere to be seen. As she lets her gaze sweep over the field she catches sight of something behind some trees, in the small pond.

“Shit.” Rick comes up at her side, eyes locked at the truck that’s sinking further down the pond. “He must’ve knocked it into neutral.”

“Now what?”

They both turn and start walking back towards Daryl and the man in the grass.

“Are you alright?” Rick looks at Daryl. “Let's go check them cars, get the hell out of here.”

“What about the guy?” Mila points at Jesus. 

“What about him?” Daryl asks. 

“Well, he was actually nice, saved you.” She replies. 

“Hm.”

“Did he ever pull a weapon on you?” Rick asks. 

“Fine.” Daryl sputters. “Fuck- fine. Let’s put him up a tree.”

“No. He’ll come back with us.” Mila corrects, giving Daryl a sharp gaze. “Enough of that grumpy attitude.” She nods at Jesus. “Come on, let’s find a car. Drag him with you.”

They find a working car about fifteen minutes later. Daryl throws Jesus into the backseat. Mila takes the wheel, Daryl calls shotgun and Rick takes place next to Jesus, who’s still knocked out and they start driving back to Alexandria. 

“He took a pretty hard hit.” Rick says and meets Mila’s gaze in the mirror, then looks at Jesus. “Denise needs to look him over.”

“Try to wake him.” Mila suggests. “See if he’s got permanent brain damages.”

Rick shakes the man, who grunts and starts moving. He blinks and jumps.

“You’re alive.” Rick says. “Good.”

“Yeah-” Jesus grunts again. “Why am I in a car? I heard something about a tree.”

“It was a joke.” Mila says, meeting his drowsy eyes in the mirror. 

“It wasn’t.” Daryl looks at her.

“You wouldn’t have gone through with it.” Mila gives him a sharp gaze. “You wouldn’t have left him.”

“I would’ve-” Daryl nods upwards. “Right up in a tree.”

“He’s a comedian.” Mila says, once again looking at Jesus in the mirror, not taking notice of Daryl’s irritated expression. “Or at least tries to be.”

”Where have you been all my life?” Jesus chuckles and looks at her in the mirror and sends off a radiant smile that tells Mila that he’s using mouthwash on a daily basis. 

”Ey- knock it out!” Daryl reaches back and slaps the man on his tied up hands. 

Mila lets out a faint laugh. Huh, look at that; a jealous Daryl Dixon. Jeez Louise, there’s nothing to worry about, Mila thinks to herself, but Daryl’s poor self-confidence doesn’t make it easy for him. She pats her jealous, southern knight on the back of the hand.  

”He looks like a hippy dippy orthodox priest.” Mila gives the surly, blushing archer a soft gaze. “Calm down, Dixon.” She turns to the rear view mirror and the hippy dippy man in the backseat. If papa was here, he wouldn’t have let him inside the car. Not in a million years. “No offense, but you do.” She says to Jesus.

”None taken.” He nods at her with a curious gaze. “What’s up with the accent?”

”Up and running, thanks for noticing.”

While steering the car with her knees, Mila once again takes out the case of cd’s, now missing the one with sixties-music, takes out a random cd and puts it in the stereo. She adjusts the volume-wheel on the radio and increases the sound of “The Chain” and starts to tap the wheel while singing along. 

“You’re a really good singer.” The man in the back calls after a while.

“Thanks.” Mila replies backwards. “I’m a dental nurse.”

“Did you sing to the patients?”

“To the kids, sometimes. Some terrified men before they, you know-” She closes her eyes and pretends to snore. “Put them down.”

“I’m sure that’s not what it’s called.” Rick replies.

“I made them sleep.” Mila shrugs her shoulders. “Right?”

“Not what it sounded like.” Daryl says and meets her eyes, with a slightly amused expression on his stern face. 

“Anyway I think it sounded beautiful.” Jesus says. 

”I like this guy!” Mila looks at him and Rick with an excited smile upon her face, nodding her head to the beat of the music. ”Can we keep him?”

“He ain’t a dog.” 

“But he’s quite fun!” 

”You see.” Jesus says triumphantly. “She likes me.”

That’s it for Daryl. He turns and once again starts to try and hit the guy. Mila hits the brakes and the car stops with such force that Jesus is thrown into the headrest of the passenger seat, and dozes off.

“Knock it off!” Mila roars. “Or I won’t drive an inch further.”

The angry mom-voice isn’t only effective on children, it works really well on adult men as well. Daryl mutters and returns to his seat. Mila steps on the gas pedal again and continues to drive. Outside, it eventually starts to get dark. The sky is clear and the stars look brighter than ever. When she brakes at the gate to Alexandria, it’s pitch black. Daryl gets out, opens the gate and she drives into the community; a sensation of calm spreads throughout her body. That’s when she remembers.

“Shit.”

“What?” Rick asks.

“Forgot to get marshmallows.”

When the gate’s closed and locked, Daryl gets into the car again and Mila drives up to the infirmary, parks and the engine dies. The three of them get out of the car and stretch. What a fucking day, Mila thinks to herself, while watching Rick and Daryl dragging the still unconscious Jesus out of the backseat. They carry him up the stairs to the infirmary, knock on the door and wait. Denise opens in a few seconds.

“Sorry to wake you up.” Rick excuses himself before Denise can say something.

From her spot at the car, Mila notices Denise’s confused expression as she notices the lifeless man. 

“Who is this?!”

“Come on, man, he's heavy.” Daryl says to Rick. “Oh, that thing-” He looks at Denise. “Uh, didn't work out. It's this asshole's fault. Sorry.”

While they bring Jesus inside, Mila leans up against the hot hood and looks at the stars. Juri has probably been asleep for a while now. She doesn’t know what time it is, but it’s late. Rick and Daryl walk out of the infirmary just as she catches sight of the pole star. 

“He’s taken care of.” Daryl says as he walks up to her. He examines her in detail in the faint glow of the infirmary. “Let’s patch ya’ up.” 

Mila doesn’t struggle. She’s tired and hungry. They go back into the infirmary and she sits down on one of the beds with clean, white sheets and exhales. There’s a mirror in the corner of the room. When Mila sees her reflection, she sighs even deeper; she has a pretty neat blackeye and a cracked lip. Daryl sits down on the stool in front of her.  

“A hell of a blackeye-” He squints at the look of her pulsating, sore eye. “Ya’ really took a few punches.” He takes the bottle with alcohol and a wipe and pours some onto it. “Like Rocky Balboa.”

“Yeah, but I won.” Mila replies. 

“Just like Rocky.” Daryl replies. “Still though- hell of a fight.” 

“Better me than you I guess.” Mila swears as Daryl, as gently as he can, wipes her cracked lip with the drenched wipe. “You’d kill him.” 

Mila nods over Daryl’s shoulder, towards the knocked out man lying on the narrow hospital bed, handcuffed to the bed frame. Daryl turns, looks at Jesus, then scoffs. 

“I’ll kill him if he ever puts his hands on ya’ again.” Daryl mutters and throws the wipe over the room, into the trash bin. 

“Don’t have to, I’ll do it myself.” Mila smiles, but grimaces; it hurts to smile. “I know.” Daryl replies. “Sorry ‘bout earlier. For yellin’ at ya’.”

“You gotta work on that temper.” Mila states. “It ain’t good for the blood pressure.”

With a grunt, as much of an answer as anything, Daryl puts his hand at the back of her head, brings it to his lips and kisses her on the forehead. 

“Ain’t gonna need to stitch ya’ up.” He says. “Come on, let’s get ya’ to bed, Rocky.”

“Yes, Adrien.” Mila grins wryly. “What about Jesus Christ Superstar?” She nods towards the other bed. 

“Yeah we’ll deal with him later.”

“You gonna tuck me in first?” Mila asks. “I’d love that, but honestly, I need a quick shower before bed. I think I might have caught every possible STD there is from that disgusting toilet at the gas station.”

[virgil-is-a-cutie]

Bio!Mom Max Black Headcanons

Two Broke Girls x MLB crossover

Based on this

When Caroline's movie about her life story was starting production Caroline finally had the courage to tell Max how she felt

The two dated for 4 months before Max decided they should marry

Mostly because she's known Caroline for so long that she literally knows she wants her as her wife

They were going to elope but Caroline told her dad which ended with Max being told by Martin he wanted his princess to be properly married

Sophie helped with the wedding not caring about the price

Caroline and Max got married at the prison where Martin was in so that Martin can give away Caroline and watch her get married

Of course, the news and paparazzi got wind of it and so much to Max's annoyance, the wedding was live streamed

They decided to just add the other's last name instead of one taking the other's

Caroline wore this with her hair in small side braid

Max wore this with her hair in a bun with a few curls framing her face.

Earl walked Max down the "isle"

Martin fought the urge to cry seeing his only daughter get married

He was glad that it was Max really

After a year of being married Caroline quietly mumbled as they cuddled

"Do you think about having kids?"

After a bit of talking they decided to use a sperm donor although, her twin cousin Darcy was able to get Bruce Banner to use both Max and Caroline eggs and the sperm donor to make the baby

Caroline was the one to carry the baby

A month before the baby was born their business boomed because of Caroline's movie and they eventually had a good business

They have a baby girl who they name Marinette Cathy Channing-Black

She had Caroline's eyes and Max's hair

Of course, Sophie wants to be the godmother, but Max puts her foot down that it would most likely be her cousin

Much to Caroline's shock Tony Stark is their daughter's godfather

Pepper is her godmother

As Marinette grows up she likes to watch her mom bake

She learns Korean from her uncle Han

Earl babysits whenever her moms are busy

Earl is her grandpa who she and Max consider him her dad

The cupcake business rises and they're very successful

Caroline is glad they finally left the crappy apartment

Caroline eventually is told by her father that she has an uncle who lives in Paris

It's Gabriel Agreste

Caroline is an Agreste in her mother's side really

And that he's the half sibling of Audrey Bourgeois

Audrey made Andre take her last name

Basically making her a Bourgeois through her father

This is when Mari is 13 years old and they decide to expand the cupcake business to Paris, France

Marinette is both excited and annoyed to move mostly because she won't be around to annoy uncle Tony or any of the Avengers

Marinette was almost the spitting image of her mother Max from her pale complexion to her hair, but she had Caroline's eyes and physic

When they get to Paris Caroline sets a meeting with both Gabriel and Audrey

Of course the two are shocked at the news that they're related through marriage

The reason being because Caroline's mom is Gabriel's sister and Martin is Audrey's older half brother

Making both of them Marinette's great uncle/aunt

And basically making two certain blondes her cousins

As well a certain cousin of said one of the blondes

Marinette is a mix of both her moms

She's sweet but very sarcastic and just...kinda like Max

The small Channing-Black family live in a decent comfortable home, not too flashy

Audrey brings Chloé over and Chloé is shocked to hear she has relative, she's somewhat excited

And Chloé is just...shocked to find out she's related to Adrien, her Adrikins before smiling widely

Chloé actually isn't a bully, she acts like it in school to see how far the stupid teacher would let it go and after she's mean to the ones she was she informs the person on what she was doing so as they don't feel bad

Surprisingly it's a lot and she's getting annoyed that Ms. Bustier won't at least do shit

On the first day of school when the Akuma strikes, much to her surprise Chloé freezes and pees herself before shielding herself behind Mari

"This sounds oddly familiar," the ravenette says giggling before scowling, "hey!"

The akuma strikes before Chloé has a chance to introduce her cousins because Adrien couldn't make it

Mari doesn't get the ladybug miraculous bc she just moved

Doesn't stop Master Fu from giving her the Cat Miraculous

She names herself Chat de Ruelle, Alley Cat

She doesn't keep it a secret from her moms who instantly tells Tony who comes whenever he can to help her train

Her outfit as Chat is similar to Lady Noir but her curls are in a messy bun and her mask covers her whole face except her mouth

It also has body armor and spikes on her wrists, tail, and elbows

She got Caroline's clumsiness but mostly that she has things fall on her or anything really but shes's not overly clumsy

On the second day of school she meets Adrien and she and Chloé practically ambush him and tell him that they're related

This makes Adrien happy but is somewhat confused before Mari informs him on how so

Mari is basically done with Ms. Bustier on the first day, complains to her moms who basically storm into the classroom to give her a piece of their mind

Does not help that Chloé turned in the evidence to the school board

Ms. Bustier quits before being informed she is not allowed to teach at all anymore

Adrien does become friends with Nino but not with Alya since Mari sits behind Chloé and Sabrina

Mari only becomes friends with Nathaniel and Nino

As the 3 cousins hang out she basically takes them wherever and causes trouble to the delight of her mom Max and to Caroline's concern

Caroline, Max, and Amilie basically threaten Gabriel to treat Adrien better

Although, Caroline and Max instantly adopt him

Max, Mari's mom, told Adrien that he reminded her of those two Amish boys who stayed with them for a week at the apartment

Chestnut came too by the way

Adrien doesn't flirt with Chat while he is Mister Bug because they're bffs

Max's cupcake shop is outside the school because Caroline wanted Mari to go to Dupont

Alya and Lila Salt

Alya is never told by Mari what her last name is, she usually doesn't pay attention to anyone else's name once her name is called but Mari has told her cousins and friend when addressing her to go by Black

So to the rest of the class she's known as Marinette Black

So she of course doesn't get an interview with Mister Bug because Chat told him not to because she doesn't trust the girl, she screams of wanting to be famous no matter what

Alya doesn't care for cupcakes the audacity

When Lila comes around she speaks about being a family friend of the Channing family

Bad luck for her is that Max and Caroline came to drop of Marinette at school much to her embarrassment

And Max basically ripped the Rossi girl a new one not caring who watched

Alya is shocked to see THE Caroline Channing at school

"How do you know Caroline Channing and Max Black? The great cupcake bakers?!" she screeches to Mari

"I'd like it if you don't speak to our daughter that way Ms. Césaire, please? We don't tolerate harassment from tabloid reporters," Caroline says gently while Max eyes the glasses wearing girl

"D...daughter?" Alya stutters before glaring at Marinette who rolls her eyes

"You're looking at me as if I killed your dog, they're my moms. My whole name is Marinette Cathy Channing-Black."

Everyone in the class sort of new because they always went to the cupcake shop after school

Lila does try her shit but Mari shrugs her off

Lila tries to hang off of Adrien but both Caroline and Max shut that shit down and tell Gabriel to get a restraining order on the Rossi girl as well a threat of lawsuit

Might make more and make this Maribat really idk yet

Tag list: @luciferge @zebrabaker @fantasyfandommaiden @unmaskedagain @queenmj10 @limetchenart @ascending-donotdisturb

[sweetwriting]

TimKon Week 2020 Day 6: Au Temps des Cerises

Category: Gen or Pre-slash

Genre: Angst/Fluff, 

Fandoms: DC Comics, Red Robin, Teamverse

Continuity: Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint Future AU

Summary:   I mixed both prompts, you get canon era Bakery and Coffeeshop AU. I'm proud of what I did in just 2 hours

Word Count: 1840

AN: Hey everyone! hope you enjoy this. Warning, the beginning might be a bit hard.

PS: I know lots of this could be solved by going to the authorities but I didn’t want to

PPS: I might actually go in more depth later.

Prompt: Canon AU – Coffeeshop/Bakery

Can be read on AO3

Conner had been living in California for 2 weeks now. He was going to start his classes there next week and had mostly used that time to settle in his apartment, his neighborhood and his job.

He was working at a small bakery near his apartment and thanks to everything Ma had taught him he could do something other than just staying near the register.

Truthfully he didn’t need it, Bruce Wayne and later on Dick Grayson made sure every young hero who wanted to study got a scholarship so they wouldn’t be burdened by having to work in addition to studying and heroing.

But Conner needed it. He needed to keep busy.

Because when he had been brought back to life, it was to the news that Tim Drake had died while looking for a flimsy hope that Bruce Wayne was still alive.

That had been about 5 months ago.

At first he had tried to follow his trail and find his voice but his powers were nowhere near Clark’s and after three months he finally gave in.

Tim was dead.

But he couldn’t accept that and move on. He tried to bury himself in heroing, in catching up on homework, on helping Ma. But in order to really bury everything he had to use his powers and that meant he was done very quickly with high school and he needed something new and time consuming.

He chose to study both Law and Psychology. Tim had told him once that he was too emotional to take a step back when he needed it but that he also had the uncanny ability to perceive parts of people no one else noticed. Tim would talk to him about it sometimes. Or about how he and Batman dealt with the law in Gotham. About a lot of things really, but he had once told him it could be useful in their line of work, in knowing how to deal with victims and criminal.

So Conner was pursuing it.

Partly because Tim’s advice had been sound, partly because it was one of the last talks he had had with Tim.

He didn’t really hang out with the Teen Titans. He was there when he wasn’t busy but…he had tried for a bit. Got back together with Cassie, hung out with Bart. But he couldn’t do that in hero form and as Titans…Well even if they called themselves family they didn’t hang out together the way they had done in Young Justice. When they’d just play ping-pong and other dumb things. Now him and Bart still tried but Conner wouldn’t be able to actually do that until he at least managed to accept Tim’s death.

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t.

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

It was his third week at Au Temps des Cerises, the little bakery and he would start his classes in two days. His boss, a sweet middle aged woman called Samantha had just asked him to go deliver some of their baked goods to a coffee shop and a restaurant for a taste test. If they liked it well enough then they sign a contract to sell them.

He was just finished with the restaurant manager and their chef and was heading toward the Café Culturel et Solidaire, a small café not far from Conner’s campus. Not that he’d ever gotten anywhere near close to it before. He liked coffee but not more than any other drink. Apparently that coffee shop was not very well known but pretty cheap and with quite a few regulars.

As he was nearing it however, he started losing his focus which meant he lost control of his super hearing. And he heard him.

His voice was coming from the coffee shop.

Before he knew what was happening, Conner was running toward it and opened the doors with a bang yelling Tim’s name.

Which obviously meant that he scared more than half of the people in the shop, including the staff. Including the boy at the register, who looked so much like Tim. Probably the source of the voice. He walked toward him.

“Have we met?”

- - - - - - - - - -

Conner was waiting in the Café Culturel et Solidaire’s kitchen. After being shocked silent by Tim’s -he knew he was Tim…he didn’t know how he knew it but he did- answer he screamed again.

“Of course! How dare you say that to your best friend!”

Tim startled. “Wha- No! I meant that literally I… Look…Are you part of the Bakery that was supposed to drop by?”

Conner stopped for a second, reminded that he had a big bag with the name and logo of his workplace in his arms. He nodded and Tim sighed.

“Ok, go wait in the kitchen, I’m gonna get the manager and I’ll be off soon just…Stop making a scene.”

So Conner had followed the instructions and was now waiting for the manager to taste test the bakeries.

He didn’t have to wait more than five minutes before a man who seemed to be in his early 60’s came in and after a good 20 minutes, the Au Temps des Cerises bakery had a new deal. The old man did look at him in a slightly distrustful way though.

When he got out, most of the clients that had been there when he had entered were gone and he let out a relieved sigh. Especially when he saw Tim waiting for him.

The young man looked up at that moment and it allowed Conner to see how nervous he was. He sighed. He didn’t like the idea of Tim being nervous because of him. And he knew there was something wrong. Or at least he hoped. It was a horrible thing to say but he hoped that there was a good reason for Tim just leaving like that.

They got out of the shop and started walking. From what Conner could guess, they were going toward the big parc near the campus.

They spent the first couple of minutes in silence. It seemed longer. Then Tim breathed in and said:

“I meant what I said when I asked if we had met before. It wasn’t to be mean or anything but I was comatose for 5 months when I was in Paris and when I woke up I had lost all my memories. I only knew my first name and that I was from the US. Granted that was deduced from my accent and the fact that I didn’t speak a work of French. I worked there for two months in a small toy shop because the owner was the brother of my doctor and took pity on me.

When they found me I only had a book and some money on me. Turns out my passport was hidden in it so after two months I took the first flight I could afford. Now I’m working in that café because I needed the money to go to the address on the passport and coffee shop will accept pretty much anyone who asks and can handle the rhythm.

You…You knew my name. You just saw me through the window and you recognized me so I just…I was surprised.”

Conner was relieved. Of course it was awful for Tim and that meant his best friend had forgotten him but he hadn’t avoided him on purpose. Now how would he be able to manage that was a different question entirely.

But he didn’t care. It was Tim. Tim was alive and there was a chance he could get his best friend back.

So he hugged him. Also he cried on his shoulder but that was just a detail.

 AN: As always, Tim will never be a coffee addict in my fics. For one thing he drank like 3 cups of coffee in canon overall. So while he can enjoy it, that's pretty much all there's to it, so, when compared to Dick and Barbara who are often, often often seen with a mug of coffee in hand, it's even more laughable to me. Also the guy loves to sleep. He's not gonna force himself to stay awake if he doesn't absolutely have to. That's why he falls asleep on a roller coaster, he just changed his sleep schedule.

Anyway, the idea is that Tim will remember things after a while in Gotham. Dick's been crying for months and now that his baby brother is back he won't leave him alone. They don't bring up the reason why Tim left. Things explode, which help Tim get the last of his memories back, they get Bruce back. Tim and Dick are mending things. Meanwhile Conner is happily baking for Tim and he's learning how to be around people again after shutting everybody out. Bart also gets lots of Cake. Ma's happy Conner's feeling better. Did I say Conner baked for Tim? 'Cause it's important.

[prettyboy-parker]

learn to love you

starker and winterspider

words: 4K

warnings: background thorki. extreme societal inequality. omegas are treated like objects to be sold. daddy kink. blow jobs. spanking. cheating. semi-panic attack. eventual stucky. you’ve been warned.

author’s note: this isn’t really how I wished it turned out, but I hope it’s okay

Stephen Strange: Found an omega, kicked out by his Alpha. Very pretty. Can your boys clean him up? I can take him off your hands afterwards if you don’t want him.

Tony groans heavily, rubbing his face and leaning back in his office chair. He loves Strange, he really does, but the omega trainer always asks for favors. He always pays Tony back, of course, he’s a very punctual man, but Tony has a very strained patience.

Tony: Fine. I doubt he’ll be up to my standards, so be prepared to find him a home. Can you bring him up now?

Stephen Strange: Yes. We are on our way.

Tony slips his phone into the pocket of his slacks, standing up and leaving his office. He lets out a sigh of relief as the overwhelming scent of sweet omega and cookies fills his nostrils. One of the boys must have baked and Tony can guess it was Bruce. As quietly as he can, he makes his way down the penthouse’s sleek hardwood stairs. He smiles as the living room comes into view. The fireplace is dying out, the orange flames flickering weakly. Pretty Woman plays on the flatscreen above the hearth, nearing the end of the movie.

The best part about the open room is the people that inhabit it.

Pietro is curled up in the corner of the black sofa, fast asleep and covered by one of the many white fluffy blankets. Clint is seated in the middle of the couch, watching the movie intently, back straight. Bruce nibbles on a cookie next to him. And, of course, his own omega is kneeling on the plush carpet, doing Loki’s hair.

“Daddy!” Peter whispers excitedly, beckoning Tony over to where he sits on the floor. The older man walks over quietly, trying not to block the T.V screen.

“Don’t you love Loki’s hair?” Peter giddies, tying the bottom of his new braid that’s weaved with tiny blue flowers.

“It looks beautiful, angel,” Tony starts, resting a hand on the small of the boy’s back, who lights up, “But won’t it get all messed up while Loki sleeps?”

Peter pouts, defeated.

“But, it took so long,” He whines, squeezing Loki’s shoulders.

“It’s okay, Peter. You can just do it again tomorrow.” Loki reassures him, forest green silk robe falling off his pale shoulder. Peter claps happily, giving the other omega a kiss on the cheek.

“No kiss for me?” Tony jokes. Peter clambers into his alpha’s lap, kissing him sloppily.

“Love you so much,” Peter slurs, wrapping his lanky arms around Tony’s neck. The alpha lets out a soft purr, running his hands up and down Peter’s silk covered back.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings.

Peter jumps out of Tony’s lap, rushing downstairs to the front door. Loki looks at him, confused. He can hear Peter squeal ‘Mister Stephen!’ from downstairs, followed by a hushed ‘oh my goodness!” Pietro stirs, rubbing his eyes before gazing up at Tony.

“Mister Stark? What’s going on?” He asks softly.

“Nothing. How about you all get to bed? Lights out is in 20 minutes.” Tony tells the group of omegas. Matt already went to sleep about 2 hours ago, like he usually does. The group all gets up slowly, Clint turning the T.V off.

The hair stands up on the back of Tony’s neck when he catches the scent of Stephen, his baby boy, and a new omega.

“Alpha, we have a visitor!” Peter exclaims, bouncing through the main foyer. Stephen looks amused as he follows the young boy, guiding a terrified omega behind him.

The poor thing stares at the penthouse with wide eyes. He’s shaking slightly, making sure he distances himself from Stephen. The sight of the man makes the alpha in Tony want to take him in his arms.

“This is James Barnes.” The older man states, grimacing slightly at the unkempt omega.

“Hi James,” Tony coos. James doesn’t say anything, just squeezes his arms closer to his chest. Tony catches a quick look of disgust from Stephen. “We’re going to take care of you, sweetheart. Until Stephen can find you a home.”

James nods slowly and Tony can feel Peter’s excitement from where he’s standing.

“You can say hi, baby,” Tony tells the young boy.

“Hi! I’m Peter!” He squeals excitedly, picking up James’ hand and shaking it. That finally gets a smile out of the brunette.

“Why don’t you show James to a guest room and run him a bath?” Tony offers, squeezing the nape of Peter’s neck. Being the perfect little omega he is, he snatches James’ hand and runs off.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Sit right there while I get the bath ready!” Peter tells James, gesturing to the white toilet seat next to the tub. James sits down and Peter turns to start running the water.

“So, James,” Peter starts as he dumps some watermelon bubble bath solution in the water.

“It’s Bucky. I go by Bucky.” James Bucky corrects.

Peter kneels on the plush cream bath mat, taking a good look at the other omega.  Despite the fact that he looks like he hasn’t had a shower in a week, Bucky is pretty. He definitely needs a haircut and a beard trim, but he’s not terrible looking. Peter notices a deep bite mark over his mating gland. There’s no way he’s going to get purchased with a mating bite.

“I’ll sit on the bed while you bathe. Take your time,” Peter tells Bucky, “I think my clothes should fit, if not, I can grab something else.”

He does a little finger wave and shuts the door.

Peter feels really bad for Bucky.

He’ll never find another alpha, at least one who’ll respect him, in this state. He‘s poorly trained and is already mated. Peter huffs as he plops down on the bed, yawning. The room is silent, except for the faint splashes of Bucky’s bath water. It takes a little while for him to finish, but soon Bucky is coming out of the bathroom dressed in one of Peter’s pink sweaters and a pair of his boxers.

“C’mere. Gotta go over some ground rules.” Peter says softly, patting the bed. Bucky looks at him warily and Peter flinches. “It’s fine. I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

The brunette sits down next to Peter.

“You probably already know about da-Tony’s business,” Bucky nods slowly, “Okay. You’ll be sleeping in this guest room until we can get you another alpha. We have a little whiteboard in the kitchen with the cooking schedule on it. I usually cook most nights, but I never do all three meals. I don’t think Tony will make you cook.”

Peter opens the chest at the foot of the bed, taking out a few cream blankets.

“Here are some extra blankets. Sleep as long as you like. Goodnight, Bucky,”

Peter shuts the door.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Good morning, daddy!”

Tony groans and rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands. Peter bounds up to him, Kiss the Cook apron tied tightly around his lanky frame. Tony does just that, leaning down to kiss his baby. Peter tastes like syrup and powdered sugar.

“I made pancakes,” He sings, pulling away. The young boy spins on his heels and picks up an extra plate of the gooey pancakes. Tony accepts it graciously with a kiss to Peter’s cheek, sitting down at the head of the dining table. Only Pietro is there, shoveling pancakes into his mouth.

“Mornin’, Pietro.” Tony grumbles, picking up his utensils that sit on his placemat. His napkin is folded into a swan and Tony chuckles a bit.

“Good Morning, Mr. Stark.” Pietro responds once he swallows his food. Peter appears next to his seat, giving his alpha a fresh glass of orange juice.

“Thanks, baby.” Tony says through a mouthful of food.

“You’re welcome!” He squeals before scurrying off to the kitchen. Tony takes his time eating his food, the pancakes cooked to perfection. Peter provided a plethora of different fruits on the side.

“Tony, Bucky is awake!” Peter chirps, him and the other omega coming into view. Tony’s heart may have skipped a beat when he laid eyes on the new member of the household.

He’s really beautiful once he’s showered and in new clothes.

“Hi, Mister Stark.” James, now Bucky, says softly as Peter pushes him into the dining chair next to the alpha.

“Good Morning, James.” Tony says coolly.

“I’d rather go by Bucky.”

Tony swallows thickly. He’d rather not train the boy without being paid.

“Attitude, Mr. Barnes.” He offers, fork clicking  against his plate as the room goes silent. “If you want to find an alpha, you’re going to have to work a little harder than you usually do.”

Bucky stares at Tony with wide eyes.

“Yes, Mister Stark,” He croaks, hands shaking. Tony grins.

“That’s better.” Tony purrs, turning his attention back to the food.

This will be fun.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Don’t worry about him, Bucky. He’s hard on everyone that comes through here.”

Bucky sighs heavily as Peter coats the mascara wand in more makeup. He takes his time lathering his left group of eyelashes, because he has to look good for shopping.

“I know, I just feel bad. Everyone here pays somuch for Mister Stark to take care of them, and I didn’t pay anything.” Bucky says softly. Peter closes his mascara and turns around, smiling.

“I didn’t pay, either.” Peter tells him, giggling at his shocked face. “Neither did Loki, as well as a bunch of previous omegas. Trust me, money can get you in, or having a heart.”

Peter takes a breath.

“He sees something in you, Bucky. Just share your thanks and that’s all that matters to him.”

Bucky smiles softly at Peter.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Peter Parker’s lifestyle is ridiculous.

Bucky is blown away by the amount of money he has, or really Tony has, that he’s able to spend.

Bucky is in a shocked silence the entire day, from Peter greeting his body guard, Miss Carol, with a kiss on the cheek to waltzing into one of the most high class restaurants for lunch.

“Oh, Bucky,” Peter breathes when Bucky steps out of the changing room. The omega flushes a pretty pink, bowing his head sheepishly.

“You look gorgeous!” Peter squeals, clapping his hands happily. “Red is perfect on you.”

Bucky smiles and looks down at the top he has on. It’s a cherry red, long sleeved, cold shoulder top that fits him perfectly.

“Doesn’t he look beautiful, Miss Carol?”

The blonde alpha smirks.

Bucky gulps.

“Very,” She purrs, looking back down at her phone.

“Okay, next outfit!” Peter exclaims, hopping out of his seat and guiding Bucky back into the changing room.

His touch feels scorching.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“I found an alpha interested in Bucky.”

Peter removes his lips from Tony’s cock with a pop.

“Hm, really?” He asks, lazily stroking the alpha’s thick length. Tony groans, squeezing the arm rests of his office chair. Peter licks a stripe up the man’s cock, happily sucking at the tip.

“Yeah,” Tony moans, dropping his pen on his desk and gripping Peter’s hair tightly. That encourages him, the omega taking Tony down all the way to the hilt. His throat spasms around the alpha’s dick, his free hand reaching up to massage the growing knot.

“Fuck,” Tony hisses, hips bucking upwards as he starts to face fuck his baby. Peter moans happily, the sound traveling right up Tony’s cock. The younger boy involuntarily grinds down on the hardwood floor of the office.

“Peter, fuck, daddy’s close,” Tony pants and Peter pulls off of his dick.

“Daddy, please, need your come,” He babbles, sticking out his tongue while continuing with quick, even strokes of his hand. That’s what pushes Tony over the edge, spilling his release onto Peter’s angel face with a buck of his hips.

“Thank you,” Peter purrs, pressing a quick kiss to the oversensitive tip of Tony’s cock. The alpha hisses in pleasureful pain.

“Anything for my baby,” He drawls as he tucks his dick back into his boxers, zipping his jeans back up. Peter squeals happily and climbs onto Tony’s lap. His aching cocklet strains against his white panties.

“Poor thing, do you need to come?” Tony coos, swiping his thumb over the head of Peter’s member.

“Yeahhhh,” Peter moans, grinding his hips against Tony’s.

“That’s it, hump Daddy like the horny little puppy you are.”

Peter moans louder, circling his hips against Tony’s, chasing his release. He clings to the older man’s shoulders, speeding up his thrusts with tiny ah ah ahs. His hips finally stutter against Tony’s as he comes all over the alpha’s black t-shirt.

“Good boy,” Tony praises, brushing a few of Peter’s sweaty curls out of his face. Peter smiles softly, face pink and lips wet.

“Daddy?” He asks, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“Yeah, baby?” Tony responds, taking a deep breath of the scent of flowers and sex.

“How long will Bucky be with us?”  

Tony sighs heavily, rubbing the younger’s back.

“A week. Why?”

“No reason.”

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Daddy found you an alpha.”

Bucky tenses up as Peter ties his bun.

“Really?” He asks softly. Peter rolls his eyes.

“Yes really.” He teases. “Your first meeting is tomorrow morning over coffee.”

Bucky doesn’t respond and Peter pouts. How can the omega not be excited about an interested Alpha?

“Bucky. You should be excited!”

Bucky turns around in his chair.

“I know. I’m just worried.” He mutters, pulling at the sleeves of his lavender sweater. Peter takes a deep breath, twirling a strand of the other omega’s hair between his fingers.

“Worried of what? I’d be surprised if someone didn’t like you.”

Bucky flushes.

“My last alpha was terrifying. I don’t want that to happen again.” He says solemnly, looking at the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Peter starts, “But Tony does intense background checks. He’d never give anyone an omega if he didn’t trust them.”

Bucky smiles.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

There’s a knock on the door.

Tony furrows his brows. The boys know the rules. They know not to disturb him when he’s working.

Besides Peter.

He’ll always make an exception for Peter.

“Come in,” He grunts, continuing the paperwork on his desk. He has stacks of government papers to do, since Loki is going home with an alpha tomorrow. It’s ridiculous how much paperwork there is to get an omega’s documents changed.

The oak door creaks open and the boy does not smell like Peter.

Tony looks up and sees Bucky.

He stands in the doorframe, new lilac sweater draped over his frame, Nike sweatpants on his legs.

“Mister Stark?”

Tony grins like a shark, leaning over his desk.

“Bucky. My dear. What is it?” He coos.

Bucky shifts on his feet.

“I, well, I wanted to ask about my meeting tomorrow?” He says softly. Tony chuckles, leaning back in his chair.

“Come here, Bucky. Sit down.” He orders, patting his lap. He drinks in the way Bucky’s eyes grow wide, yet he shuffled over to the alpha. Tony could groan as the little thing sits on his lap warily.

“No one told you not to disturb me while I’m working, huh?” He whispers, snaking his arm around the omega’s waist. Bucky jumps in his seat.

“I’m so sorry, sir!” He exclaims, heart rate rising.

“Hush, hush. You’re new. I don’t mind.” Tony grumbles, ghosting his fingers over Bucky’s scarred mating gland. The omega shivers, goosebumps appearing on his neck.

“The schedule will be up tomorrow. Good night, Bucky.”

“Goodnight, Mister Stark.”

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“I’m going to miss you so fucking much.”

Loki raises his eyebrows in surprise.

“That’s vulgar for you, Peter.” He teases, poking the younger in the side.

“Hey,” Peter glowers, crossing his arms over his chest in mock anger. Loki chuckles, adjusting his grip on the duffel bag that’s balanced on his shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you too, my dear. Thor will happily let you visit, though.” He tells Peter, resting a hand on his bicep.

“I sure hope so,” Peter jokes. “But seriously. It’s going to suck with you not being around.”

Peter loves most of the omegas that come through Tony’s training.

But Loki is special.

They just clicked when his father dropped him off for his stay. He had been angry, mad at the world, but Peter was able to help him grow into the perfect omega he is today.

“I think you’ll be able to manage without me.”

Both boys turn to watch a sleek black Mercedes stop in front of the apartment building. The driver’s door opens, a bulky blonde clambering out.

“Loki! Loki! It’s me!” Thor yells, waving his arms wildly. Loki looks at Peter and they both burst into laughter.

“That’s me. Bye, Peter.” Loki says as the younger boy hugs onto to him tightly.

“Bye, Loki. Keep in touch.”

“Always!” He shouts as he bounds down the steps of the apartment building, Thor engulfing the omega in a giant bear hug. Peter watches from afar as Loki peppers kisses onto his alpha’s bearded cheeks.

Peter’s heart aches.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Tell us!”

Bucky flushes and places his fork next to his plate.

The boys have been trying to pry information about the potential alpha from Bucky. It’s not going so successfully, because Bucky keeps going bright red when anyone asks.

Tony finds it endearing.

“Bucky, you’ve got to tell us.” Matt pries, taking a sip of his white wine.

“Okay,” Bucky says softly, earning a hoot from Clint. “He’s super sweet, a real gentleman.”

The boys listen intently as Bucky tells all the details about his date with Steve Rogers. Tony has known Steve for a long time, from when he first got married to another alpha, to when he got divorced, and now as he’s looking for an omega.

Tony eyes Peter as he pushes his food around with his fork. He never passes up Bruce’s cooking for anything.

“Peter, baby? Everything okay?” He utters in his baby’s ear. Surprisingly, Peter pushes his alpha away.

“I’m fine,” He grunts through clenched teeth.

“Peter,” Tony says firmly, brow furrowed. The conversation at the table ceases at the alpha’s voice.

“What?” The omega snaps, dropping his fork on his plate with a loud clang. The group watches in silence as Peter stands up and rushes off to his bedroom. No one speaks for a while, still holding their breath. Eventually Tony sighs and stands up, pushing his chair in slowly.

“Continue eating. I’ll be dealing with Peter.” He says coolly, rolling up the sleeves of his charcoal dress shirt. Still, no one speaks.

“Thank you for dinner, Bruce. It was wonderful.”

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Daddy, please stop.”

Tony delivers another slap to Peter’s red ass.

“I don’t think you’ve learned your lesson, sweetheart.” He coos, caressing the hot skin. Peter lets out a sob and bites down on his pillow. Tony spanks him again, groaning as the younger boy bucks his hips up.

“I thought I taught you not to mouth off years ago,” Tony drawls, delivering one more slap to Peter’s abused cheeks.

“I know, I’m sorry!” The omega cries, “It won’t happen again, please, daddy, stop.”

Tony decides that’s enough, pressing a kiss to his coccyx. He reaches over to grab some cooling lotion, uncapping the bottle and gently spreading it over Peter’s ass. He whimpers and cries as Tony tends to him.

“Daddy,” Peter whimpers, shaking slightly as he clings to his alpha. Tony pulls him into his arms, purring softly as he rubs his face in the crook of the omega’s neck.

“Daddy’s sorry, princess.” He murmurs, pressing kisses to Peter’s neck.

“No you’re not.”

Tony’s eyes grow wide as he squeezes the boy.

“What the fuck?” He growls, low in his chest. Peter lowers his head and whines. “You need to tell me what’s wrong.”

More tears fall down Peter’s cheeks, wetting Tony’s shirt.

“Do you feel like you’re not getting enough attention?” Tony asks softly, brushing a salty tear away with his thumb. Peter shakes his head, curls bouncing, damp with sweat. “Then what is it baby? You know you have to tell me.”

“It’s just, I, I think Bucky should stay here.” Peter blabbers, nervously fiddling with his silver Pandora bracelet. Tony got it for him as a courting gift, along with a few other presents.

“I think we could open our relationship.” Peter says softly, sniffling.

“No.”

Peter looks at Tony with wide eyes.

“No?” He repeats. Tony may have a problem with saying no to his baby boy. The word doesn’t usually come out of Tony’s mouth on the regular.

“No, baby.” Tony says again.

“But-“

“No.”

Tony’s almost seeing green as more tears fall down Peter’s face. He hates seeing Peter cry, but he’s more angry than sympathetic. How could Peter even think about another man, let alone one he barely knows.

Peter chokes back a sob.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Bucky, you gotta be quiet!”

Bucky stifles back a laugh as he pads through the kitchen. Peter opens the black cupboard carefully, trying not to make any noise. Bucky leans over his shoulder, shining the flashlight on his phone. Peter grabs a packet of Keebler cookies.

“Come on, let’s go!” Peter whispers through giggles, pulling on Bucky’s hand and running back upstairs. They creep through the hallway, trying their best to keep the hardwood floors from creaking. They finally reach Bucky’s guest room, collapsing onto the cream bed in a fit of giggles.

“That was like, Mission Impossible.” Bucky wheezes, folding his hands on his stomach. Peter shakes his head, still giggling softly as he turns on his side. Bucky does the same, chocolate locks falling over his shoulders. The corners of his blue eyes crinkle, sparkling with laughter and maybe a bit of sleep deprivation.

“You’re really pretty,” Peter breathes, strawberry lips parted slightly. Bucky smiles softly, a pink blush dusting his cheeks.

“You think?” He jokes.

“Yeah.”

And before Peter knows it, they’re kissing. They’re kissing, and it’s so soft and delicate and Peter’s never had anything like it. Bucky tastes sweet, a stark contrast from the sharp whiskey taste of Tony.

Tony.

Peter pulls away quickly, sitting straight. Bucky flinches.

“Oh god,” Peter breathes, guilt washing over him. He’s never had a panic attack before, but Tony has them quite frequently. And Peter’s pretty sure this is what it feels like.

“Oh god,” Peter repeats, breathing heavily. “I’m the worst omega ever.”

Bucky sits up, resting a hand on Peter’s bicep.

“No you’re not. That was my fault. I’m sorry.” He says gently. Peter shakes his head.

“That was all me. I’m such a fucking idiot.” He hisses. “I’ll go now. I’m sorry, Bucky.”

Bucky reaches out for Peter, but the boy is gone in a flash.

Peter can’t help the tears from running down his face as he creeps into his own room. He can hear Tony’s soft snores, muffled by his pillow. Peter climbs into their nest, lying next to his alpha and curling up tight. He breathes in deeply, Tony’s scent of smoke and cologne filling his nostrils. It calms him down, pressing closer to his alpha.

The soft snoring and puffs of air hitting the back of his neck

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“I’m glad you like him, Steve.”

The blonde smiles and wipes the corner of his mouth.

“I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait for him to move in.” He coos, squeezing the back of Bucky’s neck. The brunette looks down at his steak.

Tony smiles tightly at Steve and squeezes his own omega’s thigh from under the table. Peter jumps slightly, shoving another piece of Filet Mignon in his mouth. Tony chuckles and lets out a quick purr, causing the younger to blush sheepishly. Tony watches as Bucky tugs on Steve’s sleeve, whispering something in his ear.

“We’re going to head to the restroom real quick.” Steve tells the table. The pair stands up, the blonde holding out his arm for Bucky.

“I wonder what they’re doing in there.” Tony jokes, taking a sip of his scotch. Peter scoffs and hits his arm lightly.

“Daddy,” He scolds, but the usual light playfulness is gone. Tony eyes his baby warily.

A heavy silence hangs between the two.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Did you love him at first?”

Peter furrows his brows.

“Hm?”

Bucky glances to where Steve and Tony stand by the grey Audi parked by the curb.

“Mister Stark.” He says softly, still watching the two alphas. Peter sighs.

“I fell in love with him while I was in his care. So yeah, I loved him at first,” Peter recalls, heart warm at the thought of his beginnings with Tony. “An alpha did choose me though. I think if I wasn’t with Tony, I’d learn to love that alpha.”

Steve waves to Bucky.

“Yeah. Learn to love.”

[quaememinisse]

Helpful Husband Chapter 2

Title: Helpful Husband 

Genre: Romance/fluff 

Word count: 2,041 

Author's note: Previous chapter here 

           Bucky didn’t like leaving Cherise alone for long periods of time during this final trimester. Her pain had been getting worse and he genuinely feared that she would go into labor prematurely. Something similar had happened with their daughter, Christina, and she had to be born via emergency C-section. Earlier in the week, Bucky had suggested they temporarily move into the Avengers Facility until after the baby is born, because he didn’t like to worry about being at work while Cherise was home alone with Christina if something should happen. He had realized it was an issue when the previous week, he was tucking his daughter into bed and she fearfully asked him whether mommy was dying. When he’d asked Christina why she would ever think such a thing was happening, the girl admitted that she got scared because she had gone into the kitchen and found her mother groaning in pain leaning against the counter as she tried to finish cooking dinner. At the time that it happened, Bucky was teaching a self-defense class in the evening, something he did a few nights a week in addition to or instead of the fitness classes he usually taught during the day for veterans. He was upset when he tried to talk to Cherise about it and she downplayed it. Truthfully, Cherise hadn’t noticed her daughter sneak around the corner to the kitchen and pause to watch worriedly as she tried to breathe through a moment where the baby was sitting in such a way that aggravated her sciatic nerve. 

           Cherise promised that she would explain to their daughter that sciatic pain isn’t deadly. But that didn’t seem to put Bucky at ease. Cherise wanted to be at home, where she was most comfortable. Bucky compensated by cutting back on his hours at work, so that he could spend most of his time staying home with Cherise, who wasn’t working for the remainder of the pregnancy. He was otherwise dropping Christina at school, picking her up, and doing the grocery shopping and house work. It had taken a while to convince Cherise just to leave work in the first place. She was usually in the labs at the Avengers Facility, doing whatever she did with Dr. Banner, Dr. Selvig, Dr. Cho, etc. There was really no need for Cherise to work, as Bucky had explained to her earlier in her pregnancy, considering all the VA benefits he had been owed over the past couple of decades, which was enough to take care of Bucky and his family. On top of that, Cherise was family to the Avengers, and her maternity leave was paid. They weren’t suffering in the least financially.

Cherise is simply the kind of woman who always wants to be productive. Bucky had learned the hard way that if she couldn’t be productive, it made her unhappy. He felt sad coming home at the end of the day or from grocery shopping to find that Cherise was groaning in pain on the couch, sometimes crying, because she wished she could go for a run or to her lab. It didn’t seem to matter how many times Bucky told her she was pregnant and should go easy on herself, that it wasn’t going to last forever, she would still get frustrated and want to exert herself in some way or other. To compensate for that, Bucky kept the house spic and span, so that Cherise couldn’t make the excuse that anything was a mess in the house that she just had to clean up. It wasn’t that he never cleaned, it was that Cherise liked things very particularly and often beat him to certain household chores.

Still, Bucky tries his best to keep Cherise entertained. He had gone so far as to plant new lavender shrubs in the front yard, and add a Zen garden area with more hydrangeas to the backyard, all in Cherise’s favorite colors. He even started having movie nights with her almost every night of the week to show her old films from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, things that he grew up with, to try and keep her mind busy. He stopped joining Sam and Steve on Friday nights for beers at one of their favorite bars. All Bucky could do was focus on his pregnant wife and try to think of new ways to make her comfortable, or at the very least, smile.

Thus, when he drives back home after dropping Christina at school, he’s delighted to find that Cherise is still asleep past 9AM. He decided to cook her some eggs and pancakes with a side of fruit before venturing again into the back of his side of the closet, where he had hidden her body pillow the previous night. Little did Cherise know, he decided he would take off from work today, have someone else cover him, so that he could bring the pillow to Dr. Banner and have it fitted with wires to give it heating capacity. He just knew that it would help Cherise out at night with sleeping. He knew she needed it badly and was sorry he’d forgotten it was stored away. He didn’t like leaving her for long, but figured this was a small task that could be completed relatively quickly. He’s not at the facility long before Cherise texts him around 11:30AM asking him how his day is going. She had texted Bucky a picture of the empty plate of food he had made for her. He smiles, hoping she actually enjoys his cooking, because some days, she still couldn’t eat much without nausea.

“Aaand…it should be all set now,” Dr. Banner explains, twisting something further into the body pillow before an intern starts to close it up with needle and thread.

“Thanks, Bruce. I really owe ya one,” Bucky explains, extending his flesh hand to shake. Dr. Banner’s green hand encircles Bucky’s entire fist briefly, gently.

“Nah. It’s nothing. When she finishes sewing it closed, just, uh, don’t forget the remote,” Dr. Banner explains, pointing to the table where he has left a few tools.

“And let me know if it needs anything else.”

The physicist grins and makes his way towards a closed off room behind glass walls to continue working on something with Dr. Selvig. And briefly, Bucky understands why Cherise can’t stand to be on maternity leave. The labs at the Avengers Facility are always active, and fascinating, things going on and experiments running that Bucky can’t even make sense of. He figures it’s exciting to Cherise, and had he not been doing a lot to keep her occupied, he would also have gone stir crazy being at home most of the time. Bucky decides to drop by the new agent recruit training level to briefly catch up with Steve, who asks him whether Cherise has agreed to move into the facility for the remainder of her pregnancy.

           “Says she’s more comfortable at home. So, I stopped working. For the most part. I don’t like the idea of her being home alone all day while she’s so close to our son’s due date,” Bucky explains nervously, shifting the pillow over his left shoulder with ease.

           “I don’t like it either, Buck. Sometimes I’d pass her in the cafeteria and swear she was taking ten seconds to move one foot,” Steve explains, cocking a wheat gold eyebrow, “I thought we were going to have to straight up fire her to get her out of the labs and on leave.”

Bucky giggles for a moment.

           “Yeah, she’s been in a lot of pain these past two weeks or so. The doctor said it’s normal, but it keeps her up at night, it’s so bad. I can’t stand seein’ her in so much pain while I just lie there, feeling none of it. I’m just glad Bruce was able to help me get this pillow upgraded. I’m surprising her with it tonight.”

           “Well, you know you’re family to the whole team around here. Everyone’s always eager to help,” Steve explains as they start down some stairs. The Captain wipes sweat off his brow before opening a bottle of water and downing half of it. He’d promised Bucky he would keep a few rooms vacant in the facility for him and Cherise to move into, should he be able to convince her she needed some place he trusted more than the general hospital.

           “When’s the little guy due?” Steve asks, opening the door to one of the rooms so that Bucky can see that they had brought in a bigger bed. It’s bigger than the one in Bucky’s and Cherise’s room at home, and Bucky wishes Cherise would have seen how much more rolling around she could be doing at night without waking him up.

“She’s almost eight months,” Bucky sighs, pushing a hand through his hair anxiously, reminiscing carrying Cherise to the tub before the sun was even up this morning, “So, about a month away. I’m excited, but at the same time, I’m not ready to see her go through a difficult labor. She had that with Christina, too.”

           “Don’t worry, Buck. Reese is a trooper,” Steve says reassuringly, planting a hand on Bucky’s shoulder supportively.

           “Well, I’ll talk to Nat tonight. They’re still close. You know how women are. Maybe I can get her to convince Reese to come spend time here. You know there’s always extra space for you guys and your little ones.”

           “Thanks, Steve.”

 When Bucky walks through the front door, the first thing he does is call for Cherise.

“Kitchen!” she yells, and he catches a whiff of what smells like fries or potatoes baking. He stealthily and quickly makes his way up to their room with her pillow, hiding it behind his clothes.

“James!” Cherise calls from the kitchen.

He smiles to himself, fishing the remote out of his pocket and hiding it in his boxer drawer.

           “Comin’ doll!”

And when he makes his way into the kitchen, he finds Cherise frying potatoes at the stove. His nose hadn’t been far off.

           “Natasha was saying there’s a room for us at the facility.”

           “There always is, doll,” Bucky explains, cradling her hips in his hands and kissing the top of her head.

           “Well, look at this bed! She sent me pictures,” Cherise explains, reaching for her phone and handing it to Bucky. He fights a laugh, thankful that Steve’s wife has managed to get Cherise interested in the room again. He simply thought that with all their advanced technology and staff, it was probably safer than a hospital. He only wanted the best, should the delivery be difficult as he remembers it being with their daughter.

             While Cherise is in the tub and their daughter is tucked in, Bucky sneaks the pillow out of the closet and starts to set it up on Cherise’s side of the bed. By the time she comes out of her bath, she’s having trouble keeping her eyes open. And when she looks to find a large lump under the quilt, she cocks an eyebrow at Bucky. He only smiles wide as she feels the lump, at first assuming it’s their little girl playing games with her, but when she peels the blanket back to find the pillow she had forgotten about, she gasps.

           “Where did you find this? …Why is it so warm?” she asks excitedly, pulling her towel off and crawling into their bed, allowing herself to be enveloped.

           “I had it upgraded for you, baby. So your pain doesn’t keep you awake all night.”

Cherise turns to face Bucky with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes.

           “You’re the perfect husband.”

           “I could get used to hearing that!” Bucky laughs. She kisses him appreciatively. Cherise snuggles up to him while they start on another movie, and she only shifts a few times due to a limb falling asleep. Bucky doesn’t hear her groan in pain once. It doesn’t surprise him when Cherise falls asleep before she can catch the ending of City Lights, leaving him to sleepily press both his flesh and bionic hands to her belly and smile at the sensation of his son kicking his palms.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Darkside Bakes 6

Thanks to @libraryoffandomsuniverse for ideas!

So, there is a fine balance you have to strike.

You’ve gotta keep expanding - there’s no other way to explain away the influx of cash other than a really put-together-looking business.

But to maintain growth, you need new hires.

So you go through some interviewing processes.

It’s difficult to determine who is going to be... relaxed enough to be okay with this business.

You end up with more hires than you were expecting, but definitely a motley group of intrepid employees.

There’s a pair of sisters named Anji and Priya. Priya’s not a baker, but she does have training as a chef, and she and her sister seem like a package deal.

A former Gotham gang member named Ryan. Apparently he has experience with delivering things, and his history makes him very well suited to ensuring that there aren’t any more robberies like THE INCIDENT.

There’s a sweet young man named Nate, who’s just as enthusiastic as Anji and Ike about learning to bake - except he’s got some experience.

And finally there’s Alma, a real live pastry chef who studied in France.

They’re all really psyched to work at Darkside Bakes.

You assure them they can quit at any time, and you’ll make sure to provide a good reference.

And with that, the new team kicks off.

Your new employees synergize well.

Priya handles all of the cooking, including making caramel - which is a simple but awfully difficult process. She also tends to get stuck with the dishes while the rest of you bake. Ryan often helps her.

With so many more bakers, you are free to assign projects. For example, Nate is in charge of restocking breads, since he loves making bread the most. Anji and Ike are in charge of all the rest of the pastries, with Priya helping them with the cooking, especially for the meat pies and croquetas. Ryan helps out with prep and washing up, as well as overseeing all deliveries.

Meanwhile, you, Marcia, and Alma are the head bakers, and work on the commissioned pieces, the others helping out as needed.

And of course, everyone pulls double duty. Nate does the accounting for the business, Alma and Ike work together in marketing and branding, and Priya manages the real estate and property owned by the business. Ryan also manages security for the building.

Ryan’s also put in charge of the errand boy, Danny Malone. The boy asks a lot of questions for someone so angry-looking, and more often than not follows you around, glaring as you serve and take the orders of all customers.

Although, you sense his respect as you handle Killer Croc’s tantrum at your lack of lemon bars. You promise to add them to the menu.

Anji’s very excitable and flighty. She regularly pulls people into sleepovers. More than once she’s insisted you come across the hall into Ike’s apartment to play a board game with them before bed.

Nate, too, enjoys coming over, spending a lot of time with Ike. It’s good for Ike to be making friends, you think.

New people bring new ideas.

Anji has a fabulous idea after Two-Face comes in one day and gets in an argument with himself about his favorite cookie.

You make a series of cookies and decorate them with royal icing, and don’t use specific emblems, but designs evocative of each villain

For example, a black-and-white cookie for Two-Face, a smiley face with the mouth outlined in red on a ginger snap for Joker, a tuxedo on an oatmeal cookie for Penguin.

Pretty soon, the villains start sending in notes with the designs they want for themselves. It’s a shock when one of Poison Ivy’s “babies” delivers a hand-drawn picture of a simple flower.

Ryan works well with the delivery service, and he makes sure that the drivers are careful with the sometimes-shaky cakes you make.

You grow to enjoy the company of so many coworkers. Marcia somehow finds the time to knit you all matching scarves in black and white, matching the decor, and it basically becomes the uniform for Darkside Bakes.

One day, you are all working together on a set of desserts for Mr. Freeze, who holds a celebration each year commemorating his wife’s birthday.

Everything has to be iced or look frosted. Several hours have gone into making perfect meringue. 

During brainstorming, Nate came up with the idea to do Baked Alaska. It’ll be the centerpiece of the evening. He gets Ike to help him while the rest of you make other desserts.

 You make an abundance of Mr. Freeze’s favorite iced and chilled donuts. Alma makes perfect ice-blue macarons to decorate the simple angel-food cake Marcia and Anji made.

Ryan and Priya help with all the decorating and preparation, and when it’s time to cart them off, they oversee the process.

“We should celebrate!” Anji cheers. Everyone’s tired, but nobody wants to say no. You all agree to go home to freshen up and meet at a small diner near Crime Alley in an hour or so.

But of course, life doesn’t work out that way.

As soon as you walk out of the door, a bag is stuffed over your head.

You’re taken to an undisclosed location. A pair of goons is assigned to watch you, each pointing a gun at you.

It’s a whole day before a man in a lab coat walks in and smirks at you.

He says his name is Dr. Hugo Strange, and he believes you can help him to dissect the criminal mind

But, first, he’d like you to make a dessert for him, as a sample.

It’s embarrassing how bad they are at this. They didn’t even take your phone. You quickly text everyone from the bakery, telling them who’s kidnapped you.

You agree, and the goons lead you to a fully stocked kitchen that’s about as good as you could expect from an abandoned warehouse. You start making a cake, but you abandon some of the necessary processes. You crack eggs, but also put in the eggshells. You “accidentally” drop each ingredient and roll it around the floor with your foot before adding it. You burn the sugar for the caramel topping and put it on the cake anyway. Eventually you have a beautiful strawberry shortcake that is almost guaranteed to cause severe food poisoning.

You present it to the Doctor in his office, and he’s so cocky he doesn’t even hesitate to dig in. His eyes bulge when he comes across the unpleasant crunch of something that certainly doesn’t belong in cake.

He falls to the ground, coughing and retching, and as his goons go to help him, the door bangs open. Marcia’s there with a crowbar, closely followed by Ryan, who has a gun at the ready.

They take the guards by surprise, Marcia having already knocked out the Doctor and her guard by the time Ryan’s sleeper hold knocks out the other.

“How did you find me?” you ask them, relieved.

“Your message.” Marcia grins at you. “I’m glad you’re safe, honey.”

“Me too, Boss.” Ryan agrees. “Now, put on your happy face. Anji and Nate insisted on welcoming you back.”

You hear a maniacal laugh as they lead you out. The Joker is leading a bunch of villains past you three and laughing at how Marcia and Ryan were able to get to you first.

You are stunned by the group of people marching past you into the warehouse. It seems like every villain in Gotham banded together to come rescue you. You would not like to be someone involved in your kidnapping.

From above, Batman and Robin watch you leave while the villains enter.

“Father, the Baker is dangerous. The villains are working together now!”

Bruce sighs. “Only for the moment. It seems like the Baker really doesn’t have much to do with the criminal aspect.”

Damian starts to retort but Bruce cuts him off. “However, Darkside Bakes might be useful in the future. Maybe it’s time Bruce Wayne paid them a visit...”

[marvel--for--life]

Starker + Pregnancy Part Two

Part One. Stucky Addition.

~ When the twins are born, Tony surprisingly is the one that’s terrified. He’s always wanted a kid, but when his twins are born, he’s too scared to even hold them. Peter didn’t notice right away, given that he was exhausted and still a little high on pain meds, but the second he notices Tony’s hesitation, he finds every excuse he can to get the twins in Tony’s hands.

~ Peter corners Tony one night in bed, straddling the older man and refusing to move until he talks. What Tony confesses to though breaks his heart. “I’m... afraid of hurting them,” Tony says softly, looking away from his partner. “All the bad things I’ve done... I don’t want to hurt them.”

“You’re not going to hurt them,” Peter whispers, leaning down to cup the elder’s cheeks and turn him gently until they’re looking into each other’s eyes. “Tony, you’re not a bad person. You’ve made mistakes. You can’t beat yourself up forever for it.”

“Peter, I’ve killed people. I’ve been the cause of people’s deaths,” Tony argues, pulling away from the gentle touch. “I... I can’t add you and the twins to that list.”

“You’re not going to,” Peter sighs, wrapping his arms around the man’s neck and lightly kissing his cheek. “Tony, don’t you think all the good you’ve done for the world has made up for the mistakes of the past? When are you going to stop beating yourself up for it?”

“I can’t just turn everything off, Pete,” he sighs, rubbing his forehead in aggravation.

“I’m not asking you to turn it off,” Peter frowns, gently cupping the man’s face once more, “I’m just asking you to live, Tony. It took forever for you to give me a chance. Don’t do that to them.”

With tears in his eyes, Tony finally meets the youth’s gaze. “Okay.”

~ After talking about his fears, Tony begins to work on his fear. Peter no longer merely drops one of the twins in his arms since Tony had admitted that it did make him quite anxious, but Tony is definitely beginning to get more hands-on.

~ One night, when Peter wakes up in the middle of the night to the soft sound of the baby monitor, he’s surprised by what he hears. “Shhh, we don’t wanna wake Mommy up,” Tony’s voice filters through the speaker, bringing a smile to the teen’s face.

He carefully untangles himself from the blankets and walks to the twins’ room. Peaking into the massive space, he sees Tony standing in the middle of the room, little Anthony in his arms. The man is currently gently bouncing the little boy in his arms, speaking quietly as the baby makes small cooing noises.

Suddenly, Benjamin begins to fuss as well, probably wanting some attention, and Peter decides to make his presence known. “Oooh, baby,” he whispers, scooping up the other little boy. He looks over at Tony, smiling sweetly but shyly at him. “Was Daddy not paying you attention?” he coos at Benjamin, who blows a bit of spit at him before giggling. Peter smiles wider, kissing the chubby cheek of the larger twin before looking at his partner.

Tony is looking down at Anthony, not meeting his smiling partner’s eyes. When Benjamin continues to fuss softly, Peter knows he must be hungry, and so he heads to the rocking chair in the corner. “Oh, we’re hungry, hm?” he coos at the little boy.

Benjamin makes a small noise, and Tony chuckles at the sound, watching his mate shrug off his shirt and hold the small boy against his chest. Peter smiles at Tony as the larger of the two twins begins to nurse, and Tony moves towards his partner to settle in the chair beside him.

That’s the first night Tony is hands-on entirely on his own.

~ After their night curled up in the chairs with the twins, everything begins to settle. Tony’s fear has almost completely disappeared. He’s able to hold the boys without anxiety. He’s even able to be home alone with them without freaking out.

~ The twins both show the signs of having genius parents. They do everything early: first words, crawling, toddling on their little chubby legs. It’s a miracle they haven’t figured out how to get out of their playpen.

~ Bucky and Steve often steal the twins when their parents go out for Date Night every Friday. They have a room on their floor that’s a nursery, so sometimes the twins spend the night.

Peter never says no to Bucky when he asks to see the twins. He knows that seeing them is healing a part of both Bucky and Steve.

~ It’s true that Peter gets the news that he’s pregnant on New Year’s Eve, but it’s also true that he didn’t tell Tony until Valentine’s Day.

Tony still has the card where his eighteen-year-old partner wrote inside his card “You’re gonna be a Daddy! Again!!”

~ It doesn’t take as long to figure out there are multiples. Helen and Bruce believe it has to do with Peter’s spider bite, but this time, as a Mother’s Day present, he finds out there’s three.

~ It’s another gender reveal party where they find out that, somehow, they’re having three little girls. Tony is over the moon at the idea of having daughters.

~ They find out in a later ultrasound that the girls are not identical. Two of them will be, but one is fraternal. Neither parent minds though, happy just to have their babies.

~ Tony doesn’t have the same fear when the girls are born. There are a few nerves when they’re first born since they’re so small and so fragile, but he doesn’t hesitate to hold them in his arms.

~ Thanks to already having twins, it’s much easier to adapt to having babies again. Only, it is harder this time around with a set of troublesome twos twins.

~ The triplets follow in the steps of the twin, learning everything early, being exceptionally spoiled by their family, and being generally easy babies. And by generally, you should read sometimes.

The triplets were fussy, to say the least. They don’t like staying down for naps like the twins did, and if one starts to fuss, then the other two will follow. If one is hungry, the others grow hungry not long after.

~ When the triplets are finally old enough to play with the twins, it’s an interesting adventure. The boys upon meeting their sisters almost instantly cause them to start crying. Anthony reaches out and tugs on Mary’s pigtail hard enough that she starts to scream and cry.

Benjamin, in all childlike wonder, pokes at May until she too wakes up from her nap and begins crying. And then Maria, never one to be left out, starts to cry as well. Nevertheless, it didn’t end well.

~ When the boys are three and the girls are one, the boys suddenly seem to realize that they’d rather protect their sisters from everyone else.

Suddenly, no one can get close to the girls without having the twins approve. Their parents don’t have to go through the questioning, obviously, and Uncle Steve and Auntie Bucky get through with one question, but the other Avengers get mini-lectures from baby boys.

~ When Bucky and Steve have a baby, the Starker babies go over to meet little Grant within an hour of being born. The twins happily take up their usual place at Bucky’s right side, and the triplets go to his right. Peter and Tony stand there, offering smiles and reassurance as the new parents.

The twins and triplets are old enough to understand, and this time instead of harassing the baby, they poke at his little cheeks in wonder before settling down. Benjamin asks to hold Grant, and Bucky easily agrees, and honestly, thank God he did. Little Benjamin with his messy curls held back with the hot pink headband he borrowed from his sister that morning holding onto the tightly swaddled Grant with his fair blonde hair peeking out from under his hat.

It’s an absolutely adorable image.

~ As the twins and triplets grow older, they come into their own personalities. Anthony was properly named since he is almost exactly like his father. He’s the brave one of the bunch, exploring the new areas and fiddling with the mini science lab he was gifted for his fifth birthday.

Benjamin is a shy but sweet little one. He’s the one that seems to play with each sibling doing whatever they love to do. He’s also the one that likes to help Peter and Bucky in their tasks like baking and cleaning. Unsurprisingly, he’s also exceptionally close to Grant.

Maria is a lot like Anthony. She’s brave and headstrong, and she’s not afraid to follow her brothers and cousins right into the outdoors. She’s also shown excellent wrestling quality. She inherited Peter’s strength.

Mary is a lot like Maria but tamer. She wrestles with her brothers and cooks with her mother. She’s wild and carefree, known for running around their floor stark naked (no pun intended). She’s the one that plays in the puddles and the mud.

May is a lot like her sisters, and yet, she’s not. She likes to play, and she likes to draw. But she’s surprisingly the strongest of them all. They found her dangling from the ceiling on her third birthday, giggling like a mad woman. She’s also the one that lifted up the backyard table to look at an ant.

~ They’ve settled into their new lives. The kids are older and running around, and Bucky and Steve have just had their second baby when Peter suddenly realizes he misses them when they’re tiny.

~ Steve and Bucky take the kids when it’s time. Peter went off his birth control and went into heat, and since they were in sync, Tony went into rut right after.

It was a mess but passionate few days. They knew their pups were fine, but Tony’s pushing sixty, and Peter hasn’t had a heat since he was seventeen. Once their respected time has passed, they take a steamy bath together, soaking in Peter’s favorite bath salts.

They stay in the tub, kissing and relaxing. They enjoy their last hour of silence before heading to reclaim their children.

[iamfitzwilliamdarcy]

Title: from dust, arisen Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne (also ft. Dick Grayson and Tim Drake) Summary: When Jason is fifteen, he almost dies. Now, he grapples with the life he still has. (Jason Lives AU) (ao3)

I...got tired of opening this periodically from my incomplete Google docs over the past two years so...here we go. Will (maybe, hopefully) turn into a series of vignettes. Timeline is intended to make as much sense as possible but...comics. 

When Jason is fifteen, he almost dies. It takes half a year to recover fully, his breath rattling against broken ribs and raw throat. He was protected, mostly, from the blast and has only minor burns, but his right arm is broken and so is his left leg, his shoulder dislocated, he needs stitches in multiple places, and he’s covered in bruises. He has a concussion, too, but he’s alive, and he almost wasn’t.

He’s confined to his bed for weeks. Bruce and Alfred hover. Dick’s there sometimes too. He feels suffocated, near the end, but mostly he’s too exhausted to care.

When he starts getting bored and antsy, Dick brings over video games and movies and little 5lb weights.

“I can only use my one arm,” Jason tells him mournfully. “The right one is already smaller. I can feel it.”

Dick makes a face at him as he wiggles the fingers on his left hand. Says, “Well it’ll just have some catching up to do when you get that cast off.”

“And 5lbs are for babies,” Jason adds.

“Guess you’re a baby,” Dick says and sticks his tongue out him.

Neither mention he’s still sore enough that he can’t lift even the 5lb weight for very long.

But he can handle a control with his cast, so Dick tosses him one and they race cars and beat up bad guys and aliens and shoot terrorists. Dick even, Jason swears to God, brings him over some dumb as shit Harvest Moon game.

“For when I’m not here,” Dick tells him. Because when he’s not here Jason reads a lot, but there’s only so much you can read, and he alternates between being restless, bored beyond imagining, and, well, kind of depressed.

(Jason beats it and saves his damn stupid farm three times before his bed rest is over; his cows love him.)

Mostly Jason is just glad Dick isn’t looking at him like he might still drop dead at any minute, all furrowed eyebrows and blank faced like Bruce or downturned, concerned lips like Alfred. Dick laughs and jostles Jason’s shoulder, gentler than he would ordinarily, but at least he knows Jason isn’t going to fucking break.

Jason gathers that Dick is staying at the Manor again but he’s still fighting with Bruce. They rarely visit Jason at the same time, and when one comes in, the other gets all tight and excuses himself after a few minutes. Jason suspects they’re fighting about him.

He doesn’t ask. Dick doesn’t say anything.

They don’t talk about what happened.

********

Jason begs Bruce to let him back in the field for a month. He gives it some time, after he’s up and about, goes to his physical therapy when his casts come off, but Bruce still says no. No. Flat. That’s it.

Jason trains harder. He knows he’s not 100%. He knows he’s chubbier, slower, that he’s out of practice.

He knows Bruce doesn’t trust him anymore.  Not after…

It only takes a month for him to get fed up with being left behind. He sits in the Cave as Batman leaves, pretending to look at the notes of the case Bruce has left him. A consolation prize, he rolls his eyes. Something shiny to distract him.

He waits a half an hour, and then gets ready. He realizes, quickly, that he doesn’t actually have a Robin suit anymore. He flinches, thinking about fabric being ripped from deep wounds, from its tattered remains Bruce didn’t know he’d seen.

He shakes his head and regroups. There’s always one of Dick’s old costumes. Jason’s…not sure he’ll fit in any. His weight has fluctuated so much over the past several months, as he weaned himself off pain meds, got his appetite back, sat around unable to do anything, threw himself back into his work-outs as soon as he could, got told off for working too hard when he was still in recovery.

Besides, Dick has always been slender. At fifteen, Jason isn’t done growing, but he’s already almost as tall as Dick and a little broader.

He could always go out in his civvies and a mask, but—

--the Joker can’t take Robin from him.

Batman actually falters when he sees Robin. Almost gets hit in the jaw for it, but recovers in time to duck. Jason jumps. They’re only some low level thugs. Small fry. He could have been helping all along.

He tells Batman so. Batman just looks at him for a long time. Long enough Jason wants to fidget, but he doesn’t. He holds his head up, clenches his jaw. Defiant. He can wait out Bruce.

Batman turns and walks away. But he doesn’t tell Jason to go home. Jason follows.

He guesses it’s a start.

********

“He’s stuck in that moment where he almost didn’t get to you in time,” Dick tells him seriously.

He’s come to Dick’s apartment because Batman is suffocating him. He swoops in when Robin doesn’t need him to, nearly breaks the jaws of thugs who so much as say the wrong thing to Robin, follows him too closely. Jason’s going to go insane.

He’s turning sixteen tomorrow. He almost didn’t make it.

Dick shakes his head. “You know how he doesn’t let go of things. I think part of him is going to live in that moment forever.”

Jason’s learned about watershed events. He wonders if Ethiopia is theirs. His and Bruce’s.

“Why are you packing?” he asks abruptly, because he’s interrupted Dick. “Are you moving back home?”

Dick looks guilty, fiddles with the shirt he’s holding bunched up in his hands. “Not exactly. I’m going back to New York.”

To the Titans.

“Why?”

Dick shrugs. “It’s time,” he says. “And I’m failing anyway. Waste of time to stick it out.”

“You’re smart,” Jason snaps. “Fuck, Dick, you’re a detective. How are you failing?”

Dick gives Jason a look. A little surprised at his venom. Jason is too. Finally, he says, “Not all of us our cut out for the college life, kid. Maybe I’m squandering an opportunity I’m lucky to have. But I can’t sit in class all day and not focus on a case I’m working. Or fall asleep because I was out late the night before and was only able to half-ass my homework in an all-nighter.”

Jason doesn’t say anything, but he won’t look at Dick either.

Dick adds, “Anyway, Bruce is driving me crazy, too. Need some space.”

“You didn’t have to come back,” Jason says hotly. His face feels hot, too, and tight.

Dick reaches out and touches his shoulder. “You know,” he says, thoughtfully, when Jason looks up at him. “It’s not really the Titans if there isn’t a Robin on the team.”

********

Jason turns sixteen and Alfred bakes a cake and Dick comes over because he hasn’t left yet (because he maybe kind of sort of hasn’t told Bruce he’s dropping out yet either) and Bruce is looking at Jason in a way that he never has before (at least not where Jason can see) and Jason feels warm for the first time since Ethiopia.

********

He has to repeat tenth grade. Alfred suggests, gently, homeschooling for the year, but Jason’s missed enough time.

******** “I didn’t die, Bruce!” They’re on opposite sides of the living room from each other and Jason is yelling, his fists clenched, his face splotchy red. 

They’ve been going at it for a while, the room hot and Jason hot, when he finally says it.

Bruce draws up short, and the room chills, and Jason suddenly feels deflated. He clenches his fists, adds quieter, “Stop acting like it.”

Jason doesn’t give him a chance to walk away first. He storms up the stairs to his room. He packs a backpack and leaves through the window. He takes the motorcycle and makes it to New York before morning.

Dick doesn’t ask, but his mouth tightens. He feeds Jason leftover pizza and lets him sleep in his bed. Jason snags a few hours, but he wakes to Dick’s hushed, tense voice speaking into a phone.

“No I don’t—obviously—well, I--,”

He gets up and pads over to where Dick’s hunched over on the couch, throws himself on the ground, leans back on his hands and looks up. Laughs a little to himself at Bruce being the one to do enough talking that Dick can barely get a word in edgewise.

Dick looks up and gives him a stressed little half smile. Mouths Bruce, as if Jason doesn’t know. Jason rolls his eyes to tell him obviously. Dick holds out the phone questioningly, and Jason shakes his head. He doesn’t feel as angry and restless as he did earlier, but he’s not ready to talk to Bruce just yet.

“Sorry, B, he’s still asleep. Yeah, we’ll just hit the City some tomorrow. He’s fine, I promise,” Dick sounds a little annoyed. “Go to bed, I’ll call later.”

Jason kicks Dick’s ankle in thanks and feels a little bad about how exhausted he looks. No one else is here, not even Kory, and Jason wonders if he really interrupted Dick in anything important. A local case or something.

Dick just raises his eyebrows at him. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Fuck, no,” Jason says because he knows Dick won’t reprimand him for his language, like Alfred. And also because he really, really doesn’t.

Dick shrugs. “I’m going to bed then,” he says. He stands up and stretches.  Adds, “You should get some more sleep. I’ll take Kory’s room.”

Dick’s as good as his word to Bruce, and he takes Jason sightseeing in New York. They do the standard tourist things—see the Rockerfeller, the Plaza Hotel, the Brooklyn Bridge. They rent bikes and ride around Central Park. They sit on a bench and eat ice cream and look out at across the water at the Statue of Liberty.

(Jason turns down going to Ellis Island. He’s had enough family history to last a lifetime.)

Dick buys him bagels and pizza and soda and presses cash into the hands of the homeless they pass. He stops and talks sometimes, and Jason watches him. Envies how charming he is, how easy it all seems to come to him. Jason’s sixteen, and he’s not uncool, but he’ll never be Dick Grayson.

They go out into the city that night, as Nightwing and Robin.

The New York skyline is different from Gotham. It’s not their city.

Jason goes back to the Tower early. “So,” Dick says, mid-morning Sunday, over breakfast. Jason’s actually a little impressed with his scrambled eggs; they’re not Alfred level, but they’re pretty decent. “So,” Jason says back because he feels like Dick is evaluating him. Searching him for something. “So,” Dick repeats, rolling his eyes. “You can stay here as long as you want, you know--,” “But,” Jason prompts. “But,” Dick agrees, “I think you should give Bruce a call.” “I’m gonna go back today,” Jason says. He pushes his empty plate away, runs a hand through his hair. “I just needed some space.” Dick smiles sympathetically. “I get it,” he says, Jason tries not to let himself get pissed off because he knows Dick does, knows he and Bruce have spent too many years fighting for Dick to not get it but- -but he didn’t almost die. Because he’s fucking perfect. He didn’t screw up like Jason did. He doesn’t have Bruce breathing down his neck because he can’t trust him. Jason doesn’t say any of that, but somehow, Dick reads it on his face. He leans forward and Jason resists the urge to lean back. “Remember what I said before?” he asks. “About letting go?” Jason nods. Dick’s not helping. “Sometimes, and I know I’m a hypocrite for saying this, but sometimes, you do too.” Jason gets home after Bruce has gone on patrol. He lets Alfred feed him dinner, does a few rounds with a punching bag, showers, and goes to sleep. He wakes up in the dark, red numbers on his clock flashing 4am, a hand brushing the hair out of his face. He almost flinches away, but some part of his brain recognizes that it’s just Bruce and he relaxes. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” Bruce says, his voice a rough whisper. “’Sokay,” Jason says. He shifts, sits up a little, blinks blearily at Bruce. The fight from Friday lays between them. Bruce doesn’t apologize, but he pulls Jason into a  hug, holds him close. Jason doesn’t apologize, but he snakes his arms around Bruce and squeezes back.

********

He notices the Drake kid tailing Batman and Robin, snapping pictures of them, before Bruce does. He doesn’t see the kid every night, but when he does, he makes sure to do an extra special kick or flip just right or pause a little longer. It’s not posing exactly, but it’s nice to be appreciated. (And Jason won’t lie, he likes the attention.) Also  he’s a little curious to see how long it’ll take Batman to notice. Wonders if he already does and is ignoring it for some reason. It’s not like the kid ever lingers for long or isn’t as sneaky as possible, but Batman is, well, Batman. Jason finally gets a chance to talk to him about a month after he first starts noticing him. Jason’s by himself because, after their fight, he and Bruce are trying this new thing where Bruce lets him go off solo. At least a little bit. Because Jason’s sixteen now and not a kid and he’s not going to— The kid is startled when Robin drops down in front of him. He stumbles and Jason has to reach out to keep him from falling. “So what?” Jason asks. “Journalism class? You the next photographer for the Gazette?” The kid flushes and says “Oh my God” and “I’m sorry” and “Do you think he’ll be mad?” He’s stuttering over his words, and Jason finally takes pity. Says, “Chill out, I don’t care.” He sits down, swings his legs over the edge of the building, leans back on his hands and looks up at the kid. “Your parents know you’re out here?” He hesitates, then admits, “They’re out of town.” “Oh,” Jason says. He gets it. “Just for work,” the kid adds defensively. “They’ll be back.” Jason digs around in his belt and offers the kid a granola bar. He hesitates then takes it. After another moment, he sits down too, away from the edge. Jason leans back on his hands and looks at him, appreciates his mask lets him study without coming off as creepy. Kid’s scrawny, shivering in an overpriced jacket, can’t be older than 13, a giant ass camera hanging around his neck. He breaks the granola bar in half and offers the bigger one to Jason, who takes it. “What’s your name?” Jason asks finally. “Tim,” he says back. Glances up quickly, then back down. Back up again and blurts, “I’m glad you’re back. I wasn’t sure you would be.” Jason doesn’t say me too or me neither, but he wants to.   “You look familiar,” Jason says. “Have we saved you before or something? That why you president of the fan club?” “No,” Tim says absently. “But I’ve been to some galas at Wayne Manor.” There’s a pause where Tim’s eyes widen and Jason stiffens. Then Tim scrambles to his feet saying, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” and Jason leaps up and grabs his arm, demanding, “Who are you and what do you know?” They both still and Tim draws in a deep breath. He lets it out and Jason notices he doesn’t look scared. Nervous, maybe, a little, but not scared. He says, “I figured it out. Who Batman is. A few years back. Well,” he backtracks, “I figured out who the first Robin was and then…everything fell into place.” Jason doesn’t admit he’s a little impressed. He lets go of Tim, sure he isn’t a threat and won’t run. Asks, still a little suspicious, “How’d you do that?” Tim gets this little half-smile on his face and he says, “The quadruple somersault.” “Yeah?” Jason asks. “How’d you make the connection?” “I watched two of the only three people who could do it die,” Tim says. Jason does some quick mental math and says, “No way in hell you remember that.” Tim huffs. “Well, I do,” he snaps. “It was one of the best days of my life. I was with my parents and they managed to let me meet up with the Flying Graysons before the show. They took a picture with me. I didn’t forget.” They’re quiet for a long moment. The moon is almost directly overhead, bright and full. “Are you going to tell him?” Tim asks finally. He slides a glance sideways at Jason, who doesn’t know if he means Bruce or Dick. Jason shakes his head. “Not yet, at least.” “I should go home,” Tim says, but he’s looking down, scuffing his toe across the roof, so Jason says, “Yeah, me too.” They start to part ways, but Tim turn again. “I really am glad you’re back,” he tells Jason. “He was…different without you. It was kinda scary. Batman needs Robin.”

******** Jason can’t get that out of his head. “He was different…it was kinda scary.”  He turns the words around in his head over and over again, until he can’t sleep, thinking about it. He asks Alfred about it, after two days of thinking. Sidles up to him while he’s making sandwiches and soup for lunch. Bruce has to go in for a WE Board meeting (“On a Saturday?” Jason asked horrified and Bruce shrugged. “Guess it’s important. And I maybe missed it on Wednesday.” He winked and was gone.) He takes the knife without a word and starts to cut the sandwiches so Alfred can stir the soup. Tomato basil. “How was Bruce,” he asks abruptly, keeping his eyes focused on the sandwiches, “when I was hurt?” Jason hears the spoon stop stirring, can feel Alfred still next to him. A moment later, the spoon picks up again, slowly. It’s another moment before Alfred clears his throat and says, “He took it very hard. We all did.” “Oh,” Jason says. He keeps looking at the sandwiches even though he’s finished cutting them. He looks up when he feels Alfred’s hand on his shoulder. Alfred is looking at him with fondness and sadness and something else Jason doesn’t know what to call but it fills him up so much he feels tears pricking at his eyes. Alfred cups his face and his hands are warm and wrinkled and soft despite all the labor he’s put into this house over the decades. He says, his voice low with purpose, “You are very dear to him. To me. To Master Richard. I hope you know that.” Jason nods and Alfred lets his hand drop. Gives Jason’s shoulder a pat and says briskly, “Now let’s see about lunch.” He doesn’t ask Dick because he thinks Alfred has sugarcoated or lied to him. It’s only that, he has said very little and he loves Bruce differently than Jason does, the same way he loves Jason—they’re not blind spots, per se, but there’s some sense of duty, some sense of needing to protect. Dick is quiet for a long time when Jason asks over the phone. Jason starts to get antsy, wishing he had gone in person to see Dick, to ask. Finally, Dick answers, almost reluctantly, “He was furious. I’ve never seen him like that before. I thought—for sure, I thought he’d—you know.” Jason does know, but it makes him furious Dick won’t even say the Joker’s name, won’t say what Bruce wouldn’t do. “He would have deserved it,” Jason says savagely and is surprised out of his anger when Dick agrees, quietly, “Yeah. He would have.” There’s a long pause and then Dick adds, “But it wasn’t just him. B was…it was to everybody. A petty thief same as the Big Bads. It was like—it was like he really did. Lose you. And I didn’t—I wasn’t enough, then.” “Oh,” Jason says.

********

Jason doesn’t see Tim again for a while, worries he scared the kid off. He stays true to word, doesn’t tell Dick or Bruce, but he does keep an eye out for him.

When he doesn’t see him as Robin, Jason starts looking for Tim in school. He isn’t actually sure they go to the same one, it can’t hurt to keep an eye out. He doesn’t see him around the high school classes, and, remembering how tiny the kid is, Jason slips into Gotham Academy’s lower school during lunch and spots him right away.

Tim flushes when he notices Jason zero in on him, but he keeps walking with his nerd friend, determinedly ignoring Jason. Jason doesn’t like being ignored. He saunters over and slings an arm around the kid’s shoulder.

Tim’s flush deepens, but he says, almost valiantly, “Uh, hi?” He waves his friend off when he looks concerned and then shoves his hands in his pocket, like he’s trying to make his tiny self even smaller. “Can I help you?”

“Just haven’t seen ya around in a while,” Jason says. He tugs Tim outside with him and adds, “Let’s have lunch.”

********

“Why are you spending so much time with the Drake boy?” Bruce asks one night. They’re in the Cave, still in tuxes from some charity thing Bruce has thrown. Alfred will be mad if he knows, but he’s upstairs, cleaning.

Jason shrugs. “Just a friend. He goes to my school. ‘Sides, everyone else at those things is boring.”

“Not me,” Bruce says and Jason yawns extravagantly. “Especially you.”

********

He wants to tell Dick first about Tim because it’s Dick who helped Tim figure it all out. When he calls to see if he can come up for a weekend visit, though, Dick is distracted, sounds off.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Jason finally demands and Dick sighs. Says, “I’m leaving the Titans. I guess I’m moving back to Gotham for a bit.”

It’s good timing, Jason thinks, and immediately feels guilty. He tries not to feel giddy about Dick being back. Tries not to worry about Nightwing, who’s lost teammates and just sounds tired lately.

“To the Manor?” he asks and Dick says, “God no. At least, not permanently. I just…need some time.”

“I have a secret to tell you,” Jason says. “When you get back.”

“I don’t know if I like the sounds of that,” Dick says and actually laughs.

******** Dick takes to Tim right away and Jason tries to squash down any jealousy boiling up in him. It’s not Tim’s fault they’ve come into Dick’s life at different places.

******** Bruce finds out with Dick and Jason both playing mediator, but he seems more impressed than angry, a concerned furrow etching into his brow.

“His parents aren’t home a lot,” Jason tells him, as if Bruce hasn’t noticed the kid sitting in his kitchen, doing homework and eating Alfred’s cookies on a near-daily basis.

******** He watches Tim spar and they way he pores over notes Bruce leaves for him when Batman and Robin go out, and he calls Dick the next day. Asks, “How did you know?” He’s woken Dick up and all he gets is a muffled, “Whu?” “How did you know?” He repeats, more insistently. “How did you know when it was time to move on?” “From what?” Dick asks and Jason lets out a frustrated sigh. “From Robin, asshole,” he snaps. “How did you know?” “Oh,” Dick is quiet for a minute. Then, he says, “I think if you’re asking, you already know.”

********

Jason was fifteen when he almost died. He was fifteen when he took back Robin, sixteen when he and Bruce started figuring each other out again.

Jason is seventeen today, poised on the edge of growing up. He’s seventeen and he is giving Robin away. Tim’s hands tremble when he takes the proffered uniform.

“But it’s your birthday,” he blurts, and then, “Are you sure?”

Jason glances at Bruce, suddenly glad he’s run it by him the night before instead of letting it be a surprise. Bruce doesn’t smile exactly, but there’s something encouraging in his eyes, reassuring, and Jason says, “Sure I’m sure. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. You’re ready.” I’m ready.

“What will you do next?” Tim asks, voice softer, almost reverent as he gathers the Robin uniform close to himself.

Jason shrugs, but he’s grinning. “I have a few ideas.”

He does, too, scribbled down, sketched in a notebook. Because he is seventeen and he did not die and the world is open before him and he is ready for the world.

[buriednurbckyrd]

Necessary Paradox (13; Epilogue)

One year later…

Y/N walked into the kitchen holding a gorgeous arrangement of lilies in every color.  Wanda was tasting a spoonful of rich broth when she looked up and saw the flowers.  

“Oh my goodness!  Who are those from?”  Y/N set the vase down on the island counter and carefully plucked the card out from the blooms.  

“Aw, Pepper sent them.  She's stuck in California dealing with some business crisis.”  She sniffed the air and smiled.  “Smells like you and J have everything under control in here.”  Wanda grinned and blushed.  Even though her and Jeremiah had hit it off when they were introduced and had become good friends, she was still a little shy and starstruck around him some times.  

“I still can't believe you officially don't live with us anymore!” Jeremiah cried over a tray of neat balls of dough ready for baking. “What am I going to do when Will won't let me have my way?”

“You're going to learn to stop being a bratty Omega,” the Alpha in question yelled from the other room.  “But since when have you needed my approval for anything?  You just do what you want.”    Will grumbled.  He was supposed to be helping Steve put the final touches on the living room furniture,  but the two of them kept finding any excuse to abandon their task to procrastinate.  Y/N finally had to gently remind them that the house warming was only a few short hours away and the guests would expect to see a nicely arranged living room to sit in.  The two Alphas were grumbling about most everything after that.

“Oh yeah, I guess I am kind of a diva.”  Jeremiah said with a wink at the women.  A loud bark of sarcastic laughter sounded from the living room.  “I love you too, Will!”  

“I've only been there about half the time anyway, J,” she reminded him. “I'm sure it won't take much to adjust.”  

“I know!  But it's still weird.  Even when you weren't there you still technically lived there.”  She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek while he shaped more rolls.  

“Well maybe you can turn my room into a nursery.”  

“Don't be silly, that's always going to be your room.  I'm going to finally clean out that spare office we never use-” he gasped and dropped the dough.  “How did you-?  Did Will blab?”  

“Hey!” Will yelled, offended.  

“Will is a fortress,” Y/N said loudly so her best friend could hear her coming to his defense.  “I'm just a very observant.  Since when does my favorite sleep deprived author drink decaf?”  She tapped her fingers on his coffee cup.  “Plus, I've been living with you for five years, I could smell the change.” Will and Steve walked in from the living room.  

“We weren't sure how to tell you,” Will said softly.  “We didn't want you to feel like we were rubbing it in your face or something since you...”  

“Aren't able to have our own pups.”  Y/N finished for him.  She took Will's hands into hers and gave his fingers a gentle squeeze.  “You don't have to worry.  I knew the risks.  Steve knew there was a very good chance that kids weren't going to be possible from the very beginning.”  Steve came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle.  

“We have everything we need,” he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We have each other, a big crazy family, and now a new home of our own.”  

“And a beautiful niece or nephew on their way that we can spoil.” Y/N added with a devious giggle.  

“This is so exciting!  I am so happy for you both!”  Wanda exclaimed, hugging Jeremiah.  “I love babies.  I hope you will let me babysit.”  

“Of course, Auntie Wanda.” He replied, hugging her back.  Wanda flushed bright pink with happiness.  Will pulled Y/N closer and rested his hand on her shoulder.  

“You're really okay?”  He asked her quietly.  

“I really am.  I already knew what they were going to tell me after they ran the tests.  I never really felt like motherhood was going to be my path in life, and there's nothing wrong with that.  I can compete with Wanda to be the pup's favorite Aunt.”  Will chuckled and glanced over at Steve.  

“I can't tell you how thankful I am that you found each other.  And now you're moving into this great place…It finally feels like all that nasty shit is behind us.”  

“Getting all sappy on me, big brother?”  Y/N teased, but she wiped away a couple tears of her own before sinking into a hug.  “I love you so much, Will.  I wouldn't be here without you.”  She whispered to him.  “I can never thank you enough for always being there for me.” Will kissed her forehead and swallowed, unable to respond from the lump in his throat.  After a few moments they separated with watery smiles.  “I still see lamps in boxes.”  She scolded.  Steve groaned and dragged his feet back out to the living room.

“Bossy Omega.”  Will taunted.  

“Bull-headed Alpha.”  Y/N sassed back.  “That coffee table needs legs, too.” He reached out and ruffled her hair, laughing when she squealed in protest and running before she could retaliate.  

Despite all their protests, all the furniture was put together and arranged just how Y/N wanted it when Tony, Natasha, Sam, Bucky, Bruce, and Vision arrived for the house warming.  The food Y/N, Wanda, and Jeremiah had prepared was devoured with enthusiasm.  Wine flowed as easily as the conversation.  As the evening was winding down and they were all sprawled out on the furniture Steve and Will had spent the afternoon rearranging, Y/N gripped Steve's hand and smiled at him.  

“It's been an amazing year, Mate.”  He kissed her softly.

“Best year of my life.”  He replied.  Tony made a gagging noise.

“Ugh. Gross.  They're being all couple-y.”  Y/N laughed.

“You're just jealous Pepper is trapped in California for business!  You're even grosser that us!”

“Wrong, we're passionate and sexy.  You're rom-com sloppy.”  He ducked when one of the brand new throw pillows was thrown at his face.  

“Actually,” Steve interjected before chaos erupted.  “I'm kind of glad you brought up our year together.”  He cleared his throat and reached into his pocket before slipping off the sofa and onto his knee.

“Steve.” She breathed, her eyes wide.  

“Y/N,” he took her hand.  “I know we're already mated.  This past year has been the most incredible journey and there's no one else that I would rather continue my life with.  No matter what has happened in our pasts, it all led us to each other, led us here.  At first glance, maybe it didn't seem like we had much in common, maybe it looked like our lives weren't compatible.  But I feel like we've discovered a life that is so full and rich, because of those differences.  We're building a new, compete life together on that foundation, surrounded by a family that might not be the one we were born with, but the one we chose.  I wouldn't trade them or you for anything.  Y/N, my soul mate.  My True Mate...”  He opened the box, revealing the modest, but brilliant diamond ring.  “Will you take one more step with me and become Mrs. Y/N Rogers?”  

“Yes,” she gasped.  “I'll gladly take any step as long as it's with you.”  His smile was breathtaking as he slipped the ring onto her finger.  

“About damn time!”  Bucky clapped his friend on the back. “Congratulations.”  Wanda's eyes glowed red as she used her powers to retrieve a box of tissues.  She handed one to Y/N who dabbed at her eyes.  She mouthed a 'thank you' at the woman with an affectionate smile.  

“Whatever you want, Y/N, you're getting your dream wedding!”  Tony crowed. “I won't take no for an answer!”  Steve groaned, but he couldn't stop grinning.  

“It's about to get even crazier, you know that right?”  Y/N murmured to him.  Steve nodded and kissed her again, his thumb fidgeting with the ring on her left hand.  

“I know.  But I've got you, so it's perfect.”    

*** *** *** *** Here we are at the end! Thank you so much to everyone that read, commented, liked, etc on my very first A/B/O fic! I'm already thinking of writing an Alpha!Bucky fic, I mean, I gotta right? He is my favorite. Thank you all again! -xoxo ♥

[girlbookwrm]

A New Year’s Thor

THE MIGHTY ENDGAME REWATCH CONTINUES WITH KENNETH BRANAGH’S thor

How did I spend New Year’s? Continuing our mighty pre-endgame rewatch with The Roommate ( @goteamwin ) and The Gal Pal ( @pegasuschick ). We’re watching Thor, the Kenneth Branagh-i-est of the Marvel Movies.

Note: We were all. Very Drunk. 

“You know what’s worked great in all our movies so far? TIME JUMPS!” - every early marvel film.

right away I comment to The Roommate: What is up with all these angled shots? 

The Roommate, a video editor and producer: Actually that’s called a canted shot.

Me, mere moments later: not a lot of shots in this that AREN’T canted, are there.

seriously, watch this movie. If I made note of every canted shot, these rewatch notes would be 90% CANT.

Stellan Skarsgard here bringing the Nord, and Natalie Portman bringing the... wait how the hell did they get Natalie Portman in-- oh right. Kenneth Branagh directed this.

hey it’s Tonsberg! like from CATFA! Neat!

listen there are too many blue cubes in marvel. This was super fucking confusing when I was wee and not yet obsessively into Marvel. There’s the Casket (which the frost giants use) and then there’s the Tesseract (which is different? but also blue??) and let it be known that in the comics there is ALSO the cosmic cube which is NEITHER of those things but the roommate initially called both the Casket and the Tesseract the Cosmic Cube, because -- as was previously mentioned -- this is super fucking confusing.

Let it be known that the Roommate, when quite young, went to see this movie in theaters with her very first boyfriend on her very first date.

The Roommate, Way Back When: So... they’re gods? like? the norse gods?

The Roommate’s Very First Boyfriend: They’re actually aliens.

The Roommate, Now: He was wildly underexplaining this.

what actually is this ceremony? what does it accomplish?

Tom Hiddleston has said nothing yet, but he has said So Much. Also, 

The Roommate: Who is that  lovely woman in the horned helmet? Loki has a beautiful woman’s face.

The Gal Pal: He does make a beautiful mare. The MOST beautiful mare, in fact.

She is Not Wrong.

thank god someone saved us from Malibu Thor here, he is Too Blonde

“I, Odin Allfather, Proclaim you the Frost Giants.” 

this must have been so confusing for all the Asgardians here.

Oh hey it’s Sif and What’s His Face and That Other Guy and F...

farrrr...

franduil?

fan... dis?

AT THIS POINT WE HIT MIDNIGHT WHILE IDRIS ELBA WARNED US TO BE CAREFUL IN THE COLD WASTES OF JOTUNHEIM

FANDRAL!

fandral is his name.

At this point, while the fighting was going on, we got a lil side tracked talking about the movie in general.

The Roommate: It’s like the Temptation of Thor. Christ spent 40 days in the desert, Thor spends 48 hours in New Mexico.

The Gal Pal: Are you saying Thor is better at this than Jesus?

The Roommate: No, I’m saying he’s half-baked.

This is the first time Thor flies with the hammer and all i could think was “oh my god the hammer pulled you off???”

Dear Anthony Hopkins, what are your acting choices?

Anthony Hopkins: HUARGH!!!!!

aaaaaand thirty minutes in, we’re finally back to the beginning.

“Yes I did” Darcy is a T R E A S U R E

So much of this movie is Thor becoming unconscious. bless.

C A N T

All men (with a few odd token women), grilling, pickup trucks, literal “hold my beer” -- u s a, U S A, U! S! A!

pooter!

Hey! Phil is here!

aw yissss thor with no shirt -- sidenote: he’s definitely freeballing it here, right? I mean there’s no way he’s wearing underwear under those jeans. Doesn’t that chafe on his little hammer?

Let’s all agree that right up until he goes way off the deep end, Loki is 10000% not wrong about any of this. Thor was definitely not ready to be king, he was an idiot. and also, I was never much of a Loki fan, personally, but Loki’s having a real bad day. 

Grows up being told that he was destined to be a king, but there’s only one throne --> has to watch his idiot brother get ?crowned? --> decides to play a prank (who wouldn’t, right?) --> fRoSt GIaNt???????? --> BRoTHerR BAnISHedD????????? --> FROST GIANT???????? --> ODINSLEEP?????????? --> KING NOW?????????? BUT FROST GIANT STILL??????????????

Loki and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

And seriously, what was Odin’s plan here? “I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, and I’d just pepper in the fact that you’re a frost giant and I kidnapped you and you’d be totally cool with it.”

Odin Allfather: A+ parenting, Literal baby snatcher.

THIS DRINK! I LIKE IT! ANOTHER!

The Roommate: I love that Jane’s motivation isn’t really to get with Thor, it’s to get with SCIENCE.

Sometimes I forget that this is actually a funny movie, but they just had no idea how to handle the comedy in it? like, they had a comedy script and they just filmed it like a straight drama/action movie for some reason.

“A pioneer in gamma radiation” Is that bruce???

follow up: yes. Yes it is Bruce.

The canting here is Very Cant.

What time of year is it in NM that everyone is wearing this many layers.

Thor being all: “I know ur midgardian but I’d tap that.”

Jane Foster: Brilliant Scientist, Menace on the Road.

Why. Why is the SHIELD site set up like this.

What purpose does it serve

why.

W H Y.

(subnote, we investigated this afterwords and apparently it’s designed to look like a sigil of the word SHIELD, like all the letters smooshed on top of each other but also IT IS NOT and also also THAT IS DUMB AS FUCK.)

(though grudgingly, i admit, thematically appropriate given the overall norse-ness of this movie.)

(STILL FUCKING STUPID)

sitwell!

What is causing this rain?

The Roommate: Because, like everything else from Asgard, Meu-myeh is Extra™

Hey it’s Hawkguy!

Side side note, I am pretty sure that I also went to see this movie with my very first boyfriend and he got super excited about Hawkeye like “omg it’s clint and he has a bow and he’s so fucking cool omg omg omg!” and i was just like “????? kay? but he passed over all those obviously superior guns and then he does literally nothing tho????”

fast forward and the first comic i bought for myself was Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye

aaaaand I’m dating a woman now.

Honestly cannot tell if windy or cant

H U A R G H ! ! ! !

I really want to go into the roommate’s Benedict Cumberbatch Upgrade Theory of Tom Hiddleston but also this is getting super long and honestly she’s so right it deserves its own post

nah I’m gonna

The theory goes like this: Bandersnatch Cucumberpatch is an alien scout sent to learn our ways and gain influence in our culture, but he’s like, the first draft. They weren’t really sure what a human was supposed to look like. 

Tom Hiddleston is Model 2.0

Tom Hiddleston is the upgraded Benedict Cumberbatch

The roommate explained this to me and I just looked at her sidelong for a looooooooong minute and said: u sure u want me to put this on the internet? r u sure??

“You have great power, Heimdall”

The Gal Pal: yeah, ur the only black man is Asgard.

“hit you with my car” WAIT IS ALL THOR’S CHARACTER GROWTH THE RESULT OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY?

*CANT INTENSIFIES*

Thor: I’m just a man. Just a very tall, very handsome, VERY buff man.

wouldn’t it have been AMAZING if Jane had caught the hammer instead? I mean? WOULDN’T THAT HAVE BEEN FUCKING AWESOME????

Frigga: She Did Her Best, But She Still Raised The Two Dumbest Boys In the Nine Realms.

Despite my earlier statements, Loki definitely does end his day with attempted fratricide, successful patricide, and questionably successful genocide so.

“Is it madness? Is it? IS IT???”

The Roommate: I mean. Yeah, buddy.

At this point, Thor has No Idea what the fuck is going on. he doesn’t know Loki’s a frost giant.

ORRRR he does know, because everyone knew, everyone but Loki always knew.

Odin: *WAKES UP* WTF ARE MY SONS DOING?

“no loki” ODIN WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK DUDE

“you’ve already made me proud” literally all you had to do was say that to your other son one (1) time.

wait is this a foo fighters song???