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rayray2390 · 26 days ago

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AA Clint Barton X Reader

Part 8: Crimes and Circuses

Me, Clint, and Sam are responding to an alarm at one of Stark’s facilities. Usually the whole team would’ve responded, so I’m a little confused why it’s only us. “Any idea what we’re dealing with?” I ask Clint as he runs next to me.

“You know as much as I do.” He answers. We dodge a few of the workers that are running to the exit behind us. “Robbery in progress in a Stark facility. Suspected super powered perpetrators.”

Sam lands next to us, Clint readies his bow and I load my web shooters with fresh webbing. “Why isn’t Tony here?” Sam asks as he gets ready to fight as well.

“You really expect Tony to clean up his own messes.” Clint answers with a small smile. It was like Tony to not want to do so, but I have a bad feeling about this.

“So we’re the only ones that answered the alert?” I ask and Clint nods. “Weird.”

“Yep.” Clint said. We stop in running as the wall in front of us starts to fall apart. Some debris starts to fall on us but Sam blocks it with his wings. “Thanks. Main operations lab entrance is about 50 yards forward, it’s gotta be their target.” Has Clint been on a mission here before? He’s not one to study a building’s floor plans unless it was for something big. “Stark makes high output fuel cells here.” Clint starts to head in the direction of where a small explosion is heard.

I grab his arm lightly to stop him in his tracks. “Since when do you pay attention to what Tony builds, and where?” Clint’s acting weird I can tell. We’ve been dating for 4 months now without any problems, and I can tell when someone’s hiding something from me.

I get more worried when he doesn’t turn to me when he answers. “Let’s just say I may have been here before.”

“Previous avengers mission?” I raise an eyebrow growing more suspicious.

“Let’s just…not say.” I reluctantly let go of his arm and see Sam give me an apologetic look. I feel a little hurt Clint isn’t telling me anything.

We hear a roar a little down the hall, and it’s pretty obvious who it was. “Pretty sure that sounds like our angry green guy.” I say as we run towards the roar. We make it to the next room and just like I thought it’s Hulk. But when he turns around his face is covered in clown makeup. We look at the other culprits and see that the whole team is covered in clown makeup and costumes, making it look like they’re in a circus.

“Isn’t it a little late for Punk the new avenger?” Sam asks jokingly. The way the team is staring at us is a little unsettling for me.

“It’s no joke move.” Clint said in a serious tone. He takes my arm snapping me out of my thoughts on the team and tugs me away from them all.

“What’s going on Clint?” I ask as we move out into the hallway.

“Wrong question,” Clint starts. “Right question, where is our fearless leader?”

“Good evening creeps. It’s showtime.” We hear Tony’s voice from above us. We all look to see him flying with his helmet off heading straight towards us.

“I’m officially freaked out.” I take both Sam and Clint’s arms and drag them away from the blast Tony shot at us. We end up running back into the room where the team is still in. We end up fighting our own team and it’s really unsettling.

“They’re being mind controlled.” Clint informs me and Sam. I don’t know how he was able to figure that out so fast, but now it makes sense. Sam grabs both me and Clint and flies us through the roof so we can look down at the team.

I’m careful as I lean over the hole and see the team keep gathering tech into boxes. “Who has the ability to mind control the Avengers?” I ask as Sam and Clint join me in looking down.

“And who’s sick enough to dress them like that?” Sam refers to the circus costumes the team was forced to wear.

“Someone who’s desperate to nab experimental Stark tech for upgrades.” Everything Clint is saying makes sense, but how does he know this? I know when someone is hiding something from me and he definitely is.

“I’ve been on a shield satellite for the past 48 hours.” Sam speaks up. “But how did you avoid getting stuffed into a clown suit?”

“Look Tony doesn’t have his helmet on,” Now he’s avoiding the questions. There’s no questioning anymore, he knows something me and Sam don’t. “That head ring is the mind device, they all have them.”

“Little precision shooting ought to knock that tiara right off.” Sam throws one of his wings down but Clint stops it with his arrow. The small explosion makes the mind controlled team look up in our direction.

“Take them off without knowing the code and you’ll fry their brains.” I’m getting really upset with Clint right now. More than Hulk would be if Clint stole his lunch.

“And how exactly do you know that?” My voice comes off more frustrated than intended. If Clint knew something he better spill before I lose it.

“Just a hunch.” He said hesitantly. Before I could question him further Hulk jumps and smashes through the roof making all three of us fall.

Before we could hit the ground Sam catches both me and Clint. “Let’s make a deal, explain how you got so good at hunches and I don’t drop you.” Sam’s mostly talking to Clint and he’s probably just as frustrated with him as I am. “Seriously Clint, what is this?”

Sam continues to fly over the team, Natasha fires at us with her stingers and Cap throws his shield. Sam is able to avoid them, and after what feels like forever Clint gives us an answer. “It’s the circus of crime.” It’s not the answer that I was expecting but it was something.

A big blast comes our way making Sam accidentally drop us. I cling onto the wall with my webbing, and Clint makes it onto the catwalk. I shoot a web over and me and Sam meet over there with Clint. “Did you just make that up?” I ask once I’m in front of Clint.

Clint avoids looking at me as he looks out into the room. “Show yourself Ringmaster!”

Tony flys over and shoves us all onto the floor in the room. A second later a man, who I’m assuming is Ringmaster poofs in front of us. “Welcome to the show. I am Ringmaster.”

“Do you know this guy?” I ask looking at Clint, who looks annoyed at Ringmaster.

Clint is taken by the arm by Ringmaster. He studies Clint closely with a smirk on his face. “Hawkeye hasn’t told you about us? Where are your manners archer?” Ringmaster lets go of Clint and backs away giving him some room. “We are the new Circus of Crime. High tech acts for a modern age.” A guy in a big metal suit flies in and knocks Clint over. I’m about to go over to see if he’s alright but Tony, still in his mind control form holds me back tightly by the arm. Ringmaster introduces his crew one by one, the human cannonball, the gambono twins, Brito the strong man, and trickshot. They all attack Clint one at a time as they’re introduced.

“Shield is right behind us!” I declare boldly. I’m not even sure if they know about the break in.

Thankfully they bought it since Ringmaster looks somewhat concerned. “Well that won’t do at all. I need a little time to implement these new toys Mr. Stark was kind enough donate to our performances.” I look over to Clint as he’s surrounded by the Circus of Crime holding his side. “Iron man, let them feel what it’s like to be betrayed by a friend.” Tony throws me and Sam at Clint knocking all three of us down. “The next time you see us, the Circus of Crime will launch the careers of the biggest criminals on earth, the Avengers.” Ringmaster takes a bow then lifts his head slightly to look at Clint directly. “Enjoy the show as it breaks you, Clint.” Ringmaster snaps his fingers and he’s gone in a cloud of purple smoke.

“He called you by name.” I say as I stand up. I look over to Clint as he rubs his head standing up. “This is personal isn’t it?” My voice is stern, I’m done beating around the bush.

“What is this 20 questions?” Clint’s voice is in a more angry tone now. It. Makes me step back, I’m a more hurt now than I was before. It was obvious he was involved with the Circus of Crime, but if he’s not anymore why won’t he tell me. He sees the look of hurt on my face and before he could defend himself we see the tri Carrier hover over the building. “I don’t have time for this.”

Clint runs out of the room and Sam calls out to him. “Where are you going? Shield just got here.”

Clint responds not looking back to us. “Great give them my love.”

I look to Sam as I start moving in Clint’s direction. “You go to shield, I’ll talk to him.” Thankfully Sam agrees and flies to shield. I’m able to catch up to Clint and run by his side. “Ok here’s how this works, you answer my questions that you actually answer.”

“Uh, hate that plan.” I groan at his reluctance to go with my plan.

“Clint we’ve been going out for like what 4 months now.” We don’t stop running and I don’t think Clint plans on stopping. I shoot a web at his feet forcing him to stop. He lands on his front side and glares at me. “Don’t give me that look, I need answers Barton.” I reach into my pocket and take out a small knife and cut away the webs. “We’re in a relationship Clint, we don’t keep secrets. Why don’t you want me or Sam or shield involved in this?”

“Because it’s my fault, all of this.” I get the webbing off him and help him stand. At least we’re getting somewhere with this. “That’s all I’m gonna say about it until I set things right. Alone.” His voice is both angry and upset but it’s mostly to himself.

My heart twists a little at his words. I know we all have a past and I know it’s something we’d have to face at some point. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this alone, I know that much.” Clint crosses his arms and faces away from me which makes me tear up a little. “Don’t you trust me?” My voice cracks and Clint still doesn’t look at me. I wait a minute longer, and when he still doesn’t look at me a tear slips from my eye as I turn away. I pull out my phone and call Sam. “Hey Sam, I’m on my way to shield.” I look back to Clint who’s still not facing me and slip a small tracker into his quiver. I walk away from him not looking back.

—————

Clint’s POV

Once (y/n) is far enough away, she almost looks like a dot at this point I speak in a whisper to myself. “I do trust you spidey. It’s me I’m not so sure about.” I make my way to the docs near the edge of the city. It was once the Circus of Crimes hideaway, now it’s abandoned. I’m carful when I’m on top of the loading crates, and look down to see a hoodies figure. I had a feeling on who this was. I followed them until they stopped at a locked crate. I shoot several arrows with ropes at her trapping her against the crate. “You never did learn to check your six, Princess Python.”

I jump down from the crate and I’m face to face with my old colleague. “I never expected you to show your face after what you did.” She maneuvers herself so she’s facing me the ropes still around her.

“To you and the circus, i got it.” I approach her carefully keeping my voice low in case anyone was around. “Are you still with them?”

“I’m a solo act at the moment, as if you care.” Her tone was bitter.

“Believe it or not, I do. Ringmaster took my team, do you know where they are?”

I can see the anger in her eyes as I mention the team. “Oh now you care about your team?”

A large rumble comes from the crate she was trapped against. The giant snake breaks out of the crate now freeing Princess Python. “That’s a lot bigger than I remember.” I dodge the snake as it charges at me. Princess Python jumps on the snake smoothly and takes control of it. I throw some smoke bombs at the snakes face but it does nothing. The snakes tail wraps around me making me drop my bow and lifts me to face her. “Whatever they gave you that snake upgrade for, think about what you’re doing before you go back to them.”

“We don’t all get second chances, Clint.”

“It’s not too late too late to put this overgrown worm back in its cage princess.” I kept my tone soft hoping to convince her to turn good.

I hear a chuckle behind her and see (y/n) on a hover bike with a smile on her face, and Sam flying with his wings. “She’s a princess?” (Y/n) says.

“My snake and I don’t like an ambush.” Python exclaimed angrily.

“If you hadn’t followed me I would’ve taken care of this Spidey.”

I can see the smile drop from her face, a now serious look takes over. “Oh yeah, because this is handling it.” I am so going to get lectured when this is over. Both Sam and (y/n) start to fight Python, she drops me and I land on the ground next to my bow.

“Circus is in town.” I hear Hulk behind me. I grab my bow and before I can shoot at him, he knocks me out.

—————

I land on the ground harshly which wakes me up. I stand up with a small groan and look around. I’m still at the docks but in a different area. Hopefully Sam and (y/n) are ok. “Welcome back!” Ringmaster announces himself through an intercom. Bright lights turn on blinding me, I look around and see some small tents set up. “It’s been so long we’d almost forgotten about you. But then again we never forget a face, especially yours.”

I reach back to my quiver for my bow and don’t feel it. Must’ve dropped it when Hulk knocked me out. A bunch or guns pop out of nowhere, from the tents and to the ground. I look around my surroundings and see some places I can hide from them. “Another reason I hate the circus.” I mumble as they begin to fire. I start to run barely avoiding the firing. I hide behind a stand and call out to Ring master knowing he can hear me. “I always knew you were a coward.” Another gun pops out of the barrel next to me, which is my queue to keep running. “Hiding behind other people, and other peoples tech.” I make it onto the roof of a tent and barely dodge a missile. “But I don’t think you know who you’re up against.”

I finally make it out of that death trap as a big explosion happens behind me. I hear Ringmaster through his intercom. “That’s the beauty of it, I know exactly who I’m up against. And I have both his friends and their technology on my side.” I look to the big tent where the intercom is at.

“What do you want from me?” I ask angrily. I don’t want anything else happening to my team or (y/n), it’s why I wanted to face them alone. I knew they would be put in danger.

“Isn’t it obvious? I want revenge.” The tent behind me opens as more guns appear. “I want a show. And all of us in the circus want to see your turncoat hide ripped apart by your own team!”

“Ok maybe I do need some backup.” I look for any way of escaping when I see Sam and (y/n) fly in and take out the guns pointed at me. Sam throws some of his wings at them, and (y/n) shoots her webbing stopping them from firing.

Once they finished (y/n) parks her hover bike next to me. She gets off it and walks over to me with a proud smile on her face. “Then I guess you won’t be mad I dropped a tracer in your quiver.”

Sam lands next to me and hands me my bow. “Now’s the part where you thank us and admit you’ve been a jerk.”

I look between Sam and (y/n) her smile still there but it lessened as I realized my mistake. I have to admit, despite me being a jerk to her earlier I’m proud of her stubbornness. “Thank you.”

“That was only half.” (Y/n) stated. “No more running.”

I can see that she means it. I was about to answer her when Ringmasters voice comes out of the intercom again. “Oh but that’s what he does best Spidey.” I hate that he called her that, it feels wrong. “He leaves his teammates behind.” The ground beneath us shoots us straight into the entrance of the tent. I wrap my arms around (y/n) and protect her head as we land on the ground. A light turns on in over Ringmaster as he stood there in a presenting pose. “So let history repeat itself archer. Walk out on your so-called friends while we enjoy the show.” I shoot an arrow at him but he quickly disappears in a cloud of purple smoke.

All the lights turn on and show the team in multiple traps. Cap in a tank full of water, Hulk being pounded by cymbals, Thor holding a giant weight over his head, Natasha being pulled up to the trapeze, and Tony about to get shot out of a canon. “Cap first?” Sam asks.

“Unless he suddenly learned to breathe underwater.” I shoot an arrow at the tank, but it’s blocked by another arrow. I look up and see trick-shot at the top of the trapeze. I groan and mumble “I hate that guy.” Sam flys over to the tank and cuts it open with his wings freeing Cap.

Ringmaster appears behind me and (y/n) with a smirk on his face. “Your wingman is much more talented than you were at his age.” I see (y/n) attack Ringmaster, but he disappears as quickly as he appeared.

“You owe me your whole backstory once this is over Clint.” (Y/n) said. She’s right, I owe it to her to tell her the truth.

I give her a quick nod. “Go ahead and free Hulk and Thor. I’ll handle Trick-shot and Ringmaster.” I see her hesitate but she quickly recovers and goes to help them. As she leaves Trick-shot cuts the rope Natasha is on. I shoot an arrow attached to a rope, the arrow lands on the wall and Nat clings onto the rope with her legs. I’m able to catch her but when I go to remove the device on her head I get shocked. Forgot that only Ringmaster could get them off.

—————

(Y/n) POV

Me and Sam are able to get the weight off Thor which causes him to collapse on his knees. He must’ve been exhausted, who know’s how long he was holding it. Sam goes over and gets the cymbals and gets them away from Hulk, and while I go over to get Tony out of the canon it fires him into the air. I regroup with Sam and Clint near the entrance. “You regretting backing me up?” Clint asks us.

I may still be mad at him for hiding his past, but I could never regret backing him up. “Not a chance.”

“Same here.” Sam joins in. “We’re with you till this is over. Whatever happened with you is in the past.”

“We’re a team remember?” I look to Clint with a determined look.

Clint gives a determined look back. “I remember. Now let’s finish this.”

We look back to the mind controlled team as they gang up on us. I shoot my webs over their eyes blinding them for a short period as me, Clint, and Sam separate. I take on Cap and for a short while I had the upper hand. This makes me think back to the training sessions we had and realize he was going easy on me. “Damnit Cap, your a pain you know that!” Cap throws his shield in my direction and I shoot a web catching it, I swing it while it’s attached to the web throwing it back. Cap catches it but it makes him stubble back on his feet. I shoot some more web at his feet practically glueing him into place. I look over and see Hulk restraining Sam in the air and noticed they took his wing pack off. I’m about to run over and help Sam, but Thor holds me back. No matter how much I struggle I know my strength could never outmatch his.

There’s a loud crash crowing from behind me. When I look over I see the girl with the giant snake from earlier. I guess Clint has a way of getting people to join the good side. “Welcome back.” Clint said to her with a smile. “Couldn’t resist the fight?”

“More like you need my help.” She smiles back at him. While riding the giant snake she uses it to free me and Sam from Hulk and Thor. She knocks them down to their backs and Sam moves to get his wing pack.

The girl jumps off her snake as it starts to wrestle with Thor and Hulk. “That snake won’t hold long.” I say watching it start to struggle.

Clint takes out a few steel balls from his pockets. “It’ll give me enough time.”

“The encryption cell is the blue light.” The girl said gesturing to her forehead. Clint throws the steels balls which bounces off each of the team’s heads.

“Everyone back to normal?” Tony asks wiping off the paint on his face. Everyone follows his lead and wipes off their pain as well. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Ringmaster shows up in his cloud of purple smoke on top of the trapeze. “That was just my opening act.” The girl jumps on her snake and tries attacking Ringmaster but he disappears quickly making the snake bump its head on the wood. The girl falls to the ground and Clint was about to help her but Ringmaster pops up in front of him. “Would have been fun to watch your team destroy you, but the Circus of Crime is happy to destroy you ourselves. Circus Maximus attack!” Ringmaster points to all of us as the rest of his group comes into play.

Me and Natasha fight against the gambono twins near the tightrope. The twins both launch themselves into the air and I cup my hands together to give Natasha a boost to the top. “Time for your farewell performance.” She calls to them once she’s at the top. She uses her stingers to fire at them as they split up. I fight one once I get to the top. He’s quick but thanks to my spidey sense I’m able to dodge him at any angle. I get cornered on the tightrope and my balance is a little off. Before the twin could attack I shoot the last of my webbing onto his eyes and Natasha comes in with her stingers knocking him down. “Nice one Nat.” I call to her with a smile. I web the twins up and look over to see Trick-shot shooting arrows at his own team. I get confused but when I see him remove the mask it’s Clint underneath.

All of the Circus of Crime goes down because of Clint’s amazing skills and he looks to Ringmaster who is the last left standing. “It’s over, for good this time.”

—————

Shield made their way to the docs and we hand over the Circus of Crime. I see Clint talking to Fury with the girl who was riding the snake. Fury didn’t put her in cuffs so I’m assuming he’s giving her a second chance outside of prison. Me and Sam walk over to Clint once he’s done talking. I’m the first to speak and my tone is slightly annoyed. “Do you want to say something about all of this?”

Clint sighs softly. “I guess I do owe you some explanation.” He runs a hand over his face as he collects what he’s about to say. “See, back in the day I worked the Circus as Trick-shot but I never felt good about it. So during our biggest heist ever I decided to trigger the alarm. Of course we all got captured, but Fury saw something in me. He gave me a chance to walk on the right path and I never had to look back,” He looks to me and his tone is softer now. “At least until now. I thought you wouldn’t accept my past. Hate me?”

“Never,” Sam spoke up first. He removed his mask giving Clint a small smile. “But keeping secrets even tough ones doesn’t do anyone any good.”

“I know and it makes my lips itch to say this but, I’m sorry.”

“It’s in the past now. What matters is the good person you are today.” Sam gives Clints shoulder a pat and leaves me and Clint alone.

Clint looks at me with a hint of regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry Spidey, I really am. I just couldn’t imagine you seeing me in a different way.”

My demeanor softens a little. It explains why he’s ok with trying to give villains a second chance. “I know you are. But I still don’t like how you kept this from me. You know by now I hate secrets.” His shoulders slump a little and I know I should be mad, but I’m not completely mad with him anymore. “No more secrets?” My voice is quieter now.

He walks over and cups m cheek with one of his hands. His voice matches my own. “No more secrets Spidey.” He moves his hand away from my cheek and wraps it around my shoulder as we walk back to where the team is. The walk back to the tower is going to be long, but with Clint there it won’t feel as bad. I trust him and I know he has trust in me especially after tonight.

#clint barton #clint barton x reader #hawkeye x reader #the avengers #clint barton fluff #fluff #hawkeye #avengers assemble #avengers assemble cartoon

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voiceoffenrisulfr · 11 months ago

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Becoming Spider-Man - Chapter Three Peter Parker Signs Some Papers

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 -> Peter Parker & Tony Stark (IronDad)

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 -> The one in which Peter signs some papers, and Tony has to talk about Feelings.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 -> 1938

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 -> (T) References to a shitty guardian, but nothing specific.

𝐀/𝐍 -> Check it out below, or on AO3 here! Cute divider by @/sweetmelodygraphics! <- Previous Chapter (2/16) Next Chapter (4/16) ->

Living at Tony's was a breath of fresh air after the tension I was used to.

As long as I still went to school, I was left to do as I wished – within reason – and trusted to be responsible. Tony spent most of his time out of the house or holed up in his workshop, but he'd cleared a table for me in one corner, offered with a nonchalant wave of his hand and an utterance about keeping my space clean. I worked on my web shooters, asking questions as they arose, and valuing his input when offered, or else doing my homework. We spent countless hours in companionable silence, his music providing a comforting backing track, albeit at a volume more conducive to conversation than it had been that first night.

It was one such evening, three months into my time with Mr. Stark, when I shrugged off my backpack and dropped myself into my seat with a world-weary sigh, raising Tony's head from his latest indecipherable project. "Rough day, kid?"

"Penny this, Penny that…" I muttered, running my hands through my beloved hair. "You'd think they'd get the picture – but nope, they just think I'm a lesbian. Not that there's anything wrong with being a lesbian. It's just that I'm not one," I added, addressing the room as a whole as my cheeks began to burn. No way I'm discussing my sexuality with Iron Man… Gender is enough!

"Do you need me to talk to someone?" I blinked dumbly in response to the question, and he smirked. "I mean, if someone's giving you trouble…"

I shook my head slowly, sighing again. "I haven't even told anyone. I can't get mad about it, not really, if they don't know. It's just… Frustrating. I wish they could just know, y'know?" My fingers absently flicked a stray pencil across the table, sending it skittering to the floor and eliciting a wince from us both. "Sorry, Mr. Stark."

"Tony." He let out a breath as he bent, walking the discarded pencil back to me slowly, spinning between his fingers. "If you're… Struggling… I can tell whoever you need to know. Happy to help, if you want."

I hummed for a moment, then shrugged half-heartedly. "I dunno. I wish I could just change my name – there'd be no need to tell everyone then. It'd be done for me!"

Tony dropped the pencil in front of me, hesitating before he rapped his knuckles on the desk. "Leave it with me."

I felt my eyes widen, and I pushed the seat back as I leapt to my feet. "What… What does that mean?"

He wagged a finger over his shoulder as he turned, heading out of the room while I stood blinking, panicked, in his wake. "Mr. Stark? Tony! What do you mean?!"

"Kid? You up?"

I let out a soft groan, burying my face in my pillow. "No."

I heard the quiet huff of laughter through the door, and the hushed drag of material sliding across the floor. "Here. I got her signature. It just needs yours. I'll submit them in the morning, and then that'll be it. Peter Parker… Officially."

The last word sent me sprawling to the wood, scuffing my palms as I scrambled to my feet. "Wait- what?" I yanked the door open as my voice broke embarrassingly, jumping several octaves in shock.

Tony stood with his hands in his pockets, looking battle-weary but proud as he nodded at the forms I'd leapt over. "You can change your name at any age. But if you're under eighteen, your guardian needs to sign too. So… I got her to sign. You can do your part whenever – if ever – you're ready."

My mouth worked wordlessly, floored yet again by a display of kindness from this… Superhero. Another act that likely didn't mean much to him, in the grand scheme of things, but that meant the world to me. "I… I don't know what to say. How? Why? How?!"

He chuckled again, shrugging. "Hot chocolate's in the kitchen. I'll have cream and marshmallows." I noticed, for the first time – to my shame – that he was drenched to the bone, hair plastered flat to his head as rainwater ran rivulets across his skin. I opened my mouth to apologise, but he simply waved me off as he turned. "Cream and marshmallows!"

Tony appeared a few minutes later, just as I was finishing his desired additions, a towel slung over his shoulders, feet bare, and his hair still half-damp, sticking up at irregular angles. It was impossible not to smile. I'd never seen the inhuman man look so… human.

"What do you think you're grinning at?" he quipped, flicking a stray marshmallow at me with stunning precision.

"Is it raining?" I shot back, laughing as his mouth fell open in shock at my unexpected display of light-heartedness.

"We'll see how much you're laughing when I put you out in it, kid," he retorted when he recovered, rubbing the towel against his damp head before tossing it at me. I batted it away easily, feigning a yawn, and he chuckled, taking his seat and wrapping his hands around the mug. Tough as he was, he couldn't disguise the faint tremor in his grip as he let the heat leech through him, and a pang of guilt resonated within me that he'd been out in the bad weather for me.

"So…" I breathed out heavily, fingers resting on the form before me lightly. "How on earth did this happen?"

He shrugged a shoulder as he took a sip of his drink, wincing almost imperceptibly at the scolding beverage. "You wanted to change your name. I knew you'd never ask her, so I thought I'd do it for you. You're welcome," he added as I opened my mouth, and I blushed, my enthused gratitude dying before I could speak.

"She agreed?" I asked eventually, lowering my gaze to the paperwork. There it was, for sure – her name scribbled on the dotted line, thick and dark, the anger palpable.

"She… Conceded," he corrected, leaning back a little, a cocky grin turning up the corner of his mouth. I raised an eyebrow silently, and he shrugged again. "Greased palms are usually the only encouragement people need."

"You paid her?" I clarified incredulously, blinking dumbly when he nodded. "How… Why? Why would you do that? Why does it matter so much to you?" Why do I matter?

Tony kept his gaze on mine, silently calculating. I broke first, looking away as my palms became clammy, feeling his stare probe even as I took a vested interested in the swirl of cream on my drink. "You matter, kid. You're an Avenger, remember? We look after each other."

Something shifted inside me, swelling and ebbing in equal measure. I was honoured, of course. I was just a child, and here was this genius, telling me I was important. But… "Is that all I am? An Avenger? A teammate?" I fought to keep my voice measured, but Tony arched a brow at the perceptibly clipped tone.

"Isn't that enough?"

I started to respond as frustration bubbled, but caught myself. "... Yes. Of course. Sorry, Mr. Stark."

Tony sighed, reaching into the infinite depths of the pockets in his jogging bottoms, pulling out another sheet of paper, this one worn thin where it had been folded and refolded endlessly, long fingers tapping the document lightly. "You're not 'just' anything, kid. But you're especially not just a teammate – not to me." He pushed his chair back, throwing back the remnants of his drink without reaction, despite the steam still curling from the mug. "And you can call me Tony."

I sat peering into my cup long after it was empty, unfocused gaze staring through the line of powder congealing in the bottom while I scolded myself for my words. I was well aware of Tony's documented reluctance to let people close to him – pushing the way I had was akin to treason.

The papers he'd left lay under my hand, still folded, as engaged as I was in my own thoughts. It wasn't until a solitary tear rolled down my cheek that I drew myself back to reality, pulling the papers toward me with little interest.

New York State Office of Children and Family Services Application to Adopt

Adoption? Tony wanted to… Adopt me?

I barrelled into his room without knocking, taking pause at the incredible view sprawled before me. My own bedroom was comparatively modest, relatively nondescript – as far as a bedroom could be in Stark Tower, at least – when viewed next to the floor-to-ceiling window that took up an entire side of Tony's sleeping quarters. I'd seen some incredible views as Spider-Man, but this insight into the city I'd grown up in was irreplaceable.

Shaking my head – I could marvel at the sights another time – I pivoted wildly, eyes scanning the darkness for a sign of Mr. Stark. "Did nobody teach you to knock?"

Turning, I held up the document, fingers shaking. "What is this?"

Tony took a long gulp from his stereotypical tumbler, sucking his teeth before replying. "Proof."

That stopped me, at least. "Proof?" I repeated, brow furrowing in a confused frown.

Tony nodded once, sitting at a sketching table tucked to one side, the soft glow of a worklight creating an aura around his body, and hiding his face. "That you're not 'just a teammate'."

Tears pricked at my eyes as he regurgitated my words with venom, and I recoiled from the blow. "I… I didn't mean to… That wasn't fair. I'm sorry."

He nodded once, fingering the edge of his glass, refusing to meet my gaze. "I've done my best, kid. I'm not always perfect, but-"

"You are, you-"

"Let me finish," he interrupted softly, looking up briefly to fix me with a stern stare. When I stayed silent, cowed, he continued. "I'm not always perfect, but I'm trying. This is unfamiliar territory for me, Peter. I'm gonna make mistakes, and say the wrong thing. And I'm not…" He huffed out a breath, scrubbing a hand over his face before standing, pacing before the window, his anxiety tangible. "My dad wasn't the sort of man who put any stock in talking about feelings. If I had a problem, he fixed it – or made it go away. I had everything I needed, everything I wanted, from a physical perspective. But feelings?" He shook his head, letting out an audible sigh. "Feelings are new to me. Pepper always said I have a heart, but it doesn't always feel like it. Sometimes I forget that not everything can be fixed – that people aren't machines. I want to fix things for you, Peter. And I want to be there for your emotions, too. I'm just… Still learning."

His speech left a heavy silence in its wake, punctuated only by the sound of flesh on bone as I chewed my lip. "I'm sorry," I offered weakly. "It was unfair to say that – especially when I already knew it wasn't true. You've done so much for me, Mr. Stark, and I shouldn't be so ungrateful."

Mr. Stark shrugged once, pausing in his paces. "I overreacted, kid. I'm not used to all this."

A flush crept up my cheeks, and I ducked my head in shame. "It's a lot. You don't… I don't expect you to keep me around."

He sighed, moving closer, discarding his now-empty glass on his bedside table – beside a half-drunk bottle of Jack. "Kid, you're stuck with me, okay? Whether we sign those papers or not, this is your home now, for as long as you want it. Nothing about who you are is going to change that, alright? So get used to it." He hesitated before tapping his fist lightly against my shoulder, his emotional discomfort tangible. "Now get to bed, Spider-Man. It's the middle of the night, and you have school tomorrow."

#fanfiction #mine #fandom: marvel #writers on tumblr #writing bingo #rating: T #trans peter parker #becoming spider-man #3 of 16 #irondad and spiderson #deed poll #adoption #queer #trans #reposting to tumblr for pride bc trans peter gives us LIFE #win speaks

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dirtyvulture · 1 year ago

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😎 My nephew was born at 2:02 AM on April 12 ( so he is two days old) at 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 20. 5 inches. Both my sister and baby are doing great and are perfectly healthy!!!!!! It is important to state that my sister and her family live in a place that is 2 hours behind us so I woke up at 4 in the morning ish with the news that my Nephew was born ….. if I HAD to be woken up at 4 in the morning THAT is the reason I WANT to be woken up for . He has been brought home and their dogs have just FALLEN IN LOVE with him ( they have two dogs and a cat) .

Auto correct continues to be the BANE of my existence and continues to target ME SPECIFICALLY ( I KNOW my ass can’t spell but you don’t have to come at me ALL THE TIME😭) and makes dumb little mistakes in the posts . I know everyone knows what I mean but it still BOTHERS me ok !!!! Some thoughts turned into Soo thoughts. MCU was changed to MUC .

Of course I am giving you love for your fic , you deserve it and I am super excited for part two :)

It’s …… funny how this woman is doing and taking part of behaviors that do and act the EXACT same way as man ( being kinda of a jerk or kinda a asshole , for example CEO R! is doing things - sleeping with whatever moves and being that asshole or jerk - and acting EXACTLY LIKE Tony Stark ) but NO ONE bats an eye when a man does it. And R is CLEARLY an intellectual and talented woman but because she is a woman people can’t see her talent and strengths ….. they only see her flaws. I was talking with my friend and we were like ….. Yelena 100 percent helped Nat with her getup and makeup ( Yelena is a fashion icon after all ) . We also decided that Yelena wasn’t at the event, she was at home chilling in her pjs with Kate watching movies and binge watching tv. Nat planned and did everything out on her own and didn’t tell ANYONE ( ESPECIALLY her parents or little sister) about what she did that night.

SB 100 percent carried Nat( while she was still sleeping and they were able to keep her from waking up ) out of the chair with their in law following SB out of the hospital to let Sarah rest and sleep. Nat woke up in the car so the group of three just went out to breakfast for food and coffee. Yes Sergeant Romanoff was very impressed and feral for SB the whole time ….. poor golden retriever never saw it coming ( they were sleeping for a LONG TIME afterwards and Nat hooked them up with liquid IV ) . That brings me to my next point , I had a discussion with my friend and we were talking about . What if Nat can’t get pregnant ? What if she had an injury while she was on duty/ deployment ( that injury / the mission she was on was what got her the promotion and the rank she has now ) . She didn’t need to know nor cared about if she could kids then , but with SB ……

R has a lot of dexterity in her hands ( in more ways than one , one of which Nat is VERY HAPPY WITH 😏😏😏) and I did a quick history google search and found out ( from wiki so take this with a grain of salt) that nail ciphers were invented in 1881 . So she probably used a pocket knife ( think young victor in the Wolverine Origins opening except R isn’t making her nails into claws, she is just cutting them) for a really long period of time and if she didn’t have a pocket knife then she would use her claws. But yeah if Nat panic and stop R from cutting her nails with her claws , R just looks at her saying “ what ? I lost my clippers and don’t have my pocket knife…… I am not making my nails into claws . I am NOT a psychopath.”

Ps I hope I can see my nephew in the earliest time too . Whenever I talk about him for future reference , I will just be calling him “ Buddy” . Obviously not his real name but the name I will call him here .

(I have to apologize for responding to your most recent message first when you sent this one before, my drafts are a mess lol)

Very excited and happy for you and your family, friend! 🥰🥰

Autocorrect has never been your friend here to be honest 😂

Thank you for the love, I am really excited to write a Part 2 for you all (didn't think I would, but I can't deny you all after that warm reception).

Yep! I honestly didn't even make that connection, I kind of just wanted to write R as a dirtbag lol instead of the typical dumb golden retriever himbo. And as I work on part too, we will definitely get to see a little bit of Yelena. :) Although yeah, she probably had no idea what kind of sins her sister was getting into that night.

SB loves to take care of Nat :) And they always have to take advantage of doing it when she's asleep or something because she won't stand for it if she's awake.

Honestly, that's a really interesting theory. I was actually thinking the same thing (since a lot of readers ask how come Nat hasn't gotten pregnant by now...what if she actually can't because of a previous injury or medical condition?). And you're right, Nat probably didn't care about having kids at all, but then she met SB and now she might have changed her mind...

Heehee. 😂 R has very sharp actual claws already, no need to shape her nails into them too.

#😎 anon #vulture answers #sergeant beef au #darkest knight au #envy and venom au

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randomhuman45 · 1 month ago

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Team Avatar from ATLA would 100% beat the Avengers (MCU) with each team having their respective technology.

Let's be so fucking for real right now, all tech the avengers have is 100% useless as Toph could easily just metal bend it. Just going with even the entire MCU team up from Endgame Team Avatar is the only one coming out alive. Iron Man, Falcon, Black Panther, Iron Patriot, Ant-Man, Spider-Man (MCU tech version), Star Lord, etc are all having their skulls crushed within 0.5 seconds via Toph. Her metal bending just destroys them. She could probably even take out Bucky's and potentially Rocket since it seems like he's got some metal in him.

Next thinking about those who don't use as much tech, Captain America (Steve Rodgers) and Bucky (w/ or w/o arm) have already lost to water in the past so Katara could just put them back on ice. Furthermore, any tech Toph doesn't get can potentially be fucked by water too.

Assassins like Black Widow and Hawkeye would prob be best against Suki. Suki would def fuck them up and her Kyoshi Warriors outfit is perfect for deflecting arrows.

Any tricks any of the Avengers could possibly set up Sokka would probably figure out. Not to mention that the kid is a fucking genius and come up with countless new inventions that would fuck with any characters I'm not thinking of at the moment on top of ensure that the gang has the most logical and tactical war plan. This literal kid set up 2 invasion plans against an enemy who has been winning a war for 100yrs in less than a yr which includes the plan that WON THE FUCKING WAR! So yeah, the MCU is fucked!

Okay okay, so the Avengers have Hulk. Hulk has been defeated by Spider-Man's jokes on multiple occasions in the comics. But, "oh you said MCU", fine in the MCU he does talk about how he needs to be angry and the more angry he gets, the stronger he becomes. Furthermore in the films it's been shown that he can be pulled back to Banner via other people calming him down/reducing his anger. You mean to tell me you don't think goofy, silly, dodge and joke Aang ain't wearing that man down to Bruce? Aang doesn't even need to pull out the Avatar state to win that one.

There's also no way Aang isn't worthy of Thor's Hammer in which he could probably wield it away from him after redirecting Thor's lightning. Again Thor can also be defeated with Aang's charm and comedy, but if Thor is fully locked in on killing the kid, Aang still wins. Thor has a hammer and lightning; Aang has all 4 elements and 100% also the power to wield the hammer (only way I see him not is if it takes into account his prev lives and Kyoshi fucks him over again, but I doubt it).

With Scarlet Witch (pre-villain arc) idk why but my brain says to sic Katara on her ass and she's done for. Scarlet may have magic which can warp people's minds, but Katara has been through an incredible journey and has blood bending if need be. I mean that or I can see Sokka making something that takes her out immediately. There's just no way Scarlet is beating Team Avatar.

For the possible people who will say "Oh you say Sokka is a genius and inventor, so is Tony Stark". Fools, Stark only know how to build shit with metal, every single one of his intentions fails from even daring to be within a million mile radius of the all powerful melon Lord. Even when Tony was stuck in a cave or didn't have his suit in I think the 3rd movie (the one with the PTSD) his inventions were still tech related and referred to metal while Sokka's don't so Sokka's are harder to track and not susceptible to Toph's raft. Closest weapon I can think of that Tony has made without metal in the MCU was those Christmas ornament bombs which, while great, Sokka has canonically done better.

Dr. Strange would fail to Aang similar to how he failed against Spider-Man, Aang would be too much of a chaotic foe for him. Dr. Strange (MCU) has in every film shown an inability to win against a foe who he cannot predict. In his first film he had to establish a time loop which made a constant structure he could follow in order to win. To go against Thanos he had to go thru every possible option, and against Spider-Man, another funny, goofy, and unpredictable kid he lost due to such nature. This is where Dr. Strange would fail against Aang.

I can't really think of anyone else. But either way I firmly stick to my guns that Team Avatar is taking out the Avengers (MCU in particular) in a battle. What can I say, the kids be taken em out, one after another fr fr and I didn't even include Zuko.

I approve of powerscaling discourse only in utterly senseless contexts. I don't give a shit about which shōnen protagonists could beat up which other shōnen protagonists, but I will 100% read your five thousand word essay exploring the subtle nuances of establishing a tiered ranking of the Smurfs.

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lilyevanstan1325 · 1 year ago

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🔥 Dangerous Game 🔥

Chapter 14

Amaya POV

“Ok guys here we are!Redwing is on the spot” Sam announces.

Bucky nods at me and grabbing my hand drags me in front of the PC screen from where Sam is following the movements of his beloved drone.

The place is totally dark, only a few beams of moonlight enter through the broken windows.

After a few moments Redwing begins to transmit his infrared images so that we can allow us to understand what is inside this old warehouse.

It flies over the area for a moment until our attention is captured by two big black shadows.

"Jackpot folks!" exclaims Tony excitedly.

Right now on the PC screen Redwing is broadcasting images of the two trucks that Sam, Bucky and I chased a few months ago.

"Now let's see if by scanning with X-rays we can understand what is hidden inside them" murmurs Sam, all busy typing his remote commands.

Redwing emits a faint red light that passes through both vehicles.

The images are processed by the drone's processors…and there they are.

On display we can see the hundreds of Vibranium bars and the wooden crates containing the Stark technology.

"Are you recording?" Steve asks to Sam.

“Yep.The images are stored in the internal memory of Redwing and in addition they are saved in an external hardware and on my personal PC"

"Great" murmurs T’Challa.

"But now we have to decide the next move" adds the King.

"I would propose to take advantage of the darkness to go there and install some bugs so we can capture images and everything that those two sons of bitches will say to each other at their next rendezvous.And then maybe install some in Rumlow's house and in his car”

I nod at Tony's words.

"Bucky and I can go to the old warehouse"

"Ok kid" Tony replies.

Then he turns to Steve.

“Captain, you and Romanoff take care of Rumlow.Sam and I will stay here and guide you to the places where you need to place the bugs.Agent Scott you can use Friday's secure line and contact Fury so you can explain all the latest news to him”

I love it when Stark gives the orders, he's confident and assertive.

He has arrogance.

I love this rich asshole.

"Do you think Rumlow won't notice anything?" asks Nat.

I am the one to answer her.

"No.And do you know why?Because he is good.He is smart.He managed to put all this on without getting caught.He believes no one is smarter than him, so he doesn't care about being watched.And we will use this arrogance to our advantage"

"Agent Snow is right.At this moment he feels invincible and we must take advantage of it" says His Majesty T’Challa.

We exchange a smile.

"Perfect.Back to work then” Steve urges us on.

Bucky and I take everything we need that Tony and Bruce have prepared for us and head to the abandoned warehouse using Bucky's car.

"Cute" I tell him referring to his SUV.

"Cute?This my little robin is a monster” he replies quite offended.

I snort rolling my eyes.

Bucky reaches out and pinches my thigh, I flinch.

“Ouch!I will remain a bruised idiot” I scold him crossing my arms to my chest.

“Like you don't have dozens of them on your body.I don't think you don't like it” Bucky teases me.

His hand rests again on my thigh but this time it goes up again with determination and languid towards my center.

I push his hand away.

"Look at the street Barnes"

"I can do both, you know?"

I roll my eyes and then turn my gaze out the window.

The skyscrapers of the big city begin to thin out, leaving space for smaller and lower buildings.

We are approaching the suburbs, soon we will be out of town and reach the warehouse.

"What are you thinking about doll?"

I sigh.

Bucky knows me well, he knows that there is something that bothers me.

"He had everything he wanted"

"Rumlow?"

"Mmh mmh.Power, a position of respect.The trust of many big fish.What the hell made him do such a thing?"

Bucky thinks about it for a moment then he answers me.

“I think it's for power.The feeling of feeling invincible, untouchable, this can make he lose his mind.I have no idea what his real intentions may be but of one thing I am sure...Rumlow wants to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. and I think he also wants to overthrow the American government”

I turn back to him.

The rays of the moon illuminate his beautiful jawline.

Between his hair and his beard some silver threads made him even more attractive.

His lips part and his tongue, pink and perfect, makes his appearance.

He licks his lips.

A simple gesture.

A common gesture.

And yet he is able to ignite my body as if he had just thrown a can of gasoline on the fire.

"Do you think he has some powerful ally behind him?" I ask continuing to stare undaunted at his wonderful lips.

"Nah.But I believe that by bringing America and Wakanda to their knees, he expects some proposals from some other Nation.He wants to show off his skills and then accept the most tempting proposal” Bucky replies.

"That actually makes sense" I murmur, returning my attention to the landscape.

Bucky slows to a stop, parking the car behind some large hedges on a dirt road.

"What are you doing?This is not the right place” I ask confused turning to my boyfriend.

Bucky watches me, the clear eyes moonlit seem to be made of ice.

He stares at me hungry.

“Really Buck?We are on a mission for heaven's sake" I exclaim amused.

“Oh doll!Don't play with me…I saw how you looked at me earlier”

I bite my lower lip.

“James we are on a mission.It is neither the place nor the moment” I intimate pulling me back while he with his immense body occupies all my vital space.

He leans over me and gives me a kiss on the edge of my lips.

“You have a dirty mind doll…I just want to kiss you.Nothing more” he murmurs an inch from my lips.

His warm and fragrant breath breaks on my face making me lose the sense of reason.

I stay still as he leans down on me again and kisses me.

But this time I feel his tongue caressing my lips which automatically open to allow him to enter my mouth.

Our tongues collide, caressing each other softly.

Both engaged in a sensual dance, they intertwine and seek each other.

My hands tighten around his necklace and I draw him to me.

His big body presses on mine pushing me against the car door.

His hands caress my hips and then rest on my back.

We keep making out like two kids.

Bucky's lips run down my neck, his beard pinches and abrades my skin.

I moan softly.

A sweet moan.

"I love you Sergeant"

"I love you too doll" he whispers in my ear.

He now brings his hands to my face and stands still to observe me.

His eyes move all over my face, as if studying every single detail.

As if he wanted to imprint my image like a brand in his head.

"You are beautiful Amaya"

His is a simple compliment and yet my heart starts beating furiously in my chest.

I wrap my arms around his neck and draw him back to me.

"Are you blushing?" he teases me by making fun of me.

I don't answer him and I sink my face into his warm and welcoming chest, I hear his laughter vibrate through it ringing in my ears like a choir of angels.

I hit him softly.

"Don't gloat" I tell him, smiling embarrassed.

Bucky laughs louder as he pulls away from me.

He straightens up, adjusts the crotch of his trousers and after giving me another kiss that makes my head spin, he starts the engine and starts again.

"Uncomfortable?" I point to the crotch of his trousers with a nod of my head.

One corner of Bucky's lips lifts up.

"Don't be funny Snow or I'll stop the car and this time you won't stop me"

"Drive and shut up Barnes"

I look at his profile while he laughs amused.

After about twenty minutes of travel I begin to glimpse an old warehouse in the distance.

"Is that it?" I ask, pressing my nose against the window.

"Yes.We have arrived” announces Bucky, parking about ten meters before hiding the SUV behind some small buildings.

We get out of the car and, scanning the darkness, we stealthily walk towards our destination.

We approach the building and after climbing a pile of some old pallets I peek through one of the many windows.

“There seems to be nobody there” I whisper as I feel Bucky's hands tighten around my waist to help me get off.

"Thank you" I murmur, giving him a kiss.

Sam's voice makes my heart jump.

“Do you want to stop flirting all the time?You are on a mission”

Redwing is flying over our heads.

Bucky tries to hit the drone with his hand.

"Hey leave my baby" Sam exclaims, his voice coming out loud and clear from the speaker of the drone.

“Do you want to stop screaming?You'll get us killed” I speak to Sam's stupid toy.

"Don't worry, there is no one within miles.Go inside.I will show you the exact points where to install the bugs”

Once inside we work quickly and with precision.

Thanks to Sam's help, we installed the bugs with ease.

“Ok audio and video work perfectly.You can come back” Sam informs us.

“Oh and take Redwing with you too.He has been flying for many hours, I'd rather not overdo it” adds our friend.

"What is Wilson, are you afraid that your little bird might misfire?" Bucky teases Sam.

I can't help it and I burst out laughing.

“Funny Barnes.Very funny.And for your information Falcon never misfired.Just ask Amaya” he exclaims seriously.

"Amaya honey tell him the true" insists Sam making me laugh again.

"Watch out Wilson or Redwing could mysteriously get damaged on the way back" Bucky threatens.

The two men jokingly argue for a few more minutes and then we get in the car and go back to the great tower in New York.

When we are almost halfway my phone rings.

It's Natasha.

"Hey Nat, are you okay?"

"Yes.Everything went smoothly.Thanks to Scott we learned that Rumlow is out of town on a mission so Steve and I had no particular difficulty breaking into his apartment.You have finished?" she asks me.

"We are already back" I reply.

"Great!See you again at the tower”

We say goodbye and I hang up.

As soon as we return we find almost everyone in the large conference room.

I walk up to Sam hitting him in the shoulder with a punch.

He laughs.

Bucky looks at him as if he wants to kill him and he stops next to Steve.

“I like to tease your boyfriend” Sam whispers to me.

"I likes it too when you do it" I reply smiling amused.

Sam laughs throwing his head back as he puts his arm around my shoulders.

Tony and Lucas make their entrance, they are chatting quietly.

“Hey kid welcome back.Everything went fine?"

“Yep”

“Perfect!But now comes the hardest part.The wait.Rumlow will be away for two days so we have to wait for him to come back and try to find out when his next meeting with Pierce will be” Tony explains.

"Exactly!And in the meantime, by taking turns we will monitor the warehouse” adds Lucas, rolling the sleeves of his shirt around his muscular and defined forearms, his pale skin is smooth and furrowed with bluish veins.

"So what do you do now?" Sam asks continuing to hold me close to him.

"What do you say if you take your hands off my girlfriend to begin?" Bucky asks raising an eyebrow.

Sam ignores him on purpose.

I laugh.

I really enjoy teasing him too much.

"I'm hungry" I exclaim.

"Will you join me Sam?" I ask turning to him and leaving him a kiss on his silky smooth cheek.

"Oh baby, whatever you want" he replies, alluding to something else.

"Ok!Enough!" Bucky exclaims striding closer and after throwing a fiery glance at Sam he grabs me by the waist and loads me on his shoulder.

“Bucky!Put me down!Immediately” I scream, hitting him several times in the back.

We leave the room followed by the laughter of all present.

"Bucky!" I cry out again.

In response, he slaps me on the ass, so hard that it makes me whimper in pain.

"Shut up" he hisses.

I resign myself and sighing I let myself be transported to my room.

Once inside he dumps me on the bed unceremoniously, I bounce a couple of times like I'm a rag doll.

Bucky stands in front of me looking at me with his wonderful icy eyes.

I just lift myself up on my elbows.

"I'm hungry" I say simply.

Bucky still doesn't answer me.

He looks at me.

His expression is illegible.

"I'm hungry" I repeat petulantly.

"I don't give a fuck" the simple answer of him.

For a moment I remain stunned but then I smile.

“But I tell you I'm hungry” I add challenging him.

Bucky walks up to me and kneels on the bed making space between my legs.

I try to push him away but he grabs my wrists locking them in the grip of one hand, then lifts them up on my head until he locks them above it.

Keeping my hands locked against the mattress he uses one knee to spread my thighs wide enough so that he can settle comfortably.

Despite his clear intentions and my accelerated breathing I continue undeterred in my intent to annoy him.

"I'm hungry" I repeat again.

Bucky smiles but it's not a sweet or amused smile, it's a smile that gives me goosebumps.

A rather diabolical light shines in his eyes.

I am sure he will make me regret my insolence.

"Don't worry doll, soon your mouth will be full"

I ignite at his words.

I wriggle under his body, arching in search of contact.

His mouth rests on my neck, kissing and biting my tender flesh.

I try to hold back the moans that cry out for release, I don't want to give him the satisfaction he seeks.

I try to think of something else and while his free hand massages my thigh I stammer "I am still hungry"

Suddenly my wrists are free and the hand that was holding them closes around my neck.

I feel the gentle pressure of his fingers on my trachea.

I tremble as I wait for his grip to intensify.

The hand that was on my thigh moves towards the waistband of my leggings and tears them with a dry and decisive tug.

His hand in Vibranium now only meets my hot skin and in no time at all it finds an even hotter spot.

Bucky directly uses two fingers to penetrate me and I arch in ecstasy.

His fingers crash into me with fury, his thumb teases my clit, while his hand around my throat tightens even more leaving me prey to uncontrolled moans.

The lack of oxygen makes my head light and all the pleasure is amplified even more.

Bucky lowers his face until I feel his warm breath close to my ear.

"Do you remember your safeword?" he asks me in a whisper.

I nod vigorously.

Bucky lifts his face, planting his eyes in mine.

His fingers continue to mercilessly torture me, they take me almost to the limit but never make me go further.

He slips his fingers from my body and lies down beside me letting go of my neck.

I remain panting and half undressed.

I watch him position himself comfortably on the bed, his back resting on the headboard and his legs wide apart.

He gestures to me with his finger, ordering me to come closer to him.

I roll onto my stomach and I crawl up to him placing me between his legs.

While he looks me in the eyes Bucky grabs the belt of his jeans and opens it, then lowers the zip and pulling aside the boxers as soon as he grabs his throbbing erection in his hands.

“Here's your dinner” he invites me with a mischievous look.

He doesn't have to repeat it twice, I moving his hands away from his dick and I grab it bringing it to my lips.

With the tip of my tongue I tease his tip, red and angry.

Then I leave a light kiss on it.

It vibrates as if it responds to my every touch.

I use my free hand to climb up his abdomen to enjoy the touch of his muscles.

He keeps his arms crossed behind his head, rather than looking like he is about to receive a blowjob, he looks like someone who wants to enjoy some relaxation by the sea.

"I'm waiting doll" Bucky's voice brings me back to reality, I blink a couple of times and focus my attention on the erection I'm holding in my hands.

I open my mouth to welcome him and moan with pleasure.

I move my hand up and down following the rhythm with my head, more the speed increases and more I feel my clit throbbing in search of relief.

My orgasm is ready to explode but apparently Bucky does not intend to help me so I move my free hand down to bring it between my legs.

"Don't you dare" gasps Bucky grabbing me by my hair making my head tilt backwards violently.

“You can't touch yourself.You can't please yourself.You understood?" he hisses pulling my hair a little harder.

"Yes sir" I whimper.

Bucky pushes my head down again, his hips meet my movements.

He's fucking my mouth like everything else about me is superfluous, like I'm just an object for his mere pleasure.

I know what he is doing.

He is punishing me.

He denies me the pleasure by taking only what matters to him.

And I let him do it.

I let myself be used.

And instead of feeling humiliated, his attitude does nothing but make me fall in love with him more and more.

Bucky cums in my mouth, continuing to push until he empties completely.

His hands keep my head pressed against him without even giving me time to take a breath, forcing me to swallow his cum all in one breath.

I gasp in search of air and finally after what seems like an eternity he lets me go and I can finally catch my breath.

Bucky stands up and I am confused by his actions.

He adjusts his pants and heads for the door.

I sit down quickly on the bed, out of breath and with my head spinning.

"Where are you going?"

He looks at me like I'm crazy.

"I'm going to get you something to eat" he replies quietly, getting closer and closer to the door.

"But I...but I want my orgasm" I beg him in a pathetic tone.

His smile widens.

"Not tonight doll"

"What?!?!?" I exclaim with my eyes bulging.

Bucky puts his hand on the doorknob.

“Sorry Amaya.Maybe next time you'll think twice about flirting with other men”

His gaze is serious.

I know perfectly well that he isn't joking.

Well I won't be left behind either.

"Perfect will mean I'll do it alone"

Bucky's head jerks in my direction, his eyes wide open and incredulous.

"You wouldn't dare..."

"Don't tempt me Barnes"

I approach my fingers to my panties, brush my clit above the thin fabric.

I moan loudly.

"Amaya"

His gritted warning sends a rush of shivers down my spine.

So I make myself more confident than I have ever been and spreading my legs as wide as I can in front of his amazed eyes, I push my panties aside and insert two fingers inside my pussy.

I arch my back moaning.

I try to keep my eyes on Bucky's.

Meanwhile I slide my fingers in and out, teasing that point inside me that drives me so crazy.

I bring my free hand under my shirt making it go up until I reach the breast.

I squeeze one by gently pulling a nipple.

I roll my eyes closing them in ecstasy and when I open them again Bucky is closer than I expected.

He violently tears my hand from my warm core and tugging at my ankles pulls me to the edge of the bed.

After a few moments his mouth is on my pussy, he is devouring it with enthusiasm.

I dip my hands into his hair while he tears off the last shreds of the leggings I'm wearing, taking away my panties too.

As he continues to lick me he fumbles with his pants just enough to free the entire length of him.

He lifts himself up from the center of my legs and in an instant his mouth is replaced by his massive dick.

He presses on my body, his hands hold my knees holding them pressed against the mattress.

I feel the muscles in my thighs burn but I don't care, in response to the pain I stick my nails into his wide back under his t-shirt.

Bucky buries his face in my neck and his moans ring deafening in my ears.

We fuck like animals, biting and scratching.

There is no reason in this embrace, only instinct.

It is not love.

It is not sex.

It's just pure mating, a primal instinct that drives us to possess ourselves with rampage.

The room is filled with screams, groans and dirty words.

When we cum we don't even have the strength to move.

Bucky stands still inside me breathing deeply.

When I find my voice I just whisper "But I'm still hungry"

Bucky bursts out laughing and gets up from my body.

We are both sweaty, his hair is literally wet.

He is a heavenly vision.

"I'm going to see what I find in the kitchen" he gasps trying to fix himself to make himself at least presentable.

Before he open the door, I call him.

"Bucky?"

"What's up?"

"I love you" I whisper to him with a big smile.

He approaches the bed again, kisses my forehead and softly whispering "I love you too"

Then he goes away leaving me alone and stunned.

It takes me a few minutes to find the strength to get up.

Once I'm on my feet I take off my last clothes and head for the shower.

I wash away the sweat and the cool water soothes my glowing and battered skin from Bucky's lips.

As I rinse my hair I hear the bedroom door open, Bucky's voice comes to me muffled.

“I'm in the shower” I yell to make myself heard.

Bucky walks into the bathroom holding up a plate with two attractive sandwiches.

His eyes glow at the sight of my naked, wet body.

He puts the plate on the counter next to the sink and takes off his shirt and throws it on the floor.

When he is close enough, I grab him by the necklace and draw him to me, still half dressed, under the jet of water.

We both giggle like idiots as our lips search for each other.

I think my dinner will still have to wait.

Bucky POV

I yawn stretching my back.

Amaya looks at me with sweet eyes.

“Go get some rest, Bucky.I'll take care of it here”

“Don't worry doll.I just need a coffee.Do you want one?"

"No thanks" she replies and she returns her attention to the monitors in front of her eyes.

I head to the kitchen and start making coffee.

I check my watch and sigh, it's 4:00 in the morning.

Finally, our surveillance shift will be over in two hours.

While I am lost in my thoughts I feel a presence behind me.

Agent Scott walks into the kitchen, disheveled hair and sleepy eyes.

“Are you all right Scott?What are you doing awake at this time?"

He yawns and I hand him a steaming cup of coffee.

“Thanks Barnes.I slept badly, in the end I preferred to get up” he replies.

He sips his coffee with his eyes closed.

I'm not saying we're friends now but we've learned to get along also because Lucas now practically lives at the tower.

Between work and free time we often spend time together.

He is not a bad guy, he is kind and intelligent.

Dedicated to his work.

If it weren't for that little detail.

We both love the same woman.

"Do you want to join us?Amaya and I are on duty”

Lucas shrugs.

“Anyway I won't sleep anymore.Let's go”

We walk together in the corridor until we reach Amaya.

I find her in the same position in which I left.

"Good morning" Lucas greets her.

Amaya jerks her head up.

“Good morning Lucas.Trouble sleeping?" she asks politely.

"Yep" he exclaims and then takes another generous sip of coffee.

"News?" Lucas asks, positioning himself behind Amaya and gluing his eyes to the screen.

"No.It's frustrating” Amaya snorts with her usual adorable pout.

Lucas observes her with a very sweet smile on his lips, being behind her she cannot see him but I do.

And he seems to realize it because immediately his gaze returns to the images that scroll on the screen.

We spend the next hour in more or less the same way.

Looking at the various screens and exchanging just a few words.

Then suddenly Lucas's phone rings.

He takes it out of his trouser pocket and checks the screen.

"It's Maria Hill" he murmurs.

"Put the speaker on" suggests Amaya.

"Tell me everything Maria" answers Lucas.

"Our friend made the mistake number two" Hill begins.

“We are all ears” Amaya replies.

“Hey bitch!Are you there too?"

Amaya laughs heartily.

"C'mon tell us what you discovered" Amaya urges her to continue.

“We intercepted a phone call from Pierce.He called from a public phone in Queens”

“Please tell me he was talking to that bastard of Rumlow” I ask hopefully.

"Oh!Sergeant Barnes…you are there too…anyway to answer your question yes, he talked to Rumlow”

We all look into each other's eyes as Maria continues.

"They talked for a few minutes and then made an appointment for tomorrow night"

"Can you send me the recording of the call?" Lucas asks her.

"Sure.I'm already sending it to your email"

"Thanks Maria.Be ready.Prepares as many agents as you can and warns Agent Carter, I want her on the team too.We will now come up with a plan and later we will let you know everything in detail” Amaya tells her enthusiastically.

She looks really high.

"Ok.See you later” and with this Maria Hill hangs up.

I look at Amaya with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" she asks me visibly confused.

"Sharon?"

"Sure.She is a very good agent.I trust her”

I smile.

I am happy that she and Sharon have found a meeting point.

Despite everything that has happened between them, I know how much Amaya values her and the whole Carter family.

"Friday?"

"Tell me Agent Snow"

"Please wake up Mr. Stark, Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers, Sam Wilson and His Majesty T’Challa right away.Tell everyone to go to the conference room in half an hour.Tell them it's a matter of utmost urgency”

“It'll be made right away Agent Snow” Friday's voice replies.

"I received the audio of the phone call.Do you want to listen before the others arrive?" Lucas asks us.

I look at Amaya, I will leave the choice to her.

"Yes.Let's listen to it so we can start getting an idea"

Lucas turns up the PC volume to the maximum and starts the audio playback.

"Hello?" Rumlow's voice resounds throughout the room.

“The two scientists are ready.Tomorrow night at 10:00 we can meet at the old warehouse” replies what should be Pierce.

His voice is hollow, very deep.

"Perfect.Great job Harry.America will be soon a better place"

"I hope so my friend.See you tomorrow night” Pierce greets and then hangs up.

"I can't believe it.We have them in our hands” Amaya exclaims.

Half an hour later the others begin to arrive.

The first to arrive is T’Challa, he approaches me giving me a pat on the shoulder.

“Tell me you have some good news” he asks me.

"Oh my friend trust me when I tell you that they are more than beautiful"

We smile at each other.

Natasha enters the room yawning loudly.

"I hope this will be really important Snow" she murmurs as she follows Steve and together they go to sit at the big table.

Steve puts his arm around her shoulders and kisses her forehead.

Amaya winks at her.

Sam enters without saying a word, shuffling his feet listlessly.

I giggle in amusement because I know how much he hates waking up so early in the morning.

Lastly, Tony joins us.

“Kid I'm going to have a headache all day because of you.I need my time.I hope it's worth it at least” Tony tells her as he sips his hot black coffee.

“I'm sorry I woke you up grandpa but I assure you you won't regret it.Listen”

Amaya nods and Lucas restarts the recording of the call between Pierce and Rumlow.

"Are they?" Sam asks starting to fuel.

“Yep.They are Pierce and Rumlow.We have a little over twenty-four hours to come up with a foolproof plan” Amaya begins with her eyes sparkling.

"You already have something in mind, isn't that so kid?" Tony asks her.

"More or less" she replies evasively.

Tony looks at her smiling.

“Mine is not a defined plan yet so I accept any suggestions from all of you.Remember that we have only one attempt and we cannot fail" Amaya begins to explain, attracting everyone's attention.

“Tony and Sam you could fly over the area monitoring the situation in real time.To always keep us updated.Steve and Nat you will have to coordinate the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the STRIKE team who will rush to the scene and who in turn will be captained by Agent Hill and Agent Carter.Me, Bucky and Lucas will go inside trying to surround Pierce, Rumlow and these mysterious scientists.We will put them on the spot and then you can intervene" Amaya stops to turn to T’Challa.

“Your Majesty, I cannot vouch for your safety.The mission will be dangerous, useless to deny it, and when the bullets fly I cannot assure you that I will be able to protect you.So I leave the choice to you.You can do whatever you want.You can join Steve and the men from S.H.I.E.L.D. or you can go inside with us.The choice is yours"

T’Challa thinks about it for a moment.

"Steve, if it's not a problem for you I would like to join your team" says the King, turning to my best friend.

"Sure" Steve replies with a big smile.

Amaya sighs in relief.

"Good choice.Between Steve, Natasha and all the best agents we have you will be safe"

T’Challa makes a small bow with his head and Amaya smiles at him.

“So suggestions?Does anyone have any questions or changes to propose?” Amaya asks, addressing everyone present.

"Great plan kid, really great plan" Tony replies with a wink.

"The meeting is at 10:00 PM, we will have to take a stand at least an hour before.Do you agree?" Amaya asks.

“It's perfect Amaya” compliments Steve.

“Lucas and Bucky gave me some tips.It's not all my doing” she stammers embarrassed.

My little robin is always so modest.

We all get together to discuss the final details in anticipation of the big moment.

Those two bastards are scheduled to arrive at 10:00 PM so we decided to go to the warehouse an hour early.

Each of us is already at his own station.

I check my watch, in just over half an hour we could put an end to this whole story.

And maybe I could find the courage to talk to Amaya.

I look at her and a sigh escapes my lips.

Crouched in the night, her long red hair tied in a soft braid and the black leather suit that caresses every curve of her indecently.

She has a gun in her hand and some knives tied to her thighs.

She is sexy and lethal.

She is talking to Lucas, I have no idea what they are saying but she smiles at him and he melts like snow in the sun.

He looks at her adoringly whenever she is distracted.

I feel slightly stressed.

One good thing about the end of this case would be Scott's return to Washington.

He is a good guy and I can even get along with him but the way he looks at Amaya sends me to the asylum.

And honestly I'm afraid that in time Amaya may begin to feel something for him.

As if she knows exactly what I'm thinking she squeeze Lucas' arm and she joins me.

"Are you okay James?"

"Yes"

"James?"

"Mmh"

"What's wrong?" she asks me placing her little hands on my chest.

"If I tell you I run the risk that you may be mad at me" I answer with sincerity.

"Oh c’mon!I swear I won't” she replies, laughing.

I speak without looking into her eyes.

"I can't wait for all this to end so Agent Perfection can return to Washington"

"I thought you were starting to like Lucas"

"That's exactly the problem.The more I know him, the more I realize that he is the right man for you"

I keep looking away from her.

I've never told her these things.

In the last few days in close contact with him, I realized how much I cannot be the man for her and that Lucas will be able to take care of her once I have broken her heart.

"Oh James..." Amaya tries to say something but she is interrupted by Lucas.

"Hey come and look here” he calls us in a low voice waving his hand to join him.

I grab Amaya's face in my hands and give her a kiss.

“Whatever happens, you have to know that I love you.And I will always do”

I give her another kiss and walk away from her without even giving her time to answer me.

I reach Lucas and direct my gaze to the same point where he is looking, after a few seconds Amaya also reaches us, positioning herself next to me.

From the back door of the warehouse Rumlow just walked in.

"Did you guys see?" Tony's voice rings in my earpiece.

"Yes we are seeing" replies Amaya.

We all wear a earpiece so that we can stay in contact with each other by covering our backs.

"Is he alone?" Lucas asks.

"Yes, he came alone" replies Sam.

We remain silent to observe Rumlow who, entering with a firm step, goes to an old chair and takes a seat.

He seems calm, relaxed.

I would say he is almost satisfied.

Arrogant son of a bitch.

I feel my hands itch, the desire to break in and smash his face with my fists is great.

After about ten minutes Steve's voice rings in my ears.

“Pierce just showed up.There are two other men with him"

"Ok.Let's keep in position.Let them talk, we need their confession on tape.Then we could intervene" reminds us T’Challa.

Rumlow and Pierce say hello while the other two men stay behind, they must be the two scientists.

One is tall and slouchy, wears thick glasses, while the other is much shorter and has a mean look.

Me, Amaya and Lucas are the only ones in the warehouse so we have to pay close attention to what they say so that we can intervene at the right time.

"Hey Harry!"

"Hi Brock"

Their voices ring out loud in the empty warehouse.

“I want to introduce you Dr. Michaelson and Dr. Hunter.They will be able to operate with Stark's technology” Pierce introduces the men with him.

Brock approaches shaking hands with both of them.

“It's a pleasure gentlemen”

“The pleasure is our Captain Rumlow.It will be an honor to contribute to the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D." one of the two scientists, the shorter one, replies.

"Son of a bitch" I exclaim between my teeth without being able to restrain myself.

Amaya wraps her hand around my arm to try to calm me down.

The four men move towards one of the trucks when Rumlow sends them to follow him.

"This way gentlemen" Rumlow invites them, opening the tailgate of one of the two trucks.

“This is what you will work on.Pierce vouched for you by making sure you are the best and have the right skills to rework Stark's technology to make it less obsolete plus you have the right skills to be able to shape Vibranium”

Both men of science look into each other's eyes smiling.

"We will only be able to do this if our compensation is fair" replies the tallest man, Dr. Michaelson.

"Sure, you will have what we agreed"

The smile on their faces widens out of all proportion.

They keep talking, revealing more and more details.

“We will continue to work in Boston.I think it's safer and then all of our gear and our men are there.Moving everything and everyone would be too conspicuous"

Rumlow nods at Dr. Hunter's words.

"Stay where you are, better not risk it" says Pierce right.

“Tomorrow morning about ten vans will come here to load all the material and then we will burn this place.We have to erase all traces" Rumlow explains with a big smile.

“Ok, here we go!Prepare the agents.Surround every exit.We are about to take action.Wait for the agreed signal to break in” Amaya announces.

"Copy that kid" Stark replies.

"Roger" echoes Nat.

We all three look into each other's eyes and nod.

“I have your back.Go ahead” I tell to Amaya and Scott.

Amaya nods and after exchanging a knowing look with Lucas they step forward.

“Raise your hands up, very slowly.You are surrounded” Amaya announces aloud.

The heads of the four criminals whirl in our direction.

Rumlow looks incredulous for a moment then immediately recovers holding the gun.

Pierce imitates him.

The doctors are apparently unarmed so they just move around behind the two men who are now aiming their weapon at us.

"Amaya.Always a pleasure to see you again”

“Less fuss Brock.It's over for you” I reply irritated by the fact that he has the nerve to address Amaya with that sly smile on his lips.

"Oh oh you brought your boyfriends" laughs Rumlow amused toward Amaya.

I just stiffen but try not to give it importance.

I know what he is doing.

He wants us to lose our temper to take advantage of it.

Lucas loads his gun aiming it at Pierce's head.

Pierce returns the gesture.

"Rumlow you better listen to us, do what we tell you and no one will get hurt" Amaya speaks slowly.

"You know Snow, every time I flirt with you, I've only done it because I wanted you on my side in this"

Amaya is blown away by Rumlow's words, I can tell from the confused expression on her face.

Rumlow smiles and moves on.

“I wanted you by my side to lead together.Together we can destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. and found something entirely new.You are the perfect agent, who better than you for this role?Isn't true Agent Zero?"

Amaya's eyes widen in amazement.

Lucas looks at her in disbelief.

He didn't know she was Agent Zero.

“How…” Amaya stammers as her grip around her gun intensifies.

Pierce laughs and gets our attention.

"I told him.I was able to access some old files belonging to my uncle and I found out the truth about you” Pierce explains.

“Amaya your place is not with the Avengers.You are not a hero.Your true nature is obey and kill.And if you join me I will give you everything you want.You will have the power and you will be able to express your true being without fear of someone judging you”

Brock tries to persuade her.

Amaya shakes her head vigorously.

“Amaya don't listen to him.He just wants to fuck your mind.He's playing with you and your emotions” Lucas whispers.

Amaya seems to recover, she looks at Lucas and then she looks at me.

Her gaze is strong and determined.

“I know who I am.You are a monster.You let them slaughter all your men.I'm not like you, I'm not like that”

Rumlow laughs.

"Well but you should be used to monsters...since you fell in love with one of them"

Rumlow's eyes stop on mine.

He smiles at me.

"If you only had a shred of James's humanity you would be a gentleman" Amaya spits.

Meanwhile, the two scientists have approached with their backs to the wall, they don't even try to escape.

Either they know perfectly well they are screwed or they hope their benefactors can get them out of here safe and sound.

They just observe the scene from the sidelines.

Rumlow and Pierce are side by side.

Amaya takes a step forward immediately followed by Lucas, I just move a little to the right, positioning myself halfway between my teammates and the two bastards.

“Oh how sweet you are...and naive my beautiful Amaya” Rumlow replies as Pierce bursts into coarse laughter.

"And tell me Amaya, did your dear James ever tell you the truth about your parents?"

I feel like someone had just hit me on the head with a sheet of steel.

Stunned and trembling.

Amaya's arms fall to her sides.

"What the hell...what are you talking about?" Amaya hisses.

In her eyes the flames of hell burn.

"Barnes knows the identity of your parents' killer.Is that true James?Tell her”

Amaya turns her gaze to me.

"It's not true.Tell me it's not true…” she whispers.

Her eyes are pleading with me.

I open my mouth but no word comes out.

My throat is so dry it can't even make a sound.

“I was there when it happened” Rumlow begins to tell.

Now he has all of Amaya's attention.

"At the time I was working for Hydra.I worked alongside Alexander Pierce and the Winter Soldier.There were these two agents, husband and wife, a real pain in the ass.They were arresting dozens of our men and disrupting all of our plans.So one day we set up a fake recovery mission.When Maddie and Michael showed up, there was no prisoner to save.He was waiting for them" Rumlow points his finger at me.

Then he keeps talking.

“I'll leave out the details.You will be able to console yourself knowing that they did not suffer, your Sergeant reserved a quick and painless death for them”

Amaya turns to me.

"It is the truth?" she asks me.

Her eyes are dead, no emotion shines from them.

"Amaya I..."

"Just answer yes or no" she interrupts me abruptly.

I take a deep breath and with my heart heavy as a boulder I speak the words that will forever mark my destiny.

"Yes.Yes, I did it"

Lucas takes a few steps towards Amaya, he seems worried about her.

"Listen Snow you have a chance to kill your parents' killer and I'm not going to stop you.You can put a bullet in his head and get yourself justice once and for all” Rumlow urges her.

“Kill him and help us escape.I will not speak and if you want you can disappear or you can join me, together we can command.We can make the world a better place by eliminating everyone like Barnes”

Amaya Listen carefully to Rumlow's words.

"Amaya" I croak with a breath of voice.

Amaya in response points her gun at me.

“Amaya stop!Don't do it” Lucas tries to make her think.

Pierce's smile widens followed by Rumlow's.

“Do it Snow.Bullets fly...accidents happen.Nobody will ever know.You will never have such an opportunity again" Rumlow whispers, taking a step closer to her.

Lucas and I both aim the gun at his head.

“Take another step Rumlow and I swear to God I'll shoot you” Lucas yells.

“Guys what's going on?You are taking too long” Sam asks through the headset.

“Buck!Amaya!What happen?" Steve asks worriedly.

Amaya tears the earpiece out of her ear throwing it to the ground and turns her head towards Rumlow while continuing to keep her gun pointed at me.

“You're right Brock.An opportunity like this will never happen to me again”

So saying she loads her gun and a shot explodes.

I close my eyes waiting to die.

It all happens fast.

Nothing happens after the shot.

No pain.

Nothing.

Yet my ears register a scream.

Rumlow falls to the ground holding onto his shoulder.

Amaya explodes another shot hitting him in the hand and flying the gun he was holding.

Lucas hides behind a column and shoots in Pierce's direction, hitting him in the knee.

Immediately dozens of agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D. and some STRIKE burst in, led by Steve, Natasha and T’Challa.

Iron Man and Falcon glide from above.

Tony immediately approaches Amaya while Sam towers over the two scientists who, frightened by stray bullets, have crouched on the floor covering their heads with their hands.

I can't move.

I am still motionless in the same position as when Amaya fired the first bullet.

The first to notice me is Sharon.

She approaches me quickly.

"James are you okay?"

I can't answer her, I just keep staring at an undeciphered point in front of me.

"James?James can you hear me?"

Sharon squirms by my side and I hear her calling Steve.

“Steve run!Hurry up!"

Steve immediately turns his attention to Sharon as he strode closer, his gaze alarmed.

“Buck are you okay?Can you hear me?"

I look at him impassively, I would like to scream or at least nod but my body does not respond to me.

It's like my brain has disconnected from everything else.

“Pal you're scaring me!What happens?Are you hurt?"

Steve grabs me by the shoulders and just shakes me.

I just look at him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that Lucas is approaching us.

“I think he's in shock.Get him out of here” Agent Scott explains.

"What the hell happened?" Steve asks.

Now in addition to the worry in his voice there is frustration.

Lucas shakes his head.

"Not now.Take him away”

“Go ahead Steve.I'll take care of all here” Sharon whispers with worried eyes.

While Steve drags me away, the only thing my brain can register is Amaya.

Amaya stands still as Tony tries to get her attention.

“Hey kid what's up?Talk to me”

Her face is pale, her lips gray.

For a moment our eyes touch.

Her eyes are glassy, absent, but as soon as they land on mine they fill with contempt.

She isn't crying, she doesn't look sad or desperate.

There is only hatred in her eyes.

And in this moment I realize that I have lost her forever.

"Let's go away" I murmur, my voice about to break.

"I need to get out of here" I plead my best friend.

Steve doesn't say a word, he just nods and pushing his way through a flood of people pushes me to his car.

On the way I see Rumlow and Pierce being handcuffed and loaded into an ambulance escorted by dozens of armed agents.

Agent Hill is shouting orders in every direction.

It is the chaos around us.

But nobody seems to notice that my world is falling apart.

I get into the car and Steve starts the engine.

I lean my head back closing my eyes.

"I did it" I whisper after I don't know how long.

I open my eyes and feel those damn tears roll down my eyes.

I turn to Steve, who has meanwhile pulled over to the side of the road.

He turns off the engine and turns in my direction.

"I did it" I repeat him.

It is as if a chasm had opened in the center of my chest that nothing and no one can ever close.

"What do you mean brother?" Steve asks cautiously.

I'm sure he's worried that I'm going crazy in the end.

“I killed them.I killed her parents”

Steve's eyes widen in amazement.

“Are you…are you sure?Maybe…”

I shake my head vigorously.

“It was me Steve.You know I remember each of them.I saw their photo in Amaya's room and it came back to my mind when I killed them”

Steve remains silent but in his sad and pitying eyes flow thousands of questions.

“Rumlow knew that.He said he worked alongside me in the days of Hydra.I have no memories of him but he obviously does.And he used this thing to try to pull Amaya over to his side”

I sink my face into my hands crying all the tears in my body.

Steve puts a hand on my back, rubbing it gently.

“You know it's not your fault.You were forced, you had no other choice.That man wasn't you Bucky"

I know he's trying to console me but all this only adds to my anger.

I walk away from his touch.

"Does it matter?It was me.I kept it hidden from her.And now she hates me and I have lost her forever"

I feel suffocated, I try to breathe but the air does not reach my lungs.

"I don't...I don't..."

I can't breathe.

I can't talk.

I feel my chest tighten in a vise as sweat beading on my forehead.

I feel the panic overwhelm me.

“Breathe with me Buck.Follow me”

Steve encourages me by grabbing my shoulders and looking for my gaze.

I fix my eyes on him, the same eyes that have accompanied me all my life.

Steve is my only lifeline in this life of shit that's choking me.

If it weren't for him I would have gone to the bottom already.

Breath in and breath out.

It works.

Slowly I begin to breathe normally, following the rhythm of the chest of the man in front of me I find the ability to breathe independently.

Steve's phone rings, he tries to ignore it but I push him to answer.

"Tell me Nat"

I had to guess it was her.

I would like to take the phone out of his hands and ask at my friend how Amaya is doing.

What is she doing?

But I clench my fists and bite the inside of my cheek until I feel the taste of my own blood running on my tongue.

"Ok.Here we come” Steve hangs up and sighs heavily.

“We have to go back to the tower.We have to wait for Fury to report"

He looks at me as if he is afraid that at any moment I might disappear.

“If you don't feel like it, I can make up an excuse.I'll cover you”

Oh Steve!

He has always been too good to me.

Always ready to forgive my every mistake and protect me from the world.

“You don't need my friend.Thanks"

"Are you sure?"

No.

I'm not sure.

I'm not ready.

But I have to do it.

I have to go back and finish my job.

I have to go back and face Amaya as a man.

"Yes.Let's go”

I feel destroyed and closing my eyes I await the fulfillment of my destiny.

I wish this was all just a bad dream but I know perfectly well that it is just my fucking reality.

Life is presenting me with the bill for all the sins I have committed.

And it is doing it with all the interests.

Please comment, share and rate ❤️

Taglist

🔥 Masterlist 🔥

@deansapplepie

#marvel #sebastianstan #bucky barnes #bucky #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction recommendation #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x oc #bucky fanfic #bucky x oc #winter soldier fanfiction #winter soldier #dangerousgame

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cherryc1nnam0n · 2 years ago

Text

| The God and the Cat | Avenger!Loki x Reader

Cw: None, fluff, reader being a chaotic bisexual with Wanda, Loki getting scratched, sassy reader

Summary: When Loki's girlfriend turns into a cat he does everything he can to help her

Hi! This is my first try at writing Loki, I hope I nailed it and that you like it, if you'd like more of this then let me know!

It was a regular day at the Avenger's Tower, Loki was coming back from reading a book at the common area, taking long strides back to his room

Opening the door he stepped in, turning around he saw a pair of eyes looking at him, but the pair of eyes belonged to a white cat sitting on his bed

"Oh? Hello there, who are you?" He went closer to the cat, who narrowed it's eyes at him "What-"

"Really? You don't recognize me Loki?" Your voice spoke from the cat

He stepped a bit back, but then kneeled in front of you, inspecting you closely

"Y/n? Is that you?"

You rolled your cat eyes, narrowing them again

"Yes, of course it's me!"

"My darling you look... Adorable"

You sat down on his bed, taking the infamous loaf form, making Loki audibly coo at you

"Will you tell me what happened dear?"

"Well, I may have or may have not, read a spell that wasn't exactly what it said it was" you avoided his eyes, knowing the look he was giving you

"Darling, what have I told you about reading spells?" He massages his temples

"I know! I was just curious"

"Well, looks like curiosity in this case, turned you into a cat" he pet your head, making you pur but soon you tried to scratch his hand away "A devious cat, huh, looks like the name "pet" fits you perfectly now"

You hissed loudly at him, making him laugh

"And where's the book where you read that from? Maybe I can find a way to revert it"

You looked nervous, frantically looking at his eyes

"Uhm you see, the thing is, the book uhm, burnt in flames"

Loki's face dropped, pinching his nose, an exasperated sigh left his mouth "Well, now we'll have to find someone else to help us, let's go my beautiful cat girl"

He held you in his arms, taking in how soft your fur is and how warm you are, your purring was loud and strong "Oh for the Norns, you're the most beautiful cat I've ever seen"

You nuzzled into his neck as he walked out of his room, he had a mission, find Stark to see if he could help you

"Brother! What is that beautiful animal you have there?" Thor's voiced boomed as he approached his brother

"Hello brother, we may have a little bit of a dilema" you moved in his arms, climbing his shoulders "This cat, is Y/n"

Thor's eyes could've left his sockets, looking back from you to Loki and again

"You must be kidding brother, is this another one of you illusions?"

"Nope, it's me Thor" you spoke, making him look at you "I'm sure you've seen something like this before"

"I mean yeah but, why you? What did you do Lady Y/n?"

"She read a spell from a book that then auto-destructed itself" he said with a sigh

"Oh, well I would suggest going with Tony for some help but I assume you're already on your way there brother"

"Indeed we are Thor, so get out of our way before I scratch your face" you answered too sassily for Loki's taste, but it made him laugh nonetheless

"Let's go my little sassy cat" he said walking away from Thor, you climbed his shoulders again and hissed at Thor.

...........................

At the Lab...

"Stark! We need your assistance!"

Tony looked up from what he was working on, maybe another update to his suit or something like a new tech, who knows

"What is it horns?" He took off his protective glasses to look at him "You do know animals are not allowed in the lab right?" He said referring to you

"Animal?! You're calling me an animal?!" You hissed at Tony

"Y/n? Okay what did you do Bambi?"

"Me? Nothing, she read a spell from a book, we need help to turn her back into her normal self"

"Hah, normal, there's nothing normal in Y/n" you hissed again at him "Put her over here, I'll take a look at her"

Loki placed you on a table, you sat down licking your left paw, looking around everything seemed smaller, well yeah you are smaller

"Okay let's see" he put on his glasses and stretched your neck, humming and nodding, then took a look at your paws, sharp claws adoring them, he then made you stand up and took a look at your back paws, he grabbed your tail and-

"HEY!" You scratched his hand away, hissing loudly

"Sorry! Just needed to check your whole anatomy" he defended himself "Seems like you're a normal looking cat but with the ability of talking"

"Yeah we know that Tony" you replied "I need help to turn back into a human!"

"Well with that, I'm not of much help I'm afraid, you'll have to see someone else for that"

.........................

"Oh my goodness you're cute!" Wanda's voice was super high pitched when she was talking to you, holding you against her breasts

"This is nice, I could get used to it" you purred as her hands held you so nicely against her

"Well that's enough" Loki said grabbing you but you scratched his face entirely, jumping to Wanda's arms again, hissing at him "Why?!" He said in pain

"I think she likes me more" she said snuggling you into her breasts again, a smug smile on your cat face

"I think she likes something else" he groaned "Can you help us, witch? I need my lover back"

"Okay fine, I'll see what I can do" She set you down, you whined at the loss, wanting more affection from the pretty witch

She moved her hands, red magic emiting from them as she encapsulated you into it, making a cocoon like thing around you, when you finally came down to the ground again, you were...

Still a cat, but this time, you couldn't talk, only meow and emit natural cat noises

"Wanda what did you do?" Loki said picking you up as you desperately tried to talk again, but to no avail

"Oh shit, I think I took away her ability of talking" she scrunched up her face

She quickly reverted the spell and your melodic voice came back

"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT- Oh my voice is back!" They both looked at you "What, oh I'm still a cat"

"I'm sorry guys, I don't think I can do anything else, you might need to see, someone else..."

"Oh no, not him please"

...........................

"So..." Strange's voice said "What brings you here mischief?"

Loki sighed, showing his cat girlfriend to the sorcerer "My girlfriend is a cat"

Strange's eyes widened as he inspected you, your big eyes looked at him expectantly "So? You're gonna help me or what?" Your voice made him flinch, he was hoping it was a joke from the god

"Oh uhm, well I think I may have seen something like this already" he disappears and comes back with a huge book

"Hey that's the book I read it from!" You said as Loki stepped closer, you jumped on the table, sitting in front of Strange as he read through the book, finding what he was looking for

"Found it" he started to read "Oh..."

"Something the matter?" Loki asked

"I hate being the one carrying bad news but" he sighed "This is not a spell, it's a curse" you gulped nervously

"So what? Am I supposed to kiss someone to turn back human?" You looked at Loki who shook his head

"No, can you please listen?" He sighed again "You're cursed to be a cat... For one thousand years, until you finally turn into your human self again and die..."

You felt your world crumble around you as he spoke those words, your only reaction was to run away, sobbing

"Y/n wait!" Loki said but you just ran away...

You felt someone come behind you, you had found an empty balcony to weep in, looking outside at the world

"I can't believe I'm so stupid... Now I have to live as a cat... Alone... For an eternity" you sobbed

Then you felt someone nuzzle into you, you looked at your side to see

"Loki? What did you do?" Big green eyes looking at you, he was a black cat, a little bigger than you, nuzzling into you

"If the love of my life is cursed to live as a cat, then I will stay here, to accompany her, for eternity"

You licked his face, as in giving him a kiss

"But, you don't have to do that, Loki you're a god"

"I don't care, I would rather give up my place as a god to stay by your side" you felt more tears coming in, so you nuzzled into him now

Knowing that no matter what, human or cat like, Loki would forever be with you... Loving you...

"Hey guys?" Strange's voice made you both look "I think I found it"

Hope you liked it guys, let me know if you want anything like this again ^^

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witchywithwhiskey · 7 months ago

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ooooooo i'm so fascinated by the start of this story, and how you've started laying the groundwork of what's to come (some of which i know and some of which i'm sure i'll be surprised by).

i loved all the description of the estate and the decor inside, the library with the old books contrasting with the stark (no pun intended 🤭) lab facilities. and i particularly loved when you weaved in some foreboding imagery, like here:

Ivy climbs the walls in artful patterns, as if guided by an invisible hand to accentuate the building's most beautiful features.

this is SUCH a good bit of foreshadowing to the cult leader we're going to meet later on. his invisible hand is everywhere, even on the ivy on the outside of the mansion—ugh i just love the imagery and the implications of this 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

and then Nat mentioning the personal references reader never gave them!!! it's such a small invasion of privacy, but that's just the start!! and it's so intriguing, because what did the references say about reader and why does that make her a good fit???

and the whole interaction with Tony and Steve in the hallway—you set it up so perfectly as a tactic Natasha and the Foundation are using the lure in reader. and reader's eating it all up!!! and there's no one around to be like, "you in danger, girl" and i'm so worried but also, like, so excited to be along for this ride 😏

anyway!!! i loved this!! it's SO GOOD and i can already tell i'm going to love this twisty, fun story!!

Chosen, Part 1: Arrival

Characters/Pairings: eventual Bucky x curvy Millennial Female!Reader, Natasha x Reader scenes, Natasha x Reader x Steve scenes Word Count: 3.4k Summary: After surviving three rounds of interviews, you have been invited for a full-day to tour and interview at the estate and headquarters that belong to the Winged Heritage Foundation.

SERIES Content Warnings: SOFT!DARK STORY, cult themes, explicit smut, dubious consent and enthusiastic consent, veiled truths, gaslighting

CHAPTER Content Warnings: none

Notes: I started writing this story with the intention for it to be a long one-shot, but after it shot past 18k, I realized I would need to break it up into installments, so ... expect sort of a slow burn for the plot? Installments will be posted on Mondays and Thursdays.

Shout outs to @stargazingfangirl18, @witchywithwhiskey, @biteofcherry, and @vonalyn for helping me get my ideas sorted out for this trip!

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

You scroll through the note in your phone with questions to ask during a final interview as the car pulls off the interstate and starts down a country highway lined with trees.

At least you hope this is the final interview.

You had applied for a basic administrative assistant position with the Winged Heritage Foundation, but after your first interview you had been called by a recruitment officer and asked if you would consider a different position with the organization, one that hadn’t been posted publicly.

You still don’t know what the position is you’re being considered for, but after two more interviews, you had been notified that you were a finalist and invited to a full-day interview and tour of the Foundation’s headquarters – an estate outside of the city. They had even arranged for a professional car service to pick you up and take you there. The offices in the city, where your previous three interviews had taken place, evidently handles most of the business operations for the Foundation, and the estate is where the more focused work takes place.

You are naturally a bit nervous for a fourth - and full day - interview, but you feel you like your nerves are at a healthy level - present but not paralyzing, a small buzz that will keep you focused.

The car slows as it approaches a break in the trees, and your driver signals to turn. As you round the corner, your breath catches in your throat. A wrought-iron gate stretches across a wide driveway, its intricate scrollwork spelling out "Winged Heritage" in elegant script. The gate swings open silently as your car approaches, as if by magic.

The driveway stretches before you, a winding ribbon of pale gravel cutting through a verdant landscape that takes your breath away. Ancient oaks and maples line the drive, their branches reaching across to form a dappled canopy overhead. Bright morning sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dancing shadows on the ground.

As you travel deeper into the estate, meticulously manicured gardens unfold on either side. Vibrant flower beds burst with color - deep purple irises, sunny yellow daffodils, and blood-red roses. The gardens give way to rolling lawns of emerald green, dotted with sculpted topiaries in fantastical shapes.

As the car rounds another bend, a shimmering pond comes into view. Its surface is like polished glass, reflecting the azure sky and fluffy white clouds above. A family of swans glide gracefully across the water, their long necks arched in elegant curves. At the far end of the pond, a delicate bridge of white marble spans the narrowest point, its railings gilded with gold.

The driveway begins to climb a gentle slope, and as you crest the hill, your jaw drops at the sight before you. A magnificent mansion rises from the landscape, its pale stone walls glowing warmly in the morning sunlight. The architecture is a stunning blend of classical elegance, with graceful arches and intricate stonework that seems to ripple and dance as you approach.

The central facade is a masterpiece of symmetry, with wide steps leading up to a grand entrance flanked by towering columns. Ivy climbs the walls in artful patterns, as if guided by an invisible hand to accentuate the building's most beautiful features.

The car follows the curve of the driveway as it sweeps up to the grand entrance before coming to a stop. You take a deep breath, steadying yourself for what lies ahead. The driver opens your door, and you step out onto the gravel, the crunch beneath your feet grounding you in the moment.

A figure emerges from the ornate double doors at the top of the steps, and your heart skips a beat as you recognize her instantly. Natasha Romanoff, the Chief Recruitment Officer, descends the stairs with astonishing grace. Her vibrant red hair catches the sunlight, creating a halo effect that seems almost otherworldly. She's dressed in a sleek black pantsuit that exudes both professionalism and an air of mystery. As your eyes meet hers, you're struck by the intensity of her gaze - piercing green eyes that seem to look right through you.

As she draws closer, you notice a subtle smile playing at the corners of her mouth, a mix of confidence and what you suspect to be mischief. Over the course of your brief interactions up to this point, she had been nothing but professional, but you could feel some alluring pull or energy that seemed to run deep beneath the surface of her controlled demeanor. She had been present in your second interview, conducted the third with one of her associates, and had been the one to schedule you for this.

"Welcome," Natasha says, her voice smooth as silk. "We're so pleased you could join us today." She extends her hand, and you shake it, noting the firmness of her grip.

"Thank you for having me," you reply, proud that your voice doesn't betray your nerves. "The estate is absolutely breathtaking."

Natasha's smile widens slightly. "It is, isn't it? We find that beauty inspires greatness. But come, let's not linger in the driveway. We have a full day and much to show you."

She gestures towards the entrance, and you fall into step beside her as you ascend the stone steps. The massive doors swing open silently, revealing a grand foyer that takes your breath away. The ceiling soars overhead, at least three stories, adorned with an intricate fresco depicting a beautiful sky, birds in flight, and towering trees, bringing the beauty of the grounds into this entry.

Natasha guides you through a doorway off to the side of the foyer, leading you into a small sitting room. The space is elegantly decorated with plush couches, rich mahogany furniture, and intricate paintings on the walls.

"Please, have a seat," Natasha gestures towards one of the couches as she takes a seat in an armchair across from you. You sink into the soft cushions, trying to take in everything at once - the opulence of the room, Natasha's presence, and her piercing gaze.

"First things first,” Natasha says, a professional smile on her face, “the nature of what goes on here is very sensitive and so I'll need you to sign this NDA before we continue." She hands you a stack of paperwork and a pen.

You quickly skim through the document before signing it, feeling slightly uneasy about signing something so quickly without fully understanding what the day ahead of you will entail. But your curiosity outweighs your hesitation and when Natasha takes back the signed document, she slides it into a briefcase by her side.

"Now that's out of the way," she says smoothly, "let me tell you more about our foundation."

She proceeds to give you an overview of the Winged Heritage Foundation – an overview of its history, mission, and values. It's all very intriguing and impressive - but although what she shares is engaging, outside of supporting initiatives identified as important to its founder and possibly something to do preservation of history or historical places and artifacts, you still feel you don’t have any clearer of an idea of what the Foundation’s actual purpose is. But since you have an entire day here, you don’t press the point now, assuming some part of the day will be dedicated to diving deeper into the work they do.

"But enough about us," Natasha says with another enigmatic smile. "Let's talk about what brought you here today."

She pulls out your resume from her briefcase and goes over your experience and qualifications with sharp attention to detail. She asks probing questions that make you feel like she's reading between the lines of your professional achievements.

"Impressive," she comments once she's finished going over your resume. "Your professional and personal character references also speak very highly of you."

Your brow furrows slightly. “Sorry,” you interject, “I don’t remember giving personal references?”

“No, you did not. But we do a lot of work on our end to vet candidates at this point for positions like this. Surely you understand.”

You nod slowly and train your face back into a smile. At least whatever homework they seem to have done on you came back with a positive result.

She leans forward slightly, and you can feel the intensity of her gaze. "We need someone who's truly suited for the responsibilities, but personnel fit is also incredibly important to us.”

“Of course,” you respond. “And what responsibilities exactly would you be looking for me to fulfill?”

Natasha presses her lips together and seems to scrutinize your face more closely. “You’re being considered for two opportunities. Until later in the day when I’ve made a determination on which I’ll recommend you for, I won’t be disclosing that information to you.”

“Oh,” you’re a little surprised at her directness, but you suppose her reason for withholding the information is logical.

“As the Chief Recruitment Officer, I’m very good at what I do, so I’ll know your future with us by the end of the day.”

Natasha rises from her chair with fluid grace. "Shall we begin the tour?" she asks, extending her hand to help you up. You take it, noting the surprising strength in her grip. “I'm eager to show you the wonders of our estate."

She seems to hold your hand longer than necessary, or maybe it’s just your nerves, maybe you looked unsteady standing up and she was only ensuring you were okay.

As you follow her out of the sitting room, you're once again struck by the grandeur of the foyer. Natasha notices your gaze lingering on the fresco above. "That was commissioned by our founder," she explains. "It's said to depict the view from the highest peak of a mountain range that no longer exists."

She leads you down a long corridor, its walls lined with portraits of distinguished-looking individuals. "Our benefactors and notable members throughout the years," Natasha explains. "Each one has contributed significantly to our mission."

The corridor opens into a vast library that takes your breath away. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves stretch as far as the eye can see, filled with leather-bound tomes. The air is heavy with the scent of old books and polished wood. Sunlight streams through tall windows, casting a warm glow over the room. The library is a bibliophile's dream, with rolling ladders affixed to the shelves, gorgeous wooden tables for spreading out books for research, and cozy reading nooks tucked into alcoves.

As you walk between the towering shelves, you notice that some of the books look ancient, their spines cracked and faded with age, some even appear to be bound in unfamiliar materials. Others appear to be in pristine condition, despite clearly being very old.

"Our collection is quite extensive," Natasha says, running her fingers along the spines of nearby books. "We have texts dating back centuries, some of which are the only surviving copies in the world."

"How do you preserve them so well?" you ask, unable to hide your fascination.

Natasha's lips curl into a mysterious smile. "We have our ways. Mostly it’s all down to our librarian Jarvis.”

She leads you through a set of double wooden doors at the other side of the library. Once you exit, Natasha leads you through a series of grand hallways, each more breathtaking than the last. The walls are adorned with tapestries and paintings that seem to come alive as you pass, their subjects' eyes following your movement. You could swear you see a figure in one portrait shift slightly, but when you look back, it's perfectly still.

"This wing houses our main offices and research facilities," Natasha explains as you walk. "We have state-of-the-art equipment for analyzing artifacts and documents, as well as a world-class conservation lab."

You pass by rooms filled with people working diligently at computers, their screens displaying what look like ancient texts and complex diagrams. In one room, you glimpse a team carefully examining what appears to be an old manuscript under specialized lighting.

As you continue down the hallway, you notice a door that seems different from the others. It's made of dark, heavy wood and adorned with intricate carvings. Unlike the other doors which are open or have glass panels, this one is firmly shut.

Natasha catches you looking at it. "That area is off-limits, I'm afraid. Some of our more... sensitive projects require absolute secrecy."

You nod but can't help feeling a prickle of curiosity. What could be behind that door that requires such concealment?

Natasha guides you to an elevator at the end of the hall. As you step inside, you notice there are more floors than you would have expected from the outside view of the mansion.

"We have quite extensive facilities underground," Natasha explains as she presses a button for one of the lower levels. "It allows us to maintain the historical integrity of the mansion's exterior while having all the modern amenities we need for our work."

The elevator descends smoothly, and when the doors open, you find yourself in a sleek, modern space that contrasts sharply with the ornate decor above. The walls are a pristine white, and the floors are polished concrete. The lighting is bright but not harsh, giving the space a clean, almost clinical feel.

Natasha leads you down a corridor lined with glass-walled rooms. In one, you see people in lab coats hunched over microscopes. In another, a group is gathered around a large touch screen, manipulating 3D models of what look like ancient artifacts.

"This is our primary research facility," Natasha says, leading you down a wide corridor. "We have some of the most advanced technology in the world at our disposal here."

As you walk, you pass by rooms with glass walls, allowing you to see inside. In one, you spot what looks like a holographic projection of a complex molecule rotating in mid-air. In another, a team of scientists in white lab coats huddle around a table, examining something you can't quite make out.

You pause for a moment, trying to take it all in. The contrast between the classical architecture upstairs and this futuristic facility is striking. "This is incredible," you say, unable to keep the awe from your voice. "I had no idea the Foundation had such advanced capabilities."

Natasha's lips curl into a satisfied smile. "We pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge of research and technology. It's essential for some of our work. We’re also one of the few science labs in the world that still is granted an affiliation with the nation of Wakanda."

As you continue down the corridor, you notice a few doors that aren't made of glass like the others. These are solid metal, with keycard readers and what look like biometric scanners next to them.

"What's behind those doors?" you ask, curiosity getting the better of you.

Natasha's expression doesn't change, but you sense a slight shift in her demeanor. "Those are our most sensitive research areas. Access is strictly limited to senior researchers and leadership."

As if orchestrated for this precise moment, the doors slide open, and two men emerge, engaged in a heated discussion. Or, rather, one of them is heated, and the other is shooting back casual, sarcastic comments.

Natasha clears her throat, “Gentlemen.”

They both stop.

“We have company,” she says, gesturing to you.

The two men turn to face you, and your jaw nearly drops as you instantly recognize them. Standing before you are none other than Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, two of the most famous figures in the world and certainly at the Foundation.

Tony Stark, looking every bit the billionaire genius he's known to be, is dressed in an impeccably tailored suit that probably costs more than your current yearly salary. His goatee is perfectly trimmed, and his hair is styled with just the right amount of casual messiness. There's a faint blue glow visible beneath his shirt - the arc reactor that's become his trademark.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Tony says, his eyes sparkling with curiosity and mischief. He steps forward, extending his hand. "Tony Stark. But you probably knew that already."

As you shake his hand, you can't help but feel a bit starstruck. Tony Stark's grip is brief but firm and confident, his smile charming yet slightly calculating as he sizes you up.

"And this strapping specimen of American values is Steve Rogers," Tony adds, gesturing to the man beside him.

Steve, standing tall and broad-shouldered, offers you a warm smile that seems to light up the room. He's dressed more casually than Tony in khakis and a fitted blue shirt that barely contains his muscular frame. His handshake is strong but gentle, and his blue eyes radiate sincerity.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Steve says, his voice deep and reassuring. "I hope you're enjoying your tour of our facilities."

You manage to find your voice, introducing yourself. “The tour has been nothing but fascinating and impressive so far,” you affirm.

Tony's eyes gleam with interest. "Oh, you’re the one they’ve been wooing, eh? I was sent no less than five reminders this morning that I was to be on my best behavior,” he discloses with a wink.

Natasha rolls her eyes, and you have the suspicion Steve only barely restrains himself from doing so.

"Anyway, welcome to the Foundation," Tony says.

"Stark is supposed to be one of our most valuable researchers," Natasha explains.

"Eh, that’s why you send Steve down to get me back in line when I’m pursuing tangential projects."

This time Steve does roll his eyes.

You can't help but chuckle at the banter between Tony and Steve. Their dynamic is exactly as you'd imagined from what you've seen in the media - Tony's quick wit and sarcasm playing off Steve's more serious demeanor.

"So, what do you think of our little operation so far?" Tony asks, gesturing broadly at the surrounding facility. "Pretty impressive, right?"

Before you can answer, Natasha interjects smoothly. "I'm sure our guest is finding everything quite fascinating, but we should continue the tour. I'm sure you both have important work to get back to."

Tony raises an eyebrow at Natasha, a silent exchange seeming to pass between them. "Right, right. Important work. Can't keep the world waiting, can we?" He turns back to you with a grin. "It was a pleasure meeting you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around."

“You’ll at the very least be seeing me,” Steve says. “I believe I’m scheduled to join you for lunch.”

“And I’m not invited?” Tony protests, but he sports an unrepentant grin rather than any genuine offense.

Steve puts a hand on Tony’s shoulder to steer him away, “You’re not the Executive Director of the Foundation, so, no.”

Tony shrugs out of his grip, “And remind me why that is?”

“‘All administrative, no science,’ as you aptly put it so many times when you remind me why you don’t want to listen to what I say.”

“Right,” Tony replies, but does fall into step with Steve heading down the corridor.

As they leave, you can't help but feel a mix of excitement and bewilderment. Meeting two such prominent figures so casually during your interview process only adds to the surreal nature of this experience.

Natasha gently touches your elbow and guides you away from the metal doors and continues down the corridor. "My apologies for that interruption," she says, though her tone suggests she's not entirely displeased. "Mr. Stark has a tendency to... make an impression."

You nod, still processing the encounter. "It's no problem at all. I'm just surprised to see them here. I knew they were involved with the Foundation, but I didn't realize they were so hands-on."

Natasha's lips curl into a knowing smile. "The Winged Heritage Foundation values the direct involvement of all its key members. You'll find that everyone here, regardless of their public status or their position in our organization, contributes actively to our mission.”

She leads you through more state-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities, each more impressive than the last, before returning to the elevator to bring you surface-level again.

As the elevator ascends, you find your mind racing with questions. The encounter with Stark and Rogers, the glimpses of cutting-edge technology, and the air of mystery surrounding certain areas of the facility have only heightened your curiosity about the true nature of the Winged Heritage Foundation is, showing you so much, but not truly illuminating any answers.

↠ Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

Welcome to the Winged Heritage Foundation, lovelies. This is only the beginning... Where will this day take us? And what is going on here?

#bucky barnes fanfiction #natasha romanoff fanfiction #steve rogers fanfiction #fanfic rec #buckets-and-trees

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lazydoodlesandfanfic · 2 years ago

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Bitten Pt 2 ( Tony Stark X Daughter!Reader) *PARENTAL

Characters: Tony Stark X Daughter!Reader, Pietro Maximoff X Stark!Reader

Universe: Marvel, Avengers

Warnings: Violence, suggested death

Request: A part 2 to Bitten. Reader realizes she has the powers from when strange healed her from being bitten by the vampire and ask how she got them. Tony has to tell his daughter how she got them. She is scared but ask her dad and strange for help on how to control them. so she can still normal somewhat. The vampire comes back for her but she is ready with stranges help to kill him they end up falling in love. (Fall in love with Pietro, add him in there)

Tony had never forgotten the fear he had felt that day when he nearly lost his daughter, and he had absolutely never forgotten that he owed Stephen Strange big time, and he reminded the Dr every time they met that if he needed anything, to just ask. Tony could never thank that man enough for the fact that 2 years later he was able to be planning to take his daughter shopping that weekend for her prom dress for her final year, and the less exciting fact that he had to keep a close eye on his daughter’s boyfriend, Pietro.

At the time of your attack, Pietro had been away on his own mission by the order of Fury, and arrived back a few days after the carnage with the story of what happened from Wanda. He was aware Stark had a daughter but never had the opportunity to meet the girl (same with Wanda) so he and Wanda teamed up to awkwardly put together a gift basket to wish her a quick recovery and hope they weren’t crossing any boundaries. To their surprise, when they next saw Tony he told them that Y/N really liked the gift, and then asked the twins for their help; a new problem had arisen after you’d made your recovery in the form of some powers, notably increased strength, durability, senses, and the one that got Pietro involved, speed. You weren’t as quick as him, but you were never far behind, and since he’d had plenty of experience of accidentally taking off and running into a wall and hurting himself, he was called in to help you get a hang of it. You two became quick friends, and Pietro got a habit of keeping an arm around you to ‘stop you dashing off’ and the physical closeness probably helped in bringing you even closer, and about 5 months after meeting, Pietro was admitting to his twin that he liked Stark’s daughter, and Wanda told Clint, who told Natasha, who told Steve, who in the midsts of bickering with Tony let it slip, but by that point Pietro had already asked you out and there was little Tony could do as you both literally ran away from him to go on a date.

Speaking of the two of you… “Wanda, where is your darling brother?” Tony inquired, the sarcasm in his voice not going missed by Wanda who smiled, knowing that despite the threats against her brother and the teasing Pietro throws back by referring to him as his future father-in-law, that the two actually respected each other and Tony didn’t actually mind the relationship as much as he let on- proven by several times that Tony had swooped in to help Pietro in a fight, or Pietro had been the first to grab Tony when he was downed and put his arm over his shoulder and get him to safety.

“I believe he’s on a date with Y/N.” She told him, and Tony opened his mouth to ask more questions, when there was a gust of wind in the room, and the two turned to see the quick entrance of Pietro and yourself, Pietro placing you down on the floor.

“I was just asking about… Y/N? What’s wrong?” Tony’s attention went to your face, which was pale, eyes darting around in a haze, and Pietro was practically holding you up, and it was Pietro where Tony’s attention fell to next. “What happened?”

“We were walking around and she stopped when she saw someone. She said it was the thing that attacked her. I didn’t want to risk it seeing us and it attacking either of us or civillians in the process so I just grabbed her and ran back here.” He explained hurriedly to him.

“Are you sure?” Wanda asked, and despite your frazzled state, you nodded.

“I can’t forget that face… it’s ingrained in my head, and he stands out- white hair, the red eyes, the black where the white of the eyes should be… it was him. He’s here.” You confirmed, eyes finally focussing on your father, and Tony felt Wanda and Pietro’s eyes on him as well, all asking the same thing. What do we do?

“Y/N, go to the bunker on the bottom floor and lock the door behind you- only open it if someone you know is at the door that you can see on the cameras. Pietro, go get Strange, Wanda, go with Y/N, I’m going to call the others.” He instructed. He’d had the bunker installed not only in the tower, but also in all his homes for any situation after the Battle of New York for you and Pepper. He hoped to one day not need it any more and have them decommissioned, but today was clearly not that day.

“How do we know he can’t get through the door? If my powers mean anything, then he’ll rip the door off with his hands.”

“Glass is very different to several tons of steel, and also that’s what Wanda’s for- to hold the door and to stop him if he does get through, now go.” He reminded you, and Wanda took your hand and rushed with you downstairs. Tony put his attention on Pietro, who’s eyes remained on the doorway you’d passed through and vanished behind. “Speedy, focus.” Tony snapped his fingers in his face, making him jump and look at Tony. “Trust your sister. They’ll be fine. Strange knows what it was that bit her- he’ll know it’s weakness. Go tell him what happened and get him back here. As soon as you’re back, you can go join her and make sure she’s okay.” He promised. Pietro didn’t respond with any remarks, simply nodding and dashing off.

By the time Tony had sent the alert to everyone, Pietro came dashing back inside, completely missing him and immediately going downstairs, though not far behind him Dr Strange flew into the building, landing in front of him. “Where is she?”

“Downstairs in a bunker with Wanda and now Pietro. What do we do?” Tony asked immediately, spotting the book Strange had tucked under his arm- the same one as last time, and he watched as Strange pulled it from under his arm, opened it up, and flicked through, looking for something, and as Tony waited for an actual answer, Steve, Natasha and Clint came dashing in.

“Where is she?” Steve asked immediately.

“Bunker with the twins. Strange, what do we do?” Tony answered, seeing the man was now focussed on a page, his finger drifting across some words, eyebrows creased.

“Apparently there’s a link that can happen between these creatures and anyone they bite but don’t kill. It can sense she’s still alive and depending on how it feels about that, depends on what it plans to do to her.”

“As in?” Natasha asked.

“Anywhere from making her a follower to killing her because she’s competition to him. But since he tried to kill her in the first place, I think we can guess what he’s planning. But what’s more important- he can sense her right now, no matter how much you try to hide her. We have to fight him head on.”

“When you say we, that includes me, right?” Tony turned at the sound of your voice. Tony could see it in your eyes you were terrified, the way you held yourself, the way Pietro had his arm around you and had his eyes on you to make sure you were alright, but he could see the determination behind your eyes.

“Yes. It does. I’m not sure who would be best in the fight- you’re now immune to his bite, but if he bites anyone else, he’ll either turn them or kill them- more likely the latter since it’s venomous to humans unless they have a certain gene or know someone who knows the Mystic Arts. A trap to catch him by surprise, and a thick layer of armour for anyone involved. Me and Wanda should be able to keep him away from ourselves and protect ourselves- Stark, your suits should be thick enough but a swipe can cause serious damage so be careful- Pietro, I know you’re faster than Y/N, but I don’t know if he’ll be faster. The only person who stands a chance at getting up close and personal with him is Y/N herself.”

A plan was thrown together as quick as the team could muster- Natasha was placed in charge of the security to shut the guy in when he arrived, and Clint was waiting on the sidelines with Steve to evacuate everyone from the nearby area incase the incoming fight escaped the tower. Pietro was, quite unwillingly, hiding with Natasha to await to see if he could be of use, your father was in one of his suits that was perfectly still, acting like the suit was merely on display along side several others, and in the same room was Strange and Wanda, who were both concealing themselves with their powers, and yourself, waiting. Your eyes darted around the room, waiting for any sign of the creature, making sure your backup was still there, that you weren’t too close to the windows… you were scared, that much was obvious. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, it wasn’t long until the monster burst it’s way into the room, the sliding door not having time to open and instead burst through with bent shrapnel metal bursting out, luckily not too close to yourself.

The moment it looked up, it’s eyes meeting yours, a wave of uncontrollable fear came over you. That thing attacked you in your own home with no warning or reason, fully intent on killing you in a painful and excruciating way purely for a fill. And now here he was, here for round two. He made the first move, taking a dashed step towards you without a word, though before he could get within slashing distance, a blast sent him flying into a wall. You glanced over, seeing your father, having seen you freeze up, exposed himself from his hiding spot to cover you. It gave you a moment to breathe, and now that the jig was up, Wanda and Strange revealed themselves well.

“Oh, so you’re playing dirty?” The vampire growled at you.

“You’re one to talk” Your father responded, it’s eyes on him as it moved again, this time towards him. However, this time you didn’t hesitate or tense up, instead you moved forward as well, and put your weight forward on your shoulder as you rammed him back, before turning onto your other foot, and using your weight and power to land a decent punch on him. With that, the fight properly began.

You and your father worked with doing the actual damage between hits from you and blasts when the vampire was far enough way from your dad. Wanda and Strange helped where they could, creating shields when they saw a hit coming, and restraining it for short periods of time for you and Tony to get hits in. Despite all their work though, as Strange suspected, the vampire was far more powerful than yourself. A hit from you hurt him and made him groan, but when it was returned you lost your breath every time, and when he managed to get a hit on your dad, he was down for a hot minute. This was taking longer than you thought, and the blood loss from your injuries as well as your exhaustion was starting to kick in, your moves becoming more sluggish, your hits doing less damage, and it wasn’t much long after that when the vampire was able to knock your dad down again, Wanda going to assist him, and it took the chance to charge at you, pining you to the floor, and that fear you had thought you had overcome, returned. The way he grinned down at you in victory told you that he had you exactly where he wanted you, and he was going to do a final blow. You heard Strange call your name, the sound of him preparing his powers to try to assist you, the call of your father, his voice breaking and glitching from within his suit. Finally, a third voice came from Wanda, though she didn’t call your name. “Pietro!” She called. The call caught the vampire off guard, having not heard the name before, and he glanced at her for a moment, but a moment was enough as a gust of wind rushed the room, a brute force hitting the vampire and knocking it off of you, and now a new body stood over you, that of your boyfriend, Pietro. His bash clearly surprised the vampire, and it allowed Strange to finish his spell, hitting the vampire while he was down, your dad getting some energy back, able to get up and start charging up the suit, and Wanda was up, her red magic dancing around her hands.

“Are you okay?” Pietro’s voice reached your ears as he looked back at you, pulling you into his arms and helping you up. “Have you got this handled?” Pietro called.

“We’ve got this, go.” Strange confirmed, and Pietro didn’t hesitate to grab you and dash off. The vampire tried to get up to go after you, but Wanda pinned him to the ground with her magic, using as much strength as she could to keep him down. “Act quick, Tony.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Tony assured, walking over, standing over the monster, pointing his charged up glove at the creature’s head that growled up at him. “You don’t get to hurt my little girl and get away with it.” Was all he said before he fired.

Hope you like it! If you have any questions, please send them in!

*Not my gif

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maple-the-awesome · 2 years ago

Text

We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Chapter 22

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x GN Reader

Words: 3,679

Overview: Given your old-fashioned personality and obsession with all things 1940s to 1980s, it’s no wonder that most people refer to you as an ‘old soul’ who would’ve rather lived back then than in the modern era. Little do they know, you already did, but with your previous life as Hollie Stark cut short, you’ve been left with some…unfinished business, to say the least. Top of your list? Finally getting to marry your thought-to-be-lost fiancé.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: LIL' WIZ

Silence isn't always a bad thing, however there's a substantial difference between peaceful tranquility and suffocating strain. Unfortunately, you're stuck with the latter which is making your nerves feel like a trampoline park.

It had been heartbreaking as you helped Tony to his feet, ignoring his stubborn refusal to accept your aid while he attempted to shove you away and stand on his own. It was useless in the end, forcing him to reach a compromise by allowing you to help him into another, warmer room where there's at least a bench he can rest on compared to his former place on the floor.

You feel ashamed for letting things get this far. Each second, you replay today's events in your head, pointing out every little crossroad where you could have possibly done something different just to change the turnout.

Maybe you should've confirmed Tony actually knew about Hollie and parents' deaths instead of assuming Steve already did so. You shouldn't have let that video play. The second you realized what it was going to be about, you should've destroyed the screen and thus prevented Tony from having to see such a horrible thing. You could've done more to prevent the fight that took place afterwards even if that meant risking your own safety by physically getting in between everyone.

'...There are so many things you could've done differently...'

After radioing for someone to come pick you guys up, you search the facility for medical equipment. Tony's injuries aren't fatal, but it'll be awhile before anyone can get here and he might feel a little better once bandaged up. This is what you tell yourself anyways, truly just hoping for a way to distract yourself because maybe then your hands will stop shaking so violently.

You had pretty much forgotten all about Zemo until reentering that main room you had encountered him in originally. What was his plan again? To turn the Avengers against each other as revenge? Well, he succeeded and he probably used the aftermath as a distraction to make his escape. Who knows where he went or if you'll ever have to look at his sorry ass again? Regardless of how much hate you’ve felt towards him all day, you can’t be bothered to care anymore...He’s the least of your concerns right now.

The suffocating silence continues when you return to Tony with a medical kit. Again, he tries shooing you away, however you remain just as stubborn despite the calm and patient tone you fight to maintain with him.

'Besides, he has every right to hate you. You helped Bucky - the man who murdered nearly the whole Stark family. You, a close friend, betrayed him until the last second.'

"I'm surprised you didn't go with them since you’ve seemed so keen on defending Barnes's ass all the time," Tony observes bitterly, refusing to even look at you as you dab his face with a cotton-ball.

You can only sigh, "...I didn't want things to go the way that they did. I didn't want anyone to get hurt like this -"

"- Well, it's a little too late for that, don't you think? Forty two years too late, in fact."

Frowning, you set the bloodied cotton ball down, redirecting your eyes to the medical kit to check what bandages are inside, but your mind is too jumbled to properly look through them. You scan the box several times, yet you can't seem to remember what you just looked at which results in your eyes going back over each item a second and third time. Eventually a forth, too.

"Bucky regrets what happened -"

"- As you keep saying -"

"- When he first remembered Hollie's death, he was devastated - inconsolable even. He's never denied his guilt or his role in it. He believes himself to be just as responsible for what happened as you think he is. Nothing I’ve tried saying has been able to change that,” you explain foolishly as if Tony will share your pain. He doesn’t.

"He deserves it -"

"- Tony -"

Before you're able to put a small butterfly bandage over the deep cut on his forehead, he suddenly jerks away from you with a deadly glare, "- No, I don't give a shit if he feels guilty. He deserves every ounce of it because my aunt did nothing to deserve death! She never hurt anyone. She never took advantage of others, never cheated the system or made shady deals to fill her own pockets - she was better than that and you know what the worst part is? She loved Barnes. She would talk about him all the time and as a kid, I used to wish I could've met him because I thought 'wow, if Auntie Hollie admires him this much, he must be a real amazing guy, huh?'. Turns out he's the one who killed her. She could've lived a long life. She could still be here now if it wasn't for him.

"Do you know how I felt back then? Do you know how it feels to be told that your aunt isn't going to be around for your birthday not because she just can't make it - had a little car trouble or too much work on her desk - but because she was shot dead outside of her own home? Defenseless and left to bleed out alone?! And do you have any idea how I felt learning she was on her way to my party? Hell, I still don't celebrate my birthday because each time it comes around, I think about that week - that week of mom crying and dad throwing shit against the wall in his office as I sat in my room waiting for someone to tell me it was all some cruel joke.”

Tony’s eyes are watery at this point. The more he admits, the more fidgety he gets, eventually shifting against the bench and talking with his hands, “While everyone else celebrates me getting older, I can only remember being four years old sitting in the front row of my aunt's funeral, believing it was somehow my fault because if I hadn't begged her to come to my party, maybe she wouldn't have gone outside that day? M-Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have been killed -?"

"- Tony, it wasn't your fault," you cut him off sternly, your heart breaking after hearing his voice crack towards the end. You attempt to place a hand over his - more on instinct than rational thought - yet he rips it away.

"I know that," he hisses before his voice falls more silent as he stares at the floor, "I...I know that and I've gotten over that part…but what I can't get over is the fact that Barnes was the one to take her away. My aunt was my role model. She was everything I wanted to be when I grew up. She was always there for me and frankly, she cared about me more than even my damn dad did. He cared about her more than me, too.

“...After she died, he didn't spare any expense looking for her killer and planning to bring the fiercest justice down upon them. What would he have thought if he figured out it was Barnes all along? That he was the one to kill Hollie and would be the one to kill him and mom years later, too? What did our family ever do to him, huh?!"

"...Nothing...None of you did anything," you whisper, keeping your hands flat on your lap. A few tears hit them after rolling down your cheeks, yet you do nothing to fix your slumped-forward posture.

"Then why do you defend him?" Tony challenges, already knowing his confession has done nothing to change your mind towards the situation.

"Because...Bucky didn't do anything to deserve what happened either," Tony opens his mouth, however you don't give him the chance, "Bucky loves Hollie as much as you do. If he had a single ounce of control back then, there's no doubt in my mind he wouldn't have hurt her. The problem was never him, it was HYDRA. They wanted to eliminate anyone who would get in their way. That's why your family was killed. Howard and Hollie both stood against them before and they would've done so again. For that reason, they were killed and so was Maria who I'm sure was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Bucky was captured by HYDRA and used as their assassin against his own will. I'm sure those sick fucks found amusement in sending him after people he once knew and cared about…It's terrible for all involved: those who died, Bucky for being forced to have their blood on his hands, and you for having to loose your family..." You trail off for a second then ask while chewing on your bottom lip, "...I've actually been meaning to ask: did you ever get that present?"

"What 'present'?"

"The one Hollie got you for your fourth birthday - that brass telescope. It was the one you wanted, right? At least I'm certain it was..." You don't look up at him, instead playing with the fabric of your suit, "Yeah, I remember you had that whole faze as a kid where you loved all things space related. You would tell everyone including random people on the street about this one particular telescope that you happened to see at a toy store on Mason Avenue. Of course, I knew Howard would never get the hint even if it whacked him upside the head, so I got it for you myself...Did you ever receive it, though?"

Tony stares at you as if you're clinically insane which might be his exact thought process right now. His mouth hangs open ever so slightly as he shakes his head, "...What did you do? Go through my shit and -"

"- If I went through your shit, I would've had to find it and then I wouldn't need to be asking the question, would I?" You shoot back the remark then sigh, mumbling more to yourself, "...Geeze, out of everyone, I thought you'd be the one to figure it out first given how much you like to insert yourself in our lives. I went through so much effort yet was still on the edge of my seat worrying you'd spot the inconsistencies anyways..."

"What are you on about?" Now he sounds plain annoyed, so much so that he pushes himself off the bench to get away from you as he’s truly beginning to worry about your mental health. Maybe you went insane dealing with Bucky for two years straight or hit your head a little too hard during the fight moments ago. Either way, you're not exactly in his good graces, so he has no reason to sit here and bother listening to your nonsense.

"Tony, why do you think I care so much about Bucky?" You stand up as well, grabbing his arm to prevent him from going any further. Despite the question, you don't allow him to answer, making it rhetorical as you continue, "I've risked everything to help him up until this point yet I stayed here to help you. Now I'm sitting here talking about things I shouldn't know - things about your family that you've kept so close to your chest that there’s no way a random outsider born in the nineties should know them...Come on, you're supposed to be a genius, right? What's the common denominator here?"

For a second, it looks like he's actually thinking about your little 'quiz', but he quickly shakes his head and gives his arm a tug in your grasp, "Let go."

"Not until you answer me."

"I'm not in the mood for this -"

"- Neither am I, Anthony," you remain stubborn, not loosening your grip over his arm, in fact you tighten it, "It's Hollie - she's the common denominator. She loved Bucky more than anything even if he was the one to kill her and she was your aunt which means you held just as much of her heart as he did. Now you're gotta ask what that has to do with me? What does any of this have to do with me and that's the key, Tony! …I was Hollie - way back then, I lived and saw the world as her until the day she died and I still remember nearly every second of it.”

Your frown grows when Tony finally gets his arm away from you, facing you with a glare, yet even through the dim light of this room, you can see the tears brimming in his eyes, "I told you I don't have the time for this nor do I have the patience. It's one thing for you to keep defending Barnes, but to sit here and drag this conversation on while making ridiculous claims that you were my aunt? Do you not hear how crazy you fucking sound?!"

Shrinking under his shout, you once again start chewing on your lip as a nervous habit, your mind whirling with hurried thoughts while you run your now free hand through your hair, "...Perhaps I got some of the details wrong? I'm just going off of old memories here. I have to admit, everything in the days leading up to my death are a little...fuzzy at best, however I do remember the important stuff.

"I-I remember being your aunt. From the moment I first held you, I wanted to make it my mission to spoil the crap out of you because I knew you were the closest thing I'd ever get to having my own child. I wanted to give you the world however that might look like, be it by playing pirates outside or teaching you how to wire a circuit board. It seemed like you always had a new hobby to obsess over and even though I knew you'd have a new one by the end of the week, I still obsessed over it with you no matter what it was because it made you happy.

"Yeah, I sound fucking crazy, but even though I'm (Y/n) (L/n) now, I continue to think of you as my nephew. Ever since I started regaining the memories of my past as Hollie, a part of my thoughts have always been occupied by the people I knew and loved as her. Those feelings have never disappeared.

“You know, I went home and cried that day Natasha first introduced us. I cried because I always dreamed of seeing my brilliant nephew grow up only to have that stolen from me. Now you’re older than me and you don't see me as family which is understandable. I...I don't expect you to believe that I'm Hollie. I just...I don't want you to think for a second that I'm trying to mess with you or take advantage of your feelings. I know I've already let you down by hiding Bucky and not telling you about his role in our family's deaths, however I...My intentions aren't to dig up old wounds for you...I'm sorry it’s worked out like that -”

“- If you're really Hollie…" Tony starts in a whisper and you nearly give yourself whiplash looking up at him, although he's not looking back at you, "...Then what was the message engraved on that telescope and where?"

"The message...?" You echo with a raised eyebrow, nothing coming to mind too quickly.

When you don't answer, Tony clicks his tongue as a way to act casual despite the way he sniffs back his tears immediately afterwards. He's prepared to swallow his disappointment and leave the room regardless of whether someone is here to get you guys yet. He can't stay in this stuffy building anymore, especially not when his chest feels so tight all of the sudden. He needs air...

"I think…I think it was on the bottom,” Tony freezes at the sound of your voice.

Your eyes are squeezed shut as you try your best to recall that telescope. It’s been forty two years, after all. You do remember having a message engraved on it. What was it, though? Something cheesy…Yeah, you were real cheesy back then; the cool aunt Tony would've no doubt been embarrassed by if you were around for his teenage years.

You snap your fingers suddenly, "Right! 'Reach for the stars and beyond even those, Lil' Wiz, love Auntie Hollie'; that was the message...Damn, was it bad. I hated that I couldn’t think of anything more clever. Sure, you were only four, so it's not like you would’ve cared or anything, but I didn’t feel that was a proper excuse for such low standards.”

You’re afraid to glance at Tony, however you somehow find the strength to do so anyways. It’s difficult to read his expression which a lot of people would find shocking if you told them because Tony Stark’s known for his arrogant and loud personality. To leave him speechless is either really impressive or really worrisome.

Unbeknownst to you, he’s thinking and desperately searching for evidence as to why he shouldn’t believe you. He’s spent too much of his childhood being forced to go to counseling and too many birthdays slumped over his bar to suddenly accept this outlandish idea that his aunt - the same aunt he’s gravely missed since he was four years old - is standing right in front of him. The universe isn’t that kind, especially not to him, so there must be some trick here.

Where’s the flaws in your lie? You’ve always been smart, that’s why he offered you a job at Stark Industries after the fall of SHIELD, however you left instead. There! If you’re supposedly Hollie, why’d you turn down his offer and go away? …To find Bucky; that’s right. You’ve spent two years caring for him, but there must be some other logical expectation for that. He’s not bad looking if Tony squints. He might be in need of a good scrub down, yet he’d also build like a brick wall with obvious confidence issues. You’re probably into that shit, who knows?

Steve hated your guts when it first came out you were keeping Bucky from him only to suddenly like you again soon afterwards. What reason can there be for that? The power of friendship prevails? Maybe he’s got a little crush of his own? Those are good excuses, and as for the telescope thing, Tony was probably right about you going through his stuff to find it…The only problem there is that he keeps that telescope locked in his room in a box under his bed since he doesn’t like looking at it. Now, you might be smart, but smart enough to hack into JARVIS just to sneak into his room without taking anything?

“Tony…” You whisper his name, reaching a hand out, however you stop yourself short. You feel incredibly guilty - more so than you had been before this conversation.

Suddenly, you’re reminded of why you don’t like telling people about Hollie. Natasha and Steve are the only ones to ever believe you. Two out of how many others who have cast you aside? You’ve gotten too comfortable; that’s your problem. This is why you’re not supposed to tell anyone about your secret. It’s hurt those who knew Hollie and it hurts you, too, because it only reinforces the idea that you can’t live two lives at once.

Opening your mouth, you plan to apologize again while biting back your tears, but Tony beats you to the speaking role, “...So, how’s this work?”

“H-Huh?”

“The whole…Hollie-(Y/n) thing?” He gestures a hand towards you, scrunching his eyebrows, “You’re living as (Y/n), but you have Hollie’s memories?”

You hesitate, “I, um…It’s a reincarnation thing, I guess. I don’t really know how or why I remember my past -”

“- And that’s why I’m guessing you joined SHIELD?”

“It’s nice to start somewhere familiar,” you shrug awkwardly, not sure where he’s taking this, “It was supposed to be a job until Natasha offered to introduce me to you. I wasn’t planning on sticking around, but I also wanted to see how you were doing…How you turned out with Howard’s parenting job.”

“‘Parenting’ is a generous word…” Tony scoffs with a roll of his eyes. When he trails off, you dare to look up at him fully, watching his features shift from a pretty good poker face to a softer, more vulnerable expression, “...Did I turn out like you hoped?”

His words take you by surprise and you must’ve blinked a dozen times while gaping like a fish before they process inside your head. Even when you understand what he had asked, you’re still left shocked because how could that ever be a question in his head?

“Of course!” Your response reflects your breathless astonishment, “I don’t think I could be any prouder than I am of you, Anthony.”

Tony sniffs again, turning his head away from you as if that’ll make his hand invisible from your sight as he almost raises it to his face. He halts this action, however, turning back to you with a poor attempt at a ‘casual’ nod, “Good, um, that’s - Hmph!”

Whatever he was going to say, he’s cut off when you step forward and wrap your arms around him. It’s not the most comfortable hug given his suit and you’re careful not to cut yourself on the broken shards, although it’s still enough to have him dazed for a second, his arms held out to the side in refusal (or perhaps fear) towards the idea of hugging you back.

“...What are you -?”

“- I haven’t gotten to hug my nephew in forty two years…Let me have this,” you whisper, your eyes shut not that it saves you from crying. Those blasted tears find a way anyways!

Slowly, his arms fall around you, holding onto you tightly seconds before the sound of sniffles can be heard echoing through the quiet air and once again. You’re smiling softly, feeling like you’re back in 1974, holding a young Tony in your arms as he cries against your shoulder over how long it’s been since he had seen you a week ago. Many things have changed since then, but your love for your nephew never has.

NEXT CHAPTER ->

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