#dont ask where that came from- i see him spinning around in a open field and going “can i borrow a kiss i promise i'll give it back”

[perfectlysafeandhealthy]

laughter is ALWAYS the best medcine, and the only one i will take and you to😭💀

[thewritingstar]

Gift Swap!!

So for the @kuroshironekoserver gift exchange, I got the lovely @diabl0o

now you asked for BakuDeku which ive never written before so i apologize in advanced but this was kinda fun to write their dynamic so i hope you enjoy this and if you dont i am sorry for the trash you are about to read. Anyways here ya go :) 

Pairing: BakuDeku

Word count: 2.5k

---

The bell gave off its routine ringing and all students from every class made their way to the cafeteria for lunch. Chatter and laughter filled the hallways and Class 1-A was no exception. They had all finished up their English session with Present Mic and were packing up their bags and filing out the doors.

Deku fiddled with his notebook before huffing and pushing open the door, too many thoughts were running in his mind as the day had gone by. He was one to over think everything but this was on a whole new level.

“Deku!” Uraraka called and he turned around to find her wrapping her arm around his and started walking with him. “Are you nervous?” She asked, which in both of their defenses was an understatement and lackluster question in general.

“Yeah, I just hope it goes well.” His palms began to sweat as he wiped them on his pants and they took a seat at their usual table with Todoroki, Iida and Tsyu.

“I'm sure it will be amazing! Don’t worry!” Her usual bright smile should have made him feel better but it didn’t, not in the slightest.

“What's gonna go amazing?” Tsyu asked and all eyes were on the sweating green bean of a boy.

“Today you’re asking Bakugou out and hoping that he doesn’t reject you and ruin your life right?” The bluntness of Todorkoi was scolded by Uraraka and Tsyu quickly.

“You think he will ruin my life?” Deku pushed his face into the table and they all tried to cheer him up.

“No, no, of course not.” Uraraka shot a glare at the duo haired boy who shrugged and tried to reason.

“Nothing bad is going to happen.” Todoroki said to redeem himself.

“We are all here to support you no matter what!” Iida chimed in.

Deku was thankful to have such great friends and turned his head and found the blond at his own table yelling at Kirishima for something minor.

“He’s just so dreamy.” Deku panicked as he watched the blonds fists exploded as they connected with the table.

“Yeah he sure is.” Tsyu said with a short tone and Uraraka let out a giggle.

They all finished their lunch and helped him prepare his speech.

“Go get him tiger!” Uraraka cheered as the bell rang and they all headed to their next class which coincidentally had Bakugou and Deku working in a pair.

Deku let out a small wave as they parted to their respectful locker rooms. Inside his stomach began to twist knowing that in a few minutes, his confession would be made known.

In the locker room, all the boys were putting on their hero costumes and messing around. In the corner Deku went over his lines one more time but knew that a long speech probably wouldn’t go as planned. The bell rang and the boys walked to the center of the field, Deku never taking his eyes off of the guy who had his heart.

“For today's exercise we are going to do pair fighting. You and your partner will dispatch into the makeshift city or forest and anything you find a team, you battle them. Remember to try and keep them quick and simple, work on kill shots and heavy hitting moves. The team to take out the most pairs or has the best moves will get extra credit on their next exam. When the whistle blows make your way out and find a place, then when the bell chimes, your free to go.” Mr Aizawa spoke as he took a spot on the bench and stat down. The whistle came to his lips and her blew.

“To the fucking forest Deku.” Bakugou said. He was thankful that Bakugou referred to him mostly as Deku and nothing else. After three years and their last year at U.A, their relationship chemistry had softened and rivals wasn’t really what they were any more. More like acquaintances but Deku dreamed they would become more towards the end of graduation.  

“Yeah okay.” Deku responded and followed the blond. He kept his eye on his back as they walked for a few minutes, his mind escaping to all the outcomes of his confession.

“If we go out here, there's gonna be less chance for an ambush. We can make our way behind the buildings and to the city, plus the pond is where Frog legs and Half n Half are probably at.” Bakugou rambled but Deku couldn't be more unfocused.

Soon he collided with a hard surface which happens to be Bakugou's back.

“Are you paying attention Deku?” Bakugou spat, his red eyes beaming into the green of Dekus.

“Oh yeah forest, pond, city. Got it.” He repeated.

Bakugou furrowed his eyebrows but left it alone as the bell sounded.

“Lets go!” Bakugou yelled and they both took off running towards the pond.

As pace picked up Deku tried to find the perfect moment to tell him. He needed it to be just the two of them or else he might regret doing it in front of their classmates, he knew the gossip would be a landmine for the class, especially Mina.

The pair approached the edge of the pond and hide behind the rocks of the small waterfall. In the distance was Tsyu and Todoroki. They definitely had the advantage with the water and Deku then questioned why Bakugou would even want to put themselves in this position.

“Fuck that icyhot bastard.”

“Spite.” Deku whispered with realization. The only way to beat them is to catch them off guard.

However their plans were disrupted as a battle broke out between Todoroki, Tsyu, Hagakure and Sero.

Perfect. This was good enough for Deku. As the other teams dueled it out, it was time for the big reveal.

“Hey Bakugou.” He said quietly and the blond turned to him with his usual scowl.

“What?” He spat but it wasn’t harsh.

“I was wondering if you wanted to maybe study or get coffee sometime?” His breathing hitched as Bakugou raised a brow.

“Didn’t we fucking get shit yesterday?”

Deku’s eyes widened and he shook his hands before scuffling out a laugh.

“Well yeah but that was with all our friends...I was thinking just the two of us.” He continued. “Like a date.”

In that moment Bakugou's eyes enlarged and his lips tightened into a thin line. He looked like he was processing the request over and over again.

Deku waited for a response but then heard a crash in the water. The pair snapped their heads at the four of them and saw that Sero had been thrown by Froppy.

“Now!” Bakugou yelled as he ignored the question at hand and jumped onto the scene.

Deku followed in suit and caught the four on the surprise attack. Quickly they manage to take them down and head to the city. The question still loomed overhead and he felt a little bad that he corrupted his thoughts when they were in training.

More fights around the city came about and Bakugou blew up a car when Momo and Denki were announced the winners.

“Wow congrats you two!” Uraraka beamed and the rest of them filed in to complement the pair.

“Yeah dude you really need the boost.” Kirishima laughed and then received a punch from Denki.

Deku smiled at his friends but turned to see Bakugou stomping towards the locker room. He quickly left the group and caught up with him.

“Bakugou?” He asked hesitantly but he made no motion to stop.

“Not now.” He ended the conversation by walking in and only appearing for dinner but even then Deku didn’t have a chance to say anything more.

“So he said no?” Uraraka asked as she sat on Dekus bed.

Spinning in his swivel chair, Deku sighed. “Well he didn’t say no exactly but the mood definitely wasn’t pleasant. I just hope I didn’t ruin anything between us.

She was unsure of how to comfort him because Bakugou wasn’t the type to open up easily. “I can ask Kirishima-”

“No its fine, lets just leave it alone.”

Uraraka nodded before turning on an action movie starring All Might. She could tell he was putting on a brave face but teenage heartbreak was on the list of worst feelings in the world.

--- Two days had passed by since his confession or date invitation. Bakugou hadn’t responded to Deku and even Kirishima wasn’t told about what had happened. This was pure torture for Deku. He spends his days in class staring at the back of the blondes head, waiting for him to turn around and answer him, but it was no use.

And he had enough. After class had ended for the day, Deku caught Bakugou walking towards the locker room. Making sure that no one else was around, he locked the door trapping them both in.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Bakugou snapped as the door shut.

“I want my answer, it's been two days.” Deku said boldly but not leaving his space. The angered expression didn’t leave Bakugou's face as he stood silently.

Deku let out a huff before hugging his arms around his body. He tried not to let any tears gather in his eyes. He couldn’t cry in front of his crush, especially not at a time like this.

“Look Bakugou, if you didn’t want to go on a date all you had to say was no. It's okay.” Deku shrugged but even his eyes couldn’t hide his heartbreak. “I would have understood.”

“It wasn’t a no.”

Deku blinked. Not sure if he heard him correctly, looked around the room then focused on Bakugou. “Then why-”

“Because I'm a broken person!” He yelled as his fists sparked at his sides. “And don’t give me any bullshit about how im not and im a great guy cause its not gonna fucking work.”

“Bakugou, I-”

An explosion sent out from his palms and hit one of the lockers. At that moment neither of them cared. Bakugou was a mess. His mind was racing it almost hurt to think, he felt like Denki in that moment.

“I don’t fucking get it Izuku. Why on earth would you even want to be with someone like me? I was an asshole to you. Why don’t you run to icy hot, round cheeks or anyone else who is worth a damn?” He sighed and plopped onto one of the benches.

Deku stood wondering what to do. A small smile formed on his face as a fond memory came to him.

“When I was a kid I had a music box.”

“What the fuck?”

“Just listen please.” He said and Bakugou shrugged and let him continue. “This music box was my favorite thing, also the only non All Might thing I owned. It was supposed to play a little melody and when you opened the top, a small ballerina danced around.”

“Why are you telling me this?” He asked watching the boy ramble on.

“When my mom gave me it, the music skipped and cracked in certain places. It didn’t even sound quite right and even the girl would only turn a few times before standing still. But even after my mom asked if I wanted her to fix it or buy me a new one, I refused. Its shaky music and still ballerina was perfect in my eyes, no matter how broken or damaged it was.”

He remained silent as Deku took a seat next to him.

“Katsuki, I know that you weren’t the greatest friend in the past and sure you weren’t the easiest to get along with, but no matter how harsh you could be to the world, I always saw the golden light you beamed with. Sometimes even the best things are broken, but that doesn’t mean they are any less beautiful.”

The confession took Bakugou by surprise. It wasn’t a simple “hey I like you.” or “ You’re hot so we should date.” Instead it was more of a “I like you, even with your flaws.” A warm fuzzy feeling went into his chest and he hated it but craved it more.

“Alright fine!” He said.

“So you’ll go on a date with me?” Deku asked, his voice rising several octaves due to his excitement.

“Yeah, yeah i’ll go on one with you. Your ass better not be late.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Deku replied before walking towards the door. He unlocked it and pushed on the handle before he was turned around and pressed against the door.

Soon his eyes met with crimson ones that were extremely close and he could feel their noses touching. His eyes closed as Bakugou leaned and pressed their lips together quick and fast.

“I like you too...Izuku.” Bakugou said as his eyes went to anywhere except for the blushing boy he just kissed.

“See you later Bakugou, have fun training.” Deku said as his heart pounded fast in his chest.

“Katsuki.” He heard as he pushed the door open.

As soon as the door shut, Deku raced to find Uraraka. He saw her walking with Todoroki and basically slammed her into the ground.

“HE SAID YES!” He cheered and then helped her up. His body was shaking from excitement and he was still on the high if the kiss.

“So you have a date?” She asked and he nodded quickly before racing off.

“Young love.” Todoroki said as they watched their friend run off to who knows where. --- A knock came from the other side of Dekus door. He called the person on the other side to just come in and the door opened to reveal a date ready Bakugou.

“You ready yet?” He asked and watched as Deku ran around trying to get all the last minute things together like his shoes and socks.

“Mm hmm. Oh crap! I forgot that Mina as my tie, I'll be right back!” He said but was already running out the door towards the girls dorms.

Bakugou didn’t have time to yell at him for running late so he just looked around his room. Of course everything was All Might themed and inside he was losing his mind at all the cool stuff. He turned to see something on his desk.

It was a small wooden box that had many scratches. On the back was a key to turn and since his curiosity got the best of him, he did. He then opened the top and realized that the small ballerina in front of him was the one he talked about during his confession. He was right when he said that she did not spin correctly and the song wasn’t as pleasant to listen too.

It mesmerized him. It was broken and damaged, yet he still liked it. He thought that maybe he wasn’t as bad as people said he was. Maybe he was that ballerina, always turning to the music but get stuck sometimes.

He set the box down as he heard footsteps coming closer. Deku appeared with his tie on and apologized for his lateness. Shrugging Bakugou passed him and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

“Thats alright, let go before a long fucking line shows.”

Izuku nodded and grabbed the handle of the door, he noticed that his music box was moved but didn’t say anything about it. He caught up with Katsuki and they held hands as they walked to the restaurant.

“Still beautiful.” Deku thought to himself.

----

sooo I hope you liked it. 

[just-my-fandom]

hi! could you do a piece that's based around "you came back" & "i promised, didn't i?" with wanda post-endgame? thank you!!

Reader is Steves adopted daughter 👍

____________________________________________

"Dad, please, leave me alone,"

Steve frowns from his spot at your bedroom door, eyes watching you throw on one of Wanda sweaters over your tank topped form, running a hand through your hair anxiously,

"Y/N, I know what you're going through with Wanda, but you cant beat yourself up over this," Steve speaks quietly, "Everyones worried about you, Im worried about you,"

"No!" You spin around in your socks, eyes red with upcoming tears, "You dont understand!! I-I lost the woman I love because of some asshole- and dont you dare say language because I swear to God,"

You inhale a deep breath, a tear slipping down your cheek as you clench your jaw, hands clutching at your hair, "I cant do this, I'm miserable without her Dad, she was so terrified and I didnt even get to say goodbye,"

Your knees buckle, two strong arms catching you before you could collapse on your bedroom floor, and your hands grip at Steve's arms, a rough sob racking through your body,

"Shh," Steve soothes, your eyes pinching shut as your head falls against his chest, shoulders slumping, "I got you,"

"I miss her so much," You whisper, Steve burying his face into your hair, arms tight around you, "Dad, please dont leave me,"

"I won't," Steve murmurs, "I promise, I'm right here,"

You exhale a deep breath and open your eyes, pressing your ear to Steves chest as he places his chin at your head, his eyes closing as he waited for your breaths to calm,

. . . . . . . .

"Dad?"

Steve looks up and back at a weak voice, her throat red from battle and eyes dim from the loss of her godfather,

"Hey," Steve greets calmly, swallowing down a sob for his old friend,

"Have you seen Wanda?" You ask softly, rubbing your eye that burned from tears, "I havent got to see her yet,"

"Shes with Bucky and Sam," Steve answers, catching you nodding in thanks, but his hand reaches out, grasping your arm, "Hey, wait,"

You look up at the man who adopted you years before, his eyes becoming glossy, "Tony's proud of you," He says hoarsely, "He's always been proud of you, since I took you in,"

"I know," You answer, smiling weakly, "And you are too. Trust me, hes told me,"

You look over your shoulder, "Can I please go see Wanda now?"

Steve releases your arm, nodding, and watches you back up before turning, searching for your fathers two best friends,

"Uncle Bucky," You put a hand in the metal mans shoulder, walking up so you were in front of him,

"Hey kid," Bucky smiles, "Howre you handling?"

"Dads taking it worse than me," You frown, "Is Wanda with you? I need to see her,"

Bucky nods his head down, your eyes looking over your shoulder, catching the gaze of a red head in black,

You squeeze Buckys arm, breaking into a jog across the yard of the Stark home, Wanda moving forward to meet you halfway,

Wanda stumbles back when your body collides with hers, arms around her neck to pull her downwards, lips crashing with yours,

"You came back," You whisper, thumb drawing over her cheek. Her fingers dig into your hips, her smile wide as she presses another kiss to your mouth, holding you flat against her,

"I promised, didnt I?" She hums into your mouth, your free hand sliding to her hair, "You look more beautiful than I remember,"

"Dont know how that's possible, Ive been miserable without you," You lean back, scanning her face, "I even yelled at my dad once,"

"Bet that didnt end up well," Wanda tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, eyes meeting yours,

"It ended with me crying," You frown, Wanda holding her forehead against yours and closing her eye's,

"No more tears, princess, I wont be leaving you anytime soon," She soothes, and you sigh, leaning into her shoulder,

"Just dont end up promising on that. Too many people have broken it,"

____________This story sucks man____________

"Are you sure you'll be okay without me?"

You look up at Steve, his hands at your arms as he stares down at you, waiting for your answer,

"Im sure," You nod, "I'll be with Wanda, Uncle Bucky and Uncle Sam. Trust me, I'll be okay,"

"But I cant leave my best girl," Steve smiles, and you smile back, hand at his chest,

"Your best girl is years back in the past, go to Peggy. I'll be right here when you get back dad,"

"One last hug," Steve pulls you forward, strong arms tight around your smaller form, "I'll see you in a minute,"

"See you," Wanda walks up next to you, eyes following Steve up to the time machine, her hand sliding into yours,

You smile at her and lean into her side, watching Steve lift up Thors hammer and the case with the stones, nodding to Bruce,

You sigh when he disappears, eyes looking over yours and Wandas shoulders, and just like you expected, you find Steve, older, at a bench in front of the lake,

You release Wandas hand and walk up to your father, shoving your hands into your pockets, "How is she?"

"You would've liked her," Older Steve smiles, holding up a circular bag, "Open this for me, will you?"

You nod, setting it on the bench and unzipping it, revealing his shield,

"Now, pick it up," Steve orders, your eyes meeting his before you slide the shield out, lifting it up with ease, "Its yours,"

"Wait," You look up at your father, "What? No. Its not,"

"I'm passing it on to the next generation. You are the next Captain America," Steve explains, your gaze moving downwards to the shield, then to Wanda with your two uncles,

Bucky smiles and nods once, watching you strap the shield to your arm and move it around,

"How does it feel?"

You glance Steve, sighing softly, "Like it isnt mine,"

"Better get used to it," Older Steve chuckles, "Try not to attack Sam with it either,"

You can hear Sam chuckle next to Bucky, and you grin through tears, "No promises," You lick your lips, "Thank you, Dad,"

"Always," Steve presses his lips together, "Now go be with the girl you were miserable without,"

Your eyebrows flick up, and You roll your eye's, mocking a laugh as you walk around the bench, "Har har, that's not funny,"

"It totally is," Steve calls back, and you grin, stopping in front of Wanda,

"Want me to teach you how to throw this?" You wink, Wanda laughing,

"Couldnt think of anything better,"

You take her hand and rush to the large field behind Tonys house, Bucky and Sam watching you disappear before going up to Steve,

"Boys," Steve starts, eyes distant to where you and Wanda ran to, "Im going to need that shield back, I made a terrible decision,"

"No can do Steve," Sam shakes his head, "Shes the new cap,"

"Bucky, please," Steve pleas, and Bucky grins, shrugging,

"Sorry. I only take orders from the Captain,"

"Oh my God!!" Your voice is distant in the background, your laugh mixing with Wandas, "We can become lumberjacks!"

Cue the loud thud of a tree collapsing

[personality-slate-blank]

Lucio's concert

As the final notes blasted from the speakers, the crowd went wild. It was a beautiful sight the numbing feeling of thousands of voices screaming your name "Lu-ci-o!" "LU-CI-O!", the lights bright in your face and the remaining hum in the air after a high-powered performance. It was just beautiful. Grabbing the microphone, Lucio greeted his fans, "Thank you guys so much for coming!". Giving a pause to allow the crowd to answer. "Did you enjoy tonight?" He asked, answered again by another shout. There were some quite voices in his ear from the ear piece he was wearing but he wasn't going to pay them any attention while his fans were on front of him. He was grinning as he told the listeners "I can't tell you how much your support means to me, means to everyone, because we won't be beaten! War may go on, but we will keep fighting!". Punctuating every other word with his fist in the air, yelling at the top of his lungs only to hear the crowd answer back with the same ferocity.

Lost in the moment and flying high, the DJ barely had time to react to the urgent shout in his ear "GET BACK!" Before Genji, his body guard for this show, sprinted out in front of him, drew his sword and reflected the bullet aimed exactly where his head was, straight back. Seeing the cyborg in front of him allowed shock to set in, his eyes went wide as he scanned the crowd and the balconies, seeing no sniper he assumed that genji deflection had taken them down. The danger wasn't over yet, Genji addressed the crowd as Lucio skated off stage, "Please stay calm, lucio is fine, we need to get you to safety. Exit calmly at the back, Tracer will be there to direct you" his voice stern and angry, he tried to stay calm, but he didn't see the ricocheted bullet strike anything but stonework on those tiered balconies, so he needed to stay vigilant in scanning the crowd and galleries for any hostiles. After seeing the crowd leaving safely, he turned to see Lucio almost off stage, just behind the screen. Running to join him, he turned his back. Another shot ripped through the air, as he heard it Genji raised his blade, prepared, but there was a shout from behind him and Lucio hit the floor hard. Calling on the comms genji said, "Brigitte cover us, sniper off to stage left" followed by Brigitte raising her shield and firing off a whipshot in the dark on that side. She gritted her teeth as she felt it connect with the metal beams and bounce off.

"Are either of you hurt?" She asked behind her back, scanning the dark for any movement. Turning back, Genji saw the DJ had already gotten up and away, skating off at high speed, zig-zagging to evade any dangerous sight lines. He called for the others to keep up in a harsh voice, before they got pinned by the sniper. Shots were firing off behind them, although Brigitte had her shield up, it was too small to protect a stray bullet putting a small hole through genji's armour in his upper arm, the nerves connected to it were on fire as genji yelped and went to his knees holding his injured arm close to his body sucking in deep breaths. Lucio had now turned back and was crouched behind Brigitte, grabbing onto genji's good arm and supporting his body, "Just hang in there, we gotta get through this", he encouraged, switching to his healing field. He smiled and said "I'm gonna make you feel better! Dont worry!" in his most compassionate voice. Bridgette gave him some armour and through everyone's support, Genji managed to get to his feet, moving past the pain. Lucio switched his healing field back over and passed genji gently over to Bridgitte in order to have full movement and range for fighting and evading.

They were quickly moving away out of the sniper's range with the speed boost amped up, going down the back streets and alleys to the pick up point at record speed.

They moved quickly from the scene. Lucio had switched back to healing in order to ease the cyborgs pain, whilst he tried to disconnect the nerves to his arm manually, resulting eventually in one functionally dead arm. They carried on through the yellow stone streets littered with mud and rubbish. Genji gripped the blade hilt behind him with his good arm, Brigitte was holding tight to her mace, shield ready to go up any time and Lucio covering any flank routes and wall riding to check the high ground as they sprinted out.

After making it out onto their escape route, Lucio went to the back with Brigitte and Genji ran off to meet tracer and inform her of the situation, wincing slightly as he left Lucio's healing range. This left Brigitte next to Lucio, who was now racing them along with speed boost active. The time without two of their team was quiet, focus and teamwork were needed, the more people they had, the safer everyone felt. Even once they came back, Tracer having successfully evacuated the citizens to the local authority's shelter, adrenaline was high and the tension was unbearable, they just wanted to get home safe. Genji was running along the rooftops, one arm swaying since he disconnected the nerves temporarily, an eerie sight. Tracer was running, blinking around in front attempting to contact Overwatch with her comms and acting as a scout.

Eventually, after running for while they recieved word that a drop ship was on the way to pick them up at the nearest availible space. Lucio suggested the main plaza, ampimg up his speed with urgency, they needed to flee before Genji dealt himself more damage, or they were spotted by talon or any mercenaries after their heads.

The back alleys lead to open shopping streets busy with people, they ran through forgoing secrecy, heading for the large square of orange brickwork ahead. They could hear the ship before they could see it, a loud whirring and a clang of metal on metal greeted them as they ran through an archway out into the open, civilians had scattered leaving a clear path for the small team to sprint towards it safely. Upon reaching the ship they were hurried on board by Reinhardt and Mcree, who once they were all on, shouted to the pilot to fly them out, a lurching sensation had Lucio's head spinning as they took off. Everyone, except tracer who got in the cockpit with the pilot, collapsed inside as the ship left the ground, bone tired from all the running and fear.

Now safe from harm Lucio switched off his equipment, the panic fleeing his system left his limbs sluggish, and he couldn't think straight. Everyone had moved to a seat, mcree had helped genji secure himself and it just left Lucio half sprawled on the floor, leaning against the wall. Mcree asked him "Y'alright mate?", as he tried to stop his head from swimming. It felt like he was on fire and yet so far away at the same time. Mcree grabbed hold of him to haul him to a chair, bringing him back to himself enough to being everything into focus again. Lucio brought his hand round to hold the cowboy's arm, brushing his side briefly. Which hurt. 'That wasn't supposed to hurt', he thought in his half-daze as he brought his hand up, which was coloured a dark red shooting everything back to him at a rapid pace.

The first thing he noticed was a sharp pain ripping in his side, shattering the dream-like illusion. He screamed and tried to curl up into himself, struggling in m cree's grasp. It was blinding and mcree fought to keep him still "what're ya doin' man?" He started, his tone accusatory. Lucio's struggling had weakened his hold and the DJ hit the floor on his other side which was now clearly staining the floor underneath him. Everyone was in shock as they stared at the man whimpering on the floor in agony. "SHIT!" Mcree yelled as he attempted to apply pressure to his wound.

"REIN, HOLD HIM DOWN! BRIG GET SOME HEALING GOING! GENJI TELL TRACER AND RAY TO GO DOUBLE TIME!" Mcree yelled and everyone threw aside their exhaustion to go to their assigned jobs. Lucio was in agony and he couldn't even think to turn his healing field on, leaving Brigitte to do what she could, giving him some small pain relief. They felt the ship speed up,abandoning stealth in favour of getting Lucio back in the capable hands of the overwatch team.

They just hoped that they could make it in time.

[littlethingwithfeathers]

Writing Update: 1-14-19

Publishing Now!

A Room for Rent in the Fourth Estate: My Darcy/Venom/Eddie fic, which clocks in at just over 37k.  I’m excited to finally start sharing this one. You can read a short excerpt from the first chapter below!

***

“Hey Dr. C! It’s Darcy.”

“Hey Darcy! How’s the superhero life treating you?”

“Oh, it’s the usual. The scientists don’t ever remember to sleep or eat. And Captain America strutting around in muscle shirts keeps me from remembering how to do things like breathe and walk in a straight line. But y'know. Eating regular. Living indoors. Living the Millennial dream.”

“Living most anybody’s dream more like.” her advisor replied, a smug smile in his voice.

“Yeah well.” Darcy gave a sheepish shrug even though Dr. Carpenter couldn’t see her. “So about that intern credit. I thought I had that covered. That’s how I wound up on Dr. Foster’s traveling circus in the first place.”

“I know but the new regs for graduation say that it has to actually be in your field, and ideally relevant to your thesis. Not sure I can spin an internship with a theoretical physicist into political science gold.”

Darcy groaned and buried her face in her hands. “You know that internship nearly got me killed right? Like… Multiple times?”

“Yeah, but I also know that it’s got you living rent free in the Avengers facility in upstate New York where Captain America struts around in a muscle shirt. So… no sympathy.”

Darcy snorted against the rim of her coffee mug. “Fair enough.”

“Besides,after last time, I wanted to find you something good.”

“Yeah?”

“So… Just hear me out on this. You know I went to undergrad here at Culver.”

“Uh huh?”

“You know who else went to Culver for undergrad? Who’s a journalist covering human rights issues, and was one of my classmates?”

“Who?”

“Eddie Brock.”

She sat up straight on that one, like she’d just applied her own taser to the base of her spine. “Eddie Brock? Like… “The Brock Report” Eddie Brock? THE Eddie Brock?”

“The very same. He’s doing print stuff these days, and he’s chasing a story involving military recruitment practices. And I found out just the other day that he’s looking for an intern.”

“No shit.”

“Yep. With your focus on recruitment demographics, military policy and so forth, I thought you might be a good fit to help him.”

“You want me to go intern for Eddie Brock.” The disbelief was thick on her voice.

“No. Eddie Brock wants you to intern for him. I just want you to graduate and get the hell out of my hair.” Dr. Carpenter sniped cheerily. “I sent him your thesis and he was all about it.”

There was a beat of utterly pulverized dead silence. “You’re kidding.”

***

Coming soon!

The Night the Wall Came Down: Next up in my Friendship is Unnecessary series. It’s a Steve/Natasha fic set about a month post Infinity War. The rough draft is finished, clocking in at 7k. Definitely will be a sad one… I’m actually using this as a mourning piece for myself. Both for Infinity War, for what might be coming in Avengers: Endgame, and for the end of season 5 of Agents of SHIELD. My beta reader @kaminaduck pointed out that the opening chapter is no longer canon compliant because of the Endgame trailer, so I’ve got to go back and do major surgery on the opening. So this one might get delayed... I might even delay it until I finish “An Echo in my Soul” and until the next Endgame trailer comes out, just to make sure. 

An Echo in my Soul: Another installment for “Friendship is Unnecessary.” Bucky/Natasha, set post Civil War. This one is starting to take shape in the shadow of the Christmas fic “Cold Making Warmth.” I reference some things… imply some things have happened… especially between Natasha and Bucky and I think this is where I will make those things happen. Their relationship deserves some exploration. It’s currently clocking in around 2.5k, and that’s just some patchwork dialogue and such. It’s starting to fill in and I imagine it will be like the rest of the oneshots in this series which are between 5 and 7k.

Hang By Every Word: The outline for my Stucky fic is still coming along but it will be awhile yet before I start writing on it in earnest. Now that “Fourth Estate” is finished and publishing, I’m ready to start picking at a new bigger fic. The basic theme (and I’m sure this has been done, but fuck it) is the undoing of Bucky’s conditioning one trigger word at a time. And each trigger word locked down a memory of Steve. So I have to write things from Steve’s point of view, and all ten memories have to be written from Bucky’s point of view, and they have to tie together into a cohesive narrative but the memories are out of order, but Steve’s time line isn’t and… It’s… a challenge. Both to my skill as a writer and to my creativity.

Untitled Loki/Darcy fic: I’ve had several requests for more from “The Rain’ll Be Gone in the Morning.” And while I had intended it to be a stand alone, there is room to explore the vulnerability I introduced in the fic… and the giftee of that fic in particular has been asking. So that’s churning away in my brain pan. No promises… but we’ll see.

Other “Friendship is Unnecessary” fics in the planning stages:

Sweet and Honorable: Bucky insists on coming with Steve and Natasha to rescue Sam Wilson. Set post Civil War.

Rusalka: Steve/Natasha set sometime before Civil War. Natasha takes Steve as her +1 to a Stark gala.

[albionscastle]

We’ll Meet Again Pt 3 (A Collins Fic)

This chapter is all Collins.

Note: graphic descriptions of battle. I regret nothing, but I do apologize because this got dark fast.

Part 1 Part 2 

FIC MASTERLIST

SEPTEMBER 15 1940 COLLINS 10:55am

“Scramble, Scramble, Scramble!”

Collins leapt from his chair, hastily shoving his pile of letters into his jacket, heart jumping into his throat, mouth going dry. The loud clatter of men’s boots on the wooden floorboards was punctuated by more shouts as they sprung up from whatever they were doing, rushing for the doors, the barracks room table littered with board games, half written letters and newspapers, all left behind.

The men were all running at full speed toward the lines of Spitfires standing by. Collins clambered up into the cockpit, wrenching his leather helmet from the control column and jamming it onto his head, radio cables and oxygen tubes trailing. He ran through a mental checklist of settings and instruments as proceeding squadrons took to the air around him. An airman climbed onto the wing handing him the straps of his parachute. Muttering a prayer for luck, Collins slipped it on over his shoulders and secured the safety harness.

On the count, Collins turned on the petrol feeds and pushed the starter button, listening to the engine roar to life with a cloud of bluish smoke be fore rolled away and out onto the field.

There were 12 Spitfires in his Squadron, dubbed Oak and they all turned to the wind and formed up, taking off in four sections of three as they had done a hundred or more times in the past two months. Any pilot who wasn’t scared was a fool, and Jack had never been a fool. With a pat of the pocket over his chest he quickly removed her picture, placing it above his instruments. His heart clenched as he took her in, hair lose, eyes wide, a smile on her face. He had never asked her what she’d been smiling at, preferring to think that it was him.

Tapping his gloved hand against her face he smiled beneath his mask. “I’ll be seein ye again soon lass. I promise.”

He was in the last section to take off, just beginning to throttle down the runway when he heard a violent BOOM. Two empty hangars behind erupted in a giant burst of smoke and earth, with two more blasts 30 feet to his right. The shockwave hit his plane like a giant hammer.

“Let’s get out of here!” Harrison Hughes was Flight Lieutenant for this mission, an old friend of Farrier’s.

Collins looked up and saw a massed formation of bombers perhaps 500 feet above, their bomb bay doors open and their wings decorated with the black cross. Bombs were falling all around him and the squadron clawed for enough height to escape.

“Tae the right!” Collins banked as a pair of Messerschmitt 109 fighters screamed into his path, going at least twice their speed. They had no idea, obscured by the bomb smoke, that they had just streaked into the path of a dozen Spitfires.

“Oak 1 do you have them in your sights?”

“Aye Oak leader, I have the one on the left.”

Both fighters blew up mid air as Collins and Hughes pumped out slugs at 160 bullets per second from their wing-mounted guns. The signal was given to regroup, but the armada of bombers had already begun to drop their bombs on the city.

“No ye fuckin dont.” Collins muttered as the other Squadrons joined them, several hundred racing toward the enemy planes.

She was down there somewhere, in danger. He pictured her standing outside the boardinghouse in her blue dress, hand shielding her eyes as she looked to the sky to see the horrors unfolding. His heart wrenched thinking about it, knowing she was beneath this hell somewhere. He had to keep her safe, keep them all safe. It was his job.

Suddenly, a formation of 20 or more ME 109s came diving in out of the sun. They were already firing before Collins and the others even saw them, sliding by underneath them in groups of two and four, passing close enough to see the eyes of the German pilots.

In his experience of the past two years, air warfare felt like a series of illusions and hallucinations. One moment the air was clear, the next it was full of enemy fighters, and then the next they were gone. Trails of tracer fire spat from German guns and remained hanging in the air long after the plane had sped on.

Squinting against the sun, Collins likened them to streaks of death across the sky.

“Jesus!” the air around him was suddenly alive with tracer fire and he turned violently to see two of the enemy planes on his tail, firing. A bomber flew across his sights and he fired, watching him roll over and dive into the clouds below. He banked to the left as the MEs fired again the stick going sloppy in his hand as the nose of his plane dipped vertically down, the ground spinning.

“Shit, shit.” he muttered, able to pull himself out of the spin, maneuvering in behind another enemy plane. The ME seemed to have no idea that Collins was streaking behind him at 450 mph and he stalked it for several minutes before its wings filled the gunsight and he opened fire. Pieces of the plane broke off and Collins watched as the enemy jackknifed into the ground below.

Months of desperate intensity and ‘flying to exhaustion’ had taken their toll, even with the past 24 hours out of the cockpit. Collins could feel his head pounding. The men had been on duty for 20 hours a day, in the air the whole time, with four hours to rest, if they could. And Collins often couldn't. The numbers were against them, the Germans had almost double the planes and pilots, and unlike Fighter Command, they weren't afraid to send them all into battle. “Oak 1, watch your tail!”

Diving under a row of bombers and MEs, Collins executed a steep climbing turn, far tighter than any ME could follow, and came in behind the last bomber in formation.

“Take him, Oak 1, I have his escort!”

The ME to the right banked off, smoke pouring from its engine as it broke up. Collins slowed and nearly stalled as his guns roared, the bomber rolling and vanishing before he homed in on the next, who fell out of sight as the Spitfires dodged and rolled with the MEs. There, suddenly in front of him, was a perfect target, bomb bay doors opening, getting ready to rain hell down upon the innocent civilians below. Bullets erupted from the Spitfire’s guns and the bomber started to go down, falling apart as flames licked through it. Wanting to see it blow up, Collins gave chase, unwittingly showing his tail to a lone ME that had gone unnoticed.

Collins’ eyes widened in sudden fear as he realized what he’d done.

BOOM! Something exploded under his seat, the armour plating barely protecting him and ringing like a bell.

“Shit! No!”

The Spitfire reared up and hurtled into a savage loop before Collins was able to stabilize it.

“Oak leader, I’m hit.”

Petrol sloshed in the bottom of the plane and he knew that one spark from either tracer fire or the exhaust would be the end of him.

“Heard Oak 1, what’s your status?”

“Fuel tank’s been hit, I’ve go petrol in the cockpit.”

Return to base Oak 1, get another plane. Over.”

“Over.”

Collins limped the Spitfire back to base, landing it cleanly, away from the undamaged buildings.

“She can be saved, but donnae let anythin spark near her till ye drain the fuel!” he yelled, sprinting toward the hangar and calling for another plane.

Someone handed him a canteen of water and he waited, several Spitfires from all squadrons limping in, some damaged, some in need of fuel. The armada of bombers had moved off the coast now, over the channel and the exhausted men simply sat and waited. All reports said the Germans would be coming again. The day was far from over yet.

Hot food was placed in front of them and they ate silently, weary and tormented. For all their efforts, the city had still been heavily bombed, though not to the full extent that the Luftwaffe had planned. People were still dead on the ground, and for all Collins knew, she could be one of them. Pulling out her picture he traced his fingers over her face. There was nothing more he wanted than to see her again.

She’d been in his head since that awful night after the evacuation, her gentle kindness as she’d driven him back to the base and the way she’d cried for him and the others. That she was pretty was, at first, merely a bonus. Through the letters they’d sent back and forth something more had developed, but Collins hadn’t truly believed it until she’d been in his arms the day before. The moment he’d felt her arms around him he knew.

Now, they just had to survive long enough for him to tell her, and to ask her to marry him.

“Collins! Mate, I was wondering how you’d got on.”

Hughes pulled up a seat next to him, looking just as tired as the rest of them.

“Warrick and Stevens didn’t make it.”

“Wha abou’ the other squadrons?” Collins asked around a mouthful of bread.

“24 lost total, 36 planes damaged or destroyed.”

“There’s so many of em, so few of us.”

“We have right on our side though, lad. For King and Country and all that.”

“Yeah, but is it enough?” Collins murmured.

“It had has to be.” Hughes leaned over. “That your sweetheart?”

“Yeah. She’s in London, works in a munitions factory there.”

“That’s where you went to yesterday is it? Was it a happy reunion?” Hughes waggled his eyebrows making Collins laugh and blush.

“Wasnae like tha, there was a weddin.”

“Next time you get leave you’re due a few days right?”

Collins nodded, tucking the picture back inside his jacket.

“There’s a place in Cornwall, called the Swan. I took my Sally there for our honeymoon before all this shit started. Lots of beautiful scenery and plenty of privacy, and it's far away from all this.”

“Do ye think she’ll go wi’ me?”

“I do. The amount of letters she sends you, its obvious she loves you.”

Hughes clapped Collins on the shoulder, before turning to his food. Both men were lost in thought, waiting for the inevitable call, watching the flight crews fuel and prep for the next wave.

2pm

“Scramble, Scramble!”

Collins jerked awake, neck aching from his position slumped in the chair.

“See you up there my boy!” Hughes called as they ran for their planes.

Men roared around him, a bravado of sorts building to hide the palpable fear. The game was on again.

The battle roared and raged, the skies bruised and scarred with tracer fire and smoke. The armada of bombers just kept coming, no matter how many of them the men shot down. Collins and Hughes spent an hour engaged with a trio of particularly determined MEs, diving and banking, spinning and shooting. Collins’ hands cramped, sweaty in his leather gloves as his body took a beating. Sweat dripped into his eyes as he squinted against the late afternoon sun.

Finally, after hours of it, the German planes began to retreat back over the channel, the RAF chasing them until they began to run low on fuel.

The squadron flew in formation over London, Collins looking down at the damage inflicted by the bombs below. Fires had broken out in several areas and factories had been reduced to piles of rubble. Terror welled in his throat as he thought about Y/N down there.

“Please be alrigh lass, please.”

“Oak 1, this is Oak leader, over.”

“Heard, Oak leader.”

“I’ve sustained some damage to my left engine, I’m going to pull back and beside you.”

Collins looked out as Hughes pulled back to his right side. He could immediately see the heavy damage sustained.

“Oak leader, notin severe damage tae yer fuselage, and it looks li yer landin gears been taken out.”

“Noted Oak 1, land everyone safely. I’m going to attempt a landing.”

“Oak leader, I don’ recommend tha’”

“Your concern is noted, Oak 1. See you on the ground.”

Collins landed his plane without incident, along with the rest of the squadron. They all crawled out of their cockpits to stand with the flight crews, watching for Hughes.

“C’mon man.” he muttered as he watched the sputtering plane line up for a hard landing. There was silence as it dropped ever lower, seemingly like a rock out of the sky. If anything, the Spitfire seemed to be gaining speed as it descended. It was evident pretty quickly that it was going to be a bad landing. Hughes came in almost sideways, one wing clipping the ground, the one good engine shrieking painfully as the Spitfire flipped over, sliding cockpit first down the runway. Collins and the others looked on in horror as the fuselage erupted into flames.

A horrible screaming came from beneath the cockpit hood, muffled by the crackling of flames.

“Someone help him!” Collins cried out, running toward the burning plane.

“Collins no!” men chased after him as he grabbed a crowbar from the ground, shielding his face from the heat.

“Hughes! I’m comin mate!”

Over and over he swung the iron against the hood, barely even making a dent. Smoke poured from the wreckage, choking him, the heat so intense he could feel the skin on his face burning.

“God damnit! Someone help me! I cannae break the hood!”

A set of arms pulled him back, several of the men holding him as she struggled and yelled. He could see the condemned man convulsing and writhing, hammering on the unyielding cage.

“Collins! Please! Do it, please God, do it!”

The despairing cry of his friend carried over the men as they let Collins go. They had all talked about this, every man had agreed on the course of action.

Collins looked down as someone handed him the gun, tears in his eyes a sick, awful feeling filling his chest. He walked toward the cockpit again, flames licking the inside, Hughes barely moving but still screaming in agony. With a deep breath, Collins pointed the gun forward, looking into the eyes of the dying man. Hughes nodded, mouthing the words “thank you” before closing his eyes. Collins sobbed, tears streaming down his soot-covered face before pulling the trigger, shooting Hughes in the head.

The sea of men parted as he turned away from the wreckage, throwing the gun to the side. Hands brushed his shoulders as silence followed him all the way back to his own plane where he stopped, falling to the ground by the wheel.

He couldn’t breathe, no matter how hard he gasped and struggled for air. Men surrounded him, lying exhausted on the grass. He couldn’t get the image of Hughes out of his head, his pleading eyes, the terrible screams. He felt so desperately alone.

Collins sat for a few minutes, head on his knees as he tried to pull himself together. Finally he managed to catch a breath, fumbling in his pocket and pulling out her picture. Choking back tears he ran his thumb over it, leaving a black smear on the corner from his sooty hands. He just wanted her, needed her to hold him and tell him that he’d done the right thing. Ripping a page from his flight manual he scribbled a note with his grease pencil, fingers leaving black streaks across the paper.

Looking about wildly he clutched it in his hand, no envelope in sight, not really seeing what was around him. Panic rose in his throat as he panted and gasped, he had to find one, had to or it would be the end of the world.

A hand came down firmly on his. “Collins, mate.” the voice of his flight crew member was gentle and calm. “Let me, I’ll take care of it ok.”

He gently pried the crumpled paper from Collins’ hand, knowing the man was close to collapse. He knew where the addresses of the loved ones were kept. Looking down at the paper he sighed heavily, feeling the despair of the younger man in every word.

“I’m alive. I love you. Please forgive me.”

Collins was in a daze as the man walked off, not seeing anything of what was around him. A hand came down gently on his shoulder, followed by another and then more as the men all gathered around, huddled together in the cold night air, all looking toward the smoldering wreckage of Hughes’ plane. Their silent support and acceptance of his actions roused Collins. With a nod he turned away, facing the wheel before curling into a ball and weeping like a baby.

[foreverlovingdaryldixon]

24, 18, 16, 5. You dont have to do them all. Caryl prompts. From the thing.

24.  person A flirting withother people to make person B jealous.

18.  “I can help you to make her/him jealous”

Two in one! Set in the prison. Hopefully not too similar to thelast.

They had been flitting around the subject for toolong and quite frankly Carol was tired of it, she was almost sure he wanted ittoo, almost. She had to be certain though, she wasn’t open to the possibilityof rejection. Luckily for her she wasn’t the only one who had noticed their littledance.

“I can help ya make him jealous,” a voice came frombehind her making her jump and spin around.

Her shocked expression was wiped away with insteadone of boredom as she saw Merle leant against the entrance of her cell, adevilish grin on his face.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking aboutMerle,” she said casually bending over to untie her boots and slip them off.

“Come on don’t play coy with me woman,” he saidtaking a stride into her cell, “you and I both know ya got the hots forDarylina.”

Carol turned to face him a frown set deep on herface as she tried to cover up what they both knew to be true, “I do not havethe ‘hots’ for your brother.”

“Sugar, lie through your teeth all ya want but ya’reonly makin’ it harder on yaself,” Merle quipped, knowing he was quicklybreaking her.

She glared up as he now stood tall in front of her,debating whether to fight him on this or not.

“What did you mean by make him jealous?” shequestioned through gritted teeth, she couldn’t believe she was doing this.

A long grin spread across Merle’s face knowing he’dwon, “atta girl, knew ya’d come round. All pretty little Dixon boy needs ta seeif ya gettin’ all a lil bit too friendly with big brother Merle over here, drivethe kid crazy.”

Carol wasn’t fond of the idea, Merle would reap inthe benefits, loving the attention. However it would confirm or deny whether hewas feeling the same things she was. It seemed easy enough but she was worriedabout the lasting damage it might have on their current friendship.

“Why can’t you just flirt with me? Second nature toyou by now surely,” Carol asked, leaning back against her dresser.

“Exactly why it can’t be me babycakes, I flirt withevery woman, Daryl see’s me flirting with ya he’ll be pissed sure but it ain’tgonna get ya the kinda reaction ya want, trust ol’ Merle, follow my advice, boy’llbe eatin’ out the palm of ya hand in no time.”

“I don’t want him to be my bitch Merle,” Carol saidrolling her eyes.

“But we’re doin’ this right?” he asked a shiteating grin on his smug face.

She sighed running a hand through her hair, “yes I’lltry it, starting tomorrow, but do not take this too far, I won’t hesitate toslit your throat while you sleep.”

“Damn, I like ‘em feisty,” he winked before goingto leave her cell, “see ya on the playin’ field baby.”

Fuck. What had she got herself into?

***

The next morning she woke early as she usually did,going downstairs to start on breakfast for everyone. It didn’t bother herhaving to be up so early, she always was an early riser, however so were theDixon brothers.

“Smells good sugar,” Merle’s voice came from besideher making her jump again.

“Jesus, stop doing that,” she hissed glancingaround the room seeing no one else about.

“Ya gotta be more on guard,” he said more seriouslythan she was used to for Merle, “ma brother’s gonna be here in a minute so yabest get ya flirtin’ skills up to scratch.”

She turned her body around to face his putting onsoft seductive eyes as she heard the door open from behind her.

“That him?” she asked quietly, Merle nodded hishead, an easy grin coming across his face.

“Merle Dixon!” she said in a girlish voice, loudenough so she was sure Daryl would hear, “you are a shameless tease you knowthat?”

As she spoke her hands came up the slide up thelength of his torso, stopping just before she got to his shoulders.

“Offer’s always open sugar,” he drawled, playingalong as his good hand went to trail down her jaw.

She could feel Daryl’s eyes burning in the back ofher head as stood across the other side of the room.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she purred, smirking atMerle as he winked at her, pulling away and leaving just Carol and Daryl in theroom.

As soon as the door shut behind him she turned backto her work, Daryl now visible in her peripheral.

“Daryl,” she played surprised as she looked at himstalking towards her, “between you and your brother you’re going to give me aheart attack sneaking up on me like that.”

“Sounds like ma brother’s gonna give ya a whole lotmore,” he snapped as Carol passed him a bowl of food.

Carol resisted smiling at his reaction, pleasedthat it was working.

She looked up at him with big innocent eyes, “whatdo you mean?”

“Nothin’,” he grunted walking back out the door hecame.

She saw Merle again later that day and he decidedto lead them to the courtyard where he knew Daryl was working on his bike.

“Alright sweetheart, I’ll go out first, sit downstretch my legs a lil, ya come out a few minutes later, come straight over tame okay? Darylina is gonna blow his lid when he sees ya comin’ over ta me an’not him.”

Carol nodded, still uncomfortable with the situationbut god if Daryl didn’t need a kick up the ass, she wanted a reaction, Merlewould pull that from him.

She did as he said, waiting a few minutes before goingout to join him, she saw Daryl not ten foot away from them, avoiding his gazeas she sat on the table next to Merle.

They were far enough away that if they murmured hewouldn’t hear and the murmuring would only rile him up more.

“Alright mouse, I want ya ta laugh in a moment andput ya hand on ma thigh, however high ya want ta go sweetcheeks,” Merlemurmured as Carol wet her lips, knowing that Daryl could see.

She nodded a grin appearing on her face as she letout a light-hearted laugh, her hand falling to his upper thigh, her fingernailstracing obvious enough circles that it caught the hunters attention.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary, do you?” sheteased loud enough for Daryl to hear with a devilish look in her eye, Merleknew it was all for show but damn if he wasn’t enjoying it.

“Lean into me and pretend ta whisper in ma ear,”Merle drawled quietly as she followed suit and did so.

“You think it’s working?” she whispered once shewas close enough.

“Sugar ya are drivin’ that boy damn insane,” hemurmured back, as Carol pushed lightly against his chest, pretending to laughagain.

“I’ll see you later?” she asked as she stood fromthe bench, biting on the side of her lip seductively.

“Oh ya’ll be seein’ me,” he answered, being unableto resist knowing this might just push his dumbass of a brother over the edgeas he leant forward to slap her ass.

She let out a yelp wanted to rip his balls off butinstead glanced back and shook her head with a smirk, “I’ll get you back forthat Dixon.”

Merle chuckled to himself knowing that was a threatshe intended to keep.

His attention was adverted when he heard theclatter of tools hitting the toolbox with force, as Daryl flung them away,storming past Merle following after Carol. Boy made it far too easy Merlethought with a laugh.

“Carol!” she jumped hearing her name shouted so aggressively.She watched as Daryl approached her with speed, stopping just short of herface.

“Daryl,” she greeted somewhat breathless at hisproximity.

“The hell ya playin’ at huh?” he yelled.

“What do you mean what am I playing at?” she asked,knowing that the slap on the ass had been too much for him.

“I mean gettin’ all close an’ friendly with mabrother,” he growled with fire in his eyes.

“Is there a problem with that?” she asked wantingnothing more than to kiss the shit out of him.

“Yeah, he ain’t no good for ya, I know Merle, he’sgonna hurt ya,” he raged, no sign of losing fuel yet.

“Well maybe I’m a big girl and I can make my owndecisions,” she quipped, she was willing to push this as far as she needed togo, no point turning back now.

“Jesus,” he scoffed, “thought ya were smarter than this,nothin’ good can come from this ya know that?”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say Daryl Dixonwas jealous,” she pushed on.

This tripped him up causing him to snort, “I-I ain’tjealous, don’t give a shit what ya do.”

“Don’t lie to me Daryl,” she warned, knowing he wasgetting into dangerous territory of where his anger fuelled words could startto hurt her, “don’t say something stupid that you can’t take back.”

This seemed to break his resolve a little as he letout a frustrated sigh, “course I give a shit what ya do, I care about ya Caroland I don’t wanna see ya hurt by my prick of a brother, ya deserve more thanthat, someone that’ll treat ya better.”

“And is that person you?” she asked quietly.

He bit down hard on his lip, he was too deep inthis now not to tell her, “yeah, I know ya ain’t interested but I would treatya so much better than Merle would, his heart’s in the right place but hethinks with his dick, that’s the problem.”

Carol couldn’t help the grin setting across herface.

“What’re ya smilin’ for?” he grumbled his eyes downcasting again.

“I’m smiling cause it took for me to flirt withyour brother of all people just to get you to admit how you really feel.”

Daryl frowned confusion crossing his face, “whaddyamean?”

“I mean I’ve been flirting with Merle to get yourattention, see if you actually felt anything for me or not…clearly it worked inmy favour. I don’t like Merle, the hell would I ever like Merle when I haveyou.”

“Ya don’t…” Daryl trailed off as he processed yourwords, “so ya like…me?”

She nodded glad now for their close proximity asshe wrapped her hands around his neck, “it’s always been you Daryl, I was justnever sure we were on the same page, I couldn’t risk putting myself out thereand losing our friendship, you have no idea how much you mean to me.”

This time it was Daryl’s turn to grin as he pressedhis forehead against hers, “ya have no idea how much ya mean to me. I was just scared, ya know? Ain’tnever felt like this ‘fore, didn’t wanna lose ya.”

“Daryl you could never lose me,” Carol whisperedbefore closing the distance between them, her lips moulding against his as hemet her with just as much passion. Eventually they came up for air, Daryl keepinghis forehead against hers, his arms wrapped around her waist.

“So we really trying this?” she asked, her eyesstill shut.

“Yeah, we really are,” he responded making her eyesopen to gaze into his.

“I do love a happy endin’,” a voice bellowed fromacross the room making them jump apart.

The fire from before came back into Daryl’s eyes ashe glared at his brother, “yeah well now I got a bone to pick with ya, yafuckin’ prick,” he growled stalking towards his brother.

“Now now now Darylina, ya should be thankin’ me, I couldhave had that piece’ve pussy all ta maself but I let ya have her,” Merlereasoned backing away towards the door.

“As if!” Carol yelled across at him in disgust.

“Ya want a more experienced Dixon ya know where tafind me sugar,” Merle shouted back before turning on his heel to run from hisbrother who was now pursuing after him.

“I’m gonna kick your ass ya dick,” Daryl shouted ashe ran out the door after him.

Carol hugged her arms around herself and chuckledlightly, despite his vulgar mouth she owed Merle Dixon, especially after Darylwas done with him.