#by the way i mean none of this as any shade towards led zeppelin

[lemongrablothbrok]

Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck I forgot how to breathe

I didn't think it was possible. I didn't think it was fucking possible. But I found a version of "Whole Lotta Love" that gets me even more hot 'n' bothered than the original (and the original is...well, I use it for the fuzzy tingle times sometimes). Dear God, help me. Help me, my panties are on fire. Damn it, Tori. This is not okay. You gotta warn me about these things.

[beautiful-and-terrible]

dazed ‘n’ confused (part 1)

A/N: Literally this is just a combination of frustration and gender envy I have for rodrick heffley. both characters are 18 :)

Ship: rodrick heffley x OFC

Warnings: none in this part, probably NSFW in later chapters

---

Nicole had never had a more boring summer.

She and her family, (Mom, Dad, and two younger sisters) had moved to this rinky-dink town in April, and Nicole squeezed in two months of school without making any friends before summer hit in a disgusting, sweltering mess of dry lawns and humid nights.

She managed to get a job life-guarding, and that was the highlight of her days through July and August. Her initial blistering sunburn on the tops of her feet and legs turned into a nice tan, and she usually walked the two miles from her house to the pool, so she stayed in good shape (minus the five or six ice-pops she would eat during her shifts).

Mainly, the reason she enjoyed life-guarding so much was because her neighbor, Rodrick Heffley, would come to the pool almost every day and stay until closing time (which also happened to be the end of Nicole’s shift). She tried not to think too much into it.

Nicole wouldn’t usually be attracted to boys like Rodrick. He was loud, and generally harassed the other kids in the pool, and splashed the old ladies when he cannon-balled off the diving board. He and his friends were always goofing off and violating pool rules. Nicole blew her whistle more times for him than she did for anyone else. Every time she did, she would point at him silently, and slowly give him a thumbs down.

And every time, he would give her a salute back and a shit-eating grin. It made her heart flutter funnily, and she would glower at him from behind her sunglasses.

Still, Nicole only worked at the pool four days a week - that meant her Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays were all abysmally, utterly free. Nicole tried to do things that made her happy - she practiced bass, and even a little guitar, and learned a few songs by heart. She redecorated her room, twice. 

From her window, she could occasionally see Rodrick pass by in his attic room - never anything indecent of course, but it always made her tummy feel funny to think of him, in his room, doing Rodrick things. She knew he was in a band, and played the drums - the whole block could hear their band practice on Friday nights. It was a little cringe, she knew, but she moved her bed under the window so she could glimpse his shadow when he walked by, coltish and gangly as it was.

She wanted to know more about him though - his favorite song, what he put on his burgers, even what his sheets looked like (which she blushed to think about. Get a grip.)

One blisteringly hot Thursday in August, Nicole decided to bike to work instead of walking. It would take less time, and would hopefully generate a little breeze to cool her off instead of trudging along on the soft asphalt. And, of course, right as she was about to turn off her street, her tire blew.

“Are you shitting me?” Nicole said under her breath, moving her long hair out of her eyes to look at what could’ve possibly punctured her tire. 

As she knelt down, a voice called “Need some help?” from behind her.

She turned to see Rodrick on his own bike, standing on the pedals and arms braced in front of him on the handle bars. He was wearing cargo shorts and a DIY tank top, obviously an old t-shirt with the arms cut off. Nicole’s eyes were drawn to his toned brown arms and the slip of torso she could see. She swallowed heavily before replying.

“Yeah, stupid tire blew out. Do you have a spare?” she asked, not really thinking about it. She didn’t know why she felt so comfortable asking Rodrick for help. They had never really talked before - only passing on the street, raising a hand to each other in greeting. The only other consistent interaction they had was Nicole reprimanding Rodrick for pouring cherry slushies in the kiddie pool.

“For sure - follow me. I'm Rodrick, by the way,” he said. "I know who you are - everyone at school told me to stay the hell away from you," Nicole teased, and began to follow Rodrick back toward his house, Nicole carrying her gimp bike over her shoulders and Rodrick walking his bike beside her.

"And all my friends said to avoid Nicole Tagliaferi like the plague,"

"It's Tagliani, dipshit. It's Italian."

"Sure, sure, whatever," Rodrick said teasingly, before turning to look at her, “You like lifeguarding?”. She could tell he was trying to make conversation, and it made a small secret smile appear on her lips.

“It’s alright - when you aren’t making trouble for me,” she replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She saw his signature devilish grin appear, white teeth flashing.

“But otherwise, you’d just be sitting in the hot sun all day, watching old ladies do aqua-cize or whatever they call it.”

“Do you mean water aerobics?” Nicole laughed, trying not to let her mirth get away from her and let out a snort of amusement.

“Exactly. At least I bring something good-looking to the table,” Rodrick preened, jumping on his bike and riding it up the last leg of his drive way. Nicole followed him into the open garage - it smelled as most garages do, of rubber and dust and wood projects that the men of the family have yet to finish.

Nicole watched as Rodrick moved some boxes aside and reached up to grab a spare bike tire off the wall - her gaze slipped down to see his shirt ride up over his hip bones, revealing a flat stomach and a dark happy trail. Her mouth went dry, and she became increasingly aware of how hot the back of her neck felt, even in the dim shade of the garage.

“Let me grab a wrench and I can get started. You want anything to drink? Coke, lemonade?”

“Coke sounds good - thanks,” Nicole replied after a moment, still recovering from her earlier lapse of concentration.

While she waited, Nicole decided it wouldn’t be the worst thing to look for some music - she found an old radio in the corner and found her favorite classic rock channel. Luckily, they happened to be playing Led Zeppelin, and one of Nicole’s favorites, too. The slow, wailing guitar guided her hips as she started to dance a little around the garage. Being the nosy busy-body she was, Nicole had no qualms about letting herself get comfortable in other peoples houses. She was always looking in boxes and admiring little trinkets, imagining what it would be like to live there. Not that there was anything particularly interesting in the garage besides Rodrick’s drum set.

She swayed over to the shiny instruments and picked up the sticks, sliding around the back to the seat and beginning to try and replicate the beat from the song. 

“Sorry, neighbor, there's only room for one hot drummer in this band,” Rodrick said as he came back in the garage. Nicole stopped playing immediately, feeling flustered at being caught and simultaneously being called “hot”.

“Is that the noise I hear coming from this garage? You call that music?” 

Rodrick rolled his eyes, handing her the ice-cold coke. “You sound like my Dad. Let me guess - you listen to Taylor Swift?”

Nicole shrugged, taking a sip of her coke. “Taylor Swift is fine. So is classic rock, and nu-metal, and Mozart. I’m not picky.”

Rodrick gave her a funny look, wandering over to her bike and beginning to unscrew the washers from the flat tire.

“So what's your favorite classic rock band, then?”

“The same as many others, I suppose. Zeppelin, AC/DC, the occasional Metallica. My dad raised me on Rob Zombie and Bob Marley, and my mom learned more toward The Beatles and Carly Simon.”

Rodrick stopped what he was doing to look back at her, his mouth slightly agape. Nicole felt a swell of smugness at flooring this over-confident boy with her knowledge of music he obviously thought was “superior”. 

“Loded Diper was originally a Motley Crue cover band, did you know?”

Nicole hid a laugh behind another sip of coke. “No, I didn’t know that. I’m assuming now you write your own songs?”

Rodrick blushed, turning his gaze back to the task of fitting the new tire onto the frame of the bike. “Yeah, I dabble in song writing. Mostly the chords, I’m shit with lyrics.”

“That’s a good skill. It takes practice to learn how music sounds good together. You can’t just throw random chords together and expect it to sound good.”

“You talk like you know music,” Rodrick said, looking over his shoulder at Nicole. 

“Yeah, I dabble.” Nicole replied, throwing his own words back at him. Rodrick tightened the last screw on the tire and reattached the chain.

“There. Good as new,” he said, swinging the bike back around toward Nicole. She reached for the seat and the handlebars at the same time, and without thinking about where she placed her hands, ended up putting them right over Rodrick’s. It only lasted for a moment, but she swore she could feel all the air leave the room. Her eyes met his liquid dark ones. 

“Thanks,” she said breathlessly, and hopped on her bike without another word, coasting down the driveway and pedaling as nonchalantly and quickly as she could toward the pool. 

Rodrick didn’t follow her. She wished that he had.

[givemeonebreath]

A big, messy Linked Universe playlist

Link for Links

Heavy on the angst, because of who I am as a person. (At the same time, don’t take it too seriously, man.)

Influenced by canon, manga (TP Link is really Going Through It™ ), my personal perceptions, and popular fandom canon.

A pretty wide variety of genres, with a bias towards metal and prog rock.

I kept snippets of lyrics for most songs, also because of who I am as a person. (Some were particularly hard to narrow down to just one verse or chorus.) Those - and a little more rambling - are under the cut if you really want, in the order of the playlist. But. It’s long.

I didn’t initially make this with the intent to share, but hey. Throughout my past year+ of listening, I’ve been haphazardly adding songs to a playlist I very creatively named Links. If something reminded me of them, whether through the music or lyrics or both, I threw it on the playlist, so some songs might seem odd or vague. Some are really on the nose, as subtle as a sledgehammer. (Sky for Sky? Dude. Sorry.) Some are there because of a fitting line or two that stuck in my head. Ultimately, music - like any form of creative expression - can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. 

My listening habits and tastes are erratic, which is why this is one big, jumbled playlist and not separated for different Links. Not to mention if I did that, some (Wild, Legend) would have a lot and some (Wind, Four) would have none, both because of my own familiarity with them, and because of the general themes of the music I tend to listen to. Most songs are a general ‘hero’s spirit reborn’ mood, anyway - those are the first part of the playlist. The second half is more nuanced to specific Links, plus a few Ganon vibes.

1. Deep Purple - April (Koji Kondo, composer of the original Legend of Zelda theme, was into Deep Purple as a kid, and it shows.)

2. Kamelot - Regalis Apertura

3. Au4 - So Just Hang On, Beautiful One (I’ve posted this here before. I can’t hear it without thinking of LU now.) So I slipped in through the gate almost unknown. All my border stamps were late. Seven days old. Cold hand griped my shoulder blade, broke the bone. Bloody nose and turned away, all the way home.

4. FC Kahuna - Hayling Don’t think about all those things you fear, just be glad to be here

5. Glass Animals - Youth Boy, when I left you you were young I was gone, but not my love You were clearly meant for more Than a life lost in the war

6. Pain of Salvation - Restless Boy A restless boy in a world too slow A flame born into cinder, ash, and glow I've given everything I gave it all Yet find myself alone

7. Haken - The Endless Knot Our design shifted frame by frame! Across the line our cycle starts to fail. Our design shifted frame by frame! Across the line we die to live again.   We need a story to believe in. We need a hero to prevail. We need a challenge we can overcome, it takes a tragedy to make us one 

8. Kamelot - Memento Mori (I particularly associate this with Time and Twilight) I am the god in my own history The master of the game I may believe if she would come to me And whisper out my name Sometimes I wonder where the wind has gone If life has ever been Sometimes I wonder how belief alone Can cut me free from sin

9. Katatonia - Fighters Look I told you so We never stop If we said that We'll back it up For sure You know We're fighters

10. Megadeth - This Day We Fight! (I mean, all Links, but particularly Warriors) For this I was chosen, because I fear nothing With confidence I tread through the dead of the night Off to another war-torn, faraway battlefield Wherein lies a demonic enemy horde

11. Moon Tooth - Igneous Well, the spirit took me And this old broken body leapt up and danced Settin’ out Settin' out with all my heroes in a bundle at my back Hawk am I More wings span in my shadow than overcast Yeah, you know what they say Always need something to look up to, ha

12. Samael - Moongate Destiny, tomorrow is today Destiny, without boundaries How many nights will we spend together traveling infinity back and forth and again How many times will we go together questioning eternity about us about our wonders...

13. TOOL- Parabola This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion

14. Lunatic Soul - Blood on the Tightrope No matter how hard you try To shut down your feverish thoughts They hunt you down with no regret Cause you have to fix it all

15. Hybrid - Keep It In The Family

16. Soul Savers - Unbalanced Pieces Gone, now carry on Through violent seasons I call you mother, mother, mother In vain, absent chain The twilight's bleeding And the playing board has two unbalanced pieces

17. Steve Von Till - Valley of the Moon All she gives is a stone facade Like ill-given flowers at a dead man's wake Here we slave for the dreams of another And fight over scraps like wayward dogs

18. Ludovico Einaudi - Experience

19. Lunatic Soul - Summoning Dance Three stones on the right side Three stones on the left My vicious circle of life and death   “Oh you want it” I hear it again “Oh you want it” My burden Curse to break

20. Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods Run through your shaded woods Run through your shaded mind Run through the night Run away Run through the darkness Run

21. Lunatic Soul - Naavie

22. David Bowie - Nature Boy There was a boy A very strange, enchanted boy They say he wandered very far Very far, over land and sea A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he

23. The Dandy Warhols - Sleep Well, I could sleep forever But it's of her I dream If I could sleep forever I could forget about everything 

24. Au4 - Everyone is Everyone (and Everything is Everything) Tripping and tumbling, Flipping and fumbling. Flowing on the rivers of sadness That have been forever rumbling.   But from dawn until now Of all the paths that I could have gone down Of all the valleys That I could have been flowing through.   In spite of all the chaos And all that has come between us, How is it I still find myself Here with you. 

25. Kingcrow - Everything Goes Your hands again upon the ground Falling rain for hours and hours As you learn the game Time dispels the fog ... Ever been there? Ever felt like prey? Ever thought your mind was feeble? Lot of things that don’t make sense

26. Pain of Salvation - Icon As a child I felt too old And now when I'm grown-up I feel too young A different kind so I've been told Just slightly out of reach and out of time

27. Sophia Loizou - Divine Interference (I got spooky dungeon vibes. Also, the title.)

28. Carpenter Brut - Fab Tool Runnin Gunnin Forward in the phantom shatter so grand Splatter grand, arcanum fuel Wrought iron out of the sky Over me, tells no lie

29. Blue Stahli - Death Will Have to Run All on the open road Where none will ever grow A journey toward the known With countless miles to go

30. Gyroscope - Mistakes & Ladders I am the first? No I can't be the first A continuous nothing, destined for something Tell me who you are and why you trapped me here

31. Queens of the Stone Age - Run, Pig, Run Run, pig, run Here I come

32. Chali 2na & Krafty Kuts - Guard The Fort The swords are drawn and odds are stacked And we clash the impact's a thunderous clap Calm demeanor Even though we are under attack [...my turn to guard the fort ready for combat]

33. The Great Discord - Army of Me (lol)

34. Kongos - Terrified I think I'll start again and change my name You only live once or twice, what a shame Somebody fucked up when designing this game

35. Woodkid - Run Boy Run Run, boy, run! This ride is a journey to Run, boy, run! The secret inside of you Run, boy, run! This race is a prophecy Run, boy, run! And disappear in the trees

36. The Beta Machine - The End A million miles away from you this time I'll do what it takes I'm on my way If lines are in the sand I'll go under If I can make it in time I will bring you back with me

37. Devin Townsend Project - Gump When we last met who was I? I'm sorry we no longer see eye to eye The energy to keep you in while keeping myself out I'm sorry how you'll take this  But I just don't have the patience anymore 

38. Arrested Youth - Riot! I can't get much satisfaction living in this cave It's tough to breathe, I'm in the belly of the beast Can't sleep with all my rage With me and all my generations living in this cage Pick up your guns and tell your sons, tonight we break the cage

39. Led Zeppelin - Friends So anytime somebody needs you Don't let them down, although it grieves you Some day you'll need someone like they do Looking for what you knew

40. Faunts - M4, pt 2 (Wild) Fight your foes you're not alone Holy war is on the phone Asking to please stay on hold Bleeding loss of blood runs cold And I need you to recover   Because I can't make it on my own

41. Faith No More - Ashes to Ashes (Wild) I want them to know it's me, it's on my head I'll point the finger at me, it's on my head Smiling with the mouth of the ocean And I'll wave to you with the arms of the mountain

42. Devin Townsend - Jupiter (Wild) I know you At least I think I do Everything's changed But in the days that are so dark It's wonderful

43. Katatonia - Neon Epitaph (Wild) Shadow of my shadow Cling not to my grief I am long left behind now You are free

44. The Smashing Pumpkins - The Beginning is the End is the Beginning (Wild) Time has stopped before us The sky cannot ignore us No one can separate us For we are all that is left The echo bounces off me The shadow lost beside me There's no more need to pretend Cause now I can begin again 

45. Katatonia - Lacquer (Wild) My voice travelling Soaring bird above your head The house we lived in Ridden with disease ... The levee breaking I can't live to fight once more The road to the grave is straight as an arrow I'm just staying around to sing your song, baby

46. Eskimo Joe - This is Pressure (Wild) There is no romance in suffocation  The walls fall down like your expectations You want to scream  And you want to shout But you've built up steam  And you can't let it out This is pressure 

47. Portugal. The Man - 1000 Years (Wild) We'll wait 1000 years  Until the end of time We'll wait 1000 more Dressed up in gold and white We'll climb the mountain sides  To find what's in the sky We'll dig through mountain sides  To find what's deep inside

48. Au4 - An Ocean’s Measure of Sorrow (Wild) Forgot my name and who I was. Memories of nothing floating up. All of the sorrow we once knew, Colours the ocean's water blue.

49. Band of Skulls - Carnivorous (Twilight) I am corrosive and cohesive Like a chemical bond I'm all together undone I am the broken kingdom I'm just so, so, so  So carnivorous

50. Glass Animals - Flip (Twilight) I wanna go back with a club and attack I wanna take to my guns and break you I gotta make my little foe take his own

51. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me (Twilight) My mind has changed my body's frame, but, God, I like it My heart's aflame, my body's strained, but, God, I like it

52. Kamelot - The Spell (Twilight) All my demons cast a spell The souls of dusk rising from the ashes So the book of shadows tell The weak will always obey the master

53. OSI - Radiologue (Legend) I was dreaming I was heading west thirty days faster Had a fever woke up in a sweat bailing out the water  Can't go on Can't go back   Heard your voice coming through the noise wrote it in the radio log Hurt my head, wondering what you said so I threw it overboard  

54. Katatonia - Don’t Tell A Soul (Legend) I have been destroyed by the perfection that is a lie see I'm moving soon see my feet are already on the road and if you know where I’m going don’t tell a soul

55. Haken - The Mind’s Eye (Legend) The shape of things to come are closer than they seem Changing your design every time you disappear I'm planning my escape through portals of your mind Where people seem to drop like flies

56. Pain of Salvation - Species (Legend) Sometimes I hate my fucking species Yet most days I'll do anything to please it  My generation was fooled to pursue our dreams But it is not what it seems You never need what you want And you rarely want what you need

57. Euringer - Do You Kiss Your Mama with That Mouth? (Legend) All my life, misunderstood I'm fuckin' too smart, too smart for my own good The last question, before I go is "Hey motherfucka, do you kiss your mama with that mouth?"  Yes! I kiss your mama with this mouth

58. !!! - Pardon My Freedom (Legend) Like I give a fuck, like I give a shit Like I give a fuck about that shit Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit

59. Team Sleep - Ataraxia (Legend) Froze asleep Coma deep I dream I'm out with you Alone at sea

60. Oliver Tank - Embrace (Legend) You're in my dreams The world is torn apart at the seams And I don't wanna leave Wearing my heart on it's sleeve

61. Machine Gun Fellatio - The Girl of My Dreams (Is Giving Me Nightmares) (Legend) The girl of my dreams is giving me nightmares I don't know what it means but she's got multi-coloured hair When she stands in the sand I dream of peaches And I'm not sure what that means either

62. Earl Greyhound - Shotgun (Legend & Hyrule) I am nobody, nobody is who I am I am a traveler on this land And nothing, nothing, nothing in my hands

63. TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun (Hyrule) You're staring at the sun You're standing in the sea Your mouth is open wide You're trying hard to breathe The water's at your neck There's lightning in your teeth Your body's over me

64. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (Time) Fate Up against your will Through the thick and thin He will wait until You give yourself to him

65. Sufjan Stevens - Sugar (Sky) Don’t break my heart, don’t break my flow now And all this rage has got to go now Let’s take up this lifeline Come on, baby, gimme some sugar Don’t make me wait Don’t make me wait too long Don’t make me sing the sad song Come on, baby, gimme some sugar

66. Obsydians - Ascension (Sky) Rise above the hardships you’ll face I will sign and keep on rising As long as you are giving me your soul and keep me awake Feel like home and spread your light around I will listen and just be there As long as you are giving me your love I’ll give you my soul

67. Sonique - Sky -_-

68. Enter Shikari - The King (Ganon) Watch your back, my friend I'm about to kickstart a cycle Of never ending revenge And this time it's primal, it's tribal

69. Saul Williams - WTF! (Ganon, Hylia) "You've been polluted, uprooted by time You have been muted, computed but I'm A living vessel of the one, of the moon, of the sun" Hey! You ain't as dead as you seem, what the fuck? Hey! But you keep living your lies

70. These New Puritans - We Want War (Ganon/ Dark Link/ any nemesis I guess) Shadows dance back up, it's happening again If you listen carefully you might hear them whisper: "We hold all the secrets, we hold all the words; But they're scrambled and broken so you'll never know" Can't you see them Floating like black ash? Can't you feel them Crawling down your back?

[diinofayce]

Like A Whisper In The Night pt2

Pairing: BuckyxOFC | Word Count: 5,178 | Warnings: Swearing, talk of human trafficking

Previous Chapter

Chapter Two

Layne opened her eyes when she felt the quinjet touch down on the tarmac. She groaned and stretched her cramped shoulder muscles, her attention grabbed by Greg Andrews who was yelling at them all through a strip of fabric that he was being gagged with. 

“Welcome back, kid,” Steve chirped pleasantly, clapping his right hand on her knee. Layne smiled softly, still unused to any real interaction with the main squad. Bucky just caught her eyes with his and gave a reaffirming smile. 

Bucky had spent the flight back to Stark Tower keeping a careful side eye on Layne as she napped. He bantered with Steve and Nat with Clint adding his own snarky remarks here and there. Whenever the quinjet jostled, even a little, his eyes immediately shot over to Layne to make sure she wasn’t disturbed. It wasn’t until touchdown that he had gently tapped her away with his foot, pretending not to notice Steve and Nat smirking at each other.

“Thanks,” she said softly. “What are you guys going to do with Greg?” 

Natasha got up and opened the door to the quinjet; hopping out she offered her hand to Layne which was gratefully accepted. 

Steve attached his shield to his back and took Andrews when Bucky passed him off. “We’re going to take him down to holding. Black Widow will be heading the interrogation.” He answered, his hand holding Greg Andrews’ upper arm firmly making the older man walk nearly on his tiptoes.  

“Can I come watch?” Layne asked, hope filling her voice. The team seemed to be warming up to her, and she was hoping she could ride out that good luck into actually seeing Natasha in action.  

“Nope,” Steve replied, popping the ‘p’ for emphasis. “You’re going to go to get checked out by Dr. Cho and then write your report. I want a full explanation of what happened.”

Layne tried not to look defeated. She could argue that she felt fine and could just do with a nap, but she knew that arguing with Captain America was probably not a good idea. She also didn’t think an argument of procrastination on her report would go over well either, but she still couldn’t help the snark of; “Not like anyone will actually read it.” 

Layne stalked off ahead of them with fire in her steps. Bucky and Clint came up behind the shell-shocked looking Steve, both trying very hard not to laugh. “You should let her watch, Cap,” Clint said.

“She was the one to get him, after all,” Bucky added, smirking as Steve sighed in defeat. 

“Yeah, alright. Someone go hunt her back down while I bring this scumbag downstairs,” Cap ordered, hauling Andrews into the facility.

“Go get her, tiger,” Clint laughed, smacking Bucky on the shoulder as he passed by him. 

“What? Why me?” Bucky barked back.

“I have to go check the quinjet back in. Plus, I don’t know. I feel like you might enjoy the walk.” Clint yelled back without looking at his teammate who was flushing a very telling shade of pink.

Bucky let out a huff of air, shooting the lock of dark brown curl that had dangled down next to his nose out of the way. “Enjoy the walk. Whatever the fuck that means. You enjoy the walk.”

Muttering to himself like he was most people avoided him in his hunt for Layne. Even Pepper had started approaching him with a file before her right eyebrow shot up and she detoured into a side room to look for someone - anyone - else. He took the elevator to the living quarters but stopped dead when the doors chimed opened, and he was faced with rows of doors. The sudden realization that he didn’t even know what room was hers hit him. What kind of teammate were they to her that none of them knew the extent of her powers or where she lived or even what she liked to order at the bar? Which was weird because what Bucky did know about Layne was that she always chewed her left thumbnail when she was concentrating on a book or her phone and that she washed her hair every three days because the third day it was always up in a bun. He knew she preferred Converses over combat boots, something that drove Cap up the wall, and that she could spit better than some men he knew which was oddly charming. Bucky knew a ton of superficial things, nothing of any real value, but he doubted most of the team noticed them. Now to figure out which door was hers, rubbing his hands together he went down the list in the process of elimination.

~*~

Layne slammed the door to her room shut and pulled out her phone to send an S.O.S. text to Wanda. She pulled a bottle of white wine out of the mini fridge in her room and pulled down two glasses and a corkscrew. She looked at herself in the mirror on her living room wall and let out a sigh; she looked like a mess. Her eyeliner had melted a bit and ran past her waterline, making her look like a raccoon after a bad trip, and a binder was barely containing her thick chestnut hair. Scrubbing at the eyeliner with her thumbs and ripping the binder out of her hair she raked her fingers through the chocolate mass, alleviating the pressure of it all being tied to the top of her skull. She took a step back and gave herself a once-over, she never really got used to seeing herself in the black uniform that matched the one Natasha wore mostly because she never got to wear it with any frequency. Layne tilted her head to the side, her hair all tumbling to the right in a sheet, as she reached up to the zipper at the top of her breastbone and zipped it down to just above her navel, a flash of red lace holding everything in place. For never being any sort of field agent Layne was still in fantastic shape, she had been doing kickboxing and yoga since she was fifteen, so her stomach was toned, and her ass was tight even outside of this sausage suit. She nodded at herself in approval; it felt good to let the girls breath a bit. Layne didn’t think she’d ever be Natasha Romanoff hot, but she could hold her own. She just had to make some plans to go out a bar with Wanda sometime soon so she could get some normal guys to look her way.

Layne picked up the corkscrew and went to work on the bottle of wine while thinking about the mission. Not even so much the mission, more so the post-mission in the plane. She thought about their conversations and felt a rush of appreciation again towards Clint when Layne remembered how he stood up for her. Although, the idea of her getting herself killed in some bought of need to prove herself was a bit exaggerated; Layne had a fantastic sense of self-preservation. She thought back to all the little ways Bucky had actually touched her; her hand, her knee, and when she had returned to her body she swore that it felt like someone had been touching her face. Layne had thought Barnes was attractive when she first came to Stark tower, but it became apparent pretty quick that he didn’t have the time of day for her. As soon as the team learned Layne didn’t have some super cool background or specialty combat training it felt like it became a game to see how long she would last.

Layne had her master’s degree from the University of Minnesota in science with a specialty in genetics. She had written her thesis paper on the genome that reacted with the Terrigen Mist and how it changed the DNA cell structure and the possibilities of it causing hereditary ramifications and the impact that would do to civilization. That was what had attracted Tony Stark to her to begin with, once he learned what Layne was capable of herself it opened up a whole different job offer than just working with Dr. Cho and Dr. Banner in the labs. Not that she didn’t do that too, microscopes were much more comfortable than guns.

Pouring herself a large glass of wine she took a deep drink just as there was a knock on the door and she felt almost giddy with excitement.

“Wanda! Finally!” Layne called through the door sliding open the lock. “Get a load of this…shit…” Layne trailed off, confused, as she opened the door to find Bucky Barnes on the other side of it and not Wanda. 

Bucky immediately flushed a brilliant crimson and cleared his throat, turning his head and pointing at her chest. Layne looked down at herself and let out a squeak, dropping her wine glass and slamming the lapels of her suit closed.   “Son of a bitch,” she swore, embarrassed, bending down to grab her glass and turning around quickly. Placing the glass on a side table and zipping her suit back up she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m so sorry, Barnes, I was expecting Wanda. You can come in.” Layne turned back to him, biting her lip and looking at him apologetically. 

Bucky nodded awkwardly and stepped into Layne’s room; he didn’t feel the need to mention that she was blushing as brilliantly as her bra which offset the creamy flesh of what he had seen of her chest and abdomen. He distracted himself around at the various band posters; Led Zeppelin, HIM, DOROTHY, Coheed & Cambria, and a big tapestry of Chris Cornell spattered the walls along with thirty or so odd shaped mirrors that hung in ornate and neon colored frames. “What’s, uh, what’s with all the mirrors?” Bucky asked pointing at one of them.

“They stop me from projecting in my sleep. Sometimes, if I’m not dreaming, I’ll project, and then the mirrors keep me in my room,” Layne explained, leaning against the back of her sofa.

“How do the mirrors manage that?” Bucky asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest, his pectorals flexing with the movement. Layne looked down the chorded muscle on his arms and had to refocus her thoughts quickly. She brought her eyes back to Bucky’s and was momentarily caught up in just how deep and blue they were. Shaking herself mentally she scolded herself for acting like a weird little school girl and telling herself sternly to focus.

“I can’t see in my astral form, not with normal vision anyway. Remember how that one time I told you it was kind of like being a ghost? Well, I can focus on people’s auras and am drawn in from there. I’m getting better at picking out individuals in a crowd, but usually, I’m drawn into a particularly strong aura. I found out though, thanks to Dr. Banner, that I’m far more interested in being in my own body. So we put up these mirrors because then my astral form will see my body right away and just go home. I didn’t want to risk taking over any of you in your sleep.” Layne explained, wringing her fingers together nervously.

“That is both cool and terrifying,” Bucky said with awe causing Layne to smile softly.

“It would be cooler if I could control it.”

“Well, how much do you practice?” 

Layne scoffed and shook her head. “How am I supposed to practice, Barnes? This was my first big kid mission, and it went questionable at best. No way Cap is going to want me puppy dogging along on another mission after this.” Layne moved past Bucky to pour herself another glass of wine since the first one was pitifully soaking into her carpet. 

Bucky smirked and took the wine glass from her hand, setting it back down on the table. “Well, I don't know about that. He thinks you’re capable enough to come watch the interrogation.”

“What? Does he? Why didn’t you lead with that, Barnes? Put your coat on, let’s go,” Layne grabbed her phone to shoot a quick text to Wanda for a rain check and opened the door for him.

“My coat is on,” Bucky replied sounding confused, following behind swiftly.

~*~

The elevator doors opened, and Layne rushed out, Bucky reached out to with his flesh hand to catch her by the wrist. “Hey, calm down. Remember, you’re an agent not a kid on a field trip,” Bucky scolded softly. Layne flushed and let out a huff of air. She wanted to argue but knew he was right she needed to get her house in order. Layne steeled herself and nodded sharply, Bucky smirked and let go of her wrist. Layne’s fingers twitched, and she was confused at how her body seemed to miss his touch suddenly. “And you keep calling me Barnes. You know, you’re allowed to call me Bucky.”

Layne hummed softly and followed Bucky down the hallway, staying a step back as he stopped at a large steel door and knocked twice. Steve opened the door and looked at Bucky and Layne waiting in the hall before stepping back and letting them in, closing the door behind them. Layne walked up to the window and watched Natasha try to pry information out of Andrews. The older man’s hair was disheveled, the white streaks sticking out of the ink black in tufts, and his eyes were still bloodshot. Dried blood crusted and cracked around his mouth and peppered the collar of his dress shirt from where his nose was bleeding during his mental struggle with Layne.

Layne stiffened, only for a second, as Steve stood behind her. “What happened in his head, Whisper?” Steve had his Captain voice on, and Layne tilted her head a little to the left, wondering if she was part of this interrogation as well.

“I was following Barnes up the stairwell to the roof when my vision swam, and it felt like a Dremel tool was powering through my ears. I couldn’t focus, I could only hear high pitched squealing,” Layne recounted, her memory flashing back on the stairwell. She took a shaky breath as she watched Natasha coax a smirk from Andrews, his thin lips widening to reveal teeth that were too white and too straight. Her eyes glazed over slightly as she slipped back into the memory. “It was like, tentacles almost, reaching out of the darkness and wrapping around me. But there isn’t a ‘me’, really, just my being and there isn’t a ‘him’. Usually, when I take over someone their being is ejected from their body, there can only be one host at a time, but Andrews found his way back in, and it was like he was trying to strangle me. I couldn’t focus on keeping control of his body because I had to focus on keeping Andrews out of me. It was like hot honey, and I couldn’t shake free. I took what last bit of control I had and asked Barnes to knock me out.”

Layne jumped slightly as Steve put his hand on her shoulder. “Has that happened before?” he asked, his voice losing it’s commanding edge feeling much softer; like a parent comforting a child after a nightmare.

“Sort of. Back in Hong Kong with the acrobatic Hydra agent,” Layne cast her caramel eyes to Bucky, and he looked at the floor, shifting from one foot to the other. “It’s okay, I always understood why you had to shoot her, I actually set you up to shoot her. She was the first Inhuman I tried to overtake; I wasn’t expecting the power in her blood to feel like it did and when I overtake someone initially I get random flashes of their memories. Whether its memories they want me to see or they’re just pulled at random, I don’t know, but her were horrible and twisted and I got a little lost in them. I was stuck in her body, and I couldn’t push her out. I should have just left her but I saw her plan to attack Barnes, and I wanted to try and stop her. I blocked her abilities, but I couldn’t do much else,” Layne turned her focus back to Natasha and Andrews, flinching when Natalia pounded her fist on the table and slammed her chair back. Greg Andrews laughed at her openly, and Natasha just glared before slamming her way out of the room.

Bucky’s brows were furrowed as he looked up at Layne, her brown hair cascading down her shoulders and settling on the swell of her breasts. He liked her hair tied back more; Layne tended to try and hide behind the curtains of her hair. “I always wondered why she just ran straight for me. She had been flipping and dodging around that whole fight, and suddenly she just ran straight to me.” His blue eyes were looking at her with a mixture of confusion and awe.  

Layne nodded at him. “She hadn’t even used her abilities yet, she was a teleporter. She could tell I locked her down and it pissed her off. Then I set in her mind the plan to just charge you down.”

Steve had opened his mouth to say something when their door burst open and Natasha stomped in. 

“I don’t get it, Cap, I tried everything. I tried sexy, I tried mean, I tried saying please,” Natasha said looking like she had sucked on something sour. “He’s locked up tight and hiding behind some excuse that the kid scrambled his brains.”

“That’s a lie,” Layne said, still staring at him through the one-way mirror.  

“I know it is,” Nat sniped before turning back to Steve and Bucky. “What do we do?” 

“You send me in,” Layne said before the boys could open their mouths. All three of them whirled on her and stared at her like she had grown a second head. Layne steadied her gaze and planted her stance. “I can do it. I’ve been inside his head, I know his ticks, and if all else fails, I can just persuade him. It probably wouldn’t hold up in court if that’s what you’re going for here, but it’ll move us along the ladder,” she argued. When the three looked like they were just going to argue back, she held up her hands. “Please, trust me.” 

“What can it hurt?” Bucky caved looking at his teammates.  Layne looked at Bucky sharply, her eyes widened in slight surprise. Natasha scoffed and rolled her eyes, tossing a hand in the air.  

“Sure. Why not. Let her in, Cap.”  

Steve looked Layne dead in the eyes, “If I see any sign you’re losing ground, I’m pulling you out.” Layne nodded in understanding, and he opened the door for her. 

Leaving Bucky, Natasha, and Steve in the observation room, she put her hand on the knob of the interrogation room and took a deep breath. She readied herself and pushed the door open, closing it softly behind her. She glided over to the table with ease and flipped the chair around backward before slinging her leg over the side. Layne rested her forearms on the back of the chair and settled her chin on them; she locked her warm golden eyes to the cold steel grey of Greg Andrews’.

They sat there in silence, Greg fidgeting slightly causing Layne to cock her head to the right and smile at him softly. She never lost eye contact with the sleeze of man. Layne had to assert dominance, that was the number one that made Andrews’ uncomfortable, women in power. He had to have control, feel on top, and Layne had every intention of sitting here calmly until he cracked.

In the observation room, Bucky, Natasha, and Steve all stood right up to the glass, shoulders almost touching. Bucky tried hard to not stare at Layne’s ass as she straddled the chair, the black fabric stretching over her curves in a way that made the spot between his eyebrows sweat. They watched with bated breath as they stared silently at each other waiting for the other one to make the first move.

“She looks oddly comfortable in there,” Steve assessed, chin in his hand as he chewed softly on his middle knuckle.

“Well, she’s been in his head. I’m sure sitting at the same table isn’t nearly as daunting,” Bucky answered, the conversation helping to break the stare he had locked on Layne’s backside. 

Natasha put a hand up to silence them as Layne lifted her head, putting her left elbow on the back of the chair and her chin in her hand. Greg had broken the eye contact first, looking down at his shaking hands. Natasha hadn’t scared him, she didn’t know the things about him that Layne knew. 

“So, Greg,” Layne spoke lazily, sounding like she didn’t want even to be there. “I’m sure you don’t really want to talk to me. I know Black Widow and I are much older than the girls you usually like to spend your time with.”

Andrews stiffened and his hand shot to the knot of his tie, for the first time looking a little uncomfortable. He knew that this woman had been inside his mind, controlled his body, knew so many of his secrets, but he didn’t understand how. “You have no proof,” he rasped, and Layne just shrugged nonchalantly. “You’re completely correct. I do not have proof, but I’m not here looking to throw proof at your feet. I’m here to save those girls and I’m hoping you could just tell me about them. Where you got them, where they are, why Hydra wants them, that sort of thing,” Layne drawled, drawing invisible circles on the table top with her finger.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Andrews insisted, fidgeting with the lapels on his suit jacket.

“You run a security company, yes? Why don’t you tell me about the security files you had on your office computer for Hydra?” Layne asked coolly.  

“Why don’t you just dive back into my head and find out for yourself?” Andrews sneered in a last-ditch attempt to sound like he had control and wasn’t afraid of her, slamming his hands on the table in front of him, his long bony fingers splayed out on the cold metal surface. 

Layne’s hand that had been drawing little patterns on the table lashed out as quick as a whip and grabbed one of his hands in her small one. He gasped and tried to pull back but Layne’s grip was firm, and she slowly turned his hand over so the palm was facing the ceiling and she brought her other hand over to trace the deep lines in Andrews’ palm with the tip of her pointer finger.

The three agents in the observation room were all but holding their breath, watching her with fascination. The calm and serene manner that she was handling this interrogation was that of an experienced professional, not the goofy lackadaisical girl they were so familiar with seeing around the Tower. Natasha was pulling on her bottom lip softly with her fingers as she watched Layne with rapt attention, Steve has paused the soft chewing on his knuckle, but it stayed in his mouth as his curiosity piked. Bucky was leaned against the frame of the one-way glass, his hands on the sill as he stared intently at the scene unfolding. He watched as Layne took Andrews’ hand in her own and a weird sensation of nausea and anger flared in the pit of his stomach; it was a like a bear waking up from hibernation and letting out a roar that shook the forest. Bucky’s fingers gripped the window sill and his shoulders locked as Layne traced a lineup and down Andrews’ forearm, following the bright blue vein from his wrist.

“I think, Gregory, it would behoove both of us if you could just tell me,” Layne whispered sweetly. What the three in the observation room couldn’t see were the big doe eyes she looked at Andrews with and how the warm caramel of her eyes flared to life with a brilliant amber glow, like someone poured molten lava into her irises. Andrews took a visible gulp and cleared his throat, his gaze starting to cloud over.

“I-I can’t. They’ll kill me,” he answered, his voice strained.

“You’re not worried about them, Gregory. You know you’re safe with me. It’s just you and me here, and no one here can hurt you,” Layne soothed, her fire eyes staring deep into Andrews’ trying to convince him to yield.

Greg tried one last weak and futile attempt to take his hand back from Layne before giving in and letting his posture slump. It was as if the weight of his life suddenly came pounding down on his shoulders. He sighed and loosened his tie with his free hand.  

“Hydra hasn’t been able to source girls from The Red Rooms in Russia for a few years now. They started with the mail order girls of Thailand and Russia instead, finding that for every ten girls they brought to their facilities at least half showed promise of something more. I had hired an intern a few years back who turned out to be one of their insurgents; they have people placed in almost every prominent company in the world. I thought at first they wanted my company for the security features we provide, but it turns out they had discovered my taste for…for Asian massage parlors. Soon I had gained them access to the deep underbelly of human trafficking and I couldn’t get out unless they released photos of myself and a few underage girls to the press,” Andrews’ explained, looking and sounding exhausted.

“Where are they taking them?” Layne asked, bile high in her throat and she could feel her energy beginning to drop drastically but if she could just keep it up for a little bit longer. If she could only find out where they were taking the girls, then she could go back and finish that bottle of wine (that was half gone and she got basically none of) and take a nap.

“I don’t know that. I knew Hydra had a base in Hong Kong, but your people infiltrated it. They had just enough time to get all the girls out before your lot blew it all up.”

“What happened to the girls who didn’t show promise?” Layne asked, fearing the answer.

“All I know is they didn’t get sent back,” Andrews responded, confirming her fear.

“Who was your contact?” Layne asked reaching down into a pocket on her thigh and coming out with a pen and paper. She placed it in front of him and resumed lightly stroking his arm. “You should write it down for me, so I don’t forget.” If Bucky watched Layne’s fingers close enough he could see the skin she brushed on Andrews’ arm would let out a soft glow, like a faint flashlight lived under his skin. Just watching Layne use her powers of persuasion looked warm and soothing and he couldn’t help but wonder if she could do that glow thing without using her ability. He had an odd image of Layne tracing her magic fingers down his bare chest, his skin lighting up like fireflies, and had to shake his head to regain focus.

Andrews licked his lips before grabbing the pen and sliding the paper to him, writing down a name and a phone number. “Her name is Mae Ling; she drove the van that would pick up the girls. That’s the only contact I have.”

“What other dealings did you have with Hydra?” Layne asked, making a mental note of the phone number scribbled down.

“My security systems are in place in most major weapons makers and distributing sights, including local gun shops. When they needed to make a hit I just made sure the security system failed,” Andrews said with ease. Layne swiped up the pad and pen and broke contact with Andrews, he gasped and looked like his heart had been ripped from his chest. “What are you?” he asked her shakily, the clouded gaze leaving his eyes only to be replaced with fear. He clutched the arm Layne had been holding to his chest like it was going to fall off of him.

“Nothing but a whisper,” she said with a sneer and stood up, leaving him alone in the interrogation room. Hearing the door click closed behind her she let out a whoosh of air and placed her palms flat on the wall across from her, her arms outstretched and her head down. She felt like cement weights were attached to her all over her body. The door to the observation room opened and the three stepped out from where they had been watching with surprise and appreciation.

“Layne, that was fantastic,” Steve praised, holding his hands out in case she should drop. Concern was etched over all their faces when she looked up and smiled softly to try to alleviate it. “How did you handle that so calm?” 

“Thanks, it just takes a lot out of me. I don’t do it a lot. He hates feeling like he doesn’t have influence over women, Natasha was working too hard to get information out of him, it made him feel like he had power. I had to take that feeling away,” Layne explained and passed the notepad to Natasha. “You’ll probably want to run that right away.” Natasha nodded taking the notepad and then cautiously reaching out and placed her palm on Layne’s cheek. 

“You did great,” she said before turning around and taking off to bring the information to intelligence. 

“I need to go debrief Fury. Andrews can sit in there a bit and sweat, you, however,” Steve said focusing back on Layne. “Need to get back to your room and rest. I’ll make sure to put in a glowing review after today’s mission. I’m glad Bucky and Clint talked me into letting you watch.” Cap clapped Bucky on his metal shoulder before heading to the elevators. 

Layne looked at Bucky with her eyebrows knitted together. “You helped convince Cap to let me watch today? Why?” she asked, not that she was complaining or anything, but it’s not like he’d ever stuck his neck out for her before. Or had anything to do with her before. Sticking up for her to come watch the interrogation and then to actually get in the room with Andrews was a new side of Bucky that she hadn’t experienced.

Bucky just shrugged, “Seemed only fair. You’re the one that caught him in the first place. Come on, doll, let’s get you back to your place."

Layne snorted with laughter and pushed herself off the wall, teetering slightly before finding her balance again. “Taking me to my door. What a gentleman you are.”

Bucky flushed and ducked his head, letting his hair fall around his face to hide it. “Yeah, well, it’s not a big deal. Plus, you’re going to need all your energy. After what we saw in there you can bet your butt Natasha is going want a front seat demonstration.”

Layne let out a groan, and she punched the button on the elevator to go up to the living quarters. “Should have run off to join the circus,” she moaned. The doors closing on her and Bucky as he let out a raucous laugh.

NEXT CHAPTER

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