#can someone please gif claire knitting

[merci-bitch]

Her Lover

Alma LeFay Peregrine x fem!reader

Warnings: abuse, swearing, death, fluff, angst

Words: 5k

A/N: it’s been a while, hasn’t it. Lol. I’ve been having my exams and shit and I’ve been working on this for the longest time so I’m really sorry if there’s a word that’s not supposed to be there, I don’t really proof read. But hopefully more stuff shall be coming soon. Ta ta! Xx

Jake was surprised, it was all real. What his grandfather had told him, all those stories. They were real. It was unbelievable. At first, when he saw the boomed children's home he didn't really believe it. As that man said at the pub. 3 September 1943. No one survived, but then how come Miss Peregrine's letter had only come 2 years before to his grandfather. How was that even possible?

When we first entered the loop, he of course ran away and nearly got himself killed. Thankfully his new friends saved him from those angry Walsh people. The house looked so different from those ruins he saw. It was actually a very beautiful house. Big and tall and all those flowers growing up on the sides. Completely different.

Miss Peregrine wasn't anything like he'd expected. Not at all, despite from all the stories he'd got from his grandfather. Apparently she was the bird flying above him and his father when they first arrived to Cairnholm. Ever since Jake arrived, he'd notice that on the bird's right hand, her ring finger. There was a small ring with a single diamond. Jake knew it wasn't probably wasn't his thing to ask, but he didn't see anyone else then the people he'd already seen. His grandfather had never really mentioned anything or anyone else then the ones he'd already talked about.

He had helped Emma with the baby squirrel, it was a bit awkward wrapping the rope around her waist. He'd noticed Miss Peregrine's glare, it was uneasy. As if she felt some sort of jealousy? But that was ridiculous. Absurd. Jake had agreed to join them for supper. Emma was helping him in his grandfather's old room. He just couldn't but ask.

"Emma, could I ask you a question?"

"Jake, I told you that there are questions I can't answer." Emma said as she tied his tie.

"I know, but it's just. Does Miss Peregrine love you? Like, that way?"

Emma stilled. Almost uncomfortably.

"Jake. What's got you to even think of such disgusting things?!"

"I'm sorry! It's just, I saw her glare." Jake held his hands up in defeat.

Emma let out a sigh. Looked down before looking up again. "You must understand. Miss Peregrine, well all of us lost someone dear. It's taking her long time to actually get back to who she is. So please, stop asking questions." As she finished speaking the bell rang. They both walked down together and Jake almost sat down on Millard.

"Millard. Go and put some clothes on. Polite persons do not take their supper in the nude."

Jake almost felt sorry for him, he didn't mean to take his place really. He couldn't see him, obviously. He was, well he is invisible. During dinner, he couldn't help but stare at Miss Peregrine's right hand with that ring. Her long slim fingers with those long nails. The ring was silver. The small diamond was pretty. And shiny.

"Claire, why aren't you eating?" Miss Peregrine asked, looking with worry to Claire. Chewing on the piece of food.

"She's embarrassed in front of Jake." Hugh said, leaning over to Claire.

Jake shook his head. "Don't be. Please."

Claire looked over at Miss Peregrine with a small smile and Miss Peregrine sent Claire a wink before turning back to her own food. Claire grabbed the chicken leg and put it behind her head and a few seconds later she put the clean bone back on her plate.

"So Jake, what's your peculiarity?" Horace asked. Leaning over the table a bit to see Jake as he asked.

"Oh, I'm not peculiar." Jake stammered.

Enoch put down his fork and knife and said, "And that, my friends, is why he will not be staying with us. No matter how hard we try to persuade him."

Miss Peregrine spoke up again. Her voice light but firm. "We've spoken about this. Jake is just visiting."

Hugh opened his mouth, "He might want to say."

"Don't you want to stay, Jake?" Olive asked.

"Tonight? Or..-" Jake didn't get a chance to finish of his sentence before Claire irrupted him.

"Forever! You should stay forever." Her smile big.

"Why would he, if he doesn't have to? He can live out there, grow older, have a good time instead." Enoch said. Trying to make a clear point of why he didn't want Jake in the house. Jake could feel Emma slightly lift from her seat despite being strapped down. She was getting uncomfortable.

"He'll leave, just like his grandfather did." With that, Enoch started eating again and Emma got up and practically ran out of the room despite her heavy shoes. Miss Peregrine's call for Emma didn't stop her. As Emma left, a clothed Millard came into the room. Excusing himself. Sitting down and starting to eat his own food.

"Deep breathes Alma, you know how dear Enoch gets with new company."

Miss Peregrine closed her eyes at the voice inside her head. She was right. She slowly got up as the telephone rang. "I think you should all get ready for movie time while I answer that."

"But you always let us stay for it." Claire begged. Miss Peregrine turned around and gave the children a glare that almost scared Jake. She was a strange woman, yes she was. Miss Peregrine stepped out to the hallway, to the ringing telephone. This time, she nearly didn't answer it. Wishing the voice inside her head would come back. Missing the touch of that person with the voice nearly threw her off guard. She nearly kicked herself from going off schedule. Shaking her head, she answered the telephone and went on with the schedule.

The time went on, again. Horace's projected his dreams. One particular dream made Alma tense up. She couldn't watch it. She turned on the lights and heard all the groans from the children. It was almost re-set time. Olive asked Jake to stay and see the re-set. Enoch clearly didn't want him to. Alma felt herself chuckle softly. The arguments between Enoch and re-set. Alma stepped out in her raincoat and put on her gas mask after putting on the music. Run Rabbit Run. She would always sing along to the song-Alma kicked herself mentally again. She stopped her clock, she turned it 24 times to represent the 24 hours of the loop. She took of the gas mask and smiled towards her children.

She said her goodnight to the other children as Emma and Jake made their way out the door. Her smile faded as they disappeared from her view. She closed the door, knowing Emma would lock it. She slowly made her way up the stairs, to the end of the hallway, to her bedroom. She opened the door and walked in and closed the door again and locked it. Leaning against the door and closing her eyes.

"You know me better then I do. Can't seem to keep nothing from you. How you touch my soul from the outside. I still love you even though I'm scared. Learning to be grateful of myself. I wish I could love me like you did, how I wish I could trust myself like you did."

She moved from the door and towards her desk and sat down and started unpinning her hair. Brushing through her hair slowly. That black-blue hair. The little curls. She got undressed and dressed in her lacy nightgown and brushed her teeth and took off the makeup she'd been carrying during the day. She laid down in the cold bed, shivering slightly. Falling asleep after a few minutes.

***

"Clarice! Clarice come on. We have to get back. We can't stay in La Pari forever. We've been gone 7 years too long!" Claire let out a groan and stopped walking. "But Y/N! I love Paris!" Y/N shook her head. Her little sister was definitely a number. "Well, you wrote to Alma we'd be home, so let's go." Clarice didn't move. "I? I didn't write. She's your wife." Y/N felt herself tense up. Oh no. Y/N had forgotten to write, and she'd hopped her darling sister had written.

"When was the last time You wrote back home Clarice." Y/N looking over at her sister, with a glare almost identical to Alma's. Clarice bit her bottom lip. "5 years ago." Y/N felt her head spinning. She sat down and rubbed her forehead. Clarice started laughing. "What's so funny?!" Clarice threw her head back in laughter.

"Oh lord, the handful you will get when you get back. I mean Abe will definitely be in her side." Clarice said while patting her older sister's shoulder. "God. She'd kill me. I swear, I didn't mean to forget and I thought you'd been writing." Clarice shook her head. "But you're right. Let's go home."

***

"Jake, you're back. How wonderful." Miss Peregrine said as she held the Ymbryne tight to her.

"How's it doing?" Jake asked. "Emma said it was an Ymbryne."

"She. Not 'it'. Ymbrynes are always female." Miss Peregrine said as she looked up at Jake. "And Emma was quite correct. This is Miss Avocet." Miss Peregrine continued to give Miss Avocet the medicine.

"Her loop's in Blackpool, England." Jake said. Miss Peregrine slowly turned her head up towards him and saw him holding a piece of paper. "That was a private letter, Jake." She said as she put down the medication.

"Who is Mr. Barron?" Jake asked, slightly raising his voice.

Miss Peregrine's face expression turned blank and her right hand came almost protectively over Miss Avocet.

"Miss Peregrine, if my grandpa was involved with dangerous people. I need to tell the police." Miss Peregrine looked up at Jake again, her brows knitted with confusion.

"Police? Are you implying Abe died an unnatural death?" Her voice going quiet.

"I found him in the woods, with his eyes missing. I'd say that was pretty unnatural." Jake said as he watched Miss Peregrine raise from her chair. Miss Peregrine looked at Jake in disappointment, snatching the letter out of his hands.

"Unless essential, I don't discuss unpleasant matters. An Ymbryne's duty is to protect children, Jake." With that, she left the room, almost in a hurry.

"I'm not a child! He wanted you to tell me everything!" Jake shouted after her. Jake let out a sigh of frustration and walked down the hallway and was stopped when both Enoch and Olive came into his view.

"Oh. How frustrating for you. Between Miss Peregrine's rules and my housemates' little pact not to scare you off, it's like no one's telling you anything." Enoch was sarcastic. Olive stood quietly behind him. Jake leaned forward.

"Why don't you, then? It's not like you want me here."

This time, Olive spoke up.

"Enoch, you can't. You promised." Enoch looked back at Olive before answering.

"Olive's right. I do know someone who can get away with breaking rules though. Want to meet him?" Jake looked a bit uneasy at Enoch before following him up the stairs. Olive behind them.

"Enoch, don't do this. Please!" She grabbed his arm, begging him not to do whatever he was going to do.

"You want to spend time with me and Jake, we can all play together. That's what you said." Enoch said as they reached a door at the end of the hallway. Olive stood in front of them. Not letting them pass through the door.

"Well, here we all are." Enoch said. Olive looked up at him with a bit ready expression. "Move Olive."

"If you're going to be like that, then I don't want to be your friend." With that, Olive left. Sobbing quietly to herself while walking down the hallway.

"Enoch, leave Victor alone. It really upsets Bronwyn." Fiona said as she walked up to Enoch and Jake. Enoch put both his hands on Fiona's shoulders, "Stop fussing, Fiona. Don't you think Jake should meet everybody?" He said while looking over at Jake.

"He's trying to frighten you away, Jake. He's always jealous of Abe. And now he's jealous of you. Come and play with us instead."

Enoch crossed his arms and looked at Jake, waiting for an answer. Jake didn't really know what to say.

"I'd quite like to meet Victor." Jake said after some time. Enoch smiled and ruffed Fiona's hair. Enoch opened the door, letting Jake walk in. "After you."

In the middle of the room there was a bed, covered in thin layers of fabric, and Jake saw Victor, lying there. He slowly walked in, moving with small steps towards the bed.

"Hello, Victor. I'm Jake. I'm sorry to disturb.." Jake looked down at Victor. His eyes were missing.

"Yeah, he can't hear you." Enoch said. Enoch got on his knees and opened Victor's shirt and put the heart he held down into Victor's chest. Jake saw how Victor's chest started to heavy. Almost like a jump scare in movies, Victor sat up and looked over at Jake.

"Hello, Jake. I'm Victor. Do you want to know what killed me?" Almost like a puppet he was. It scared Jake and he ran out of the room, downstairs where Miss Peregrine and the rest of the children were waiting.

"Ah, there you are. Is Enoch with you? It'd time for our daily walk." Miss Peregrine said.

***

Alma walked into the room where Victor lay. Sighing once seeing Victor's covers down. She pulled them up, making sure they covered him and slowly sat down. Noticing the tear falling down his cheek. Softly wiping it away and pulling him up and held him against her chest.

One of the most disappointing things she'd ever done. How she couldn't be able to save Victor, how she'd let her poor child die. She never meant for him to die, she never meant for Bronwyn to lose her brother. Alma felt herself tear up.

"It's alright Alma, you did what you could and for that, Victor will forever be grateful."

She really wanted to believe those words. Oh, how hard life could be. She couldn't let herself to cry. She'd always say it was alright to cry, but Alma just couldn't. She slowly put Victor back in his place and looked at her watch. She had a few minutes before the children would be back, but she had to keep schedule.

Alma walked out of the room, closing the door. Walking down the hallway to the right and then further down that hallway and then into her own bedroom. Closing the door behind her, locking it. Just in case. She quickly walked over to the dressed against the wall, opened a drawer and pulled out a shirt that didn't belong to her.

Sticking her nose deep into the fabric, closing her eyes and breathing in the familiar sent. Holding onto the shirt tightly. Alma felt her eyes sting.

Why did life have to be so cruel? Why couldn't just one person live a life and be happy. Is it only fairytales that get their happy endings and not people in the real world? Was the 'perfect' life all just a big lie that you were told on the television outisde loops? Why couldn't you just live yourself in your dreams? Wouldn't life be so much better if you could? It would save all troubles from people.

Alma slowly sat down on the bed. Still holding the shirt tightly to her. Breathing in the sent again. Letting her eyes roll back for just a second. Accidentally losing herself in the sent. Letting a soft moan escape her mouth which caused her to blush. Hand covering her mouth as she blushed even more.

"My shirt hm?"

Alma turned around with a gasp. No one was there, she let out a sigh. Alma got up again, checked her clock and put the shirt back in the drawer and walked downstairs. Waiting for the children to arrive back home.

***

"Clarice, where was the loop again?"

"You can't be serious. We lived with Alma for years, you're married to her for gods sake!" Clarice sat down in the damp grass, crossing her arms. Letting out a huff.

"Awh, stop acting like a bloody kid! Maybe help me instead of acting like such a bloody moron!" Y/N answered to her sister.

She let out a huff and sat down on a rock. Y/N felt bad. She'd been gone 7 years too long and Alma probably thought she was dead. Just because her little sister didn't write as she used to. Y/N reaches into her pocket and pulled out a few photos. Photos she took, before she left.

Most were of Alma. It was one of the only times she'd let her time be taken from her. She missed the bird.

"Could you stop sobbing and perhaps do something to help? You cant stare at th-hey. Y/N. Was that Abe?"

Y/N looked up and saw nothing. She turned to her sister and hit the back of her head.

"Very funny."

***

The children were packing after they're realisation that they couldn't stay. As Alma had finally gotten the suitcase to close, thanks to the twins, the doorbell rang. How odd. She hadn't expected anyone. Alma walked up towards the door and opened the door and felt her whole body tense.

"Miss Peregrine, what a pleasure to meet you at last!"

Mr. Barron was holding his hand shaped knife against Jake's neck. Alma felt her breathing stop for only a second. What on earth was happening?!

"May we come in?"

Alma took a few steps back, letting him inside the house. Her children standing on the stairs.

"Children! Would you make your way down the stairs, please?" Mr. Barron shouted.

Alma raised her voice. "I give the orders in this house, Mr. Barron." Looking at him sternly.

"Not today. You should know that Jake has served his purpose. If you value his life, I suggest everyone does as they're told. Children!"

Alma raised her finger and shushed him. "No one tells my children what to do!" Alma turned around, a split of disgust in her expression. "Children, come down here, please." Her voice was strong but soft.

The children made their way slowly down the stairs.

"Miss Peregrine-"

"I thought I told you to be quiet." Alma snapped back at him. Giving him one of her famous death glares. She slowly made her way around again to look at her beautiful children. Knowing she might never see them again.

"Children, for Jake's safety, we're going to do what Mr. Barron asks. He wishes to take me with him to his rendezvous in Blackpool. So, for his protection, he'd like me to assume bird form, preferably caged. And he'd like you to make your way into a lockable room, such as the parlour." Alma turned her frame towards the parlour then back to her children before turning around to look at Mr. Barron.

"As he won't release Jake if he fears an attack could be mounted upon him once he loses his leverage. Correct, Mr. Barron?" Alma raised her chin, showing how she awfully despised him. Mr. Barron was at loss of words.

"You're sacrificing yourself and all of us, for Jake?"

Came behind her, Alma turned around and looked at Enoch.

"Me. Barrons travels with a Hollow, Enoch. Once it arrives here, we're all dead." She could almost feels Mr. Barron's wicked grin behind her. Alma saw Horace lean in to whisper something to Enoch but didn't bother to listen. It took everything not to shed a tear. She'd lost everything now. The woman she loved the most, her dear children. Everything.

She moved towards the parlours door and said her goodbye to each child that passed her, ending with a hug from Emma and the twins which made her she'd a tear. Once every child was inside the parlour, she grabbed the door handle to each door and took a deep breath and looked over her children.

"It's been my privilege, to care for you all. Goodbye my children."

Alma closed the doors and turned the lock and turned to face Barron, showing her anger through her tear stained cheeks. Taking steps forward.

"Now let him go."

"Oh, but the fun's just begun Alma." Barron let out a low chuckle.

"How dare you speak my name, filthy bastard." Alma tightened her tone. Growing more impatient by each second that passed.

Barron let out another chuckle, this time of surprise.

"My my, what words those pretty lips let out. Tell me, how's dear old Y/N doing?"

Alma clenched her jaw. Feeling as she might explode.

"How dare you speak her name?! How dare you come here, act like you own everything I have. You took her from me! How dare you mention anything of her's. I know what you did to her family, how her parents practically coward before you. On their knees begging to not die. Letting their dear children's lives pay their depth."

As Alma continued, Barron only chuckled. Jake was confused. Who was Y/N? What did this woman mean to Miss Peregrine?

"Technically I wasn't the one who sold her, her mother was. Her dear parents are still loyal to me as ever. I'd never gotten a chance to meet dear Y/N. So tell me, where is she?"

This time, it was Alma's time to be confused.

"What do you mean by that. No tricks Mr. Barron. I want the honest truth."

As he let Jake go, letting out a groan. "Listen, lady. I'd never meet her. If I had, do you think I'd be asking you? So come now Miss Peregrine. Where is she. Her mommy and daddy just wanna say hello."

Alma felt herself start to tremble. Y/N hadn't been in Barron's possession.

She'd spoken to Jake. Begging him to care of her children before turning into bird form. Flying into the cage. Leaving with Mr. Barron. If her dearest was really alive, she'd never see her again. Nor her beloved children.

***

"Emma, I have a question. Look-I know you don't answer them but it's about something Miss Peregrine said before she turned into a bird. Who's Y/N?"

Emma went quiet for a moment, not really wanting to speak. Jake let out a sigh and continued to talk.

"Mr. Barron said he'd never meet Y/N before. What does this mean-who is she?" Jake looked t Emma who's eyes looked at his. A slight tone of happiness appearing on her face.

"So, that means she could still possibly be alive." Emma's smile got bigger.

"Who is she? Is she another peculiar?" Jake was growing impatient.

Emma sighed. "Alright, if I tell you. Will you stop asking?"

Jake nodded his head and sat down and waited for Emma to speak.

"Y/N came to our home years ago, before Miss Peregrine had made the loop. She came with her sister Clarice. When they came they were both pretty young. I think Clarice was 15 and Y/N perhaps 20. I heard Miss Peregrine talk with them about what had happened to them. It wasn't really, nice."

Emma sat down herself and took a deep breath.

"Mr. Barron came to their house, in the middle of the night and killed their brother, well took his eyes. He was around 8. She talked about how their parents had sold them to Barron for their own safety. But before Barron could touch them they'd ran away. They'd taken the boat and arrived here."

Jake listened as she explained more about Y/Nk's past. But there was just one question bothering him.

"What about the ring on Miss Peregrine's finger?" Jake asked.

"Y/N and Miss Peregrine kinda fell for each other. A few years after the loop was created, they got married. Then again a few years later, perhaps 7 years ago. Both of them left, Y/N and her sister. But after two years they stopped writing back home. We heard nothing from them and since Barron wanted to recreate the experiment Miss Peregrine told you about.”

Jake nodded, shocked. He had nothing against the LGBT community but he’d never thought Miss Peregrine was a lesbian. Perhaps she wasn’t, maybe just fell for the one person she trusted most.

They went on, the plan to save Miss Peregrine.

***

“Clarice, fix it. Please. Something has happened.”

Y/N was panicking. The loop was gone, not a child in sight. Alma wasn’t here either. Clarice had the peculiarity of restoring time, she restored the loop. Made everything go back to normal. The house looked itself again but no child was there. What the hell happened. How long has the house been like this? Clarice was too busy walking to her room.

Y/N looked around, saw suitcases. Were they leaving? But why, and where? It felt strange being back in the house, but with everyone gone. Y/N walked around, touching the walls and everything. Y/N walked upstairs and into the bedroom she once shared with Alma and closed the door behind her. Alma’s perfume hitting her like a smack in the face. The scent of smoke, flowers.

She pulled open the drawer and pulled out one of the dark blue lacy nightgowns and spelled. Alma. Y/N looked out the window. It was dark and it was raining. Y/N loved the rain. She walked over to the window and sat down by the window and opened it to listen to the rain and felt herself drift off into sleep.

***

Alma opened the door and walked in. How in the hell was the house still standing? She hadn’t reset the loop. She was wet and she was tired and drained. She quickly walked into the bathroom connected to her room and took a warm, long and hot shower. She wrapped the towel around herself and stepped out. Looking in the drawer for her nightgown but it wasn’t there. Alma turned her head to the figure she saw sitting by the window and nearly had a heart attack.

She grabbed her pillow and hit Y/N with it multiple times.

“You reckless little-“

“Alma, hey! Stop hitting me!”

“I have every right to be angry at you! I thought you were dead. For 7 years you’ve been gone and then you stop writing?!”

Y/N could see Alma’s cheeks turning red from anger. She stepped forward, grabbing the pillow out of Alma’s hands and kissed her knuckles. Which made Alma shut up.

“Why’d you do that to me, to the children.” Alma’s voice was on breaking point.

Y/N looked up, into those blue eyes. “I never meant to. I forgot to write-“ Alma cut her off with a snort.

“Of course you did.” Alma took the nightgown from Y/N and dropped her towel and put it on. Feeling Y/N’s eyes on her. It made her shiver. Then she felt arms wrapped around her waist and a soft kiss on her right shoulder. “I’ve missed you. Please don’t leave again.” She felt Y/N shake her head and turned around in her arms and kissed her lover on the lips softly. Nearly losing herself in her lover’s lips. Laughing softly after feeling Y/N’s hands tickle her sides.

“I hate you.”

“You love me birdy.”

[sheeple]

Wrong turn

PHOTO NOT MINE. THIS IS ALL FICTION. Genre(s): Mobster!au / university!au / x OFC (Lex Seijters) Fandom(s): MCU Pairing(s): Mob!Bucky Barnes x Dutch!OFC (can be read is fem!y/n) Summary: In which a stubborn girl learns that sometimes it’s better to walk around a block, even if it’s ten minutes longer. Warning(s): If you have trouble with a Dutch OC... I'm sorry? / stalking / kidnapping / drugging / violence / what do want more from a mob!au? / THIS IS A LONG ASS BITCH 15.5K WORDS, BEWARE! A/n: Everything written in italic is said in Dutch [Masterlist] [Moodboard]

I look down at my phone, a frown on my face as the red line my friend Claire has drawn on a map. "Are you sure this is the way to go?", I turn towards her, my bike in her hands, "because if we go through this alley, we cut off ten minutes."

Claire shakes her head. "No! Do you even know where we are?", she hisses.

"Brooklyn?", I question, dropping my brows even lower at Claire's stupid question. Of course, I know where we are. I do know how to read a map even though my topography isn’t the best.

"Yes! Brooklyn exactly! It's run by the mob!"

I snort. "Sure, Claire. And we're in the Godfather. If you want to spend walking ten minutes extra, be my guest, but I'm walking through here." With a roll of my eyes, I start to walk towards the ally, my steps determent.

Claire cruses loudly. She grabs the bike and runs after me, clinging to my sleeve. "If something happens, I am mute and you don't know English."

A laugh escapes my lips. What a classic thing to do if someone unwantedly approaches you. 

We walk through the ally and at the end, I see a couple of black cars, men standing around them. Some are smoking, some chewing on toothpicks. Claire looks up at me scared and I slightly shake my head, telling her to just continue walking.

Suddenly, a hand grabs my shoulder and spins me around, making Claire let go of my hand and dropping the bike. I grimace at the sounds of the bell hitting the pavement.

I look up at the person, a man, who has turned me around. He has his hair tied in a low bun in the back of his neck, a couple of loose strands in his ice-blue eyes.

"Are you lost, little one?" His voice is smooth and deep.

I do my best not to gag at the stupid nickname and look neutrally up at him, as I hold by the bit that Claire's mute and I don't speak English. 

"You deaf or something? I asked you a question", the guy asks irritated, and I see a couple of guys who previously leaned on the cars, take steps closer to us.

I cock my head to the side, knitting my eyebrows together I say, "Claire, pick up the bike, please." I sign with my eyes for her to the bike, and Claire luckily understands what I mean and grabs the bike in her trembling hands.

The man frowns, his eyes holding the unasked question of what language I am speaking. "Do you even speak English?" 

I look over my shoulder towards the end of the alleyway in the hope the guy understands what I mean. "I no English." I cake my accent extra thickly, selling it. Better to overdo it then being called out fake.

While giving the guy a sickly sweet smile, I grab Claire's hand and drag her towards the exit of the alley. I throw every now and then a smile at one of the other guys.

Once we are far enough, Claire lets out a breath of relief. "I told you something would happen! Do you even know what that was?", she questions me shocked, her hands shaking.

I shrug. "I don't know? Some guy who thinks he's everything?" I take my phone out of my pocket to check the time. "Great, I told you we would save ten minutes. The metro station is at the end of this street."

Claire groans loudly. "Lex, please! That was Mr Barnes, he owns Brooklyn!"

As I grab my bike, I snort. "Sure, Brooklyn is run by the mob. You've seen too many movies. Now, hop on because if we stay old-hookering here, we will miss our metro." I roll my eyes, getting on the bike.

She gets on the luggage rack and wraps her arms around my middle. "What does that even mean?"

"Old-hookering? It's a saying that you talk as much as a prostitute of age. Mostly nonsense."

Claire shakes her head. "You Dutch people and your weird sayings."

As the two girls bike away, Bucky leans against the wall of the alley, his eyes on the one who spoke to him.

"Who doesn't speak English?", he mumbles under his breath as he grabs a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it. "You're in America, for Pete's sake. Hey Barton", he calls out over his shoulder, Barton turning his attention to his boss. "Find out who that girl was. Name, school, where she's from, where she works. Everything."

Barton nods, grabbing his phone out of his pocket and making a few calls.

Bucky laughs to himself, blowing out a huff of smoke. Who doesn't speak English in America?

"Hi, Gladace, sorry I'm a bit late!", I yell as I rush towards the back of the flower shop, already wrestling my jacket off.

Gladace is a middle-aged mother of three with grey streaks in her hair that owns a cute flower shop. It has cottage core vibes with a dash of light academia. Claire actually got me this job, as Gladace is her aunt.

The older woman smile towards me as I tie my apron. "Don't worry, child, it's only ten minutes."

I quickly tie my hair back into a high ponytail, tucking loose strands behind my ears. "Great. Because Claire and I took the wrong metro and ended up in Vinegar Hill. We had to take the bus back."

Filling a watering can, I make my way to the front of the store to check if the flowers have enough water in the buckets. "Did we get any orders for today?", I ask over my shoulder, not noticing that Gladace has followed after me.

"Vine... Vinegar Hill?! Lex that's really a dangerous area! Many sketchy figures roam there." Gladace frown deeply, a worried look on her face.

I groan internally. Not her too. "Nothing happened, don't worry. We were stopped by some rando but we used the classic mute-and-not-understanding-English trick." I shrug my shoulders, blowing a stay hair out of my face.

As I turn around, I notice that Gladace looks really uncomfortable. I lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey, everything's okay. I really thickened my accent when I told him I didn't speak English."

"Who comes to America and doesn't speak English?" Gladace shakes her head, collecting flowers for a bouquet.

"I could be a tourist, who knows. Which flowers do you need?"

"Just white roses. And black wrapping paper." She holds her hand out and I give her a handful of roses, careful that we don't hurt ourselves on the thorns. "Just... promise me to be more careful next time something like that happens."

Gladace looks at me worried and I nod. No matter how idiotic I think it is, the look in her eyes is real.

It's been a couple of weeks since the whole alleyway incident and I haven't seen any of the guys since then. I often do have the feeling that I am followed, but that's ridiculous.

I am currently sitting in the back of a cafe studying because that has to happen too. I have to maintain my grades high if I want to keep my scholarship at NYU. 

Claire had to quickly run to her apartment to grab her charger so now I am sitting here alone, vibing with the music of the cafe and sipping on my ice coffee.

The chair in front of me scrapes back, Claire sits down with a sigh.

"So, I take that you're not kidnapped", I tease with a playful smile, looking up from my notebook.

But it's not Claire sitting in front of me rolling her eyes, but the guy from the alleyway, the one who stopped me. Great, he's a stalker.

"I thought you didn't speak English, sweetpea?", the guy says with a smirk, his eyes twinkling dangerously.

I lean back in my chair, closing my notebook with a huff. Does he always use stupid nicknames? "I do not", I answer simply in English, a challenge in my eyes.

The guy laughs. "Here I thought I had to buy a dictionary to talk to you." He folds his arms over each other in front of his chest, his face amused.

"I still don't speak English", I continue, far too amused with annoying this one guy. "What do you even want?"

The guy reaches over and grabs my ice coffee, talking the straw in his mouth as he holds eye contact with me. "Dunno. Walked by, saw you sitting here all alone and thought why not keep you company." His smirk is lopsided and boy-ish, an open challenge to me.

"Well", I begin, snatching the glass out of his hand, "my friend can come back any second, so I don't need you to keep me company." I open my notebook again and go over this day's notes. "Goodbye now."

The guy lets out a surprised chuckle as I wave him away.  But, he stands up from the chair, throwing something on the table and walking out of the cafe, his hands in his pockets.

I try not to immediately look for what he has dropped, but curiosity kills the cat, and I grab the thing. 

A business card. It's white with black lettering... no, dark blue. Very sleek, very classy. I have to give him some credits, it looks nice. Bucky Barnes, it reads on the front, a single line under the name. The back is completely dark blue with white letters. A phone number and email.

"What's that?", asks Claire as she wheezes from running three blocks from and to. She plops down the chair, taking the business card out of my hands.

I scratch the back of my head. "Ehrm... he came by", I say as nonchalantly as I can.

Claire lets out a shriek ─ earning weird looks from the people around us ─ dropping the card on the table as if it had burned her. 

With a roll of my eyes, I grab the card and put it behind my phone case. "Don't be so dramatic, Claire. It's just a business card." 

She looks at me dumbfounded. "Just a business card?! Jesus Christ, Lex! A mobster gave you his business card and you're acting like it's nothing big." 

I slam my laptop shut. "Look at the thing, Claire, it looks like just a business card. He may just own a business." With a roll of my eyes, I take a sip of my ice coffee. A grimace forms on my face as I remember that the guy ─ or Bucky as I suppose have to call him now ─ also took a sip of my drink.

She sighs. "Fine. But can we please go? I don't feel comfortable that Mr Barnes knows where we are. He could be on the top of a roof with a sniper rifle keeping us in his eye." She looks around with big eyes while slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

I just roll my eyes and put everything in my bag, waving goodbye to the barista as we walk out of the cafe.

"So, what now?", I ask, stuffing my hands in the pockets of my jacket as we walk outside. It's a nice day in May, the sun shines brightly and there is a pleasant breeze. 

Bucky watches the two girls walk out of the cafe from his car, his eyes focussed on the tallest. He opens the file Barton give him. Alexia Seijters, but she goes by Lex for short, twenty-five years old and from The Netherlands. She studies digital design at NYU on a scholarship.

Next to her friend is Lex quite tall, taller than most of the girls around her. Also, her attitude is different towards him than other people. She's sassy, acts like she doesn't speak English while she clearly is fluent, and a playful look in her eyes.

Most people look down when he passes, cowering in their seats when he sits in front of them, obeying his every word. But she... She's a challenge. And Bucky likes a challenge.

He grabs his phone out of the inner pocket of his jacked, activating the tracker he put in the business card. What? He is part of the mob, what did you expect?

Someone knocks on the car window, and Bucky lowers the glass. "Here's the book you wanted, pal." Steve smiles as he hands Bucky the English to Dutch dictionary.

Bucky takes the book from Steve's hands, a smirk on his face. "Thanks, punk."

I sit slumped behind my laptop, listening to how my professor goes on and on about the theory of colour. My head is propped in my hand so I don't nod off to sleep.

My eyes travel involuntarily towards the business card behind my phone case. A huff leaves my lips as I take it out. It's not like I already know what the professor is explaining.

I tap the card on the desk and a smirk forms on my face as I get an idea. Grabbing a red pen, I cross through Bucky and write Bonky above it. I snicker to myself, admiring my work.

While I'm at it, I open Illustrator and create a new file. Within ten minutes, I have three new concepts based on the already existing colours of dark blue, cream, and white. I send the file and some png's to my phone through the mail just in case I ever see Backy again.

Which is the next day. At my job.

It's a Saturday afternoon and business has been weirdly slow today so I am just standing behind the counter, leaning against it with my hip jutted out and my phone in my hands, texting with my friends from back home who are preparing to go out clubbing.

The bell above the door rings. I quickly put my phone in the pocket of my apron, putting on a smile. "Hi, how can I help you?" 

I turn towards the person who has entered the flower shop and my smile falls as I see it's Bucky.

"You still don't know English, peaches?", he taunts with a sly smirk on his face, his arms behind his back.

Not even acknowledging the stupid nickname, I grimace. "That's a no, I'm afraid."

Bucky pulls a book from behind his back and starts to flip through it. "How it goes?" The words leave his lips as he looks up at me triumphantly.

A snort leaves my lips and I clasp a hand over my mouth. "It's how are you? How it goes?", I whisper the last part under my breath with a smile, shaking my head.

"So, are you stalking me or something?", I question with a cock of my head. Folding my arms over each other, I take a defensive stance.

"I was walking by, saw you standing here all alone and thought why not keep you company. You looked bored." Bucky looks smug as he practically uses the same stupid excuse he used in the cafe.

I roll my eyes. "Sure. But listen, there's something really wrong with your business card, dude." I pull my phone out of my back pocket and swipe the business card from behind my phone case.

Bucky coughs nervously. "There is?"

"Seriously, who designed this monstrosity? Minion Pro? That's the fucking default of InDesign. You could have used Comic Sans to get the same message through." I slide the card towards him over the counter, pointing out the font.

He grabs the card and frowns. "Did you seriously cross my name out and write Bonky above it?" A genuine laugh escapes his lips. "Cute."

"Yeah, whatever, I was bored in class. Now back to the business card." I start to type around on my phone, opening my Gmail and pulling up the mail I send to myself. "Because I am a very generous person and just can't have you walking around with that thing, I made redesigns."

I throw my phone on the counter, a slight look of disgust on my face. "How much did you pay for the card? Or was it just done by somebody who claims has a passion for design but uses a rainbow gradient unironically?"

It's quiet for a moment except for the nervous taping of my nails against the counter as the man in front of me judges my work. I never really got used to the jitters when someone criticises my work.

"You're really good, you know that darling? These look very professional." He looks up at me, his eyes house genuine surprise.

I huff in annoyance. "Of course, I'm good at this shit. I have a degree for it, nonetheless."

Bucky gives my phone back and I tuck it back into my back pocket. "How much do you want for it?"

My mouth falls open as I look baffled at him. "Wha... what? You want it?" I never actually expected him to like the concepts I made just because I was bored.

"Definitely. The last one looks solid. Can you send me it?"  

I nod blankly. "Ehrm, sure. I-I-I don't know what to ask for it, to be honest..." I've never made something freelance so I don't know what is appropriate.  

A smirk forms on Bucky's lips. "What if I give you a hundred bucks?" He grabs his wallet and places a green rectangle on the counter, Benjamin Franklin staring up at the ceiling. How rich are you if you carry hundred dollar bills with you, throwing them around like nothing?

Bucky laughs at me staring at the bill. "Don't worry, baby, it's clean money."

That comment pulls me out of my daze and I grab the bill, stuffing it in my pocket. "Oh right", I roll my eyes, "Claire told me everybody thinks that we're in the Godfather." 

I forward the right documents for printing and his phone dings as a sign I used the right email.

"Excuse me, who said what?" Bucky frowns, cocking his head to the side.

I wave my hand dismissively as I tidy up the counter. "Everybody and it's so stupid! Mobsters and gangsters are fake... a fable."

Bucky looks taken aback. "Is that so?", he questions, a shit-eating grin on his face. He grabs something from under his jacket and lays a gun on the counter.

He expects me to back away, a scared look in my eyes. But instead, I raise one eyebrow unimpressed at him.

"Yeah okay? Whoo, a gun, how scary!", I say mockingly, giving the gun a flick. "Come on man, it's like you guys' first amendment that you can own a gun." One corner of my mouth turns up as I see the perplexed look on the man's face.

The ringtone of the office phone blears loudly and I look over my shoulder. "I must take it, it may be important. You can let yourself out, Bonky." I wave him off and walk towards the office, answering the phone and noting the order for a bouquet.

When I enter back in the shop, Bucky indeed let himself out. Only the strong smell of his ─ I'm sure expensive ─ cologne lingers in the air.

"Awwe come on, Lex! It will be so much fun", Claire whines loudly, pulling me after our friend group who all have entered a bar.

"I thought you were so afraid to go close to Brooklyn?", I ask in a teasing tone, folding my arms over each other. 

Claire rolls her eyes. "We're just past Queens. Too many tourists, nobody would dare to do something here."

As we pack ourselves into a booth, I get squished between Claire and Davis. The boy in question wraps his arms around my shoulders and presses me into him, a wide smile on his face. "Ah, it's good to see our most studious student having fun!"

I let out a loud laugh as he ruffles my hair, messing up what I spent so long straightening. "Cut me some slack! I have a─"

"A scholarship to uphold, we know", chimes the group in unison, all with smiles on their faces. I huff with a playful eye roll, knowing I said that sentence too often.

I hold up my arms in surrender. "Okay, fair. Now, who's gonna teach me to pool."

Davis drags me away from the booth, Eva walking after us. As they explain the basics and how to launch the balls correctly, the night passes and alcohol starts to flow. Of course, me being a European, I don't get drunk on the weak piss they call beer.

I lean on the pole as I watch Davis gets sluggishly pushed to the right by Eva, exclaiming loudly how it's her turn and not his. "Okay, Davis, let Eva play", I gently tug on his arm, but the guy is determent to play.

He pushes me harshly to the side. I stumble and bump into Claire, who is holding a glass. As we collide, the contents get spilt all over my blouse. I lout a yelp of surprise.

"Oh Gosh, Lex, I am so sorry!" Claire places the half-empty glass and pulls me to the toilet, wetting a paper towel and rubbing out the sticky drink.

"It's okay, I wanted to go home anyway." I push her hands away and take a paper towel to dap up most of the moisture. "Everybody's drunk of their arse, and not the fun kind of drunk", I refer to Davis and Claire nods, knowing how the guy is.

As she washes her hands, Claire remarks, "give me a moment so I can grab my purse."

I shake my head. "Please stay. I know how to get my way back. I rather have you accompany Eva save to her dorm than me, she's the drunk one." I grab both her hands, giving them a reassuring squeeze. 

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I have pepper spray in my pocket and have a mean right hook. And if someone really tries something, an alleged mobster is just a call away." I make quotation marks with my fingers in the air as I mention Bucky. 

Before Claire can protest, I quickly convince her with a wide smile. "It's only three blocks. I will be okay, Claire."

She nods reluctantly, letting go of my hand and giving me a quick hug. "If something happens, bolt away. Use those long legs of you to get away as far as possible."

With one last reassuring smile and hug, I make my way out of the bathroom and say goodbye to everybody. I walk out of the bar and tug my leather jacket closer to my body. The temperature has dropped significantly as the sun has lowered herself under the horizon.

I check my phone for the temperature. Five degrees Celcius. It can be colder back home at this time of the year, so not too bad.

I take a turn and walk into an alley, knowing it will save me five minutes so I am in time for my subway. 

Suddenly, a door to my right swings open with force and someone gets thrown out, rolling over the dirty pavement and coming to a stop against the wall on my left, a pained huff escaping their lips.

Another person enters the alley through the door opening, identity hidden by the bright light from behind. They lift their arm and I spot a gun in their hand.

"Oh no", I think out loud, standing very still and holding in my breath.

The figure in the doorway fires three shots, stilling the wheezing body on the ground, slumped against the wall. 

I don't wait for a second longer after the last shot and turn around, bolting out of the alley. Praise to whoever is above there to me putting on sneakers instead of the heeled boots Claire suggested.

Heavy footsteps echo behind me, bouncing off the walls. By the number of footsteps, I count around two or three people after me. I let out a loud yelp as I almost stumble down a flight of stairs I didn't see but quickly recover by jumping down them.

In my mind is the only logical thing to do is to go back to the bar. If I hide within the mass of people, nothing can happen. And Davis is a quarterback, so I'm sure he can protect me. Even in his inebriated state.

Before the bar even comes into my view, a pair of arms wrap around my middle and yank me off the street. My head harshly knocks against the brown bricks and I let out a pained groan.

I try to fight back, pushing the person away from me, but the stars in my eyes and the light feeling in my head don't really help. As I struggle, my hands are pressed together as another pair of hands tie them together with a rope, the harsh material digging into my skin.

"NO! Let go- of me!" I trash around, hitting around with my hands tied together, not giving up so easily. I never fucking imagined my night would end up like the film Taken! My father does not have a very particular set of skills Liam Neeson has. He will not find me and I'll be the one who gets killed in the end.

A loud yelp escapes my lips as I get tossed over a shoulder and carried somewhere. "Set me down! Fuckin─"

My protest gets cut short by a piece of duct tape over my mouth. I get flung into a trunk of a car, the figures looming over me.

"The boss will be delighted knowing we delivered Barnes' girlfriend to him", says the one who carried me over his shoulder. He's bald with a thick head and scars all over his face.

Another one hits him on the side of the head. Short, spikey black hair. "Be quiet, you himbo. She can still hear us." And with that, the lit gets thrown shut just a few centimetres away from my nose.

The car vibrates and comes in motion, taking sharp turns and hitting the breaks with full force. Jezus Christ, the one who's driving really needs to hit the books again. 

When I feel that the car starts to drive again, I know it was just a traffic light and I still have time to break free and get out. 

The first thing I do is ripping the duct tape off my mouth. Idiots didn't even press it firmly onto my skin. I pull it off easily before feeling around for something sharp. When I touch it, I celebrate in silence, quickly cutting through the rope.

After a never-ending minute of heavy sawing, the rope loosens up and I shake it off myself, already searching for the trunk release. Please be stupid, please be stupid. Aha! They are stupid!

I pull the glow-in-the-dark handle and the trunk opens up. I take my chances and fling myself out of the trunk, rolling across the asphalt and scraping my arms in the process.

Not letting myself recover from the shock, I jump up with jelly in my legs and run away as fast as possible. I grab my phone from my back pocket, praying that it didn't break. Wonder above wonder, it didn't.

I look around and see a narrow lane going to a private garden. I take my chances and bolt into the garden, distancing myself as far away from the entrance and hiding behind a large bush.

With shaking hands, I take out the business card and dial the number. I try to get my breathing under control as the tone rings.

"Bucky Barnes spea─"

"Bonky it's me, Lex. I don't have a lot of time, so listen", I interrupt Bucky as soon as he answers the phone, using the stupid name I wrote on the business card as an indication it's me. "I just escaped a car trunk and now two guys are after me. If you are actually the mobster people say you are, help me."

"Where are you? Do you have my card with you?" The words leave Bucky's mouth quickly, already on his feet by the rustling in the background.

I frown, peaking over the bush. "Yes? But what the fuck has that to do with anything?", I hiss softly, heaving.

"I'll be there in no time, stay where you are. And stay on the phone, talk to me. What do you see?" It's no question, but an order.

My eyes flicker quickly around me, immediately going back towards the entrance of the place. "I'm in some sort of private garden, but the gate isn't locked. There are plants and trees, big ones--"

I stop talking and clasp a hand over my mouth as footsteps approach. A figure stops at the entrance and peers into the garden. I hold my breath, scared to even make a sound.

"Lex? LEX?!", yells Bucky over the phone and I wince.

"Shut up", I hiss back, pressing the phone against my chest to muffle out the sounds.

The figure standing at the entrance snaps his head in my direction, stilling and listening for any more sounds. We stay like this for a minute or so, but to me, it feels like an eternity.

With one last look, the figure moves further and I let out a relieved breath. "How long until you're here?", I whisper, tears filling my eyes.

"Almost there, princess. Is it a gate with vines growing up to it?"

I nod but remember he can't see it. "Yes, that's the one."

The sounds of tires screeching to a stop makes me look up from my hiding place, my eyes peeking over the bush. A figure walks in with something pressed against their ear.

"Is that you?", I ask in a whisper and the figure whips around, their eyes searching everywhere.

"It's me", I hear through the telephone and echo against the walls. A relieved cry escapes my lips as I jump up from my hiding spot and rush towards Bucky. I throw my arms around him and sob into his chest. I have never been this scared in my life.

A bit surprised, he wraps his arms around me and places a hand on the back of my head. "It's okay, I'm here. You're safe."

We stay like this for a minute, me sobbing my heart out and Bucky holding me close to him, as suddenly a voice behind us speaks up. 

"The area is clear, Sir. No sign of anyone", says the person firmly but with a slight quiver in his voice.

Bucky nods and pushes me away from his body, wiping the tears off my cheeks with his thumbs. "Come, doll. Let's get you somewhere save."

Without much reaction or protest from me pulls Bucky me away and into a car, safely tucked into his arms on the backseat. 

The whole drive towards I don't know where is spent in silence, his eyes focussed on me as I watch the outside rush past. 

"Are you coming?", he asks as the car comes to a stop and someone opens up the door for Bucky.

I nod absentmindedly. "Yeah, just give me a moment", I mumble, not really paying attention to which language I am speaking. 

Bucky nods but holds out his hand for me to take. He holds it up for as long as I need that minute before I finally find the strength to move. I lay my hand in his and he pulls me out of the car.

He pulls me towards the house or whatever it is. I'm not really paying attention to it. My focus is more around me, in search of two familiar faces.

"Hey", whispers Bucky softly, pulling my attention to him. "They aren't here. Whoever did this-" Bucky refers to my scraped arms and knees "-will never hurt you again. I promise. Shall we get those wounds checked out?"

I answer with a slight nod and let him lead me towards a kitchen. With a bit of help from Bucky, I hop on the kitchen island. My eyes follow the mobster as he moves around, pulling a first aid kid from a cabinet.

"So... you really are a mobster, then?", I ask softly to break the silence, the question resting for a while on my lips. I hiss as Bucky presses a cotton ball to my arms to disinfect the wounds.

"In theory." Bucky shrugs casually.

I frown and scrunch up my face. "In theory? Dude, you are or you are not. It's not a fifty-fifty question." I pull my arm away slightly, but Bucky grabs it firmly to wrap both of my arms in bandages.

Bucky glances at me but keeps quiet.

"So this is really The Godfather. By the way, did someone get kidnapped in The Godfather?"

The mobster stops what he is doing and looks up at me. "You have seen the movie, you should know."

A stifled laugh leaves my lips as I shake my head. "I never finished it. I stopped after ten minutes or so because... I don't actually know. But I didn't go further than the wedding."

Bucky lets out an exaggerated sigh, dropping his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "You are... impossible." He finished up cleaning the scrapes on my arms and knees, applying a soothing balm to the burn marks on my wrists.

I sigh deeply and suppress a yawn, a hand clasped in front of my mouth. A soft smile forms on Bucky's face and he tugs on my elbow, nudging me off the counter.

"Let's get you to a nice bed so you can sleep. Are you able to sleep on your own?", teases Bucky with that oh so familiar smirk of his.

I roll my eyes as I follow him up the stairs. "Do I look like a child to you?"

"No- I...", he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I meant, do you feel safe to sleep on your own or do you need someone to keep watch over you?"

My cheeks slightly head up at the thought of Bucky staying with me for the night. "No need for that, thanks though." I give him a tight-lipped smile, walking through the door Bucky holds open for me.

"You can stay as long as you wish. The bathroom is to the right and there are some spare clothes in the closet." Bucky stands at the foot of the bed as he watches me inspect the room. "I'll leave you to it. Good night, angel."

I nod in acknowledgement and make my way towards the bathroom to wash up before I go to sleep. Now that I am near a bed, I notice how tired I am. All the running and adrenaline has tired me out and now I just want to sleep and forget everything.

After washing up and grabbing a pair of sweats and a shirt from the closet, I slip under the covers and make myself comfortable. Out of all the days that I would fall asleep fast, I wouldn't have guessed today.

Bucky feels wrong watching her sleep. And it's not like he hasn't watched her prior. It's a miracle that she hasn't noticed the tracker in the business card or him following her for days. Call it stalking, call it keeping an eye out for her.

But now that she's here, in his house, sleeping in the guest bedroom, he couldn't help himself to slip into the room and watch her sprawled out on the bed, her dark hair like a halo around her head.

She looks peaceful despite the events of a couple hours ago. Soft huffs and little noises leave her lips as she turns to lay on her side, pulling the covers up to her face.

A soft smile grows on Bucky's face as he walks towards Lex, crouching down so he’s on eye level. He pushes away a couple of strands that have fallen before her face. He places a feathery kiss on her forehead before walking out of the room detriment to finding the motherfuckers who dared to touch her.

He will find them and break every fucking bone in their bodies, one by one, waiting until the pain is subdued and breaking them all over again.

A knock on the door awakes me from my peaceful slumber and I groan loudly. I kick the covers off me and stumble out the bed, swinging open the door and yawning loudly.

Bucky looks at me amused with a slight smirk on his face, his head cocked to the side. "Good morning sweet cheeks, slept well?"

It takes me a moment before I am fully awake. I am definitely not a morning person, I can tell you that. As my mind gets less foggy, I notice Bucky's attire. And how casual it is.

It's weird to see him not wearing a suit and tie. He's wearing a pair of dark jeans and a shirt. It's so simple, but he looks hot in it.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I fake a yawn and shrug. "It was great until someone decided to wake me up from it. How late is it anyway?"

Bucky snorts. "How late is it? You Englished that very well."

I ignore his comment and turn around, making my way back to the bed and climbing in. I hear Bucky tsk and walk after me, looking at how I crawl back under the covers with an amused smile.

"Let me be with my very good grammar", I grumble, my voice muffled by the blankets and pillows before I throw them off me. "What do you want anyway?"

Bucky makes his way across the room, sliding open the blinds so sunlight can filter through, shining straight in my face. "I am going to work and I need you to come with me."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Do I have to?", I whine, not really looking forward to being locked up in an office all day. Or going with him to some dingy warehouse to torture people. At least, I think that he does that. "Can't you just drop me off at my place? Or... I stay here, comfortable, in bed."

A deep sigh leaves the mob boss' lips as they press themselves in a thin line. "No way I am leaving you alone, snookums. I don't trust it..." In the end, he trails off, his voice going quieter like he's deep in thought.

Dear God! These nicknames are getting more idiotic with time. "Snookums? Really? Besides, don't you trust me?"

At my accusation, Bucky turns his head abruptly towards me. "Not trusting you? Sugar, it's no you who I don't trust. It's my men. You were kidnapped in my territory by unknown men. Who knows, maybe they were my men." He starts to pace back and forth, a hand on his chin as he thinks out loud.

"Correction", I say as I stand up from the bed, walking towards the bathroom, "I was in Queens, and not on the border between Queens and Brooklyn." 

Bucky follows me into the bathroom. "Oh muffin, you don't think that I only own Brooklyn, do you?" He speaks to me like explaining something simple to a small child.

I roll my eyes annoyed. "Whatever dude." I turn on the sink and start to wash my face, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes with cold water. "Just... let me grab something to do from my place."

As I dry off my face, I turn towards Bucky, who's leaning against the doorpost. His hands in the pockets of his jeans and a smirk on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing." He shakes his head with a smile before turning around and walking out of the bedroom. "Be ready in ten, buttercup."

Lo and behold, I make my way down fully dressed and ready to go ten minutes later. Pretty impressive for the gal who takes forty-minute showers.

At the sound of my footsteps on the stone stairsteps, Bucky looks up from his phone from the couch. He has changed out of his jeans and shirt into a suit. 

It's just a simple dark suit but his tie is fabulous. It has a floral pattern in red. It's nice, brings out the pale blue colour of his eyes.

"Ready?", he asks me as he gets up, putting his phone in the inside pocket of his jacket.

I nod, walking after him towards the front door. "Nice tie", I compliment with a genuine smile. "That colour suits you."

Bucky looks perplexed at my soft voice and stops abruptly in his steps. I only notice it once I've reached the car and he's not next to me. With a raised eyebrow, I turn back towards Bucky who's still standing at the front door.

"You okay?" I cock my head to the side now with both my eyebrows raised. "Come on dude, I had to hurry. And can we please get something for breakfast on the way? I'm starving!" I get into the car, clearly not seeing the look in Bucky's eyes.

I skip up the stairs to my apartment, a breakfast burrito in my hands. It's only one floor so no need to take the lift.

As I grab my keys, the door swings open and a very worried Claire stands before me with the fattest frown on her face.

"You're safe, thank God!", she yells, pulling me into my apartment. She checks all over me, her hands touching every part of my body. "What the fuck happened?! Why are you all bandaged up? And why didn't you text me when you got back?"

A sigh leaves my lips. Shit. I always text her when I arrive back home when we're going out.

"Right, sorry Claire", I begin, not really knowing how to explain what happened last night. "Something... came up and I totally forgot to text you. Sorry for worrying you." I grab both her forearms and push her hands off me.

I push past her and start to collect my laptop and all the necessities I need for it. Claire trails behind me like a puppy while making agitated noises.

"Did he do this to you?" She refers to my bandages. "I told you he was no good news, and look where it got you!"

I stop in my tracks and turn around furiously. I open my mouth, but before I can snap at Claire for being idiotic another voice is ahead of me.

"I did no such thing", hisses Bucky angrily. He stands in the opening of my front door with an enraged look on his face, his stance rigid and a vein bulging on the side of his temple.

A whimper leaves Claire's lips as she sees the mob boss standing in my home, his anger pointed towards her. She quickly hides behind me scared. Bucky scoffs as he looks away.

With a shake of my head, I choose to stay silent and pack further my backpack.

"What going on?", asks Claire in a whisper, clinging to my arm.

I make eye contact with Bucky across the room. He gives me a slow nod, his eyes still trained on Claire and her hands on me.

"I got kidnapped last night, that's what happened. And thanks to Bucky, I am standing here. And for the injuries... I jumped out of a moving car. That's all you need to know." I pull my arm out of her grip and walk towards Bucky.

"All I need to know? Jesus Christ, Lex! Do you know how worried I was? And now you turn up here with bandages and a mob boss?!" Claire stands in the middle of my living room and points with an open hand to Bucky, her chest rising rapidly.

I stare at the ground in an attempt to stay calm. "Yeah, well... it's not like my choice to be kidnapped, Claire. I was fucking lucky Bucky was only a call away." I move past Bucky, towards my door. "See you on Monday", I say before walking out of my apartment and towards the stairs.

Once Bucky enters his car, I am already strapped in and ready to go with a scowl on my face. He hesitates for a minute, his mouth opening and closing. But, he opts to stay silent and just starts the car. 

The whole trip to whatever Bucky's taking me, I don't say a thing and neither does Bucky. 

As the car stops in an underground parking lot, I lick my lips, searching for the right words. Instead of what happened with Claire, I choose to move on.

"So, what do you do exactly?", I ask as I hop out of the car, my backpack slung over my shoulders.

Bucky gives me a pointed look and walks through the glass doors that automatically slide open and into an already ready elevator. I trail after him like a puppy, holding on tight on the straps of my backpack.

The ride up is silent and a bit tense, as Bucky furiously types away on his phone with his everlasting frown on his face.

With my head slightly crooked, I study him. "If the bells in Rome ring three times, your face will be a permanent scowl", I say teasingly, Bucky's eyes stapping up to me.

The frown thickens and I chuckle. With just a slight hesitation, I take a step closer to him and smooth out the wrinkles between his brows. 

"Wha- what?", he mumbles confused, his arms dropping next to his body and his gaze going all over my face.

I give him a half-smile as I take a step back. "It's a thing my grandma always said to me when I pulled a silly face. It rhymes in Dutch."

The elevator dings and the doors slide open, revealing an empty hallway. I look expectantly towards Bucky to see if he moves out of the elevator or not. But he just stares dazed at me, an unreadable look on his face.

"Is this... our floor?", I ask hesitant, not sure what to do.

Bucky snaps out of... whatever that was and hurries out of the metal box on a wire. I follow behind him, keeping my eyes on the ground as people approach Bucky.

By now I know that it's better to know nothing about the mob so I zone out of their conversation and only pay attention when my name is said.

"Sorry, what?", I say, blinking a couple of times and looking up to Bucky and the person beside him.

He's tall, built like a tree and has dirty blond hair. A clean-shaven face reveals a strong jawline.

"This is Steve Rogers, my second hand. If you have questions and can't find me, Steve will help you." Bucky points towards the man.

I smile up at him and hold out my hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr Rogers. Alexia Seijters, but I prefer Lex or Alex." The handshake is firm and short, but Mr Rogers squeezes a bit too much. 

I massage my hand as I turn to Bucky. "Does he know about... yesterday?"

Bucky nods and I look back at Mr Rogers. "I am sorry to be intruding, Mr Rogers. I wanted to go home and lock myself in there. But someone has to always get his way." I playfully take a yap at Bucky and Steve throws his head back to laugh loudly, grabbing his left peck.

"Oh Lord, you are one to keep. I'm sure you'll be two hands on one belly with Sam. And call me Steve, darling. No need for formalities." Steve smiles at me and grabs my shoulder, steering me away from Bucky.

I grimace. "What's with your kind of people and giving nicknames? I bet he doesn't even know what my name is with the number of nicknames he has given me."

Steve looks over his shoulder towards Bucky, his eyes amused. "Oh? And they are?"

Humming, I think deeply. "Doll, darling, angel, princess. And those are not even the worst. Buttercup, sweet cheeks, snookums. That one is just the cherry on top." Steve and I snicker as he brings me into an office.

Bucky has a scowl on his face again as he chews on his bottom lip. He chooses to stay silent and just glare at us as he lets himself fall in the big leather chair behind a desk.

"And do you have a nickname for him too? As in payback?" Steve leans against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest, the amused look still prominent in his eyes.

"Well... I'm not a big nicknamer, but on occasions─"

"Lex...", warns Bucky sternly, his jaw clenching.

I poke my tongue out. "Bonky. I call him Bonky." 

Steve throws his head back again whilst laugh loudly, like very loud. A smile creeps on my face as I watch the man stumble towards the desk and nudge Bucky's side. The latter just gives Steve a grimace.

"Are you done? Because we got things to do", grumbles Bucky as he stands up and walks towards the door.

Before he leaves the office, he turns towards me. "Stay here, you understand? I'll be in my office just a couple of doors to the left. And when you can't find me, or if I'm busy, find Steve."

I nod with a roll of my eyes. "Yes, I understand. I am not a child." I make my way towards the desk and plop down on the chair, my backpack in my lab.

Bucky gives me one last pointed look before leaving the office, Steve trailing behind him with a smile and a wave.

As the door closes, a question pops up in my head. Where's the toilet?

I managed to delay my trip to the bathroom for as long as I can, but after four hours the need to pee is high. So, I slam my laptop close, grab my phone and set out to venture around the office in search of either Steve, Bucky, or the sign for a toilet.

I peek my head out of the office and see that the floor is completely empty. I mean, it's a Saturday so I don't expect office workers running around right now. 

After walking around the office, I conclude that Steve's nowhere to be seen and Bucky's in his office. I make my way towards Bucky's door and press my ear against it to hear if he's in a meeting or not.

The door gets pulled open and I get yanked into the office, a gun pressed against my temple as someone wraps his arm around my torso to keep me in place.

"We've got an eavesdropper, sir."

I trash around and bite the person holding me in their arm. Which earns me a slap against my cheek and I fall to the ground. My left cheek starts to glow as it stings.

"Little bitch", growls the person who hit me ─ and I bit ─ and cocks his gun.

Suddenly, the guy gets punched in his face and he stumbles back. Bucky grabs him by the front of his shirt and pulls him up. 

"Don't you dare to lay a single finger on her, you understand", he spits fuming, a vein bulging on the side of his neck. "If I ever see that again it will be the last time you touch anything."

Two hands wrap around my upper arms and pull me up, placing me on a chair. "Are you okay, pumpkin?", asks Bucky as he presses a cool hand to my cheek.

I hiss and pull away. I move my jaw and grimace at the stinging pain. "That's gonna leave a bruise." Pressing my own hand to the tender flesh carefully, I glance up at Bucky. "I came asking where the toilet was but do you guys have something against toilets or something?"

Bucky chuckles as he pulls me out of the chair and leads me towards a small kitchenette. He helps me get on the counter and wets a towel, pressing it against my cheek. "Hold it there."

I do what he says and watch Bucky lean against the kitchen counter, his eyes trained on the floor.

"It's a very familiar setting, isn't it?", I say to lighten the mood. But my comment earns a glare from Bucky.

He folds his arms in front of his chest. His sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing well-tanned skin. I lick my lips and look away, trying to get my mind out of the gutter.

"This is not something to joke about. You could have died!" Bucky huffs harshly.

I roll my eyes at Bucky's dramatics. Why is he suddenly so up and about it? "Don't pull that tone with me, Buck-o. It's not my fault I got held at gunpoint. And let's not forget about the kidnapping." I hop off the counter and stand in front of Bucky, my hands on my hips.

His eyes narrow as his brows knit together. "Oh? And who's is it then?"

"Yours!" My breathing is quick as I look up at him, my eyes a challenge.

Bucky pokes his tongue against the wall of his cheek, his foot tapping agitated against the floor. He closes his eyes to keep his cool. "Then leave", he says emotionless.

I raise one eyebrow. "Oh, so now I can? Or will I be forced to spent somewhere I don't want to be?"

Bucky huffs angrily. "Fucking leave!", he yells from deep within his chest, his breath knocking into my face.

I take a precautious step back as I see veins bulge out from the side of his head. Without any more words, I turn around and walk back to the office, angrily stuffing my belongings back into my backpack and marching towards the elevator.

"Where are you going?", questions Steve as I pass him in the hallway, his hand grabbing my upper arm.

I jank it out of his grip and keep walking towards the elevator, angrily hitting the button to go down multiple times. "Tell that hypocritical bag of hay that he can suck it!"

Steve looks absolutely lost when I get into the elevator and close the door by pressing the button repeatedly. The whole way down I am fuming with anger, chewing on the inside of my cheek.

How dare he be angry at me while he is the one that got me in this shit in the first place.

I whip out my phone and scroll through my contacts for someone to pick me up. I can't ask Claire, she's probably still angry at me, I can't ask Gladace obviously, Eva can't drive. So, Davis, it is. I dial his number, one foot bouncing as I pray that he picks up.

"Waddup, cheese eater", says Davis' cheery voice from the other side of the connection.

I roll my eyes at the nickname. "Hi, can you pick me up? I am somewhere in Brooklyn and calling you is so much cheaper than a Uber."

Davis snorts. "Sure, be on my way. Can you send me the address?" 

I hum and say goodbye to him, sending my location to him and sitting down on the pavement, scrolling through my Instagram feed.

Maybe five minutes later comes Davis rolling around the corner on a motor. He stops in front of me and throws an extra helmet at me. I quickly put the helmet on and hop on the back of his bike, tightly holding on to his shoulders as he speeds away.

The drive back towards is thank God not that long as Davis speeds over the road. Once we reach my apartment, turns Davis the motor off and helps me climb off it. I give back the helmet with a small smile.

"Thanks for the ride, see you on Monday." I give him a wave as I pull out my keys from my jacket.

"Hey...", says Davis, making me turn around. "Are you okay? I mean between you and your boyfriend?"

I knit my eyebrows together. Boyfriend? "Oh! You mean Bucky? God no, thank not." I chuckle awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. "He's more... a persistent force for the last couple of weeks."

Davis nods, an unreadable look before he hops back onto his bike, saying, "see you on Monday!", before driving off.

With a shake of my head, I turn towards my building and unlock the door, slipping in and walking up the stairs.

Bucky storms into his office, slamming the door close and letting himself fall on his desk chair and putting his hands in his hair.

He fucked up, he royally fucked up with Lex. There is no comming back from that. And he knows she's right, and that's why he got so angry. He knows that it's his fault for dragging her into his life, for bringing her into danger when she was just passing through a fucking alleyway.

The door to his office opens and Steve storms into the room, a worried look on his face. "Why is Lex leaving and why are you a, and I quote, a hypocritical bag of hay?" Steve does air quotations at what Lex called Bucky.

A humourless laugh leaves Bucky's lips at Lex's words. Even when angry she is cute.

"I...", Bucky sighs deeply. "She wanted to ask me something but lingered too long before the door. One of those imbeciles thought she was eavesdropping. In short, she bit him and he hit her.

"I guess that I reacted my anger out on her and... fuck!" He curses loudly, hitting his desk, causing a glass to fall off and hitting the ground, shattering on impact.

Steve hisses at his idiot friend. "Listen, go after her if you feel so guilty. Tell her you're sorry for being angry at her. That will do the trick."

Bucky jumps up and bolts out of the office, swinging open the doors to the stairwell as the elevator will take too long. He comes bursting through the door just as Lex drives away on the back of someone’s motor.

He curses loudly and pinches the bridge of his nose. As Bucky watches them drive away, he notices something on the back of the motor. A black sticker with a red skull and tentacles.

"God damnit." He grabs his phone and dials a number. "Yeah, it's me. They fucking got her."

I slam the door of my apartment and a sigh leaves my lips. I slide down the door and thread my hands in my hair, pulling my knees up to my chin.

"Lex?", asks Claire as she stands at the end of the couch, a worried look on her face.

I look up and sniff, tears swelling in my eyes. I jump up and rush towards her, engulfing her in a hug. "I am so sorry", I cry out, "it's been so mentally draining and I took it out on you. Which you don't deserve!"

Claire pats my back, hugging me tightly. "What has happened, Lex. Please, tell me so we can fix it."

I take a step back and shake my head, wiping the tears off my cheeks. "You were right, I should have stayed away from him..."

A frown forms on Claire's face as she leads me towards the couch, sitting me down and walking towards the kitchen and filling the kettle while grabbing mugs from the cabinets.

"La... last night, when I left, I took a wrong turn, so to say. A-and these two guys saw me seeing them shoot a person. I-I-I didn't know what to do so I just ran. But they caught up with me and kidnapped me, locked me up in a trunk." I look down in shame and wipe away a tear that has rolled down my cheek.

A gasp leaves Claire's lips as she covers her mouth with her hand. "How... how did you escape? What did they do to you?" She grabs my face and turns it from side to side, inspecting if I have any bruises.

I take a step back, wrapping my arms around my body protectively. "Nothing happened, not really. I escaped out of the trunk before anything..." I swallow thickly. "Hey, I'm gonna take a shower and just sleep. Is that okay?"

Claire nods with a frown, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Yeah- no, of course. Do you need me to go?" She points towards the door.

With a shrug, I turn towards the bathroom. "I don't care. I'm sorry, I'm just exhausted." 

Wordlessly, I leave her standing in the middle of the living room. I strip myself off my clothes and sit on the closed toilet seat lid as I wait for the shower to heat up. 

Ugh, I hate these crap showers of the states. Those back home are just in an instant warm and don't run out of hot water. What kind of bullshit is that?

Before I enter the shower, I hear the slam of my front door. I sigh heavily. It's maybe for the better. 

After a scorching hot shower ─ that was more sitting on the tiled floor and scrubbing off the many hands that have been laid on me these past two days ─ I put on the largest sweater I have and lay in bed, pulling up Netflix on my laptop and playing The Good Place, my comfort show.

My eyes start to droop as soon as the second episode is finished and I groan. I have to close my drapes if I want to sleep.

I roll out of bed, and as I grab the curtains, I see a familiar car with a familiar Blond leaning against it. He lifts his hand in a wave, a cigarette in between his lips, making eye contact with me. 

A yelp escapes my lips and I close the blinds quickly, crouching down. I breathe heavily. How could I be so stupid? Bucky knows where I live, of course, Steve knows too! Wait, if Steve is here, does that mean that Bucky is here too?

I hold my breath, listening to any footsteps. I crawl on my hands and knees through my apartment towards the front door and lay my ear against it. I hear nothing, not a single sound from the other side of the door. Slowly, I raise to my feet and look through the peephole. Nothing.

I'm not yet reassured of my safety and in a whirlwind, I lock every possible entrance and close every blind. Only after double-checking, I make my way towards my bedroom, locking that door too and getting under the covers, pulling it up to my chin.

I pray to whoever is up there that this is the only ─ and last ─ time that I see Steve.

Spoiler alert! It wasn't.

As soon as I leave my building to go to school the following Monday, Steve is at the same spot as Saturday. Only this time he's seated in his car.

He drives towards me and slows down, rolling down the window. "Good morning, Lex."

I nod towards him in acknowledgement, gripping the straps of my backpack as I continue walking towards the metro. I can't show him or anyone else that I am petrified.

"Buck's sorry, you know?"

The statement makes me scoff. "Oh yeah, why isn't he here then? Why has he send you instead of comming himself and apologising?" I glare towards the blond, not stopping once.

Steve sighs, his left hand resting on top of the steering wheel. "You haven't come out of your apartment all weekend, he was getting worried."

I roll my eyes. "You know, Steve, he can put his apology up his butt, with these two." I flip him the bird, which is not very classy but what mom doesn't know, won't hurt her.

As I pick up the pace, I feel Steve following me in his car. The feeling stays for the whole week, and I know for a fact that Bucky has ordered Steve to follow or watch over me. He is not subtle about it. 

I always see the car on the other side of the street when I open my drapes, he follows me as I go to school, and I see Steve hanging around my school campus when I switch buildings or go for lunch with my friends.

Bucky hasn't shown his face in over a week, the coward that he is. I expected a lot more balls from the mob boss.

The first time when I am not followed is when me and my friends into a club where I don't know the name of.

The loud bass of the music drones through my body, Davis' arms around me as he pulls me into the dark nightclub. A smile is on his face while he leads me towards the bar. He motions to the bartender two shots, the bartender nodding.

"Is this really necessary", I whine, wobbling uncomfortably on my high heels ─ that I had to wear from Eva ─ in a top that's way too sheer for my liking. Where even is she? Claire couldn't come, something about being sick off her ass.

Davis ignores my whining and shuffling from one foot to the other. "Drink up!", he yells over the music, shoving a shot in my hands. 

I comply and swallow the shot, my face turning sour at the bitter taste that slides down my throat. "That's disgusting", I groan out loud, shivering.

The guy just laughs at my misery and pulls me towards the dance floor, moving on the beat. "You need to let loose, girl! You kept looking over your shoulder the whole week like you're being followed." He chuckles.

I laugh humourlessly. Was it that obvious? "Oh, well, tough week", I smile forced, brushing it off. "You know what, I'm going for another drink." I point towards the bar and alk off the dance floor.

As I take place at the bar, Eva appears out of thin air with two drinks in her hands. "There you are", she smiles, handing me one glass, "I was looking all over you."

I take it and sip. "Davis dragged me to the dance floor, you know how he is. Do you by the way know what's with Claire? I only get a text from her that she couldn't come." I pout, missing my best friend.

Eva seems to tense up a little bit at my mention of Claire. "She told me she was punking as her life depends on it, I think food poisoning." The girl shrugs, taking the straw between her fingers and drinking.

I frown. "Oh, I told her not to eat that salad yesterday. It looked suspic- ious." My head starts to spin and I scrunch up my face.

"Everything okay?" Eva lays a hand on my shoulder and I nod.

"Y-yeah, just feeling a bit light-headed. I'm probably going to look for a quiet place..." I stand up from the barstool but stumble over my own feet. Stupid high heels.

A pair of firm hands hold me up, tightly gripping my shoulders. "What wrong?", asks Davis, concern laced in his voice.

"She's not feeling well. Let's get her somewhere... quiet." 

The way Eva says the last word makes me frown and I look up but Davis is already dragging me somewhere, following behind Eva. We make our way out of the main space, as the flickering lights and loud music decreases with every second we venture through the dark halls.

I try to fight off Davis' hands, but this sudden sickness has hit me like a freight train. I stumble over my feet, almost twisting my ankle as I get lead outside, towards a car.

"Wha-what?", I ask meekly as my head gets pushed down and into the car. I land unceremoniously on the backseat, quickly scrambling up to compose myself despise the immense dizziness.

Davis climbs next to me, pulling me against his body and pressing a cloth against my mouth. He shushes me while holding me in a headlock, not letting me move away from the cloth.

I put up a good fight for the state I am in. After I don't know how long, everything starts to blur together and my eyes start to get droopy.

"Yeah, we got his girl, make sure the boss is notified", is the last thing I hear before I pass out in Davis' arms.

When I wake up again, I am seated on a wet, dirty floor with my right hand cuffed up to a radiator pipe. I groan as a headache hammers through my skull, getting worse with the second. 

As I reach up to hold my head, the handcuff clanks loudly against the pipes and I hiss. Son of a bitch, that hurts like a buttcheek on a stick.

The ratling of my movement seems to alert someone as a handful of footsteps are walking towards me. I lean back and look at the people approaching me. Surprise surprise, it is all men.

I scan the faces and notice a familiar face with short, dark hair. "You", I say, narrowing my eyes.

The guy chuckles menacingly. "Good to see you too, princess."

My face contorts in disgust at the stupid nickname. Okay, maybe it's not that bad when Bucky does it.

I grow impatient as the group of middle-aged men stare at me, conversing in hushed tones. "Is someone going to tell me why I am here or do I have to wait until you guys die of old age to get out of here?"

The comment earns me a slap against my cheek. Tears swell into my eyes but I hold them back, they don't deserve them.

An older gentleman bends over at the waist, his hand tracing the side of my face with a gloved hand before grabbing a fist full of my hair and yanking my head back so that I am looking directly into his eyes. "Here's how we're going to do, sweetheart." His tone is threatening and demeanour that yells that he's in charge.

"Oh, so you're like the boss?", I ask, the man nods. "Aren't you a little too old to be playing cops and robbers?" I smirk smugly.

A knife gets pulled out from somewhere and pressed against my cheek, the blade almost digging into my skin. "I see, you're a talker. I more pegged you for whimpering and begging, guess I was wrong."

I scoff. "The only pegging happening here is you getting fucked in the ass." The words leave my mouth before I realize it. It results in the tip of the knife getting pressed in my cheek. A drop of blood travels down my cheek, stopping at my jaw. 

"Listen here, little girl, I don't want to hurt you. But if you keep up this... defiant act, I must punish you." The man scolds me like I'm a child, patting my cheek with his hand, smearing the blood all over.

I turn my head to the side and sneer. Who does this middle-aged man think he is? The king?

"This is how we're going to do the following", says the man as he stands up straight, his hands in his pockets. Behind him, a goon carries a tri-pot with a phone on it. "We're going to record a video message for your boyfriend and you, my dear, are going to play nice."

Boyfriend? Why does everybody think Bucky's my boyfriend.

"Look, you mentally deficient Baba Yaga! He's. Not. My. Boyfriend!" I puncture every word with a stomp of my shoes. It's not really impressive since the high heels don't sound heavy when they hit the floor, but it gets the point across.

The men laugh and get to work, setting up to record the video. The dark-haired guy walks towards me with a rag. He ties the rag behind my head and pushes the fabric between my lips. I manage to bite him once, which earns me a stop against my nose.

My nose lets out a sickening crunch and my eye water from the impact. I let my head drop.

The guy yanks my head back up by my hair and makes me look straight at the camera. A soft whimper leaves my mouth when I spot myself on the screen; my nose is crooked and blood drips out of one nostril, my left eye is pink, already turning thick, the cut on my cheek much bigger than it feels like.

"Listen, Barnes", begins the elder man, gripping my jaw, his grip bruising, "you have something of ours. And in return, we took something of yours." He shakes my head.

I pull my face out of his grip and try to get as far as possible away from him with one handcuffed to a radiator pipe. "I'm not his, you abominable twat!"

The man pulls out a gun, aiming it at me. I make eye contact with him and press my forehead against the barrel. "Shoot me, you coward. Do it!", I yell, my voice echoing through the empty warehouse.

He looks taken aback for a second before raising the gun and hitting me on the head with the back of it, knocking me down.

I yelp and lay on the ground, my head resting on top of my underarm after it slammed on the ground. I stay there while the men clean up the tripod and file out of the warehouse, one or two falling behind. They set up a table and start to play poker or some sort of card game.

Sam comes bursting through the door with a tablet in his hands. "Buck, this came in just now." He shoves the tablet under Bucky's nose and presses play.

Bucky's stomach drops as he sees her beaten and tied up, Pierce toying with her before pulling out his gun. A slight proud feeling bubbles up in him as he sees his girl mouth back Pierce. But that soon drops as he sees her get hit before the video ends.

Steve leans over Bucky's shoulder, a bag of frozen peas against his head. "Shit", he curses under his breath.

"Find where this came from. I don't care how many calls you need to make or what you need to do, do it quickly", orders Bucky loudly while trusting the tablet back into Sam's hands. He nods and hurries away, typing furiously on the tablet.

"Look, pal, I am so sorry." Steve frowns as he feels responsible for Lex's kidnapping. He was attacked when he was taking a break, eating dinner on the corner of the street, his attention on Lex's apartment. They got him from behind, beating him with a pipe so he was knocked out.

Bucky shakes his head, walking towards one of the windows of his home office. "If someone is to blame, it's me. Hydra took her when I least expected it, I should have been who should have been hit, not you." A deep sigh leaves Bucky's lips. "Why was she clubbing? Lex never clubs..."

Suddenly, an idea gets stuck in Steve's head. "Does Lex still carry around the tracker?"

Bucky turns towards his friend, eyes wide. "I think she does." He rushes towards his laptop and with just a couple of clicks, he sees Lex's location.

He jumps up from his chair and grabs his guns, sliding them into their holsters while rushing out of his office, Steve following closely behind.

"Call the fucking Odinson's and say we are ruling in our favour. She's at Fort Hancock, New Jersey."

"Were we even real friends?", I ask weakly, lifting my head to look at Davis. He shuffles from one foot to the other, guilt written over his face.

Davis grabs a metal chair and places it next to me. I turn my face away and stubbornly stay seated on the cold ground. "I don't need that fucking thing, thank you very much."

A sigh leaves his lips. "I can't speak for Eva, but I really saw you as a friend."

I scoff. Of course, he can't speak for Eva, the girl is as vague as she can be. "What do you want, Kowalzky? Cut the bullshit and spill the fucking beans. I have more things to do today."

A whistle comes from behind Davis and the guy that kidnapped me walks towards Davis, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "She's feisty, isn't she? It must be the European blood that makes her so fucking hot." He gives me a sick grin, sending shivers up my spine.

Davis pulls up his shoulders, cowering at the other guy's presence. "Yes, Mr Rumlow."

Rumlow laughs loudly, holding up a pipe of some sorts and Davis grabs it with trembling hands, wrapping both hands around the metal bar. "Go on then, end your precious friendship with that whore."

I close my eyes, scrunching my face together as I await the impact of him hitting me somewhere on my body. But it doesn't come. Davis stands shaking next to Rumlow, the pipe in his hands.

"I can't", he whispers, dropping his head.

Rumlow tsks and pulls a gun from the holsters hanging from some sort of vest, whatever the thing is called. "Hit her or I will shoot", he warns, grabbing the back of Davis' neck and forcing him towards me.

The boy just shakes his head and let the bar fall out of his hands. Rumlow clicks his tongue, raising the gun and shooting me in my right shoulder.

I let out a loud yell and double over, which causes more pain as I can't freely move my cuffed hand. I wheeze and reach with trembling hands towards the bullet wound, my hand coating red. A whimper leaves my lips.

Davis looks like a fucking fish, his mouth gaping open and eyes wide.

"Pathetic", growls Rumlow, letting go of Davis and walking towards me. An evil smile spreads on his face as he sees me crawl back, further into the wall with every step he takes to me.

"Oh, baby, such a shame of such-", his eyes trail up and down my body, stopping at my cleavage for a prolonged time, a hungry look in his eyes, "-an exquisite body."

I let the nasty son of a bitch watch me all he likes, knowing I can't do anything about it. The gunshot in my shoulder pulses with pain, the blood dripping down. It makes my shirt stick to my skin.

He smirks. "Not so mouthy now, are we?" He pats my head, brushing my hair out of my face.

"I have nothing to say to you, so why don't you fuck off?" I cock my head to the side and put on the best, sickly sweet smile I can muster. And of course, it earns me a slap.

Rumlow growls and grabs the pipe, raising it above himself and striking down on me. Every blow hurts less than the previous, the pain becoming a numbing sensation.

Defeated, I let the man hit and stomp me as his heart desires, hoping it will stop sooner if I don't react. And after a while, he finally stops, the pipe dripping with blood and not an inch of my body not covered with bruises.

As I lay on the ground, shallow breaths leaving my lips, I make eye contact with Davis and keep it. He has to see what he has done.

I don't bother to sit up when Rumlow and Davis have left, too mentally and physically tired to even move a hair. I don't even know how long has passed when I hear movement again.

Sounds are muffled but I can clearly hear gunshots in the distance. The doors to the side burst open, a body dropping lifeless on the ground.

Oh great, someone is here to kill me. Finally.

A blurry figure comes rushing in, looking around before focussing on me. As the figure comes closer, I see it's a big, blonde man, towering probably over everyone. But anyone looks tall when you're laying on the ground.

I whimper, trying to move away from the man but it's fruitless, I am already pressed against the wall.

The man crouches down and shushes my broken cries, grabbing something from his back pocket and cutting the chain, my hand dropping on my face. I let out a pained yelp at the sudden movement of my shoulder.

Whatever the man is saying while he picks me up, is muffled, but I can only manage to understand one word.

"Bu- Bucky?", I ask shakey. The man nods and leads me outside, to a dock and into a boat.

He lays me down on something soft, making sure my head is resting on a pillow and draping a blanket over me.

I try to express my gratitude, but nothing more than a  heavy sigh leaves my lips. I snuggle into the blanket and pillow and watch how the blonde man walks away, leaving me with someone else to watch over me.

Bucky anxiously stands on the Brooklyn docks, walking back and forth. He can't stay still, not while the life of his baby is in the hands of someone else.

He knows that putting Thor and Loki on the job gets it much faster done, with them being based in New Jersey. That doesn't mean he will have peace until she's back in his arms.

Sam stands on top of a large crate with binoculars in his hands, scanning the waters for any sign of the speedboat of the Odinson's. Steve stands next to him, rolling a cigarette between his fingers and keeping his gun within reach.

"That's them!", Sam yells out as he sees a boat approach them, and he jumps down to stand next to Bucky. Steve does the same and all three hurry to the docking area.

As soon as the boat docks, Bucky jumps on board and rushes towards Thor. "Where is she?", he almost yells, his hands twitching.

Thor leads him down a set of stairs, to a small living space with Loki sitting in the corner, cleaning and polishing his sniper, and a bundle of bloodied blankets laying on one of the couches.

"She's in critical condition. We have to rush her to the hospital right this second if we want her to survive."

Bucky nods curtly, turning towards Steve. "Call Strange and tell him to ready an OR and a private room. Now!"

Everyone moves quickly around him. Sam jumps behind the wheel, Steve next to him with a phone pressed against his ear.

"Bucky?" His name comes out of Lex's lips in a pained wheeze, her eyes opening just a smidge.

He hushes her, laying her on the backseat. "It's okay, just focus on staying awake, okay?"

She nods, her breath leaving her lips laboured. She curls up on the leather seat, letting out a pained whine as her shoulder twits in the process.

Bucky rounds the car so he can place her head on his lap. "Go, now!", he yells to Sam, who floors the gas pedal. They rush away from the docks, towards the private hospital where Strange has prepared an operation room.

They arrive in no time at the hospital, for sure hitting all the traffic violations, but Bucky doesn't care, he has the cops in the palms of his hands. As long as they get Lex safely to the hospital, he doesn't care.

He jumps out of the car, grabbing Lex and taking her into his arms. He grimaces at the cries she lets out in pain as he runs into the hospital.

A stretcher is already waiting for them, Strange next to it with his assistants. "Fix her", asks Bucky as he lays Lex on the stretcher.

Strange rolls his eyes as he pushes the stretcher towards the OR. He starts to list off all her injuries in medical mumbo-jumbo, pulling a small flashlight from his coat and shining it in her eyes.

Lex squints and turn her head away, gaze focussed on Bucky who runs next to the stretcher. She weakly lifts her hand in an attempt, and Bucky understands the gesture. He grips her hand tightly until he is stopped by Strange.

Before Bucky can loudly protest, Strange gives him a look and enters the OR, already barking out orders.

Steve catches up to Bucky and lays a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Let the doctor do his job, Buck. She’s in the best hands now."

It all passes in a blur, the boat ride, the trip to the hospital. The only clear thing was the worried look in Bucky's eyes, his words muffled but hands burning with every touch.

The feels like I've only blinked when I go from a room full of bright lights to the next that's a lot darker, natural light comming in from the side.

I stir, softly groaning at the dull ache all over my body, but a sharp pain in my shoulder. As I try to sit up, a pair of hands push me down. I panic and fight the hands, crawling backwards until I fall on the ground, a pained cry leaves my lips.

"Careful!" A face hovers over me. I blink rapidly until the blurred lines sharpen and Bucky's concerned eyes come into focus.

"Bucky?", I question, my voice raspy as he helps me up from the floor and sets me up on the bed I fell off.

Bucky crouches down, dusting my knees off. "Hi bubs, how are we feeling?"

I frown, trying to connect the dots how I ended up here. "Wha... what happened?" My hand travels towards my right shoulder, my fingers grazing the bandages.

Bucky opens his mouth to say something but gets interrupted by a man in a doctor's coat walking into the room, knocking three times. As he sees me awake, he smiles.

"Ah miss...", the doctor glances down towards a clipboard in his hands, a frown on his face. He's figuring out how to say my last name.

"Just Lex is fine."

The doctor nods. "Well, miss Lex, my name's Doctor Strange. Do you mind me checking your vitals while answering some questions?"

I shake my head, sitting up straight. The doctor grabs a chair and rolls it in front of me, ushering Bucky out of the way. "Can you tell me your full name, age, and where you were born?" He grabs a small flashlight out of his breast pocket and shines it in my eyes.

I squint. "My name is Alexia Gwen Maria Seijters, born October seventh nineteen-ninety-six."

Doctor Strange nods, glancing towards his clipboard. "Very well, can you recall anything that has happened from the last forty-two hours?" He grabs my right arm and bringing it up.

A hiss leaves my lips and I pull my arm out of his grasp, throwing a glance at Bucky. Does this doctor... know, you know? Is he in on the whole mob joke?

"Don't worry", reassures Strange, "I am an associate of Barnes'."

I part my lips, thinking deeply. "I was... I was at a club with my friends- well, turns out they were fake. Oh my God!" I turn towards Bucky in panic. "Please send someone to check up on Claire! Davis said she's sick but I don't know if that's true."

Bucky nods and squeezes my shoulder. "I'll send Steve to check up on her."

"Thanks. So, anyways, Davis took me dancing, Eva gave me something to drink and that's when it all went downhill. I don't remember much from the club to the warehouse, but when I woke up I was cuffed to some pipes."

Strange nods slowly, taking notes. "And do you know what they exactly did to you? How did you sustain most of your injuries."

I gnaw on my bottom lip, hissing as the skin is split and my jaw still hurts. "As far as I know I got drugged, cut with a knife, and beat with both a gun pipe. I don't know if anything more happened while I was unconscious." A shudder runs down my spine at the thought of those barbarians doing... something.

At the way that Bucky stiffens in anger, I know that he and I share the same thought.

Doctor Strange stands up and clicks his pen. "That's all for now, miss Lex. I will send a nurse by to take some blood samples just to be sure there are no lingering drugs in your system."

Bucky and Strange shake each other's hand before the doctor leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

The silence that follows is awkward and fills the room. My eyes fall on the IV that punctures the skin of my hand and kept in place with medical tape, that itches. I start to scratch it, lifting up the edges.

"Stop messing with your IV", says Bucky sternly and he has his famous frown on his face.

I pout. "But it itches."

Bucky shakes his head as he tries to suppress a smile. "I know, bubbles."

A blush forms on my cheeks at the nickname. We stay silent after that, the peeping of my heart monitor giving away my speeding heart and I jank the sensor off of my finger.

Bucky smirks as he sits down on a chair that's stationed next to my bed, his jacket hanging over the backrest.

"Can I ask a question?"

"I have a question."

We say at the same time. Bucky nods for me to go first and I suck in a big gulp of air.

"How did you find me?" The question leaves like a speeding train my mouth and I anxiously await his answer.

He hums, licking his lips before sighing. "Remember that business card I gave you?"

I nod and grab my phone, lifting the case and grabbing the business card. Bucky takes it out of my hand and rips it through the middle. I let out a yelp as I am too attached to the piece of paper than I would like to admit.

As Bucky rips the card up, a small, transparent square reveals itself. Bucky holds it between his thumb and index finger. "A tracker."

A gasp leaves my lips as I grab the plastic thing, squeezing it and almost folding it in half. "When did you put this in?", I ask in wonder and shock.

"When I gave you my business card." Bucky looks guilty at the ground.

I frown. When he gave me the card. At the cafe. But that was months ago!

Bucky sees the realisation in my eyes as I gulp for air like a damn fish. "It was for your own protection!", he says quickly.

"Stalking me?!", I screech out. Now it makes sense. All those times when he suddenly showed up, at the flower shop, at my school. He fucking put a tracker on me!

Bucky stands up from his chair and walks towards one of the windows, his hands in his pockets but his posture rigid. "It's because I am in love with you." His answer comes out in a whisper and I almost missed it if the room wasn't dead silent.

My breath hitches. "And that terrifies me."

For a moment, Bucky doesn't know how to react. His lips are parted while turns to me, his eyes wide.

"It terrifies me that you claim to be in love with me while you barely know me. Do you know my favourite colour, the way that I like my coffee, or even if I sleep with the lights on?"

Bucky shakes his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "Stop it", he whispers.

"And I am terrified for what happens when you do get to know me. What if I'm not what you imagine and you decide to just... off me." I turn my head away, unknowingly scratching and pealing at the tape.

Two hands engulf mine and I look up with big, scared eyes. Bucky has a soft smile on his face while his eyes hold a certain sadness. "Dollface, no.. I would never get tired of you."

He smiles while reaching up to cup my face, his thumbs caressing over my cheekbones. "Let's start over, yeah?"

A smile grows on my face as I watch how Bucky stands up and holds out his hand for me to shake.

"The name's Barnes, Bucky Barnes. And let me take you out on a date."

I giggle and shake Bucky's hand. "Well, Mr Barnes, I'm Lex Seijters. And I heard they have some mean apple pie in the hospital's restaurant."

Taglist (I tagged everyone who liked either of the two posts, lmk if you want yourself removed) : @crazy-fan-101 @anonymous-its-what-i-do @1self-love-club1 @lilacnebulas @pineprincess @saveyourbucky @winter-soldier-101 @beepboopyoda @thealmightybitchgoddess @carolzher @chris-and-seb-are-life @mynameishellosworld @superbflowersludgebear @angel-baby09 @hauntedhandsartistanhoagie @nataliiathorn @gwenavibra @tai00056​ @albmedlin 

[love101imagines]

Just like Heaven

request: Could you write about happy & cutesy sinan&isik? Maybe combine these - "Kiss me again." "God, one day I'll wake up and we'll be married with two babies" or just your vision of a happy sinanisik doing smth cute? I need some serotonin in my life 😄

tags: @l0ve1o1 @girl-looking-out-window @imtoolazytothinkofacoolname

(sinan & işik | imagine)

While rain splattered outside on the streets, a girl waited rather impatiently in her bedroom. Her music cassette was already off, and the book she had been previously reading was left on a random page on her desk. Sitting with her legs crossed in her bed, she could only focus on the sound her watch made. The nerves had been consuming her for the past hours, and the gloomy weather wasn't exactly helping her.

She still had three minutes left, but the faint sound of her mother knitting in the living room made her more nervous than usual.

The three minutes turned to two, and doing her best not to make any sound, she grabbed her purse, fixed a bit her light pink cardigan and light blue jeans, and tiptoed to the front door. She noticed her father was finishing his newspaper in the kitchen, without seeing what she was up to.

The bell rang a minute before seven and Işik didn't waste any second on opening the door, almost dropping her keys on the process.

"Hi." She greeted enthusiastically.

Sinan gave her a small smile, a few strands of his hair already wet as well as his worn out leather jacket, his eyelashes coated with drops of water. "Hey." He answered.

They stood like that for a few seconds, Işik taking in his appearance and the fact that he seemed to be shivering in spite of the wave of warmth that had enveloped him as soon as he set foot on the building. Before she could even worry about him getting sick and complain that he didn't have an umbrella, he was slowly leaning forward, just like they had done a hundred times since they started dating.

They jolted apart half a second late when their noses were brushing, Işik's eyes wide like a deer in the headlights and the heat building in Sinan's cheeks while they looked at her mother.

"Good evening, miss Aynur." He greeted as politely as possible, trying not to fumble with his hands.

"We were just leaving for the movie. We don't want to be late." Işık explained, trying not to squirm under her mother's gaze.

The woman settled her gaze on Sinan. "Are you two going alone?" She asked with a stern voice.

Sinan swallowed nervously. "No, ma'am."

"We're going with some other friends." Işik added, trying not to look frantically between him and her.

"And Işik will be here before ten, right?" She asked even if it sounded more like a statement instead of a question.

He nodded. "Exactly, I'll walk her home as soon as the movie finishes. We'll be careful, we don't want you to worry." He tried to convince her, his confidence slowly growing while Işik gave him a small smile.

Aynur stared at him down one last time with knowing skepticism. Before Işik could feel embarrassed if her mother didn't allow her to leave even if she had already asked a week ago, the woman's eye softened and she let out a sigh.

"All right, you can leave now. Please, behave and be careful."

Both of them nodded, Işik letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding as soon as she stepped into the hallway and her mother closed the door.

"Are you sure you don't want a sweater? You could catch a cold and it's raining a lot outside. I don't mind asking my dad for one." Işik gushed while they both walked down the stairs.

Sinan shrugged. "I'm fine, it's not even that cold."

The thunder that sounded outside was enough for Işik to stop on her tracks. He turned around to find her crossing her arms, concern written all over her face.

He did his best to avoid rolling his eyes and only left his hand on her shoulder, the soft fabric of her cardigan feeling warm. "We're going to be late for the movie." He reminded her, lowering his voice once a neighbor passed by them.

She finally gave in, both of them finally reaching the last floor. Before he could open the door for her, Işik stopped him, gently tugging on his arm.

After quickly glancing around the floor to make sure that there weren’t any noisy neighbors, she stood on her tiptoes and leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his lips.

Sinan blinked in surprise as the corners of his lips turned up into a smile. While Işik's cheeks started to grow pink, she glanced at her watch. "We should get going, the rest are going to get mad if we..."

"Kiss me again." He interrupted her.

He really couldn't help himself after seeing her bite down a grin. Before she could stand on her tiptoes again, he cupped her face, his fingers brushing against her jaw while he kissed her.

Işik closed her eyes, a feeling of happiness bubbling inside of her like it was the first time they saw each other after months, even if they had gone out for lunch the week before.

Her hand rested on his shoulder, and before she could thread her fingers through his damp hair, a car honk made them pull away immediately. While Sinan cursed under his breath, Işik fixed a bit her white shirt before opening the door.

Sinan quickly took his jacket off and held it above their heads while they crossed the street to reach Kerem's car. He opened the door for her, a smile appearing in his face once he heard her greet the rest enthusiastically.

"God, it's fucking freezing." Eda mumbled, her nose pink from the wind and her arms rubbing against each other for warmth. She glanced at Işik, a smirk in her face as she passed her weight from one foot to the other. “Nice jacket.”

Işik blushed, clearing her throaty before digging her hands into the pockets of Sinan’s leather jacket. “What’s taking them so long?”

Before Eda could answer, the three boys left the building. They talked in hushed whispers while Eda and Işik looked at each other confused. While Eda shrugged, the three of them walked at a fast pace back to them.

“Let’s go.” Osman said before leading them, a hazelnut on his mouth as they turned on the end of the street.

Işik furrowed her brows. “Wha— Where are we going? I thought there were enough tickets yet.”

Sinan shrugged, Kerem chuckling in front of them. “No one’s inside, they won’t notice us with all the lights out.”

“What?” Işik almost shouted.

Eda pinches her arms to keep her quiet. “Don’t shout, fuck.”

“We’re going to sneak in?” She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

She would have stopped in her tracks if Sinan’s arm wasn’t wrapped around her waist. With her heart beating too fast, she followed them into the back of the building, the rest ignoring how she mumbled that someone would see them and call the police for trespassing.

“They always leave this door unlocked on case of a fire.” Osman said double checking that no one was around before opening the door. “I know someone who works here.”

“I can’t believe you know that.” Eda replied before entering the cinema, Işik close behind her wanting to end that as soon as possible.

While they walked down the hall avoiding anyone who worked there as best as they could, Kerem turned to Osman. “You can’t be human. How are you not the slightest cold?”

Osman only shrugged. “It’s warm in here, not a big deal.”

“It’s not that cold.” Sinan added, stopping once he read a sign opposite them.

“Rerun of Karate Kid, 1984.” Eda read out loud. “What time is it?”

Işik glanced at her watch. “We have five minutes left.”

Osman and Eda looked at each other with a knowing look. “I’ll get the sodas.” Eda said before leaving with Kerem.

“I’ll buy popcorn.” Osman added.

Işik let out a sigh, a small frown on her face while she glanced around for fear of being caught. Before Sinan could reassure her that nothing would happen, she gasped.

“Ah! They’re showing Romeo and Juliet next week. We have to come, please. The book is so romantic, I love their love story so much. So tragic but beautiful.” She ranted dragging his arm to see the poster in front of them, a small glimmer on her eyes while she spoke with passion.

She then turned to Sinan, determination set on her face. “We’re coming to see it, right?”

It only took her three seconds to convince him, Sinan letting out a sigh before nodding. “Fine...even if I’m sure you’ll end up crying.”

“But it’ll be worth it.” She carried on, taking out his jacket and folding it. “Thanks.” She mumbled before they walked towards the rest, already entering the room to see the movie.

Sinan sat down next to her, a bag of popcorn being passed from him to the other end of the seats where Kerem sat at. They were just in time for a few movie trailers, Işik grinning at him once they showed Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.

He groaned, trying not to roll his eyes or make a remark at the stupidity of both tragic lovers. “The things I do for you.” He sarcastically said.

She only chuckled before taking a sip of the soda they were sharing. “I don’t consider watching a romantic movie a punishment.”

Sinan bit the inside of his cheek to avoid saying that they were unrealistic. “It begins like that, convincing me to watch a romantic movie, and then, who knows?” He teased, a soft smile on his face as he made Işik chuckle, even more, the girl trying not to since anybody could shush her. “God, one day I’ll wake up and we’ll be married with two kids.”

Before Işik could say something, even if she almost dropped their soda because of what he had said, the movie had begun.

“God, Ralph Macchio is so hot.” Eda whispered.

Işik was sure Kerem rolled his eyes, even if she couldn’t see him in the dark. “I could beat his ass.” He mumbled.

After Johnny fought Daniel on the beach, Işik leaned her head in Sinan’s shoulder, a smile on her face once he left a kiss on top of her head and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Spending time with him and their friends was worth the feeling of almost having a heart attack when they sneaked in.

[ofnifflersandkings]

Title: Who Could It Be at This Hour? Character: Danny Rand Prompt: 28

•

You were sitting on the floor in your living room, small stacks of papers for new book orders surrounding you as you tried to figure out which ones to sign for first. The television was showing flash flood warnings on the bottom of the screen, the rain wasn’t coming down too hard yet but you had an idea it was going to get worse later tonight.

You looked up from your work when you heard a couple knocks on the door, reaching across the paper piles to reach for your phone. There weren’t any messages from anyone, so who was at your door so late?

Getting up from your spot, you walked over to peer through a window at the top of the door and saw someone wearing dark clothes and a hood covering their face.

Now any sensible person seeing that waiting for them at the front door of their house would be terrified.

But it was storming outside, and you couldn’t help but feel bad just letting them out there.

So slowly, you cracked opened the door to look outside.

The person looked up upon you opening the door and you saw a very upset looking Danny standing there.

“Oh, hello!” You said, grabbing his arm and ushering him inside. “What are you doing here? You’ll get sick out in the rain!”

Danny yanked down his hood, his curls were damp and lightly clung to his forehead. His cheeks looked a little flushed, and he had small bruises and cuts scattered around his face.

“I know, but I had to see you.”

“Is everything alright? You look dreadful.” You helped him to the couch. “Here, I’ll get you a towel.”

“No, I have to talk to you.” Danny said, clutching onto your arm.

You smiled softly, placing your hand onto his and gently releasing yourself from his grasp. “It will take me ten seconds, and we need to warm you up before you get sick.”

Dannu reluctantly agreed, he seemed antsy though, even when you returned with a towel and a warm sweatshirt for him to wear, Danny jumped at the slightest of sounds.

You took the towel and laid it across his head, fluffing up his hair to help with the dampness. “Hey, you look pretty shaken up. Did something happen?”

Danny stared up at you as you dried off his hair, in his trance he almost didn’t hear what you asked him. “Oh, nothing you need to worry out.”

You tossed aside the towel and handed him the sweatshirt. “Put this on, I can put the other one in the dryer.”

He did as told, shedding the wet jacket and shoving on the dry one. “What were you doing? Did I interrupt something important?”

You shook your head, hearing the alarmed tone of his voice you gently ran your hands through his hair to calm him down. “Just some paper work, nothing groundbreaking.”

Danny nodded, remembering all the cuts he had and he tried to move from the ground. “I-I’m getting blood all over your things, I’m sorry.”

You lightly pushed him down. “You’re fine, there just little cuts I can take care of. Just stay here, can you do that for me?”

He didn’t try to get up so you took that as a yes, jogging to the bathroom to locate the small kit of medical supplies you had and then back to him.

“(Y/n)?”

“Yes?” You kneeled in front of him and started to clean all the cuts so they didn’t get infected.

“Do you feel safe with me?”

You looked up at him with knitted brows. “What do you mean?”

He shook his head. “Just answer me, please?”

“Of course I do, you’ve never given me a reason to not feel safe around you.” You met his gaze and saw the same scared expression he’d have after Ward did something particularly cruel to him when he was younger.

“Can I show you something?”

You smiled at him. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. It’s okay.”

“No, no. I want you to know.”

“Go on then.”

Danny made a fist and held it close to you, there was an intent look on his face for a minute, then his hand started to light up in a faint yellow glow.

It took you a moment to realize what you were looking at was in fact happening and wasn’t some tired trick your brain was pulling on you.

“Woah,” You slowly reached out your hand and placed a few fingers on his fist, it had almost turned translucent and you could see the inner workings of his veins. “How are you doing that?”

Danny unclenched his hand and the glow went away. “Remember how I told you I’d tell you the story about my tattoo?” He asked, waiting for your nod. “Well it’s not really a tattoo, it’s the mark of the Iron Fist.”

“Iron Fist? Sounds like a super hero name.”

Danny chuckled. “Sort of, I earned the title through my years of training with the monks. Iron Fist is a title given to those who complete the trial of Shou-Lao,” He saw the confused look on your face and laughed again. “You don’t really need to know all the details, it just means I’m the protector of K'un-Lun and sworn enemy to the Hand.”

“I’ve heard you mention them before, what do they do?”

Danny shook his head. “No, the less you know about them the safer you’ll be. Trust me.”

You found yourself smiling. “Can you punch through walls?”

“Yes.”

Your eyes went wide. “Shut up, that’s so cool!”

Danny watched you go off on a little tangent about how fun it must be to have a real super power, there were a few questions in there about what else he could do, but you scarcely gave him the time to answer them.

Out of all the reactions to his being the Iron Fist, yours was his favorite. You didn’t look weirded out or scared, you were just your usual self.

You were about to ask him something else when Danny leaned down and kissed you, his hands on either side of your face as they dug into your hair and brought you closer to him.

After the initial surprise you started to respond, your hand lightly reached up to hold his cheek, but you must have grazed one of his wounds and he reluctantly pulled away to hiss.

“I forgot about those! Maybe we should call Claire instead, she’s better at this.”

Danny tucked your hair behind your ear and leaned close to you again. “I’ve had worse.”