#bruce needs to take one giant step backwards

[dessarious]

What Makes a Family? Pt26

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When they surfaced from her room at lunch, everyone was there. Mari honestly didn't know how they all fit at this point. Bruce and the boys were glaring at Luka for some reason, but Damian turned his on her once they were noticed.

"Melody, can we talk?" Luka wouldn't meet her eyes. Yeah, her Maman must have had an interesting talk with him. Before she could answer, Damian spoke up.

"What is Cain wearing?" She had no idea why he sounded insulted. They'd put together an outfit for her since all her clothes were at the hotel, and Mari looked it over again to try and figure out his issue with it.

"It's a dress and leggings." He looked like he was about to explode, but Cass signed something at him and he just sneered at them instead. The dress itself looked black at the top and faded to light blue at the bottom. It was offset to be mid-thigh on the right, flowing down to just below the knee on the left, and paired with midnight blue leggings. It's not like it was super girly or anything. "No concept of fashion, I take it. We'll have to fix that." Damian's glare intensified, but the other boys were snickering in the background. Even Tim, so he must have gotten some sleep finally.

"You look very nice, Cass." Bruce's tone was a bit pointed, but she could tell he meant it.

"Of course she does. Mari doesn't make trash." Mari had to cough to cover a laugh at Chloe's haughty tone. At least until Dick, Jason, and Tim started yelling about not being the first to get something from her. At least that's what she thought they were yelling about. Mari rolled her eyes before gesturing Luka up to her room. Once she closed the door, he didn't seem to know what to say.

"Maman really scared you didn't she?" He winced.

"She called the Captain and told her about it. She explained what I was doing in... colorful terms. I didn't realize... I'm sorry." Oh. She couldn't even imagine that conversation.

"Um... how did she take us all being in a relationship?" They hadn't told the Captain about it simply because Luka was worried she'd slip and tell Juleka. Honestly, of all their parents, she was the one Mari was least concerned about.

"At the moment, she thinks both of you are too good for me. And I'd have to agree." She sighed and put a hand on his chest.

"You have a good heart, and you feel too much from other people. I get that. But sometimes you need to let people hurt. You need to let them work through things in their own time. Just because you think you see the answer, doesn't mean it's the right time, or even always the right answer. I need you to let me do things at my pace. Please."

"I'll do my best, but you're probably going to have to point out when I'm crossing a line. I'm not always sure when it's helping or interfering." She had to roll her eyes at that.

"You talk to the person you're trying to help instead of running off and fixing it the way you think it should be fixed. If you're going around the person, then you can assume it's interference." She could actually see the concept click in his mind.

"Oh." He frowned and seemed to retreat into his thoughts. After a few minutes, she moved a hand up to his cheek to get him to focus back on her.

"I know you just want to help. It's part of the reason I love you. You just need to be more careful with how you go about it." She leaned in to kiss his other cheek when a cough sounded from the trapdoor. They turned to see Bruce frowning at them.

"I really don't think you two should be up here alone." Fantastic. She was really hoping to not have this conversation, but apparently her luck was off.

"That's really none of your business. Maman and Papa are fine with it, and that's all that matters, since this is their house. However, if it bothers you that much, feel free to send Kagami up as well." The glare he sent her had probably backed down some of his villains, but she just raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn't about to let him think it was okay to treat her like a child or boss her around. "Not to mention, if we were going to be doing anything 'inappropriate', the door would have been locked."

Bruce sputtered for a moment and turned a shade of purple she hadn't seen before. Served him right. Eventually, he went back down the stairs, but left the door open. Because that was obviously going to keep anything from happening. Luka laughed quietly.

"Do you really think that was a good idea?" She just shrugged at him.

"I'm not about to let someone that barely knows me try to change how I live my life." Luka wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into him. Then Kagami poked her head up, looking confused.

"Bruce said you wanted to see me?" Mari let out a groan, but Luka just chuckled.

"Come in and lock the door, please." Kagami gave her an odd look, but did as asked. If Bruce wanted to play this game, he was going to have to deal with the consequences.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to antagonize him? You don't want him getting Akumatized." She blinked at Luka in confusion for a moment before she realized they had no idea what happened last night.

"Hawkmoth won't be an issue for a couple of days, and he needs to figure out that he's not the parent."

"Why won't he be a problem?" Kagami's voice was mostly anger, but she could tell it was hiding worry.

"Plagg got rid of a few Akumas and said the backlash should knock him out. Maybe he'll let up on the constant stream of stupidity, since he likely has no idea what happened." It would be nice to have breaks in between battles again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" While expected, Luka's question just made her sigh. No, she really didn't.

"I was upset." A massive understatement, but they knew better than to push it. Luka hugged her tighter and Kagami moved closer to start rubbing her lower back. It was nice, until there was a pounding on the door, followed by Sabine's exasperated voice.

"You already went up there once without knocking. What did you expect her to do?" Mari felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out to find a text from Cass:

I think B is going to have a stroke ;)

At least someone saw how funny this was. Granted, she should probably go back down there before Bruce said or did something to really piss off her parents. She could see him trying to lecture them on parenting, and that was a sure way to get kicked out of the house. That or they'd somehow start up the argument about killing again.

"We could just leave from the roof and go to our houseboat. Let nature take its course." Kagami sounded serious, and Mari would admit it was tempting. "You can text Cass and tell her to meet us by the school." So very tempting.

"Better not. I would rather my Maman not kill anyone today. But if things don't get better, we can bail after lunch and say I want to show Cass the school before tomorrow."

"She's going to school with you? That should be interesting." Luka sounded less than enthused.

"The real question is which one is going to go after Lila for insulting the other one?" Kagami was joking, but the thought of Lila going after Cass made her blood boil. She tried anything and her little house of cards was going to get set on fire.

"Hopefully, if she sees that look on Mari's face, she'll be too scared to do anything." She just gave Luka an annoyed glare.

"Given why Alya was Akumatized, I have a feeling she'll have bigger issues than trying anything with us. If she decides to try anyway, it's her funeral." Luka winced.

"You do realize that means you're going to have to deal with Alya right? Are you prepared for that?"

"I'm not sure it's possible to be prepared for something like that. I'll have Cass there, so it will make certain things easier. As for the rest... I'll just have to deal with it as it comes." Nothing about this was going to be easy. More pounding came from the trapdoor. "I'm so tempted to just stay up here longer every time he does that."

"You said you didn't want Sabine killing anyone today, remember?" Luka sounded far too amused.

"I suppose." She trudged over to the door before unlocking it and flinging it open. Bruce was there, ready to knock again. "You are a guest in this house and you're being extremely rude." Her tone was colder than she'd intended and he looked a bit stunned by it. She closed the door again, taking a deep breath. The stress must be getting to her more than she thought. Kagami came over to wrap her in a hug. You wouldn't know it by her attitude most of the time, but Kagami gave the best hugs.

"Everything will be alright, Daarin." The endearment calmed her down more than anything. Given how strict her mother was, Kagami didn't use them, especially not ones that weren't traditional, except with the two of them. She still wasn't comfortable using them when anyone else was around to hear. They'd told her it wasn't necessary, but she seemed determined for some reason. "You know I'm ready to impale anyone who upsets you." She huffed out a laugh.

"Love you too." Kagami tensed for a moment before relaxing. She still wasn't used to hearing that, and hadn't said it to Mari or Luka yet, but they knew. Kagami preferred actions to words, and she showed them constantly how she felt. "Alright, I suppose I'm ready to face the music." Luka rolled his eyes. He really didn't like that saying. 

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[silly-thinkings]

A gift from Cadmus Pt.4

Lex gently caressed his face as he finished up the last of his nightly skincare routine. The man wrapped his silk robe around his body and made his way to his bed. At his bedside, a duplicate of the rose he gave Y/n illuminated a soft glow. Using Magic wasn’t really his style, But it was the only way he could successfully invade Y/N’s mind. Gaining her trust will be far from easy. 

He smiled before dragging down his sleeping mask.  “Active dreamer aren’t we? Let’s see what’s on that mind of yours child.”

Darkness. As far as the eye could see. Y/n flew to where she thought was up but there was nothing. The silence calmed her in a way. No responsibility, no need to try for anything, y/n was free to just… exist. As she floated around the empty space she heard the sound of static, as if an old tv was turning on. The bright screen turned on above Y/n shocking the poor girl. As her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness On the screen Bruce stood with his back facing hers. She attempted to speak, but no sound was heard. Y/n pressed her hands on the screen and slammed it with all her might to no avail.

“She’s going to  cover for me. She’s been doing it anyway. You just don’t let her-” 

Y/n felt comfortable hearing Jasons voice, But Bruce shook his head “absolutely not. She’d be useless.”

Useless? 

Confused y/n attempted to call out to her family again.

“No, she’s too dangerous. A weapon cannot be controlled.” 

A new being entered the screen. Now Clark stood next to Bruce. He too had his back facing her. 

Y/n felt her chest tighten. It was hard to breathe, what was she watching? Why can’t she speak? She gripped her chest this was too much. 

Connor, Tim, and Dick appeared behind Jason. Y/n noticed string behind Connor. When she followed it her ragged breathing worsened. Y/N’s body suddenly jerked backwards. It was as if someone had yanked her hair to see the bigger picture. Y/N’s eyes widened at the very giant Megan holding onto marionette handles. 

She laughed “this is for your own good Y/n” 

No. No no NO! 

Y/n stepped back, horrified by the imagery in front of her. He pressed her hands on her head. laughter, random chatter, even car honks could be heard. 

Y/n couldn’t take it. She fell to her knees “stop. Stop it. I’m not useless, I can help. It’s not my fault. I’m trying!”

The crescendo of the noise drove her mad. But all sound fell silent as A gentle hand was placed on top of her head. Y/n shook at her spot, the sudden silence startling her. 

“It’s alright child. I’m here. I am proud.”

Y/n shakily looked up. Lex knelt infront of her with a gentle smile on his face “it’s ok.” He caresses her hair, the action greatly calming her. Her breathing still uncontrollable, eyes blurring her vision. Y/n pounced, hugging the bald man.

Lex was stunned. He didn’t expect her to… hug him. He slowly brought his hands down, returning the hug.

“They call you a weapon because they fear you Y/n. It’s human nature to fear what they do not understand.”

Y/n attempted to speak again but no volume could be heard. Lex’s words were cool as he continued to gently caress the girls head. Y/N’s breathing began to calm. Accepting the comfort.

“They’re right. You are a weapon. But a strong one child.” 

Lex rose her head and wiped her fallen tears. Y/N’s crying quelled as she looked at his facial features. She saw no lie in his words.

“Show them how strong you are. Prove to them that you are worth their time! Ill always be here for you dear girl.” 

6 Hours till…

Y/n gasped as she woke from her surreal nightmare. Her hands tightly gripped the sheets, looking around the unfamiliar room. Beads of sweat dripped down her face. 

Disgusted, Y/n wiped her face with the sheets. She heard the sounds of birds chirping outside the window. A roosters crowing accompanied the sound. “How did I get here?” 

Y/n remembered last night. Only Alfred showed up to her show. Alfred and Lex Luthor…

Beside the bed the mechanical flower bloomed and rotated slightly, grabbing Y/n attention. Gold, silver, ruby, diamond. All kinds of gems were bedazzled from the petals to the stem. Y/n gently picked up the flower, her eyes soaked in the beautiful creation. It calmed her as she remembered her dream. 

Y/n brought the artificial plant close to her face “You’re beautiful” 

The flower opened wider, it tilted its petals side to side. Y/n giggled “you’re sentient? Well. I know plants are but you are clearly not like any normal plant.” 

The flower swayed from side to side as if it were responding to her. Y/n bit her bottom lip. Connor had sphere and wolf. This was hers. It didnt matter that Lex gave it to her. The door opened slightly starting the girl. She held the flower close as she turned her head to the entrance of the room.  Clark wore his very classic blue and white stripped pajamas “hey. You’re up early.”

Y/n held the flower closer to her.  Shifting her weight “Had a bad dream.” 

“May I come in?” 

Y/n looked down. To her surprise the flower closed up. It was wilted again which greatly confused her.

“Sure…”

Clark entered, the soft yellow light from the hallway dimly lit up the room. When he sat on the bed the mattress tilted slightly. “It’s 6am.”

Y/n nodded her head slightly “the early bird gets the worm.”

Clark looked at the glass jar that housed the wilted flower. “Lex is a dangerous man.”

Y/n didn’t respond. Nor did she make eye contact. 

“He always has something up his sleeve. Be weary y/n I don’t think that’s safe.”

A dry chuckled escaped her lips “you speak like you’re any better.” Y/n began lightly tapping the glass. 

“I’m sorry?”

Y/n finally looked up at him. She began tapping her temple with her index finger “you know what was taken from me. You know why I can’t participate in missions. It’s cause I’m a weapon.” Y/n slightly tilted her head “right?”

Clark froze. An anxious feeling loomed over him. “I don’t know what you mean y/n. Are you ok?”

Y/n felt… good. She made The man of steel stress. A soft knock caught the attention of both beings. Louis stood at the door with breakfast on a mini table. “You must be hungry Y/n.”

Louis looked at Clark’s tense shoulders “I didn’t interrupt anything did I?”

Y/n smiled. She playfully shook her head “nope. Uncle Clark and I were just talking.” Y/n got up from bed and took the breakfast tray with ease she placed the flower on the corner  “thank you for the breakfast.”

Y/n left the two alone. Clark let out an exasperated sigh as he brushed his fingers through his hair. Louis sat beside him, placing a hand on his stiff shoulders. “Are you ok?”

“Something wrong with Y/n.”

~~ 3 hours till~

The football game was frustrating. It was already bad enough to play in a team that underestimated her because she was a girl. She watched the ball get intercepted by the opponent and groaned. “You guys suck.”

“Well I don’t see you doing anything princess!” 

Y/N’s eye twitched. She began hopping in place stretching her arms.  At the sound of the whistle their opponent got another point. 

Y/n can see clark in the distance throw his hat down. “C’mon! Get the ball!” Other parents from her team commented on Clark’s behavior, making y/n smile but only for a short while.

As the team set up for the last play. The quarterback attempted to push Y/n. Unfortunately for him, he bumped into what felt like steel. Y/n turned “pass me the ball.” She poked his chest hard “if you want to win”

“Whatever freak.” 

Clark heard the interaction and frowned. “You got this Y/n!” He clapped his hands in the hopes of motivating the girl. But her eyes, even from here he could see the cold sneer she gave him.

“Down… set… HIKE”

Y/n felt the ground beneath her sink as she channeled her strength to her calves then her feet. She skillfully dodged her opponents making herself wide open. Y/n watched the ball fly over her prompting her to run faster. 

“Bruce please.”

“Not now Alfred.”

“If not now when?”

Y/n heard Alfred and Bruce crystals clear. She looked around but they weren’t here. 

“Y/N! The ball!”

Y/n looked up. She came up short, the girl jumped making contact with the ball with her fingertips but it tipped over. Y/n landed on her back with a hard thud. The grass pricked at her skin. 

No, she can’t loose. Not like this. Not when Clark is watching. The world watching.

“Is she ok?”

“What an idiot”

“Waisted talent.”

Noise. More noise. Everything moved in slow motion as the football fell. The sound of the whistle ten times louder. Cheers and frustration all around. Y/n felt dizzy, she covered her ears as the noise intensified. Everything was too loud.  

“Pass the ball~ useless!” A teammate mocked.

The team crowded the poor girl. She brought her body as close a she could, like a ball. 

“what the hell y/n I thought you said you had it?”

“Princess of Gothem? More like a spoiled brat.”

Y/n pressed her hands to her ears as tightly she could. This was super hearing. Somehow she unlocked a new ability. And this one was annoying. However, she did hear Bruce and Alfred. Meaning she has enough range to listen to what they were currently saying. Y/n took deep breaths, ignoring all the noise, searching for the one thing she wanted to hear.

Clark pushed her so called team out the way. His hight was intimidating as he looked down on her peers “leave.”

Some blew a raspberry while others scurried off to their coach. Clark knelt down “Y/n what’s happening.”

The girl sucked her teeth. She looked at his offered hand and slapped it away before standing up herself.

The Kryptonian was taken aback with the response “hey… you did great out there im sure the next season wills be-“ 

“Where’s my rose?” 

Clark straightened his posture “in the car. Y/n what’s going on?”

Y/n pressed a hand to her ear “It would seem I’ve acquired super hearing. Now if you’ll excuse me.” 

Y/n attempted to move past Clark but he stepped in front of her “sorry… given your behavior I’m not letting you go near that thing.” 

“Not… letting.. me.” 

Clark watched as Y/n knelt on one knee. Maybe the pain of the superhearing was getting too much? This could be a great teaching moment. 

Y/n made sure her cleats were firmly on the grass “who said I needed your permission.” 

It happened fast. So fast in fact you’d probably mistake her for a speedster. Y/n slammed all of her strength on her left foot, not caring for the multiple eye witnesses. She needed to leave. She needed her rose. She needed to know what the hell Bruce and Alfred were talking about. 

Clark saw everything but he didn’t move. If he wanted to he could catch up to her but when and how did she have such skill with her powers. Connor didn’t even possess that level of skill when he came out his pod.

Clark reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone: 

“Bruce. Something wrong with Y/n call me” 

**Send** ~Meanwhile~

 Bruce interlocked his fingered looking upon the many screens. 

One of them was a text from Clark. He didn’t read it but he did notice Y/n. Many cases consumed him, he was thankful Tim had been helping. However, no Jason. His son decided it would be best if he stole on of his motorcycles. 

“One night Bruce. The ONE night you promised to show up and you’ve failed.” 

Alfred’s words were snappy and cold. His disappointment strong. Bruce didn’t turn around to face him. Instead he leaned back “I’m sorry Alfred. I’ll make it up to her when I’m done.” 

“W-what make it up to her? You’ll need to do more then that Bruce. She cried for you. Don’t you understand? That child has been carrying a burden all this time and you think it’ll be easy to make it up to her?”

The room fell silent once more. Of course Bruce had nothing to say.

“Of all people Lex Luthor made an appearance.”

Now Bruce was paying attention. He turned in his seat to face the Butler “what did he want?”

Alfred closed his eyes “nothing Bruce. He did something that you should have done. He even gave her a gift that-“

“And you let her keep it?”

Bruce turned back around facing a computer. He typed some things to see a red dot moving particularly fast, leaving metropolis “I thought you said she was with Clark…” Alfred also looked at the screen. He felt slight unease watching the tracker weave around “I left her there for the night. Something mustve happened in the game.”

Another alert popped up on the screen, a broadcast all throughout Ghothem. Bruce’s face fell at the horror that was on his screen.

“Oh batsyyy! I got one of your little birds~” The Joker sang ~~~

2 hours till…

Connor placed both hands on his face. The sounds of his team scrambling to find both Jason and Y/n was unnerving.

“Its ok, we’ll find them” Megan placed a hand on his hoping to calm connor down but it didnt work.

“I missed her game, I wasn’t even invited to her end of the year performance because of how busy ive been.” Connor stood “This is no time to be sitting here.

The zeta tubes announced Y/n’s presence. Connor and Megan quickly went to the entrance but were shocked at Y/n’s appearance.

She wore the same black domino mask that the rest of the bats use on her face. A black dress with white shoes and a Flower circled around her, the most off thing she wore however were the thick noise canciling headphones.

Megan stopped moving but Connor approached his younger sister giving her a big hug “where have you been?we’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Megan noticed the lack of response from the girl. Her eyes cold and locked on to hers. She didnt even return the hug her brother gave. Majority of young Justice were present.

“Y/n cant know about whats happening with Jason. Keep her clear from the mission room.” Dick spoke through the mind link.

“Connor, get away from her. Somethings not right.”“Whats wrong?”“Y/n is acting totally strange. Theres also a creepy flower circling her.”Dick saw Zetannas face fell “Im on my way. Dont anger at all.”As she turned to leave Dick grabbed her arm “what do you know?”

“That flower could very much be a Familiar that amplifies negative emotions. How the hell could she have gotten something like that?” Connor heard everything that was said through the mind link. He slowly stood, but when he attempted to move away Y/n took his hand in hers.

“I would love to show you something big brother. Its about your girlfriend.” Y/n held onto connors hand in a vice grip. Y/n began walking to the living area “You too Megan, I dont want you left out.”

Connor and Megan looked at each other then back at Y/n. “Sit, get comfy.” Unbeknownst to them Y/n was all kinds of excited. Today would be the day she would expose the martian for all her misdeeds. She connected the laptop to the television and skillfully hacked into their cameras. Magan noticed the dates she was inputting and stood “Y/n what are you doing.”

Y/n’s grin was wide when she pressed play. The two watched as Magan erased Connors memories all thoes years ago.

“Its for your own good” Y/n said at the same time as Megan did in the video. Connor looked to His girlfriend then back to the screen. “What is this?”

Y/n couldnt contain her giggle. She pressed another button to show The meeting. Magan stood “Its not what it looks like Connor.”

He ignored her and continued to watch the screen with Y/n. she continuously tapped her temple with her finger “She played us Connor. She’s the reason why I can join missions. She used you Connor.”

Zettanna finally showed herself. She casted a spell towards Y/n but the girl was fast. Y/n lifted one of her legs and slammed it to the ground initiating her flight. “Problem?”

“Y/n give me the flower now.”

Y/n held onto her stomach as she laughed. The kid of maniacal laughter youd hear a villain do “Lex gave this to me. He was the only one that bothered to show up at my performance.”

Connor glared at Megan, the teen attempted to reach to him only for him to back away “We’re done”

He didnt let her speak as he himself jumped up to grab his sister. To his surprise it worked. When connor landed Zetanna ran up to them and grabbed the flower.

“Let me go! Connor! I showed you the truth and this is how you treat me!”

“Y/n stay still. This isnt like you.” Connor couldnt believe the strength his sister was dishing out. Zetanna grabbed the flower and threw it down right in front of her. Y/N let out a horrible scream as a black cloud left her body. Dick and Kalduer, all ran out to the scene. Connor finally let go and layed on his back breathing heavy. She was way too strong for a girl that size. Y/n crawled to the broken flower. Her quiet sobs grew as she tried to fix it “Why… why why why WHY! Its not… SHEs the one that ruined everything! Not me” Y/n screamed again at the loss of her new companion before bolting towards Megan. The martian flew high to dodge as best she could but Y/n grabbed her ankle and threw her to the other side of the room.

Dick couldnt belive the sight of his preciouse sister. She was animalistic in a way. He reached into his shoe and pulled out Kryptonite. Y/n’s knees wobbled as she fell to the floor.

“You too…”

All this betrayal. Y/n felt her heart tightened as the people who she once called family look at her like she was the monster. The only person who cared it seemed were Alfred and Jason. Y/n’s fetal attempt of escape was sad.

“Guys I found where the jokers keeping Jason!” Garfield came running out with a proud smile only for him to see the state of everyone.

Y/n looked up. Dick turned letting his guard down only slightly. Jason was taken. By the Joker. No… no way in hell will she let anything happen to someones whos had her back all this time. “Where. Is he…”

Dick Finally looked down at his sister while still holding onto the Kryptonite. She felt a light pinch on her neck before everything went black. Dick put the stone away, picking her up. “I'll take her to the cave… inform Batman about this.

1 hour till

[just-another-blog-of-fluff]

A Game of Jealousy

Word count: 4050

This one is focused more from Loki's perspective, lots of fluff (and tickles!) Guest starring Bucky 😎

* * *

Loki never needed anyone to make him happy. He’d spent the better part of his life on his own, learning to rely on himself and not others for comfort. He’d been lied to his entire life by his parents, and while his relationship with his brother was at least improving gradually over time, he still remained very guarded, afraid that anyone he let in would only hurt him the way everyone else in his life had done. No, Loki felt he was better off alone.

That is, until he met you.

You had joined the team about a year ago, just a few months after Loki himself had finally given in to his brother’s persistent requests for him to move into the Avengers tower. The others were polite enough, but Loki could still sense the fear and anger in their eyes when they looked his way. Thor insisted they would warm up to him over time if he’d just try to be more sociable, but it was difficult to bring himself to want to spend time with people who burned holes into his soul with their eyes.

The day you had arrived to move into the tower to join the team, your few belongings in hand, his curiosity was piqued almost instantly. Steve had showed you around that first day, introducing you to all the members of the team. Loki had been in the study, reading in one of the oversized armchairs Tony had furnished the place with, when he saw Steve walking by the doorway with you in tow. You’d paused for a moment, taking a few paces backward to peek inside the room, eyes trained on Loki. He had braced himself for the inevitable exclamation of surprise and fear when you realized that you were living in the same building as the monster who tried to take over the city.

But it never came. You had merely smiled at him, waving in greeting, and introduced yourself as you would with anyone else. Even when he told you his name, your eyes lit up in recognition, but without an ounce of fear. You had hurried along to catch up with Steve after expressing your pleasure to have met him, a slight bounce in your step as you disappeared from sight.

He couldn’t deny it – he was intrigued by you.

Loki’s interest only grew as he began to get to know you more over the next couple of months. The first day he had seen you working with Natasha in the training room, you had impressed him with your grit and determination, not to mention the graceful ferocity with which you fought. And you were smart, too. He’d never forget the day Tony was teasing you, and you’d come up with such a witty retort that even Tony had to applaud you.

Unfortunately, Loki wasn’t the only one in the tower who had started noticing you.

As you became more integrated with the team, the others began to get more physically affectionate toward you. You spent a lot of time with Wanda, often leaning against her on the couch as you watched TV or giving her hand a squeeze when one of you was excited about something. Steve often put a comforting hand on your shoulder after a rough day of training or patted your back in encouragement when you came back from a successful mission. The friendly gestures never bothered Loki to any significant degree.

But there were other team members, notably single team members, whose advances tended to irk him more than the others. Thor was one of the worst offenders, as it was in his nature to wrap any one of his friends into a giant bear hug whenever he saw them. Bucky often liked to push your buttons, teasing you and egging you on until you’d start play wrestling with him on the couch. Even Bruce, on occasion, would wrap an arm around you in a side hug and squeeze you against his side for a moment in silent thanks whenever you’d help him with something in the lab.

He wasn’t jealous, of course. He just… wished they’d give you more personal space sometimes.

You were physically affectionate with Loki as well, which took some time for him to get used to at first. Once Loki started swallowing his pride and began initiating conversations with you instead of waiting for you to talk to him, the two of you became fast friends. He found he didn’t mind it when you squeezed his arm after a jump scare during team movie night, or if you rested your head on his shoulder on a long plane ride home from a mission. Dare he say… he even enjoyed it a bit. Recently, he’d developed enough confidence to initiate physical contact with you himself – giving you a quick hug goodnight when walking you to your room after a late-night conversation or resting his hand on your knee when sitting side by side on the couch.

Yes, you were someone he was willing to tolerate.

One evening, Loki was wandering through the compound, trying to find a quiet place to sit and read. Normally he lounged in the study, but it seemed Peter had overtaken the room with his schoolbooks as he studied frantically for one of his final exams the next day, and he showed no signs of leaving. He decided it would be easiest just to read in his room tonight but decided to swing by the kitchen to grab a glass of water before making his way back there.

As he paced down the hallway, a sound coming from the common room captured his attention. He drew near enough to the door to elucidate that it was your bright, infectious laughter that he was hearing. His heart swelled at the sound. Loki very much enjoyed making you laugh, often telling you embarrassing stories of Thor from their childhood, or otherwise whispering inappropriate jokes in your ear during team meetings, just so he could hear you snort before erupting with giggles. He reached the common room and stood in the doorway, trying to identify the cause for your hysterics.

You and Bucky were sitting on the large sofa in the common room. Although, admittedly, you couldn’t really call it sitting. You were leaning away from the super soldier, giggling frantically and swatting at his hands as he wiggled his fingers into your sides.

“Buckyhyhy! Cut it out!” you ordered, grasping at his wrists. Bucky’s agile hands evaded yours, poking and prodding at your belly and sides.

“What? What’s the matter? I thought you said you weren’t ticklish,” he teased, squeezing gently above your kneecaps, and eliciting a squeal.

A pang of jealousy stung in Loki’s chest. He had discovered your ticklishness a few months ago himself, having accidentally jabbed you a bit too gently in the side during an impromptu sparring session. When he dug his fingers into your torso with more intent, you had shrieked and laughed, but hadn’t pushed away as hard as he knew you could. He interpreted it as you enjoying the playfulness, or at least not minding it all that much. Since then, he had experimented on occasion, proudly discovering over time that you were definitely most sensitive right along your ribs where your back and sides met. He delighted in the silly, giggly mess you became when he scribbled his fingers into that spot, practically melting into his side as your muscles weakened with laughter.

Now, watching you and Bucky as he tested out your vulnerable spots, he felt his throat tighten a bit. He knew he had to find a way to interrupt this little exchange without letting on how he was really feeling inside. Luckily, the God of Mischief knew how to tell a good lie, and above all he most definitely knew how to spin a partial truth.

“You’re doing it wrong, Barnes,” he called into the room, leaning with his forearm propped against the doorway. Both you and Bucky glanced up at him, Bucky’s fingers slowing a bit against the back of your knee but not quite stopping.

“L-Lokihihi! Help!” you pleaded, a bright smile on your face, cheeks tinged with the exertion of your laughter. His heart skipped a bit at the request, proud that you would seek his assistance to escape the winter soldier. But he had to hold firm in his resolve. He couldn’t let you think he was soft for you, after all.

“Now, why would I want to do that? It’s so entertaining to watch you squirm.” He flashed you an evil grin, slowly striding into the room. “Move over, Barnes. Allow me to demonstrate.”

Bucky obliged, an equally mischievous smirk on his face. “Please, do tell!”

Loki motioned to you to scoot closer to Bucky so he could sit on your other side, gently pushing you over when you refused to make space for him on your own accord. You were now sandwiched between him and the super soldier, glancing nervously between the two men. In a desperate attempt to escape, you suddenly leapt to your feet to make a run for the door. Loki predicted your movement, his hands pulling you back down by your waist before you could even fully stand up.

“Ah, ah! You won’t be going anywhere, darling,” Loki teased, holding you in place while he leaned around you to look at Bucky. He ignored your desperate protests in favor of keeping you trapped there beside him. “Now then. First, you must understand that you won’t be able to access her worst spot until you weaken her adequately. Personally, I enjoy beginning right here.” He slid his hands slid around your waist to your belly, fingers drumming tauntingly against your T-shirt. Loki felt your muscles stiffen immediately under his touch, which made him grin.

“Loki! What the hell! Why are you helpihiHING HIHIHIM?” Your scolding of your mischievous friend was made much less intimidating as giggles bubbled from your lips once again, Loki’s fingers having sprung into action, expertly skimming across your belly. Your hands closed around his wrists and tugged to try to remove them from your sensitive torso, but Loki maintained his hold on you.

“Ah, yes, I see that is quite effective,” Bucky noted somberly, his eyes flashing. “Please, continue to show me your ways.”

“Notice that she will continue to fight you when you tickle her here, but trust that her laughter is slowly beginning to weaken her,” Loki continued, conversing casually as if he weren’t torturing you. “However, if you aren’t cautious-“

“Ha!” you shouted triumphantly, having twisted out of his grip and jumped to your feet.

“-she may find a way to escape.”

“That is unfortunate,” Bucky lamented. “What do you suggest if that were to occur?”

“No! No suggestions!” you demanded, defiantly holding out a hand toward the boys to protect yourself. Loki raised his eyebrows, looking up at you with a serious expression, although he was unable to prevent a smirk from pulling at the corners of his lips. You appeared so much more composed on the battlefield and in the training room – seeing you so disheveled, yet still with an involuntary smile on your face, made a thrill run through Loki’s chest.

“If she does escape,” Loki continued, completely disregarding your protests, and trying desperately not to start laughing at your adorably indignant expression, “you simply need to ensure you have a backup plan. Catch her off guard, if you will. Like this-“

Taking advantage of his inhuman speed, he lunged forward and grabbed your leg just behind your knee, causing your leg to buckle unexpectedly beneath you. He chuckled as he watched you stumble a bit on your other leg to try to remain standing but couldn’t maintain your balance and toppled to the floor. Loki swiftly took advantage of your bewilderment at finding yourself suddenly on the ground, standing up and grabbing hold of your ankle.

“Now, you won’t find her worst spot on her legs or feet, but she is most definitely still sensitive here – this can serve to weaken her resolve further,” Loki continued, fully aware that he was causing a blush to rise in your cheeks now as he tugged on your ankle to straighten your leg, yanking you onto your back. You began cursing at him, which he quickly silenced by dusting his fingertips across the sole of your trapped foot. He had discovered this spot a few weeks ago, when you had refused to move your legs to allow him a place to sit. Not to be deterred, he had plopped himself down atop your shins, grinning at you as he had tested your reaction to his fingers dragging up the bottoms of your feet. The frenzied giggles this elicited from you were some of his favorites, only encouraging him to want to continue with the torment.

“But what about her knees? Will that help to weaken her resolve?” Bucky queried, smirking down at you as you shot him a glare.

“Allow me to show you,” Loki obliged, his hand moving to scratch against the delicate underside of your knee. You snorted, then, and he nearly broke his façade by laughing aloud. He experimentally pinched your calf muscle gently, just below your knee, and was not disappointed by your sudden violent jerking of your leg away from his touch. “Ah, a new weak spot. You see, even being an expert at tormenting our little friend, you can still learn something new.” Loki was speaking to Bucky but kept his eyes trained on you, smirking as you beat your fist against the floor in protest.

“I thought wehehe were friends!!” you cried through your laughter. Feeling somewhat merciful, Loki paused his torture and lowered your leg back to the ground, offering you a hand up.

“I apologize, darling; are you tired of this?” Loki asked, holding a hand down to you in offering to help you to your feet. He kept his hand outstretched as you sat up on the floor, your eyes fixed on his, brows furrowed as if trying to decipher whether he was tricking you. Hesitantly, you took his hand. Your skin was pleasantly warm against his own, which almost made him regret what he was about to do.

Almost.

No sooner had your feet rooted onto the ground beneath you did he grab hold of your arm, spinning you around and wrapping both arms tight around your waist. He wasted no time dragging you backward so your back was flush against his chest, his ticklish touch making its way to your lower ribs. You let out a shriek, followed by rambunctious belly laughter. He relished in the feeling of your giggles vibrating against his chest as he tightened his grip around your waist, holding fast against your desperate thrashing.

“If you can convince the girl to trust you,” he continued, having to speak loudly to be heard over your squealing, “an unwise decision, honestly,” he added, his voice rumbling low in your ear, “you may be able to trick her into falling into your trap.” You screamed his name as he walked his fingers agonizingly slowly up your ribcage, your fingers hooking around his wrists and pulling desperately at his hands.

“An excellent tip, thanks for that,” Bucky teased. You whined at his words, which somehow only made your laughter even more adorable. Loki had the sudden urge to squeeze you tighter and nuzzle his nose into your neck, but he thought that you might interpret such a gesture as a flirtatious advance, and he didn’t want to spoil this little game.

At this point you were doubled over, hands weakly tugging at Loki’s fingers as your muscles began to fatigue. Loki could sense that you were leaning more and more of your weight on his arms as you tired, forcing him to tighten his grip even further to keep you from collapsing onto the floor. He slowed his torment a bit, allowing you a moment to rest. You gasped for air, your chest heaving under his forearms with every breath.

“Notice, Barnes, that she has weakened considerably by this point,” Loki explained, continuing under the ruse of showing Bucky how to torture you. “It is only at this level of exhaustion that you will be able to target her one true weak spot.”

Loki felt you jolt at his suggestion, twisting your torso as much as you could in his vice-like grip to look back at him, wide-eyed. You shook your head, pleading with him. He hardened his expression, albeit with some difficulty as he was struggling to wipe the smile off his face, and he splayed his fingers across your ribs so his fingertips rested just along that overly sensitive spot near your back on each side. You were already giggling, bracing yourself for the inevitable torment that was to come.

“Ahahahaha… please Loki, you dohohon’t have to do thihihis!” you begged, pouting at him. Loki couldn’t help but laugh at that, his heart melting at your tiny frown and protruding bottom lip. For a moment, he considered releasing you. But then again, he was getting drunk off of your sweet laughter, and he wasn’t ready for it to stop.

“Sorry, love – I have to show Barnes how to tickle you properly,” he lamented, a faux sympathetic smile on his lips. Before you could beg him once more and break his resolve, he went in for the kill, fingers drilling into the crevices between your ribs. You screeched, torso jerking in his grip for a moment before going limp as you accepted your fate. Loki knew exactly how to tickle you, his fingers expertly vibrating against your ribcage until your laughter became silent. He finally relented after that, loosening his hold so you could catch your breath but not releasing you yet.

With his arms loosened, he could lean around to get a better view of your face. Your cheeks were bright, small tears of mirth collecting in the corners of your eyes. You still had a smile plastered across your face, so wide it caused your nose to scrunch up the tiniest bit. Loki’s heart fluttered at the sight of you, pleased that he had been the cause of your giddy laughter.

“That was an excellent demonstration,” Bucky observed, winking at you as you groaned. “Could I give it a go?”

Loki hesitated, and you stiffened, already arguing with the super soldier. He had anticipated this might occur, given he was supposedly teaching Bucky how to tickle you ‘correctly.’ Still, the idea of having to watch Bucky’s fingers skittering over your belly or scribbling into your knees made his throat burn with jealousy. If he refused, though, he would almost surely give away his feelings.

Reluctantly, though he hid it well, Loki motioned for Bucky to take his place behind you, releasing you only once Bucky’s arms snaked around your waist. Your pleas for mercy were quickly drowned out by your laughter once again as Bucky’s fingers spidered along your ribcage.

“You weren’t kidding – this is much more effective,” Bucky noted, your resolve already weakened from the prior bout of torment. Loki watched as you leaned involuntarily backward into the winter soldier, your head resting back against his shoulder as you submitted to his ticklish onslaught. Loki’s fingers contracted into a tight fist at his side, willing himself not to intervene and give away his displeasure. But damn it, if watching Bucky’s fingers exploring your ticklish sides wasn’t setting a fire in his belly. It felt as though someone had grabbed hold of his heart in his chest and was squeezing it painfully tightly in their clutches.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

Knowing you wouldn’t appreciate if he lashed out at your friend, Loki placed a firm hand on Bucky’s forearm, urging him to stop without saying a word. Confusion etched itself into Bucky’s features as he stilled his fingers against your sides, his grip around you loosening. Your eyes were shimmering with exertion as you looked up at Loki pleadingly.

“I believe she has had enough for today,” Loki stated sternly. He took a step toward the two of you, swiftly scooping you up bridal style in his arms without a second thought. You let out a squeak of surprise as your feet left the ground, your arms instinctively reaching up to wrap around Loki’s neck to stabilize yourself. He turned back around with you in his arms, looking Bucky in the eye. “I’ll be taking her now, thank you.”

Bucky held Loki’s gaze, his face contorting from confusion to surprise, then finally to a knowing smirk. He nodded in approval, waving him off nonchalantly as he returned to his original seat on the couch and turned on the television. Loki carried you out of the room, a fuzzy warmth spreading through his chest as you began to giggle once again, leaning your head into his shoulder.

He arrived at your room, opening the door with his magic so as not to risk dropping you, then turned to avoid striking your head on the doorframe as he carried you inside. Carefully, he set you down on your bed. You sat up, your legs dangling off the edge of the bed as you smiled up at him.

“Your savior has rescued you from the winter soldier’s clutches,” Loki teased, smirking.

“Excuse me – my savior? If I recall, you were the one who nearly tickled me to death,” you retorted, playfully shoving him as he sat down beside you on the bed.

“You enjoyed every minute of it, love,” he smirked, giving you a swift poke in the side to make you jump. You smirked back at him with mischief in your eyes.

“You know, I know exactly what you were doing back there.” Something in your calculated gaze made Loki’s heartbeat quicken ever so slightly.

“Is that so? And what is it you think I was doing?” Loki asked, trying to keep his tone casual and sarcastic to avoid giving himself away. You leaned closer to him, bravely holding his gaze.

“You were jealous of Bucky,” you declared. “You couldn’t stand to see him with his hands on me, even when it was as innocent as tickling. You don’t think I noticed?”

Loki opened his mouth to retort, but for quite possibly the first time in his life, the silver-tongued god was at a loss for words. You maddeningly perceptive thing. You’d seen straight through his little façade and into his heart. Your eyes glowed with the triumph of having silenced the God of Mischief with just a simple observation.

“Do you deny it?” you queried, your grin expanding. Loki sighed, recognizing he’d been caught.

“No, love. I can’t deny it.”

“Good.” Your hand reached up to touch his cheek, leaning forward and pressing your lips against his. The shock of your sudden advance was quickly replaced by elation, and Loki kissed you back fervently. His hands found your waist, gently grasping your hips with enough weight in his touch to keep from tickling you. He felt you smile sweetly against his lips. When you finally broke away, Loki lifted his hands to cup your face, resting his forehead against yours. “Now then – I believe I’m owed some payback for the torture you just put me through…”

“Oh, really?” Loki raised his eyebrows at you, grinning playfully. “And how do you intend to execute such revenge?”

“Hmm… Maybe I’ll just take a page out of your book.” The mischief in your eye reminded him uncannily of himself. He suddenly felt your delicate fingers squeezing into his side, making him jolt. Your face lit up with pure joy as you witnessed his reaction.

Oh, he couldn’t be having that.

His arms were wrapped around you in a flash, dragging you into his chest and leaning backward until you were lying on top of his chest in his arms, eliciting a squeal. He leaned in close, his lips right beside your ear.

“Darling, you don’t want to be doing that.”

The room was soon filled with your frantic giggles once again. But this time, you really didn’t try to get away. Because in all honesty, he was right before – you loved every minute of it.

[nebulablakemurphy]

Miss American Pie

Chapter Five: This Will Be The Day (Finale)

Warning: this series features a romantic Yelena Belova x Fem!Reader pairing.

Summary: Everyone has returned but the battle for humanity against Thanos wages on.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

You wake in a coughing fit, the rubble surrounding you sears your lungs. “Natasha.” You call into the rocks and flickering lights. Clearing your throat, you try again. “Natasha!”

“Here, I’m here.” Her voice is rough, pained.

You push yourself toward the sound, through the dust you can make out her hair. “You ok?”

“Mostly.” She’s laying face up, a few scratches visible.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I can’t move.” She nods at the piece of collapsed cement. “My leg is broken, you should go.” Nat says, staring up at the sky.

“I should’ve never let you go to Vormir. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” You try uselessly to budge the blockage over her leg.

“What is Vormir?” She asks.

“Doesn’t matter.” You swallow the lump in your throat. “How much do you remember?”

“The red room.”

“Do you remember getting out?”

“No one gets out.” She shakes her head.

“We did.” You inform her. “Yelena did.”

“Yelena?” Her gaze finds yours. “You know Yelena? Is she here?”

“Yes, I know her.” You press your lips together. “She’s not here though.”

“The rest of this building is coming down. If you were really trained in the red room you have to know that.” Natasha frowns. “You need to leave.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Don’t be a hero.” She whispers. “Let me go, it’s ok.”

“No, it’s not.” You argue. “I won’t do it again.”

“What about Yelena?” Natasha gives you a pointed look.

“She’ll understand.” This is what she would do.

“Hey,” Natasha pushes herself up on her elbows. “Would it be a good thing or a bad thing if a giant man in a metal suit carrying a smaller man and a raccoon appeared behind your head?”

You turn toward the man in question. Scott Lang. “It would be a good thing.”

———————————————————————

Natasha is taken somewhere safe. She can’t fight.

As the strange doctor and his disciples start opening portals you see that you’re not alone. Through one comes Alexei, Melina and Yelena.

Her white suit is pristine, dirty blonde hair held away from her face in ponytails.

On shaky legs you move toward her, taking your rightful place at her side. Facing what lies ahead together.

Yelena catches your hand, “this isn’t much of a welcome home.”

You can’t help but laugh, “pretty cool way to die though.”

“Very,” she agrees. “Natasha?”

“She is a little worse for wear.” You warn her, “but alive…and safe.”

Yelena gives you a watery smile, squeezing your fingers. “And you?”

“A tower fell on me.”

“Of course it did.”

Thanos’ army is nothing to scoff at. Giant airborne creatures hover over his troops. Larger monsters stand in their ranks, space ship overhead ready to destroy.

Steve is almost unrecognizable, covered in dirt, his shield battered and broken. But you know it is time when he gives the order. “Avengers, assemble.”

Fighting is easy, it’s what you know. What you were trained to do. Fight to stay alive, fight for what you believe in, fight with Yelena; for Yelena.

The two of you move together like a well oiled machine. Like riding a bike, even after all this time you could never forget.

“We’ve got company to the left.” Yelena says through gritted teeth, kicking at the alien creature beside her. Dropping an empty cartridge to the ground and reloading her gun seamlessly, firing several shots.

Despite everyone’s best efforts they just keep coming. “Do we have a plan here?”

“Getting there,” Steve replies. “Anybody have eyes on the gauntlet?”

“Yeah!” Clint rushes past you with the glove in hand. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Get it out of here!” Tony insists.

“What’s happening?” Alexei shouts over the chaos. “I still don’t have ear piece.”

“Just keep their army away from that guy in the tank top.” You grunt, falling backwards from the force of one of Thanos’ soldiers colliding with you.

“We have to get the stones back where they came from.” Rhodey reminds everyone.

“The time space tunnel is completely collapsed.” Tony points out.

“That isn’t our only time machine.” Lang cuts in.

“Does anyone see an ugly brown van out there?” Captain America’s voice hums through the ear bud.

“I do,” a female voice chimes in. “But you’re not going to like where it’s parked.”

After grappling for far too long, you manage to knock the creature from you. Using your knife to dismember it.

“Next time, we get the cool laser guns.” Yelena yells loud enough to be heard by everyone on the network, as she hauls you to your feet.

“Friday, please add laser guns for the ballerinas to my grocery list.” Stark gives his smart ass remark.

“What’s the word on the van?” Rhodey wonders.

“Working on it now.”

The ship at Thanos’ disposal begins raining fire, no regard for their own troops.

“We’ve got people going down!” Rocket hollers.

“Clint,” you call into the microphone. “How’s that gauntlet?”

“Moving down the field.” The archer replies, “I’m alright too, thanks for asking.”

“Good.” You bite back a smile.

Hell continues breaking loose around you. Glowing circular orbs unfold in the air above, providing coverage from the missiles. You’re not sure if this is winning or losing. It feels like a bit of both.

———————————————————————- Thanos and his army are dusted away. Leaving you surprised and still swinging as the shock wears off.

You won. You. Won.

And you lost.

You lost Tony Stark. The man you’d barely known, but offered you clarity that will stay with you forever.

You lost the Natasha you’d come to know over the five years that Yelena was gone. Some parts of the redhead stripped away for the price of the stone.

But she’s still here. Waiting in the wings to be greeted by Yelena and their little makeshift family. You share a look of understanding when your eyes meet over the blonde’s shoulder.

Others come, Banner refuses to leave her side. Despite the fact that Natasha doesn’t remember him.

Clint falls to the ground at her feet. Breaking down at the sight of his friend, his family alive and well. She doesn’t remember him either, but welcomes him into her arms somewhat awkwardly.

Her expressions flicker from happy to overwhelmed. Hesitant to open herself up to the possibility that she is wanted, needed and loved.

Too confusing for the girl who only remembers the red room. Adjusting to this life will take time.

Everyone begins clearing out, their jobs finished. Rushing home to reunite with their loved ones. Tomorrow will bring about new challenges. The world is in shambles, and so are you.

Steve decides that he should be the one to return the stones. His goodbye tells you that he has a bit more in mind. But this is his life. His choices, not yours.

“Well, I guess we should head out too.” You say after a while. Your car is gone, lost in the wreckage from the explosion.

The setting sun is eclipsed, causing all of you to turn your gaze upwards just in time to see the ship’s door open.

“Is that a raccoon?” Melina asks, pointing toward Rocket.

“Do you want a ride or not?” Rocket shoots back.

“Not the avenger’s super jet, but it will do huh?” Alexei smiles, this is his dream.

“This is better!” A man’s voice carries down from the interior.

“Well,” Yelena shrugs, “if you say so.” She leads the pack up the ramp and onto the ship.

“Fanny and the pigs will be expecting dinner soon.”

“How are they?” Melina asks, “have you been taking care of them.”

“That was me!” Alexei says proudly, bending at the waist to gather Natasha into his arms. “Aye honey,” he grunts, hoisting her up. “You are only little girl in my heart.”

Nat pushes against his chest in retaliation.

“Do you mind if I hitch a ride too?” Clint asks.

“The extra stop will cost you,” Nebula stares blankly at him from her seat.

“They always do.” He remarks, trotting up the ramp.

Bruce paces at the foot of the metal grate, watching the rest of you load up. “I gotta hang back, make sure Steve gets there in one piece.”

“After what happened with Scott the first time I’d say that’s probably the best bet.” You agree, standing near the entrance.

“Yeah,” he smiles, kindly. “Keep me posted on Nat, will ya?”

“I will,” you return the smile.

“I’ll see you around.”

You nod, “I’ll see you.”

The captain of the ship introduces himself as Star-lord, and after a moment without response, Quill.

“Any requests?” He asks, finger hovering over the control panel.

Alexei creeps over to the younger man, quietly relaying a message.

“Alright,” Quill nods. Stroking the keys until a familiar set of notes ring out.

“A long, long time ago-“ The singer croons.

You let out a chuckle.

“I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, that I could make those people dance. And maybe they'd be happy for a while.”

“We’re really doing this?” Yelena puts a hand to her head, the corners of her mouth turning upward.

“But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver. Bad news on the doorstep, I couldn't take one more step.” The melody carries on.

“It’s your song.” Natasha turns to her sister.

“I can't remember if I cried. When I read about his widowed bride.” Melina’s eyes are far away, carried back to their years in Ohio. Before the world had been so cruel.

“Something touched me deep inside, the day the music-“

“Died.” Yelena joins in, lulling her head to the side to gage your reaction.

You sigh, all of this beyond surreal. But you allow yourself to live in this moment, because you might not get another. “So bye, bye Miss American Pie…”

“Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.” The roaring chorus of voices fills the silence you’ve grown used to. Fills the parts of you that were empty for so long. “And them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye. Singin', “this’ll be the day that I die.”

“This’ll be the day that I die.” Yelena sings, her face alight with a childlike glee.

——————————————————————-

Melina, Natasha and Alexei stay with you for a while. A few weeks as Natasha heals and becomes acclimated to her life.

She claims to hate the attention, but deep down you know she’s full of it.

The Ohio house is bursting at the seams with five adults, nine pigs and one dog.

That isn’t enough to keep visitors at bay. Namely Clint, his wife Laura and their three children.

Things feel a bit off when everyone begins moving out. Alexei, Melina, and their pigs return to the farm outside of Saint Petersburg.

Natasha finds herself drawn to New York, with Bruce and the makeshift building he’s using as a lab.

You adjust to the steady thrum that is daily life, with Fanny and Yelena.

After dinner you load the dishwasher, drying your hands on the nearby tea towel before selecting a cycle.

“So how does it feel?” Yelena asks, leaning against the doorframe.

“Hmm?” You turn to face her.

“Being a hero.” She clarifies, a smile playing at her lips.

“I’m not-“

“Oh cut the crap, Y/N. You saved the world.” Yelena narrows her eyes at you.

“I did it for you.” You say simply, because it’s true.

Yelena closes the space between you, “why?”

“You know why.” You whisper as she cups your face in her hands, gently stroking her thumb over your cheek. “It’s ok if you wouldn’t have done the same.”

“I’d do more for you, and worse.” She assures you. “But do you really want to spend the rest of your life fumbling around feelings in the dark when you could have someone who-“

“I want you. I only ever want you.” You beckon her closer. “Anyway I can have you, that will be enough for me.”

Sometimes wires get crossed and you want things you never have before. And she provides them before you have a chance to ask. You give back to her tenfold, so that neither glass is ever empty. That is love. True love, the only way you’ve ever known it.

“I am yours…in every way a person can belong to another.” Yelena breathes, “and then some.”

Series taglist: @jeyramarie @freeshavocadoooo @ilovewinter101 @3and30aresoultwins @yelenabelovv @miphas-trident @1800-fight-me

If you loved this series as much as I did, you can check out the prequel here!

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

All Men Have Limits - II

Character: Dick Grayson x Reader x Bruce Wayne

Summary: A certain bat believes that Y/N is in way over her head, that she’s too naive to act in her best interest. So, whether she wants it or not, the vigilante family is going to help and protect her before she gets herself killed.

Word Count: 4,300+

Previously on...

When Y/N arrived at the master bedroom, she was surprised to find the door slightly ajar. She knocked always and found Bruce turning to face her, shirtless and only in his boxer briefs.

Bruce seemed subtly surprised to find Y/N standing in his doorway and not Alfred. But he didn’t seem to be embarrassed by the state Y/N found him in. 

Along with the first aid kit, Y/N had grabbed two ice packs from the freezer.

“I’m fine,” Bruce told her before she could even offer to help him.

“You can either deal with me or you can deal with Alfred,” she threatened. 

“Your choice,” she added when she saw how serious he took her warning.

Bruce’s heavy sigh was the only answer she’d get.

“Come on,” Y/N nudged her head toward his en-suite bathroom that was probably twice the size of most people’s studio apartments.

She pointed to one of the steps that led up to the giant bathtub, silently instructing him to sit.

“Put these on your ribs,” Y/N instructed as she handed him the ice packs.

To her surprise, Bruce did as she asked.

“I don’t need stitches,” he mumbled as he watched her open the first aid kit.

“I know,” she answered. “Which is lucky for you, because I have no idea how to stitch people up.” 

She dabbed some cotton in hydrogen peroxide. “But…you still need to clean those cuts or they’ll take longer to heal and probably scar.”

Once again, Y/N was surprised to see that Bruce did as she said. He didn’t complain or refuse her assistance – just sat there silently. The man didn’t even flinch and Y/N knew she was causing his injuries to sting.

“What happened tonight that has you so upset?” Y/N finally asked after silently caring for him for a few minutes.

“What makes you think I’m upset?”

She sighed softly. “I’ll be the first to admit that you’re nearly impossible to read. But clearly something happened that caused you to storm out of the cave like you did.”

Bruce didn’t respond.

“Was it them?” Y/N asked carefully. “The Court?"

For a moment, she thought he’d ignore that question too.

“They know I’m protecting you. Well…they know that Batman is protecting you.”

Y/N shrugged. “We knew they were gonna figure it out eventually.”

Bruce remained silent.

“Did they send the Talons after you?”

From his expression, Y/N knew she was right.

The Talons were a group of lethal assassins that did all of the dirty work for The Court of Owls. They were highly trained, almost entirely undetectable, and a force to be reckoned with. Probably only second to the League of Assassins when it came to deadliness.

“That’s why Jason was with you,” Y/N pointed out. “You needed backup.”

“We had it under control,” was all Bruce said.

“I know you were already going after The Court,” Y/N told him gently. “And you need my help.” She hesitated and took in a shaky breath, “But thank you for looking out for me.”

“What was your plan?” Bruce asked.

“What do you mean?”

“When I came to you and told you that you’d been made, you said that you knew. What was your plan?”

“Run. And keep running. You and I both know I’m hopeless when it comes to an actual fight.” She shrugged. “My plan was to keep working on exposing them and stay alive long enough to see it through.”

Y/N waited for some sort of lecture, for Bruce to tell her that it was a stupid plan and she had been sloppy. She waited to feel patronized and belittled.

But Bruce just stared at her.

“What?” She challenged.

“I wish you would prioritize your life a bit more.”

She moved back a little from cleaning his cuts and snorted. “What? Like you?” 

Then she shook her head and went back to cleaning his cuts. “You’re so not the person to be lecturing about self-preservation, Bruce.”

Then Bruce surprised them both.

He grabbed Y/N by the back of her neck and brought her down to him before his lips collided with hers.

She dropped all the medical supplies in her hand from the shock of it all. But then she was cupping his face and kissing him back.

Next thing she knew, Bruce had steered her body so she was straddling his lap.

It had been so long since that night that Y/N had almost forgotten what his lips felt like. Or how his hands touched her so tenderly, but his intent was always clear and effortlessly confident.

But then Y/N’s leg accidentally collided with one of Bruce’s bruised ribs.

It didn’t deter him. He had every intention of ignoring it.

But Y/N felt his body tense in pain and she swore she felt the vibrations of the quietest pained moan from him. 

She could’ve imagined it, but she wasn’t going to continue knowing that she had the ability to accidentally hurt him.  

But it was also her saving grace. Because Y/N shouldn’t be doing this. 

Y/N reluctantly pulled away from the kiss. Bruce allowed the movement, but his grip on her waist and neck didn’t ease in the slightest.

“You should rest,” she whispered to him.

Then she shoved herself away from him and awkwardly stepped backwards as if she was desperately trying to put space between them.

“Umm…make sure you keep that ice on your ribs,” she told him awkwardly, half turned away from him.

Bruce opened his mouth to stop her, but no words came out. 

The next second, she bolted out of the bathroom and then his master suite.

Her mind was racing with so many thoughts that Y/N didn’t notice Dick catching her race into her own bedroom.

Dick looked between Y/N’s closed door and the direction of Bruce’s room, putting it all together. 

—————

After the close call with the Talons, Bruce had all hands on deck. Even Jason – who usually did his own thing and had separated himself from family matters – had been brought into the fold. Which meant he was spending way more time around the manor.

Y/N knew things were getting serious.

Bruce wasn’t exactly keeping her in the dark. But he also wasn’t being forthcoming with information.

Y/N didn’t know if he was trying to shield her in some way…or if he was just doing business as usual and taking control, not allowing anyone in until he thought it was absolutely necessary.

Either way, through the chaos of it all, Y/N realized Dick hadn’t acted as her shadow in almost a week.

It wasn’t until Jason decided to bother Y/N that she realized what had changed.

Jason leaned backwards against the console Y/N was working on so she was forced to face him. He crossed his arms with a smirk and looked down at her.

“So, you and B, huh?”

“Get off my equipment,” she warned him darkly without even glancing at him.

But inside, she was internally freaking out. 

Y/N made a point to keep as many facts about her life a secret. And her sex life? That was top priority when it came to her privacy. This was worst case scenario.

But also, how the hell did he figure that out?

Jason shrugged, but did as she asked and took a step away from the console. “He didn’t say anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Y/N finally looked up him. “Please tell me what I have to do to get you to leave me the fuck alone.”

Jason smiled and whistled. “I think I like you.”

“The feeling’s not mutual,” she mumbled as she began typing again.

“Jason, leave her alone.”

Y/N turned to see Dick walking into the cave.

Jason held up his hands in surrender and gave his brother an innocent face. “I was just trying to be polite to our guest, Richard.”

“I’m sure you were,” Dick side eyed him.

Jason then turned to Y/N and put on his Red Hood helmet. “I look forward to having more of these titillating conversations, Y/N.” Then he turned to Dick. “I’m heading out on patrol.”

He mounted his motorcycle and raced out of the cave, leaving Dick and Y/N alone for the first time in awhile.

“No patrol for you tonight?” Y/N asked him slowly.

“They’ve got it covered.”

She just nodded and didn’t ask any further questions.

All at once, they were submerged into strange silence. The air was racing with thoughts, yet the tension seemed to simultaneously make it thick, as well.

Y/N sighed. She might as well get this over with. 

“I know you want to ask, so just ask,” Y/N mumbled as her fingers raced across the keyboard and her eyes never left the screens.

“Doesn’t the whole…” Dick really didn’t know how to put it delicately.

Y/N sighed, clearly annoyed with his fumbling. She turned around in her chair to face him. “Does his age bother me? Is that what you’re struggling to ask?”

Dick shifted his weight awkwardly, “I guess so. Yeah.”

She raised her brow. “Haven’t you dated a literal alien before?”

“That’s not the same thing,” he defended with a glare.  

“Oh, so as long as the alien is the same age as you, it’s fine?”

Dick really didn’t have an answer for that.

“It’s just that…aren’t you a little young for him?” Somehow he managed to leave out the rudeness in the question. That must be the Wayne charm.

“Isn’t 9 a little young to put on a costume and fight crime?”

Dick sighed, “Touché.”

“I am one of the most successful hackers in the world. He’s a vigilante who dresses up as a bat. What about us screams normal and conventional to you, Dick?”

He knew she had a point.

“Plus, we aren’t in a relationship. It was a one-time thing. Nothing more. It happened a long time ago.”

However, she conveniently left out the heated kiss they shared last night.

“You sure about that?” Dick challenged.

Y/N just eyed him.

“Because the only women he’s had one-time things with are the one’s he’s used or paid to keep the image.” He took a step closer. “And they definitely didn’t know who he really was.”

Y/N tried not to let it show that his words caught her off guard.

This exactly what Y/N didn’t want.

She didn’t want anyone putting ideas in her head that she actually meant something to Bruce Wayne. Because she might make the mistake of believing it.

It happened once. They slept together once. One time. 

Had there been a indescribable intensity between them since then? Yes. But Y/N didn’t like to acknowledge or think about that.

“Can we please stop talking about this?” She asked.

Dick blinked and shook his head. “Sorry,” he blurted out. “I didn’t mean to…make you uncomfortable.”

Y/N put her face in her hands and groaned.

Then she shot to her feet and faced Dick. If he wasn’t a vigilante who could break the average man in one swift move, he would be intimidated by the energy radiating off of her.

“Hmm…I wonder why this conversation could ever make me feel uncomfortable, Dick,” her sarcasm was almost too natural.

Then her face dropped.

 When her body language screamed that she was embarrassed, that’s when Dick felt like a piece of shit.

“Look, we’re not…” She didn’t even know how to explain this. “We’re nothing. OK?”

Dick nodded slowly, “OK.”

And he believed her. Because she believed it. Whether that was the truth though, that was an entirely different story.

“We met years ago because I threatened to expose his identity to the world.”

Dick blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Y/N at least had the shame to look guilty about it.

“You threatened him? You threatened Bruce Wayne? The man who dresses up as a bat and scares the shit out of the criminals of Gotham?”

“I didn’t plan on actually doing it!” Y/N tried to defend. “I needed to get his attention. And guess what, it worked.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought back in time. “I discovered a sex trafficking ring. I had all the information, everything to take it down. I just needed a little…muscle.”

“And you thought Batman could be that muscle,” Dick finished for her.

She nodded.

Then Dick looked at the all the equipment. Her story reminded him what she was fully capable of and why she was here in the first place. “How did you learn to do all of this?”

It was obvious that he was trying to change the subject and give her an out. But she let him still.

Y/N shrugged.

“Is this the part where you tell me about all your degrees from various Ivy League universities?” Dick teased.

“I didn’t go to college,” she told him evenly.

“You di–How is that even possible?”

“I don’t agree with institutionalized higher education.”

Dick rolled his eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” she warned him. “You didn’t go to college either.”

Dick scoffed and crossed his arms. “Of course that’s old information to you. Is there anything that you don’t know about me?”

She smirked at his obvious frustration. “I don’t know your favorite color.”

Though she had been teasing him before, her confession was genuine. And her soft tone didn’t go amiss with Dick.

For a moment, Y/N didn’t think he was going to tell her. 

“It’s red,” he told her softly.

“Hmm,” she was surprised. “I always assumed it was blue…because of the uniform and all.”

“Red was always the color of my family’s costumes.” He knew the answer was rather vague.

Y/N’s face turned sympathetic, “The Flying Graysons?”

Dick nodded.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad that she seemed to know everything about him.

“Red’s a good choice,” Y/N added with a sad smile.

But he realized what she was actually saying was her condolences. Somehow it was better than the forced and awkward “I’m so sorry” he constantly got.

Dick grabbed a chair and sat down to face her with such purpose.

“What else do you want to know?”

Y/N allowed herself to smile at the question. 

“Everything.”

—————

Y/N got addicted to Dick’s openness.

Once Dick Grayson decided to trust someone…he really trusted them.

He didn’t hide himself from Y/N.

Unlike Bruce, Dick was easy to read. But Y/N knew that wasn’t the case for everyone. She saw the way Dick communicated with old team members or even on comms with his brothers. 

But for Y/N, if she asked him something, Dick gave her the answer.

It was as simple as that.

There were no games, no hiding, nor withholding, not manipulation, no fear.

There was just Dick Grayson.

But Y/N also new he was capable of all of those things still. She’d seen him twist conversations and put the focus on the other person. He doesn’t seem to have any issue with blatantly lying. That’s when Y/N saw Bruce.

So why was she different?

————

“I can’t stay another second in this fucking house,” Y/N snapped one day.

They had just eaten dinner and were now sitting in one of the dens. 

Dick laughed at her. “It’s not exactly a prison, Y/N. You’re in a mansion with everything you could ever need – and more.”

But this was the most time Y/N had spent in one place. She was always moving, always on the run. Yeah, she stayed in Gotham for the most part, but she missed the dangerous streets of the city.

“I’m not taking you out,” Dick gave her a warning look as he pointed at her.

“OK. First off, Bruce said nothing about me not being able to leave.”

Dick gave her a look that said, ‘How dumb do you think I am?’

“And if you were with me, then it’s fine. Right?”

“Y/N,” Dick groaned.

“And finally, I can do what I want,” Y/N added with a serious look.

“Sure you can,” he smirked.

But Y/N was being serious and she stood up. “I’m not his prisoner.”

Then she was headed toward the garage.

“No one said you were,” Dick called out after her.

He jumped in front of her, blocking her path.

“Y/N, you know more than anyone that The Court has eyes everywhere. Your face shows up on one street camera for a second and you’ll be tagged. They’ll follow you back here and then nowhere will be safe.”

“I know,” she answered as if it were obvious. “But we’re just going for a drive. Half of Bruce’s cars have tinted windows. And we’re going to take the backroads on the fringe. No street cameras. I doubt we’ll even see another car.”

Dick was adding up the risks in his head, calculating every possible outcome.

“Is Nightwing scared of what Batman will think?” Y/N teased.

Dick raised his eyebrow in amusement and crossed his arms. “Whatever game you’re trying to play…we both know I can play it better.”

She gave him the most innocent face. 

Dick sighed. Was he really about to do this?

“Come on,” he told her.

“Really?” Y/N was shocked she got him to concede.

“But I’m driving. And we’re taking the bike,” he called over his shoulder as he turned on the lights of the garage.

‘Garage’ was an understatement. It looked more like a fancy warehouse that housed at least 20 cars and a dozen motorcycles.

“The bike?” Y/N questioned.

Dick chuckled. “What? You scared of riding motorcycles?” 

Before she had the chance to answer, he pushed a helmet into her chest. It would fully cover her face and had a tinted visor shield on it. 

“Need I remind you that this was your idea?”

Y/N glared at him and put on the helmet.

She watched a safe distance away as Dick started his motorcycle and revved he engine.

Even though she was wearing a helmet, he could still tell she was apprehensive.

“Come on,” he encouraged her gently before putting on his own helmet.

Slowly, she approached the motorcycle.

“Just swing your leg over – there you go,” he instructed.

Then he put on his helmet and Y/N realized there were comms linked between the two helmets so they could hear each other easily.

“Uhh…where do I–how do I hold on?” Her question stumbled out.

To her surprise, he didn’t verbally answer. Instead, Dick just reached behind him for her hands and placed them under his leather jacket and around his waist.

The contact felt strangely intimate. And Y/N hated that it made her heart race a bit faster. She hoped he couldn’t feel it as her chest bumped against his back. Hopefully he would just think it was her adrenaline and fear from the bike. 

“Good?” He asked as he revved the engine again.

“I think so?”

Suddenly they shot out of the garage and raced down the long drive that led to the gate. 

Y/N didn’t think Dick was going unusually fast, by any means. But the motorcycle made everything feel more extreme. She slowly started to put together why people liked riding them so much. It was a rush. 

Dick did as he suggested and took backroads, avoiding any main streets or heavy-traffic areas. Which meant a lot of twists and turns.

But Y/N was surprised when he started to slow down and pulled onto a street that was just surrounded by forests. The sun had just set and the sky was colored pink and purple.

Dick turned off the bike when they reached a clearing. It was a meadow, with tall grass that moved like the ocean from the night breeze.

Y/N took off her helmet and grinned at the sight. 

She turned to Dick, “Didn’t expect a city boy like you to know places like this…”

“City boy?” Dick looked insulted. “I was a traveling circus kid before Bruce took me in.” He looked out at the land, “This was one of our stops. We set up right over there,” he pointed to an open field where the ground was even and the grass was short.

Y/N’s face changed when she realized Dick had a connection to this place. It wasn’t just a stop off the highway. It meant something to him.

“Thank you,” she mumbled. It was hard to meet his gaze.

“For what?”

“Taking me here. For taking me anywhere, really.”

“Despite how enormous the manor is, it’s suffocating sometimes,” Dick tried to reason with her. “Has it really been so bad, being stuck with us?”

“No,” she quickly answered and took a step toward him. “How much time have you spent working with a team?”

Dick thought about it. “I mean, after leaving Bruce, I just went from one team to another. Even when I think I’m working alone, my family is always around the corner.”

Y/N gave him a sad smile, already knowing that would be his answer. “I never had that. It’s always just been…me.”

“Why?” Dick questioned. 

He knew better than anyone that heroes found other heroes, whether they wanted to or not. And he knew from experience that a team had a stronger chance of changing the world for the better. Even Bruce gave up on being a lone warrior – despite him trying to believe he still is one. 

“I don’t go after criminals that wear face paint and shoot guns, Dick. I go after the people that terrify others into silence and submission. I go after the people that most don’t even know we should be going after.” She shook her head. “It’s dangerous in a different way. And I never wanted to risk anyone else’s life but my own.”

“But when things go south, who’s got your back?” Dick challenged.

Y/N thought about it a moment and just shrugged.

Dick’s eyes saddened. “It doesn’t have to be that way, Y/N.”

She didn’t acknowledge his statement.

When there was a large gust of wind, Y/N closed her eyes as if it would help her body absorb the nature around them.

Dick allowed himself to take her in while her eyes were closed – all of her. 

He still didn’t know so much about her past – what she’s seen, what she’s been through. But he felt like he understood her as a person. He saw how intelligent she was, how she explained things to Tim without sounding condescending or embarrassing him for not knowing. Or how patient she was with Damian when he was his bratty self, and she clearly saw his behavior for what it was: a child who didn’t know how to converse with normal people. And when Jason was a sarcastic smartass, Y/N gave it right back to him. Dick also didn’t miss how Y/N offered to help Alfred cook and clean up as if it wasn’t his job.

The moment Dick was having as he looked at Y/N was interrupted by his phone.

“100 bucks that it’s Bruce,” Y/N griped.

And when Dick pulled it out from his pocket, lo and behold, Bruce’s name was lit on the screen.

“Hello. Yeah, she’s with me. We just went for a drive. We’re heading back now.”

As soon as he hung up, Y/N asked, “Was he pissed?”

“He was extremely calm, which is probably not a good sign.”

But Dick didn’t seem too concerned with Bruce’s wrath. He’d grown out of that long ago. 

“Come on,” he nodded to his parked motorcycle.

Y/N slid on the bike behind him with much more confidence and finesse this time. And there was no hesitation as she wrapped her hands around around Dick’s waist. He swore her grip was tighter too.

“Ready?” Dick still asked her. 

But then his hand seemed to have a mind of his and slid over the grip she had on his waist, brushing across one of her hands almost…affectionately.

He didn’t even realize he did it until a few seconds afterward.

“Mhmm,” Y/N hummed.

The ride back was less peaceful. The sun had gone down and if they weren’t in view of Gotham’s city lights, they couldn’t see their surroundings. It also didn’t help that they knew they were returning to the manor to face Bruce.

When they parked inside the garage and turned off the engine, they both heard Bruce call Dick’s name from inside.

Y/N winced, but quickly recovered.

She squeezed Dick’s upper-arm. “Don’t worry. This is on me.”

Before Dick couldn’t argue and say he wasn’t scared of Bruce, Y/N was walking back into the manor.

“Need I remind you that you’re number one on The Court of Owls’ hit list?” Bruce told Y/N darkly.

He was wearing a black turtleneck and slacks. It was an off-duty look for him, but he still looked like he was in some sort of uniform.

“Dick had nothing to do with it,” Y/N defended calmly. “I threatened to photoshop nudes of him and sell them to TMZ and the Daily Mail.”

Bruce shared a look with Dick over Y/N’s shoulder, proving that he already knew Y/N had made no such threat.

“I’ll be in my lab,” Y/N announced, deciding to end the conversation before it could turn into a lecture or argument. 

When she passed Bruce, Y/N turned around and gave Dick a grateful smile before mouthing, ‘Thank you’ to him.

Now it was just Bruce and Dick.

“If you want to lecture me, just get it over with,” Dick sighed.

“You know better,” Bruce answered.

“She was going to leave whether I went with her or not. I thought it was best to keep an eye on her. I wasn’t stupid about it, Bruce.”

“Don’t let it happen again.”

Dick glared at him. “We can’t keep her locked up here forever.”

“She’ll stay until we take down The Court. Until then, she’s at risk.”

Dick quirked an eyebrow. “Careful, Bruce. It’s starting to sound like you’re making this personal.”

But they both knew there was another meaning behind his words. Dick saw Bruce put together what he was really trying to say. ‘I know you two have a history. I know what happened between you.’

But Dick didn’t know what was happening now. 

Bruce just glared at him and said, “I could say the same to you.”

Then he turned and left.

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

Part III

Ooooooo. The drama!

Let me know what you think! Please 😔

[captainsimagines]

To Topple A Giant || Chapter Six

Summary: You had made it your mission to destroy even the smallest evils. When the opportunity arises to finally take down your own family after years of gaining their trust, you reach for it. And so does Steve, the man who represents a symbol of everything you hate.

Pairing(s): Steve Rogers x Reader || Avengers x Reader

Part 6 of 10 ~ Mini-Series

Warnings: This story contains mature themes and discussions such as extreme canon violence, strong language, emotional angst, mentions of Endgame deaths and recoveries, sexual situations, and emotional/physical abuse. All trigger warnings will be listed before the chapter. This is purely fanfiction.

Warnings in this Chapter: physical assault; mentions of past sexual assault (brief); abusive parental relationship; canon violence; ANGST; mentions of attempted suicide; mentions of drugs, drug smuggling, and human trafficking; bullying and harassment; SMUT (unprotected sex; hair pulling; ass smack!; ALL THAT GOOD CONSENT; talking a lot during sex lol); 18+ ONLY PLEASE!

Word Count: 21,400+

A/N: ya’ll my timeline is completely fucked (age wise)... like... anything remotely romantic happening between Steve x Female Reader happened AFTER Infinity War when the reader was already 19-20. I just realized that my years were off in a certain flashback......... so yes, everyone knew the reader while they were still in their teens but they’re literally 26-27 present day so don’t think too much of it lmao i can’t really fix it now lol

~

An Avengers Safehouse, 2023, 10:45 pm  

    Every door was closed and locked for the night. You had made sure of it. A distraction now would ultimately destroy any other chance you might get, and this chance was already overdue. 

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you jogged down the hallways to the common room you knew he was in. He had been catching up on his reading for the past two days now, a small pinch of solace during this hectic week. 

Your feet were heavy, invisible anchors shackled to your ankles and dragging you lower to the depths of that personal hell you had been burning in. Glancing over your shoulder, you measured the distance between you and your room, chest beginning to feel tight as your lungs forgot the taste of air. It was like you were walking to your own personal execution, flesh and bone ready to disconnect from your essence. But you weren’t walking toward anything dangerous - you were walking to him. To speak with him. To be with him. 

You knew you saw it when everyone returned from the heist. He wasn’t himself - he regretted not using the stones for himself, possibly - you truly didn’t know why. You enjoyed the reunions and getting to reconnect with everyone. Grasping and holding Wanda in your arms was outright magical, to touch one of your best friends after nearly accepting the possibility of never doing that again - you had a similar reaction when you collapsed into Peter’s arms with the weight of those five long years. 

And you knew Steve was grateful as well, he had to be, but his exclusion of you hurt. You had shrugged it off the first time - perhaps he was tired, wanted more private time to catch up with Sam and Bucky, to be with his friends as you were with yours. The second time he dismissed you, it was during a dinner. The seat beside you was empty, it wasn’t even that close to you, and he decided to skip dinner altogether. 

But the third time, the most wretched of times, had shown you that something was truly wrong. This wasn’t the Steve you had grown close to these five years. He was distant, cold, a completely changed person that only spoke when absolutely necessary. 

It was a nightmare, one of the worst ones you ever had, and Friday had alerted the only other room near yours - Steve’s. The knocks were loud, frantic in their purpose, and Friday unlocked the door. You were shaken awake, tugged into a chest that wasn’t as firm as the one you remembered, and soft whispers of ‘you’re okay, you’re alright’ drowned out the sounds of your panicked whimpers. You reached out to stroke the person’s face, eyes snapping open when you realized it wasn’t him, it wasn’t Steve. 

‘Bucky?’ you had whispered, hands still stroking his face as he held you. 

‘It’s me. You’re okay, you’re alright.’

‘Where’s Steve? Is he okay?’

Bucky immediately tensed, expression turning somber as he tried to give an acceptable explanation. 

‘He’s… he’s not coming, doll.’

‘What do you mean he’s not coming? He always comes, he-”

‘Doll, hey,’ he shook his head, biting his bottom lip. ‘He’s not coming.’

The broken question of ‘why?’ had tumbled from your lips until Bucky’s rocking had calmed you enough to fall back into a deep sleep. And the next morning, Steve announced he was moving from the safehouse and back to his apartment permanently. 

And it made no sense considering you two were on wonderful terms just a few weeks ago babysitting Morgan. It was like he flipped a switch and erased you from his memory. 

You deserve an explanation. You deserve to have your questions answered, to see the look in his eyes as he tried to explain himself, to witness his fumbling as you caught him off guard. You deserved to know.  

“Why are you avoiding me?”

The common area was illuminated by a soft, yellow light from the lamp in the corner of the room, the moonlight only shining over the kitchen. Steve sat on the lone couch near the soft light, book in his lap and already half-way read. 

No one really snuck up on him - no one had the chance to with his enhanced hearing - but you succeeded. The book nearly fell from his lap, a hitch in his breath alerting you that he really wasn’t expecting anyone. He set the book down on the nearby table and slowly stood up. “I’m not avoiding you.”

You will not cry right now. 

You scoffed, “So, leaving a room when I walk in is just a common occurrence now? What about avoiding me completely? You don’t say good morning, you don’t tell me hello, you don’t even sit near me anymore-”

“It’s late, and these briefings have really taken a toll on me, agent.” Steve sighed and avoided your eyes as he walked right past you and into the kitchen. 

He hadn’t actually done it, but that certainly was a slap in the face. The invisible shackles wrapped around your ankles were pulling harder, drowning you in your grief.

You mindlessly whipped your head at him, watching as he grabbed the milk carton and proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it. You clenched your teeth, “Agent?” 

He did not immediately correct himself. The room was now deathly silent, minus the quick breaths under your nose. “Are you fucking serious?”

“Don’t make this into something it’s not.”

Your forehead strained from the pained expression you held, tears brimmed and burning as they threatened to fall. You walked towards him and tried to keep a steady demeanor, anger drowning your veins the quickest it ever has. “What is it then? ‘Cause you’ve been calling me by my real name for the last five years! You’re my friend!”

Everytime your name slipped from his mouth it made you like him more. His presence was no longer uncomfortable or forced, but rather calming and needed. This friendship was built high and mighty these five years, walls seemingly strong. You worried there was true vulnerability in those foundations.

Speaking to Rhodey or Bruce just wasn’t the same as speaking to Steve. Helping him take out the trash, buying coffee for one another, asking the other what they wanted to watch on television. But now your name was absent from his voice, restrained and gutted from existence as if to purposely hurt your now healing mind. 

Steve ignored the desperate portion of your argument, “It’s time to focus on the new threats this world faces-”

“What are you talking about? Why are you shutting me out like I’m not important to you?”

His jaw tensed, eyes still distant. “I’m not shutting you out. I’m saying we need to focus on the fights we thought we left behind-”

“You mean my dad? Because I’m pretty fucking sure he’s looking to only kill me.”

“Don’t joke about that-”

You had no physical control now. The anger was at its boiling point, seeping through the corners of your eyelids and corners of your mouth. “Joke about what? Why are you not letting me in?”

Steve gripped the counter, head hanging low but voice powerful enough to shake through you. “Stop interrupting me!”

A solitary tear hit the floor beneath you, voice now wobbly and unsure of its chosen words. “What happened to you?”

Steve remained silent for only a moment, hands still gripping the expensive granite. “Nothing happened.”

He ran his right hand down his face to relieve some of the tense muscles. He continued to speak.

“Now that everyone’s back and the same threats are picking up where they left off, I’ve got bigger problems on my hands.”

You scoffed again, “Oh, so now Scott’s time heist has another negative consequence?”

In a matter of a millisecond, Steve turned suddenly and was now towering over you. Your back instantly straightened. “Don’t be smart with me. You know what this means.”

You just looked up at him, eyes slightly fogging up but the rest of your face still determined. You spoke low, searching his face for any indication that he would swing. No, he wouldn’t. Ever. “Spell it out for me then. I’m still seething from not hearing my first name yet.”

Steve ignored your quip, “Now that your father’s back, we need to finish what we started.”

You stared at him in disbelief, “You don’t think he’s actually going to pick up where he left off, right? Not now!”

“He already has. Fury notified me through a secure channel,” Steve declared, stepping away from you as his mind finally rewired. 

You instinctively wrapped your arms around your torso, “No…”

“Business as usual.”

Your voice raised an octave, desperation now dousing your plea of ignorance, “No, you’re lying. You’re a goddamn liar!”

“Calm down, agent. This isn’t the time-”

It was your turn to crowd Steve, stepping toward him and pushing him backwards. Your mind told you to not touch him, that he never touched you, and that it was horribly wrong. But his blank face prompted another push, your body acting on its own will. 

“Agent? Agent! Steve, what the fuck is going on?”

His voice was deeper, “If you yell one more time-”

“You’ll what?” 

Neither of you spoke. In that moment, you wondered if anyone had heard this fight as you and Steve weren’t exactly being quiet. You knew your voice traveled down several hallways and his strong one practically shook the floors. So you pushed that thought to the back of your cramped brain, head held high and eyes boring into Steve’s.

“Now that you got your old friends back, I’m useless. Is that right?”

His eyes widened, “Where in the hell is that coming from?”

“I’m right, right? You don’t want to be my friend anymore, I was a rebound all these years?”

Steve started shaking his head, eyes closed as he tried to calculate the best possible response. He could feel his lungs burn, almost like they did before the serum, and he realized he was throwing himself into a panic attack. It tickled its way up his throat, clenching the sides and dragging its nails across the sensitive surface.

You were still speaking.  

“You know, you’re still pissed that the first name I spit out to Fury when I went undercover was yours. You never wanted to help me with it.”

“Don’t start-”

You knew you shouldn’t have continued, this argument proved childish since he first called you by an old, nameless nickname. But it seemed he had no intention of apologizing or providing you with an explanation for his sudden absence.

“You’re still fuming about it. You’re still fuming about your image being ruined. Good ol’ Captain America as a secret, undercover drug dealer!”

Steve finally showed proof of cracking, hands gripping his hair harshly. “Y/N, I said don’t start! I’m finished!”

But you persisted, now screaming and countless, frustrated tears tainting your red cheeks. “You can’t fucking stand me because I tarnished that fucking star on your chest! I made you look bad to a bunch of fucking criminals!”

Steve grabbed the nearest object, the coffee maker Tony had bought for their six year formation anniversary, and flung it across the room. It shattered into the wall, leftover cold coffee staining the peach paint, the glass littered over the floor. “That’s enough!”

The sound of its impact made your stomach churn. You were frozen in place, almost certain that Steve would throw you next, and your legs were suddenly cold. “Who are you?”

“I don’t know anymore,” Steve choked out, tears forming in his eyes as well. His chest rapidly raised and lowered, his breathing becoming erratic. Even he wondered why no one had come to check up on you two.

For the sake of Steve’s sanity, you whispered your next reply. 

“You hate me that much-”

“Y/N-”

And you were suddenly overpowered by a sense of calm acceptance. “You hate me so much that you can’t even stand to look at me.”

“Please...”

“I’m finished, too. From now on… you’re my Captain. I’m just an agent. I’ll answer your call to help fight. That’s it.”

You had thought he would drop to his knees and apologize. This Steve wasn’t your Steve - not that Steve or any part of him was ever yours - but it was almost impossible to comprehend such a blank set of emotions from the same man who helped you with laundry, remembered the captions of your photo posts and teased you about them later, or casually sketched your outline in his sketchbook. He began to disregard your kindness, your presence, your voice the moment Wanda held Vision’s face as he whispered his goodbye, as she got her closure, as she had to say goodbye for the thousandth time. 

But nothing could prepare you for his quick acceptance of your offer.

“I think that’s for the best.”

You nodded slowly, arms falling to your sides. It shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did - hell, you didn’t love the guy - but he was so much more than just a colleague now. You had literally saved the world together. He was your shoulder to cry on and you were his. Did you love him? 

“Just so you know, I wasn’t faking any of it.” 

Steve looked as if he was going to say something but closed his mouth. You swore you could see his bottom lip trembling, but he remained still. He stared anywhere but your face. 

You turned to leave, body ready to give away and tumble into the mound of pillows calling your name. But you held yourself up at the doorway, turning back to Steve and meeting his eyes - he was already watching you walk away. 

You swallowed hard, “And I’ll be the honest one here, tonight - you were the only thing stopping me from putting a bullet in my head for five years.”

Present Day, 2025, 7:02am

     You awoke startled, your gasp a little raspy as it sounded off in the quiet room. Your internal clock was already stressing you out, letting you know that you seriously had to get up now, even before your alarm rang. 

Dread swam in the pit of your stomach, swirling the pound of breadsticks you had last night. Yesterday had been your last ‘in between’ day, the last day to truly map out your next steps before you actually had to execute them. You would see everyone today, tomorrow, and the next - the next the final, the endgame. 

You rolled over and glanced at Steve. His bed was empty, sheets folded and pillows fluffed, and the bathroom was open and empty. 

With a pinch of your eyebrows, you groaned as you flipped your legs over the side of your bed. You stilled, but there was no other sound. 

Steve really wasn’t here. 

For a second, you were angry. You couldn’t believe he literally left you alone, after basically defiling you and you himself, on a day that would for sure strike a major nerve in your crippling anxiety. It was low, like you were left to pick up your heels and proceed with the walk of shame down the hotel hallways.

But then the next second, you were relieved. You could take this moment to relive last night, to hatch out every single detail, to somehow make sense of just what the hell happened. It had been so fucking hot, so fucking overdue, and god, did you want to do it again. Steve’s absence allowed you to squeal in both delight and disbelief. 

You had fondled… had sex with?... humped?... your literal Captain. Sure, you had crossed a boundary in this ten-year friendship and rivalry, a boundary that was now completely exed out and erased really, but it wasn’t literal sex. Right?

It was certainly something if you had learned one thing from Sex Ed 101. Intimacy was intimacy. Yeah, you and Steve shared… intimacy. 

It took all your willpower to shrug off the rest of the blankets and start getting ready. There wasn’t much to do except hope that your guns didn’t jam or Seda didn’t ambush you. Quickly shooting off a text to Wanda, you waited for her much needed call. 

‘Hey, what’s up?’

You let out a long hum, face lifted toward the ceiling as you thought about how you would phrase last night’s events to her. “So, like, I’m gonna kill myself.”

‘Back up. Explain?’

“Ahhhhh, Wanda! I fucked up. We fucked up.”

Wanda’s voice sounded frantic, ‘Did the mission go wrong? Where’s Scott? Steve? Torres?’

You groaned, stomping your foot like the literal child you were. “Wanda, me and Steve did something last night.”

Wanda was silent for a few moments, her quick breaths evening out as she collected her thoughts. ‘Are you trying to tell me, that while trying to tell me you had sex with Steve last night, you made it sound like we would have had to all suit up to save your asses all the way across the country?’

Grateful she couldn’t see you blush, you responded as if you were trying to still keep the events a secret. “Well, when you put it like that!”

‘Did you and Steve actually…?’

“No, no! But we… touched and stuff.”

‘Is this high school? Spit it out.’

It was basic instinct to inspect the room again before you admitted it. “We sort of just, got each other off. Like, handjobs and such.”

Wanda let out a sound that resembled both a groan and a chuckle. ‘High school.’

You threw yourself back into bed, rolling around and throwing pillows all over the place. “It was so hot.”

‘You don’t need to give me the specifics.’

“Who else am I supposed to talk with? Bucky?”

Wanda choked on her laugh, ‘Okay, okay. I see your point.’

“What does this mean?” you asked both her and yourself. 

‘I’m gonna tell you something that you might not like to hear, okay?’

“Ugh, don’t scare me.”

Wanda chuckled before she continued, ‘This doesn’t surprise me.’

You practically strained your back from snapping up from bed so quickly. “What do you mean ‘you’re not surprised’?”

There was slight shuffling on the other line. ‘I owe Peter fifty dollars.’

You huffed loudly, “What do you mean by that, Wanda?”

Wanda sighed, ‘Look, we weren’t here during those five years. We weren’t here to see you two together. But Bruce told us how you two were during that time. Even when you were ignoring each other for months after, you didn’t hesitate to protect each other.’

You shook your head, as if she could see you. “He abandoned me for a good while.”

Wanda interrupted, ‘You saved him at the height of your fighting.’

You rolled your eyes, “He’s my Captain, of course I saved him.”

‘You didn’t have to.’

Your thoughts were flying at a hundred miles an hour, colliding with one another at top speeds. You opted to forgo that memory. It was shelved, to be revisited later. 

Changing the subject to a much less dramatic topic, the phone call lasted for another fifteen minutes before you seriously had to finish getting ready. 

The talk helped. But it didn’t answer any questions you had. The answers lay in the one place you really didn’t want to explore right now. Maybe after breakfast.

      Scott stumbled out of the elevator with very sleepy eyes, fingers still digging into their corners as he made his way to the hotel bar. Steve was seated in the farthest chair from the entrance just casually sipping orange juice. 

“What was so urgent that I had to wake up before my alarm?” Scott groaned as he slid into the seat beside him. 

Steve’s eyes were glued to his drink. He was bouncing his leg wildly. “I’m sorry, I just…”

It didn’t take a genius to know that when someone was nursing an orange juice in the hotel bar, head hanging low and with a massive pout, there was something incredibly wrong. “Shit, I’m sorry. I’m just cranky when I have to get up early.”

Steve waved his hand, “No, don’t apologize. I get it. I mean it.”

Scott ordered his own glass. He spread his lips into a thin line, “Did you want to talk? I’m a great listener. I could listen to Luis go on for hours on end.”

“I need to tell someone.”

“I’m all ears.”

Steve hesitated for only a second, downing the orange juice as if it was a shot. He ordered another. “I kissed Y/N last night.”

“Are you serious?” Scott’s eyes widened and he gurgled his juice on accident. He didn’t know what to say. Congratulations? 

“And we messed around a little bit.”

Now Scott tilted his head to the side and gave the super soldier an amused glare. “Messed around? What is this, the third grade?”

Steve cringed, “I hope to God no third graders are messing around.”

His juice was long forgotten now. “Then call it like it is, Captain. You ‘serviced the Venus’, you ‘made whoopee’, you -”

“That’s calling it like it is?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Very. We just… touched and stuff.”

Steve’s awkward hand gestures caused Scott’s lip to twitch itself into a weird smile. “You ‘cleaned your rifle’? You did the ‘loop-de-loop?”

“Where in the hell are you getting these things from? You think we actually talked like this back in the forties?” Steve covered his ears and lay his forehead against the counter. 

“Sorry, sorry. I was just having a little fun.” Scott apologized, trying to make eye contact even as Steve’s head was lowered. “Sorry, no fun.” Still, Steve remained sheltered. “Damn, man. Did something else happen that you’re not telling me?”

Finally, Steve turned his head to look at Scott but left it resting against the counter. “I feel like we crossed a line.”

“You technically violated the mission code of ethics, but.”

Steve snapped up and covered his face with his hands, index fingers pinching the corners of his eyes. “But kissing her didn’t feel wrong. Holding her didn’t feel wrong.”

Scott was in the middle of a rom com. He had to be. There was always that scene where one of the partners freaked out because they themselves didn’t know their own feelings. They would cower in their own little world for about fifteen minutes, or at least fifteen minutes of screentime, and then gain the courage to talk it through. Scott was just that random friend who happened to ask what was wrong. 

But you and Steve were his teammates. The two of you had helped him get his family back. You had been so excited to try out the time machine, shutting everyone else up as they bullied him for simply having the idea. Steve risked his life for him more times than he could count in the past two years. He always suspected something was wrong between the two of you. But no one was brave enough to openly speak about what had happened that night. He just knew what Sam had told him - ‘It’s none of our business. They’re both acting like children. But Steve, even though I love him with all my heart, royally fucked up.’

“Then why are you so worried? Steve, I wasn’t around those five years. Only you know your relationship with her.”

“I don’t deserve it,” Steve mumbled.

His ears were playing tricks. He had gone deaf. “Huh?”

Steve explained further, his face falling with each new confession he spoke verbally. He hadn’t even discussed these feelings with his therapist. Granted, he only spoke of you when you were being a pain in his ass, but romantically? “I don’t deserve to touch her, to have her, to be with her. I left her alone at her most vulnerable, and that you were here for so you know.”

Scott shook his head, “But I have no real say in that. Like I said, only you know what you feel.”

He finished his juice and leaned back in his chair. He clapped a hand on Steve’s shoulder and they both turned their attention to the tiny television mounted on the wall playing the morning news. It was hard to believe that a couple years ago, Scott had completely fangirled over being in Steve’s presence. Now he was one of his closest friends. 

His next thought seemed to register slowly and he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Wait, did you leave her to wake up alone?”

Steve paused and bit down on his tongue. “I, may have done that.”

Scott nodded as he received the confirmation. “You know, Bucky and Wanda have a bet going on over which of you will kill the other first. I think you tipped the victory to her, man.”

Steve returned the slap to the shoulder and stood up. “Thanks, Scott.”

He followed Steve out the entrance. “I don’t feel like this conversation is over, but you gotta go back up there. I’m always here if you want to talk.”

Steve sent him a genuine smile as he walked backwards to the stairs instead of the elevator. “Don’t bring it up.”

Scott saluted him, “I may be an idiot, but I’m not stupid.”

“That didn’t make any-”

Scott clicked the button for the elevator and waved Steve off, “It’s from a show my daughter used to watch, hey, you know what, forget about it.”

    Steve doesn’t quite know what propels him up the stairs instead of the elevator, but it’s probably the need to burn at least one calorie before facing the music. It was an idiotic move leaving you alone to unravel such a major change, and Steve was tired of running. The amount of times he claimed he could ‘do this all day’ and yet, he let the final battle dictate his life afterward. He was just so tired of running from things that required him to stay, and staying for things that destroyed his mental health. 

Scott carried the conversation as they reentered the room, finding you already dressed and smiling bright. But that smile was directed at Scott, a brilliant smile that Steve had been the recipient of just yesterday. 

God, he really fucked up, didn’t he?

“We got a plan?”

It was like clockwork, movements fluid and known. The three of you were slightly out of it, missions depleting in urgency and all. The last mission you had been on in the last two years, besides the ones your father sent you on, had been to a base in Prague where you ran a two-week surveillance on a doctor who was trying to recreate the super soldier serum. Even then there wasn’t much of a physical fight and you were mainly there to assist Sam and Bucky. 

“We’ll get there by 9. You’ll have to shrink down before we even pass the gates.”

Scott drafted the specifics in his notebook, taking careful notes on what he was to look for inside your father’s office. He was instructed to hack the keyboard to list the most used formations of characters, scan for fingerprints, and work through the paper files your father hadn’t yet had time to put away. Once a password was figured out, then the hacking would commence during the rehearsal dinner. 

“Y/N and I will be led through the estate by Seda, no doubt. Once you hear that we’re seated and enjoying breakfast, you can start your deep search.”

Scott added the finishing touches to his suit - upgrades from both Hank and Tony, before he passed of course. 

“Anything I should know? I’m going in blind while you guys have some experience with this crowd.”

You attached the camouflage mic to the back of your neck as you responded, “His office hallway doesn’t have cameras. Neither does the inside. You, as well as Steve and I, are under strict orders to not kill anyone.”

Scott squinted his eyes, “I wasn’t planning on doing that anyway.”

You chuckled, “These are violent people, Scott. In order to win, we need to play the part. Which means unless we say the safe word ‘widow’, you can’t intervene.”

Scott searched your face for a joke, the briefing you all had before you shipped out replaying in his head. You had mentioned Seda shot you and that your father basically hated you, but to see you serious now - it was a little unnerving. Sure, he fought aliens and faced off against some of the most evil forces in the universe. But this was family, and when it was family with the evil gene, it made everything much more horrible.

“Okay.”

You all gathered your equipment and headed down to the car. Steve safely hid the shield in the trunk, foregoing any additional weapons than those already attached to his person. He couldn’t risk Ernesto’s men randomly searching the car during breakfast. 

You were already waiting in the passenger seat when Scott gripped Steve’s arm as they finished loading the trunk. 

“You protect her, alright?”

Steve swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew Scott wasn’t doubting his ability to do so, but his trust was being enlisted. There wasn’t even a second option. 

Steve would grip the heavens by their feet and pull for the creation of even more fallen angels just for you. 

“I will.” 

     The drive to the estate was a lot less stressful this time. Only because you knew who to expect now. You wouldn’t be catching up with your sister until tomorrow, and you already had an idea what your father was scheming up. The three of you just drove in silence, Steve at the wheel and Scott in the backseat. 

You thought, maybe Steve didn’t fully regret what happened after all. Leaving in the morning was for sure a dick move, but his attitude wasn’t one of someone who would simply ‘hit it, and quit it’. You took pride in what you knew about your Captain, about Steve as a separate entity, and you always expected the best from him. 

Anyone who thought or assumed otherwise was an idiot.

Scott had shrunk down and prepared his own mics as Steve drove onto the deserted dirt road. There were dozens of cars parked outside, but it looked as if their owners were all workers. Considering the wedding was only two days away and the rehearsal dinner was tomorrow, the workers multiplied and were working overtime. Leave it to your father to make the finishing touches at the last minute. 

Once again, Seda stood outside to greet you and Steve. He looked extra chipper this morning, his aging face contorted into an almost painful smile. And you knew that whenever he smiled at you, he wasn’t harboring the greatest intentions. 

“Good to see you again!”

You slung your arm through Steve’s, unconscious to the fact that Scott stood on your shoulder and hid behind strands of hair. You responded, “Careful, you’ll get cavities with that much sweetness.”

His smile fell slightly, and he looked away to roll his eyes. “Must be contagious considering you’re so full of sugar!”

“You’re weird when you’re nice.”

“Now, I was just about to say the same thing.” Seda held his hand out to Steve, delighted in the strength of his grip. “Captain.”

Steve smirked, a dangerous glint settling in his eyes. The longer hair and beard really did make him look like the anti-Cap. “Sir. Are you joining us for breakfast?”

Seda turned to walk through the open doors. “Of course. Ernesto’s business is as much mine as it is his.”

You let out a tiny snort, “Don’t think he would agree.”

Seda rotated on his heel so quickly the sound of the squeak echoed through the vast mansion. He held his finger out at you, that famous scowl you had grown accustomed to finally making its appearance. “Bite your tongue.”

In an instant, Steve gripped your cheeks and chin with one hand, holding you still to look at Seda. He hated this. He wanted to fight them now.

While you were held in place for him, Seda stepped closer. You could feel the heat of his breath. “I carried this empire while he was dirt.”

Steve’s hand was loose, but his wild look could easily be mistaken for anger toward you. 

Seda’s eyes were cold, filled with an undeniable amount of hatred and selfishness, like he wanted to see you beg for forgiveness. No matter the countless times when any other human being would be crying for mercy, you never did. And Seda despised this skill with all his tainted soul. 

“And look where that got you. Right back in second place.”

For the second time this week, Steve wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. 

Seda’s facial muscles flinched, but he kept his composure. There were too many outside workers wandering around, instructed already to keep their mouths shut about who employed them and were to be paid under the table. With his own tongue bitten, he muttered almost achingly. “Breakfast is this way.”

Letting go of you after Seda turned back around, Steve gently massaged the sides of your chin for a few seconds as you walked. Turning your head quickly left and right and passing a room with no traceable cameras, you caught his hand and pressed your lips gently to his knuckles. Before he could truly enjoy the gentle gesture, you pulled away. And he knew you had to. You had to.

Scott took his leave, jumping onto the nearby potted plant and connecting back with Torres. 

Breakfast was served on the large patio near the west side of the estate. It overlooked a massive man-made lake, rocks circling the bank, and multiple lake chairs facing it. The estate was well hidden away in the forest, tall pine trees enveloping the illegal nature of all that was said and done. The clouds were creating a dark overcast that meant it was going to rain later, maybe soon, and it was going to be heavy. The crew outback had constructed a massive wooden canopy ‘tent’ that extended from one side of land to the other. So if it did rain on the day of the wedding, the only evidence of it would be the wetness reflecting off the soft violet lights they were just now hanging. The tables were set up, minus the chairs and wall decorations, and the staff were barely constructing the floor. 

By instinct, you had already clocked the easiest exit routes and hiding places. The warehouse near the lake looked sturdy - two windows wide enough to shoot from. Steve would have to crouch down low though, so perhaps the wooden table could serve as a temporary shield. 

There had to be a way to casually bring that shield to both the rehearsal dinner and wedding without raising red flags. 

Seda paused and excused himself. While Steve entertained the questions of some of the men casually strolling through, you reached into your pocket and pulled out some new tech you had been dying to finally use. Tony had messed around with so many personalized gadgets for everyone. Peter had his flying spiders, Clint had his flying stars and arrows, and you had your flying butterflies. Little metallic wonders with life-like wing speed that recorded its surroundings and transcribed for your report later. 

It flew gracefully, circling around the tables and even stopping on the window’s edge for a natural effect before flying near Seda and whoever he was talking to. It fluttered and settled, a small light emitting from its antennas. It would fly back once the subject chosen finished speaking. 

While you waited, you wandered. You hadn’t really explored this estate since you were a child but from what you remembered, there was always something new to discover. As a kid, you had asked whoever was present, ‘Is this real?’, ‘Was it alive before?’, ‘How old is this?’.

Roman busts, paintings hanging and stored alike, the ivory tusks. Didn’t seem like your father was collecting much these days. Dust was settled and undisturbed and the stuffed animals needed a serious scrub. You honestly wouldn’t be surprised if your father had stashed away the damn tesseract at one point or another. 

“Oh, yeeesss,” you whispered, scurrying to the trunk hidden below the pile of discarded tablecloths and curtains. No one else ventured to these rooms, and although there were priceless items stashed away here, they normally functioned as the children's playrooms. There was more money to be made selling drugs than selling ancient artifacts. 

Just like many of the other rooms, this room was basically abandoned. No evidence of swiped fingers or anything. Your attention was drawn to the black trunk, scratched up on the left side and lock practically useless. If you remembered correctly, your iPod shuffle and middle school diary should be in here. 

As corny as that sounded, perhaps the diary had something inside you could work with and use to help aid in the mission. 

The trunk creaked and moaned as you lifted the lid open. You blew the excess of cobwebs away, scanning the corners quickly for any live spiders. Just in case. 

You did, in fact, find the diary. But only the first ten pages were filled out and dated, detailing the story, and quote, ‘2011, what a stupid number! Can’t anything but violence happen?’

Yes young Y/N, you thought to yourself, 2012 was one hell of a year and infinitely worse than stupid little 2011. 

The mountain of miscellaneous items was astounding, swirling up the childhood emotions you seriously missed. There was just something about random, mix-matched, old items that made you giddy. 

When Shield returned Steve’s belongings that had been locked in storage or in the museum when he was pronounced KIA, you were the one bouncing up and down behind him as he opened the boxes. He’d inspect the old watch, pencil set, photographs, clothing item, whatever and then pass it over to you. And he’d pretend to act annoyed by your interest, but the fact that you wanted to learn more about Steve and his life before the war - it was humbling. 

‘Hey, Y/N. You want to know how much porn I just found on Seda’s personal laptop?’

Your whole body was overcome by shivers. You nudged the mic to turn it up louder. “Scott, what the fuck?”

He tried to contain his laughter. ‘My mission is to hunt, gather, and hack. You’ll be pleased to know I got more than just their internet history.’

“Ew.”

A small, red velvet box shoved in the upper left hand corner caught your attention. It’s engraving showed none other than ‘Oxford University’ and that was enough to conclude this too was stolen. You chuckled at how ridiculous this all was. 

Believe it or not, the most legal things in the estate were the stuffed exotic animals and tusks of ivory that had been collected before the nationwide bans. 

This small box contained a few dozen coins from ancient Rome, all of different faces and years. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” you mumbled, finger-fishing through the box. You made a mental note to instruct your team to also seize and catalog everything that was stolen here. Give Fury more of a headache. 

The figurehead on one of the coins made you pause for a second. The artwork was not as professional as much larger engravings found on the other coins or artifacts, but the features were proud. It was of a man, curly hair and beard to match, with a prominent and strong nose. If you squint hard enough, the hair and beard were Steve’s, absolutely as he had it groomed right now. Last time Steve had grown his hair out this long he was on the run. Guess he really missed the rugged look. 

But that nose. Strong and long and definitely punched to the brim many times before. The last person to set it had been Clint - and the reset had left it looking slightly crooked. Just like the man on the coin. 

“What a beak you got on you, Rogers,” you smiled. You shut the box after pocketing the coin. Making sure everything else was in place, you exited and checked your mic for any unusual activity. You could hear Steve casually speaking and Scott humming under his breath. 

Your little butterfly was spinning in a large circle until it spotted you. It reattached itself to your belt discreetly. 

Seda marched back, looking more annoyed than when he had first greeted you. “Shall we?”

Similar to how he was situated back in his office, comfortable and relaxed in his element, your father sat closest to the lake around the round table, no doubt enjoying the breeze aimed in his direction. The table was full of various foods - mostly fruit and drinks - but there were sides of meats and bread hidden in the pile. 

Ernesto looked like an innocent old man bathed in the colorful array. He was eighty-two (if you count those five years, then he’s only seventy-seven), and it wasn’t just the fruit that made him seem innocent - with the absence of a scowl or a gun in his unbelievably steady hand, he looked like every old man on the planet. An old man with a secret. 

“It’s not everyday you get to dine with the Captain America!”

Already his voice annoyed Steve. But as eloquent as ever, he responded lightly. “It’s an honor, sir.”

Your father sipped his juice, waiting until you were both seated to continue. “So polite, I remember how it used to be.”

Steve shrugged, “The good ole’ days.”

“Exactly. You see, I’m hoping to bring those good ole’ days back.”

“Gonna run for office?” you quipped, reaching over to pop a grape into your mouth. 

Keeping his eyes trained on Steve, your father retorted. “Your jokes aren’t that funny, Y/N.”

“I think I’m pretty funny,” you mumbled through a funny frown. 

The sooner you get some valuable information, the sooner you could leave. At least, that’s what Steve had been reciting in his head as he bit his tongue at your attempt at being funny. “What did you have in mind?”

Ernesto stretched, motioning for the men behind him to pass him some documents from a nearby table. He passed them to Steve, completely ignoring you. “You see, I’m thinking of expanding business. Not just here in the U.S and in Mexico, but across the Atlantic.”

You resisted the urge to sneak a peek at the documents. So you opted to keep him talking. “Woah, you’re not thinking of toppling White, are you?”

Ernesto scoffed, “You think I have a death wish? No, I’m thinking of joining forces.”

You played dumb. “What?”

Seda squinted, stepping forward and gripping your wrist mid-air, evidently stopping you from popping another grape into your mouth. Steve turned his head to stare at Seda with a real and deep grimace, basically instructing him to let go of you as soon as possible. Acting like an asshole when your father was the instigator was one thing, and he hated that he had to bend over for him. But Seda wasn’t in charge, nor would he ever be again, and his hand on you didn’t have to be tolerated. Yes, he knew to keep up the asshole act, but obsessive and protective boyfriend fit the bill as well, he assumed. 

Reluctantly, Seda got the message and let you go. He answered your question after a few awkward seconds, “Expanding into Europe means we dominate the world. Everyone knows that. Europe is the epicenter.”

Oblivious to the whole stare down, you resumed your questioning. “And we come in, where?”

“Your missions - they take you across the ocean, yes?” your father chimed in. 

“Sometimes, sir. We’re away pretty often.” Steve answered. 

“Then that’s perfect. All those opportunities to smuggle my product on your company planes.”

You scrunched your eyebrows in deep thought, almost like you were doing the math in your head. “I doubt the quinjet would pass a weight inspection, Father.”

Ernesto raised his hands in mock offense. “Your Captain here should be able to pull some strings, no?”

Hiding his discomfort, Steve shrugged like it was no big deal. “It would certainly be a difficult task but we can pull through.”

No. Steve has never handled the product, he has never seen the product being moved, he has never signed off on anything pertaining to said product. Fury did - Fury set up everything, he made sure to keep Steve out of it, he protected the shield, he protected Steve. On your word.

Ernesto knew you were the one handling it. He knew Steve wasn’t anywhere near it since you made it abundantly clear that he only green lit the passage routes. 

He was doing this on purpose. Testing Steve’s loyalty in a way. Tying any Avenger’s gadgets to the smuggling, especially transportation methods that were rarely, if ever checked when entering a foreign country, was a violation.  And this violation would then make every Avenger a drug smuggler - a real one - and no one, not even Torres could back you up.  

Blinded by this possible reality, you countered with the best argument you had. “He’s ‘Captain America’. Which means he stays within our borders.”

Ernesto paused mid-drink, a grin forming. He stared at you in surprise, “I’m sorry, did you just give me an order?”

You backtracked, breath still steady. Steve tried to mask his worry by also drinking. “No, I’m trying to help you. What about Ramirez?”

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

It was silent for a long while. Steve knew better than to come between the uncomfortable glares you and your father were sharing. Ernesto’s answer was confirmation enough for your proposed theory.

He ventured a glance at Seda, who was already looking at him. Confusion rattled him to the bone, but before he could dissect any possible assumption as to why, your father snapped his fingers. 

Seda moved too quickly. He always followed Ernesto’s orders like they were holy commandments, but he had seriously wanted this. He was the muscle after all. 

Seda picked you up out of your seat with the force of one hand, fingers gripped under your chin and squishing your cheeks painfully. With his other hand, he pushed your back forward and held you down on the table. The impact of your body had shattered the plate beneath your chest. But that pain was minimal compared to the elbow digging in between your shoulder blades. 

Almost as quickly as Seda had pounced, Steve was standing. The sound of every gun on the patio cocking rang in his ears, but god forbid that be louder than the sudden squeal that had left your mouth from the force of your assault.  

“See? I give the orders,” Ernesto said, still sitting casually in his seat. “Now, test me again.”

      “There are worse ways to go.”

Natasha was always so calm during these types of situations. A blank face that disguised the true fright she really felt, a mask in other words. But Steve knew the only reason she did that was for the benefit of those around her, regular civilian or superhero alike. She would always keep such a calm demeanor, voice steady and eyes boring into one’s soul as if to transfer whatever inner peace she could find. 

When he had found out Bucky was alive, unresponsive and an empty shell of a man HYDRA had made him, he crumbled into the panic attack he had long awaited. Being thrust into the 21st century without a lick of his past was one thing. But to barely start getting used to this new world, only to be handed the most crazy plot twist of his life, well, it was enough to destroy whatever progress he thought he made. 

And while he rocked himself through it, massive shoulders poking his jawline uncomfortably as he curled in on himself, Natasha had simply laid a cup of tea in front of him and retreated to the other corner of the room, no words exchanged. Good, because he didn’t want to talk about it. 

“Is everyone on?”

The planes were being loaded at the fastest rate they could, the only remaining Avengers on land being him, Natasha, and Clint. From what he could see.

“I gotta go get Banner. You head on over to Clint.”

And they functioned like that for the next few minutes, grabbing civilians along the way and praying they themselves would make it to one of those planes. The sudden shower of bullets crushed the hope of that, and Steve stared down at Pietro with an immense guilt about not getting there sooner. 

Losing a teammate, even if that teammate was recruited just a day ago, always hits hard. But they were the Avengers, and if any comic book or superhero movie had been right, then no one ever really died! Yeah, fat chance. 

Steve counted as many heads as he could. He saw Natasha off to the side, and Clint had just stumbled on, and Y/N was-

Wait, where were you?

Steve grabbed his shield and hooked it onto his back, running off the plane and back onto the floating land, ignoring Clint’s yells of ‘get the fuck back here, Rogers!’

“Does anyone have eyes on Y/N?”

The responses were no help; Rhodey had circled the city twice over searching for you, and there was no sign. Maybe you were with Wanda, maybe you were on another plane, maybe you were with Thor and he promised to pick you up and protect you once he catapulted himself - 

‘I’m gonna need you to get your ass back on that plane, Capsicle,’ Tony yelled, interrupting himself as he made painful contact with falling debris. 

Steve was on autopilot, scared out of his damn mind. He never wanted this job, he never wanted to continue working for the government, it was just war after war after war. He just wanted to find Bucky, he just wanted to settle down with a fucking cat or something, he just wanted to live the life he missed out on. But he was also hell bent on saving everyone he could. A sick satisfaction of using the serum’s gifts for what he was built for, a science project and weapon of war. He hated it, he wanted to shrivel back down to his ninety-pound self and pay a goddamn penny for a movie screening again. 

But he had a job to do and he was one of the few people on earth who could actually accomplish it. So, no - Steve will not quit when people need him. He’ll just have to bear it some other way; belt in between his teeth as he clenches down. Because Steve would literally destroy himself for any of his teammates until he was nothing but a pile of discarded remains. 

“What the hell are you still doing on land, Captain?”

He whipped his head to the side and found you, holding a frightened looking dog in your arms, smudges of rubble covering your cheeks and bodysuit. “Oh my god.”

You stomped over to him, the dog clutched to your chest and a tiny limp in your step. “Answer me, Rogers!”

Steve only stared, blinking quickly until an invisible boot kicked him back into gear. His voice was high-pitched as he screamed at you. “You went back for the dog?”

Your face contorted, “Of course I went back for the fucking dog!”

A ridiculous thing, an utter masterpiece of work you were, a vice that gripped him by the throat and would always press down tighter until he was gasping for breath. You went back for the damn dog, and he was about to break down crying not knowing where you were. He just lost one teammate - he couldn’t lose another.

“Well, let’s go!”

Your voice seemed to shock him back into Captain America mode, and as the city leveled and the ground started to break apart, he hoisted you up and onto the plane while making the leap himself. 

     At this point, Steve would blindly agree to anything. If it meant pulling you out of this, he’d do it. He found himself negotiating instantly, like any other hostage situation he had dealt with. “I’m sure our planes can handle a few extra pounds.”

Made sense for Steve to agree - wasn’t like it was going to happen anyway. But the mere thought of having him take the fall for this entire mission going sideways, well, it had ignited the stupid part of your brain. You could have blown this whole mission. You could have blown it all because your father had been doing what he does best: taunting you. And you let it happen. 

“I have already sent word to White that your Captain will be working with him now, too. Anything to topple Ramirez from the top three.”

You lifted your head to glare at your father. “Why didn’t I get a say? I’m as influential as you two!” You grit your teeth. “You did this without consulting us first. So, then what was this?”

Seda applied the full force of his weight, his elbow now pinching into the muscle and causing you to see black spots. You tried to restrain your scream, but it escaped. A few birds left their perch, flying away from the high-pitched noise.

Steve saw red. Bursting flames that climbed and licked up to formless heights and blurred his vision to the point he was pre-serumed, standing small and physically weak again. And pre-serum Steve would happily accept the punches he had coming if he dare intervene. But even if this red was bolstering hot and clawing at his flesh, stepping in now would mean chaos. He couldn’t do anything, he was restricted, strapped down by your own rule, and helplessly watching as your face twisted in pain. 

He felt his heart tearing in two, and yet his face remained calm. Calm and collected. 

“See this as a means to inform you.”

If Seda were to push down again, you figured you’d go out fighting. “A coup? Father, you shouldn’t have.”

“Do we have a deal?” 

If he hooked his arm under the left side of the table and threw it at the correct angle, he would blindside your father and throw Seda off balance, allowing you to take him down. But there were men posted to both his sides and behind him, guns already cocked like they had suspected Captain America to react negatively. 

Scott had to be hearing everything, the poor guy, but you had also instructed him to let you be thrown around like a ragdoll, that you were used to it. Knowing Scott, he would honor your word as scripture for the sake of the mission.

Steve couldn’t stand to look at you in pain anymore. A small part of him wanted to yell, ‘Well stop talking and he’ll get the hell off you!’, like it was ultimately your fault, but he swallowed that shallow thought and bargained instead. “I’ll be needing a copy of your word. For insurance purposes.”

If there was one thing Ernesto respected, it was a man with his own personal agenda. “I knew I liked him, Y/N. A man who knows what he wants and how to make sure it lasts.”

You reached over discreetly, finding Steve’s hand to squeeze tightly. He squeezes back.

The next few minutes were a blur, really. You passed it with pinched eyes and a few uncomfortable moans as Steve and your father wrote up a formal agreement. 

Seda removed himself after Steve signed. You tried not to think too much of it; the contract can be considered void. Torres would look into it. Steve will not become truly involved. 

Your father excused himself and Seda after the pen left paper, leaving the both of you alone.

Steve wanted to hold you, to shield you with his own flesh and bone, to remind you he was on your side. That he would always be on your side. 

The men who escorted you were deep in their own conversations, guns still raised but minds momentarily distracted. So he reached for your hand, an involuntary chuckle escaping him as he saw Scott’s miniature self hiking up the arm he had just grabbed. Your grip was loose, like your mind was elsewhere. 

You all entered the car and buckled up without alerting the men of any wrongdoings. Scott waited until you drove past the cameras and the estate grew smaller in his eyes to return to his normal size. 

They were both worried, eyes meeting in the mirror as if to communicate it. You were so silent, so still, simply looking out the window. Their voices were slightly distorted, far away calls for your attention and you were drowning, suffocating and forgetting that when caught in a riptide, you need to swim sideways and not directly to land-

One quick sob was all it took for Steve to check his mirrors and turn the car into the crowd of pine trees, burying the three of you in their depth and providing temporary solace from the outside world. Your throat burned and itched with the need to cry harder, but you stopped yourself. 

This had happened before. You’ve been subdued and taunted before. Hell, worse has happened to you and you always seemed to hold in the tears until you were in the comfort of your own room or in Natasha’s arms. 

But there was no single room for you to run off to and there was no more Natasha-

It took a moment to register that your seatbelt had been unbuckled, Steve had exited the vehicle, and Scott was already tugging you by the underarms and into the backseat. You were then squished between the two men, with Steve manually tilting your head to rest on the expanse of his chest and Scott with his arms wrapped around your waist to mimic a massive bear hug. 

They let you ride out whatever broken sobs your body produced. There were few tears and your breakdown was amateur at best, but you still broke. There was no point in trying to diminish its importance. You were here, and you had both fresh and dry tear streaks, and it was important to feel. 

At least that’s what Steve had been reciting for the past two minutes as he ran his fingers through your hair. 

You sniffed and wiped your cheeks, rolling your eyes at yourself. “I’m sorry, this is really embarrassing.”

Scott leaned back to stare at you in pure disbelief, “You have every right to scream, to cry, to tear this world apart. You have a right to feel.”

You wanted to believe him. God, you wanted to believe him. 

If Scott wasn’t here, perhaps Steve would allow himself to cry with you. His masculinity was intact, thank you very much, but Scott didn’t need to console two people at once. So he swallowed his pain, secured it back into the safe within his heart that was specifically constructed for you, and held you tighter. 

Out of nowhere, Scott patted your thigh multiple times like a child begging for attention. “We need comfort food. We’ve all had a rough day and it’s not even two o’clock yet! Nothing some french fries and burgers can’t fix!”

It had slipped your mind how little you had actually gotten to eat. Just a few sips of coffee and some grapes. Wasn’t your fault there were more important things to focus on. 

“Can we get, like, a massive tray of fries?” you smiled. 

Scott’s eyes lit up. 

Lots of things are so simple. Or, in theory. Boiling water is simple. Doing laundry. Pumping gas. 

But then there are those simple things that are just not so accessible to everyone. Like, it was simple for Bruce to learn and teach theoretical physics. It was simple for Peter to catch a bus with his bare hands. It was simple for Thor to call upon thunder and lightning and for Loki to cause some mischief. 

For Steve, eating his body weight in fries was simple. 

For Scott, opening the ketchup packets without his thumbs sliding was simple. 

For you, stealing Steve’s fries was simple. 

Maybe because he didn’t stop you. 

     It’s crazy how just a few hours with some close friends made every problem in the world seem nonexistent. You were replenished, in a sense, ready to put any embarrassment and self-hatred behind you in preparation for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow. Everything up until now was child’s play - now, there were no restraints. You were instructed to strike on the wedding day as that was the day the shipment was moving, but if anything truly dangerous occurred tomorrow, Fury had given the green light to shoot.

It would have been a blessing to just have one more quiet night in, maybe enjoy some more special alone time with Steve. There was a conversation to be had, feelings to be discussed, an argument to start. There needed to be screaming, and crying, and eye rolling - all needed to happen. 

Yes, that would have been great. 

Steve launched the shield across the room the second Scott pushed open the door, the crack of bone and vibranium sounding off. Scott had already unclicked his gun safety, weapon pointed directly at the intruder - who had collapsed to the floor with a bleeding shin clutched in between his hands. You didn’t even realize your gun was also out and cocked. Instinct - skill you had acquired from Natasha and Rhodey. 

Sometimes you wish you could forget how to hold a gun altogether. 

Ramirez was on the floor, having only released a loud howl when the shield connected. He just panted lowly, eyes squeezed shut. He desperately tried to raise his hands. 

“Please… don’t shoot.”

Steve stepped forward, shield braced and covering both you and Scott. You stayed near the door in case Ramirez had any other friends visiting. 

You turned on your mic and hoped it patched through. “Widow.” 

“How did you get past security? How did you know which hotel we were at?”

Ramirez looked over at you, eyes pleading for help from Steve’s questions or from the physical pain. You really couldn’t tell. 

“Answer the questions, Omar.” You used his first name - that told him you were serious. 

“Someone took their smoke break.” He breathed in uneven cycles. “I followed you the first day you arrived.”

Completely baffled, you looked to Scott for some answer he clearly didn’t have. 

“That’s not possible. Our people swept the area, we had eyes on you and-”

Ramirez interrupted shyly, “You had eyes on me. Not my connections.”

“Your men were followed, too.”

Although he was groaning, he still responded as softly as possible. “Connections, mija. They aren’t all a part of the mob.”

Every guest who checked in and out of the hotel were screened for that week. Every employee was vetted. 

“If you’re wondering who it was, I’ll save you the time and say it was simply a passerby who didn’t even enter the hotel. Just followed, then made a U-turn.”

Scott scoffed and lowered his gun, “If it really was that easy…”

Steve kneeled to be eye-level with Ramirez. “Then that means Ernesto already knows about Scott and Torres.”

As quickly as Steve declared this, Ramirez shook his head. “No! I’m not on Ernesto’s side anymore. Haven’t been for a long time!”

“Prove it.”

Ramirez stared at you, eyes pleading for trust. He didn’t look all that intimidating. Short black hair, wrinkles minimal and clothes well-pressed, slim and dark skin clear of any blemishes - he looked like every guy who you would see at the bank. He remained pleading even after Steve patted him down. 

Still kneeling and leg slightly extended to relieve some of the pain, he started to explain himself. “I know when people are acting.”

“What?”

“When you pressed the gun to her chin,” he motioned his hand between you and Steve, “you held her hand.”

Lowering your gun and dropping your shoulders, you released a deep sigh. “You were behind us.”

He agreed, “I was behind you.” He inspected the room with a small smile, glancing at all three of you in amusement. Once his sight rested on Steve, he tipped his chin up and smirked. “I heard you could pick up Thor’s hammer.”

“Oh my god,” you mumbled, annoyed, and turned to check the hallway. Your mic was muffled, but you swore you could make out the voices of Torres and Sam.

“Any man who can do that is good, right?”

Scott nodded, “According to legend-”

Steve blinked at him, “Scott.”

“That little gesture of care, plus the cell phone videos I saw you in from two years ago-” Ramirez started, but was interrupted. 

Steve squinted, “Saw us where?”

“The phone videos on Youtube.”

You stepped back into the room, stuttering over your words. “What phone videos? Be clearer.”

“You defended that child. The - the spider child,” he pointed at Steve, wincing as he shifted his leg. “And you got into that bar fight, busted someone's head into the floor.”

“No, PR made sure they were deleted. Hill said there was no trace of them-”

“My two youngest daughters were fifteen at the time. They knew about the video the minute it aired. They saved it.”

Scott sighed, shaking his head at the memory of having to bail both you and Sam out of jail. It was a nice turn of the tables, though. “...We didn’t factor in the possibility of teenagers screen recording?”

Ramirez chuckled, “Seems not.”

     It was certainly an eventful night for PR. A complete disaster they had to cover up and twist for the media. There were four Avengers mixed up in this chaos, and since the perpetrators didn’t quite succeed in kicking your asses, PR might just finish the job for them. 

On one side of town, Steve was responding to an urgent call from Happy asking if he was in the vicinity. Peter had been visiting a study group in Brooklyn, careful as ever, but still stumbled upon bullies. Steve lived close and instead of ringing the whole team, Happy put his trust in the person Tony would have also called. 

It was a scene he hoped he would never have to witness again. To see such cruelty months after the final battle, a battle everyone knew the kid played a major part in, it tore Steve apart shred by miserable shred.

Peter was crouched against an alley wall, shielding his face with his arms as five boys around his age pounded away. He appeared to be clutching his phone, the line still connected with Happy, and he was begging them to stop. 

Steve had never run so fast. He dodged a few cars and strollers along the way, mind fogged with desperation and anger. He now knew how Bucky felt when he saved Steve from all those alley fights back in the day.

It didn’t even register in his mind that he had pulled at least two of the boys away and threw them into the opposite wall, or that he had clutched one's throat so tight that Peter’s thumbs were now digging under his clenched palm with the plea of ‘Cap, let him go!’.  

He dropped the boy, no more than seventeen, on the ground and stepped away to inspect Peter. A busted lip, what looked to be two purpling eyes, torn clothing, and bruises along his ribcage that showed through the new holes in his shirt. The five boys all stood and cowered backwards. 

They shouted and name-called, spit on the floor and taunted the two superheroes. It wasn’t until Peter leaned into Steve’s chest and pushed him back that Steve realized one of the boys was recording the whole thing. 

Against his better judgement, he let them go. There wasn't anything beneficial to be done besides file a police report - not that it would do much anyway. 

He took Peter back to his apartment and called Happy himself. He stitched the nasty cut on the kid’s forehead. He fed him some soup and crackers. He gave him some spare clothes that had shrunk in the washer. Peter’s smile was so broken as he interrupted the silence while Steve cleaned away the dry blood, a simple explanation of ‘I obviously couldn’t fight back’. 

And fuck, Steve knew the kid was right. 

On the other side of town, the night had started pretty nicely. Two beers in and your conversation with Sam was littered with constant laughter and childhood stories. The bar wasn’t that crowded for a Thursday night, just a few regulars and a small office party.

Your conversation was interrupted by two men who had clearly been holding their tongue. First they harassed you for being Avengers and destroying the city every other week - which granted, was a pretty reasonable argument. You let that one slide. But then they hassled you on who you employed: an ex-con who was clearly only abusing his influence on Hank Pym, a mental woman who took an entire town hostage because she was obviously evil at heart and a witch (‘fuck her children, what about mine?!’), and a teenager who had murdered a true superhero who was only trying to warn and rid the world of him. 

You and Sam remained seated, jaws clenched and hands wrapped tightly around your drinks. If you ignored them long enough, they would go away. The bartender will surely throw them out, they were becoming too rowdy. You were better than them and there was absolutely no need to freak out over words. They were just words. 

“I say we head on over to Queens and pay that sweet Aunt of his a visit!”

Sam let out a quick and prepared sigh, “Shit.”

He threw the first punch, launching himself at the biggest of the two men and hitting the ground. You leaped over the bar counter and tackled the second guy before he could join Sam’s fight. He was clearly caught off guard, arms fumbling wildly as he tried and failed to keep his balance. But your sudden momentum caused his decline, and you were hammering your fist down onto his face like your life depended on it. 

Sam quickly took his gun from his pocket and threw it across the room. He couldn’t risk either of the guys getting a hold of it. He rolled onto all fours before sweeping his leg to trip the guy as he attempted to stand. He shuffled and grabbed one of his arms, legs wrapping themselves over the dude’s shoulders and squeezing his neck. If there was one thing Natasha had taught her friends, it was how to subdue a man with just the thighs. 

The brawl lasted maybe a good two minutes before other customers stepped in and separated you. Out of anger, you kept kicking and struggling. It wasn’t until the doors burst open and police drew their batons that you realized you royally fucked up. Everything was eerily silent and out of pure personality, you scooted away from the remnants of the fight as discreetly (but most obviously) as you could. 

You were booked, charges later dropped. Sam’s mugshot showcased a thin smile, like he knew the record would be expunged within the hour. Yours displayed a cocked eyebrow and slightly pursed lips. 

Yeah, PR didn’t have a nice night.

     “What about the videos, Omar?”

Ramirez gave you a sincere look, “No one on Ernesto’s team risks their reputation like that. You have his rage, but he doesn’t have your morality. Save the next question, I know what you two were fighting about.”

Even if you did get caught and the videos went viral, there was no way the world could know your connections. “The world doesn’t know about my family connections. Fury made sure to never input it into Shield’s database.”

“Imagine how terrified Ernesto was when the Russian spilled all their secrets.”

“Natasha,” Steve asserted. “Her name was Natasha.”

Ramirez bowed his head, “Natasha. I’m sorry.” He turned back to you. “You were barely starting out when that happened, no?” 

You were getting impatient with no backup. “Your point?”

“You’re working against him, aren’t you? You’ve always been working against him.”

You raised your gun again and stalked toward him. “Choose your next words carefully.”

Again, he raised his hands in defense. “I’m not with him. He doesn’t know I’m here, neither does White.” 

There was a long pause as you all pondered over his admission. Even though you vouched for him just yesterday, there was still so much to consider before jumping to his conclusion. “I think they’re plotting to kill me.”

Steve chuckled under his breath, “We know.”

Ramirez reacted like he was just slapped in the face. “You know?”

After a long train of thought, Scott interjected with his own idea. “That plot of land you bought - it’s not for drugs, is it?”

“I mean, half of it is for drugs.”

“Omar,” you demanded.

“Yes, yes. But the other half is entirely unrelated.”

Scott motioned for him to continue, “Enlighten us.”

And the small, proud smile on his face gave you the feeling he really was telling the truth. “It’s a refugee camp.”

Steve stuttered, “Drugs and refugees?”

Ramirez pushed himself toward the nearby chair and hoisted himself up. “I know it sounds crazy. Trust me, I know.” He let out a pained hiss. “But the Mexican government has already approved it. Well, if you can call it a government. They’re one of the few who still haven’t recovered from everyone coming back.”

“So, what? Are you making the refugees work for you?” you questioned. 

Ramirez widened his eyes. “What? No, no! The drugs are for income. For food, shelter, medicine, todo lo demas!”

Steve huffed, “Let me guess. The drugs aren’t real and anyone who finds out the truth will turn a blind eye.”

“Exactly.”

It was obvious why Ramirez wanted someone to know about the possible scheme. But why that someone happened to be you and your team, you honestly didn’t know. By logic, if you had been playing your father all this time, wasn’t it reasonable to assume you had or continue to play Ramirez?

“And you’re telling us for what? To save your ass?”

Ramirez countered with a question of his own, “Why are you here? After what Seda did to you, I can’t believe it.”

“Stop, just stop.” You were about done with all of this.

“You’re here to arrest us, right? I’m assuming I’m included.”

You raised your head, trying desperately to depict true regret in the stare you gave him. “I’m sorry.”

He sadly shook his head, “Don’t apologize. I know why you’re doing it.” He turned to Steve. “I’m just asking for a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

“Protect my daughter.”

Your jaw dropped lightly as you heard his selfless favor. “Your daughter?”

“Her name is on the deed. I think Ernesto wants my land.”

“And once you’re taken out, she’s the only thing standing in his way.”

“Either he marries her-” he took a long pause to breath in deep. “Or he kills her.”

“Take her off of it?” you stated with confidence since it was more of a suggestion than a question. 

A deep frown etched into his face. “She’s somewhere in Asia right now. I need her signature. And all the forgers haven’t called me back.” He sighed and reached down to grip his bloody shin again. “She won’t make it back in time for the legal route.”

Steve nodded in understanding. He surprised you by setting the shield down on the couch. “Then we won’t let anything happen.”

“Promise me.”

You started to express remorse about the situation but were immediately cut off. “We aren’t in the business of making pro-”

“We promise.” 

You turned your head sharply, eyes round and mouth dropped. It was all you could muster up to show Steve your shock. He ignored your judgement, even if he did just break one of the top ten rules on the ‘what not to do as a superhero!’ list. 

Finally, uniformed officers scrambled into the room with their weapons drawn. Torres led them, hair all disheveled and cheeks pink.  “I’m so sorry. The connection was hacked and the cameras were delayed-”

You moved to stand near him, “It’s okay. Hey, we’re okay.”

Torres kept eye contact with you for only a second more, not really accepting that his tardiness should be casually swept under the rug like that. He immediately signaled for his officers to arrest Ramirez. “Get on your knees.”

Ramirez raised his hands and tried to stand. “With all due respect, your Captain might’ve broken my leg. I can’t kneel again or else I might cry.”

You tugged at Torres’s jacket and whispered. “Joaquin, just take him in for questioning. But you gotta release him-”

His eyes rounded. “What? We finally got him!”

“You have to release him. He has to be at the wedding.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered after a long pause and internal struggle. 

Just like that, Torres and his officers hoisted Ramirez up and dragged him from the room. For him to risk coming here, with no backup (according to security cameras and his word) and trusting his gut that you weren’t dirty - he must have been telling some truth. Steve followed Torres out, leaving you and Scott to report back to Sam and Bucky. 

Steve had only made it down the hallway when Ramirez stumbled into the wall. “Stop here, please.”

Steve was immediately defensive. “I’m not going to apologize for protecting my team.”

Ramirez didn’t seem to mind that he would be having trouble walking at the wedding. Granted he didn’t play a major role in the actual wedding, but he still needed to be present during the shipment transport. He inwardly thanked the fact the rehearsal dinner was only for close family. “Captain. Joaquin, is it? I know you heard everything I said. Mexico is your homeland. Your people.”

Torres allowed Ramirez to lean on the wall without his help. “I know my roots.”

“I wasn’t lying about the refugee camp. And I know you’ve done a lot in that area of work.”

“How do you-” Torres stammered, eyes flashing to Steve with worry. 

“Mijo, I have connections all over the world. And because I’m not an evil son of a bitch, I tend to keep them.”

Torres looked from Steve to Ramirez debating on whether to entertain this conversation any longer. But if training taught him anything, it was that if the suspect is talking, keep him talking. He motioned for his officers to leave them. 

“What are you getting at?”

“Ernesto knows about the camp. He knows the size of land. He knows my connections. He will kill me for it.” 

Steve mumbled, “Ernesto doesn’t seem like he’s much into the business of helping the less fortunate.”

Ramirez takes a grand leap here, Steve thinks, because the next words out of his mouth completely blindside him. It seemed like even saying them also left a bad taste in the criminal’s mouth. “You have to swear not to tell Y/N.”

Stepping forward and looking down at the injured man, Steve had to restrain himself from yelling his response. “Excuse me?”

“We can’t let her know right now.”

Torres held the same expression as Steve.

“You expect me to keep a secret from my partner? About her own father?”

“For the sake of your mission - yes, I know you’re planning on intercepting the shipment during the wedding - you cannot tell her until the day of the wedding.”

Steve hates that his reasoning is valid.

“Can’t tell her what?”

“The shipment isn’t a ‘what’. It’s ‘who’.”

“A hostage?” Torres almost yells because this changes the landscape, the game, the whole entire mission. 

“Multiple.”

“No, he’s not - he can’t be,” Torres is stuttering now, phone in his hand and about a dozen numbers he needs to call. 

Still, Ramirez seems like he’s telling the truth. Or at least, that’s what his body language tells Steve. “I would not lie about this.” 

Ramirez takes a deep breath before hanging his head in what looks like shame. “Ernesto is planning to kill me, marry or kill my daughter, and use the land to traffic humans.”

It immediately clicks with Steve. The reason why Ramirez was being edged out, the reason why your father wouldn’t tell you where the shipment was currently located, the reason business was going to boom in Europe. 

Ramirez continued, “Drugs are big business, Captain. But the sale of human lives…”

“The shipment - where is it?” Steve asked. 

“He wouldn’t tell me or White. That’s why we have to wait until the wedding. We can’t risk-”

Torres ended a phone call Steve hadn’t even known the kid had been on. He hooked Ramirez’s arm around his shoulders. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

Ramirez accepted the help, limping a few steps down the hallway before turning back to Steve. “Trust me when I say I know your partner, Captain. She can’t know right now. She’d kill him.”

But wasn’t that what you all wanted?

Flustered and quite overwhelmed with everything that had happened this morning and afternoon, Steve took a few minutes in the quiet hallway. 

There wasn’t much for him to do. Except set up security - because if there was one thing Steve was definitely going to do, it was see this whole mission through. 

The rest of the team back home would be briefed in the next few hours. And since Torres would be giving the briefing, everyone would know that this was a major secret kept from you. It would eat away at everyone, especially Steve. 

Digging into his pockets for his burner phone, he dialed the one number he thought you would be satisfied by.

“Maribel, hey. It’s Steve Rogers. I need a favor.”

     It wasn’t hard for Steve to conceal secrets. He was trained in code, intercepted Nazi messages during the war, and negotiated the safe return of hostages more times than he could count. 

Not telling you this would perhaps bite him in the ass in the long run, and there would most certainly be a dreaded argument in his future. But when he truly thought about it and what it could possibly mean if you seriously went out of your way to end this mission quicker than it was planned - the best possible choice was to keep this secret. 

Either he could tell you right now and have you do with it what you will, or he could tell you on the day of the wedding when all bets are off and the mission could be a success. 

That’s all the both of you have ever wanted, this he knows for sure. Getting rid of these people, getting rid of your father with help from the Avengers and their close connections, was worth more than a petty argument with the top crime boss who would never change his ways. It was best to stick it out, and tell you when the time was right. 

Because he will tell you. He promises himself that. 

After discussing the day and the rest of the plan over video chat, it was concluded that Sam and Bucky would be flying out a day earlier than planned. Having Ramirez simply waltz into the hotel when someone was having their regular smoke break was much too insane to ignore, and the more backup you guys had tomorrow and the next, the better. 

Scott took his leave after triple-checking if you were alright. He even offered to have a couple drinks with you down at the bar. You declined, excuse being that you would drink tomorrow at the dinner. 

Shrugging off your jacket and shirt was more painful than you hoped. It felt like someone had punched you with all their strength smack-dab in the middle of your fucking spine. Which, come to think of it, kind of happened? The pressure Seda applied was meant to subdue in the most awkward and painful of ways. He was trained to do so. Still, removing your bra should have been a simple task and instead it hurt like a bitch. 

The warm water from the shower relaxed the strained muscles as best as it could, and you only suffered minimally while applying your shampoo and conditioner. It was the hair drying and brushing of the hair that would prove difficult. 

Giving up halfway, you opened the bathroom door and peeked through, hoping Steve decided to stay in for the night. He was simply lounging on his bed, back pressed against the headboard as he watched Finding Nemo on Disney Junior. He was already dressed for bed.

“Steve?”

He glanced at you, worry etched on his face as he took in your embarrassed expression. “What is it?”

You opened the door fully, pajamas already on and a wet towel in your hand. You blushed madly. “Could you help me dry my hair? It hurts when I raise my arms.”

Steve was out of bed the second he heard the word ‘help’. “How bad is it? We can always fly in Dr. Cho to get you checked out-”

You giggled, passing him the hotel hair dryer. “I’ll just pop some advil every few hours and annoy you for a massage before tomorrow’s dinner. That sound good?”

He didn’t want to agree. If you were actually in severe pain, it wasn’t helpful to you or the mission. He cursed himself for not relieving you of Seda’s elbow sooner. 

“If you say so.”

You turned back to the mirror and gripped the counter, fingers tapping away as Steve grabbed the essentials. He used one of the hand towels to squeeze the excess water from your tips and separated your hair into sections. He blow dried your hair for a couple of minutes before deciding to alternate with the brush. 

The brush was shaped like a cylinder, the bristles much softer than that of other brushes he’d seen. 

“Just use it like any other brush. But once you get close to the tips, start twisting it. It’ll make my hair wavy.”

Steve nodded, doing exactly as you instructed. It was fifteen minutes of pure laughs and jokes as Steve styled your hair like some seventies movie star. He had always enjoyed the culture from that time and even if the show wasn’t actually set in the seventies, it was one of his guilty pleasures to watch That 70’s Show with Wanda. 

     Once finished, the two of you brushed your teeth and finished the rest of the movie in comfortable silence. He didn’t want to become distracted by something new so he shut off the television and turned to you, all snuggled up and scrolling through your phone. 

It was now or never. 

His voice was tinier than he hoped it would be, “Do you regret what we did?”

You were lying on your side facing Steve, phone plugged into the charger. You looked up, voice as equally tiny. “Oh, we’re talking about it now?”

Steve smiled, “You haven’t exactly brought it up either.”

“Well,” your chuckle came out as a huff. You put your phone back onto the bedside table.  “No, I don’t regret it.”

“You don’t?”

“Did you want me to?” you sounded surprised, but Steve knew you well enough to know you were only teasing. 

“No, I just-”

“Do you?”

“You gotta stop interrupting me,” Steve sighed. You raised your eyebrows. “I don’t regret it.”

You bit your lip and sat up straighter so your back was also leaning against the headboard. “So we both don’t regret it.”

“God, you annoy the hell out of me, you know that?” Steve admitted, kicking off his sheets and presenting what looked to be both a sad and honest grin. 

You laughed, kicking the sheets off as well and dangling your legs over the side. “Do I! You only remind me every damn day!”

Steve softened his voice once more, grin still present. “And yet, you never take a hint.”

You craved this playfulness and if you could continue like this for the rest of the night, for the rest of your lives, you would. But you remembered that there was a real conversation to be had. About the last seven years, the last two years, the last couple of days. Whether that conversation remained civil or evolved into an argument, it had to happen. 

“I guess we both act like everything is past us when it clearly isn’t. What should we do?”

Steve hesitated, “Do you want to fight?”

You shrugged, “I think we need to. I don’t plan on not speaking to you for months after if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

He huffed an involuntary laugh, body leaning forward slightly, “I hope not.”

You shared small smiles from your sides of the room, the air growing thicker but not uncomfortable enough to leave the room altogether. 

Steve decided to speak first. “I was stupid. And I made the wrong fucking choice. I was the biggest goddamn idiot on the planet to do that to a friend.” 

You chewed on your bottom lip, “Yeah. All of that’s true. But you still haven’t told me why you did it. You just gave me a half-assed apology because Sam forced you to, and you wonder why we never had our nightly girl talks again.”

“When I apologized, I hardly meant it.”

You nodded sarcastically, “Good start, Steve.”

“No, I-” he laughed, getting up to sit beside you. “I realized that I was truly, actually sorry… when you gave me your blood.”

You cringed, looking away from him and at the random monitors. “It sounds horribly cryptic when you say it like that.”

He smiled big, “It wasn’t even a mission. And if I recall correctly, you told me you would only help me again if we were on a mission.”

“Oh.”

He scooted closer to take your hand in his. “No, not ‘oh’. I was in and out of it but I can clearly make out when I’m getting a blood transfusion.”

“You weren’t gonna die-” you rolled your eyes, absentmindedly drawing circles on Steve’s knuckles. 

“Recovery would have been a hell of a lot harder.”

“I wasn’t the only volunteer-”

“You were the first.”

“So you’re interrupting me, now?”

Steve's smile never faltered. He leaned in and squinted playfully. “How does it feel?”

Pursing your lips, you surrendered. “Go on.”

“You won’t believe me when I say that I truly don’t know why I quit on you. I was just tired.”

“Tired of me?”

“God, no,” he responded quickly. “Tired of myself.”

“Steve…”

He stood up again. Running a hand through his hair, he took tiny steps back and forth. “We brought everyone back and they didn’t know they had been gone for years. I had to tell -” 

He swallowed hard, holding back tears. “I had to tell everyone Nat sacrificed her own soul for theirs.”

“Steve, we could have done it together. I was by your side,” you stood up as well, reaching out to grip his forearm. 

“And then Nick told me about your father. And how he was just picking up where he left off. Like Nat’s sacrifice meant nothing. Like it still means nothing.”

You sighed, a disappointed pout on your face. “So you took it out on me?”

His shoulders fell in defeat as he gently slapped his arms down over his hips. “I have no other excuse.” 

He didn’t try to sugarcoat it. It was the truth. No matter who asked the question, no matter how much he thought about it, the answer truly was that Steve had no excuse. You were the one thing connected to the evil of the past that he so desperately wanted to leave behind. “And then the world was just… we didn’t fix it.”

“How can you say that?”

He explained further, “People moved on. Five years was a long time and we just mucked it all up again.”

“Do you feel like Nat’s sacrifice wasn’t worth it?”

“She died for us. And the world was so chaotic the first few weeks. There were no breaks, there was nothing we could do but… watch.”

You could see where he was coming from. “Pepper has donated so much money. Created foundations. Bruce is locked in his lab all day trying to help slow down the sudden CO2 emissions. Bucky joined the Avengers for a fresh start. And Wanda-”

Steve pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “Oh, god, Wanda.”

“Steve,” you stepped in front of him and tried pulling his hands away. He let you guide his arms back to his sides. “You can’t just blame yourself for something we all did.”

A tiny puff of air left his lips before he forced a smile. “Can’t I?”

“You tell this to your therapist, right?” you teased, happy to see him break slightly as he rolled his eyes. “You blame yourself, but I’m saying you don’t have to.”

He traced his index finger down from your shoulder to your wrist. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

And you believed him. The world could explode and erase you from existence and you would still believe him. 

“I feel like saying ‘sorry’ doesn’t cut it.”

“I’ll work with whatever you can give me.”

And God, Steve thinks about how beautiful you look in the muted light of his bedside lamp, hair still a little frizzy from the hair dryer and the most radiant smile. So… soft. Again, the only sound besides your easy breathing and slight whistle was that lamp, the most annoying, fuzzy sound. Everything just felt so hazy, so tranquil, so… and yes, he’ll use the word again: soft. He could stay in that moment forever, where you were his and he was yours. 

“What are you thinking about?” 

Steve shakes his head, wonder drowning out all other senses as he focuses on you. He steps closer, enveloping you in a tight hug, mindful of your bruised back. Before he could overthink this moment, to ruin it with the side of himself he was trying to lose, he leaned in to capture your lips in a most chaste kiss. 

It had been a long time since Steve had kissed anyone. The kiss you shared yesterday was the catalyst, but this was a promise. His last kiss was before the snap while he was on the run and trying to avoid responsibility. But it wasn’t like someone before wanted to bask in the warmth of Steve Rogers - no - there was actual emotion to this kiss. 

An ache swelled in the middle of your chest, hammering surely and true. Your mouth falls open the same time Steve inches his hand up your neck, allowing for the kiss to deepen and last. 

His heart was breaking and repairing itself all at once. Breaking for the time he had lost, repairing for the time he had gained. He needed you, wanted you, lost himself in your touch. That same ache in your chest grew in his, pulsating and heavy. His fingers crept into your hair, curling themselves in the loose strands.

He swears you were born for this - to be willing and wanting and breathtakingly good at kissing. He’s so desperate to feel more of you, to taste more than he thinks he deserves, and he almost whines when your fingers also start to tangle in the hair near his neck. 

“Steve, are you sure we should be doing this?” Your voice prompted him to kiss deeper, apply more pressure in the fear that you would change your mind - change your mind about him. 

Almost immediately, red flags propped up and he had to force himself away. He didn’t know your dating history, he didn’t know if you ever emotionally recovered from your assault, he didn’t know. He cursed inwardly for last night, keeping a respectable distance as he checked. 

“I won’t do anything you don’t want to do. I promise you that.”

His voice was thick like honey, smooth and true in the honest words he was saying. 

You had been hesitant for a long while after what had happened to you. You couldn’t stand the simple touch of anyone besides Natasha. But she helped you through it, she shared her own experiences from the early Red Room days, and she had never officially recognized your recovery - she didn’t have to as long as you knew in your mind and body that you had. 

‘The dreadful experience will be a part of you, but it will not ever control you.’ Her words were like prayer. 

But Steve’s touch was natural and wanted. You never shied away from him, not ten years ago and certainly not now. He would never hurt you, you knew this, and he was double-checking to confirm it. 

“I only want you.”

His face resembled a literal question mark, like he didn’t quite accept your admission. Like it was hard to believe you wanted to be with him after everything he put you through. “Do you want me?”  

“Yes. Honest to God, I’m just going with what feels right.”

“That’s just a nicer way of saying you’re thinking with your dick.”

Steve couldn’t contain the burst of laughter that left his lips and hit yours. He pulled back and smiled, eyes crinkling at the sides. “I promise you it’s not that.”

You cupped his face and drew tiny circles on his flushed cheeks. “Hm, so you don’t know what you’re doin’? Thought you always had a plan.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “And apparently I’m always brave.”

“And righteous.”

“Downright patriotic.”

You grinned up at him, your toes sore from how long you had been bending them to hoist you up. “So, your plan?”

Steve kissed you once, twice, three times. “I don’t have one.”

“Pretty brave of you to admit that.”

Steve’s smile dropped slightly to showcase a more serious emotion. Still, his eyes held the most genuine quality. “I just want to be yours.”

You pressed up against him, tiptoes straining and fists clutching his shirt. The kiss was desperate now, as were the both of you. You gasped in between each long peck. “All this time? Why didn’t we say something?”

Embracing you once more, Steve led the two of you to the foot of his bed and fell forward. He landed on top of you, weight nowhere near actually crushing you. His legs were slightly parted, his knees touching the lateral sides of yours. Accepting that the both of you had played a role and delayed this portion of your relationship - Steve was a coward, he knew this, but hearing you say that you also realized your mistakes made him feel weirdly glad. Like he wasn’t alone in this.

“Tell me if you need to stop,” Steve breathed in your neck, kissing the depths of your collarbones and the points of your shoulders. 

“Never,” you whispered, gasping a moment later as he sucked particularly hard. You reached below and tugged the end of his shirt upward. He took it off quickly and before resuming his conquest on your neck, he tugged yours off as well. 

It functioned like this for another ten minutes, strong kisses and gasps and whines, before you were both down to your underwear and simply petting each other higher up on the bed. 

Steve pulled away abruptly, a blush spreading along his neck and down his chest as he thought about the best way to phrase his next sentence. “I didn’t really pack any condoms.”

You actually snorted, pushing away loose strands of your hair as you looked up from beneath him. “Woah, how far did you think you were going to get here, Rogers?”

He was used to the sarcasm, but oh my god did it do something feral to him while in bed with you.  He suddenly flipped you over, holding your hips above his as you settled yourself. It was like a case of whiplash, and before you knew it, you were placed on top of him to grind down and do all the work yourself. 

“Seriously?” His voice was light but raspy, both a sweet question and a warning. 

You grind your hips down on him, feeling the way his hard cock rubbed against your clothed core. Last night was different - you could feel the heat of him, the initial size not lost on you whatsoever. But here you were actually seeing the thick outline in all its glory, a small wet patch forming on his briefs near his twitching tip. “Years of sleeping in my bed only to want to fuck me now?”

He rolled his hips up, his palms beginning a slow and steady pace smoothing alongside your stomach. You relaxed right away, even though it felt like your insides were going to turn upside down, and you rested your hands over his to help guide him. 

“You gonna let me?”

 And fuck, if that wasn’t the hottest fucking thing in the whole world. His palms continued their tracks, reaching up to cup your breasts through your sports bra.  You got the message, giggling as you lifted your arms up. He lifted it up and over your head, throwing it to the other side of the room. Steve immediately attacked, lifting himself and readjusting your hips as well. He sucked your left nipple like a goddamn professional, swirling his tongue around the tight nub and using his teeth only briefly, delighted in the sharp hitch in your breath as he did so. He moved on to the other one, repeating the same process and grinding your hips down on him to match. He trailed quick pecks along your chest and up your neck, his hand finding its way back to your hair. Just below your occipital, so very sensitive, and he tugged your head back at an awkward angle. He kissed his way up, stretching your neck out, and you adjusted to the burn as quickly as the pleasure from it came. 

“Fuck,” you breathed out, mind scrambled but still coherent enough to remember you were on birth control and clean. “I have the shot.”

This had Steve reeling, balance now off as he flipped you once more, hips coming down to meet yours as you thrust upward looking for some relief. The thought of spilling into you with no barrier had to be one of the kinks he didn’t know he had. 

“Safe word?”

You rolled your eyes and shoved his shoulder playfully, “Really, Steve?”

“Safe. Word.”

It wasn’t like you were about to tie each other down for your first time together, but you knew what was flying through his mind. He needed to know you felt safe during whatever the two of you did tonight, make sure you felt calm and at ease and relaxed. Steve would rather die than hurt you physically. 

“Widow.” You paused, smirking up at him as he accepted your decree. “Great, now I’m thinking about Natasha and that time she entered the compound in just that little, red bikini-”

Steve thumbed your bottom lip, then carefully shoved it into your mouth and placed it over your lax tongue to get you to stop talking. Your jaw instantly relaxed and you waited a few moments before locking eyes and enclosing his thumb in your lips. You sucked and swirled your tongue around it, pushing slightly so it rested on your puckered lips. Steve rolled his hips down again, his heat meeting yours in a mash of uncoordinated thrusts. You spread your legs to allow him more room. He had to remove his thumb in fear he would come right then and there.

He inched down lower, hands reaching down to cup your ass and lift you up slightly. He kissed all along your thighs, up to your hip bones, expertly avoiding the one area he knew you wanted him. His beard scratched and poked on your delicate skin, tickling you as he moved closer to your center. This would most certainly hurt in the morning, but nothing a little lotion and vaseline couldn’t fix. You mewled embarrassingly loud, a long drawn out sound that caused Steve to involuntarily rut against the mattress. It had been so long since he had been with someone. But this someone was you. He honestly didn’t know if he could hold out for as long as he wanted. He slowly peeled off your underwear. 

“Where do you want me?”

You lifted your head from the pillow to look down at him, eyebrows furrowed and cheeks incredibly red. “Games, Rogers?”

Steve growled and hoisted your open legs on his shoulders, pulling you closer so that you could feel his stuttering breath. “I’m the one playing?”

His question didn’t quite land considering his sudden manhandling had your eyes rolling to the back of your head and momentarily blinding you. After such a harsh day, the roughness of this particular situation shouldn’t have been so well received by your body. But it was consensual, it was with someone you trusted, and you were also in control. Just knowing that made you crave it. 

“If you don’t get your mouth on me-” you started, trying desperately to move your hips closer to his mouth. And god, did he want to dip lower and suck your glistening heat under his waiting mouth. You were positively dripping, all shiny and welcoming. He hadn’t ordered dessert with dinner, and hey, this would do nicely. 

But your quick quips ignited the Steve that would pick you last during training line-ups. He would leave you for the end, without a team, foot tapping rapidly on the floor as you glared at him with an amused smile. Then he would act like you were the last choice he just had to pick, which you were, and you’d lose the first match on purpose to ruin his scoreboard. It always worked like this, he knew, but did he ever pick you first the next time? No, your bothered attitude excited him too much.

Now, with an impatient attitude bolstering underneath his body, he found himself raising his hand a few inches up in the air. “Stop sassin’!”

The slap echoed after it connected against your bottom, the angle at which it impacted clumsy and inelegant. He smacked the side, surprised by the sharp scream you exhaled. As quickly as he acted, he pulled back. “Oh my god, I should have asked first. I’m so sorry.”

You opened your eyes, the soft light illuminating the room still too bright. You shook away the white spots from your vision. You seriously didn’t know if that was an orgasm or simply a tidal wave of intense pleasure. Still, you were sort of out of it as Steve’s voice tried to draw you back in. 

You looked down at him, “Do that again.”

Steve blinked quickly, unknowing if he truly registered your words correctly. “Are you sure?”

“I didn’t think I’d enjoy that. But oh my god, do that again.”

Steve hesitated and to ease into it better, he decided to not keep you waiting any longer and attached his eager lips to your gleaming ones down below. You fluttered your eyes shut, surprised by how quickly he found your sweetest spot, and you rutted against him harder as the minutes flew by. He swirled his tongue in tight O’s and figure eights, teeth barely scratching but when they did, sent you flying upwards. But he just gripped onto your thighs and readjusted you on his shoulders, fingers digging in almost painfully. His beard burned the inside of your thighs, rubbing deliciously and uncomfortably. He shifted his soft and wriggling tongue to that special spot on the inside of your left lip, his fierce grip not allowing you to shift away as he ate. The hands that were clutching the bedsheets now flew onto his scalp, gripping his hair tightly and you pushed him in deeper. Steve groaned from the pleasant sting, cock straining in his briefs as he rutted into the air. 

The pressure was too much and you wanted him off of you and on you at the same time. Moaning so loud it was deafening, you didn’t notice he lost his grip on one of your legs to connect his palm back to the side of your ass. 

“God!” you yelled blissfully, one hand leaving his head to slam back into the headboard. He repeated the action, his own moans vibrating on you and sending you to a different plane of existence. Each slap grew in strength and he alternated sides, his mouth never leaving your sweet center.

He was sweating now, dying to touch himself and get you off at the same time. He circled his hips mid-air, the friction against his briefs not enough and all too much. 

“Fuck, I can’t believe you like that,” he whined. 

You chuckled through desperate moans, “Are you judging me right now?”

“I’m judging how fucking wrecked it makes me,” he admitted, mouth now working overtime and ready to lead you off the edge. He worked faster, tongue now assaulting your clit eagerly. Steve can feel both his pulse and your pulse gaining momentum, thrumming away inside his skull and vibrating deliciously as he brought you closer. He suspects you’ve got a few good seconds before you’re coming on his mouth. 

“Steve… Steve!” you begged, hips bucking awkwardly against him. He wrapped both arms around your thighs again and headed for the finish line, humming against you and basking in the glory of your end. You broke around him, the scream you let out causing the heat in his stomach to tighten and spread to his own thighs. You wiggled fiercely, attempting to get away from him as he continued to lick you. He made sure to leave some of your release behind, even if his lips and chin told another story. 

He set your legs back down on the bed with him still in the middle. He could still see how shiny you were in between. Selfishly, Steve maneuvered to get himself out of his briefs and settle back in the middle. There, he took pleasure in simply viewing himself, strained and practically purple with desire, at level with your wet mound. 

“You’ve been practicing, huh?” He snapped from his dirty thoughts and looked back at your blissed out face. You also had a soft luster on your skin.

Steve chuckled, hands gripping the sides of your hips to massage them. “Not recently. But the USO girls were just as tuned up as I was at the time.”

You grinned wide, ���Now that’s something I didn’t know about you. You fuck ‘em?”

Steve reached down to grip the base of his cock, the pressure building and he seriously didn’t want to blow his load before you both took the next step. He willed himself to calm down before he responded. “Yeah, but please don’t go tellin’ everyone.”

“Who knew you were such a slut?” you teased, voice dripping with such intensity that Steve shut his eyes to drown in it. You wrapped your leg around his waist and tipped him over, coming back to rest your hips atop his. Hands sprawled along the expanse of his chest and unclothed heat now rubbing along his bare cock. Steve tipped his head back, a deep groan rising from the middle of his chest as your drenched lips parted to swallow the thickness of his cock. You rocked back and forth, your sensitive clit nudging his tip every so often. You had already come once, and you reveled in the simple fact that this must be torture for Steve. “Tell me, Steve. How do you want me?”

Steve short-circuited. 

“Doll, I want you in every imaginable way,” he whined, bucking his hips. He grinned when his short movement caused you to whimper. “I want you on top of me, doing nothing, as I fuck up into you.”

You let out a ragged gasp, hips moving faster. You were practically dripping along his cock. Steve continued, “I want you underneath me as I fold you in half and your ankles are dangling in the air. I want you on your stomach as I use your hips how I want.”

Your eyes were wide, the blush on your cheeks extending all the way down to your naked chest. This was so surreal. Just last week you switched his special sugar for salt and watched him literally sob and almost throw up as he sipped his morning tea. 

“But I also want you to hold me down and fuck me however you see fit. I want you to steal my control, I don’t want it. I just need you.”

His voice was wrecked, choked whimpers caught in between his syllables and eyelids fluttering slowly. You shot down to kiss him hard, hands tangling in his hair and hips grinding long and slow. You were rewarded with a sticky bead of pre-come from his sensitive slit. You were already milking him and he hadn’t even entered you yet. 

“Y/N, are you sure?”

You detached your lips, forehead now resting on his and your breaths intermingled. “I’m sure.”

He didn’t know what willed him to flip you over so fast, whether it was the serum or his desperate need to sink into your tight warmth, but he succeeded. His gaze was intense, like he was trying to find any hesitation he so didn’t want to find. But there was none. Your eyes were bright and happy, and he had only seen this look a few times. He felt incredibly lucky to experience it now. 

“I’m sorry I lost you,” he spoke without thinking. Because he truly was sorry, he was so fucking sorry. But to have you here, so vulnerable and allowing him to see you so defenseless, he felt like he didn’t deserve it without telling you once again that he was sorry. 

You gave him a toothy smile, cheeks rising and causing the skin by your eyes to crinkle. You guided his head down to plant his lips on yours again. It was innocent enough for the circumstances, just a gentle press with slow movements. 

You pushed him back to meet his eyes. “I probably should have held on tighter.”

He knows the color of your eyes, but never in this lighting. He knows the sweat of your body, but not when it mixes with his. He knows your talkative mouth, but never pink and swollen in a pleasant pout. He knows your voice, but never when it calls out his name while you writhe underneath him. He knows you now, all of you, open and vulnerable for him.

Steve presses one more deep kiss on your lips before positioning himself better in between your legs. He lifts you up slightly, bending your knees and spreading your legs so your feet are planted on the mattress. Then he slowly guides himself into your tight heat. 

It’s incredibly overwhelming for both parties. He hadn’t exactly prepared you with his fingers and his size is a little much. He was thicker than anything you were used to, and the sting left you wanting him to move already and pause to settle for maybe an hour. It’s like he read your mind because he moved even slower as he pushed deeper, head dropping to the curve of your neck, gasping against your skin. You tried to encourage him, rolling your hips and hooking one leg around him. The sting still overpowered any sense of pleasure, so you rolled your hips against his to try and better adjust for yourself. 

He grasped onto the side of your hip tightly, “Doll, if you don’t stop doing that I’m not gonna last.” 

You blushed, slightly embarrassed, “I was just trying to get comfortable quicker.”

Steve groaned and planted a few sweet kisses to your heated neck. “Do you want to stop? I can work you out one more time before we do this?”

You turned your head slightly to kiss across his cheek. “I want you now. I just need to adjust first.”

Steve nodded quickly, pressing in more and pausing to let you roll your hips. He bit his lip harshly, a cracked gasp escaping every so often as you worked yourself on him. Once he was fully seated inside of you, he closed his eyes and just held you. 

He tried not to think of anything else other than you. How you felt, how you smelled, how you sounded. Who you were, who you became, who you will be. He was swallowed in you and he didn’t ever want to leave that abyss. 

A rush of heat settled inside your stomach, maddening and burning with such intensity it was practically speaking to you. “Steve, you can move. I’m ready, please move.”

He’s as deep as he can go and you’re both breathing hard and he loves you, he loves you, he loves you. As far as declarations of love go, this was perhaps the most graceless, but he knew it was sincere and real. Steve felt a moment of unrelenting panic, like he had just accidentally verbally admitted it. But he hadn’t, and selfishly enough, he would keep it to himself for as long as he could until he himself could come to terms with it. 

There are definitely going to be marks on your skin once you’re done here, but you couldn’t care less - not when Steve just let go of his worries and started to thrust in and out of you, deep and slow. He meets you with a long kiss, hips picking up their pace as you match his rhythm. His hands grip your hips tighter, every thrust working deep into you and prying desperate moans for him to savor. 

The drag as he pulls out leaves you lightheaded. And as he pushes back in, it leaves you with a burst of satisfaction at the base of your spine. You can’t even form words as you’re reduced to a stuttering series of ‘uh-uh-uhs’, fully in the moment and fucked stupid. All you could do is push your hips forward and up to meet him halfway, match your moans to his, clench around him to draw out that choked sob from his throat that he tries and fails to contain. You tried your best to ignore the slight pain in the middle of your back, and the sting and stretch down below made sure of it. 

He was stammering around every syllable of your name. Breathy moans followed. 

“Steve, faster, please baby.” Steve stuttered in his movements, eyes squeezed shut as he registered your request. He followed through, however, lifting your hip in one hand and turning you at an angle that made him hit deeper and in a special spot you didn’t know you had. No one had reached it, not even when you played with yourself, and your squeal of delight alerted Steve of his accomplishment. Each pleasurable noise encouraged Steve to maintain whatever rhythm he had going. So he hit it over and over again, working at it hungrily, ignoring his shaking arms and praying the serum could be useful for more than just bullets and super speed. 

“You feel so fucking perfect. So fucking great,” he panted, watching your face as it contorted into a silent scream. You were coming again, hands braced on his biceps as your voice failed to warn him. You clenched and unclenched around him, head thrown far back into the pillow as your chest ripped with the sound it was harbouring. 

You had never come from penetration alone and you bet the fact it was Steve bringing you to climax was definitely a main factor, but it was so damn intense that your legs gave out and simply flopped onto the mattress. Steve stopped hammering into you for a minute, breathing heavily as he allowed you a cooldown. 

“I didn’t feel that coming, I’m sorry,” you laughed, arm coming up to cover your eyes. 

Steve chuckled and removed your arm, “You good?”

You were still seeing white spots and your head was slightly cloudy, but the knowledge that Steve hadn’t yet come fueled you. And the possibility of him coming inside you kickstarted another wave of desire in each of your vertebrae. 

“Yeah, I just have one favor,” you stated honestly, wiggling uncomfortably. “Could you flip me over? In this position, you’re really pushing down on my bruise.”

He moaned shamefully from the greedy thought of having you on your stomach. The angel on one shoulder chastised him, telling him to flip you over for the sake of your comfort. But that little devil, greedy and seeking his finish, told him to flip you over and fuck you into the mattress. He compromised. 

He flipped you over and helped you place a pillow just below your hips. He watched as you threw your hair to one side and bent your arms at the elbows. Hands now placed below your head and hips wiggling in front of him, Steve parted your legs and sunk into you again. 

“Yes, fuck, yes…” you mewled, hips raising ever so slightly to drag him in deeper. Steve watched the area where you were connected, wonder clouding his mind as he dipped deeper, deeper, until his hips connected with your bottom. He wasn’t used to this position and he never really thought that he would enjoy it so much. It was like he reached new depths, your pleasure could only come from the way he rolled his hips - yeah, he needed to put you in every position his mind could fathom. 

His jaw went slack as he pulled out and pushed back in, hair sticking to his own forehead and mouth feeling dry and watery at the same time. 

He fucked you in earnest, hoping he could draw out one more orgasm from you. You were putty beneath him, hair now mangled and sticking with the sweat on your neck and back. You were a repetition of ‘yes, yes, yes’ and ‘fuck please, fuck, please!’, sloppy in all senses. He didn’t slow down because one: he was chasing his finish, and two: you didn’t tell him to. 

You were a whimpering mess, a tiny pool of drool forming beneath your mouth and on the sheets. It wasn’t like you didn’t try to swallow it - you physically couldn’t. 

Steve was growing erratic now as his end neared. He fell over you, none of his weight actually on you as he wrapped one arm under your stomach and the other hand sneaking its way to your clit. His cheek was planted on your back and in that moment, he remembered your growing bruise. So he lifted his face back up and planted several wet kisses over, inbetween, and alongside your shoulder blades. The soft gesture had you tearing up from both adoration and heat. You fisted the sheets underneath you and met Steve’s ruts as best as you could. 

He rubbed quick circles over your clit, relishing in the feeling of your velvet walls pulsating around him. “Come for me, doll.”

You didn’t know if he could hear himself begging, but he repeated that sentence several more times before you spoke. It was like you chose for him. “Come inside me, Steve. Please, please, please!”

That strung-out whine of yours did it. Steve pressed his mouth against your skin with a breathless groan as he spilled into you in long spurts. Simply feeling him coat your walls with what sounded like a painful cry had you coming for the third time tonight. You didn’t have enough energy to vocalize it so just pushed your head into the pillow and prayed you could still walk tomorrow. 

Steve’s heartbeat is in his ears as he comes down from his high. He enjoys it for a few more seconds before finally snapping back to reality, lifting himself from you and slowly pulling out. He groaned deeply as he watched his spent drip from you and onto the pillow hoisting you up. He wrapped a hand around himself to milk whatever else he had as he watched. 

You two lay beside each other for several minutes, chests heaving and blood settling to its normal speed again. 

You glanced to your left and giggled as you witnessed Steve’s blissed out state, tip of his nose still pink, eyelashes creating such a lovely shadow on his cheeks, cock giving a few spent stutters as the rush of blood found another body part to supply. 

He turned to you as well, a lazy smile greeting you. “We’re good at that.”

This time you laughed loudly, throwing yourself over his chest and hugging him close. He laughed with you and kissed the top of your head as he enjoyed the feeling.

After another couple minutes, you both decided it was time to clean up. He resisted the urge to laugh when you stood up, legs wobbly and chest still trying to catch full breaths. You looked drunk, eyes glossy and hair disorderly. The look suited you, really. 

You thought the same about him. 

Steve swore he was about to crumble when you both returned from the bathroom and you headed for your own bed. It was a betrayal for only a millisecond before you commented on how you were not sleeping in soiled sheets and that he could ‘obviously’ join you in your bed tonight. You kept talking, telling him how you weren’t necessarily a cuddler but you would sacrifice one night for him. But ‘do not be alarmed when you find me on the other side of the bed in the morning!’, and the good ache in his chest swelled once again. 

     Once, in 1935, when Steve was seventeen and too weak to breathe in a lick of clean air, the pneumonia eating away at his lungs and taunting his mother, who was rotating between cold and hot rags; that 1935 sickness was one of the few times he was hopeless. Sure, he pulled through because he’s Steve Rogers. But not being able to breathe really scares a person, and so he didn’t feel hopeless - he was hopeless. His own body betrayed him and made his mother, who nursed him while Bucky worked extra shifts at the dock to help her with groceries, cry like a blubbering newborn - well, Steve was forced to put his faith in God. It’s what his mother would have wanted him to do.

And when he couldn’t reach far enough to grasp Bucky’s trembling hand, when he watched him fall into that icy ravine to his supposed death in 1944, he was hopeless. Completely obliterated from the bottom of his heart, up. 

In 2018, when he lost the ultimate battle and saw half the world disintegrate, and the itchiness spread itself far and wide to all the crevices in his crumbling soul, pouring into crack after crack after crack - there was no need to even label himself hopeless anymore. He hadn’t had hope in anything after he caused the destruction of one of his only true 21st century friendships; not since he dropped that shield at the feet of one friend while he walked away with another. There was no hopelessness - simply less. 

But now, with you in his arms and treading lightly along his second chance, his heart was bursting with the possibility of relearning the definition of hope, craving to feel human again - to feel like Steve Rogers again. Sure, he may still believe his glass is half empty instead of half full, and he was pushing the ideals of that shield far too much down the line, but Steve swore the awe in your eyes was the hope he had lost. 

He couldn’t believe you were the host of it all along. 

So he settled in his new home, in his new hope, praying God would let him have it, and closed his eyes. This Steve, who was asleep for over seventy years and was robbed of the life he was supposed to live. This Steve, who wished he could erase all the lost time filled with stupid tantrums and half-assed apologies and pretend it never happened. No lies about ‘maybe it helped you two grow!’ He had poisoned his happiness years ago and god forbid he would let himself do it again. 

This Steve, who only wanted to protect and be protected. Steve, with all his heart, his mind, and his soul, burning brilliant.

~

A/N: man i know this is long but i literally write the chapters in sections and i don’t realize until I paste them together omgggg xxMoni

Taglist: @dumb-ass-writer @justab-eautifulmess @supraveng @mycosmicparadise @missnighttigress​ 

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Love Cuts Deep

Chapter 13- Avengers. Assemble

Summary: With the new Infinity Gauntlet finally put together, things are about to get more chaotic then you could have ever realized. But in the aftermath, there is a joy within the sadness.

Warning: fighting, some blood, angst, fluff, bucky returns!

Masterlist

With no time to waste, Tony’s robotic tech ever so carefully placed the Infinity Stones onto a new gauntlet specially crafted by the man himself. With the utmost precision, he designed the piece in the familiar likeness of the Ironman suit, specifically taking into account the hand area. All in all, it looks just like that blasted Infinity Gauntlet that’s caused yourself and the universe so much pain.

But you known this is different, this is necessary above all else and must happen or you’ll face the dreary facts of never seeing Bucky ever again. No one still left behind in the aftermath like yourself will ever see their loved ones again, and Natasha’s death would all be for nothing. This is it.

You stand around Rocket with the rest of your friends, everyone suited up for the inevitable unknown while he carefully finishes up a few lasting touches on the metalwork with the aid of Tony to keep it steady.

“All right, the glove’s ready.” Affirms Rocket with a confident nod as everyone stands around him waiting expectantly, “Question is, who’s gonna snap their freakin’ fingers?”

 The room keeps to a heavy silence before Thor immediately makes hastily overconfident steps forward, “I’ll do it.” States the bearded god of thunder, no surprise to you, like he’s even in the right headspace to take on such a task. Especially looking like he just walked out of a homeless shelter.

Thor quickly earns a puzzled look from Tony. “Excuse me?” Asserts Stark with a raised brow as just about everyone else gives Thor a similar look of bewilderment.

Thor waves him off with a casual swing of his thick paw, “It’s okay.” Calmly dismisses Thor as he walks in closer to the perched gauntlet, eyes set for the powerful object within arms reach. Tony, Steve, and Clint immediately raise their arms to hold him back for the time being as your eyes widen at his go-getter attitude for something so seriously dangerous. He would fucking die.

“Stop, stop. Slow down.” Advises Tony while Steve steps between the gauntlet and an eager Thor. Blue eyes set and steady though a friendly softness flashes through them knowing the true reasons why Thor wants to do this above all the others, “Thor. Just wait. We haven’t decided who’s gonna put that on yet.” Implores Steve while Thor blinks, clearly not satisfied with this answer.

“I’m sorry. What, we’re all just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?” Laughs off the large Asgardian as his eyes trail around the room to the unclear hesitant faces of you all.

“We should at least discuss it.” Interjects Scott as Thor turns to face him before looking to all of you again.

Thor finds Steve’s conflicted gaze of uncertainty, “Look, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back.....I’m the strongest Avenger, okay? So, this responsibility falls upon me...”

Tony sets a friendly hand on his chest, “Normally you’re right...”

“It’s my duty.” Interrupts Thor, more heatedly this time as Tony slowly draws him away from the gauntlet. Doing his best to sway Thor’s mind, “It’s not about that...” Begins Tony as Thor interjects. “It’s not that...” Rambles Thor as you frown, eyes set on the glowing Infinity Stones as they rest comfortably atop the Vibranium laced metalwork.

“Sheeesh stop it!” Whines the agitated god of thunder, “Just let me....Just let me do it.” Whispers Thor in defeat, face falling with remorse as he focuses on Tony, “Just let me do something good. Something right...”

Tony lets out a disheartened sigh, “Look, it’s not just the fact that glove his channeling enough energy to light up a continent. I’m telling you. You’re in no condition.” Sincerely adds Tony, trying his absolute best to sway Thor from doing this to himself.

“What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?” Asks Thor with a reasonable bout of self confidence while Rodney throws a sarcastic. “Cheez Whiz?” In reply. Thor clenches his fist, pointing a threatening finger to him but ignores the verbal blow.

Eyes set on Tony as the god smiles, “Lightening.”

Tony doubtfully nods, “Yeah.”

“Lightening.” Says Thor again, like that’s going to hold all the answers and save everyone from oblivion.

Taking an anxious breath, you’ve already made your decision as you take a step forward, “Lightning won’t help you this time, Thor. You couldn’t take it.” He sends you a defeated look, eyes falling to the floor as the others gain your attention. Frowning, your eyes study the glowing colors of the new Infinity Gauntlet as you nervously swallow, “I’ll do it.”

“Y/N...” Begins Steve like a concerned father while his blue eyes grow with apprehensive doubt, he opens his mouth to speak more on the matter but you cut him off with a stern look, “My body can regenerate its genetic makeup, essentially I should heal from anything it does to me, it won’t kill me Stev...”

“We don’t know that,” Interjects a worried Bruce as he walks in closer to your little group, “It’s gotta be me, we saw what those stones did to Thanos. They almost killed him, these are the Infinity Stones we’re talking about. None of you could survive.” Explains Bruce honestly as he finds your troubled gaze, “Even you, Y/N.”

Your brows furrow in thought while you let a depleted sigh escape your lips, “How do we know you will?”

“We don’t.” Begrudgingly admits Banner, “But the radiation’s mostly gamma. It’s like...” He stares solemnly down at the beacon of destructive hope for a small moment, its shimmering colors glowing with a dangerous beauty, “..I was made for this.”

“Then it’s settled then.” Declares Tony with a confident nod, “We do this today. Everyone suit up, we have no idea how this is going to go.” And with that does the room quickly file out, your small team of nine hastily on the move to prepare yourselves for the impending future still held in mystery and a growing hope.

Soon, you and the rest of the Avengers nervously watch as Bruce picks up the metal gauntlet while Tony sends him a concerned brotherly look. “Good to go, yeah?” Wonders Tony as he stands a couple feet away for safety reasons like everyone else. Bruce gives the stones a last fleeting glance before raising his eyes up to meet him, “Let’s do it.”

“Okay, remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago you’re just bringing them back to now, today. Don’t change anything from the last five years.” Warns Tony as Bruce nods. “Got it.”

Everyone takes a cautious step backwards, making sure to shield themselves from whatever’s about to happen next with either their actual suits or in Steve’s case his legitimate shield. All you got on is your usual dark attire that’s armored comfortably in the areas needed. That and your uncanny but evidently helpful ability to heal yourself instantly. Which may either become unneeded, or hold true to its helpful wonder if things go south for whatever reason.

Tony quickly has Friday adorn the protective barriers around the buildings interior so whatever happens inside, stays inside. A moment later Banner puts the gauntlet on with a hesitant grimace, the metal grows as it adjusts to his hand, immediately the power of the stones glows bright. The raw energy crawling wickedly up his arm as Bruce falls to his one knee in pain. Loud grunts of strained discomfort emitting from the half-hulks throat. Shit that looks painful.

“Take it off! Take it off!” Worries Thor as Steve throws up a cautious hand. “No, wait. Bruce, are you okay?” Banner groans in agony as Tony adds, “Talk to me, Banner.” More pained moans are heard before Bruce is finally able to give a reassuring nod, well, at least the best one he can manage.

“I’m okay.” He mutters through clenched teeth, sending a small spark of relief through everyone as he forces his fingers to reach one another. Yelling like a charging warrior through the pain of battle, Bruce forces his stiffened digits into submission, snapping his fingers through the gauntlet with all the strength he has left before a blinding bright light emits forth in an instant. Cascading the small lab into an almost heavenly glow, you can’t see anything it’s so obnoxiously bright.

When the light fades a swift moment later, you’re able to witness the aftermath of a brave Bruce Banner who’s currently semi-unconscious on the floor, metal appendage laying a couple feet away from him as Steve races to Banners side, “Bruce!” Panics Steve.

“Don’t move him.” Warns Tony as he sprays some type of healing particles onto the ashen green of Bruce’s right arm to increase the natural healing process from the stones hefty damage. “Did it work?” Wonders a drowsy Banner while he blinks back the blurry fuzz of the gauntlet's intense power.

Thor smiles brightly, “We’re not sure. It’s okay...just relax, it’s alright you did it.” Both him and Steve give Bruce some more encouraging words of praise as you take a step back from the scene to release a breath you didn’t know you had.

Holy shit, you think, heart slowing down from the adrenaline rush of it all. Trying to take in everything's that’s just happened, you ignore as Scott wanders away to the giant opening windows as your ears prick to the sound of Clint’s phone ringing on the nearby metal table. You watch curiously as he slowly walks over to it before picking it up and answering with a teary eyed grin from witnessing the picture of his beloved significant other. The sound of his confused wife reaching your ears in an instant and your heart immediately swells with joy.

Bucky!

Suddenly a dark shadow bestows itself upon the compounds opened sunroof, you quickly twist on your heel to face the others who are looking up at a dark shape with an equally as baffled expression. A second later your world turns to darkness.

Then nothing.

——

Someone’s shaking your shoulders. God that’s annoying.

But you can’t see or hear anything, can’t even feel your own body but the stuffy thick air that flows forcibly into your healing lungs. Slowly, your senses of touch and perception come back to life, vision deciding to wake up from the blurry void next and with that so does your hearing, “Y/N! Wake up! Come on, wake the fuck up!” Shouts the annoying voice of.....Clint. While his dirt smudged face flashes with uncertain panic. The fuck does he want? And where the hell are you?

Coming to, you suck in a needed breath before he quickly sits you up against a rock, a dull throbbing making itself known from the right side of your forehead that feels oddly wet. Ignoring his concerned gaze, you press a hand to it only to find your fingers coated in blood, “Clint, what the fuck just happened? And where the hell are we?” You grumble before taking a good look around you, finding nothing but rocks and ruble. “This looks like a sewer system, goddammit my suits ripped.” You complain, still a tad bit disoriented from the head trauma that’s still healing while you eye up the nasty blooded gash on your left thigh.

Clint huffs in frustration before taking a calculated look around at your minimal surroundings of rock and red warning lights as he takes a step forward, boot quickly smashing into something hard as he looks down to find the fucking gauntlet of all things right by his feet as something oddly familiar sounds in your sensitive ears. Oh, shit. Jumping to your feet, you turn your head to the cavernous tunnel on the right, night vision giving you the perfect view of... “Space dogs. Fucking space dogs!” You fearfully whisper yell as he sends you a perplexed look.

“Ugh what?” Mutters Clint as you throw him a look of pure panic, understanding something is most definably wrong if you of all people are scared shitless, he quickly sends a lighted arrow past your head before catching a glimpse of exactly what you were warning him about. Thanos’ army of monstrous bastards from space. This is your nightmare all over again.

“Shit.” Mumbles an alarmed Clint as he tugs on your arm before the two of you book it in the other direction, screams of fury and death sounding from the beasts pursuing you. For a good twenty yards do the both of you run until by some wondrous act of the universe are you able to climb your way to a higher level where the creatures can’t get to either of you. Clint shooting a skilled blow to the creatures brave enough to pursue you further, killing them quickly enough so you both have a moment to rest. And inhale much needed oxygen from the swift sprinting session you just unwillingly endured.

Laying on the metal floor next to a worn out Clint, your breaths are heavy and labored when Nebula randomly walks out of nowhere like she owns the place, glad to just see a familiar face you pay her no mind when she leans down and quickly retrieves the gauntlet from Clint before raising her hand to her ear and speaking, “Father...I have the stones.” 

Uh, what? Oh wait! Your eyes widen in fear as you swiftly jump to your feet, Adamantium claws protruding out of your fists as you prepare yourself for a fight to the death over that damned gauntlet when without warning she sends a swift blast straight through your chest. Shit, you can barely breath.

You gasp, falling to the metal earth as she’s immediately confronted by some green chick and another Nebula, though you’re too frazzled and in pain to listen to their arguing. A couple long moments later the traitor Nebula is shot, falling to the ground right next to you as your lung muscle and bones fuse back together again. Body at long last letting you take in a proper breath. Dammit she got you old western style too.

Clint’s at your side in an instant, “Jesus Y/N, you okay? That looked bad.”

Grumbling in annoyance for the misadventure you’ve just found yourself in, he kindly helps pull you to your feet, “I’ve had better days Clint, I’ve really had better days.” You deadpan as he chuckles before the both of you follow Nebula and the green woman out and into the clearing of the destroyed Avenger’s Facility.

Once foggy ashen sunlight hits your dirt smudged blood spattered face, a pearl white pegasus flies above you and Clint, “The hell?” Mumbles Barton as the two of you start jogging into the destroyed landscape of the desolated Avengers base that’s currently in the midst of a chaotic battle between Thanos’ army and the Avengers, and clearly a lot more then just your lost friends. God today just keeps getting worse, not to mention weirder.

“Come on, this way.” Shouts Clint as you two begin making your way through the mess, both on a mission to protect this stupid gauntlet and try not to get yourselves killed in the process. Though soon some type of giant lumbering beast starts trailing you two as Clint calls in to anyone listening, “What do you want us to do with this damn thing?” You can’t hear what they’re all saying due to the fact that your earpiece is broken, but quickly enough Clint glances at you.

“Y/N! We gotta find Scott and that ugly brown van of his, it’s got the time machine portal in it so we can get these stones away from here!” Shouts Barton as he jumps over a protruding piece of shrapnel before one of Thanos’ loyal creatures jumps near, throwing him to the side as you launch yourself onto the beast. Digging your shimmering talons deep into its neck as it screams in agony, dying a second later.

“Give me that fucker, I can see the van from here.” You urgently exclaim as he hands it over to you without a second thought, too exhausted to run any longer. With the stones in your possession now, you book it on swift legs across the demolished battlefield as monsters of all kinds pursue you.

You’re luckily able to slash a few while dodging heated blows in an attempt to stall your progression, although unknowingly to you while you’re sprinting like a bat out of hell, mumbling a distressed chorus of “Fuck off, Fuck off, Fuck off..” to no one in particular. Bucky’s gaze is able to track your panicked form as it races across the destroyed landscape, Infinity gauntlet in hand. So that’s what you’re doing, thinks Bucky with relief, glad to know you’re okay. Well, for the most part.

Slipping from his curious view, you make it a good ten yards before a lumbering beast knocks you from your stable legs and onto the ground just as T’Challa ends its ugly life. Body hurting all over, you finally give up the gauntlet into the arms of the Black Panther, “I got it Y/N, you’ve done well.” Praises the king of Wakanda as you give him a weak thumbs up in reply, too damn winded to really answer with anything fully comprehensible.

God it’s a good thing you heal quickly cause shit, your everything hurts.

When will this shit end! Huffing in irritation, you swiftly pull yourself up before joining the Avenging masses into the storm of chaos. You slay monster and beast of all kinds before Proxima of all beings throws her spear at your head, just narrowly putting a full damper on your already hectic day as you dodge left.

“Didn’t I kill you already?” You growl in irritation as she begins hand to hand combat with you, more so claws to sword then anything else. For the next minute do you two hash it out on the battlefield, Thanos and other brave Avengers doing what they can to fight the Infinity Stones off of him as you slice up her face in a moment of valuable weakness.

Unfortunately she’s able to kick you into the cement, raising her shimmering blood coated weapon before thrusting it downwards straight for your naked jugular when suddenly it turns to dust against your exposed skin. Eyes wide in bewilderment as you breath in heavy breaths, you’re pleasantly surprised when the bitch disappears completely, nothing left but ashes floating on the breeze.

Wiping some fresh blood from your nose, you slowly stand on sore legs, eyes quickly scanning the surrounding area only to find all of Thanos’ army turning to dust as well. A relieved smile falls upon your chapped lips, though quickly enough your heart sinks when you wander over to Steve and Thor as they watch Pepper say her last goodbyes to a dying Tony Stark. So he was the one who did it, he killed Thanos for good. And this is the price that must be payed.

Your chest rises and falls with labored breaths from battling the enemy as his reactor core flickers, white light slowly going out soon after. You frown deeply as Pepper sobs by her husbands side as you notice the others beginning to slowly gather around behind you, and the ones nearest to him. Peter, Rodney, Steve, and Thor.

The dismal scene breaks your heart to watch so instead do you drop your gaze to the ground where you study the ripped fabric of your pants and the dried blood that coats it. You can’t believe after all this shit and time spent tirelessly in pursuit of those fucking stones has the deed been done at last. Two friends lost in the taxing journey to save the world from a deepening pit of confusion and despair, but it’s done, and Thanos will never hurt anyone ever again.

You’re so tired you could probably curl up and fall asleep on the rocks below, but yet your body shakes with adrenaline that keeps you from submitting to the earth for a long rest.. “Y/N?” You freeze, going still as a statue when your ears fully register the voice it belongs to. You’d recognize that voice anywhere.

Blinking hard, you turn around, your eyes slowly trailing up to meet the beautiful blues of the one and only, James Buchanan Barnes. Your breath catches in your throat, it truly feels like your whole world has just stopped and reset itself. Tears immediately prick at the corners of your eyes from the intense feelings of being overwhelmed from battle and by him, he looks exactly the same as when he left you five whole years ago. Long dark hair falling to his broad shoulders, metal arm apparent as it shows itself freely in the cloudy sunlight.

His eyes of stormy ocean studies your awestruck expression, handsome face softening as he takes a cautious step forward, “Y/N.” Mutters Bucky as your lip begins to quiver, so many emotions rushing through you like a giant waterfall, a couple stray tears draw clean marks down the sides of your dirt smudged face as your heartbeat begins to race.

You feel like hyperventilating right now but are to astounded to completely lose your shit, instead do you let him silently walk the rest of the way to you before gently placing his hands against your tear stained cheeks. He hands you a handsome grin of pure love and adoration as you place your shaking hands against his forearms. So incredibly awestruck that he’s actually with you right now in the flesh for you to form a coherent sentence.

You swallow, eyes furrowed as they wander all over his beautifully dirty face, “Please tell me this isn’t some sick dream.” You whisper, voice raspy while you try and keep your inhales as less erratic as possible. “Oh God I hope this isn’t another dream.”

Bucky chuckles a sweet tune of joy before engulfing you into a ginormous Bucky bear hug, he gently wraps his strong arms around your tired vessel with ease, burying his head in the crook of your neck as tears flow freely out of you now. Shaky hands holding him as close and humanly possible while you breath him in for all he’s worth. Your Bucky, finally in your arms at last.

You can’t believe it, after everything you’ve endured, after a thousand nights spent alone and days lasting for too many hours to count. He’s holding you like his whole life depends on it, every single muscle and fiber of his entire being wills himself to hold you in his arms like nothing and no one else matters.

Because right now, in the midst of a desolated battlefield, you can finally feel at peace with the man you have never stopped loving for even a single second. The man you will swear on your life to never leave his side ever again if you can help it. Your sweet James Buchanan Barnes. Your beloved Bucky.

You can feel as a feather light kiss brushes past your hairline before he slowly pulls away, metal and flesh hands still holding yours as his blue eyes soften, “This isn’t a dream.” Chuckles Bucky as he studies your teary eyed face, a growing confusion clear on his puzzled features, “Why would this be a dream Y/N? I mean, well I’m not sure where we are actually or how I got here or why your hair looks different now....and uh...clothing too?” His brows furrow as he trails his gaze all over you, clearly unaware of the time differences between you both and what troublesome lengths it’s taken to see him again.

He doesn’t know. Biting your bottom lip anxiously, you blink with saddened eyes before resting a hand on his metal shoulder for a bit of self comfort, “How long until you came through those portals?”

Blue irises flicker to the ground in puzzlement before finding yours once again, “Uh, I think it was about five minutes actually....it’s, it’s weird. I remember seeing you by Steve and then, I don’t remember anything else until it felt like I blinked and suddenly these huge portals were appearing in Wakanda. And you weren’t with me. I don’t know what happened....I’m not sure why you look a little different now either?”

Smiling at his adorable confusion, you trail a hand up to drag it through his messy dark locks, “You weren’t gone for five minutes Bucky, you were gone for five years.”

His lips part likes he’s about to speak though nothing comes out, handsome face slowly falling into a frown while he gently touches the side of your bloodied cheek, “What?” Whispers Bucky in astonishment, “Five...five years? Five whole years? That’s why....that’s how....how you, Jesus Y/N...”

“You have no idea how much I missed you James....how much I, I...” Your throat feels like it’s tightening as you lip quivers, voice unable to produce any sounds but your labored breaths. You feel like bawling.

Bucky takes this like the dutiful lover that he is, pulling you flush against him once more as he gently squeezes you close, face pressed into your neck as he mumbles out a soft but meaningful, “I love you Y/N.” That causes you to almost crush him in your loving embrace.

“I love you too, so fucking much.”

——

Standing on the grassy edge of the Starks riverside house somewhere in upstate New York, dressed in your usual dark attire. Though for this instance, it’s a rather dismal affair that truly represents the black clothing adorning your body with more purpose this time. But you don’t feel as terrible as you thought you would have.

A soft late summer breeze blows your hair back as you keep your hands deep in your jacket pockets while you let yourself enjoy the beautiful view of the water shimmering in the sunlight. It truly couldn’t have been a nicer day for such a day filled with melancholy for the loss of Tony. In fact, when you arrived for the funeral today, you could barely look at Morgan without feeling the urge to shed a few tears.

She’s surprised you though, her little heart is stronger then you’d realized, she’s clearly filled with confused grief for the sudden loss of her father. But she’s admittedly able to handle the dreary situation better then you’d expected, though it is true we all grieve in our own way and in our own time. Luckily she has a plethora of friendly people by her side, plus your cat Silver who you let her adopt considering you’re technically homeless.

Soon the familiar sound of footsteps walking across the grass alerts you to a new presence approaching you nearby, you could smell his scent a mile away. The blue eyed man in question, stops by your side, eyes trailing over you while you keep a steady gaze on the water. “Y/N.” Your name on his tongue, spoken so gently as he forms your letters into a term of simple greeting.

A smile immediately tugs at the corner of your lips when he literally says anything now, you turn to face him as you raise a brow, imitating his tone, “Bucky.” You practically tease.

He flashes a quick grin before shrugging, eyes glancing up to the house before finding your undivided attention once more, “They made sloppy joes if you want one. They’re not too bad actually, I had one so....yeah.”

“I’ll take your word for it, but uh...I’m okay thanks.” You add, gaze set back onto the water beyond as you let out an admittedly tired sigh, “I’m just, I don’t even know.....whatever, I’m okay.” You mutter while giving a weak shrug, a frown crossing your features as your mind wanders to your lost friends and the reason why you’re even at this funeral. It’s been a long fucking road to peace, if this even is peace.

Bucky, noticing your disheartened expression, gently nudges your arm, “Hey, you know you can talk to me.” Assures your sweet lover, eyes softening as he gently tugs at your sleeve, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Making a sour face at the water, you avoid his gaze while your heart swirls with a conflicted sadness, “No. Not really.” You freely admit, “Both of them, I never got a chance to say goodbye. I wish I could have, I really do Buck.” Biting your lip to hold back the tears, Bucky wraps a comforting arm around you, knowing how much this all pains you since he’s been back and was filled in on everything that’s happened.

You don’t even hesitate to relax into the warm embrace as you throw an arm around his waist to bring him in even closer to you now, “Truth be told Y/N, I never got a chance to tell Tony how sorry I am for what I did to his parents. If there was onl...”

“He forgave you, Buck.” He shares a puzzled look with you.

“He did?” Whispers Bucky in confusion though a slight hopeful relief laces his words.

 You nod, “Tony...we had a long conversation about that when I was visiting once for some birthday party, it was a difficult subject. But after everything we talked about, he forgave you for what you did. Of course we had no way of knowing this was all going to happen but uh, I just want you to know that. And so did he even if you weren’t there to hear it. Guess it was the thought that counts.”

“oh.” Mutters Bucky in clear astonishment as he keeps silent for a long moment, truly processing the solid fact that Tony Stark actually forgave him for such horrendous crimes committed against his closest family members. Bucky lets out a heavy breath of relief, giving you a small squeeze before speaking, “That’s, that’s good. Yeah, alright um...” His eyes flicker to the side as he pauses for a brief moment, “..you, you want anything up there?”

Chuckling, you roll your eyes at him, “What? Let me guess? You’re still hungry and don’t want to eat alone?”

Bucky keeps silent for a brief but telling moment as he mumbles out a soft, “Yeah.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

He nervously laughs before gently squeezing your shoulder, “Or we don’t have to, it’s fine I was just wondering...”

“Buck.” You throw him a humored glance as he smiles before you lose your grip on his torso, “Come on hot stuff let’s get you a sandwich.” He grins as you start backing up towards the house filled with multiple guests of all kinds still socializing amongst one another.

“Y/N I could go myself if I wanted to.” Says Bucky as he wanders across the grass by your side, “I could....but yeah, I’d rather have you with me.”

You snicker quietly as his stubbled cheeks redden in slight embarrassment, “Well Mr. Barnes, if you must know, I don’t plan on letting you do anything alone for a long time so get used to my company.”

“Sounds good to me.” Smiles Bucky as he gently nudges your shoulder, “But seriously you gotta try these sandwiches they’re really good.”

“Buck, I don’t doubt it.”

-

Tagged:  @diegos-butt @minigranger @bibliophilewednesday @holyhumorliteraturelight @lilacs-lavender @a-girl-who-loves-disney @starkssnarks @vikingqueen28 @bizarrebibitch @atomicpersonacheesecake @jmstz @staygoldsquatchling02 @marvelbros-oneshots @shawnartmendes @mischiefmanaged71 @jckie94  @iamasimpingh0e @mjaudrey  @thescarlettvvitch

[spiritofchaoticdreams]

A Lantern’s Rage PART 3

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Based on @cornholio4 ‘s Red Lantern Prompt

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The view of the Earth from the watchtower was always a sight to see. Hal sighed as he looked down on the big blue planet. “You were right when you said your home planet was beautiful.”

Hal looked over at his shoulder to see his friend, Blue Lantern Razer slowly walking toward him , he chuckled, “Do I ever lie?” He turned his head to look back at Earth. “Sometimes when I’m here, I take a moment to just take it all in. To remind myself what I'm fighting for.” 

“I understand.”, Razer said coolly, as he walked over and stood next to Hal. “It’s difficult to believe you came from such a planet.” Hal snorted, and lightly punched Razer’s shoulder.

“Yeah. I guess it is hard to believe such a handsome specimen like myself came from little old Earth.”, Hal joked.

Suddenly, the sound of an alarm filled Hal’s ears, recognizing it as the alarm for the Situation Room he looked at Razer. “Follow me!”, he shouted, Razer nodded and together they flew to the Situation Room in the center of the Watchtower.  The Situation room was where the core members of the Justice League discussed threats and held meetings about plans to further ensure the safety of Earth and its citizens. 

Once the doors opened, Hal immediately got to work, “What’s going on!”he asked, plopping down into his designated seat. Razer stood behind him, silent and listening. He saw Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman sitting at the table in the middle of the room. “The scanners picked up red lantern energy on Earth.”, Bruce explained as he pressed a few buttons and a hologram appeared.  It was Earth, with a little blinking red dot covering Europe, “Computer, pinpoint location of the red lantern energy.”, The Batman said.

The hologram shifted and turned into a 3-D model of a city, the word “Paris” underneath it. “There is a red lantern in Par-isss”?, Razer asked, Diana nodded her head. “Hal, will you and your companion be able to detain the threat? Or will you need assistance?”, she asked.  

Hal waved his hand dismissively, “It won't be necessary. Razer’s blue lantern energy not only boosts mine, it neutralizes Red Lantern energy. As soon as Razer gets close enough that Red Lantern will be powerless.” He grinned at the Amazonian warrior, and looked at Razer, “Ready?”

“Ready.”, Razer replied. Together they left the situation room, to fly to Paris.

When they arrived in Paris, they were greeted by the sight of a giant cloud of smoke, he and Razer shared a look. That’s where they’ll find the red lantern, they flew closer and ended up above what may have been a school. Parts of the building were on fire, there were destroyed parts that encased a big courtyard full of trembling teens. That’s most likely where they’ll find the red lantern. They flew closer and hid behind some debris waiting for something to prove their suspicions correct. 

Hal looked over the students, all of them were terrified and there were a handful of adults trying to keep them calm. But there was a small group in the middle of the courtyard that was separated from the rest of the students with no adults watching over them. Why wasn’t anyone checking  on them, wait was that an unconscious adult in one kid's arms? A red haired woman in a white suit was asleep in a tall asian boy’s arms. He noticed that almost everyone kept away from that one group in the middle, just what was going on? In fact, it looked like everyone was scared to just look at them.

Suddenly, there was a giant gust of wind and there was a glowing red figure hovering above the middle group. There’s their red lantern. Hal gasped, it was just a kid, a teenage girl. Her most notable feature was the set of red devil horns resting on her head.  They flew closer and saw that the group  huddled together behind a girl with glasses and ombre hair and a boy with glasses and a red cap. “Marinette! Please you have to fight him.”, the girl begged. 

The red lantern, or rather Marinette laughed, not a light hearted giggle, it was a hearty laugh. Like she heard someone tell her a really funny joke. “Fight who exactly? Hawkmoth?”, she cackled, “Hawkmoth would kill for the power I have.” Her ring glowed brighter. “And I’d kill him to keep this power to myself.” A wicked smirk came over the girl’s face. 

“Is this Hawkmoth one of Earth’s villains?”, Razer asked, Hal didn’t know how to answer. This is the first time he’s even heard of Paris having a supervillain, he and the other league members prided themselves on knowing almost every bad guy, every hero, and every vigilante. How was he supposed to say, that there was something like this going on in a city on Earth that he and he’s guessing the other league members don’t know about? 

Then a giant red arm stretched out and wrapped around a girl with long brunette hair. The girl then started screaming as she was brought closer to the red lantern girl. “Well Lila, looks like you’re in trouble...Maybe you should call your best friend to come help you...Go on Lila, call Ladybug.I’ll wait.”, Marinette said in a cold menacing voice. 

‘Ladybug?’, Hal thought, ‘She’s gotta be their hero. Why did she never reach out to the League?’ He observed everyone of the kids, all of them were terrified, but they seemed almost used to it. If something like this was a regular occurrence, then he’s been doing his job wrong. He looked back at the brunette girl being held hostage, she looked annoyed?

Then she said, “Ladybug will come and save me, just wait.” Marinette laughed and flew closer to the girl, their faces centimeters apart. “Oh Lila, it’s pathetic that you think that. Because I know for a fact, Ladybug isn’t coming.” She then dropped Lila, only to catch her by the arm with her construct. Marinette’s grin turned bloodthirsty and there was a sickening snap. Lila landed on the ground, clutching her arm and sobbing. He saw at least two bends in her arm, one was definitely her elbow, the other was in her forearm. She was then pulled into the center of the group of teens, forming a shield to protect her from the red lantern. 

“What makes you so sure that Ladybug’s not coming?”, a femine voice yelled, all eyes turned to a red haired girl with big glasses. “Ladybug always comes to save us! She’ll stop you, you big bully!”, the girl shouted. Some of the teens looked emboldened by her words, others looked like they wanted her to shut her mouth. Hal watched as this red lantern girl began laughing, a long and hearty laugh. 

“Oh wow Sabrina!”, Marinette laughed. “ You’re speaking up to me! But not to Chloe? Why?” The laughter stopped. “Because you think Ladybug’s coming? Big, strong Ladybug’s coming to save the day? Newsflash! The only thing that’s being saved is me savoring the sounds of your suffering. As I get my revenge for all the suffering you and everyone else has put me through for the past few years of my life!” Marinette began to glow bright red.

“Marinette!”, a male voice yelled out, all eyes turned to see a teenage boy in a catsuit standing on the roof of the school. All the students began cheering and there were multiple yells of “It’s Chat Noir!” “Chat Noir’s come to save us!” “Go Chat Noir!” 

This Chat Noir pulled a staff from his belt and then used it to jump down to get on the ground level with the rest of the teens.

“W-what happened?”, he asked, he looked at the middle group of teens, “Why is she an akuma?” None of them looked like they could answer, most of them looked ashamed, Alya and a boy in a red cap looked angry, while the brunette just had an annoyed look in her eyes as she cried about her arm. 

“You really want to know?”, Marinette growled, she pointed a finger at the teens, “My so called friends decided that I needed to be punished!” she made air quotes, “ After I punched Lila for making fun of my parents death! Not only that she basically told me to kill myself so I could see them again!” Hal tossed a disgusted look at the brunette girl, then Marinette started to laugh, “After I gave that bitch what she deserved, my classmates threw me into a janitor’s closet and locked me in there!” Her laughter turned into cackles and Hal felt an uneasy feeling in his gut.

“Then this glorious power came to me in a blazing red ball of light”, she smiled so sweetly, as if she was talking about a happy memory. She clenched her fist and brought it close to her heart, “The power to get my revenge on everyone who’s ever wronged me.” She stopped laughing and stared into Chat Noir’s eyes, “like you.”

Hal heard a couple of gasps, the blonde boy took a step back, “Me? How have I ever wronged you?”, he yelled. Marinette scoffed, her ring began glowing and she glared at him, “How you ask? Every time you goof off on the job. Everytime you flirt with Ladybug, instead of focusing on the battle. Everytime you do anything else other than your fucking job!” 

She flew closer and closer to him, then started poking him in the chest, “because of you, I’ve had to watch my family and friends die over and over again! And now, my parents are dead and they’re never coming back! And you weren’t there! You want to say you’re a hero but you’re never there!”, she was yelling in his face now. 

“You want the fame and glory that comes with being a hero without doing any of the damn work! People die, and you don’t even care!”,she pulled her fist back and Chat Noir couldn’t block her punch in time. He was sent flying backwards, then he flipped his body around and landed on his feet. 

“You can’t blame me for your parents death! If I was there I would’ve helped save them!”, he ran over to where some rubble was, grabbing a few decent sized pieces he threw them up in the air and hit them with his staff like a baseball. The pieces flew at her, she crossed her arms over her chest and made a shield. 

Behind her shield she yelled back, “You’re not listening to me!” He kept hitting pieces of rubble and launching them at her, not leaving her a chance to attack. Hal then noticed that he was using the rubble as a distraction, she was too busy using her shield to protect herself to realize that Chat was getting closer.

By the time she noticed, Chat Noir was right in front of her with his staff, he jumped into the air, staff raised and slammed it down on her head. Her shield broke and she fell to the ground clenching her head with both hands. She yelled in pain and took in a deep breath of air, she let her head go and cracked her neck. She smirked at Chat Noir, “Is that all you got?” 

Chat Noir glared and then charged at her with his staff, “Hal, shouldn’t we be doing something?”, Razer’s voice snapped Hal back to reality. “You’re right.” Hal looked at the numerous teenagers watching the fight, “We have to get the kids out of there, we’ll have to get the middle group after everyone else, it’s too risky to the rest of the kids.” He said, Razer nodded his head, “You’re right. You get one group while I get another?” The green lantern gave his friend a thumbs up and then they split up.

Hal flew close to a small group of kids, a blonde pigtailed girl noticed them, and let out a sigh of relief. “Thank god, the Justice League is here.”, she whispered loud enough for Hal and her friends to hear. Hal nodded at them and put a finger to his lips, they got the memo and were silent. “I’m going to get you all out of here while she’s distracted, in order for me to do that I need you all to be very quiet. Give me a thumbs up if you understand.”, he said. They all gave him a thumbs up. He looked back over at the red lantern, she was still fighting Chat Noir, looks like he was trying to lure her out of the school, but she wasn’t taking the bait.

Looking back at the teens, he gave them the follow me gesture and led them to the entrance he came through. “Ok, all of you are going to run home to safety.”, he said, they all nodded and began rushing through the entrance, Hal turned around and was about to go back into the school when he felt a hand grab his wrist. He looked over his shoulder and saw the blonde girl was grabbing him, “Please...Please help Marinette! I think her akuma is in her ring, or her earrings! She never takes those off!, she pleaded. 

“I-I will do my best to help your friend.”, he said. ‘What’s an akuma?’, he thought. She nodded and walked out the school, giving him one last look before she was gone. Hal turned around, “Razer, if we’re gonna take her down we gotta do it now.”, he said into his ring. 

Razer’s voice came through, “I agree, I managed to sneak a lot of the children to safety.” Hal looked up, he was right, it looked like there were only a handful of students that weren’t in the middle group left. “Ok, what do we do when we get all of them out? Like how do we take her out?”, Hal said aloud, he thought back to his adventures when he first met Razer.

Razer had been a formidable opponent, strong, cunning, and he had been able to break through his constructs easily. But he was still vulnerable to physical attacks! But it still took him a while to get the best of the then red lantern. Hal groaned, he really didn’t want to fight a little girl. “Ok, we’ll focus on the rest of the kids, then we get the middle group of kids. After that...I’ll draw her fire and serve as a distraction helping Chat Noir, then you get her in a bubble!” 

Razer nodded his head and was about to say something, when Hal felt two hands push him away from where he was hidden. After landing on his behind, he looked up to see a bright red car where he once was. The car disappeared into thin air and he heard a demented laugh. He looked over at the red lantern, her eyes glowing bright red as she smirked and constructed a crown of crimson light, hovering above her head. 

“Well looky here.”, she grinned, “another fake hero’s come to play!” Her crown dissipated, a manic gleam shown in her eyes. “I’ll play with you later, right now I have a cat to skin.” 

She looked over her shoulder, Hal followed her gaze. Cat boy wasn’t doing so well, he was heaving and looked like he was going to fall over at any minute. Using his baton to support him, a brave look on his face, he stared his opponent down. “Come and get me….Purrincess.”, he breathed out. 

“Aww, look at that! Kitty thinks he has claws!”, Marinette cooed. She summoned a morning star with a giant head of spikes. Then she said with an expressionless look on her face. “How cute.” Her entire body started to glow like a light bulb. 

“Marinette! What the class did was horrible, but this isn’t you ”, The ombre haired girl with glasses spoke up. Marinette’s glow seemed to flicker, but only slightly. This time coming back brighter. “Alya, you and Nino are free to leave and I won’t hunt you down. But if you try and stop me, you’ll burn where you stand.” 

The girl, Alya, didn’t move, she stood her ground and stared Marinette down. “Fine then.”, Marinette growled. Her eyes glow so bright that Hal could barely make out her face, he narrowed his eyes and formed a barrier around the teens. 

Hal looked at Razer, “New plan, I’ll get her attention and you rescue the kids.  Razer nodded, and flew away from Hal. The green lantern turned his head to look back at the teens, Marinette was still glowing red and was now swinging the Morningstar up and around her head. He flew over immediately, yelling “Hey little red!” 

Marinette whipped her head around and Hal was stunned. Her eyes...they were pitch black with glowing red irises. He’s only seen that look on a red lantern once before. Back when Aya had been attacked by a manhunter. Razer’s rage had become so strong that he was able to use his powers in front of two blue lanterns and then went on to destroy the manhunter. Almost nothing had been left of that robot. Hal made a shield and whispered into his ring.  “Razer, you ready?”

“I am ready, just tell me when.”, Razer’s voice said coolly. Then Marinette stopped moving, her morning star vanished, her ring began to glow ominously. The glow engulfed her hand and she made another  a construct. 

“Wait, what is th-”, Hal’s question was cut off by a yo-yo construct hitting him in his face. He groaned and held his poor aching forehead, then shouted, “Who uses a yo-yo in a fight!” 

His only response was a death glare from the little lantern, ‘Why does it feel like Diana is glaring at me.’, was all he had time to think before Marinette began spinning the yo-yo until it became nothing but a whirring blur at her side. Hal turned his shield into a bubble surrounding himself in the green construct. Marinette then threw the yo-yo at him and it immediately wrapped itself around the bubble. The bubble started to crack only to disappear and the yo-yo had him. He winced as his arms were tucked tightly against his sides. “Aw come on!”, he groaned. Then she smirked at him, a sinister evil smirk...Who taught this kid how to be scary?!

 She then pulled the yo-yo’s string, pulling him along with it. Then she began spinning as she pulled him. Suddenly he was being spun around like a toy, then she finally let the yo-yo go. Why was he still tied up and flying through the air? How did she have this much control over her constructs? And why did he feel proud? Oh god was he turning into Batman? 

He struggled to free himself from the yo-yo, but it wouldn’t budge. Then he landed in a building. He felt his body crash through a window and heard screams, after a rough landing into an office cubicle  he felt the tightness of his binding disappear. He was free. He sat up and groaned, “That’s going to leave a mark.”

He felt a giant tremor rip through the building he was in and instinctively made a bubble to surround him. Just in time to see Marinette glaring at him, a big red automatic gun resting on her shoulder. She had a wicked look on her face as she aimed the gun at him and began letting out a barrage of red bullets.

“Look, you’re hurting I get it, but this is not the way to deal with that pain.”, Hal said calmly, staring at the small lantern girl in the eye. He saw the pure rage falter and a scared child was looking at him.  

“Princess please listen to him!”, Cat Boy pleaded as he limped over to them, the scared child looked so horrified at the sight of the boy...she was going to run. Hal immediately dropped his bubble and summoned a lasso, he threw it and caught her. She yelled and began thrashing around, trying to get the rope off of her. Then she broke free in a bright flash of crimson light. Only for her red glow to disappear completely and she began to fall to the ground.

Hal immediately summoned a platform to try and catch her, but he was too late. A blue bubble surrounded her and stopped her from falling.

Hal’s eyes trailed upward, an apologetic Razer was descending down to the floor he was on. “Took you long enough.”, Hal laughed, only to wince as his lungs stretched against his ribs. Razer landed on the ground next to him and helped him up.

“My apologies, there were innocents in need.” Razer wrapped Hal’s arm around his shoulder and the green lantern winced. Hal looked to a few feet in front of him and saw the tiny red lantern kicking and pounding against the sides of the blue bubble holding her. “Let me out!”, she screamed. “Let me out!” She slumped down to her knees and leaned against the bubble, she  punched it once more. Her shoulders started to shake and he heard soft sniffles and whimpers. “Let me out.”, she cried softly as  she banged on the bubble. 

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(Author’s note) Hey guys, Spirit here! Thanks for reading part 3 of A Lantern’s Rage. I hope you all enjoyed it! If you have questions feel free to ask in my ask box!

TAGLIST: @our-preciousss @ @misslenamooney @maskedpainter @silversaphire12 @lassiedanter @vinces-cove @vixen-uchiha

[oh-for-fic-sake]

April Teaser Collection!

Here is the  latest peek at my stuff sitting on my pc that will hopefully be finished over the next few weeks. I hope you find something that tickles your pickle. below the cut are The Stand In, It’s A Match, Deliverance, Mans False God, Gloria Regali.

But instead of being managing to be all sneaky and close the door hiding henry in your room like a naughty teen with her boyfriend Henry was up and awake.

"Aha! Gotcha! Who said you could sneak out of bed this morning baby? I was lonely with out you~" you screamed and just about jumped out of your skin as Henry wrapped himself around you from behind dragging you back into him, nuzzling into your neck pressing an open mouthed kiss to it. Your shout of surprize had silenced both of the women's chatter making them jump, even Kal came darting back in gruffing as he leapt up the stairs heckles and tail raised and growling on high alert. Fuck.

"now why cant i get a good morning like that?" Tee giggled crossing her arms at the both of you, your mother eyed you both with a knowing grin and hummed agreeing. Henry snapped his head up and gulped. Fuck. You and henry stood still for a few seconds far to shocked at being caught with your pants down so to speak. You shifted on your feet but henry held you still hands on your hips using you to shield his nude form from your guests he hadn't known were there.

"O-oh shit- err good morning ladies!" He said turning red his voice higher than usual as he shuffled backward taking you with him. As he tried saving his modesty, he didn't take the covers with him because- well he had thought it was only you on the bus!

"I err- shit i didn't see you there... Sorry about almost flashing you both like that..." he said with an uneven tone tip toeing back into the room, still holding you at his crotch hiding the once half hard- now softening cock.

"Good girl, where's your mother? Hmm? Your not supposed to be out and about alone are you?" Henry spoke slowly digging his fingers into the dense soft fur managing to find and hold the collar below the thick fur, then he leant down scooping up the lead what was still attached to her. Kal grunted and sat on the floor leaning his weight on henry's leg. Henry looked down and patted Kal scratching his ears chuckling. Kal's eyes still wide taking in the larger dog in front of him, it was comical Kal was used to being the biggest bear... but he was a good four to five inches shorted then this magnificent grey floofer.

"Kal, you okay there bud?... year she really is big isn't she, you best behave don't want her telling you off do you?" He spoke slowly calming both pups... and gosh did Kal look like a pup compared to her. Slowly both dogs leaned towards one another sniffing the air then with a happy yip Amii began licking kal... like a pup. Henry burst out laughing it was too sweet watching Amii sniff around his bear, whilst Kal sent his human a look clearly pleading for help as this new huge female smothered him with affection. But henry wasn't falling for it, Kal was wagging his tail just as excited to make a new freind.

Honestly henry was glad, akitas were fickle. They either liked you or they didn't. He got the feeling Kal would like this gentle giant for now he was a little awe struck over being smaller then something.

"Clark? Clark come and help me- I cant reach the milk! Its at the back again!" Martha said quietly you smiled. It took a lot of coaxing but you had indeed tried what Clark had explained as 'cow juice' and had developed a taste for it. So Martha had promised you milk every day if you liked. Which you did like. A lot. Clark pressed another kiss to you and walked off towards the milk refrigerators expecting you to follow.

You made to follow but a sweet scent hit you and you stopped mid step. It was wonderful and ripe, sweet and succulent. You pivoted and followed without much thought. Your feet found there way twisting around the display of 'leafy greens' to a bright colourful isle. You salivated at the smells. There were so many intoxicating scents you didn't know what to look at first.

You pressed a hand on a small net package full of strange green fuzzy balls. Kiwi's? You read and scrunched your face up at the peculiar name. Then plucked the bag up and held it to your nose sniffing. They smelled divine, like a type of food from home. Okriin a small soury sweet treat given to children on their birthing date. You sniffed again and almost cried. It was so similar but so different sweeter and fuller in the scent. You cautiously sniffed again and closed your eyes before tentativly prodding it with your tongue wanting to see if it tasted the same.

"y/n? Y/n?!- oh god there you are? What are you doing? You almost gave me a heart attack" Clark said racing towards you his mother behind him with the cart. He slid to a stop and blinked at you. As you scrunched up your nose.

"the texture of these are... Not very nice?" you said naively moving for the fruit again sticking your tongue out once more trying to discern if it was edible like this. Clark moved quickly gasping holding your hands that had the.. Kiwi's in it.

"no no.. No we- you don't eat them like that... You peel them and eat the inside, and we don't lick things in the shop okay?" he explained plucking the fruit from you and placed them in the cart, Martha chuckled into her chest she couldn't help it, you were extremely cute.

Kal proped himself up on his side and smiled sadly nodding. He knew. He knew the state they found you in was their fault. Thats why he was so adamant to look after you now to... make amends in a way. You'd proved you could barely survive on your own. But Kal was also angry; angry that you'd been abandoned, he had thought Bruce would atleast put something in place to look after you but he hadn't. Bruce hadn't helped you, he to busy saving his own skin and trying to fight him and the new regime. But he was more angry at himself you had been alone, with no means to protect yourself or really survive. And he should have known! He should have realised you were scared, that you would stay away from the new citizen system he put in place. That you'd fear being caught and killed like many of the others.

"I know, but we have her now... its going to be better now, we are going to right the wrongs love... we can give her the best life  look after her and nothing will ever hurt our little one again" his voice was strained his face in firm lines, hard and stone like. He truly was a god, carved in marble. Perfect. Diana nodded laying back curling herself around you. Kal drew a deep breath and shuffled closer winding his arms around his family, holding both his girls.

He chuckled when you grunted pouting in your sleep when he sandwiched you between Diana and himself. Trying to wriggle fee from the group hug.  But once again you settled after a few moments relaxing as you were now being warmed from both sides a small smile graced your face. Kal grinned and nuzzled the back of your head pressing chaste kisses to your bed ridden hair, he felt at peace having you here with him. And he meant what he said no one will ever touch his little babygirl.

"what wrong? Whats going on?" you spoke quietly trying not to stare at the clearly sick monarch. You didn't want to see it, you didn't want to think of the implications of the illness he was clearly suffering.

"nothing gets past you does it my girl?" your father spoke jovially trying to lighten the mood but failed miserably, his chuckles dying off fairly quickly and he heaved a sigh. Your uncle broke the silence and your fathers hand slid to yours under the table and squeezed your fingers tightly trying to reassure you.

"I have summoned you here to discuss something that... Is very serious and the outcome will change the lives of many people. This is something.. I wished I could hold off but I'm afraid I cannot firefly" you bit your lip and braced yourself. This was bad news you could tell. A part of you thought for a moment of marriage, your gut churned at the thought and you felt sick all of a sudden. Where you being married off as a pawn? It was likely, it still happened even in this day and age it was just covered up with fairytale romance... Story book meetings and courtships, when in reality you were told that your to marry and that was the end of it.

"Y/n you are royalty. You were born in to a royal blood line that has ruled over this kingdom for nearly four centuries... And now it is time for you to take your place within it and do your duty" your father stated in his 'work' voice for the time being he was not your father, he was a prince. Heir to the throne and head of your family. And you were to listen and obey.

"You want to give me duties as a working royal?" you said sitting straighter only quivering slightly. You dreaded this, the publicity the duty and responsibility that you'd managed to avoid so far. But you knew one day you would have to take your place.

"yes dear. We need you. Now" your father said urgently, but there was something off. Like he was holding back, fearfull in a sense and it was not like him.

"Of course i will. Father I'm no fool I understand what my position requires of me and i will serve my country. You need only ask and I will obey. I only ask that i be given time to sort things out with the university security and such would need to be increased if they are having a working royal on campus-"

"I'm afraid its not as simple as that we... Are asking you to put your studying off" your uncle interrupted you making you frown. What? You furrowed your brow and made to shake your head but paused. It made sense... If you were to come and take on duties then the media may go wild and cause an uproar... They could cause issues on campus

"How long for?" you asked trying your hardest not to frown at your father and uncle

"Indefinitely.." the king replied holding your gaze firmly. it was then you knew this was serious, more so then anything you’d experienced before.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Soulmarks, Part 20

First part

Previous

~~~

He closed the computer with a snap, startling Marinette out of her intense yoyo-ing session.

They walked to the hole in the floor and peered down. It was pitch black, save for the little beam of light that they’d created when they’d opened it. He was tempted to drop the computer down to see just how far they were about to fall, but he decided against it. They didn’t need to give Hawkmoth any more warning than they already had.

Marinette gave him a tiny grin. “Ever broken your legs before?”

He shrugged. “A few times.”

“I don’t know if that means you’ve never done it before or you’ve done it a million times, but both concern me,” she mumbled, more to herself than to him. She took a deep breath.

She dropped down.

He waited a few seconds for her to roll out of the way and then slipped through.

Tim hit the floor and fought the urge to curse as his legs crunched underneath him. He thanked Kaalki that his suit kept him in reasonable shape and carefully pushed himself up.

The hatch shut behind them, plunging them into pure darkness. It was automated, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t put him more on edge.

Bruce always said that darkness was their friend, and there were times where Tim agreed, but this darkness felt distinctly hostile. It was hiding something other than them.

He could feel Marinette next to him, her hand resting on his forearm to keep track of where he was. He reached the other hand out and started searching around. He touched a railing. Alright, so they were on some sort of walkway...

“What are the chances that they left in the ten minutes it took to get down here?” She whispered jokingly, her nails digging into his suit. Her grip wasn’t strong enough for her to cut through, but it was enough for him to have to fight back the urge to pull away.

And then a light flicked on across the room. He blinked a few times to adjust.

His mouth fell open.

Because, at the end of a walkway, was a glass coffin. The woman inside was unmistakably Adrien’s mother, the resemblance was uncanny even from afar. She was completely motionless and far, far too pale.

But then something pulled his attention away from it. A flicker of green light, a soft shuffling sound.

Tim cursed and fumbled for his phone. He clicked it on and started pointing the screen around to try and see anything.

“They’ll see us!” Whispered Marinette, bringing her hand up to try and block the light.

And then she faltered.

Because the cat was in front of them, his green eyes casting a dim light over his face.

“Looks like they already have.”

They got into fighting positions instantly. After all, the fact that their favorite cat had decided to transform didn’t bode well for them...

He sighed and dropped his baton with a loud clatter, then perched himself on the railing by them. He pulled his phone out of seemingly nowhere and started typing: “I told dad to let me try and reason with you guys first. He’s not here. You can push me off the side of this if we try anything, promise. I just want to talk.”

Marinette mumbled something and a lantern appeared in her hand. She set it down and then motioned for him to go ahead.

Tim wished that he could see more of her face behind her mask, because he could not get a reading on her right now. He settled for just picking up the baton.

“Mari, please, just hand over the earrings.”

“I know that you miss your mom... but we can’t bring her back.”

“But it’s not just about mom!”

She raised her eyebrows skeptically.

He sighed and pulled out his phone. After a bit of typing a robotic voice explained, “I want to make it so mom never died. It’ll be great. No Hawkmoth, no Chat Noir or Ladybug or Cheval. We’d just be normal people again.”

“Chaton…”

“Heck, we can swap mom’s death and make it so Joker died that day instead.” He looked between the both of them, his eyes wide and pleading. “Don’t you want that? We’re just kids, remember? This shouldn’t have happened to any of us. So, let’s fix it.”

Marinette hesitated, messing with her yoyo. He saw her eye the phones in their hands with a guilty expression.

Tim also hesitated, but he wasn’t particularly sure why. Yes, he happened to think it a terrible idea, but this was something else. There was something terribly wrong here, he just didn’t know what.

He typed out a question to buy time: “How do we know your dad won’t betray us?”

“Oh, don’t worry, Cheval. I’ll do it myself, he doesn’t have to be involved.”

She nodded slowly and took off her earrings.

“Thanks, Mari, this means a lot to me.”

Oh. Oh fuck.

Tim covered Marinette’s hand and pushed her arm down. “Hey, Adrien, say my name.”

The cat’s eyebrows knit together.

“What’s my civilian name? Your dad isn’t here, go ahead and say it.”

Tim watched him frown and nodded to himself, extending the baton and pointing it at him.

“Nette, put back on your earrings. I don’t know for sure who this is, but it sure as hell isn’t Adrien.”

She seemed a little confused, but she did put her earrings on and mumble to transform.

They were given a confused frown for a few moments before his face contorted into an ugly sneer. “What gave me away?”

“None of her friends call her ‘Mari’, and you refused to use my name.”

He considered this for a moment. “Interesting. Oh well.”

And then the akuma winked at them and fell back. They ran to the railing, hands out to catch him, only to find he had disappeared. They gave each other wary glances before peering over the side, searching the abyss for him…

And then the lantern between them was snuffed out.

The heroes were plunged into darkness again, save for the dim glow of the cat’s eyes as it peered up at them from below.

~

She hated to admit it, but the idea of giving Hawkmoth her miraculous had been tempting. If he was going to go back and change everything, wouldn’t that just make everything better? Adrien would get his family back, Tim would have never been tortured, all the damage she’d done as an akuma would be completely reverted…

And then Tim had spoken up.

And she had been reminded of one fact: if all those horrible events hadn’t happened, she would have never met him, would never have made friends with Adrien or the bats...

So, sucky as her life was, she was determined to keep the only parts of it that had actually gone well for her.

She and Tim pressed their backs to each other’s instantly, their weapons out as they searched the dark. The only light was from the akuma’s eyes (which they hoped to not get close enough to use as a proper light) and the one beaming down on Emilie Agreste. They could, theoretically, use Tim’s portals for light, but they would probably need those later to get out.

No, the akuma’s apparent night vision was definitely an advantage.

“We need to get towards Adrien’s mom to see,” she murmured. “Slowly, though, don’t want him to catch on.”

Tim didn’t quite respond -- couldn’t, she reminded herself -- but he did take a tiny step in that direction. She hoped that meant he’d heard and understood as she followed after him.

Great, they had a plan in place for the future. Unfortunately, they were in the present. And the present meant pure darkness outside of a pair of creepy eyes that the akuma, unfortunately, had enough sense to keep closed most of the time.

“Where’s the akuma?” She tried. “Your ring? Your bell? Your belt-y thingy?”

The akuma chuckled lowly from her right and she fought the urge to snap her head towards the sound. She had a reading on where he was, at least.

“Where’s Adrien? Please tell me that you didn’t kill your son,” she said.

“I would never!”

She raised her eyebrows slightly. “You’ve been trying to kill us for over a year.”

“Well, I didn’t know it was him,” the akuma defended himself, and she suppressed a cringe as she realized that he was definitely getting closer…

“I’m just saying that it’s not that far-fetched for you.”

“He’s fine. I just tied him up. He’ll see reason soon. Cataclysm.”

Fuck!

She tossed her yoyo in a blind panic at where his voice had last come from, only to hear it knock against the wall uselessly.

She fought to keep her voice level as she spoke next: “And the father of the year award goes to Gabriel Agreste!” She taunted.

But, it seemed that the akuma had caught on to what she was doing, because it didn’t try and speak again. Damn it.

She glanced backwards at where the light was and she cringed. Closer, but still so far away...

She brought her gaze back in front of her and had to fight the urge to scream at the pair of lamp-like green eyes a few meters in front of her.

She gasped and pressed back against Tim to tell him to move, because the akuma was definitely advancing on them, only for the akuma to touch the panel of flooring beneath her.

The floor crumbled at her feet and she screamed as she began to fall. She tossed her yoyo and hooked it around where she knew the railing to be and breathed a sigh of relief when she stopped.

But this was short-lived, because the akuma’s eyes had shut again.

Tim grunted and there was a dull thud as he hit the walkway.

She pulled herself up as fast as she could and listened in for the gasps of pain and the sound of blows.

And then she hooked her arms around the neck of the person on top (it couldn’t be Tim, the person below didn’t have glowing eyes) and pulled back.

She felt hands literally claw at her arms and pain raced through her as her skin was ripped to shreds, but it was fine. She just needed to make him pass out, then they would be fine --.

“Cata --,” began the cat.

But he was cut off. Because a baton had been extended right into his open mouth.

This was great for Marinette, because she wasn’t immediately dusted.

This was also bad for Marinette, because the akuma had stumbled back. And now they were falling through the giant hole in the walkway.

She really could just not get a break from the falling.

The two screamed as she struggled to get a good angle to throw her yoyo and hold onto the akuma at the same time.

A blue portal opened underneath the two and suddenly they were falling towards the walkway. This would still hurt, but…

She flipped the two of them in the air and drove her knee into the akuma’s back as they slammed into the metal.

She tried not to think of the way the akuma’s spine snapped underneath her. At least she didn’t have to worry about fighting anymore. Besides, she had an akuma to find.

She grabbed the belt first and tugged it off, then sliced it in half with her yoyo. No purple light. No akuma.

Then she tried the ring. She crushed it in her hand. Nothing.

Then she grabbed his bell and slammed it against the floor to break it. Purple. Thank god.

She caught the akuma and looked around.

“Cheval, light,” she said. She didn’t wait for a response as they ran to the beam of light. She allowed herself to relax slightly when they got there. They’d have a few second break as the akuma left his system to breathe.

Her eyes traveled down to her scratched up and bloody arms, only to catch on the tiny pin in her hand...

Her mouth dropped open.

No. Way.

“Cheval. Cheval.” She turned to look at him and she gave him a brilliant smile as she held up her prize for him to see. “We won!”

“We…?” He finally took it in and a smile began to break across his bruised and slightly bloody face. “We won,” he breathed.

“We won! Oh my god, I could kiss you right now!”

He nodded eagerly.

She giggled and hooked her arm around his neck despite the fact that it was throbbing painfully and bleeding, pulling him down for a kiss. He responded by wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

Gabriel groaned and started to push himself up, only to get beaned by a yoyo and a baton at the same time.

She broke away a few seconds later and sent Tim a smile before turning to where she knew Gabriel to be.

Her smile twisted into something a little more bitter, more sinister. She twirled her yoyo lazily.

“Now, you said Adrien was tied up somewhere. Mind telling me where?”

~~~

Next part

Taglist

@pawsitivelymiraculous @golden-promises @salty-fang @kitsunebell @sassakitty @octobitch @glastwime859 @miyla-lokidottir @onlyabatfan @ira-sairain @2confused-2doanything @ultimatetornshipper @ladybug-182 @laurcad123 @we-want-mini-mini @roguishredaxion @just-reblogs-by-h @futursworld @magic-miraculous @nathleigh @smolplantmum @vroomtaka  @emimar7 @toodaloo-kangaroo @charme-de-malchan @spicybelladonna @fusser90 @indecisive-mess-named-me @rosesgonerogue @celestialsiren @bluesimani @loysydark @trippingovermyfeet @goblinwhoships @kaithehero

[glorified-red]

Tomcat Part 3

summary: After the fiasco at Wayne Enterprises, you decided to leave Tim in Jason’s hands

word count: 1020~

warnings: none

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

Ngl This idea came from someone who commented on my account that got deleted so I genuinely can't tag them which I feel super bad for :/

“Please Jason, I just need you to look after him for a couple hours while I'm gone.” You pleaded, after yesterdays fiasco at Wayne Enterprises you weren’t exactly jumping at the opportunity to bring Tim out with you again. The tiny being was clingy for valid reasons, Tim wanted to be close to you and he trusted you to keep him out of harms way while he was stuck in this pitiful state, but you really didn’t want to risk loosing him.

You needed to go out again today and Dick had already left for Blüdhaven and as much as you trusted Damian, Jason was the best alternative; You didn’t want to bug Alfred -who already has a busy enough schedule- and you knew Bruce would just let Tim wander around the manor -and possibly escape- so here you were, trying to reason with Jason.

“I’m not babysitting Tim, he can take care of himself.”

You crossed your arms, “Last time he tried to ‘take care of himself’” you put air quotes around the words and recrossed your arms, “He almost got me in serious trouble with security and I almost lost him.”

Jason sighed before going back to cleaning his Red Hood helmet, “I’ll babysit the rugrat for an hour, any longer and I’m shoving him in a cabinet.”

You clapped your hands excitedly, “Thank you so much Jason, last I checked he should be on his bed.” You smiled at the male and turned around to go back upstairs, hearing him shout after you.

“You could at least let me shower first!” Jason growled in frustration, setting his helmet back onto his bike with a little more force than necessary. He took off his  leather gloves and jacket because one thing he knew was that he refused to get cat fur on his favorite jacket.

With a hand ruffling his helmet hair, Jason took off up the cave steps and headed towards his brother’s room that was in the back of the manor. Jason lightly tapped on the door as a courtesy warning before opening the bedroom door and walking in, basking in the sight of the tiny kitten curled up on the pillow of the bed.

Pulling out his phone, Jason grabbed Tim’s desk chair and straddled the chair, crossing his arms over the back while scrolling aimlessly through some of the apps on his phone.

A soft questioning meow brought Jason’s attention away from his phone and towards the sleepy kitten whose ears shifted backwards upon seeing Jason sitting in his chair.

“I don’t like this either so just be a good kitty and stay put for an hour and then your girlfriend will be back.” He turned back to his phone while Tim plopped his head onto his arms, the end of his tail thumping lightly against the pillow.

Another ten or so minutes of silence passed, Jason started to feel a slight pain from the position he was in. Smirking to himself he got up and plopped straight onto the bed, all but flinging poor Tim off of the pillow and onto the comforter due to the sheer size of Jason alone.

Jason flipped onto his back and crossed his arms while staring straight into the angry eyes of the kitten. “What are you going to do? Bite me?”

Tim’s ears twisted back in disgust at the idea, earning a laugh out of the giant beside him. Tim turned and jumped off of the bed and started to claw at the door annoyingly, making Jason huff at the noise. “No can do baby-bird, I promised an hour.”

If Tim could scream at his brother he absolutely would, without a shadow of a doubt. Granted, Tim was already frustrated about his predicament so the embarrassment of having to be babysat was enough to make his blood boil. That being said he couldn’t stay mad at you, if he was in your shoes he wouldn't hesitate to have someone constantly look after you, didn’t make this situation any less annoying.

~~~~

Driving back to the manor you couldn’t help but feel a little bad considering you had told Jason you’d be back in an hour but it seemed to be more like two. You tried to text him but you ended up getting no response, probably his form of a cold shoulder at your tardiness.

You quickly punched in the gate code to the manor and parked in your usual spot before gathering your things and heading into the manor, yes you have a key to the manor, yes Tim gave it to you as an anniversary gift instead of flowers and a cheesy card.

You hung your jacket onto the jacket rack and placed your shoes beside the door. Checking your phone again -just in case- Jason texted you back, only to see no notifications. Sighing you walked towards Tims room, knocking gently on the closed door.

Upon no answer you cautiously cracked open the door, surprised to find Jason sprawled out on Tim’s king sized bed. He was sleeping. You relaxed knowing that Jason probably wasn’t mad, he had just fallen asleep, with the intent of covering him with the covers you walked into the room and closed the door behind you.

Soft snores came from Jasons lips as you grabbed a spare blanket from the chest at the end of Tim’s bed. You unfolded the blanket and began to gently lay it across his sleeping form only to stop in surprise when you noticed the tiny ball of fur beside his head.

You resisted the urge to ‘awe’ at the precious sight of Tim’s head laid on Jason’s shoulder, the black fur of the kitten blending into Jasons messy hair. The size difference making the visual a million times more adorable with the six foot, broad shouldered man cuddling the tiny kitten.

You laid the rest of the blanket over the two cuddle bugs and couldn't help but sneak a few photos in, for blackmail purposes of course, before leaving the room as quietly as you entered it.

@idkmanicantenglish

Taglist ♡

@anothertimdrakestan ​

[justcourttee]

I Won’t Try Again- Pt 4

The day had started off rough, but Gotham’s beauty was making up more than enough for the morning. Marinette jotted down many notes and sketch ideas as inspiration flooded her mind. The architecture, the Gothic styles, was beyond stunning. They made their way through the streets, the mall, and had ended their tour in the gardens where Marinette took a moment to sketch out a few ideas for the Waynes based off their city.

Her friends had stepped into the greenhouse while she took a few moments for herself. They knew that once she started sketching, the world faded out of existence and no one could break that.

Alya leaned in to Nino’s side as they walked around the garden. Adrien glanced over longingly as he walked behind the couple. He knew that he and Marinette weren’t meant to be, but it didn’t stop him from pining over his former partner. He was in love with the idea of her for so long, so when he finally got the chance to date her, he pushed too far too fast. He knew their relationship dying out was his fault. He knew that. And when his 21st birthday hit, he couldn’t even admit to himself that he was disappointed when his soul phrase wasn’t the first thing out of Marinette’s mouth that night when he saw her.

He cleared his throat to catch the attention of the couple in front of him.

“Has Marinette shared with either of you what her soul phrase is? Her birthday was yesterday, but with everything happening, I never caught the chance to ask.”

The couple shared a look confirming that Marinette had found time to tell Alya, who definitely told Nino.

“It was mad harsh dude. She’s a little broken up about it.”

Adiren raised his eyebrows at Nino’s comment. Could Marinette's soulmate be a bad person? Would it mean that she would eventually want to try again?

Nino shook his head as he saw Adrien’s wheels start turning. He knew how his best friend felt about Marinette, but he also knew Marinette was a firm believer in soulmates. As long as Adrien had a chance to find his, she wouldn’t interfere.

“C’mon boys. Let’s go get our girl. Maybe we can convince her to let us take her out to dinner.”

They all turned to the exit but stopped in their tracks as all the doors around them slammed shut. Nino instinctively pulled Alya behind him as they all took defensive positions. Several ropes dropped from the ceiling as multiple men slid down, blocking every exit. People began screaming as they tried to run toward the elevator in the center only to find it broken down.

“No need to worry my beauties.”

Adrien’s head whipped up as a beautiful woman with red hair seemingly floated overhead. Her smile was intoxicating as vines grew from her and towards the people below. Realizing her intent, Adrien’s instinct kicked in as he ran forward knocking the closest person out the way as the vine wrapped around his arms yanking him into the air. He heard shouts from below, mostly from Alya as he was flung into the air to face the redhead from before.

“Sweet boy, if you wanted to volunteer to go first, you could’ve just asked.”

The woman grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss. He lost all of his senses as she pulled away with a smirk. All the feeling in his arms and legs had disappeared and he began to feel as though his entire body was shutting down. The vine released him as he fell into Nino and Alya’s arms.

“Attention GCPD, as I know you have the place surrounded. For every hour Bruce Wayne makes me wait, another person will fall victim to my intoxicating lips. But you have the power to save them! The boy has four hours until all of his internal organs shut down. My men have the remedy, but you must deliver me Bruce Wayne. Time is ticking.”

Adrien felt tears on his face as he looked up to meet Alya’s red eyes.

“It’s okay Adrien. Marinette will save us.”

He nodded as his vision began to darken. His lady always saves the day.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Damian landed in a tree near the entrance, Nightwing on the other side of the greenhouse.

“What do you see?”

He heard slight static in the com before Nightwing gave him an answer.

“8 men with guns. Ivy is in the middle, sitting on a large vine, filing her nails? There seems to be two victims so far. A boy with blonde hair and a young girl, maybe ten.”

Damian’s face hardened. Ivy typically left young girls alone. Something had to be dire for her to attack. Just what had his father done? He was about to make his move when he heard a slight rustle in the trees above him. Casting a glance upward, he saw a young woman observing the scene, her mouth moving as if she was talking to another person. He had never seen her before and he knew of every hero and antihero that ran Gotham’s streets.

He was about to speak up when he heard commotion from below.

“What’s happening Nightwing?”

“The bats. Dude, the bats you described. They’re attacking the guards!”

Damian growled as he swung onto the top of the greenhouse. Ivy was busy trying to capture the bats with her vines, as she seemed to miss him and Nightwing making their way inside. With a shared look, they both nodded and dropped into different sections. One by one, they took down the guards, freeing the exits for the hostages.

“I asked for Bruce Wayne, not Batman!”

Damian barely moved in time as a vine burst through the ground trying to wrap around him.

“Ivy. Stop this. What do you want?”

She threw back her head laughing. Vines bursting from multiple spots trying to pin him down.

“That is between me and Bruce, Bats.”

He heard a grunt as he spared a look to his right. The last of the guards was out, but not by Nightwing. No, instead, a woman in a deep red, almost maroon suit with slight black accents was standing over the guards body. She turned her attention to the nearest hostage using what looked like a yoyo? to cut through the vines holding them. Offering her hand, she ushered several of them out the door before vines blocked the exit.

“Who's your little friend Batman? She is positively annoying.”

Vines shot from the ground but the girl gracefully leapt out the way, landing in a defensive state as if ready to take on Ivy herself.

Damian turned his attention back to Ivy as he threw a batarang at her supporting vine. Ivy growled as she dropped to the ground. Her eyes darted behind Damian causing him to tense.

“No!,” she shouted as her hand shot out.

Damian raised her arms ready for an impact that never came. He risked a look behind him as Nightwing finished ushering the last hostage out before the vine slammed him into the wall.

“You Bats are ruining everything!”

Ivy’s normally pale face was turning red as she shot vines in every direction. Damian had a hard time dodging them as he tried to close the distance between him and Ivy. He ended up in a tree out of Ivy’s sight when he felt a presence land beside him. He looked beside him to spot the woman searching for an opening.

“Get out of here,” he growled the words at her, trying to scare her into submission, but it seemed as though he only shocked her.

“Move!”

Damian heard Nightwing’s cry as he tackled the woman out of the tree, both landing harshly on the ground below. The tree they were once in was split in two by a giant vine. She was still in shock as she stared at him with disbelief in her eyes.

“Nightwing, get her out of here.”

That seemed to snap her out of her trance as her face hardened. She pushed him to the side and swung her yoyo at Ivy, catching the woman off guard. Ivy fell backwards as the woman yanked forward sending Ivy flying straight into her fist, knocking her out.

A silence fell over the greenhouse. After a moment or two, Nightwing finally opened the door to let the police in. They immediately ran over and placed an inhibitor collar around Ivy’s neck. Damian turned to face the woman, only to see her swinging away.

“Dammit. Nightwing, finish this.”

Without waiting for his answer, Damaian swung after the girl, tackling her mid-air. They fell into a nearby bush, both rolling over until he had her pinned to the ground. Mustering all the anger he could, he glared at the woman beneath him. “Who. are. you?”

She looked at him with curiosity in his eyes before deciding to give him an answer that knocked him off guard.

“Your soulmate.”

With that, she kicked him hard and flipped backwards, before he had a chance to recover, she was gone.

Tag List:

@amayakans @maribat-is-lifeblood @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @moonlightstar64 @myazael @anonymously-odd @zebrabaker @crazylittlemunchkin @moonystars14 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @mandy984 @mysupporthyperfixations @smolplantmum @cutechip @mochegato @messymessyml @emotionalsupportginger @jabalem @fusser90

[tryingmybestpls]

A Change of Heart

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Reader needs to tell Steve some important news, but as she watches Steve get ready to put the stones back, something feels wrong.

Rating: T?

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: some fucks, angst, no bueno time

A/N: This is my first one shot so I’m sorry if it sucks. Hope you enjoy!

Worry was currently gnawing at your stomach, making your insides twist and turn. You wish that you didn’t come today, wish that you made up some excuse. Then again, Steve himself had asked if you were going to come today to see him off. You could never say no to the super solider.

Ever.

“You alright? You look a little green around the gills.” Sam questions and you swallow down the bile that attempts to rise up in your throat. You stroke the skin where your thumb meets your hand, hoping that the old remedy actually works today. Can you fucking relax? Please?

“Peachy, Wilson. Fucking peachy.” You mutter, your eyes staying on Steve as he goes over the plan with Bruce for the millionth time. You had no reason to worry. Steve was going to go in, put back the stones, and come back. Then, then you could tell him what you found out when you had went to go get your injuries checked out after Thanos returned.

There hasn’t been a right time in the past few days, but it was slowing dawning on you that there might not ever be a right time to tell him. There would never be a perfect situation for you to tell him this unexpected news. You held in the sigh you so desperately wanted to let out, deciding to pay attention to what Bruce was saying.

“...Remember, you have to return the stones to the exact moment you got ‘em or you’re going to open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities.” Bruce reminds Steve, opening the special case with his non-burned hand. You shoved your hands a little deeper into your pockets, trying to look as calm and collected as Sam. Steve nods, shutting the case and locking it.

“Don’t worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches.” Steve responds as you shift on your feet. You just want him to get over with so you can tell him what’s been weighing on your shoulders.

“You know, I tried. When I had the gauntlet, the stones-I really tried to bring her back. I miss her man.” Bruce confides in Steve and suddenly you feel like an asshole for even being there, listening to this obviously private conversation. You look to the helicopters in the distance, watching them as they clean up the mess Thanos and his army had made.

“Me too.” Steve tells your fellow teammate. You turn your attention onto Bucky, who is standing next to the platform as you and Sam walk on either side of Steve. Before the snap, back when you guys were on the run, Steve, Sam and you were all thick as thieves. However, five years can really change a person and but luckily it hasn’t changed this.

“You know, if you want, I could come with you.” Sam announces and it brings a smile to your face. That uneasiness starts to loosen its hold on you, just for a second until Steve stops to look at Sam.

“You’re a good man, Sam. This one’s on me, though.” Steve replies and you clear your throat slightly.

“It doesn’t have to be, Steve.” You say and he turns his head to look at you. Those gentle blue eyes are as soft as ever as he smiles at you. For a moment, it feels like it’s just you and him. You should’ve told him last night when you two were entangled in bed, but you had savored the moment too much. You didn’t want to ruin it with your confession.

“What? You losing your hope in me, doll?” Steve questions and you can’t help but grin. The butterflies his smile gives you are trying to fly around in your stomach, but it’s just too knotted up.

“Of course not. It just doesn’t hurt to have a helping hand.” You retort as his eyes seemingly study your face. You two have never been the ones for PDA. The two of you had chosen to keep your relationship a secret these past five years, deciding that no one but you two needed to know. No one really knew it was more than just harmless flirting, so when Steve leaned down and kissed you softly, you just knew something was wrong. He would never just kiss you in front of other people.

“You really shouldn’t worry about me, Y/N. I’ll be fine.” Steve murmurs to you, cupping your cheek with his glove covered hand, his thumb brushing against your cheek one. You try to smile back at him, nodding slightly as he pulls his hand away. You watch as he walks over to Bucky, your feet rooted in place.

“Don’t do anything stupid till I get back.” Steve says as Sam comes to stand next to you. You’re sure he has a million questions to ask what has happened between

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” There’s no humor in Bucky’s tone and you get a sinking feeling in your gut. When they embrace, you know that’s something is wrong. You’re suddenly glad you already threw up your breakfast.

“Gonna miss you, buddy.” Bucky tells Steve as they pull away and you wish you could run away from all of this.

“It’s going to be okay, Buck.” Steve responds before turning away from Bucky and climbing up the steps to the platform. He activates the quantum suit, preparing for what’s about to happen.

“How long is this going to take?” Sam questions, looking at both you and Bruce.

“For him, as long as he needs. For us, five seconds.” Bruce answers and you just give a simple nod, fearing that if you open your mouth you’ll just make a mess of things. You’re standing in between Sam and Bucky now, the three of you looking up at Steve as he picks up mjölnir.

“Ready, Cap?” Bruce asks as Steve turns his head to look at the jolly green giant. Steve doesn’t say anything, just nods as Bruce continues to speak, “Alright, we’ll meet you back here.”

“I’ll be back.” Steve announces before the helmet comes over his face. You reach out blindly, grabbing ahold of Sam’s hand. He’s a little surprised, especially since you haven’t been known to show affection, but he squeezes your hand regardless. Your heart is beating fast in your chest and you know that both super soldiers can hear it.

“Going quantum in three, two, one.” And just like that, Steve’s gone. You try to calm down, trying to keep everything together.

“And returning in five, four, three, two, one.” Bruce flips the switches, hits the correct buttons and-Steve isn’t there.

“Where is he?” You ask, your voice wavering as you look at Bruce. You let go of Sam’s hand, dropping it like it burned you.

“I-I don’t know. He blew right by his time stamp. He should be here.” Bruce tries to explain. It suddenly feels like your underwater, everything Sam and Bruce are saying are muted as you sit down on the steps of the platform. Bucky’s walking off and it dawns on you that he knew. He fucking knew. His voice suddenly cuts through the silence.

“Y/N. Sam.” Bucky gets your attention and you shakily stand. Your legs somehow carry you over to where Bucky is standing. By the lake sits a man that doesn’t look like your Steve, not by a long shot. Your eyes drift down to see the shield leaning up against the bench the man is sitting on as the three of you walk towards him.

“Go ahead.” Bucky says, smiling slightly as he motions to Sam. You’re not even the first choice. Sam walks toward as hands move to rest on your still flat stomach. Bucky glances at you, seeing the movement of your hand. It takes him a second to put two and two together.

“I’m guessing he doesn’t know.” Bucky murmurs to you, not wanting to say it too loud for the other men to hear. You desperately try to blink away your tears as you face forward, not glancing at the man beside you.

“There was never a good time to tell him.” The voice that’s leaving your mouth sounds foreign to you as tears start to roll down cheeks as Bucky nods at Sam. The Falcon picks up Steve’s shield and you quickly wipe away your tears.

“It’s your turn.” Bucky announces, his eyes on you as Sam walks back to where you two are standing, shield in hand. You can’t move your feet. This feels like a nightmare and you desperately want to wake up. You shake your head, stumbling backwards. Both Sam and Bucky look at you worriedly.

“I can’t-I just can’t. Tell him-Tell him I’m sorry.” You stumble over your words as emotion tightens your throat. You feel sick to your stomach. You turn on your heel and just walk away from the whole situation. You can hear them calling your name as walk further and further into the woods. You needed to get out of here.

You had inadvertently fucking ruined everything by not telling him before he left. Maybe he would’ve stayed, maybe things would’ve been okay. But now-Now you were fucking running away. Deep down you knew that you should tell him. He deserves to know that you are carrying his child. The other part of you knew that there was no way that this goes well for either you or your unborn child.

You two were fucked and really had no one to blame but yourself.

[writingblock101]

Sacrifices (Batfam x Batsis!Reader)

Warnings: Violence, gore

Word Count: 4,200 

Artwork by poorbird

Tags: @idkmanicantenglish​

It would’ve made sense for you to become Robin, you suppose. By the time you arrived at Wayne Manor, Jason still lived there. While at the time Jason was Robin, it would’ve been possible for him to adopt a new persona, but you didn’t want to be Robin. Instead, you became The Titan. 

As for the series of unfortunate events that landed you on Bruce Wayne’s doorstep, you prefer to not think about it. Instead, you found a new family with two older brothers, a workaholic dad and a tired butler. Together you were dysfunctional and strange, but you loved each other so it worked. 

Granted, being a Wayne has never been easy. At first, Jason was very standoffish, but between yours and Dick’s pestering, he eventually warmed up to you. The three of you become inseparable and God helped whatever idiot dared to try to hurt any of you. 

Things were good... until they weren’t. Jason’s death weighed heavily on everyone, especially Bruce. You didn’t see Dick for months, leaving you trapped in your own mind. 

You hated living in that giant mansion alone with Bruce, but things got better when Tim showed up on the doorstep. You missed your older brothers, so you were relieved to finally not be alone, and Tim allowed you to learn how to step into the older sibling role. 

Then things got complicated with Jason’s return. 

Eventually, everything settled and broken bridges were mended, but life threw another curveball when Bruce showed up with Damian. To say he was a handful is an understatement, but like Jason, you and Tim pestered your way through his tough exterior and became the older siblings to Damian that Dick and Jason are for you and Tim. 

Though Damian is the only Wayne child who still lived in the Manor, the four of you were more than happy to temporarily resume your residency while Bruce was off-world with the Justice League and patrol Gotham together for a week. Bruce claimed Damian needed social interaction beyond himself, Alfred, and Jon, but the four of you knew Bruce and Alfred missed having a full house and Damian missed his older siblings. 

The week was going great, you missed patrolling with your brothers. When things got slow, you goofed off with them, playing an impressive game of tag, making snack runs, and catching up on various Gotham rooftops. But in an instant, when you heard a cry for help, it was all business where you worked fluidly as a team. You haven’t had this much fun patrolling since you moved out of the Manor. During the day, you guys wreaked havoc in Gotham. Dare you say it, but you missed Gotham (not really, you just missed your brothers). 

Then Bane showed up. 

You five were never supposed to face off against him until Bruce got back, but things are never that simple in Gotham. 

Bane throws you against the wall, cracks spiderwebbing underneath you then you fall forward, hitting the ground. Before you can even stop to groan in pain, you’re on your feet, narrowly dodging another hit. Nightwing kicks off the wall and punches Bane in the head. Red Robin quickly follows with his bo staff, smacking Bane in the jaw then you knock Bane backward with a powerful kick to his chest. 

As he stumbles back, Robin cuts his calf open with a katana. Bane yells in pain and blindly swipes at Robin, but Robin rolls out of the way and slices Bane’s other leg. Red Hood shoots Bane in the knee three times then knocks his feet out from under him. 

Bane momentarily collapses but rolls to his feet with a grin, Venom pumping through the pipes on his back. You sigh, rolling your sore shoulder back. 

“Does he ever stay down?” You grumble. 

“Let’s find out,” Nightwing smirks, but beneath the cockiness, he looks exhausted.

You were all exhausted. This back and forth game with Bane had been going on for almost an hour. You finally stopped trying to count how many times Bane has thrown you into a wall and don’t even want to think how many of your ribs were broken. 

Robin is fighting through a limp and Red Robin’s arm is bleeding profusely. Nightwing’s knee has given out a few times and Red Hood’s reaction time is slower, probably due to a concussion. But all of you have too much adrenaline pumping through your veins for injuries to stop you. 

The med bay will be busy at the Manor. 

Nightwing hits Bane in the collar bone with his escrima sticks then Red Hood lands a heavy kick to the ribs. You quickly follow with a roundhouse which you give extra power with the electrocuting feature in your suit. Bane stumbles backward but Robin is ready and slices one of the Venom tubes on Bane’s back. 

“You brat!” He roars. 

Bane punches Robin then snatches one of his ankles and slams him into the ground. He winds up for another hit, but Robin is back on his feet, bearing even more weight onto his left leg. Red Robin strikes Bane in the face with drives both feet into his stomach. 

Bane stumbles again and you knock his feet out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Red Hood takes the opportunity to pin him down and land a few heavy blows to Bane’s face. The attack is short-lived because Bane flings Red Hood across the room, but Nightwing is there in an instant, driving a hard kick to Bane’s throat. Bane catches his leg and slams him into the ground. Before he can punch Nightwing, Robin swings his katana hard enough that the blade gets buried too far into Bane’s wrist for Robin to yank it out and instead abandons the sword to dodge another punch. 

Bane yanks the katana out of his arm and swings it with enough force that it snaps Red Robin’s bo staff in half. Red Robin stumbles back from the force but regains his balance and strikes Bane with his new escrima sticks. Bane swings the katana again, grazing Red Robin’s shoulder, but he rolls out of the way before Bane could seriously injure him. 

You kick Bane’s injured knee, causing it to give out, forcing Bane down to one knee. He tries to swing at you, but you easily jump over the blade and punch Bane in the face. Robin hits Bane in the ribs with two consecutive roundhouses then punches him in the face. You drop an elbow on Bane’s shoulder and kick him in the ribs, but he catches your leg and slams you to the ground, your left shoulder cracking loudly. 

You groan in pain, but Bane yanks you upwards and punches you, sending you flying backward a few feet. Bane swings the katana at Robin, slicing deeply into his left thigh. Robin collapses, both legs giving out from underneath him while Bane stands up, holding Robin’s katana. He draws it back, ready to stab Robin--

You don’t think. Your mind barley collaborates with your body. In an instant, you’re on your feet in front of Robin but before you can disarm Bane, the katana is buried in your chest, the tip of the blade coming out of your back. 

You blink, none of the pain hitting you yet, but instead grit your teeth and charge your suit then hit Bane with the strongest bolt of electricity possible. He goes flying across the room, his Venom system fried and hits the wall, his head lolling for a moment. Before he can get up, Red Hood is on him in an instant, bashing his face. 

Your head is fuzzy and your chest is numb. When you try to stand up, you stumble and fall to one knee. Robin drags himself to his feet and seizes the front of your suit.

“Titan, what did you just do?!” He demands. 

You stare at him woozily, noticing that Robin’s leg is bleeding profusely. 

“Your leg,” You mumble, reaching out to do something. 

“Forget about my leg! What were you thinking?!” He demands, his hand shaking. 

You try to breathe, but everything tightens around the blade then the pain hits. It feels like fire slowly taking over your chest. Robin continues yelling, tears beginning to slip out from behind his mask. You whimper, letting out a choked cry of pain that sends more fire burning through your chest. Your other knee gives out, causing you to fully fall, Robin’s grip on your suit is the only thing that keeps you from hitting the floor.

“I was going to move! Why did you get in front of me?!” Robin cries. 

“Robin,” Nightwing grabs his shoulder. “I got this.” 

Robin knocks his hand away. 

“No!” His voice cracks. “Titan jumped in front of him before I could do anything! I could’ve done something…” Red Robin grabs Robin from behind and drags him away while Nightwing takes his place, holding you up. 

“Get your hands off me, Red!” Robin screams. 

“Easy, Robin,” Red Robin mutters to him. “Let Nightwing help her.” 

“This shouldn’t be happening, she shouldn’t be hurt!” He tries to elbow his way out of Red Robin’s grip, but Red Robin holds tight. 

You grab Nightwing’s shoulders, unable to hold yourself up. He holds your arms steady, keeping you upright. 

“Geeze, T,” He mumbles to you, looking down at the sword. “What did you do?” 

Tears pool under your mask, slowly beginning to drip out as your face scrunches in pain. 

“Didn’t—want—him—to—hurt—Robin,” You whimper, your nails digging into his shoulder. 

“Keep breathing, we’re going to get you help,” He promises. “Eyes open, okay? Don’t close them.” 

You force your eyes open, digging your nails Nightwing’s shoulder as another wave of pain hits you. 

“Hood,” Nightwing calmly calls over his shoulder. “Do you still have those military field dressings?” 

Red Hood hustles over, leaving Bane tied up and unconscious and pulls two pads out of his jacket. He kneels next to Nightwing, pushing your hair back out of your face. 

“Geeze, kid,” Red Hood shakes his head. “You really go all out, don’t you?” 

You try to chuckle, but your chest screams in pain, making you wince instead. The wince tightened your chest even more, your nails digging into Nightwing’s shoulder again as you let out a sob. Of course, your chest tightens again, creating even more pain, more tears streaming down your face. Red Hood leans over, wiping his thumb under your eyes. 

“Keep breathing, T.”

“It—hurts—so—fuc—king—bad,” You whimper, more tears running down your face.

“I know it hurts, but breathe with me,” He places your hand against his armored chest and takes a deep breath so you can feel his chest move then slowly breathes out.

You try your best to breathe with him and partially succeed, but Red Hood’s breathing is more even than yours.

“Keep going,” He encourages. “Wing, what’s the plan?” 

“You’re going to pull the sword out and I’m putting the military dressings on.” 

Despite the helmet, Nightwing can feel the way Red Hood raises his eyebrows by his silence. 

“Shouldn’t we leave it in?” 

“Normally, yes. But that’s when EMTs can transport you safely which isn’t the case for us,” Nightwing explains quickly then shifts so Red Hood is holding you up and takes the dressings from him. 

“You ready, Wing?” He asks. 

Nightwing shifts behind you, preparing the dressings then nods. 

“Alright, T, this is going to hurt, but I need you to stay awake, okay?” You nod at Red Hood then he grabs the hilt of the sword and slowly pulls it out. 

Right as the tip travels back into your body, Nightwing presses the pad on your back, making sure it’s fully adhered. You gasp in pain, gritting your teeth and digging your nails into Red Hood’s shoulder. Red Hood winces at the sound of you whimpering as he pulls the sword free. Nightwing quickly presses the pad to the wound on the front of your chest then you collapse onto Red Hood, sobbing in pain. He holds you close, careful of your chest and strokes your hair. 

“Hang in there, T. Just a little longer,” He murmurs to you then passes you off to Nightwing who carefully lifts you off the ground.

You whimper, the movement pulling at your chest. Your vision gets hazy. It’s becoming harder to keep your eyes open. Nightwing frowns, looking down at the bandages. 

“Titan. Stay awake. We need to move, I can already see blood,” He looks at Red Robin, who is finishing the wrappings on Robin’s leg. “Call Agent A. Get Dr. Leslie to the Cave, now.” 

. . . 

“Dammit, Damian!” Tim smacks Damian’s arm. “Hold still!” 

“I can do it myself!” He hisses, trying to snatch the needle from Tim. 

“You’re actively bleeding out. Just let me finish!” 

“You don’t know what you’re doing!” 

“I’ve been stitching myself up longer than you’ve been alive!” 

“After seeing the way you fight? That doesn’t surprise me, Drake. It’s shocking that you haven’t died yet!”  

“You’re about to be bleeding from somewhere else except I won’t miss your femoral artery!” 

“Tim! Damian! Enough!” Dick snaps. “Damian, let Tim stitch you up.” 

Damian glares at Dick, but crosses his arms and allows Tim to finish. Dick shakes his head with a sigh and finishes wrapping his knee. You’ve been in surgery for half an hour so to say everyone is on edge is an understatement, but Damian isn’t usually this difficult about receiving medical attention. 

“Damian!” Tim yells, picking the needle up from the ground. “What the hell?!” 

“You stabbed me!” He protests. 

“You’re getting stitches! It’s not going to tickle!” 

“Damian,” Dick snaps. “I understand that you’re worried, but the best thing you can do right now is take care of yourself.” 

“Tt, you don’t get it,” Damian huffs, crossing his arms. 

“What do you mean we don’t get it?” Jason growls. 

“You weren’t there when it happened!” He exclaims. “You weren’t right there!” 

“We all saw it happen, kid,” Jason snaps. “I had to watch her cry while I pulled the fucking sword out of her!” 

“No, you don’t get it!” Damian yells. “It was my sword!” 

“What are you talking about?” Tim frowns. 

“It was my sword that hurt her!” His shoulders slump. “Only my sword can pierce her body armor and if I hadn’t let Bane have it, she wouldn’t be dying right now!” 

Tim’s face softens. 

“Damian, you didn’t hand it to him—” 

“I may as well have!” 

“You stabbed him with it!” 

“It doesn’t matter! It was stupid!” 

“Dames,” Dick frowns. “You didn’t—” 

“No. She jumped in front of me because I was being reckless,” Damian cuts him off. “It was my fault.” 

“She made that decision,” Tim tells him. “Y/N knew what was going to happen. That’s not on you, Damian.” 

“But I put her in the position that forced her to make that decision.” 

“One of your legs is broken and the other one needed twenty stitches! You didn’t go into this fight anticipating that!” Tim argues. 

Damian looks up, refusing to meet his brothers’ eyes as his eyes well up and a lump forms in his throat. Dick frowns, laying a hand on his shoulder. 

“None of us blame you, Damian,” He reassures him. “Don’t blame yourself.” 

Damian shoves Dick’s hand off him and looks down, hastily wiping away stray tears. He slouches in on himself, making himself look even smaller. 

“I don’t want to be responsible for anything happening to her,” He admits to the floor. 

“You’re not,” Jason says. “Y/N knows the risk of putting on that mask. We all do. The second we step out of this Cave, we all know there’s a possibility of not coming back.” 

“But we did come back,” Tim adds. “All of us did and Dr. Thompkins is helping her right now.” 

“It’s going to take a lot more than a sword to the chest to take Y/N down. And if it was one of our asses on the line, she’d do it again in a heartbeat. We all would. It’s not your fault, kid. It’s part of the job.” 

Damian doesn’t look convinced, but he stays quiet while Tim finishes stitching him. Dick manages to force all his brothers to shower and eat a sandwich (he almost didn’t eat one himself, but a pointed look from Alfred changed that), but trying to make them sleep in a pipe dream. 

Instead, they opt to wait outside the med bay for Dr. Leslie to finish. Jason paces, Dick bounces his good leg, Tim checks the progress of the police reports while they process Bane (he wanted to do research about chest wounds, but Dick wouldn’t let him, especially within eyesight of Damian), and Damian mindlessly sharpened a sword he never uses. 

Two hours pass then Dr. Leslie finally walks out of the med bay, exhausted and blood splattered. All four boys’ attention snaps to her instantly. 

“She’s stable,” Dr. Leslie tells them. “And extremely lucky. She managed to get stabbed right below her heart but above her liver so it missed any major organs and her spine. It did nick her vena cava so there’s some internal bleeding. She’s got a lot of broken ribs, a broken xiphoid process,  dislocated shoulder, some bruising and some lacerations, but she’ll be okay.” 

The boys sag with relief. 

“Can we see her?” Dick asks. 

Dr. Leslie nods. 

“She’s asleep and probably won’t wake up until tomorrow at the absolute earliest. Call me when she wakes up.” 

“Thank you, Dr. Leslie,” Dick says sincerely.

She smiles fondly and ruffles his hair. 

“Anything for this family.”

Alfred escorts Dr. Leslie to her car while the boys go into your med bay room. Jason picks up Damian who immediately protests. 

“Tt! I am not a child!” 

Jason rolls his eyes. 

“Your legs aren’t taking you anywhere fast. Get over it, short stack.” 

He crosses his arms but makes no move to free himself. Jason carries him into your room, followed closely by Tim and Dick and sets Damian at the foot of your bed. 

As Dr. Leslie said, you were asleep. Your left arm is secured across your chest in a sling, a gash on your forehead has been stitched up and a dark bruise is forming on your cheekbone, but your chest is steadily rising and falling and your heart rate monitor is beeping normally. 

Dick moves forward and kisses the top of your head then sits down in a nearby chair. Jason and Tim sit in other chairs near your bed while Damian sits motionless at the foot of your bed. 

“Dames?” Dick asks. “You okay?” 

He doesn’t even look at Dick. 

“She’s not going to break if you touch her,” Dick says. “Just be careful.” 

Damian glances at Dick uncertainly, but he hesitantly crawls up the bed and curls up against your right shoulder. Jason and Tim get comfortable in the surrounding recliners so Dick picks up the blanket from the foot of your bed and covers Damian who is already starting to fall asleep. Tim and Jason are also dozing off, the exhaustion from the night finally sinking in now that they know you’re okay. 

Alfred quietly clears his throat from the doorway. 

“How is she?” He asks. 

Dick glances back at you and smiles. 

“She’s going to be okay.” 

Alfred smiles, looking relieved then looks at Dick. 

“And how are you, Master Dick?” 

Dick shrugs, looking down at the floor for a moment. 

“Noting we haven’t seen before.” 

Alfred knows Dick well and patiently waits for him to say more. Most of the time, Dick forgets Alfred was in the military and that he understands the weight behind close calls. Dick gestures for Alfred to step out of the room in order to not disturb his brothers’ much-needed sleep. 

“We shouldn’t have gone after Bane,” Dick admits once the door shuts behind him. “I know better. I shouldn’t have let them talk me into it.” 

Alfred nods along slowly. 

“Bane has always been someone Master Bruce struggles to defeat. You five did it without him. You should be proud of yourselves.” 

“But at what cost?” Dick asks. 

“Miss. Y/N is going to be okay and you can’t change what happened, so be proud of what you accomplished.”

Dick’s shoulders sag as he feels a lump form in his throat. 

“It happened in slow motion,” He pauses. “One minute, she’s on the floor, the next thing I know, she’s standing in front of Damian with a sword through her chest...I thought she was going to bleed out in my arms.” 

“You did everything correctly. Your fast thinking is the reason your sister is here and recovering,” Alfred reassures him. 

Dick nods, not looking at Alfred. She almost died because of me. She almost died because of my decision. I knew we shouldn’t have gone after Bane but I thought we could handle it. My own arrogance almost got my sister killed. He feels his throat burn.

Alfred lays a hand on Dick’s shoulder, who looks over at him with tear-filled eyes. 

“I almost lost my sister,” He whispers with a thick voice. 

Alfred pulls Dick into a hug, Dick burying his face into Alfred’s shoulder as tears silently rolled down his face. Similar to Bruce who struggles to express “negative emotions” and often opted to repress or distract himself, Dick pushes his emotions down until he’s alone or with someone he feels safe with before allowing the emotions out. 

Alfred rubs Dick’s back while Dick silently cries until Dick finally pulls back and wipes his face. 

“I’m okay,” He promises with a sniff.

“I’m proud of you, Master Dick,” Alfred says. 

Dick smiles. 

“Thanks, Alfie,” Then he heads into the med bay to wait with his brothers for you to wake up. 

. . . 

You blearily open your eyes, hearing the sound of a heart monitor behind you. One arm is in a sling and you can feel tight wrappings across your chest, probably trying to protect your many broken ribs. Down the center of your chest is a long bandage. You look down to find one of your brothers curled up against your good arm and your other brothers sprawled across the room. 

“Damian?” You ask in a hoarse voice. 

His head pops up at the sound of your voice. 

“Y/N!” He exclaims, instantly wrapping his arms around your neck. 

You’re in shock for a moment, but quickly wrap your good arm around him, pulling him close to you, tears welling up in your eyes. He’s okay.

“You’re okay,” You mutter to him, resting your head on top of his. 

“I’m okay?!” Damian pulls back, staring at you incredulously. “What about you?! What were you thinking?! Why did you jump in front of me?!” 

You open your mouth to explain how your brain barely collaborated with your body to get between Bane and Damian. You open your mouth to explain how every fight or flight instinct, every training, and every self-preserving thought dissipated because your little brother was in danger. You open your mouth to explain how you were fully prepared to die in order for Damian to live on, but you couldn’t find the words to even begin to explain yourself. 

“I…” You say lamely. 

“Cool it with the interrogation,” Jason thankfully cuts in. “She was protecting you.” 

“She didn’t need to!” Damian snaps then returns his attention to you. “You almost got yourself killed!” 

“Dames, I’m okay,” You reassure him. 

“But what if you weren’t?” He retorts. 

“I am.” 

“But what if you weren’t?” He repeats. 

You roll your eyes.

“But what if there were wolves?” 

Damian’s face hardens. 

“I’m being serious,” He growls. 

“I am too,” You respond easily. “We can play the ‘what if’ game all day, but at the end of the day, I’m okay. We’re all okay.” 

“Do you realize how close you came to dying?” Damian demands, his eyes beginning to well. “Any higher, he would’ve hit your heart. Any lower would’ve been your stomach or your liver. Any further to one side would’ve been your aorta. Any further to the other would’ve been your spinal cord!” He stops to take a deep breath, his tears in danger of spilling over. “You came within millimeters of death or paralysis so how can you look at me and say everything is okay?” 

“Because it didn’t happen,” You reach up to touch him, to comfort him, but he dodges your hand. 

“No, what happened was you showed you’re willing to die, to leave me, all to protect me.” 

“Yeah,” You nod along. “I am. I’m willing to do it for all of you, no matter what.” 

Tim reaches out and squeezes your hand. Jason fondly ruffles your hair and Dick hugs you tightly, all their silent ways of reassuring that they would do it too. They all would and it didn’t take their silent gestures to know that. 

Damian shakes his head, his voice thick. 

“That’s not protecting me! I don’t want you to leave! I want you here alive with me! Because if you die, I—” His voice cracks. “I don’t want to live.” 

“Dames,” You feel your throat become tight and tears well up again. You reach out, cupping his cheek. He doesn’t pull away from you this time, instead, he lets that tears that had been building up finally fall. 

“Everyone leaves,” He admits. “For once, I want someone to stay for me, not leave.” 

You pull him to your chest, holding him close, a tear slipping down your face. 

“I’m not going anywhere, baby bird,” You promise, kissing the top of his head. 

Sibling angst. Lit. Anyways, got another Jason one coming y’alls way. I’ve got to edit it cause it’s a monster right now. Might be a two-parter, we’ll see. Hopefully, you enjoyed this! 

[quicksiilver]

In My Fathers Eyes

All Parts: Here

Also now on AO3: Here (I’ve wanted to do this from the start!  Finally did it.)

Part Four: The People In the Dream

Word Count: 4k.

Chapter Summary: Rachel reencounters the boy from downstairs.  A familiar piece of art is brought up, and her uncle identifies their type immediately, which gives Rachel just a taste of what she’s really in for.

Getting off the elevator I followed Thors directions and went straight down to the end of the hallway passing by rooms that were full of scientific equipment and important things that I wouldn’t understand.  This must’ve been the science fair Natasha was talking about and I smiled to myself thinking about it, shoving my hands in my hoodie pockets.

She seemed so cool and so chill.  I wondered if she was the only girl on this team because she’s the only girl Avenger I’ve heard about so far.  Black Widow, I thought, how cool it would be to be Black Widow.  I smiled again and shook my head.  Just wait until I tell Shaun that that thought just crossed my mind.

“Yeah, downstairs,” I heard a voice say as I reached the end of the hall.  Peering into the room I found Tony, Steve, Bruce, Thor, Natasha and the guy I ran into on the first floor who was the one talking.  I cleared my throat to subtlety announce my arrival and sure enough everyone's heads snapped to look at me.  Natasha and Steve were smiling at me, but Thor got up and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.  I gave him a smile.

“See?  Told you there was no need to rush.  Everyone is here, everyone is patient,” He gestured toward the group.

They were all sitting around different tables that used holographic computers or something.  Tony was using a touch screen but it was in midair.  I broke away from Thor and weaved my way through the tech, admiring it all.

“Yeah, patient,” Tony muttered fiddling with three different sets of codes, his eyes not leaving the screen, “Rachel we gotta talk.”  Turning to look at Tony I shrugged my shoulders to let him know I was ready and then I looked to the boy next to him who was already looking at me.  He seemed a little nervous so I smiled.

“Hi,” I said quietly before my face twisted with confusion, “Wait- how’d you get up here so fast?  You were on the stairs...”

“Uh, yeah,” He started and shrugged his shoulders twice, waving a hand at me as if to tell me to ignore him.  The boy clearly had trouble with words, but he was cute if I had to admit it.  He was as tall as Tony and gave off a sweet energy.

“He’s Spiderman,” Tony said flatly, still not looking away from his screen.  My jaw dropped only a little in shock, “Peter, this is Rachel.  Rachel, this is Peter.” He waved a single hand between us before returning it to the table.

“So you’re just going to give me up like that, then?  Again!?” Peter raised his voice, annoyed by Tony.  I laughed to myself, gaining Peter’s attention again.  He gave me a small smile and laughed with me.

“Nice to meet you,” He nodded.

“Nice to meet you, too,” I said.  We shared eye contact for another moment, just taking each other in before Steve started to speak and took me away.

Behind my back Natasha was watching Peter, and once Peter noticed her stare he pulled a face of disgust.  Natasha rolled her eyes, flickered her eyes between Peter and I, and then winked at him.  He was flustered, and looked away, but then turned back and shook his head trying to throw her off.  She nodded her head slowly and raised her eyebrows pointing at me once before giving her attention to Steve.

“Now that you’ve gotten to know Uncle Thor-“ He began, but Peter quickly cut him off.

“Uncle!?” He exclaimed, his eyebrows were raised so high as he watched Thor seeming more shocked than I had been.

“No Uncle,” Thor smiled, but squinted his eyes and we both shook our heads trying to dismiss the name we both decided didn’t fit.

“Okay, not Uncle Thor,” Steve said unsurely quizzing me with his eyes, “We figured now that you know some information we could possibly get started on what we need to do to... you know, save the world,” He sighed and sat down in a chair beside Natasha folding his arms across his chest.

“Funny, Cap,” Tony said as he stepped away from his tech, “You said you didn’t want to take the reins on this one.”  Steve took a deep breath looking at Natasha before turning to Tony.

“Then be my guest, Tone,” He said saltily, turning the air bitter.  Somewhere in my heart it felt unfitting for Captain America, a man who lived in the 1940’s, to treat someone with a little disrespect like that.  I glanced to Peter who was pressing his lips in a firm line obviously holding back a laugh.  My lips slowly grew into a smile even though I tried my best to repress it, and Peter’s did the same.  Not even a second passed before we both burst into laughter, the adults in the room turning to look at us.

“Children? For one second can you let the grown-ups have a moment?” Tony threw out a hand and talked with it.  Peter shut down quickly, but I let out another giggle as Tony turned back to face Steve.  He glanced at me only once more at the sound, and when he did I lowered my chin and narrowed my eyes watching him do a double take of disgust.

“Can you, please!  Please do not look at me like that,” He brushed his shoulder off with his hand as if to brush me away.

“Look at you like how?” Peter asked.  Keeping my chin low I faced Peter to let him have a look.  From Tony, to me, to Tony, to me, his eyes were dancing.

“I don’t get it,” He shook his head.

“He doesn’t know who that is?” Bruce spoke up.  Peter shook his head again.  I sighed and crossed my arms, copying Steve who looked to me humorously rolling his eyes in agreement.

“Listen, Cap,” Tony caught him in the act, “I wasn’t about to involve the entire team in this yet,” He gestured to Peter vaguely, “Let alone Peter, when we have no idea what this mission is going to do to us.”

“What mission?” Peter asked, getting no answers to any of his questions.  Tony and Steve broke into an argument that Natasha did her best to break up, and when she failed Thor stepped in and pushed Tony backward with a giant metal hammer that seemed to appear out of nowhere.  The Asgardian had business written on his face as we all watched the two of them stare at each other.

“That is my brother's daughter,” He spoke softly, but the strict tone was eminent.  After he said that Peter looked at me, still confused.

“If you all are not going to treat her with respect and thank her for coming here to help us, then I will take her home myself and make sure she lives the happiest life now that I know who she is,” Thor tapped Tony’s chest with the hammer again, “And I’m talking about you, Stark.” Tony looked between the hammer and Thor with minimum expression on his face.

“What will you do?  Lightning strike me into oblivion?  You guys need me, you wouldn’t do a thing,” Tony said. Thor pressed the hammer against him completely.  My mind was blown, it was as if this hammer weighed thousands of pounds yet Thor was able to just carry it around.  Tony let out a few noises to alert us that he was uncomfortable, and Peter looked concerned, but I watched with content.  Tony had been nothing but rude to me since I met him, I didn’t see anything wrong with giving him a little push.

“I could do it,” Thor agreed, “But I won’t,” He turned to me and I gave him a thankful smirk, then he looked to Tony once more, “Without you we won’t be able to find Loki.  We wouldn’t have found Rachel.  I need my brother to be safe, and she needs her father to come home.  Loki... Loki needs to be here,” His voice fell soft at the end, “He needs to be with her.” The room was silent for not even a minute after Thor’s touching speech, that did pull at my heart a bit.  Hearing that my father could be in danger if Thor said he wasn’t safe, and hearing that he needed to be with me, something stirred inside of me.  It felt like a longing, a need to know someone, a need to help someone.

Now it was Peter’s turn to get the attention.

“Loki?  You’re his daughter?” He asked me.  Nodding, I shrugged my shoulders.  My go-to for when I didn’t feel like admitting anything out loud, or apparently when the Avengers were driving me nuts.  I waited to see if Peter's face gave any hints as to how he felt about that information, but he just looked down to his hands and messed with them.  His eyebrows were pushed gently to the center of his forehead as he looked up at me, but he didn’t expect me to still be watching so he quickly looked back down.  Turning completely toward the adults I found Natasha watching me with a small smile.  Returning it I sighed and took my hoodie off completely, tossing it over a table to my left.  The white tank I had beneath it would do, I was comfortable being chilly anyway.

“Okay,” I said gesturing my hands around at them, “I’m ready.  Use me.” I said sarcastically.  Thor eyed me curiously, but proudly as I offered myself to them.  He had a plan of keeping me away from this tonight, but I decided now that I was going to get this over with.  Bruce stood up and held out a hand.

“Bruce Banner,” He said.  I shook his hand and nodded.  Hulk, I said to myself in my head, big green guy.  I mentally noted to always be nice to Bruce.  There was something about knowing he could turn into a monster in a split second that just freaked me out to my core.

“Rachel Andrews,” I said and let go, holding my hands behind my back.

“Nice to formally meet you, Rachel,” He said with an emphasis on the word formally, getting a quiet rise out of Tony, “You’ll be doing a lot of work with me... and Tony to start out with.”  Thor released the man who came a few steps closer to us.

“Hi, Rachel,” He said in the same tone he’s been using, “Yes it’s been great to meet you, but I’ve just been stressed the hell out.  These superhuman’s don’t understand that I can’t punch or break something to simply figure out how...” He paused and internally seemed to tell himself to stop talking.

“Can I tell you what we need to do?” He asked me and I gave him the famous shrug, “You know you do that a lot.” He mumbled and turned around motioning for me to follow him.  Just when I thought Tony could’ve redeemed himself in the slightest, he ruins it with a snide comment.

“Guys, Steve and I are going to go meet Wanda downstairs,” Natasha said, starting for the door with Steve behind her, “Peter?” She paused for a moment looking to the boy who was still standing there quietly.  He looked up to her.

“Are you going to come with us?” She asked him, her tone insinuating something.  Peter shook his head and then cocked his head toward Tony.

“Nah, I’m going to stay and help,” He said.  Natasha eyed him, then left with a grin on her face.  

Tony brought me over to the table he was standing behind when I first came into this room and he started to explain what I was looking at on the screens.  It was insane, when I was behind the screen I could see right through it, but looking at it from here it was like a solid page.

He told me that he and Bruce needed to, ‘explore the valleys of my hippocampus’, to see if they could find any leads on my father and where he could be or what he could be doing.

“You realize I’ve never met the guy?” I said, stating the truth.

“Seems as though you’ve met something related to him,” Tony said and I pulled a face.

“Yeah, Thor-“ I started to catch an attitude, but he shut me up.

“Not... Thor,” He held out a hand before reaching for his phone in his pocket, “Banner, I didn’t show you this yet.” Tony scrolled on his phone for a minute and then flipped the screen around for Bruce to see.  His eyes nearly bugged out of his head, and Tony vocally agreed with him.

“What is it?” Peter asked coming close to peer over Tony’s shoulder, “Whoa, is that paint?!” He exclaimed.  Reaching out a hand without thinking twice I snatched Tony’s phone from him with force and saw a photo of my painting from this morning on the screen.  I could feel my blood start to boil.  Nothing made me anymore angry than non consensual art being flaunted around, especially if it was mine.  In sixth grade a drawing of a girl I had a crush on was spread around the school and I was made fun of for weeks, so I’m pretty sure that’s where this trauma stems from.

“You think this is okay? Stealing peoples art and hard work?” I spat, sliding his phone back to him on the table, “I worked for hours on that.”

“And it’s great, really,” Tony praised, “I didn’t take the picture to steal your art, kid.  Can I ask what it is?  Who are they?”

I peeked at his phone again, looking at the blue figures I had painted onto an icy background.

“I know who they are,” Thor said, making us all jump, because I think we all forgot he was here.  He walked toward us, stood behind me and reached over my head for Tonys phone.  I looked up at him genuinely shocked.

“What!? You do?” I asked, “These are things I’ve seen in my dreams my entire life.  How do you know who they are?” Thor looked to Tony who looked to Bruce.

“Go ahead, she’s going to need to find out anyway,” The scientist rolled his eyes.  Thor placed a hand to my shoulder as usual and walked me away from the table.  Once we were across the room he showed me my own painting again.

“Yes, I know,” I nodded, “Blue people, red eyes, ice world.” Thor laughed under his breath.

“This is a place close to Asgard,” He began, his words freezing me in my place, “We used to be at battle with them, the Jotun’s, for millions of years until my father... ended it.  It’s called Jotunheim and these people are called Frost Giants.” My eyes were glued to my painting and my stomach was starting to feel nauseous.  My entire life I had believed that this was a made up place that my six year old brain created, and then continued to create when I needed something to get me away from what is now my traumatic backstory.

“You’re looking like him again,” Thor whispered, mentioning the clear discomfort I was wearing on my face, “The place was silent for a long, long time after my father created peace, the Jotun’s leaving Asgard alone, however... today battle is on the horizon.  It has been for a while now.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked up to my uncle.

“Are you alright?” He asked genuinely, a hand touching my cheek.  I started to nod slowly.

“I mean... yeah, if you consider the fact that I have no idea who I am anymore,” I said at merely a whisper, “This has to do with my dad, right?  All of it?  Why else would I be dreaming about another planet?”

“This is why we’d like to explore...” Tony sang out from the other side of the room, letting his voice trail off obnoxiously after his little song.

“Maybe, possibly, somehow some of it wasn’t a dream... It was real,” Bruce said.

“I’ve NEVER met my father,” I clenched my fists and watched Tony flinch, my voice raising a bit as I stared Bruce down.

“Maybe it wasn’t your father,” He said simply, not even reacting to my state.  Squeezing my eyebrows together I quickly crossed my arms over my chest hoping to physically fix the emotional hole that was just opened.  My body was turning warm, I could feel the heat rising from my bones and it started to make me shake.  I turned to Thor and shook my head nearly pouting my lips.  He rested a hand on my arm and pulled me in to hug him.  His hold was strong, but comforting, and as he hugged me he told me quietly that he was not going to let anything or anyone hurt me.

“And I mean here, too,” He lifted a finger to my head implying mentally.  Bruce and Tony had turned away and were talking to one another focused back on a screen.  Peeking out from under Thor's arm it seemed as if they didn’t care that this day has been the third most overwhelming day of my life.  They both just tapped away at their work with their fingers and spoke a second language of smart people’s lingo to each other.

“Hey,” Peter said from behind Thor and I.  Suddenly realizing that he was still here I stepped back from Thor rubbing my eyes clean of any subconscious tears that may have fallen before turning to look at him.  I took a deep breath as he stepped close to me.

“I don’t really know what you have to do,” He started, and I nodded in agreement because I had no idea either, “But Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner can be nice sometimes.  They can even make me laugh sometimes,” He spoke lightheartedly, watching me curiously.  Then he spoke quieter, keeping his words between us, “If you wanted, I could totally stay here, if that’s okay with you, and maybe even help them and you, of course.  You barely know me, but somehow I feel like I get you.”  Tucking my dark hair behind my ears I glanced to my feet feeling something stir in my center again as I stood here in front of Peter.  

It was a feeling I had felt for the first time in sixth grade, and another time when I first met Shaun.  Shortly after getting to know Shaun and who he was it was settled that I’d have to get over what I was feeling, fast, or else we wouldn’t have become the friends we are today.  I had never dated anyone before, and I wasn’t sure that something along those lines was even written in the stars for me.  The thought of someone coming into my life and disrupting the way I live it made me uncomfortable.  I work too hard to be able to survive the way I’ve been, and any time Shaun asks to set me up with someone I decline.  He loves to tell me I enjoy shutting people out, and have a talent for not opening up or speaking my truth.  Although for Shaun that’s never truly an issue.  Our other friends however couldn’t tell you a single thing personal about me.

As I looked back up to Peter these thoughts washed away and all that remained was my gut instinct to shut it down as fast as possible and run the other way, but then I figured I could use a friend while I was here.  Shaun was at home, possibly still at mine, and I was here by myself completely vulnerable to a handful of Gods, superhuman’s and shape shifting human beings.

“Sure,” I answered Peter with a small smile, “You can stay.”  He smiled in return, his eyes looking to me happily.  Flutters in my stomach.  Breaking my gaze I sighed and turned back to Thor who was waiting attentively.

“You can do this.  In the end everything will be fine.  Even better than fine,” He said grinning, “Peter, Spider-boy,” He said.

“Uh, Spider-man... Thor, sir,” Peter said too respectfully.

“Right,” Thor laughed, “You’ve always been someone I trusted these few years you’ve been with us,” Peter’s smile grew, “Can you promise me something?”

“Of course,” Peter nodded quickly.

“Good, now, please,” Thor paused and closed his eyes.  I turned to Peter for a moment, both of us questioning him, “Please promise me that if I am not around... if I am not in sight, and this one is in danger,” Thor pointed to me, “Promise me that you will protect her.  Whatever it takes.”  Peter stepped around me and held out his hand for Thor to shake, and when the god grabbed it he nearly lifted Peter off the floor.

“I promise,” Peter said genuinely.  Thor nodded and looked between the two of us satisfied with himself.

“Good, good,” He mumbled, “That is my niece,” He said to Peter who nodded, understanding, “And this is my friend,” He said to me, gesturing toward Peter, “Don’t get too comfortable.” He whispered harshly, laughing at the cringe reactions he got out of both of us.

“I will be leaving for a moment, will you be alright?” Thor then asked me.  Nodding my head I glanced to Peter, then to Thor and smiled, “Great.  Take care of her, please.”  He said to Peter before heading out the door.

“Rachel, can we do a test run to see if we have everything working right?” Bruce called over to Peter and I.

“Sure,” I said knowing that I didn’t have another option, but Thor's threat to Tony about him taking me home did sound pretty nice.  Walking toward the geniuses I say down in a comfortable chair right beside the table Tony was working at.

He handed me two tiny earbuds and explained to me that I needed to put them in my ears like I was wearing headphones to listen to music.  I hesitated at first, questioning Peter with my eyes, but he just gave me a shrug, so I stuck the little oval shaped beads into my ears.

“Alright,” Tony’s tone turned to excitement, “Let’s see how well our four month prototype works out, Banner.”

“Prototype?!” I nearly shouted and lunged forward in the chair making Tony jump and stumble backwards.  The sight of his frightened face confused me once again, yet it always seemed to bring me a but of joy, “You’re really scared of me, aren’t you?” I asked quietly, my voice lowering immensely, some humor detected behind it.  Tony came back close to me and ignored the question, giving me the answer I was looking for, and started tapping away listening to Bruce’s instructions.  Peter had himself sitting criss-cross on a table top when I looked back to him.  His hands were in his lap and he was watching the guys work with interest in every move they made.  His eyes found me and he smiled again, shooting me a look that was asking me if I was okay.  I sat back against the cushion once more and nodded as I rested my forehead on my fist, the feeling of a headache brewing and on its way.

[itzagothamcitysiren]

Welcome to the Family

So here’s the newest installment in my batman series :) I’m super excited for this one, especially with the response from my last two stories. I’m so used to using sites where the community is dead lol. This is very refreshing and motivating. I already have four out of the seven chapters written out! 

There's a Web That You Have Wove pt. 1

The one good thing Halley Wilson could say she’d taken away from her father was the ability to function on a minimal amount of sleep, a skill she’d never really had to put in action up until recently. The months flew by as she grew accustomed to her new life in Gotham City and she soon found her body adapted to the schedule she found herself repeating day in and day out that would be overwhelming to any other regular civilian.

           She couldn’t believe it’s already been nearly six months since she took up Bruce Wayne’s offer to become his newest crime fighting protégé. The time flew by as she spent night after night pounding her fists into the scum of Gotham’s underbelly. Although she wasn’t nearly as popular as Batman, or even Robin, she’d already started making a name for herself. People started whispering her name, criminal’s starting to turn the other way if they saw her jumping from building to building.

           It took some training to learn how to fight less lethally, learning that it was okay to pull back some punches here and there. It was tough for her at first, her first instinct always having been to take down her target as quickly and efficiently as possible. But she knew she if she wanted to work for Batman she had to adhere to his rules.  Justice, not vengeance, he always said.

           She grumbled, staring down at her textbook as she remember him repeating the phase last night on patrol. He hadn’t directed it to her, rather his other sidekick, Robin. Halley remembered the agitation Jason felt as Bruce laid it out for him once again as they reached the Batcave after another vexing night. Their weeks’ worth of tailing a smuggler had been thrown out the window and even Halley could help but feel some short of way towards Jason for screwing it up. She did believe though that Bruce went a little bit too far when he decided to bench Jason for the rest of the week.

           They had followed their guy to an abandoned apartment building, and after a few painstakingly boring hours of recon for the two teens, who’d been itching for a little action, Batman decided it was time for them to make their move.  They leapt to the opposing building, sneaking in from above and quickly and silently began clearing out the complex.  

           There were a couple dozen of guys and what appeared to be hostages, confirming that Batman’s hunch was correct; this was one of the safe houses for who people in Gotham merely called Stan the Pimp. His name made it pretty obvious as to what his career choice was and normally Batman wouldn’t interfere, leaving minor (minor to Gotham’s standards) for the cops to deal with. But when he caught wind of Stan taking his trade further, dabbling in adding children to his line up, Bruce knew the Batman was needed.

           Jason showed a particular fire during their little raid, jumping ahead of Batman and Nightshade once they came across the room filled with the missing kids. Nightshade tried going after him but Batman ordered her to stay with the children until the police came, Alfred already sending out a signal for Jim Gordon of their location.  Nightshade held the room, immobilizing anyone who tried to enter the room with her poisoned darts. They were non-lethal of course, but naturalizing agents she and Bruce cooked up, her wanting to start incorporating her name with her whole gimmick.  If Batman could put the word bat in front of everything he owned, she could have a couple of poison darts here and there.

           It wasn’t until the ride home in the batmobile did she realize something was wrong between the two. Batman was usually stern and quiet after a long and successful night, but there was something off about him. Especially the look he gave Jason when he took a seat in the front next to him. When they arrived back home it was than when her feeling was proven correct.  She thought she’d be the one struggling to take it easy on the criminals of Gotham, knowing how kill a person in at least a hundred different ways,  but she’d yet to have an incident of going overboard.

           She had learned however that Jason was an entirely different story. He had no limits, Bruce’s lessons still not drilled into his head somehow. He pushed Bruce’s buttons as hard as he could, always seeing how far he could go in a fight. He hadn’t come close to killing someone yet but whereas Bruce fought to solely subdue, Jason fought to send each criminal he punched to the hospital. Which was were their guy ended up last night.

           “”You shattered his collar bone!” Bruce had shouted as they began to settle into the Batcave.

           Jason scoffed, rolling his eyes as he ripped his domino mask off. He saved those kids lives that night, he didn’t care if their captor was now knocked out in a prison hospital bed. “He’s a child trafficking-pimp. I didn’t think I had to prop up some pillows before taking him out. He was going to shoot me.”

           Halley watched the pair, Bruce moving to almost get in his face. Halley looked at her feet, giving them a moment as she excused herself to get changed out of her costume. As she walked to the changing area the Batcave had, she overheard Bruce’s strict voice, “We needed him. Not all the kids were accounted for! He would’ve talked, but you put him into shock.”

           Halley played back the conversation, completely not focusing on the words coming out of her teacher’s mouth. She’d remembered Jason’s discouraged face he wore all morning and couldn’t help but feel bad. As Alfred tried talking to Bruce about last night’s disaster, Halley had tried talking to Jason as they walked the halls into their first class but he just shrugged her off and said he was fine. She hadn’t seen him since, hoping that he hadn’t skipped and get himself into more trouble with Bruce.

           Slamming her textbook close as she heard the bell ring, she began shoving it into her backpack. She was starving and wanted to get to the cafeteria as soon as possible to try and beat the lines. Her pathway out of the room was blocked immediately though and she groaned, looking up to glare at who prevented her from exiting the classroom. Inwardly groaning again and mentally rolling her eyes, she tried plastering a fake smile on her face, but she was too tired to try that hard.

           In front of her stood Sam Bennet, the girl she had shadowed when she first started at Gotham Academy. The black haired girl smiled at her widely, holding her phone up for Halley to see. The vigilante looked at the screen, unsure what she was looking at. It was some Facebook event page. Sam proceeded to excitedly point to the screen, opening her mouth to talk, “I tried inviting you to this but I couldn’t because we aren’t Facebook friends.”

           Halley bite the inside of her cheek as the girl spoke. She tried walking again, and the girl followed. Ever since she saw Dick dropping off and picking up her and Jason from school a few weeks back, Sam had been practically begging without verbally asking to become friends with Halley. She’d tried with Jason but Jason wasn’t as polite as Halley, and kindly told her to fuck off. The crush she had on Dick was unbearable now, and even someone as polite as Halley had noted her patience was running short with all the pestering.

           “I don’t have a Facebook.” Halley muttered, hoping that the girl would finally get the hint. Alas, she pressed on, not skipping a step and keeping up with the brunette.

           “What? How do you survive?” Sam gasped appalled. She waved her off after she was done gaping. “Regardless, I wanted to invite you to the party I’m throwing this weekend. My parents are going on a skiing trip and I’ll have the whole house to myself so you know, party!” She laughed obnoxiously, already taping away at her phone again.  “I’ll text you the address, you can head over around seven!”

           Halley rolled her eyes, as the girl looked at her phone. She felt her phone buzz in her pocket, angry that the girl had managed to get her phone number. They’d been paired up for a presentation in their English class last mouth and they had to exchange numbers in order to keep up to date on their progress with the project. She nodded, having no intent on going but didn’t want to give the girl anymore reason to carry on this conversation. Halley sneered at the back of Sam’s head as she walked away, throwing a wave back at her.

           Turning down the hall, getting closer to the cafeteria, she nearly screamed when she was pulled backwards and into a classroom. Jerking her arm away as the door closed, her eyes looked enraged as she looked up to face her kidnapper. Her gaze turned into a glare as she saw Jason standing in front of the door, closing it and locking it.

           “What the hell, Todd.” She growled along with her stomach; she just wanted food.

           Jason smirked at how miffed she was and crossed his arms against his chest, with a roll of his eyes. Taking a step back he reached for his backpack he left on the empty teacher’s desk. Unzipping it without a word he pulled out two brown bags, the familiar logo softening Halley’s face while bringing a smug smile to Jason’s.

           “Caroline’s?” She gasped, taking the bag he outreached for her. Opening it she found herself a burger and order of onion rings from what had become her favorite diner in Gotham City. Dick often brought her and Jason there whenever he was in town. Popping an onion ring in her mouth she nearly moaned at the greasy treat before narrowing her eyes back at Jason. “Don’t tell me you skipped to go get this?”

           Jason merely reached into his own bag and pulled out his own meal, leaning against the desk with a shrug. Halley gave him a disappointed look before letting her backpack fall to the floor. She watch him as he took a giant bite out of his burger, signally that they were apparently eating in the abandoned classroom. He was probably hiding from the principal and didn’t want to get caught with the food. Letting out a sigh, she moved to take a seat at one of the desks, too hungry to argue with him about it.

           They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, stuffing their faces with the unhealthy foods, trying not to think of the look of disappointment Alfred would be giving them if he saw what they were eating. It wasn’t until she was halfway done with her burger did she look up at Jason again. He sat on top of the desk, clearly still upset about last night as he barely ate his food. She gulped down the last few bites that were in her mouth and lowered the burger.

           “Are you okay?” She sighed, breaking the silence.

           Jason nodded, even though they both knew he was lying. He was still extremely hurt by Bruce benching him yet again. It was like Bruce was regretting letting him be Robin at this point by the amounts of times he took him off the field. How did he expect Jason to learn anything and get better if he was constantly stuck in his room and not out by his side like Robin should be?

           It wasn’t even just that. Jason genuinely believed he wasn’t doing anything wrong. These were criminals they were dealing with. Murders, rapists-, psychopaths. Why should they go easy on them? They didn’t deserve to be let off easy, especially the low-lives they dealt with last night. They were dealing innocent kids and they were lucky that only one of them got off with a shattered collar bone.

           “They were scum.” Jason hissed, putting the burger in his bag, not hungry anymore as he thought back to the terrified faces of those kids.

           “I agree with you.” Halley nodded, doing the same. She pushed the bag out of her way, letting her arms rest on the desk. “They deserve a lot more than what they got.” She agreed, but once she saw Jason’s eyes already getting fired up she trailed back a bit. “But, Bruce is right. We’re no better than them if we start killing every person we fight. Take it from me, I know what it’s like to kill someone, it’s not the greatest feeling in the world.”

           Jason bit his lip, trying to think before he spoke with her. He’d been surprised with how much they actually got along since she came back from to the manor. Once she got comfortable and opened up more, Jason couldn’t help but look up to the girl and respect her. She was amazing on the field. Batman was still Batman, but he’d never seen someone fight quite like she did. Her movements were swift, almost fluid, seeing as she didn’t have a lot of muscle mass compared to someone like himself or Bruce, or even Dick; she had to think of other ways to take down stronger advisories. It was like time almost slowed down with how fast she could knock someone off their feet as she could hyper-analyze their movements and match them in a split second. She knew just how to take someone down with one look, and always knew how to react when the situation was growing sour.

           But even with all of that he couldn’t help but feel some sort of animosity towards her. She clearly out shined him when it came to a lot of things. Batman never had to chastise her for not following orders or for going out of line. Once Bruce taught her his ways, she was the star student, which only pointed out Jason’s flaws more and more with each patrol. He couldn’t help but think she’d make a better Robin than he ever could and that thought hurt. Being Robin was all he had and now he just had to sit back and watch as Bruce turned to her over him more and more. Jason knew it wasn’t the girl’s fault but he was who he was, and being bitter about it was a natural given.

           “I’m not talking about killing anyone, I’m talking about why the fuck am I going to go easy on someone who sells kids like they’re sex dolls?” Jason spat, flaring his arms out. He tensed, seeing Halley cringe at his bluntness, her face looking flustered. He let out a long breathe, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry, it just really ticks me off, you know? This city is a shit show and I just don’t see us truly helping.” He paused, looking at her softly. She nodded, pushing him to keep going. Letting out another sigh, he did. “It’s just a constant cycle, we catch the bad guys, they get put away; then they either make bail or get busted out and then it just repeats, over and over-, what good are we really doing?”

           Halley frowned, agreeing with him completely but still felt conflicted. She also agreed with Bruce; they weren’t killers and who would they be if they started to be? They were supposed to be better than them, they were supposed to give Gotham something good to believe in. But Jason was right, their system was flawed. She noticed that within her first few nights patrolling the streets as a string of murders haunted the East End. They caught him of course but he only lasted a few weeks in Arkham before escaping. Their culprit had been Victor Zsasz, and his methods of killing had been a little more horrifying than Halley would care to admit. In her many years of being paid to kill people she’d never seen anything quite like the mess they walked in.

           Frowning deeper, seeing Jason now staring out the window blankly, she made a decision. She’d talk to Bruce tonight about her concerns and she’d stick up for Jason’s actions last night; it’s not like anyone else did.