#for some reason my hands made his happen and im still shocked

[treatbuckywkisses]

HI I STAYED UP WAY TOO LATE TO READ THIS PART !!!! :))

(also this might be my longest rb so far)

SIX UPON A TIME

"You weren’t sure what you wanted him to do, but it was fun to watch the time bomb tick." - let's kiss him on the mouth 🫶🏻

"A reason to get up in the morning." - SHUT. YOUR. MOUTH.

"But then you blink back into reality again when Bucky sits you down on the closed lid of your toilet and slowly makes you let go of his shirt, kneeling down in front of you. The blue of his eyes is devastating, even though you have to keep blinking to keep him in focus." - No I can't do this 

"Maybe that’s the most terrifying thought of them all. You would die for him. Once, twice, however many times are necessary if that meant that he’s safe. " - Nika I'm fucking crying. I wish I was exaggerating but I'm actually fucking crying before 10pm.

"But it seems like you haven’t known it at all, because right now, you feel the knowledge of it, of him, surge through you with all its facets. You can’t even begin to put it into words, because where would you start? How do you explain what he makes you feel when he hasn’t been there himself, not in any way that matters or sticks? And if it’s never happened at all, if time keeps unraveling like this, how can it even be real? " - the woman that you are. Oh. My. God. You are completely unreal this is phenomenal.

"His breath hitches when they dip lower, almost reaching the place you’ve watched dimple when he laughs, but he doesn’t move away. He doesn’t laugh, either." - I have actual tears in my eyes you are so evil 

"That day, he dies with your stupid nickname on his lips, twisted into something that looks strangely close to that earlier smile. This one doesn’t have time to reach his eyes, though." - Nika I'm fucking sick to my stomach what the fuck is wrong with you 

Brief intermission bc I got too into it and read the rest twice before coming back to make notes (I was too immersed)

A crack in the sky you are insane I would FREAK

Where TF does bucky go during the day. As a naturally nosy gal the unknowns in this story make me ITCH I can't wait for everything to be revealed

"Why won’t you look at me? " - this is so hurtful why are you being so mean to me

HOW IS THE DELIVERY MAN EARLY IM LITERALLY IN SHOCK AND WE MOVED ON FROM THIS TOO FAST????????

"You take a sip of your tea and some feeling returns to your translucent fingers. Strange’s cloak draws itself around your shoulders." - hehe we have the cloak 🫶🏻 

""I came to you," you realize. "Or, I will, once I get out of this." The relief that washes over you makes you want to sob. "So there is a way out?"" - why did this make ME relieved like I'm stuck in the loop too 😭 I literally have felt anxious for our dear reader like I'm sick and this has soothed my heart the smallest bit (I'm still scared of you)

"You can’t help but wonder when he’s last tried the bed." - Frick you for putting him in the floor what has my baby done to you let him be comfortable 😭😭 

"No," Strange answers. "This is just when he wakes up." - this made me LAUGH I needed that 

CAPS BDAY IM CRACKING UP THATS SUCH A FUN SILLY MOMENT

"He might has well have doused you in a bucket of ice water. You’re suddenly very aware of every single cell in your body, and you don’t like the challenge sparkling in his eyes." - THEY ARE SO IN LOVE MY GOD IM SICK 

Why are we waking up to silence I'm gonna throw up Nika 

What did the powers do 

Alpine can see us that is both cute and scary 😅 

"You lose a few hours here and there, time seemingly speeding up at random sometimes now. One morning, Bucky isn’t in the gym like he usually is, and you work yourself up over it so much you nearly have a panic attack. In the end, you almost crash into him outside of his room, and a rush of reassurance floods through you with such force you can’t even look at him." - what is wrong with you 

"That time, Sam is there when Bucky gets shot, and it’s his cry that follows you into the next day. Your hands are clean this time, and somehow that feels worse." - how dare you write these 2 paragraphs and also put them so close together????????

"And then it’s you who’s speechless, because the shock on Peter Parker’s face is more than you bargained for." - FULL. BODY. CHILLS. WHAT A MIND YOU HAVE NIKA. I WILL NEVER GET OVER THIS.

"Sweat pearled on your forehead as you and the universe held your breath again. You could feel your hold slipping with every second that wasn’t allowed to pass. Time was impatient with you." - THE LAST LINE ?????? I'm speechless 

"And with time stumbling and flailing around in confusion, you made it out of the building and into the waiting cab." - ok chapter 7 pls 🫶🏻 

I'm kidding you are PERFECT I can't believe I missed out on this for as long as I did?!!!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your incredible brain with me I want to kiss you on the mouth I love you!!!!!!!

time after time [6]

series summary: After what starts out as a fairly normal mission, you find yourself stuck in a time loop. Which would already be bad enough in itself if it didn’t also mean having to watch Bucky die over and over again.

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader

word count: 12.8k

chapter warnings: maybe reacquaint yourselves with the story premise, it's been a hot minute; characters refusing to be honest with themselves and each other; violence against side characters, minor injury descriptions; strange is still annoying

a/n: this is quite possibly the scariest fic update i've ever made. a lot has happened since the last chapter was posted, and i won't bore you with all of it. suffice it to say, i missed sharing this story. thank you for being patient with me.

series masterlist | main masterlist | read on ao3

six: butterfly effect

Working with Sam and Bucky was different than working with Natasha and Steve had been.

At the Compound, it had felt terrifyingly easy to find your place, to slip into the new role they granted you as if you were always meant to fill it. You’d felt that way before, and it hadn’t turned out quite so well. Maybe that was why you used to dread the end.

Now, however, for the first time in a while, you constantly had to prove yourself in order to not be left back in that dark place they’d found you in, alone and trying to make sense of any of it. And you liked that. The challenge was something you could live with, something you could enjoy more than the ever chilling anxiousness that things were simply too good to be true.

So when Sam called you on for a follow-up mission shortly after the first one, you jumped at the chance.

It didn’t matter that you barely talked about anything but work, even when you were hanging out in your spare time; in fact, you much preferred that to digging up the past. You even learned to find a wicked sort of enjoyment in provoking Bucky’s initial dislike of you to the point of where he would barely speak to you at all unless it was to snap at you.

You weren’t sure what you wanted him to do, but it was fun to watch the time bomb tick.

It wasn’t as easy to get under the new cap’s skin.

"You’re making us sound like we’re partners in a law firm," Sam said, a smile clearly audible in his voice even though his eyes didn’t betray it. Bucky didn’t even dignify you with a clench of his jaw.

"What?" you said, crossing your legs. "Every newspaper in the city calls you 'Wilson and Barnes'. Don’t you ever read the articles about yourselves?"

"Unlike some people, I don’t have all the time in the world," Sam said, leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed.

"Pity. The Bulletin called you the 'nation’s new dynamic duo' last week." You looked at Bucky, your eyebrows raised in amusement. "You’ve officially been downgraded to a sidekick, Barnes."

He answered with an empty glare of his own. "And what does that make you?" he said, but not like a question.

"Nothing at all," you still grinned. "Everything is right in the universe."

The reporters had yet to pick up on your addition to the team, which was proof enough that your powers still sufficed to fly under the radar. Combined with the fact that you were actually regularly talking to people again—and people who weren’t your therapist or your customers no less—, things almost felt like they were settling into a new kind of normal. Still somewhat weird, and still a struggle each day, but somewhat hopeful, nevertheless.

You’d almost forgotten what that could feel like.

“Right. You’d prefer people not knowing about your creepy powers.”

"Aww." You tilted your head to the side happily. "You think I’m creepy."

Bucky scoffed into his mug, refusing to look at you like he always did, and then he strolled off again.

In truth, you couldn’t blame him all that much. You’d lived with your powers all your life and still found them unsettling sometimes, particularly when they got away from you and left you trapped in a universe that refused to move.

That was none of his business, though.

Besides, Bucky had taken to moving around so quietly you could never tell he was there until he’d cough and you’d flinch, usually dropping whatever you were holding in your hands. You’d already cracked your phone screen twice.

Not that he’d know, or care if he did. It gave you great satisfaction to erase his amused smirk from existence.

"Give it time," Sam said without moving. "He doesn’t like new people."

"Neither do I," you murmured, and he snorted. "What?"

"Pretend with me all you want, but maybe do a bit of introspection there."

You crossed your arms with a pout. "You sound like my therapist."

"Mhm," Sam hummed, opening one eye to look at you. "You owe me fifty bucks for that."

"Fuck you."

"Oh, would you look at that, the price just went up."

He chuckled as you flipped him off and went to look for the coffee pot.

Of course, your way got blocked. The downsides of not hating having people around.

Bucky was leaning against the counter, considering you. "You go to therapy?"

"You should try it some time," you said distractedly, reaching around him to get your favorite mug. Bucky recoiled like he was afraid you’d burn him. You shook your head in annoyance. "Helps with the stink eye."

"Is that what they told you?"

"They told me I needed to process my grief, but I decided to focus on some more achievable goals." You took a sip of your coffee, sighing in comfort. "We came up with a compromise."

Bucky scoffed, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He still hadn’t taken his gloves off around you.

"Sounds like a way to drag it out," he said.

You frowned into your cup. "It’s not a race, Barnes. There’s no finish line for this shit."

Something odd went over his face, but he went back to avoiding your gaze when you tried to make it out. You knew him well enough by then to get the hint, and so you left him alone.

What was it to you if he didn’t want to warm up to you. That had no bearing on the fact that overall, your situation wasn’t all too bad anymore.

It was something, you supposed as you curled up in your spot on the couch with your book later that day, slipping in and out of time to keep your company a little longer because deep down, you knew you were sick of being alone.

It was weird and different, yes, but it was still something anyway. Something to do with your afternoons again.

A reason to get up in the morning.

*****

"What are you talking about?" Bucky asks quietly, carefully, but he makes no attempt to pull back from your embrace. It allows you to take another shuddering breath, inhaling his scent until it makes you dizzy.

The fact that you probably won’t be this close to him again any time soon makes you press into his chest even harder, hard enough to feel his heart flutter against your forehead, the shock of the situation making it pick up speed.

For a split second, you slip into a sort of vacuum, your thoughts quieting as he keeps mumbling to you, and in that blissful moment, your situation doesn’t seem quite so dire anymore, more like a bad dream. You’re safe now, aren’t you? How could you not be?

But then you blink back into reality again when Bucky sits you down on the closed lid of your toilet and slowly makes you let go of his shirt, kneeling down in front of you. The blue of his eyes is devastating, even though you have to keep blinking to keep him in focus.

You don’t want to have to do this, you realize once your gasps for air start calming again. You’re not sure if you can bear it.

But nothing in this loop has been about what you wanted.

And so your resolve is made, with your heart sinking until it’s hidden away deep, deep inside of your chest. You ball your hands into fists to keep your fingers from twitching.

Two or three times he watches you inhale, start to say something, halt before you can, almost choking on it. Like your body is refusing to go through with it.

"How do you know when I’m lying?" you finally ask, and your voice sounds oddly clear in your small bathroom.

Bucky’s face goes from concern to confusion, his frown deepening. You want to smoothe it away with your thumb.

You close your eyes so maybe the temptation goes away.

"What?" he asks, and he still sounds so damn gentle.

"I’ve never been able to lie to you," you say. "What’s my tell?"

You can feel him move away from you and the ache of it makes you look again. His shirt and his hands are covered in his own blood, and you’re sure there’s some fucking metaphor in the way it stains the golden inlets of his vibranium arm crimson but for the most part, you can’t unsee the damn irony of it all.

Because you’ve pissed him off now.

"You scared the shit out of me, Y/N. And Sam, too." There’s the sharpness in his voice you know all too well. You haven’t heard it in a while. "What the hell is going on?"

"I’m trapped in a time loop," you say, squeezing your fists more tightly. "I’ve been reliving this day for weeks, my powers aren’t working, I’m the only one who can stop time from completely collapsing, I can’t do that without my powers, and you’re gonna die later today. Am I lying?"

It’s maybe the worst way you’ve ever told him, because watching Bucky’s face change is almost too much. This is exactly why you’re doing it, though; as long as you’re going through this loop with a giant guilty knot in your stomach, you’re not going to make any progress. And you need to put an end to all of it.

So you meet his gaze, almost unwavering, and you don’t blink.

His shock bursts free as an incredulous laugh. "What?"

"I’m stuck," you say again, slower, nodding at his hands, his blood, continuing to push, "and you keep dying."

Bucky looks down, then, before his gaze falls back onto you and he sits back on his heels. The pause lasts for way too long, heavy and smelling of iron, and you’re pretty sure you’re suffocating. He only says one word, and it sounds so defeated. "How?"

You swallow heavily. "You got shot on a mission," you say, but he shakes his head, the fire returning to his eyes.

"No. How did you get stuck?"

"I …" You blink, because you’re not prepared for this question, because you can never predict what he’s going to say, because he keeps doing that to you, because somehow, and not like you’ve expected, you feel like you’ve been here before.

How did it happen? That’s not … Okay.

"It was an accident," you finally say, helplessly, defensively.

There’s a flicker of something in Bucky’s eyes. "What happened?"

"You died. You died that first time and I didn’t—I couldn’t …" You swallow the sob that threatens to shake your voice again. Damnit, you’re supposed to push him away.

He moves his arm, then hesitates, as if he wants to reach out to you but changes his mind at the very last moment.

Right. He doesn’t normally do that.

Except he has.

He has held your hand and pulled you closer and written on your arm and let you lean on him with the full weight of your body, as if to him, you weighed nothing at all. He’s been offering to carry your load so many times, and he doesn’t remember a single one of them.

"Please don’t look at me like that," you say tonelessly, watching Bucky retreat.

"Like what?"

"Like I’m gonna fall apart at any moment. And yes," you add when his mouth opens, "I—I know I just did, I’m aware of the irony, but this is exactly why I can’t keep telling you, I don’t—I can’t stand it." You press your wrists against your temples, ignoring the buzz of the whirling time symbols against your skin, the stinging in your eyes. "You shouldn’t even—I mean, are you even the slightest bit worried about yourself? Because I feel like I’m the only one here, and I should’ve just—"

You stop yourself, shaking your head. Your hands are very clammy all of a sudden, and when you tug at your rings just to do something, one of them slips off your finger and clangs against the tiles as if to punctuate the silence.

When you reach down, you move your wrist in a way that makes you hiss in pain and flinch back. Bucky’s eyes flit between your own and your hand, his frown deepening in a strangely soft way. "Did you break it?" he asks quietly.

"I’m fine," you mumble, and he looks at you disapprovingly. "You’d grabbed my hand just before …"

His jaw twitches as the blame settles in again, and you would do fucking anything to finally make him understand that none of this is his fault. That you should be in pain for what you’re putting him through.

"It should’ve been me," you tell him, because it’s true.

Even earlier in the week, you would’ve taken great delight in seeing Bucky Barnes’ face fall at something you’d said. Hell, you’d have probably enjoyed it on Thursday, because there used to be this easy sort of gratification that came from riling him up, from catching him off guard.

Seeing it now, though?

It makes your fingers twitch.

"Don’t say that. Not even as a joke."

"I’m not joking." You can feel your pulse in your ears. "They aimed a shot at me, and you pushed me out of the way, and you died. So by all accounts, if your instincts weren’t so damn noble all the time, it should’ve been me, and if I weren’t such a fucking coward, I’d have gone back and switched places with you weeks ago."

The thought terrifies you, even though it’s true. No part of you wants to go through the things Bucky is, but if someone gave you the choice between either one of you right now, you wouldn’t even have to think about it.

Maybe that’s the most terrifying thought of them all. You would die for him. Once, twice, however many times are necessary if that meant that he’s safe.

"I’d like to see you try," Bucky says, and something slams into your chest as an old familiar shiver runs down your spine.

There’s a pained edge to his gaze, contemplative and heartbreaking and …

"You’re doing it again," you say, your voice barely above a whisper.

"What am I doing?" His hand brushes your knee, and your skin is left searing.

You swallow heavily. "Being noble."

Bucky chuckles softly, and his eyes leave yours for just a moment. "Don’t exactly feel like that."

He’s beautiful.

It’s a new thought, despite everything. Even when you’ve noticed it before, you’d roll your eyes at the fact and move on, because this was Bucky. So what if his face was delectably handsome?

But it seems like you haven’t known it at all, because right now, you feel the knowledge of it, of him, surge through you with all its facets. You can’t even begin to put it into words, because where would you start? How do you explain what he makes you feel when he hasn’t been there himself, not in any way that matters or sticks? And if it’s never happened at all, if time keeps unraveling like this, how can it even be real?

So it’s pure instinct that makes you move, like someone would pinch themselves to ensure they’re not asleep, even though you’re very aware that this isn’t just a dream. You need to confirm that Bucky is real, though.

The air stands still when your fingertips trace along his cheekbone, leaving a delicate flush behind in their trail, barely touching and yet …

And yet.

His breath hitches when they dip lower, almost reaching the place you’ve watched dimple when he laughs, but he doesn’t move away. He doesn’t laugh, either.

There’s a scraping sound at the closed bathroom door, followed by a short knock. You flinch backwards.

"I’m leaving the first aid kit on the bed," Sam calls from the other side. "Just … holler if you need me."

"Thanks, Sam," Bucky says coarsely, and you can hear steps receding. The scratching continues, though. That damn cat.

Finally, he breaks eye contact, clearing his throat.

"Do you want me to help you clean up?"

You shake your head. You’re not sure you could stomach more of this. "I’m good, don’t … Don’t worry about it."

Bucky drags a hand through his hair, muttering something to himself you can’t quite make out. Slowly, he gets to his feet again.

"We need to come up with a plan," he says, and you want to cry except … you’re tired. Tired and sick of this.

"I need to come up with a plan," you correct him. "We have been trying to do this as a team for weeks, and it doesn’t change anything except waste time and …" And hurt. "I can’t do it anymore, Buck."

There must be something in your voice that thaws his defiant glare a little. "So what’s the plan?"

And with a sigh, you fill him in on everything that’s been going on with Strange and your powers. Again. One last time.

You have to do this alone.

Bucky ignores your insistence that you can manage just fine and sets your wrist while you talk. Alpine, now free to roam wherever she pleases again, has decided the bathroom isn’t quite that interesting after a short look inside, and is now taking a nap in the spot of sunshine next to your bed.

"New deal," he says once you’re done, once he’s thought about it all, and you raise your eyebrows. "Don’t do anything stupid."

"You know me," you smile, checking the makeshift dressing around your hand. The green symbols are hidden by the layers of gauze.

Bucky doesn’t bite. "I’m serious, just—don’t."

"How would you know?"

"I wouldn’t," he says, snapping the first aid kit shut so vehemently Alpine’s tail twitches. "But I trust you."

Your head whips up at his words, even though his back is still turned to you. He doesn’t see your face as your heart is jostled into a new rhythm, so violently and unexpectedly that you lift your hand without thinking, pinkie outstretched.

"Promise."

He smiles when he notices, and you wish you could take a picture to carry with you through the rest of this nightmare.

That day, he dies with your stupid nickname on his lips, twisted into something that looks strangely close to that earlier smile. This one doesn’t have time to reach his eyes, though.

***

There’s been a change in the weather.

Not literally, no; of course not literally. Fuck, you long for a single cloud, a raindrop, a damn hailstorm to break the streak of endless perfectly sunny days that don’t fit your mood in the slightest.

But there’s a tinge to the sky that makes your stomach turn. It’s not very obvious to anyone who hasn’t looked at the exact same sunset for weeks on end, just a single strip of color across a storybook horizon. It looks like a crack.

"Do you see that?" you ask warily when you notice it for the first time, ominous and yet almost completely hidden by the trees and the buildings. Just dancing around the edge of your vision like another mockery.

"What?" Sam asks, eyes not leaving the path ahead.

"That … thing in the sky. What is that?"

Bucky stops and squints at where you’re pointing. "It’s called a cloud," he says dryly.

"With that color?" you murmur, but continue walking when he stops to turn to you, your wrist tingling. His stare is searing your neck, but you ignore that, too.

The best course of action, you’ve learned, is to shut your brain off as soon as you get out of the quinjet and just go through the motions, trying to ride out the mission like you’ve done dozens of times before. There’s a sort of autopilot you’ve fallen into after a couple of days, and it’s the only thing keeping you somewhat sane. Most days, it means it’s all over quickly, and you can’t help but feel glad about that.

You’ve given up trying to change your own actions to get him through the day.

But this …

It’s something new, and in all this monotony, that thought is both frightening and exciting. It distracts you enough to get you off script.

"Lovely interior design," Sam mumbles like he always does.

"Remember how this was supposed to be a day off?" You kick one of the pebbles in your path with a sigh. "What happened to 'don’t worry, Y/N, after training the day is all yours'?"

"Occupational hazard," Sam says, checking his map for the thousandth time.

"You know what I mean."

"Don’t you have tomorrow off?" Bucky says over the intercom.

Tomorrow. "Right." It comes out somewhat strained, your fingernails digging into the palm of your hand. "And why do you know that?"

Sam shakes his head and there’s a brief crackle of static in your ear. For a fraction of a second, you nearly dare to hope Bucky will give you an answer, even though you have no clue what it would be.

"They’re heading your way now," he says instead, "so get a move on."

And just like that, you’re back on track.

Quickly clearing your throat of the lump that has formed there, you say tonelessly, "I probably only have one reset left. Two, if we’re lucky and you two aren’t being stupid again."

It’s taken you a while to get used to it. To the constant lying.

You’ve worn fingerless gloves on missions before, so that’s not raised any questions from the others yet, and your rings stay hidden away. You’ve been more reluctant to take them off since the one you lost on your bathroom floor vanished into thin air.

The other thing you’ve picked up on while endlessly repeating this day is that Bucky is less likely to catch you in a lie if he can’t see your face.

So you’ve made an effort of spending as little time as possible with him.

It’s surprisingly easy to stay in your room for the majority of the day, because he doesn’t remember it ever being any other way. Even today’s little exchange will be lost to the loop soon enough, just like that little pause he made, just like the bullet through his heart.

Still, when you wake up with a start on Friday, July 4th, you look at the sky first. Its perfect blue doesn’t soothe the sinking feeling in your stomach at all.

You’ve been waiting for something to change for weeks, and now that it’s here, you don’t like it at all.

"What did you expect?" Strange says with an infuriating composure once you’ve nervously recounted your experience. "I told you, time isn’t supposed to get stuck in this way. Of course your reality was going to act up sooner or later."

"I really feel like you should be more concerned about this," you mutter, letting a ball of green energy pass from your left hand to the right. It’s about the size of a quarter now.

"Honestly," Strange answers, "I thought something like this would have happened a while ago." He taps his fingers together. "Again. Slower."

"So what am I supposed to do then, just ignore it?" The green ball pulses with your indignation, turns around itself once and then sinks into your palm again.

"In all likelihood, it’s a one time glitch. If everything is back to normal today, I wouldn’t worry about it."

Your thumb rubs across the empty space on your finger. "Easy for you to say if you’re not the one who’s stuck in an endless hellscape."

"Aren’t I?"

You both roll your eyes at each other, but then you bite the inside of your cheek again, unable to shake the feeling of a whole new shade of dread. "What if it’s not just a one time glitch?"

The corners of Strange’s cloak roll up on themselves, and he doesn’t meet your eye when he says, "We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it."

It’s still early when you return to the present, too early for Bucky to be back from wherever he’s always going, so you decide to venture out of your room again, stretching your tired limbs. You’re pretty sure at this point that waking up on the floor is never going to feel fun.

Sam is in the kitchen as always, reading something on his laptop. He’s still sitting down, which means that it’s even earlier than you expected. You miss these early parts of the day, the calm before the storm.

If today were only made up of these few hours, you suppose, it might not be half so bad.

You pull up a chair next to him and lean a cheek against your hand. "What’re you doing?"

"Research." Sam sighs, rubbing his temples. "Remember that ULTIMATUM group?"

"Never heard of them," you say with a small yawn. "Is that an acronym? What does it stand for?"

Sam gives you a glare and your mouth twitches slightly.

"Anyway," he continues, turning his laptop so you can see the article he’s reading. "They’ve been more active again lately. Acquired a couple thousand dollars’ worth of lab equipment through one of their contacts and then went underground again."

Of course, you know all this. You’ve been over it again and again, back when you were all still trading information like it could save Bucky’s life. Like there was a deeper meaning behind any of this damn loop other than the fact that you, and you alone, fucked up.

Useless.

You close the mental door on those thoughts and take a deep breath. You hate to admit it, but all of this sitting around with your thoughts bullshit you’ve been doing has actually helped you to clear your head somewhat—if only to make it through the parts of the day you can’t avoid.

"And now what?" you ask, pretending to just have reacquainted yourself with the topic.

"Now," Sam says, taking his laptop with him as he stands up and strolls over to the kitchen island, "I’m waiting for Torres to get back to me so we can decide our next steps once we’re all recovered." He gives you a meaningful look and you scowl.

Then, slowly, his words register in your brain, and you stare at his back as he stretches and then moves to make some coffee, wordlessly taking one of your mugs out of the cupboard as well as his own.

"You don’t seem too worried," you say hesitantly.

Sam shrugs. "Until we have a proper lead, there’s not much we can do. And I doubt they’ll be doing any actual damage any time soon. They’re a lot more covert than the Flag Smashers ever were."

"Right," you say, more to yourself than in response.

"Try that again, less convincing?"

"I don’t know," you mutter, slowly following him to lean against the fridge. "Just … what if Torres did find something? Should I be getting ready?"

Sam frowns. "Are you not telling me something again?"

You try to shake the thought, pulling your arms around you. "Forget it."

You don’t, though.

It keeps bugging you, because that day like any other day, he knocks on your door at 4:32 on the dot, and you go on that mission anyway. And even though this has been happening for weeks, you’re just starting to suspect that you are, in fact, still not getting the whole picture.

***

Catching a glimpse of Sam’s phone turns out to be more difficult than you first thought.

You’re still trying to get the timing exactly right a couple of days later, and you miscalculate enough to catch Bucky on his way upstairs.

"Hey," he says, his shoulders tense when he looks at you. There’s a restlessness to him that he’s not quick enough to hide; or maybe you’ve just grown more perceptive when it comes to him.

"Hi," you say, crossing your hands behind your back. "Where’ve you been?"

He shrugs. "For a walk."

You already know he won’t elaborate if you try poking, so you don’t. "Was it good?"

"Lotta people." He hesitates when you continue to not meet his eye, and then he says, "Do you want to talk about it?"

You swallow, ignoring the tingling sensation on your wrist. "Not particularly. Do you?"

Bucky’s jaw twitches. "Nah."

Somehow, you feel like that’s also a lie. Once again, you’re left wondering.

The silence between you stretches as you continue to not quite look at each other, until you finally clear your throat, nodding at the front door. "I’m getting coffee, do you want something?"

Honestly, it’s just an excuse as to why you need to leave before he notices something off again somehow, but Bucky tilts his head in amusement.

"Didn’t you just get some this morning?"

"So? I like coffee."

"Really. I never knew."

"Screw you."

You can hear him huff behind you, but thankfully the door falls shut before you can do anything stupid. Like turning around to face him, for example.

You miss his eyes.

Why won’t you look at me?

When the elevator doors open, you almost yelp into your delivery guy’s face. He stumbles a half-step backwards, somehow managing to keep a hold of the boxes precariously balanced on his arm while he’s reading something on his phone.

"Oh my god," he lets out, "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I was just …"

"Early." You blink.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing," you say, frowning only a little. "Wait, let me get that."

You quickly sign for the delivery and open the door with your keycard, holding it open for him. You’re not exactly afraid of burglars these days, and besides; you know this guy by now.

"If you could just go straight ahead and to the right, that’s where the kitchen is."

"Sure thing," he shrugs. "Thanks—"

His mouth snaps shut and he blushes a little as if he wanted to say something else but thought better of it.

You’ve introduced him to Sam enough times you know he’s going to be fine, so you just smile and wave him in.

When you step out on the street, you instinctually look up at the sky. It’s outrageously blue, blatantly perfect for an endless Friday, and even when you squint, you can’t make out any irregularities.

It’s a tiny relief, but a relief nontheless.

Lucy is leaning against the wall just out of sight of the storefront, an unlit cigarette dangling between her lips as she rummages through her pockets. Her colorful makeup has begun to melt off in the sweltering heat, making the red-white-and-blue stars on her cheeks bleed into each other to look somewhat purplish.

"Are you off or on break?" you call over.

She lifts her head, the glare vanishing when she recognizes you. "Counting the seconds," she says. "Don’t you have anything better to do?"

You sidestep a couple of pedestrians hurrying to cross the street and join her. "Not really."

"I hate you." She finally fishes a lighter out of her back pocket, sighing contentedly as she takes her first drag. "I swear, this day just won’t pass."

Fine. Maybe your chuckle is a little shrill. "I’m sorry."

Lucy waves you off with a gesture crude enough to make a young dad with a stroller send the two of you a dirty look. "You without your shadow today?" she asks, inspecting her nails.

You blink. "My shadow."

"You know. Your friend who’s been in here eight thousand times and still gets confused when he orders." A cloud of smoke vanishes into thin air. "Kind of the lingering type, isn’t he?"

"He’s old," you say, because for some reason nothing else comes to mind.

"Not that old."

"No," you agree, "not that old."

For a moment, you’re afraid she’s going to ask you to pass her number along to him, and you’re already scrambling to find an answer somewhere in the depths of your brain, coming up empty. That’s the problem with being able to unhave entire conversations; you don’t usually really have to deal with reactions if you don’t want to.

Without your powers, though, you’re stuck, and it’s making you wish you hadn’t come here at all.

Instead of any of that, she pulls a flyer out of her other pocket. "Sorin and Cass are doing a gig in Brooklyn next week, do you wanna come with? They’re still terrible, but they got a new bassist who seems alright."

You take the flyer, staring at it. "I didn’t know they’re in a band," you admit.

The truth is, you’ve never paid that much close attention to the people you work with. Maybe that’s been a mistake.

Lucy shrugs. "You’re always doing your own thing." It stings, even though you’re pretty sure she doesn’t mean for it to. "It’d be fun if you came, though."

"I’ll think about it," you say, and your smile is a little unsure, but genuine.

So is hers.

"If you don’t want to hang with us all night, you can bring some friends, too." Her emphasis hangs in the air between you like a dare.

You snort. "I feel like this isn’t quite their scene."

"You feel like or you know?"

"Isn’t that the same thing?"

"No." She puts her cigarette out on the wall behind her. "Knowledge is based on experience. On memories. Your feelings don’t sit in your head. And so they don’t make sense and they’re not necessarily true." She winks.

"You’re weirdly smart," you say, shaking your head.

"I know. It’s a curse." Lucy sighs. "Anyway, think about it. I gotta get back to hell."

"You know," you say with a grin, "I could really do with a frappuccino right about now."

"You know what you could do?" she answers in her sweetest customer service voice, pointing you down the street. "Get in a trash can."

Damnit. You might actually grow to like Lucy.

She taps her fingers against her temple and then shuffles back inside, a hot rush of air blowing out of the AC as the door opens. You fold the flyer up to fit into your back pocket, hoping you’ll make it to that concert one day, and then you walk on, aimless again for the moment.

***

Time passes while it’s standing still.

The problem is, at least for the moment, that by all appearances you’ve reverted back to square one. Going through your day as though any of this is even remotely normal, counting the hours and minutes to reenter the astral plane and feel some semblance of control again.

It’s been nice, really, if you’re ignoring the constant underlying feeling of dread.

Which you’re getting better at.

You wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume.

Rinse and repeat.

You wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume.

Even on days when you’re sure you’re making progress with your powers, every reset makes it just a little harder to keep dragging yourself onwards.

You wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume.

"You look like shit."

Your head rolls to the side slowly, allowing yourself a glance while Bucky is still distracted with his arm. Concentration makes his brows knit, and something warm spreads in your chest.

"I’m so tired," you say, voice barely above a whisper.

He doesn’t look at you, but you’re grateful for it for once. Your eyes are stinging a little.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Yes. Yes. Yes.

"Not particularly."

"Do you want to talk about something else?"

You almost smile. "Like what?"

Bucky shrugs with one shoulder. "Like the fact that you just planted Sam into the mat head-first and yet made a face like you killed a puppy?"

Sometimes you wonder how he still manages to slip in without you noticing, no matter how many times he does it.

"Did I?"

"Did you kill a puppy? I’d hope not."

Your body’s been getting stronger, anticipating Sam’s every move. At this point, it’s not so much training as it is an exercise in muscle memory; but how would he know that?

It still isn’t enough. It’s never enough.

You pitiful, selfish, useless bastard.

"You’re doing it again," Bucky says and you blink.

"Doing what?"

"I don’t know, but I don’t like it."

Something inside you twinges uncomfortably and you wrap your arms around your knees, pulling them into your chest. "That might just be me, period."

Bucky huffs. "Take the towel on the right," he says. "I already used the other one."

So you do.

And then you wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume, and then you wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume, and then you wake up with blah, blah, blah.

"I can’t do this anymore."

Strange watches you, but you don’t get up from where you’re lying, blankly staring at the ceiling, feeling like your chest is about to explode.

You don’t want to feel like something is tearing you apart every single time, even though you know it’s not permanent. There’s always the tiniest glimmer of hope that this will all be over soon.

Or maybe it’s dread.

"Maybe you can’t," Strange answers.

You blink, sitting upright. "What?"

"Maybe you are actually incapable of cleaning up your own mess. You’ve never had any training before, after all. Maybe you’re too weak."

Useless. Not good enough. Waste of time.

"If this is reverse psychology, it’s not working," you say through gritted teeth, pressing your eyes shut so tightly they don’t burn anymore.

Strange ignores you. "Maybe you’re going to be stuck in this loop forever. If that’s the case, there’s no point to keep trying either. Maybe we should just call it a day."

You can feel your breaths coming in shorter.

"Maybe you’re just going to keep failing to save anyone for the rest of your life."

"Stop it!"

An explosion of power goes through your body, bouncing off the walls and bathing the room in a ghostly green light. You cough and curl into yourself as you watch it billow, still echoing the words back at you, "too weak", "stuck in this loop forever". Your bones are heavy with exhaustion.

Strange crouches down next to you and a cup of fragrant tea draws itself up to the side of your face.

"You’re drawing the bulk of your power from pain. From a desire to fix things that you think you alone are responsible for when the truth is that each and every one of us is constantly creating reality."

"Fuck you," you mumble. When you sit up, your head is still swimming.

"You cannot keep this up."

"If I’m such a lost case, then why do you bother?"

"I’m trying to tell you that you’re not." He points at the walls, still covered by that greenish fog. "This is the strongest display of your powers I’ve seen from you yet, and it only happened because you were lashing out. Pain is not a sustainable source of energy. Imagine what you could do if you could be in control."

Do as I tell you.

"There’s no way to control my powers on a larger scale. It’s impossible."

"You keep telling me that, and yet you keep coming back. Why?"

You push yourself up to your elbows, wiping at your face. "Because I have to hope, right?"

"And there it is."

You take a sip of your tea and some feeling returns to your translucent fingers. Strange’s cloak draws itself around your shoulders.

The wizard himself stays quiet for another minute or two, before he asks, "Why do you think I’m talking to you right now? Helping you, even, nevermind your constant whining and your insistence that this won’t work, after you’ve spent your whole life running away from anything resembling actual responsibilities."

"I didn’t—"

"Answer the question."

"Because I created a time loop?" you guess.

"But you already know that this loop is just one point on the timeline. A single day, repeated endlessly, but going exactly like it was always supposed to, once resolved. So, without the time stone and my privileges as the Sorcerer Supreme, and with your protections still in place, how would I have found you?"

He knew exactly where and when to look for you. But he’s right, that shouldn’t even have been possible unless …

"I came to you," you realize. "Or, I will, once I get out of this." The relief that washes over you makes you want to sob. "So there is a way out?"

"Of course there is," he says, surprisingly gently. "Time isn’t supposed to get stuck."

You sit with that for a minute, hiding your face in your hands as Strange stays silent. Finally, you take a deep breath and look at him again with newly sharp focus.

"So why don’t you just tell me how to do it?"

He raises an eyebrow. "You know that’s not how it works."

"Yes. It is. It’s literally what I do all the time."

"What you do is leaving realities you don’t like by turning backwards."

"That’s not true."

"Just because your motivations aren’t entirely selfish doesn’t mean you’re right."

You’re so damn exhausted. The frustration of this whole thing is really starting to scratch at your sanity, and there’s an ache in your chest as you stare at your own sleeping face, biting the inside of your cheek, thinking.

Strange snaps his fingers to get your attention back.

"I’m not a mind reader," he says. "Out with it."

"I want to see him," you say, getting up. The cloak flaps around you in a very satisfying way. "Bucky. It’s early this morning, right? Just before the loop starts again. That means he’s upstairs."

"And what’s seeing him going to do?"

You ignore him and walk towards the door, reaching for the handle. Your hand goes right through it. You try it several more times, to no avail.

"Heaven help me," Strange mutters behind you.

Shutting your eyes, you take a deep breath. The circle of green tingles around your wrist.

Then, you walk through the closed door.

You fully expect to crash into the wood head first, but instead you feel the door moving through your noncorporeal form, and then you’re standing on the other side.

With a startled hum, you turn left, not waiting to see if you’re being followed.

You only hesitate in front of Bucky’s bedroom door. You’ve never actually been inside his room since he’s moved in; well, apart from that time he patched up your feet and you woke up in the astral plane for the first time. It feels odd to consider entering without him actually being aware of it.

Then again, there’s quite a few things at this point that he’s unaware of.

Before you can make up your mind, the door swings open just a little, and you automatically take a step back. Alpine sleepily slinks through the gap and trots off in the direction you came from, probably to sit in the kitchen and mope until FRIDAY activates the food dispenser again. On the stairs, she passes Strange who raises an eyebrow at you.

"Changed your mind?"

You glance into the room.

At first, you can’t find him. The bedding looks untouched, and there’s a brief flurry of panic that makes you step inside before you can keep questioning yourself.

Bucky is lying on the floor next to the bed, his hands balled tightly into an old throw blanket. It’s haphazardly draped across his torso, like he’s been trying to wriggle free during the night. He grimaces in his sleep.

Try the floor.

You can’t help but wonder when he’s last tried the bed.

"Can he hear us?" you ask quietly, not needing to look over your shoulder as you sink to the floor next to Bucky.

"No," Strange says. "Not until you put in a lot more work."

"Would he remember if I did?"

"I don’t know."

You do look back at him, then. "You know, considering your position you don’t know a whole lot of things."

You concentrate on your own hand until you’re starting to feel cool metal underneath your fingertips, ignoring the throbbing of your head. Carefully, you touch the crease between his brows, smoothing it out tenderly.

Bucky sighs a little in his sleep, but doesn’t stir. Doesn’t stop quietly murmuring in his dreams.

"You feel better?" Strange asks.

"Not really." You’ve already reached out to him without it having any repercussions too many times. "But that wasn’t the point."

"What was?"

"Just …"

Comfort. He brings you comfort, even when he doesn’t know it. It’s the same reason you keep waiting for him to arrive in the gym in the mornings, even though you could probably hurry up and miss him.

Even if the loop never ends, it’s still good to see that it’s bringing him back like it’s supposed to.

How incredibly selfish, you think as you continue looking at Bucky and letting a quiet, hesitant wash of calm come over you.

And then, all of a sudden, his eyes open.

You flinch backwards, but even though you’re almost face to face, he seems to stare right through you, his breaths heavy.

"Did I do something?" you say quietly.

"No," Strange answers. "This is just when he wakes up."

You watch as Bucky drags a hand over his face and then gets up with a determined tick in his jaw, grabbing a notebook from the nightstand. He scribbles something down, hastily, like it’s threatening to get away from him if he doesn’t hurry. You don’t have to read it to know it has something to do with what he’s seen in his sleep.

When the words stop flowing, he sits on the edge of the bed for a minute longer, but the tension doesn’t leave his shoulders. Finally, he rolls his left arm a few times before pulling on a shirt and his running shoes.

He always goes for a run in the morning. You’ve made fun of him for it before, but you hadn’t put together that while Strange was trying to get you to clear your own head through sitting still, Bucky might be doing the exact opposite to get the same result.

The door clicks shut.

"Are we done with the spying, then?" Strange says.

"No need to get weird about it," you mumble and take his outstretched hand.

***

Something changes once you know that your situation actually has an end date, even though Strange either cannot or will not tell you how many more loops you’re going to have to go through until then. Even so, there’s a new assurance to your every step again, a determination grown from the knowledge that all this isn’t for nothing. That there is an out.

You can cling to that.

"What would you do if you were stuck in a time loop?" you ask, letting your legs dangle over the ledge of the roof.

"Ew, no," Lucy replies, shaking the few remaining ice cubes in her cup emphatically. "My shift was long enough as is, and I’ve been looking forward to my Sunday off all week."

"Fair point," you concede.

It’s early afternoon then, and you’ve found a quiet spot on the top of the Tower. If Lucy was at all confused why you’d shown up at the store right when she clocked out and asked her to hang out, she’s not showing it. Over the past couple of loops, you’ve learned that she really likes to go with the flow, and you appreciate that.

"If it’s not today, though," she continues, like she’s thinking aloud. "Imagine the books you could read. You could try out all that stuff that you say you want to do, and then you never have the time to actually do them."

It’s a good thought, but a lack of time has never really been an issue for you. "Nothing you do would really stick, though."

She squints against the sun. "You realize that’s a pro, right? No consequences whatsoever. I could cut my bangs again and they’d be gone the next day."

"You used to have bangs?"

"Never, and I’m willing to state that in a court of law."

You smile and lean back on your elbows. "If something good happened, that’d be gone, too, though. You don’t get to keep that, either."

"Yeah," Lucy says thoughtfully. "I’d still remember it though, right? It still happened. I could make it happen again."

"Maybe." Your thumb scratches the empty space on your pinkie. Even though you’ve turned your entire bathroom upside down, your ring is still gone, like it just up and disappeared from this reality. You can’t help but wonder if that rift in the sky from a few todays ago has anything to do with that.

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

Lucy takes another slurping sip from her almost empty cup. "What would you do in a time loop?"

You can’t help but laugh. "I’d try to keep making the good things happen, I guess."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

It is.

"Are you out of your damn mind?" someone shouts behind you. "It’s in the fricking nineties today and you’re baking?"

"Technically, we are baking," you say, nodding at Lucy and leaning back further so you can look at Sam upside down. "And we’re baking for you."

"Hi, cap," Lucy says, pulling her sunglasses off.

"Hey." Sam crosses his arms and fixes you with a very cap-like glare. "Why are you baking for me."

"Y/N said it’s for your birthday."

"My—" He cuts himself off, rubbing his temples. "My birthday’s in September."

"Whoops," you say, your grin just believable enough. "My bad, cap."

"You’re not funny," Sam says, "I hope you know that."

You know.

Of course, today isn’t actually his birthday, not even if time were allowed to pass normally. It is day forty-fucking-nine of the loop, though, which makes it your fiftieth time living through this crap and frankly, you all deserve some damn pie.

It’s not going to make a difference in the long run, of course, and yet you can’t help but feel like keeping count of those little markers of time helps to hold your head above water. Making the good things happen, even if they don’t change a thing and no one but you is going to remember.

So you simply say, "It’s turtle pie," because you know that it’s Sam’s favorite. "Hey, what’s the time?"

"Oh, it better be," he says, holding his phone up for you to read and then marching out of your field of vision.

Sadly, you’re just about a minute early.

"He could’ve stayed," Lucy says when you let out a frustrated huff.

"He has that thing at the Garden," you tell her distractedly, taking a mental note to stall Sam a little longer next time.

"There you are."

You flinch at the sound of Bucky’s voice, barely daring to move your head when he sits next to you, his back to the brink.

He never comes up here. That’s the whole point.

"Hi?" you say carefully, and a grin tugs at his mouth.

"Not you," he says, nodding to the ground in front of him.

You turn around fully to find Alpine taking a nap just a few feet behind you, her snowy tail wrapped around a flower pot.

You let out a relieved breath and ignore the small sting in your chest. Of course he’s not up here because of you. Why would he be?

"Gee, thanks," you murmur, quietly shifting around so your hands are hidden underneath your legs. "You sure know how to charm the ladies."

You glance back at Lucy, but she’s looking at her phone, her eyes once again indecipherable behind the large sunglasses.

Bucky raises an eyebrow. "Think you could handle my charm, Y/L/N?"

He might has well have doused you in a bucket of ice water. You’re suddenly very aware of every single cell in your body, and you don’t like the challenge sparkling in his eyes.

So you do what you always do and you block it out. Dismiss and distract.

"Does Alpine seem weird to you?"

He tilts his head, his jaw tight. "Weird how?"

"I don’t know," you say, staring at her. "She’s just been acting … odd, lately. Today, I mean."

And following you around in a way you’re pretty sure she’s never done before. Not before the loop, at least.

Bucky sighs. "Did you make her scratch you again? Because I’ve told you before that I’m not getting rid of her for enforcing her boundaries."

"First of all, I never make her scratch me, she does that well enough on her own."

"That’s victim blaming," Lucy says without looking up. Bucky snorts and you almost roll your eyes.

"Second of all, she’s up to something. I know it."

"Oh, yes," Bucky says dryly just as Alpine makes a small noise in her dreams, her nose twitching. "That’s the embodiment of evil right there."

"I don’t trust her," you mutter.

"And yet the cat’s the weird one."

"I hate you," you mumble, standing up. "I’m gonna go check on the pie."

"There’s pie?" Bucky says.

"Not for you!"

You turn at the door to see Lucy leaning in to show Bucky something on her phone; the frown has disappeared from his face, his shoulders relaxed. If he’d pull off his glove right now, it’d almost be like sitting in a park.

That’s good, you tell yourself as the door slams shut behind you with a bit too much gusto. Reminds you that there’s nothing special about you in particular, which is much needed, really.

Can’t wait to punch that one out of your system later.

Again and again and again and a—

"Whoa, whoa, you alright?"

You blink. Riff slumps to the ground in front of you, body limp.

Bucky stares at you in concern, his hand still on your shoulder. His lip has split open and there’s the usual bruise already forming on his cheekbone. You can’t help it. Your gaze is drawn down, your breathing shallow.

You screw your eyes shut to snap yourself out of it, but when you open them again, Bucky hasn’t moved an inch.

"Never better," you whisper, and for a split second, you almost believe it yourself.

Liar, liar, liar.

***

At least, you suppose, reality seems considerably less broken these days. No more cracks in the sky.

You get your wake-up call when you wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY …

"… FRIDAY?" you say into the silence of your room, your heart pounding wildly. This cannot be happening. Not now.

Not yet.

He got shot again yesterday.

A pleasant jingling sound rings out. "Good morning, Ms. Y/L/N."

You look at the clock on the wall. Ten to eight, just like every morning. "What day is it?"

"Today is Friday, July 4th."

You can taste bile in your mouth despite your relief. There’s an impatient thrum to the symbols around your wrist, like a noose that’s tightening.

What did you expect?

"Rise and shine, McFly! Time to get your ass kicked!"

"Didn’t you set FRIDAY to wake me?" you ask Sam as you’re climbing the stairs, nerves on edge.

He looks at you weirdly. "I did. You’re up, aren’t you?"

You bite the inside of your cheek. "Didn’t sleep well."

That much, at least, is still true. Full nights of sleep are a long distant memory from before constant back-to-back repetitions. The only time your body shuts off is when you manage to sleep for a little bit in between your astral visits and the mission call.

"I hope you don’t think that’s an excuse," Sam says, bumping your shoulder, and you manage a tired grin.

"You wish."

Today, you let him win, even though your ankle makes an odd crack when you land on the mat. You’ll take care of it later.

"You look like shit."

Grief and relief, you’ve learned, both taste like salt and iron, but the latter is so much easier to swallow.

"That makes two of us," you say, sitting up slowly. "How was your run?"

"Good," Bucky says, putting the cloth away and stretching his fingers out. They catch a ray of sunlight. "What’s wrong with you?"

Not this again.

"Later, okay?" you answer, because that’s not a lie. "Let’s just … not, right now?"

"Alright," he says.

And, oh, you want to tell him again. Because he doesn’t press it. Because you miss having someone to share things with. Because you miss telling him the whole truth. Because you’re scared, and tired, and sick of losing him.

But those are egotistic thoughts, and so you keep them all to yourself and take the towel on the right.

There’s one good thing about this today. You make it to the living room just in time to finally catch a glimpse of Sam’s phone right when it pings with Torres’ message.

I can check it out on Monday if you’d like.

That’s it. No urgency, weirdly proper spelling, not even an exclamation mark.

In other words, you’re not sure what you expected but you’re no closer to answers than before.

"What does it matter?" Strange sighs when you tell him all of this with a frown.

"It matters," you reply, "because if we hadn’t gone on the mission, Bucky wouldn’t have died that first time and none of this would’ve happened."

"So what?" he says. "It’s already done."

"But if I could prevent it—"

"It already happened."

"I can make it not happen."

"You and what powers?" Strange says sharply. "Even if you did that, it wouldn’t stop the loop."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you’ve already seen first-hand that it’s bound to you and your powers, not to whatever you do or don’t do during the day. Karma is a fairy tale for those who don’t want to take responsibility for their actions."

"Do you really still think this is me not taking responsibility?" There’s a green flare that goes through you, hot and seething and making goosebumps crawl down your arms.

Strange smiles at the sight. "Let’s find out."

He extends his arms and slowly opens his fists until orange symbols dance across his shaky fingers. The band around your wrist prickles at the weight of his magic flooding the air.

Strange’s cloak nudges you towards the center of the room and your heart gives a heavy thud. "What, right now?"

"Would you prefer being stuck for a couple weeks more?"

"Of course not it’s just—I don’t feel ready."

"No one ever feels ready until they try."

And maybe it’s because it reminds you of something Steve once said, but it makes you step up, falling into the stance you’ve practiced over and over again. You breathe in deeply and close your eyes.

The pull comes easier now. Your powers have just been resting, nestled somewhere deep inside your bones like glowing embers, waiting for you to call upon them.

When you look at your open palm, the green wisps of your powers have curled up to the size of a ping-pong ball. You take another steadying breath and let it glide to the tips of your fingers, carefully letting it balance itself out for a second before moving your other hand.

"Good," you can hear Strange say quietly.

Slowly, carefully, you let the threads untangle until they’re just about to touch the green band circling around your wrist. You can feel the electric tingle of it, the soft beat of each passing second contained within, and you push past it.

You’ve done this before, so you’re not surprised when you feel the energy drain from your body almost immediately. Up until now, though, it’s just been trial and error, not expecting anything to happen. This time, you have Strange’s magic feeding some of his strength into you as well, and so instead of hesitating, you press on, your heartbeat speeding up.

The band around your wrist does the same.

"Don’t lose your focus." Strange’s voice sounds very far away, almost warped.

Very funny, you might have said, but you’re too busy watching it all unfold.

The whirring inside of your head grows louder as the circlet of time keeps rotating with accelerating speed, faster and faster until your eyes start tearing up and there’s something that looks almost like a crack.

You gasp quietly. At first, you think you might have just imagined it, but then the split starts growing, the symbols growing farther and farther apart as the band itself keeps spinning. Your pulse is beating in your ears. Your wrist feels like it’s being set on fire.

There are voices, then, quiet and fast, like you’re watching a sped up movie, music and noises and chatter and birdsong and a whooshing sound like something flipping right past you. Then, something like distant shots.

I’m getting Bucky out of this, you think as the green band continues rotating until suddenly, there is a shockwave of green light that takes up your entire field of vision.

You close your stinging eyes, keeping your feet firmly planted on the floor as your powers rush through you once more and then, with a shudder, settle down again, exhausted. The glare subsides. Something like a trickle of sweat runs down your noncorporeal neck.

"Did it work?" you ask, your voice rough, not daring to look for yourself. There’s no answer, though. "Doc?"

Slowly, your eyes readjust to the gloomy darkness of your room in the astral realm. The only source of light is the glowing green band continuing to circle around your wrist, the rifts stabilizing again like it’s clicking back into place.

You swear under your breath and turn around to ask what went wrong, but Strange is no longer standing beside you.

You’re all alone.

***

Three, two, one—

"Iced grande extra whip caramel macchia—shit!"

You catch the plastic cup before it drops onto the suit of the business man standing in line in front of you. "Here you go, sir."

He grabs his drink with a grunt and hurries back outside. One of these days, you might ask him why he’s in such a hurry, but it’s not today.

You’ve grown to adore the noise of the pre-noon rush. The cacophany of the whirring machines, the AC and the people is just loud enough to make your head calm down a little. Besides, being alone in a crowd has never been easier than when you know for a fact they are not going to remember you.

The drinks are starting to pile up at the hand-out, and because you feel bad for your colleagues, you start handing them out to people. You’ve been here a lot, after all.

"Tall hazelnut latte for Misty!"

Plus, it helps to keep your mind from wandering back to everything that’s going wrong.

Strange still hasn’t returned.

The astral dimension feels different when you return the day after your experiment, like someone’s been pulling invisible strings to make everything just slightly more disordered and dark.

It’s cold, too. You watch your body shiver in her sleep as you wrap your arms around yourself. The books are still there, shimmering slightly with the magic they contain.

"Doc?" you call out, and the vibrations of this place hum it back at you. There’s no answer.

The book at the top of the pile is still opened to a page, as if it’d just been left a moment ago, and you pick it up. The words glide around like they are looking to jump back into an inkpot, and you have to squint to make out any of them.

Incursion, the section header reads. Result of a contraction in a universe’s timeline. Can cause premature disintegration or collapse of any one reality within the multiverse.

"Just great," you say, slapping the book shut again. "I get it, alright? You can come out now."

But there’s no sound apart from your own heartbeat.

Your noncorporeal head is swimming with pressure as you pass through the closed door and into the hallway. The walls seem larger than usual, the stairs warping ever so slightly underneath your feet so that you can’t look at them for too long without feeling seasick.

Upstairs, the air doesn’t feel quite as heavy. The silence follows you, though, lingering in the grayish morning shadows like the remnants of a nightmare.

Bucky still mumbles in his.

You can’t make out what he is saying, and you wouldn’t have understood the words, anyway, but there’s sweat on his brow again. His fingers are tightly clutching the thin throw blanket like it’s shielding him from whatever he’s seeing in his dreams.

You take a step closer to him, desperate to do something, anything, when you notice movement out of the corner of your eye.

Alpine is perched on top of the bed, complacently tucked into herself on one of the fluffed up white pillows like it’s really her room, not Bucky’s.

And she’s staring right at you.

You take a step to the side, then another. Alpine tilts her head, her large eyes fixed on you. They follow your gestures as you wave your hand.

A quick glance tells you that Bucky is still sleeping. You take a deep breath and conjure up a small dot of bright green light, letting it dance across your fingertips. Alpine uncurls herself in interest, her tail twitching.

"You can see me," you whisper, and the little spec of your power disappears.

The cat meows in disappointment.

Carefully, you move closer to the bed, reaching out your translucent hand until you place it on Alpine’s head.

She rubs against your palm.

You chuckle incredulously, scratching behind her ears. "You little devil."

Alpine seems particularly pleased with herself. She starts purring.

This is simply bizarre, you think as you continue petting her soft fur. You’re expecting a sarcastic comment from behind your shoulder any minute now, but it doesn’t come.

So, you lower yourself down on the floor next to Bucky, the tips of your fingers not quite grazing his arm as you swallow heavily.

And then you wait until he gets up.

It’s possible, you think as you watch him leave and then make yourself wake up too, that Strange is simply messing with you for the hell of it. You don’t like the timing of this, though. Your day still continues on and on and on, like it always does, but it seems just a little too pointed that this would happen right after you had your first hopes of getting out of here in a long time.

It doesn’t help that the reality glitches have decided to return with a vengeance.

Every day is still July 4th. You wake up with a start, you train, you get coffee, you fight over lunch, you take your astral visit, you go on that damn mission. It’s the details that start to get … fuzzy.

In the beginning, every single thing around you was the exact same every single day. Now, though, there are sometimes details that are just wrong. A different mug left on the drying rack. A mess all over the tables in the lab. Weird noises all over the Tower.

You don’t know what to make of any of it, and so in general, you follow Strange’s rule of thumb and simply ignore the things that are wrong one day and then right the next—which, thankfully, is all of them. You just go with it, telling yourself that this is simply reality malfunctioning a little, like a machine that needs oiling.

Weirdly enough, that doesn’t reassure you in the slightest.

But what else can you do?

You lose a few hours here and there, time seemingly speeding up at random sometimes now. One morning, Bucky isn’t in the gym like he usually is, and you work yourself up over it so much you nearly have a panic attack. In the end, you almost crash into him outside of his room, and a rush of reassurance floods through you with such force you can’t even look at him.

That time, Sam is there when Bucky gets shot, and it’s his cry that follows you into the next day. Your hands are clean this time, and somehow that feels worse.

Everyone’s back to their usual stuff again, and that’s that.

Another time, you’ve barely rolled out of bed and into your bathroom—"Rise and shine, McFly!"—when you’re suddenly jolted forwards and you wake up with a start to the sun in your face and FRIDAY blasting The All-American Rejects at full volume. Your stomach feels like it’s still turning, nauseous, as if you’d sat up too fast.

That feeling still leaves a bad taste in your mouth, sticking to the back of your mind like the blood you haven’t even had time to wash off.

The thing that demands most of your attention, though, is the pile of books waiting for you in the astral realm. Since you don’t have any control over the loop itself, you pour all of your energy into trying to understand the theory behind your powers. It’s giving you a constant headache, and it takes a lot longer than you would like to admit, but at least you feel like you’re doing something that’ll last.

Nothing else will.

There’s one last lonely cup sat on the counter next to your own, which signals that the rush is over for now. You can see Lucy wiping her forehead as you wave your goodbye, picking up both drinks on your way out and handing one of them to the guy just hurrying back downstairs.

"Here you go," you say without stopping, glancing at your phone. You haven’t stayed this late before.

"What the—" you hear behind you, just before the doors glide open and you’re greeted by the sound of traffic and a hot breeze of air.

If you’re lucky, you can make it back to your room without anyone seeing you. You’ve moved on to a particularly hefty tome about relativity, and you’d like to—

"Hey! Miss? Hold on a second!"

You look over your shoulder to see the delivery guy has run after you, cup still in his hand. His bike is leaned against a lamp post nearby, his cap dangling off one of the handles.

You found out a couple of weeks ago that he takes his break just after dropping off your order, but you don’t usually make eye contact anymore.

Now, he holds out his cup accusingly. "That’s my drink."

You smile. "Good for you."

"No. No, that’s not—I mean—how did you know it was my drink?"

And because nothing really matters and you really want to go home, you say, "It has your name on it, doesn’t it?"

You expect him to look at you with wide eyes, just like people normally do when you know things you’re not supposed to. His mouth will drop open, speechless, his frown will deepen, and you can wink at him and continue on your way so he can spend the next couple of hours wondering what just happened.

The cup falls out of his hand, but somehow he manages to catch it before it hits the sidewalk. When he looks up at you again, and his expression is unlike anything you’ve seen coming.

"But that’s not …" he says quietly. "Do you remember me?"

And then it’s you who’s speechless, because the shock on Peter Parker’s face is more than you bargained for.

*****

"Honestly, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this," you said quietly, looking over the rim of your glass at the crowd.

"You complaining?" you heard Sam’s voice say over the little earpiece you were wearing.

"Not at all."

Apparently, people connected to terrorist organizations threw incredibly fancy parties.

You hadn’t felt this glamorous in a while, if ever, dressed up to the nines in a dark green jumpsuit with an incredibly flattering cut that you’d never had a reason to wear before. Despite your initial doubts about this whole thing, you felt great, for the first time in way too long.

"Are you gonna move any time soon?"

Well. Mostly.

At least Barnes cleaned up nice, you supposed; it almost made up for his grouchy demeanor.

With a sigh, you downed the rest of your drink and got back to work. You let the crowd swallow you up, seemingly on your way to the restrooms, and then you stopped it all to slip upstairs unnoticed by prying eyes and cameras.

You didn’t hold it for very long; you had to rattle some doors, after all, and despite your espresso martini, it was still hard to tell if you could manage several redos back to back. After all, you’d only been back in the game for a couple of weeks.

It took you a few tries to find the right office, and locating the files was comparatively easy with what you already had access to. There it was, proof that ULTIMATUM had managed to secure most of the Flag Smashers’ previous supporters as well as some high brow weapon dealers.

While you copied everything onto a flashdrive, your eyes caught one of the designs. You frowned.

Even though you couldn’t pinpoint what it was, exactly, something about it seemed just slightly too highbrow for an organization of the international bad egg committee that was supposedly still mostly underground. Your gaze started drifting through the rest of the office, noting the usual boring books and glass awards in the bookshelves on the far wall. You pulled open one of the desk drawers.

"You almost done in here?"

"Fuck!" You slammed the drawer shut again, getting your pinkie stuck in the process. "Damnit, where did you come from?"

Bucky pointed over his shoulder.

"Fuck me," you murmured, your eyes stinging at the pain.

Bucky looked nonplussed. "Can’t you just undo it?"

"Great input, thank you." The flashdrive beeped softly and you shut everything down again. At least you were definitely sober now. "What are you, anyway, my babysitter?"

"Wouldn’t have to be if you could check in on time," he answered, checking the corridors, then nodding for you to follow.

"Time’s a social construct," you murmured, but followed him, the flashdrive hidden in your fist.

You didn’t even make it to the staircase.

"Didn’t I tell you?" a voice said right before several triggers clicked and you both froze. "I knew I’d recognized that arm. And who do you have with you here, Winter Soldier?"

No one, you thought, and then you yanked time backwards so forcefully you stumbled into the desk, your heart still racing. The copy sat at 57%.

You felt almost seasick with the rewind, but there wasn’t any time. "Keep going upstairs," you said into your earpiece.

"What?" Bucky said.

"I’m fine. Don’t come get me. Just keep going," you gritted through your teeth, trying to calm your breaths. 70%.

"Exit plan C, then," Sam said.

Bucky didn’t answer. You looked at your hands. There was a slight tremor to them, but nothing too bad. If you could get the nausea under control, you could probably make it past the cameras one more time.

You should’ve eaten more.

As soon as the flashdrive was done, you ripped it out and forced everything to a halt again. Your palms were sweaty as you hurried out of the office and in the direction of the staircase, your lungs burning. This didn’t feel like a good sign.

You stumbled over your damn heels and the noise returned for that moment you lost your concentration.

Not good enough.

Sweat pearled on your forehead as you and the universe held your breath again. You could feel your hold slipping with every second that wasn’t allowed to pass. Time was impatient with you.

A small crowd had assembled at the bottom of the stairs. As you closed in on them, you felt a jolt go through you and suddenly found yourself surrounded by people as time attempted to right itself again. Your nails dug into the skin of your palm so hard you could feel yourself draw blood.

It went quiet again and you moved through them, almost blindly. Everything seemed to be spinning.

Behind your shoulder, you could hear several people talking, interrupted only by the world stopping around them every now and then.

"—d’you—see that—"

"—could’ve—sworn there—”

And with time stumbling and flailing around in confusion, you made it out of the building and into the waiting cab.

chapter seven

thank you for reading!! you can follow my library blog @intrepidacious-fics for update notifications 💚

[the-gayest-show]

Alastor fandom I present to you this

(sry for the low quality if any, the canvas was 750x750 and I regret that now <3)

[leblogreblog]

Being a Cahir fan from the time before the show came out is so weird cause-

That's. That's litteraly a completely different character.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Johnny Lawrence’s daughter

Johnny Lawrence x daughter!reader

warnings: alcohol, underage drinking, classic johnny sexism <3

a/n: WHAT! ME write a fic thats not gn, i know. im shocked too but its just bc i feel johnny is so gender-stereotypey that doing this gn wouldn’t work very well but very open to a son!r or nb!r if anyone is interested (bc seriously. johnny cannot help but bring up genders). also i just want to say that a lot of this (not all!) honestly reminds me of or are actual things that have happened w my dad bc johnny is literally my dad if my dad was like 8 years older i think also i wrote this all in one sitting ALSO NO COBRA KAI SEASON 6 SPOILERS

prompt:

GIRL DAD!

you always kinda just gravitated toward living with your dad

“y/n, i’m so proud of you. i never have to worry about you. you can take care of yourself. robby on the other hand, i worry about him. i think girls are just more self sufficient” -johnny, a little drunk

“thanks dad” -you, also a little drunk (hes a “cool dad”)

he was the type of parent that “prefers that if you’re gonna do something stupid at least do it while he’s around” aka underage drinking

whenever he stays out late you fall asleep in his bed. and lock him out

“y/n! open the door!” -johnny, banging on the door

“no! your bed is more comfortable” -you

he thought it was sweet honestly but he did want to sleep in his bed

sort of like a lesson not to come home late all drunk and gross

he was VERY against letting you drive his car

“dad, i need my license!” -you

“no woman is getting behind the wheel of my firebird” -johnny

“why do you have to make it about women? i’ll fight you” -you

“you’ll lose that fight” -johnny

“oh, so you’d fight a teenage girl? wow, real classy, dad” -you

“no, but i’d fight my teenage daughter. i brought you into this world and i’ll take you out” -johnny

you honestly had a great sense of humor with johnny, but you’d check him if he said anything too messed up

“dad, it’s not the 80’s anymore, you can’t say that” -you

“dont tell me what i can and cant say! the 80’s were awesome, i wish it was the 80’s again” -johnny

“so i’ve heard” -you

he helped you with your homework as a kid until like, 2nd grade when multiplication and division got involved

he did teach you karate growing up! but mostly the basics, for self defense purposes

“hey, never let any guy try to impress you with his karate skills. he’s probably a douche” -johnny, pausing “i sure was”

late night movie marathons (70s/80s classics for sure)

he took care of you during your first hangover (high school parties, ya know)

“didn’t i teach you better than to mix liquors” -johnny

“ugghhhh” -you

yes, you have heard about daniel larusso. enough said LMAO

robby and you had a kind of sweet but distant relationship

occasional check-in texts

robby: are you doing okay with dad? he’s actually buying food and shit?

you: yeah! he’s fine right now, how’s mom? new stepdad yet? is he rich?

robby: mom’s not going anywhere she’d find a rich guy, but keep dreaming

you wear a lot of your dad’s old t-shirts. usually band tee’s

oh and he made sure you got into the “right music”

he used to drive you around in the firebird when you were a SMALL CHILD (front seat, no car seat!) and blast his old cassettes

for YEARS he’d pull the “who is this” “what song is this” game with the reasoning:

“if you wear a band shirt and some asshole asks you to name three songs, i want you to name ten” -johnny

listen. you were still “daddy’s girl” or whatever used to be a cute little saying and is now ruined but whatever

“dad, can i have twenty bucks?” -you

“for what” -johnny

“for fun. pleaseeee” -you

*johnny pulls out his wallet and gives you $40*

could he afford it? no. can he say no? also no.

the absolute fear he felt when you got your first period

“it’s fine, i can call mom” -you

“no, it’s not fine! i’ve had girlfriends before, i got this. stay here, i’ll be back” -johnny

he went to the store and bought the most random assortment of period products and pain meds and snacks and a heating pad

A for effort

when the diaz family moved in across from you guys, miguel took one look at you and johnny said:

“stay away from my daughter”

when the karate fuss got started you tried to keep your distance but sooner or later you joined the dojo and proved to your dad just how “badass” you could be

“take notes everyone, y/n’s gonna be the next all valley champ!” -johnny

taglist: @ravenmoore14 // @retvenkos // @sweetheartlizzie07 // @an4aaa // @summersimmerus // @xoxobabydolls // @sapphireplums // @petersgroupie // @ravenhood2792 // @evilcr0ne // @thedarkqueenofavalon // @elenavampire21 // @elemental-of-magic //

[iomoru]

The Promise Kept

A/n: here's the part 2 for the Kinich angst! Im sorry if it took long (ू˃̣̣̣̣̣̣︿˂̣̣̣̣̣̣ ू)

Genre: Canon Verse, Angst w/ a happy ending, Reader lives, Gn! Reader, Second Person, Proofread

Summary: After sacrificing your life to save Kinich, your secret deal with Ajaw threatens to let the god take over your body. But in a moment of desperation, Kinich’s devotion defies fate itself, bringing you back to life and breaking Ajaw’s claim. Together, you share a second chance, bound by an unbreakable promise.

part. 1, part. 2

As you collapsed in Kinich's arms, your vision blurred, and your pulse weakening, you could feel his desperation in the way he held you, his words a frantic, broken whisper.

"No," Kinich murmured, his voice choked with grief. "You can’t leave me…please, stay with me."

Your lips curved in a faint smile, a bittersweet acceptance of what you’d done. "I made…a deal," you breathed, barely audible, "with Ajaw."

Kinich’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "What kind of deal?"

"If I died protecting you," you whispered, your voice weak, "he’d take my body instead of yours."

Kinich’s gaze darkened with anger and sorrow as he clutched you tighter. "No… this can’t happen, I was supposed to protect you."

Your heart ached at his pain, but before you could reassure him, darkness began to seep in at the edges of your vision. The presence you felt waiting—Ajaw’s—grew closer, reaching to take what was now his.

But then, a warmth spread through you, foreign yet gentle. Kinich’s hands pressed against your face as he whispered, "If you were willing to give everything to protect me, then I’m willing to do the same. Please, come back to me."

In that instant, the god's oppressive presence faded, replaced by a soft, warm light. A voice, calm and ancient, murmured through the stillness. “It seems your bond is stronger than I anticipated…so be it.”

Slowly, you felt strength returning to your body, life warming your limbs once more. You gasped, drawing in a full, shaky breath as Kinich’s relieved smile was the first thing you saw when you opened your eyes.

"You’re here…you’re really here," he whispered, his voice filled with joy and awe. He pulled you close, his embrace filled with a relief that went deeper than words.

The weight of Ajaw’s deal had faded, replaced by a promise fulfilled by something stronger—your shared devotion, unbreakable and whole.

A/n: I hope you guys can stop being emo now (*´꒳`*) (I kind of still want my angst tho for some reason :3)

© ²⁰²⁴ ɪᴏᴍᴏʀᴜ ✰ do not repost, translate, plagiarize, use to train ai, or share my work on other social media platforms.

[fallingstqrss]

kiss it better

request: can you do a one-shot just like the scene where coryo goes insane because he thinks that the reader left him in the cabin but she didn't and they just go to spend some quality time.

a/n: thank you so much for the request i love this idea!

summary: following the death of Mayflower and Billy Taupe you and coriolanus decide to flee the districts, hoping to avoid the persecution of the peacekeepers. however, when you seem to get lost in the woods coriolanus panics.

warnings: there is a brief description of mayfair's death but it's not detailed. coriolanus might be slightly ooc cause this is my first time writing him but i swear im trying my best.

Coriolanus had made a huge mistake. he hadn't meant to kill Mayfair, he just panicked. He was just going to let her leave but then you walked in, making you a part of Sejanus' horrible plan.

"What's going on?" You spoke, eyes moving from Coriolanus to the weapons that lay on the table. Coriolanus saw as your eyes widened and he hurried to comfort you. "Corio, what's going on?" You questioned again, clutching onto his bicep, hoping for reassurance.

"Y/n, it's gonna be fine-" Coriolanus started, attempting to soothe you as he ran a hand across your cheek.

"Oh, none of you are going to be fine. I'm gonna tell my Daddy what all of you did and he's gonna string you up!" Mayfair spoke in an almost taunting tone. Her threat casts a chilling shadow over the room. As Mayfair turned to leave Spruce, fueled by tension and adrenaline, raised the gun to her back.

"I can't let you leave," Spruce spoke. Y/n took an unconscious step back, recoiling from the potential for violence. Coriolanus could tell you were scared and he felt horrible for being the reason you were involved in this. His mind was racing, he knew he had to get you out of there.

"She's bluffing, she won't actually do anything." Billy Taupe defended, eager to avoid any harm that might come to his girlfriend and to deescalate the growing tension in the room.

"Really? Was I bluffing at the reaping? Tell me Lucy Gray, how did you like your time in the Capitol?" Mayfair spoke, eyes staring at Lucy Gray, who gasped. Mayfair smiled as she turned to leave. Coriolanus jumped at the opportunity, lunging for the weapon on the ground. In a single second Mayfair had fallen to the ground. You gasped, your eyes fixated on Mayfair's fallen figure. Coriolanus was quick to shield you from the unsettling sight, positioning himself in front of you.

"I need you to go home y/n. I'm going to get this figured out. But you need to go home right now and you can't look like anything is wrong," He spoke, his tone firm and filled with urgency. "y/n, please." Coriolanus spoke again when you didn't move. You had stood still, trying to process the events that had just unfolded in front of you. Finally, you looked up at Coriolanus, a nod of reluctant understanding breaking through your shock. You trusted Coriolanus, he would get you guys out of this.

Coriolanus watched you leave, a mixture of relief and worry painted on his face. Once you were out of sight, he turned back to the remaining people in the room. He was determined, now that your safety was at risk nothing else mattered.

That's how the two of you ended up here, walking through the woods, in search of life beyond the districts. Despite some attempts at small talk, the weight of the recent events hung heavily in the air. Coriolanus could sense you were struggling to come to terms with the deaths of Mayfair and, more importantly, your shared friend Sejanus.

"I just don't understand what happened. Sejanus' plan was horrible but he seemed like he was being careful," You rambled on, your voice heavy with confusion and grief. You were unaware of Coriolanus' involvement in the death of your friend. You also didn't notice the tension of the captured Coriolanus at the mention of Sejanus.

"He apparently wasn't careful enough," Coriolanus responded, his tone colder than usual, a deliberate attempt to steer away from the conversation surrounding Sejanus. He longed to focus on the two the two of you would spend together, the new life you could start. Coriolanus was taken aback when you came to an abrupt stop, forcing him to backtrack to stand in front of you. You stared up at him, your eyebrows furrowed.

"Do you not mourn for Sejanus at all, Corio?" You spoke, your eyes reflecting the sadness and confusion that weighed you down. Coriolanus felt a pang of guilt for being distant. However, the truth of Sejanus' death was a burden that he couldn't bear to share with you. He knew you would've never forgiven him.

"Of course, I do," Coriolanus spoke, his tone softer now in an attempt to console you. Coriolanus brought a hand to cup your cheek. "But, it was his actions that killed him." You still seemed unsure, offering a careful nod before turning your gaze to the ground. Coriolanus dropped his hand, moving to walk next to you again.

Eventually, the two of you arrived at the cabin shown to you by Lucy Gray and the Covey. Coriolanus couldn't shake the feeling of your silence, finding it unsettling. The two of you walked into the cabin, setting your things down. "We should fish for a while, we're going to need some food for the rest of the trip," Coriolanus suggested.

"Lucy Gray said there should be some poles under the floorboards," You spoke, avoiding eye contact with Coriolanus as you hung your belongings on the hooks by the door.

Coriolanus nodded, moving towards the boards he found to be loose. He lifted the boards, his eyes widening as he lifted the sheet to reveal the guns that had been used to kill Mayfair. You observed from across the room, a twinge of concern gracing your features. "What is it, Corio?" You questioned, his familiar nickname being a small sense of comfort in the moment of the unsettling discovery. He remained silent, picking up the gun as he turned to face you. Your breath caught in your chest as you saw the weapon, your mind flashing back to the violent events.

"It's the guns," Coriolanus stated, his eyes moving between the weapon in his arms and you. "This means we can go home," You hummed, nodding in agreement. The revelations held the promise of an escape. The promise of a way home. But, they also unearthed memories Coriolanus knew you could never fully forget.

"I'm going to see if I can find anything to eat around the lake, maybe that one root Lucy Gray mentioned," You spoke quickly, shaking your head as she grabbed one of the small shovels left near the door.

"Y/n, wait," Coriolanus spoke, sensing the uneasy energy that surrounded you. "It could be dangerous," Coriolanus spoke, his protective nature kicking in. You smiled as you recognized his instinct to protect you.

"Well, it's a good thing I've got this," You spoke, attempting a teasing tone as you held up the shovel. You could tell Coriolanus didn't quite believe you and you hurried out of the door. Coriolanus was worried for you but brushed off the interaction, trusting that you could take care of yourself. He rewrapped the guns, hoping to drop them into the lake, burying the echoes of the past.

Coriolanus stepped outside heading towards the boat. His eyes circled his surroundings, hoping to find you. However, he didn't see you. He looked around again, his breathing becoming more ragged as he called out for you. He was met with the horrifying echo of his own voice, no response from you.

You had ventured into the forest after finding that Katniss was not ready to be eaten. You had hoped to find some berries, remembering the ones Maude Ivory had collected for you to eat. You attempted to ignore the way the trees seemed to close in on you, the path you thought you knew being erased. You ignored those thought, you had been going in a straight line, there were no place to get lost along the way.

"They should be up here," You whispered to yourself, letting out a sigh as you hoped to break the silence that lay within the forest. The rustling leaves and distant calls of birds engulfed you as you moved throughout the forest.

You had been walking for a while, looking around you realized you have never been in this part of the forest, a sign that you had gone way too far. You turned in various directions, spinning around as you searched for the way you came. Panic began to set in as you quickened your pace, unfortunately leading you to venture deeper and deeper into the forest.

In her disoriented state, you failed to see the root sticking out of the ground. Her foot caught on the root, causing you to stumble forward. Desperation clawed at you as you tried to regain your balance. However, the forest had other plans.

A divot in the ground forced you to the ground as your hands reached out to break your fall. The forest floor met you with a sickening thud, your head colliding with a moss-covered rock. The world around you spun, the pain in your head intensifying with every breath you took. As your consciousness slipped away, the forest seemed to blur into a blend of green and brown, the shadows seeming to dance together in a mesmerizing rhythm.

Back at the cabin Coriolanus grew restless as he awaited your return. The seconds felt like hours as he stared at the tree line, willing you to appear. Finally, Coriolanus was sick of waiting and decided that he would find you himself.

As he ventured into the forest the trees seemed to swallow him. His breaths came out fast, each step propelling him further into the silent forest. Anxiety was clawing at his chest, hundreds of what-ifs raced in his mind.

"Y/n? Did something happen? If something happens we can talk about it!" Coriolanus shouted, pausing as he awaited a response. But he didn't receive one, he only had the rustling leaves to greet him. The silence that surrounded him was deafening.

"Y/n, please say something. I need to know you're okay," He pleaded again. The forest remained silent, offering no hope to comfort his growing concern. Fear painted vivid scenarios in his head, each one darker than the last.

"Please, y/n, if I did something I'm so sorry. We don't even have to talk about it, please just come back with me." Coriolanus pleaded. His pleas became more urgent. His mood shifted from worry to complete despare quickly.

"Please, I can't lose you too." He spoke, this plea much quieter than the previous ones. His voice broke as he spoke, his eyes searching for any clue of you. His steps quickened as he moved around the forest, his handles trembling as he pushed branches out of his way.

"Please, y/n," He called one more time, assuming the worst. He'd come to the conclusion that you left him. It was either that or you were dead, but he couldn't bring himself to grasp the idea that you were dead.

Unbeknownst to Coriolanus, you began to stir on the forest floor. The pain in your head still lingered but the sound of someone's voice distracted you from the pain. You listened more closely as you tried to sit up. Your senses were snapped back into reality when you realized that it was Coriolanus' voice you were hearing. The closer you listened you realized how distressed he sounded and it practically broke your heart. You listened again to his ever-present calls, trying to hear which direction they were coming from, his voice acting as a life-line.

"Corio," you called out weakly, standing as you braced yourself on one of the trees. Coriolanus' head snapped in the direction of your voice. He hurried in that direction, his eyes wide with fear and relief. "Coriolanus," You called out again, wondering if you had imagined him calling for you.

"Hang on y/n! I'm coming," He spoke. Relief washed over him when he finally saw you leaning up against one of the trees, Coriolanus rushed towards you. In your disoriented state you barely even realized he had found you until he engulfed you in his arms. Your senses finally started to come back to you as you reciprocated the embrace, wrapping your arms around his waist.

Coriolanus pulled away for a moment, his eyes scanning your face, he could hardly believe he'd actually found you. He'd thought you were gone for good. Your eyes met his, being met with a vulnerability from Coriolanus you'd never seen before. Coriolanus hated the way you made him felt. He hated how worried he always was for you. But, he also couldn't deny how much he loved you.

"What happened?" Coriolanus finally spoke, brushing your hair out of your face to examine the cut on your forehead.

"I was looking for those berries, the ones Maude Ivory showed us and I got lost, and then I think I tripped," you began to ramble, stopping yourself to take a breath before speaking again, "It's all kind of a blur." Coriolanus nodded as he processed what you said, unraveling his arms from you as he wrapped an arm around your waist to help guide you back to the cabin.

"Well, I think we should get you back to the cabin," Coriolanus spoke and you laughed as you nodded. You'd had enough of the woods.

Back at the cabin Coriolanus used one of the med-kits you'd brought to clean you up. Your heart swelled at how gentle he was, his hands moving cautiously over your face.

"So, will I survive?" You questioned, a smile gracing your features.

"I think you'll be okay," Coriolanus responded, a smile of his own coming across his face. But, you could tell the smile didn't meet his eyes. You could tell something was still bothering him. The sunlight pouring in from the windows illuminated the worry that was still present in his eyes, a silent acknowledgment of the fear he'd felt when he thought you'd abandoned him in the forest.

When Coriolanus finished cleaning the wound he set the supplies to the side and leaned in, placing a delicate kiss on the spot he'd just tended to. The warmth of his lips lingered on your forehead, a comforting gesture that transcended the physical healing.

"There, kissed it better." Coriolanus whispered as he moved away from you, cleaning up the remaining supplies of the med-kit.

Despite his comforting gesture, you couldn't ignore the concern that was still etched on his face. As he finished putting the med-kit away he turned to look at you, being met with your questioning gaze. "Corio, you've been on edge since we got back. What's wrong?" You questioned him, taking a couple steps closer to him so you could wrap your arms around his waist.

Coriolanus hesitated, his eyes betraying his turmoil of emotions. He opened his mouth to respond but the words got caught in his throat. Tension lingered in the air as you searched his face for clues on what he was feeling.

"It's nothing, y/n. Just a scare, that's all. Everything is fine." Coriolanus spoke. However, despite his attempts to comfort you, you could still sense his unease. You reached upwards, cupping his face to draw his attention.

"Come on, Corio. Talk to me," You spoke. Coriolanus sighed, he was torn between his desire to shield you from his concerns and the intimacy the two of you had always shared. Eventually, he gave in.

"I just... I can't stand the thought of anything happening to you. losing you in the woods, even if it was just for a moment, it terrified me." Coriolanus confessed softly. Your eyes softened at his confession.

"I'm right here, Corio. I'm not going anywhere." You assured, he nodded. "I love you, Coriolanus. Wherever you go, I'm gonna be there." You spoke, his words caught him off guard. The two of you had never used the word love.

"Y/n..." Coriolanus started, his eyes moving away from you. However, your hold on his face forced his attention back onto you. "I've never been good at this, relationships. I'm afraid of losing you, of not being enough." You nodded, you understood Coriolanus' insecurities as he'd previously voiced some of his concerns to you.

"Corio," You took a step closer, "I love you for who you are. I don't need you to be perfect." You assured him. Your words hung in the air, in that moment, leaning into Coriolanus, your lips meeting his in a tender kiss. Coriolanus, having been initially surprised by the kiss, eventually surrenders to the kiss. When the two of you pulled away you spoke again. "I want to go back to the Capitol, Corio."

Coriolanus looked surprised but that was overtaken by a look of happiness. He wanted nothing more than to return to his home and family, and now that you did too there was nothing stopping the two of you. "Wherever you wanna go, I'll follow you." Coriolanus spoke, repeating the words you'd said earlier, you smiled at him.

The decision being made, the two of you faced what leaving the woods meant. Coriolanus worked to dispose of the guns while you packed the remaining items you had at the cabin. As you walked out of the door you saw him pushing the boat back to shore. Coriolanus jumped out of the boat, outstretching his hand for you. You smiled at the gesture, moving to meet him, enclosing his hand with your own.

[thegoldencontracts]

What Do You Want?

Summary: You try to approach Azul with an offer. His response is- odd, to say the least.

Notes: My heart wants fluff to make up for the angst yesterday... im sorry T_T

The moment you'd first seen Azul, you thought he was pretty. Then, you started noticing other little cool things about him. And before you knew it, you had a crush.

"You're- so stupid!" Ace said with a laugh. "You actually think Azul Ashengrotto would ever like anyone? Best outcome is, he tries to scam you but you barely manage to win."

"I've got a point-card!" You said cheerily. "And I've made a rough outline of what I want my contract to look like."

The 'outline' was only one sentence, but Ace didn't need to know that.

At that moment, though, Ace's eyes widened.

"You're actually gonna do it?" He said, the grin fading from his face.

"Yeah," you said. You were going to try and make a contract with him, see what happened. Maybe it wouldn't work out. But hey, you'd never know if you didn't try!

Besides, you had a plan. And that plan was what brought you to the VIP room, a golden point card in hand.

"Ah, what a pleasant surprise it is to see you here!" Azul said with a salesman's grin that somehow still looked cute. "I was under the impression you couldn't afford point-cards."

You laughed.

"It's lovely what happens when you make people compensate you for your labor," you said. And it was true. Telling people you'd do something for a free meal at the Lounge got you point cards and food witthout any complaints. For some reason, people were more willing to do that than give you the money straight-up, even if the expensive meals usually meant they'd have to pay more. Whatever.

"Oh," Azul said, before quickly changing the topic. "So what exactly is your desire?"

You smirked.

"Azul," you said. "Considering the ranking of the Golden card, that means you have to accept any contract I propose, so long as it doesn't pose direct harm to your mental or physical wellbeing in some way, shape, or form, correct?"

Azul's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Correct, however, you're forgetting-"

"The impact limit, yes," you said. "If the wish in question requires maiming, killing, or mentally scarring any individual, whether or not you agree to grant it becomes a decision entirely at your discretion."

At this point, Azul was looking at you like you'd grown two heads.

"Your point is...?" He asked.

"I won't have to make any other payment for my wish then, correct?" You said. You knew how these exchanges worked, and you did not want to get scammed.

Azul bit his lip.

"Fine, fine, you 'win', I suppose. Just- tell me what exactly it is you desire," he said.

You smiled, handing him a piece of paper with the draft of your contract on it. Azul's eyes widened in shock at its contents.

'Be my friend!' it said.

"Sooooo, what do you think?" You asked.

Azul shot you a glare. Harsh.

"What do you want?"

"I already told you- well, wrote to you, I guess, but-"

"No," Azul said, voice dangerously level. "What do you truly want?"

"Be my friend!" You said, flashing him a thumbs up. But Azul was still angry. Did he just hate you or something?

"I don't appreciate such juvenile attempts at mockery," he said. "If you have no true wish to make, then I shall have you escorted out."

You sighed. Seriously, this was getting annoying. Did he want to avoid you that badly?

"Look," you said. "I already laid it all out - you should try being my friend! And if you don't like it, then you stop! Simple as that, right?"

Azul scoffed.

"That's preposterous," he said. "No one would ever want such a thing-"

"Well, I want it," you said, before sighing. "Look, is it really that big of a deal?"

At that, Azul seemed to malfunction, like he couldn't possibly comprehend what you were saying. That was weird. Why wasn't he happy? Wasn't he going to try and scam you or something?

At long last, Azul shook away the red dusting his cheeks, handing you a pamphlet.

"Take this for now," he said. It was a study guide for Alchemy. "And keep the point card. I'll continue my inquiry tomorrow during lunch, so prepare yourself. Now then, leave."

"Great! See you tomorrow lunch then, Azul."

You took the study guide and headed for the exit. The study guide was pretty good, actually. And there was that little chibi doodle with hearts around it - you didn't know where it came from, but it kind of reminded you of yourself!

So, hey, it seemed like things were going pretty well.

Meanwhile, Azul was in a panic.

"The Prefect's caught on, I'm certain of it!" He said to Floyd and Jade, furiously flipping through his book of contingency plans for any type of social situation gone wrong. "Why else would such an odd request be made of me?"

Floyd rolled his eyes.

"Cause Shrimpy wanted to be your friend?" He said.

"No one would ever desire such a thing!" Azul said. "The Prefect's found out about that foolish little crush of mine, and decided to make a fool out of me. There's no other explanation!"

It was a sensible explanation, wasn't it? Common, too. It had happened to Azul all the time back then. He simply had to make sure he didn't slip, that he established consequences for all those who attempted to mess with him now.

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of Jade's laughter.

"What seems to be the matter, Jade? Do enlighten me," Azul asked dryly.

"You made an error in your panicked frenzy with the Prefect, that's all," Jade said. "The study guide you gave was the one with the doodles."

Azul felt his mouth go dry.

"W-What?"

"The one filled with countless doodles of your little crush, surrounded by hearts."

O-Of all the study guides, why that one?

Seven, how he wished to crawl into an octopus pot right now. But for now, all he could settle for was burying his face in his hands, left alone with his thoughts as he tuned Jade and Floyd out entirely.

He hadn't believed it, but- what if you were being sincere? What if you truly did want to grow closer to him? Yes, it was true that such a thing had never occurred in the past, meaning an analysis of past trends would seem such a thing impossible, and this sort of trick had been played on him countless times before but-

You seemed oddly sincere about it. And, frankly, he wanted you to be.

Azul couldn't help but sigh. Though it would likely cause him problems later, for now, he couldn't help but let himself hope.

[mysouleaten]

' DOC AND BOSS ' [part two]

mafia boss! izana x doctor! reader

summary ... you find out who this yakuza member is and it brings you to shock..

warnings ... not proofread, fluff, petnames, reader is a little sensitive[me], very very pretty izana

[DOC AND BOSS masterlist]

It has been two mostly rainy days

nothing interesting has happened even with your yakuza member still recovering in your apartment

he's been a good-- no, great guest so far, his sour attitude from the day you found him has completely melted off. It was even pleasant to talk to him

both of you stayed away from the topic of 'how did you get shot?'

because you knew how, he's part of tenjiku, part of the yakuza

and it's best if you keep your sanity intact, your boss would appreciate it--a lot

but the man--whose name you still didn't know--has improved, his wound is healing nicely, no signs of an infection surprisingly, he did stay god knows how long on the muddy concrete before you found him

he was able to take small walks around your apartment but you instructed him to do so if it was necessary

if he needed anything he could ask you, but it seems he's very prideful and stubborn to ask for more help..

but right now, you and -- ...

"hey, what's your name? i sort of have been calling you lavender in my head this entire time" you questioned

"hmmm...lavender? how lovely" he replied with a cheeky smile

oh that's another thing, he's become comfortable enough to express more emotion with you, which is great--it was very awkward the first couple of times you tried to make small talk with him

"yeah, lavender, because of your eyes--but tell me your name, I want to know my patient's name," you remarked

"always so demanding, but my name is..." he seemed hesitant to tell you, his eyes even removed themselves from you--he's now looking off to the side, with a light frown on his handsome face

"hey- uh- I know- you're like in the yakuza and everything.. don't worry I won't tell your boss anything...hahah.." you tried to joke around to lighten his mood

for some reason, you didn't like his frown... it made your heart clench uncomfortably..?

he looked back over to you quickly "my...boss? hahahahaa!!" he stepped back from you laughing-- he clutched his wounded side in the process

you stared at him with bewilderment

was he...not in the yakuza? did you assume he was?? no! he was wearing the uniform! or did he? now you were second-guessing yourself...

he wiped his eye with the back of his hand and looked at your confused face with such amusement

he even laughed a little more! jerk

you huffed and turned back to the dishes, tears threatening to escape your eyes--you were always a sensitive soul..

and even more sensitive now that a very pretty man was laughing at you, oh my god you felt like a damn joke..

"hey, hey...sweetheart, what's with the baby eyes?" he came back to your side and leaned his face closer to yours

you quickly wiped your eyes with your palm and turned your head away from his gaze

izana blinked at the woman in front of him--hiding her pretty face from him

why was she crying? he didn't say anything insulting?

"hmm? are you going to tell your patient why his doctor is so moody?" izana joked

you finally looked back at him with light puffy eyes "why.. where you laughing?"

he blinked once, then twice "did.. you think I was laughing at you?"

you hesitated but nodded nonetheless

"I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing because you thought I was a servant , I'm the boss, sweetheart"

huh? servant? boss..?

"im izana, izana kurokawa, the leader of tenjiku"

.

.

.

"WHAT??"

an .. im a sensitive soul, its me.

taglist ... @firstdivisiongirl  @ureuphoriasworld @sennkawaa @haikyuusboringassmanager @izakawa @peppersapro @khfviq @mariam12344 @wutap @bontensbabygirl @m0onz1

@ilybbg @kazutora-kurokawa @riritvt @manji-hoe @kokoch4n3l

[ im sorry if you don't get tagged :( I tried my best ]

[lvrcpid]

reality in motion.

it’s warm. like a sunny spring day. nothing compared to the pain you once felt. when your eyes open, the bright white light was almost blinding. i’m dead. you thought.

“my child? why are you here? it isn’t your time.”

what was that voice? then it registered. it was the great mother. your creator.

you quickly stood to your feet and bowed. when you lifted your head up you met eyes with the almighty. she was beautiful. the most beautiful woman you have ever seen.

“(y/n)..no..no no no it’s far too early for you to be with me..what happened?” doesn’t eywa see all? how does she not know what happened.

“i would rather not talk about it..you said it wasn’t my time.. what do you mean?” the great mother took pity on you, one of her greatest creations.

“you’re still young..still have so much time..you aren’t supposed to be here with me..not yet” she took her hands in yours and gave you a small smile

“it was great to meet you my child..but you must return..” what did she mean by that?

your world suddenly went black. your eyes snapping open as you felt a burning in your lungs. you looked around and noticed something, you were underwater. at the bottom of the ocean.

you quickly swam up to the surface and took a deep breath, choking up some water as you struggled to keep your head afloat.

just your luck, some divers noticed you emerge from the water and quickly swam over to save you. they recognized you as the child that had gone missing.

your body was weak and frail. your lips were a light blue. signifying that you indeed had died. as your head leaned against the back of the metkayina diver, you raised a shaky hand over your chest to see that your wound was healed.

you blanked out after that. you only really remember bits and pieces of what happened. one minute you were in the care of tsireya, the next minute your family was running in with frantic eyes and puffy faces.

they had been crying for you. tch. i bet those tears were forced.

“(y/n) you’re safe! thank you great mother thank you!!” neytiri dropped beside you and hugged you, not too tight seeing as though you were still fragile.

your mind was all over the place. you had just been brought back from the dead for what seemed like weeks. you looked and felt like hell. and why was your mother hugging you..she’s never done that before.

“this child proclaims to have been dead at the bottom of the ocean..they don’t remember much but they remember seeing their siblings..” ronal looked over to lo’ak and neteyam “ride back to shore on an ilu..”

lo’ak felt his heart drop. that was days ago. he looked over to neteyam who had guilt written all over his face.

neytiri pulled away from her eldest child and looked at their face. she didn’t notice you were gone. she didn’t know you had died. she didn’t know. she didn’t think to check.

“you left them there? i thought you said they were behind you..” jake turned to his sons, his eyebrows furrowed. when they did notice you were missing, the boys were the first ones to speak up , saying that you were behind them.

“well we thought they were..but we didn’t look back to check..” neteyam scratched the back of his neck, tears brimming his eyes as he felt so guilty in that moment.

the whole family stood in shock. they thought you were somewhere far from them this whole time. not dead. and how did you even come back to life..that’s impossible.

“(y/n)..is this true?” kiri spoke up, looking at you being treated by ronal, tonowari close by fuming at the family.

“what reason do i have to lie..” you spoke, voice hoarse. “i was shot” you pointed to the wound on your chest.

the family collectively gasped.

“i took the bullet for neteyam..it was supposed to be for him..considering the face lo’ak made when the ship was mentioned..im gonna assume it’s been days..hasn’t it been lo’ak?” you turned to your youngest brother as he let out a shaky sigh and nod.

“i stand corrected..it’s been days..nobody tried looking for me..” you said sitting up. tsireya was quick to put a hand over yours and grip it tightly.

“days..i’ve been gone for days..and nobody tried-“ you were cut off by your fathers voice “we started a search party!” he frantically said, tears now in his eyes “ and when did you start it ? “ tonowari spoke up, he already knew the answer , he just wanted to hear what the family had to say for themselves.

“we started it 2 days ago..” neteyam spoke. he was now crying. how could he do this to his big sibling. you were nothing but kind to him. to all of them. but this is how they repay you.

“and when were you all on the ship?” ronal asked, looking at lo’ak. he didn’t want to answer, he felt the shame rise in him as he looked at tsireya. she looked so disappointed in him.

“it was about 6 days ago”

the mauri fell silent. you’d been gone for 4 days before the family realized you were gone. that’s all it took for tonowari to dismiss your family, instructing ronal to keep patching you up and tending to you.

“you bring shame to your people..out..before i change my mind on letting you stay here.

you watched as your family quickly moved out of the mauri, not even turning back. you laid back on the floor, the world seeming to move on it’s own around you. you blanked out. you couldn’t feel. you couldn’t think. you couldn’t breathe. you didn’t want to be here.

why was eywa punishing you so?

you were eventually left in the mauri alone, left to rest.

your world was changing right before your eyes.

like reality in motion.

previous || masterlist || next

tags 🏷️: @23victoria @avtprint @bucky12345 @boilingpots @Marcswife21

[itsangelll]

hello could I get a fic of 2010 Tom x f reader where he’s kinda like a bad boy or whatever and the reader’s like really innocent and stuff but Tom always has a soft spot for her somehow? Like they meet at a club and Tom immediately has an attraction towards and they start hanging out and if his friends ever say anything bad about her they quite literally kick their asses and it’s really sweet

tyyyy

A/n: of course I did change it up a bit but I hope you enjoy!! creds to @cafekitsune for the divider andd @bunniethinks for helping me out with this <33

Opposites Attract ❤︎︎

pairings:2010 Tom x femreader

warnings:mention of alcohol swearing do not read if you are sensitive with these topics!!

genre:angst to fluff

You’ve never been this nervous before, you came to a party with Tom which you were quite unsure about cause it wasn’t really your scene. When you walked into the house the smell of alcohol and other things filled your nostrils making you feel even more uneasy, “Tom I’m unsure about this I don’t think I fit in here” gripping onto his arm. He chuckled and placed a kiss on your cheek “it’s okay Liebe I promise.”

You smile at him feeling some the nerves ease as he reassures you. He grabs your hand leading you to a quieter part of the house and sits down on the couch next to you. You bounce your leg up and down looking around frantically showing that you still have some nerves, you look downwards as you feel Tom’s hand slide onto your though rubbing small circles against your soft skin. “Schatz you’ve got nothing to worry about I promise” pressing a small kiss to your shoulder then looking at you with a soft gaze. (give me that.) Tom stands up and you look at him confused “I’ll be right back im just gonna get a drink.” he says before he leaves.

Watching Tom walk off you looked around at everyone they looked a lot different than you some people were throwing up and making out. Till someone comes and sits next to you it was one of his friends, “You know Tom shouldn’t be dating you” his words slurred. “Sorry what?” your voice slightly shaky “Look at tom and look at you, I bet you can’t even compete with his standards he deserves someone way better you should leave while you still can.”

Your heart dropped everything his friend was saying could be true maybe you weren’t right for Tom after all you felt like you couldn’t speak everything almost became a blur, without another thought you grabbed your things and ran out of the party not looking back, tears were perking up in the corner of your eyes your vision going fuzzy finally you made it home.

Walking into your bedroom you collapsed onto the floor, you couldn’t take it all of your thoughts were clouding your head you didn’t know what to think. Was it true? did Tom really deserve someone better, After an hour or so you calmed down. You were about to fall asleep until you heard a loud thud right near your window, you looked over and you were shocked, “Tom what the hell?! There’s a door for a reason” you said while kneeling down to help him get up “I’m sorry Princess the door was locked” You looked at him and the sight was awful his hands were bloody and his face was slightly bruised.

You look at him with a worried expression on your face concern etched through your eyes. Holding out a hand to him you place him onto your bed as you look at him with a sad expression a tear dropping from the corner of your eye. Once he’s on the edge of the bed you stand between his legs cupping his face in your hands brushing a thumb under his non hurt eye. “what happened Tom” your voice barely above a whisper he sits in silence for a moment before speaking up. “I was trying to find to you but you weren’t anywhere in the house, then my dickhead of a friend came up to me telling me what he said to you I just lost it I’m sorry Schatzi”. Looking up at you regret written all over his face.

You grab his hand “we’re getting you cleaned up” leading him into the bathroom sitting him on the sink, you grab some cotton pads and alcohol to clean the wounds and his hand “This might sting a little” you carefully dab the wounds not trying to hurt him. Tom looks down at you “You don’t have to do this Princess” you look up at him and continue treating the bruises “well you shouldn’t be getting into fights with your friends.” You say as you finish cleaning up his face.

He gets up from the sink cupping your face in his hands, “You don’t need to listen to them Liebe I love you the way you already are” rubbing his thumb over your bottom lip “you mean that?” he smiles and rests his forehead against yours “You know i do princess opposites do attract.”

A/n: I hope you guys enjoyed im sorry I’ve been so slow with these requests, school is coming up soon and I don’t know when I’ll be able to have time to write mwah bye cuties <33

Taglist:

@bunniethinks

@itsmealaiah

@memzyyy

@madzandmore

@jadedchar

@tomssexdoll

[brights-place]

This has been stirring in my head since now-

Can I request romantic headcanons with either Pierce, Ash or Rhys with a male daemon S/O who’s noi’s younger sibling. They had similar personalities, but after some events they’re the opposite.

Like they went from sweet and loving to closed off and aggressive, he acts as if he’s ava’s bodyguard in a way always trying to protect her. They’ve have also been on earth a month longer than the group since he left on his own a month prior to them having find a new place to inhabit

(This idea has no reason to be make me smile so badly)

[My Inner demons ] Pierce, Ash, Rhys x M! Daemos Reader (seperate)

Warnings: Angst, Burns, Scars, Comfort

A/N: HELLOOO!! I never thought I'd get a request like this and im happy there are people who want me to write from many other fandoms i'm apart of! which i'm so happy about!! but I think I got too into the angst part.. THIS TOOK ME SO LONG

Summary: Romantic head cannons with either Pierce, Ash or Rhys with a male daemos S/O who’s noi’s younger sibling who left them. They had similar personalities, but after some events they’re the opposite of what they use to be. They went from sweet and loving to closed off and aggressive, he acts as if he’s ava’s bodyguard in a way always trying to protect her. They’ve have also been on earth a month longer than the group since he left on his own a month prior to them having find a new place to inhabit

You returned late at night after working it was draining living as a human but you got into their customs easily some stuff still made you confused but you got into it. This place earth was hard to adapt but it would work yes there were humans many supplies of energy and magic for years but it wasnt worth it maybe others would learn like you have.

So here you were successfully finding the new place earth able to adapt ava helped you out as you were panicked and confused after everything that happened to you and how Ava cared for you when you were in pain and rare act from daemos was shocking yet you were quick to understand the cultures were different. Ava helped you get a job as a blacksmith which you enjoyed since you didnt get hurt at all when crafting.

Your heart nearly leapt out of your chest when seeing the door open it was night but as soon as you slammed the door open you saw ava help a guy hand out blankets to other men in the room. All having horns and medival like armour- no it cant…

“The human has brought back up!” A boy with orange hair with yellow and orange horns pointed before freezing “[Name]…?” The wide eyes you had staring at them “Noi… what are you doing here” he looked at the others.

The famillar apperances. How your eyes land on a man with raventte hair eyebrows furrowing smelling the famillar scent as his eyebrows furrowed as he summoned fire from his hand as you glared “Didn’t expect this” you uttered staring at the males famillar figure.

Asch is medium skin, black hair and eyes, and horns that grow from the front of his head, and curve upward the a golden band around his left horn. His black skintight armor, along with a fluffy red and cream cape that is hooked on by a silver clip around his neck. Asch is symbolizing tattoo on his right arm, along with a golden band/bracelet and bandages. On his left arm, the silver and navy armor on and strapped red belt.

Rhys stood beside Asch with wide eyes is warm-toned skin and deep blue eyes. His dark brown hair is styled in short dreadlocks. The dark blue horns atop his head curve inwards and point out. The black skin-tight armor along with a blue amulet on a chain around his neck. His coat is blue with light blue designs and golden trimmings. His wrists are covered by maroon bandages. His belt consists of red fabric and beige ropes.

Pierce sitting on a seat gripping his sword a light blue claymore sword that has a dark blue handle. His tan skin, dark brown hair in a low ponytail, blue eyes, and ombre from dark blue to light blue horns that grow from the sides of his head and curve upwards, black skin tight armor, along with a robe that is light blue with black and white details. He also has a light periwinkle belt. On his right arm, Pierce has a tattoo that spans his entire shoulder and steel armor on his forearm. His left arm is covered by one of his sleeves, with a navy-colored pauldron. He wears a dark blue bracelet on his left wrist. His eyes stare back at you slightly having eyebrows furrowed while you take a step back.

You glanced over seeing leif is wide eyes “No way…” before he grinned Leif is same old tan skin, white hair, and teal eyes, along with a scar on his right eye. He has sharp, shark-like teeth. He has two green horns that curve out of his head upward. He wears black skintight armor, with grey and green armor/cloth, a yellow rope around his hips, and armored arms as he held his two scythes in his hand “Your alive!” He laughed

Noi stared at You with shaky pupils “[Name]” “Lay another hand on Ava I will have your head” You stated Noi looked abit more grown up since you last saw him his pale skin, salmon-colored hair, and amber eyes, along with two small orange horns that point directly upwards. Noi now wore a collared navy and orange short-sleeved shirt, and his right arm has white and orange bandaging, while his left arm has grey and orange armor. Noi's belt is white, as well. Noi wears orange pants, with grey and brown armored boots. He is also much shorter than the rest of the Deamos but taller than Ava which was nice to know he had a growth spirt before you left.

You glanced towards Ava who spoke “[Name]” she walked over “lets go to my room” you glared at the group cursing quietly “they should not be here they are bad” you scowled at her as she whispered “I took you in here when you were on the street I let them come in and stay-“ “they are calling you prisoner” you deadpanned as she chuckled looking away “My room” she gestured as she went in as you stared at her before turning your head to the group as you sighed pushing your hair back “You aren’t suppose to be here any of you” “says the traitor” Leif stated “I don’t expect a former assassin to know shit when he got left behind” Leif scowled as you let your horns appear with a swift motion of your hand and pointed to asch “Lay a hand on her and your dead” as you walked backwards into ava’s room glaring at the group.

Prince Asch

- You... YOU TRAITOR! Leaving daemos and now being like this! how dare you defy him-! YOU WERE HIS SOON TO BE HUSBAND

- You angered him once by leaving him alone by himself for YEARS alone yet here you were beside the new prisoner staring at them all with anger - The way you wouldn't let them get near her protecting the 'Prisoner' you were loyal to her staring down the group when they got too close. - When Ava let them stay you were quick to try convincer her to leave them to rot but she denied it saying how when you came to find help she helped you get accustomed to the world - Since it's 1 day on earth its 3 days for daemos so you would have been gone for so long - The way you protected the 'prisoner' made his heart swell up as his threats were harsh to Ava yet you were so quick to smack his hand away from trying to burn Ava - Asch was quick to notice how fast you were to try harm him when trying to harm ava as the others went to protect Asch but the way he saw your eyes not falter staring at him like he was the enemy he couldn't help but suck in a breath - You were different from who you were last time where you matched noi's energy due to being siblings and well helping him grow up since you both were bound by blood Noi is personality kindness everything that was deemed as weakness in daemos was taught by you - So seeing the burn mark of your neck from when you two fought from a couple days before you left made him falter slightly as the skin looked like leather yet the pigment was slight different to your s/c skin - The way your personality shifted too intrigued him as how hostile you were to not only the prince but also placing a blade to his neck as he had his hand on fire still close to your face ready to attack like you. Hurting the prince is an act of Treason - Rhys was quick to diffuse the situation but Asch thought ava had put some sort of spell the Prisoner Sorceress must have done something to you but the way you acted like when you were on daemos with him was the way you were acting with Ava - You cared for her and Asch couldn't help but watch his scowl deeper. How DARE you not only leave him not only hold a HUMANS hand you were together you were going to be BOUND together - You angered him once by leaving him alone by himself for YEARS alone yet here you were beside the new prisoner staring at them all with anger - The way you wouldn't let them get near her protecting the 'Prisoner' you were loyal to her staring down the group when they got too close. - When Ava let them stay you were quick to try convincer her to leave them to rot but she denied it saying how when you came to find help she helped you get accustomed to the world

- Since it's 1 day on earth its 3 days for daemos so you would have been gone for so long - The way you protected the 'prisoner' made his heart swell up as his threats were harsh to Ava yet you were so quick to smack his hand away from trying to burn Ava - Asch was quick to notice how fast you were to try harm him when trying to harm ava as the others went to protect Asch but the way he saw your eyes not falter staring at him like he was the enemy he couldn't help but suck in a breath - You were different from who you were last time where you matched noi's energy due to being siblings and well helping him grow up since you both were bound by blood Noi is personality kindness everything that was deemed as weakness in daemos was taught by you - So seeing the burn mark of your neck from when you two fought from a couple days before you left made him falter slightly as the skin looked like leather yet the pigment was slight different to your s/c skin - The way your personality shifted too intrigued him as how hostile you were to not only the prince but also placing a blade to his neck as he had his hand on fire still close to your face ready to attack like you. Hurting the prince is an act of Treason - Rhys was quick to diffuse the situation but Asch thought ava had put some sort of spell the Prisoner Sorceress must have done something to you but the way you acted like when you were on daemos with him was the way you were acting with Ava - You cared for her and Asch couldn't help but watch his scowl deeper. How DARE you not only leave him not only hold a HUMANS hand you were together you were going to be BOUND together

- Though out of everything Asch couldn't help but miss you which is vulnerability yet he couldn't help but miss the way you smiled at him... how you held him close - Asch noticed from the corner of his eyes how noi is body froze entirely fists clutched - After awhile of them staying you still were protectiv over Ava and Asch would still call her prisoner but wouldn't harm her - He couldn't help but try compliment you from what he learned from the man on the magic mirror in the living room - You helped them all accustom to the changes on earth - Asch though tried to rebuild your relationship no matter how much it hurt to see the way you'd back away from hsi flamed slightly something you used to admire - Every time though he tried to threaten ava with his power you'd step in though still afraid of the flames in his palm but held your head high - After awhile Asch got close enough to you like before though the smile you had before still wasn't on your lips only a closed lip one was all he could get - He didn't care yes he still had his anger issues but you still knew what to do to relax him even after from how long you were gone you still knew how to take care of him like Rhys... more then Rhys - He stared at you holding your hand even if Asch wanted to marry 'princess' ava he kenw his heart didn't feel right as he gripped to your hand like you'd leave again - it was a habit now he would hold onto you like you'd leave him again betray him all over again... - It took him so long to get over you took him so long to trust you again so long for you both to be back in eachothers arms and he didn't need you to leave his arms again yet he knew what would happen if you met your demise once back in daemos.

General Pierce

- Pierce doesn't speak much and it was known it was always hard to get him to speak up but when he saw you he couldn't help but loosen his grip on aphmau lightly - He wondered why you weren't hugging him smiling to see someone you were close to where you both were close to being bound to eachother as partners - The others were shocked to especially when you were defending aphmau with your life REALLY WITH YORU LIFE threatening the prince was an act which could get you killed - He stared as he let go of ava setting her down and pattered her head this was a gesture he learnt from you. When you'd comfort the smaller daemos children and Noi in when they have failed or gotten hurt - Asch would tell you off yet he'd also be a victim to how you consoled him rubbing your hand on his hair. Pierce had one of the moments where after training he was more tense due to the royal court killing a daemos child - You consoled him by patting his hair as you did to the others Asch was even effected by the death because the child harmed the human soul without knowing the reason why yet this was when they were still under asch is fathers hand.

- Pierce was quick to notice how fast you were to try harm asch he whipped out his sword and held it against your throat as you didn't falter - You were different from who you were last time your sweet smile was gone as it was a permanent scowl staring them down like they were monsters something Pierce hated to see - So seeing the large scar from your eyes to your lips as it made him grip tighter to the handle of his weapon as a scar ran from your ear to your lips a large scar that was slowly healing - A scar that marked the day where you were running to leave daemos one of ashes knights who betrayed the kingdom killing one of the humans souls and taking it leaving one one human left alive as the kingdom hoped to keep the last soul safe while chasing down the Daemos Knight - Pierce was close to having your head to kill you on the spot like he did all those years ago to a human that called him a monster. that daemos were deemed as monsters to those who were killed by there hands... - Pierce had you that day yet he couldn't help but stare at you and falter the moment he saw your eyes with a look that he saw years ago hostility yet it still lingered with fear - As soon as pierced raised his sword he saw your quick movement to move back as he didn't hesitate slicing from your ear to your lips as he paused seeing the drop of a liquid drip from your s/c skin as your horns glowed as a scream ruptured from your throat of pain and agony as you held your eye as Pierce froze seeing the one who he deemed close to his heart hurt by his hands. - Seeing you there infront of him fine but protecting a human life on the line - Ava didn't know and she didn't need to know why you held her close to your heart like she'd leave when glaring the others - You and Him were an iconic duo as before Leif became the second strongest in the group you were on par with Pierce in a fighting situation yet he noticed how you were more muscular defined features as you glared at him - Though Pierce noticed Noi is shaky pupils staring at his sibling with wide eyes - Pierce would try get closer to you like in the past where you would do stupid things when on duties with him - He would stand by you keep quiet as he would try to get you to touch him like you use too - He would always stare at your hand the entire time or at your eyes yet he was still stuck with the horrid memories of you screams the day he hurt you - It took awhile but he still couldn't get you to laugh to smile like you use to for now the rare moments he did get you to react were small but he will continue trying to have you smile and laugh like you use to - He would reach out to touch you in some moments where he thinks you'd be comfy with it but noticing how your quick to go hostile made him stop - Though he noticed how you would stare at him if he did you habit to comfort or soothe someone which were small pats to the head which he noticed you let out a small laugh which he smile slightly at - when you got closer once more still not showing much as you use to he still is trying to redeem himself in your eyes holding you close in his arms tightly he can't do what he did before not ever again to someone he loves

Royal Advisor Rhys

- Rhys would instantly panic mentally but have a calm composure when seeing you but you turning on your own people having a blade to Prince Asch is neck?? - DID YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!? - The others were shocked but Rhys? he was gonna start aging faster then lady grandma as you holding a blade to the prince is neck was an act of treason ESPECIALLY THREATNING TO SLICE HIS NECK! - Rhys was always thinking mentally but in the situation where you were in-front of him he was impulsive as fuck staring from afar before he diffused the situation in a quick pace yet he noticed your guard was still up - When it was done Rhys was so quick to ask you questions grabbing your arm happy to have a daemos with them but pausing seeing how your ripped your arm from his hand he paused seeing the white or grayish, purplish-yellow skin area on your arm and finger tips as he paused when he remembered the lingering feeling from where your skin that felt abnormally firm or waxy in his grasp as he stared at your arm - He pursed his lips remembering how in mid argument with rhys before you left where he gripped onto your arm tightly that he accidently left you with permanent damage of frostbite - He couldn't help but bite his lip pausing as he tried to keep his calm composure to pursued you to help them - How he wish he didn't lash out on you for telling him you will be gone for awhile with a reason for all of daemos to show that kindness will take you far - Rhys told you off many times for being selfless yet the time you were selfish made his body clench up when they were told to hunt you down. One of Asch is royal guards betraying the royal family not only that BUT TAKING THE LIFE OF ONE OF THE LAST HUMANS SOULS! - The male was panicking biting his lip when the situation occurred as he made sure to try bring you back so when Pierce had you in a moment you screaming got him to find you but seeing pierce stand there watching you escape through somewhere and vanishing Rhys was quick to act out his calm demeanor vanishing - He shouted at Pierce for letting you go yet he didn't ignore the blood on pierce is blade he belittled the general for being incompetent yet he couldn't help but let out a breath of relief mentally that he didn't see your dead eyes - With the current situations with the prisoner from what asch called the human sorceress you would speak up for her and tell her how bad these 'people were' but how ava was able to touch you where he couldn't he sucked in a breath as she was able to relax you but still were defensive on the situation - Rhys would ask you questions and you'd give back cold answers making him try work harder to understand with limit access to information he'd ask you more then Ava due to well you could explain it better to him you both were close before - Both of you were close before partners in well being the royal advisor and one of asch is trusted knights but both of you were close as you would listen to him talk about his studies as he'd listen to your rambles - He loved when he studied and you'd style his hair in different ways with the cornrows as he enjoyed your touch and how you would add small charms and beads on it but now since your touch was gone he had to do it himself - Though he would never let anyone else do it only you and him he couldn't add trnkets or beads to it as he felt it wasn't exactly right - He would stare at the small box in his room where it was covered in dust and at the many items that would decorate his hair with the beads and small trinkets - He knew you being kind was a weakness you showed sides of yourself which made you a good and easy target for being 'weak' to other daemos yet you were on par with pierce in strength - Rhys would try to bond with you like you use to as best he could and try squeeze info out - Rhys was intelligent and knew your limits but as he tried to talk to you like he use to how you scowled at him he went to his formal tone yet he had to hold his breath when you sneered at him

- You and Rhys were always staring each other down as rhys would try to keep you close to him by his side or help him learn something since you both were quick learners but it seems with how you changed you were quicker to act - Rhys would try to see your smile every time he found something new he learnt like he use to on how you both would celebrate with new discoveries and studies but all he would get was a grunt that made him take in a sharp inhale before he would continue to try talk to you about it due to missing your familiar praise - Though out of everybody he knew how Noi had the most effect on seeing you due to seeing the yellow horned daemos who wanted to rush over to you yet leif held him back which Rhys noticed on how he was mostly affected by it with the shaking fists and hands with noi's wide eyes too yet Rhys couldn't compare to what Noi must be feeling but he knew how much Rhys needed you again in his arms - You were so close and held each other in small moments even when reading or doing your own things - He would have leif try to heal you a small amount yet your scars were still there no matter what a permanent damage that you didn't want leif to heal even when Rhys said that it would be good for you yet you denied - Trying to re-establish your relationship was hard yet he earned some trust back with you - He couldn't help but smile when in the middle of trying to fix his hair in the living room while conversing with Asch on the floor sitting on cushions you sat behind him and started to undo his hair for him - It was a little thing but he knew that he was slowly progressing and he didn't want you to go away and leave him alone not again even if you betrayed the kingdom and him he still missed you and won't ever want you to leave him again...

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[xxventiswindblumexx]

Gift for my lovely smut soulmate @hitomisuzuya 🤭

Fatui!Scaramouche x Obsessive Fem reader

⚠Warnings⚠:Aphrodisiac usage, scaramouche being himself, degradion, yandere themes, dub-con

Scaramouche the 6th Fatui harbinger was a feared man, many horror stories circulated around what he's done and most would stay clear of him, normal people would but that's not you.

You know the risk of approaching him, approaching what's essentially an archon.

Who are you to even think of such activities? You're not much, an adventurer that's found their greatest adventure, the thrilling and exciting attempt to track down this Fatui Harbinger for yourself.

You don't even know what you'll say when you do get to him, that is if you're not killed instantly. Your fascination for this man started when you seen him once when traveling, you heard of him but couldn't believe how incredibly beautiful he was, his voice was even better. However at the time you where not asking for a death wish and made sure he didn't see you as he left with his agents. After planning for a few months you've successfully tracked down where he is and will be, it wasn't easy as he's a very secretive man. You packed what you'll need and headed out, Archons help you from being one shotted the moment he sees you.

After about of week of traveling you could see in the distance a camp in the forest, you stalk closer to see and the agents are a clear sign that a Fatui Harbinger was here, you just had to see which because running into Childe wasn't on your list of to-dos.

After a moment you seen him, Scaramouche. Your heart pounded once more, your body heating up in all the right places, it was like the first time again. He was speaking to some agents, about what you don't know, you could barely hear from the sound of your heart almost beating out of your chest. .. or maybe it was the adrenaline. Whatever it was the only thing you know is that you were going to talk to him, you'll take any chance to get a word in with him, even if it meant you have to get hurt... or die.

You waited for some of the agents to disburse, luckily for you he didn't like have others with him in that rather large tent he had set up for himself. Soon enough the agents slipped up, speaking to each other leaving you some space, a chance to dart to the tent without disturbance. That was what you did.

He turned rather quickly, his hands up ready to defend himself, it seems not many just dart in and he was ready to fight. However noticing you didn't have a weapon on you he didn't attack right away

"Who are you and why are you here? Speak now" he hissed with a harsh glare, you stood in shock in the fact that for one, you actually made it, you're here and two you're not dead yet.

"I-Im Y/N and... " you trailed off some, where you just going to say why you really came here, to fuck his brains out? Really? You didn't really think a lot, seeming your hormones speaking for you before logic.

He watched your body language carefully as he noticed you where far from a threat but still, kept his defense up.

"Don't tell me you came without reason, or maybe you're backing out now that you've gotten to see me? " He said with a snarky attitude, no, you couldn't back down now.

"No! I-Im not backing down, I came to.. " Speaking on your business wasn't going to happen, you was simply too nervous however you noticed with his cocky attitude he slipped on his defense, you took this chance to act, now or never right?

Your hands grabbing his face as your lips connect to his rather fast and harsh, his skin was cold to the touch. Of course he was taken back by this sudden move, sure he figured you would act but not like this, his hands grabbing yours and pushing you off. His breath seemed to have increased, his face blushing a deep pink as well as a bit of saliva on the corner of his mouth.

"What do you think you're doing!? " He was beyond flustered yet it seemed he didn't totally hate it. You couldn't respond with words, at least not easily only taking a step closer, he backed up into a table with papers on it.

"H-Hey! Wait a minute-" your lips once more connecting his as your body pressed against him, you've gotten too far to back down, however if he really didn't want you there you wouldn't be standing still so at least he didn't seem to hate it. This time he didn't push you off right away, kissing back but harsher as he flipped the two of you, your back hitting the wooden table as papers of plans went flying. His hands holding yours down, pinning them as he broke the kiss looking down at you, lust in his eyes.

"You're just some glorified pervert aren't you? Have you been following me, waiting to pounce like the bitch in heat you are" He hissed as he leaned down to you, his hand grabbing your throat "If we are doing anything here I'll be the one in control got it? " he spoke, his breath tickling your neck, all you could do was nod, earning a chuckle from him. His hands let go off you as they went to grab something, soon enough he put something in your mouth and pushed you over onto your back, a gasp escaped your mouth at the impact, he placed his knee in your lower region. A growl leaving his lips. He was enjoying this way too much to be honest.

"Now listen here slut and listen good, I'm not here to play games and I have all I need to make your life a living hell. Do you understand me?" He asked harshly as he used some rope to bind your wrists together before searching your pockets to make sure you truely didn't have anything to harm him with, only for him to pull out a small vile a glowing pink liquid "Aphrodisiacs? Really? " how did he know what it was? Either way you felt embarrassed for getting you even had it. Once your pockets was emptied and deemed not a threat he chuckled a little "You're quite pathetic arent you? How many did you think you where going to get me to consume this? " you were speechless now and he smirked as he pulled your hair to make sure you could see him "Soon you'll see what kind of authority youre challenging you whore" he spat the last word before he completely shredded your clothing, he had a lot more strength then expected for someone of his size, as you tried to cover yourself which was useless with your hands bound, he grabbed your wrists "Come on let's have some fun " his smirk growing, a low rumble left him "Just you wait I won't be gentle"

Your stomach and front side pressed against the rough wooden surface as your back end now out for him to see "Already so wet and ready for me, you really are a whore" he thrusts two slender fingers into your core harshly "I'm only making room for myself so don't get used it bitch" He said harshly as he added a third, not giving you time to really adjust, it was then when he seen a bit of blood he laughed "Oh Archons am I your first? Really you wanted me to be it? At least your have good tastes" pulling his fingers from you, licking the blood mixed with your juices off, his eyes glaring down at you. You could see how much he wanted to dominate you, to fuck you until you begged for mercy. He remembered something as he grabbed vile you had brought with you and took the top off before looking at you with a smirk "This should keep us busy for a while don't you think? I can already tell you're not ready for what you got yourself into" He flipped you onto your back before pushing the vile to your lips, almost forcing you to drink the aphrodisiac. Once done he discarded it to the side as his hands wondered your body, it didn't take long before the effects started to work on you, your body heating up more then ever as your breathing picked up its pace. You however had a small devious idea, an idea that can get you possibly killed but you held a bit of the liquid in your mouth, hidden so when he came in for a harsh you managed to push it into his mouth causing him to swallow it out of surprise, pulling back quickly to wipe his mouth with his sleeve. You could see the anger in his eyes before they softened, he laughed "Oh you dirty little bitch!"

Only a small smirk adorned on your face, now playing his little game, he pushed onto your stomach once more harshly as he he chuckled lowly "You know I thought about going slow at first, sure not for long but giving you some time to adjust.. " you felt his tip press against your core teasingly, you moaned out "But for that.. I'm going to go as harsh as I want to, to use your whore body for myself as my little toy" he said as he slammed himself in fully, bottoming out. You yelped and groaned in slight pain however the aphrodisiac helped numb it into pleasure . Your nails digging into the rope, you closed your eyes.

And he began to pound into you with full force, every stroke feeling as though you'd be ripped apart. Each one bringing you further to your climax, your eyes clenched tightly as he pounded deeper than you've ever felt, it' almost as if his entire being wanted to hurt you, as if he craved to be inside you as he continued to slam into you hard, the sound of a few men outside yelling as they thought he was being attacked only for him to snap at them before they could come in "Take one step in this tent and you'll all see your maker! " They didn't need to be told twice backing away leaving the two of you alone.

His hands gripping your hips as his nails dug into your skin leaving marks, you could feel small shocks of his electro through his finger tips adding more pleasure. His hips moving faster as you cried out, your voice coming out as whimpers, tears pricking you as he pumped in and out of you, each thrust sending chills through you. As he slowed down after a couple minutes and stopped slamming into you, both of your bodies shaking, sweat dripping down your faces.

"S-Scara-" A particularly hard thrusts cut you short of speaking as he growled "Don't fucking call me that like were friends, call me master" he hissed at you as he kept thrusting "I could fucking kill you bitch! Watch your damn words" Another heavy thrust made you moan and babble incoherently against the table

"I.. I didn't mean t..to.. ah... ah.. " you couldn't finish your sentence as he kept pounding into you, you were panting heavily as you tried to catch your breath, your head turning some to look at him, his eyes were filled with lust and anger, his teeth gritted as he continued to pound into you.

You could feel him twitch in you, he was close so close<br />

"Call me master! " he demanded, no ordered you. You whimpered slightly as he gave another violent thrust causing you to scream out loudly as it came "Nnnngghhhh! Master!!!" he slammed into you again as you screamed. both yours and his body trembling and sweating heavily as he released into you, still thrusting but not near as hard, pushing his seed further into you, some dripping down your leg.

Once it passed you where panting as you laid down staring at the ceiling unable to move or speak, your vision blurring as sleep consumed you.

The first thing you saw was Scaramouche putting something onto your neck, it felt like leather, and hearing a few words he spoke ".. my pet... "

[ofallthingsnasty]

Urrrgg im such a wuss about physical pain but something about punctured wounds specifically makes me scared more than cuts or bruises. I think it’s something about the “intrusion” that a sharp object does when it stabs you that it doesn’t do when merely cutting you

Suffice to say Crocodile even threatening to give me a “piercing” will scare me into submission. Suddenly I’m throwing out my escape plans because I do not want to be hurt like that 😓 Sir you can spank me however you want but PLS don’t put that hook anywhere near my face

oh goodness anon, you're way too cute 😭💕 he would never ever hurt you because i say so.... but this also made me think...

tw. yandere, violence, a little over-the-top gore (facial), references this post

Now that you mention it - there are two ways he could harm you with his hook in that specific scenario, one more planned and one more impulsive. (To pierce your tongue, he’d need a forceps or at the very least a very steady hand or else he’s going not only cut into your tongue but the floor of your mouth as well - which could lead to severe bleeding and neurological damage, oh my. Your cheeks are a different story - he might still injure a tiny branch of the facial nerve but you’re not going to lose some motor functions.) 

But to be honest - if he does this to you, it’s going to be entirely impulsive because he’d have to be exceptionally mad. Angry beyond belief or reason, so precision and thought aren’t going to be present. (Even if I really want him to get my tongue, ugh 😔) He isn’t even going to threaten it, he’ll just launch forward like a man possessed and puncture your cheek, force his hook through the fat of your face until he hits your teeth, just lashing out, just senselessly hurting you to shut you and your horrid mouth up.  And god help you if you react on instinct and pull away, because that is going to net you an open cheek and a nasty scar.

Will he feel guilty just moments later, as rare as that emotion is for him? Yes. Will it stop your incessant  babbling and shock you into submission? Also yes. Like you said, I can only see this happening once, maybe twice? You’d have to do something so outrageous and disrespectful and keep at it to get this rather calm man to that point - but it’s achievable and a serious escape attempt could do it.  But you being feisty plays a big part in this - because if you aren’t (if you grovel and cry and beg for forgiveness, kiss his feet to soothe that anger, worship him like you’re supposed to), he won’t end up that mad. You’re still going to regret it, no doubt, but he has this pesky little soft spot for you that, if pressed, can mellow him out rather quickly. It really depends on you and your actions.

But if it happens? If the meat of your right cheek suddenly loses tension and flaps around because his hook is too big to control and you instinctively pulled back, away from the pain, the hurt? All that anger is going to evaporate in an instant. He just needs to see your stunned face, pain barely registering because of the adrenaline that is running through you, just needs to see all that exposed fat and muscle to immediately regret it. It’s a grotesque sight; yellow, pink, stark red mixing as your teeth gnash in horror and your thoughts are going a mile a minute trying to register what just happened. Of course, he wastes no time and takes you in for the best care he can find in that moment, intent on keeping both the functional and aesthetic damage to a minimum - but his hook is big and brutish and the wound leaves you with a gnarly scar, no matter how skilled the hands of your surgeon are.

When it’s all said and done, he’ll still feel that little pang of guilt from time to time when he traces the scar with his thumb - but it’s more that feeling of regret a little boy gets when he scratches up a brand new toy, that disappointment that it isn’t shiny and new anymore and not genuine remorse because he inflicted so much pain on you. He can’t feel bad about it for too long when he remembers that you see what disobedience gets you every time you look into the mirror. It might have marred your looks - but it has made you so wonderfully pliant as well, has earned him your respect. 

[sollattes]

"Its okay"

Bernie x reader

Bernie trudged his way into your shared apartment. Tonight was not one of his nights at all.

The sound of the door opening quickly caught your attention as it was still too early for bernie to be home.

"Oh, welcom-" you tried greeting him, but he just plopped down to the couch and dragged himself closer to you, still laying face down.

You were shocked with this behaviour coming from bernie since usually he would be very bubbly and excited to tell you about what happened at the club today.

"Hey... what happened?" You talked to bernie softly as you take off his cap and play with his hair since you know that eases or relaxes him.

Bernie did not like feeling this way. He was supposed to be cheery and fun, not boring and quiet, bernie was not used to feeling like this at all, and it frustrated him.

You were shocked and worried when you felt droplets of tears on your lap, you quickly grabbed bernie's face to look at you, and there you confirmed that he was crying, tear marks all over his pretty face.

"Hey hey hey, what's wrong babe?" You asked him in a worried tone, wiping his tears.

Bernie just looked at you with his tear shined eyes in silence because for some reason, he couldn't voice out his feelings to you, even though he knew you would never judge him for feeling this way.

Seeing your worry filled eyes looking at him just made bernie tear up again, the way your eyes were looking at him with nothing but eagerness to make everything right for him, what did he do to deserve you?

Sensing that bernie may not be ready to talk to about it, so you just let him burry his head into your chest and cry his heart out.

Bernie clutched your shirt as if you were gonna disappear if he ever let go of you.

The feeling of your warmth against him, his nose being filled up with nothing but your scent, your hand continuing to stroke his head in attempt to calm him down, there were the only thing that were keeping him sane, you were the only one still keeping him connected to the world.

This was your first time seeing bernie in this kind of state, you didn't know what to do and felt overwhelmed but still you'll do anything in to make bernie feel better, there is little to none that you woudnt do for bernie.

"Hey, how about we take a bath?" You coax him.

A warm bath with you sounded nice to bernie, so he nodded softly against you. You smiled at the response bernie made. You began preparing the bath while still having bernie clinging on to you.

After preparing the bath with all of bernie's favourites, from his favourite scenetd candles to his favourite bath oil, you slowly removed his clothes and let him get into the tub first, then you took off your own clothes and joined him.

In the bathe, bernie once again sat on top of you, and buried his face in your shoulders as he felt the tears pooling in his eyes again, seeking solace and security in your warmth, he clutched onto you again, hugging for his dear life. You felt the hot tear droplets in your shoulders once more and just comforted bernie again.

While comforting bernie, he finally opened up on why he was crying.

"I hate feeling like this baby, im so sorry you ahve to see me like this, I don't feel normal, I feel down, I feel exhausted, I don't feel like myself and I hate it, I feel uncomfortable in my own skin-" bernie coudnt finish his rant as his sobs got a better of him.

"Hey shh it's okay, it's okay to feel like that bern, you dont have to say sorry, you did nothing wrong, its not wrong to feel this way babe, it's okay not to be in the mood every once in a while, it's okay to feel burnt out, and it's definitely okay and normal to feel like this, you're person too babe, a person can be exhausted from time to time, all of us has our breaking point, you don't always need be obligated to be the life of party every time it's just okay to be quiet and boring, like me" you affirmed him, Bernie did not say anything else and just nodded while softly sniffing.

The both of you just spended more cuddling with each other, and you showering bernie with words of affirmation.

You got off the bath first and dried yourself then prepared bernie warm clothes, you dried him off and clothed him, the both of of you just did this in a comfortable silence and only talked in soft, quite tones to each other.

While drying bernie's hair, he broke the silence and asked, "What did I do to deserve you?"

You looked down at bernie, and you saw how his eyes were just filled with pure admiration and sincerity when he asked that.

You kneeled down to bernie's level and looked into his eyes, making sure that he saw the love you were feeling for him through your eyes.

"Oh, bernie, if only you could yourself through myself, you wouldn't question why you deserve me. You deserve so much more, my love." You confessed, softly stroking his cheek and giving him a smile.

"You... you are the only thing that I will ever love, need, want, hope, and yearn for." Bernie confessed.

Your smile only widened with his words, and so you kissed bernie with all the emotions you could ever offer, and bernie kissed back with just same passion that you have.

As soon your lips met bernie's, everything did not matter other than you, bernie did not need to have everything else than you.

Tags: @simpforchuchu

[xiaosonlybeloved]

A Soul Shattered~ Xiao

featuring:- Xiao, gn! reader warnings:- blood, character death, angst, hurt/no comfort a/n:- i think im physically incapable of writing fluff bc there aint any fluff in my life. anyways enjoy some more angst word count:- 1k words

masterlist

Blood.

His hands were bloody. His clothes were stained by blood. His spear was bloody. The battlefield he, the lone victor, stood upon, was bloody. 

He turned around and left the battlefield, not giving a single backward glance.

The Archon War was taking a toll on everyone, and Xiao wasn’t spared. Every day, every night, he fought relentlessly, to pay back the debt he owed to his savior, Morax. Every day, every night, his karmic debt grew. Every day, every night, he got less and less time to spend with his lover. You.

He met you shortly after Lord Morax rescued him from his life of slavery by his old master. He didn’t know what was it about you that attracted him to you. Perhaps it was your caring nature. You helped him heal his wounds, both physical and emotional. Perhaps it was that you were one of the first people he saw after his freedom. You never judged him for all the lives he had been unwillingly forced to take. You understood him.

But he still couldn’t believe you became his lover. 

You loved him genuinely, he could see that. And he was ever so grateful for it. You were the reason he made sure to come back alive every day. The thought of you is what sustained him on the battlefield. 

This was a normal day; well, as normal as days could get during the Archon War. He returned to their base camp, a slight excitement stirring inside him at the thought of seeing you again. On the way, something caught his eye. A bunch of Qingxins growing in their natural habitat. White, pristine, untouched. He carefully picked them, planning to give it you. You’d love them for sure.

But as he neared the camp, he was quick to realise that something was wrong. Why was there such a heated clamor in the middle of the night? Why was there such a great mass of moving bodies at this time?

And then he realised with a sinking feeling… 

An ambush.

Their camp had been ambushed.

He ran forward, seeing Morax’s warriors clash with another’s. It was Osial’s army. They were the ones who had succeeded in ambushing their well- hidden base. As he ran through the camp, mercilessly slicing up any of Osial’s soldiers he saw, he saw dead bodies. So many of them… So many from their side.

And then a sudden fear entered his mind. You. What about you? Were you safe at all? Were you fighting too? Had you fallen already? Were you already one of the bodies littering the ground? Were you dead?

No. You couldn’t be. You were an excellent warrior, he’d seen it himself. There was no way you could be dead. He banished the thought from his mind, but he continued to relentlessly run through the camp. Searching for you.

As the battle around grew more and more heated towards the heart of the base, it seemed to happen in slow motion. He saw you, your weapon in hand. You both caught each other’s eye, you smiled at him, he smiled back at you, relieved that you were alive and relatively unharmed, you beckoned over to him, calling out his name.

And then a sword pierced through your chest. 

Your name was on the tip of his tongue, changing from a happy exclamation to a silent scream of pure, unadulterated terror. He raced towards you, as fast as his battered body could allow, but it was too late. You collapsed to your knees, your weapon clattering to the ground as your hands slowly wrapped around the tip of the sword. Your expression was frozen, shocked. He raced towards you, uncaring of whom he pushed by, slicing anyone who came in his path, his mouth still open in a silent scream.

He dropped on his knees in front of you the moment he reached you. Blood was starting to leak out as you both stared at the sword. Xiao’s breath hitched. This… This couldn’t be happening.

 With shaky hands, you pulled the sword out of your chest, but the agony from doing so caused you to double over in pain. You should have known better, you shouldn’t have let your attention wander in the middle of a battle. Xiao instantly caught you. He quickly carried you over to a place where few people were there, where the remnants of battle were present. 

He was desperate. He didn’t want to lose you. There was so much he wanted to still do with you. He was trying his utmost to heal you, help you the way you helped him. He wrapped your wound with bandages to the best of his ability. But no matter what he did, it wasn’t enough. He could see the life fading out of your eyes as you weakly shook your hood. 

“..I’m sorry, Xiao…” You whispered. “Don’t be, I’ll do something, I swear!” He was panicking, but then he felt you grasp his hand. He froze as you rested his hand on your cheek. “Thank you so much, Xiao, for everything. I’m so, so sorry. I love you, Xiao.” A tear trickled down his cheek. Then another. And another, till there were two clear lines of water on both of your faces. “I love you too, [Y/N]” He whispered, voice hitching. “We’ll meet in another life… I promise. Stay strong for me, please?” You said softly, and he nodded, gripping your hand even tighter as he rested your head on his lap. Your grip on his hand loosened, as your eyes stared off, distant and unblinking.

He knew you were gone.

His life, and soul, had both been shattered.

But he’d still do his best to continue, even if he was sure he couldn’t, for you.

He gently slid your eyes shut, silent tears running down his cheeks. Something fell out of his pocket. An audible sob escaped him when he saw what it was. The Qingxins he was going to give you, still just as pristine, white and untouched as they’d first been. 

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[wuucchoo]

‘The real reason why the binding vow penalty didnt trigger (yet)’

a theory. yes 212 is still living in my head rent free coz there is a lot that still needs explaining about that whole incident

First the binding vow

Sukuna spontaneously planned this binding vow after he got interested in Megumi, coz he’s real plan was letting Yuji die - since he has more fingers around. When sukuna first offered the binding vow, he only had two conditions: he will take over for a minute when he says ‘enchain’ and Yuji will forget the binding vow. I have a lot to say about how the second condition shouldn't even make sense, but that's not what this is about. It's about the third condition that he just added in there without much thought: ‘sukuna won't harm or kill anyone in that one minute’ and how sukuna broke that condition in chapter 212. Im sure that this has been said before but im just trying to get to something.

Chapter 212

When the moment came for sukuna to take his reward for reviving Yuji in chapter 11, the very first thing he does is break that damn vow. When he got control of Yuji, he first went to Hana/angel (the biggest threat around for him) and put her to sleep. Now, when you forcibly knock someone unconscious, that is harm and I will fight gege on this, i mean look at hana's face 😭. Let's say sukuna had a technique where the person getting knocked out won't feel pain and maybe Hana didn't feel pain, BUT putting someone to sleep like that involves tweaking around with their brain activities which causes harm to a person. Idk, I'm not a doctor. But it should be counted as harm. >:(

Then he goes and turns Yuji’s pinky into a cursed object and cuts it off.

It is the one thing he considers harm, so for sukuna ‘knocking someone out = not harm’ but ‘cutting off someone’s finger=harm’. He took that risk coz he was ready to die that day just to get inside Megumi, and he threw a party when no penalty was triggered. Of course sukuna is a smart bastard, he had to think of a reason why it didn't trigger. And ever since the beginning, he had always looked down on Yuji so the reason he thought of was ‘it didn't trigger because Yuji is a dumbass who didn't include himself in the people that shouldn't be harmed’.

Now, this is what sukuna thought happened, and we know he has been wrong before. He’s smart, but he isn't always right. He thought gojo made some sort of binding vow at the beginning of their fight coz the purple he threw was at 200% output. When in reality, the purple was as strong as it was because of a buff from a cursed technique sukuna doesn't have knowledge of. What I'm saying is, sukuna’s conclusion on why no penalty triggered shouldn't be trusted coz he doesnt know everything.

AND THEN he goes to Megumi, grabs his hands to stop the summon, grabs his jaw and just jams that cursed (cursed!) finger in there. Now THAT is undoubtedly harm. There's just no way that possessing somebody without their consent is not considered harm. Maybe I'm wrong about Yuji and hana, but what sukuna did to Megumi was harm. Sukuna friggin broke that vow in 212. he harmed every soul in that damned rooftop!

Why it didn't trigger

Sukuna's conclusion on why the penalty didn't trigger will immediately fall apart when it's very clear that he harmed Megumi in that 1min. MAYBE Yuji did not include himself in there, but even if he didnt - sukuna still harmed Megumi. The penalty should've triggered when sukuna shoved that finger down megumi’s throat. But it didn't, because of something we have been told in higuruma vs Yuji in the culling game.

Yuji’s guilt

In higuruma vs Yuji, we saw Yuji wholeheartedly admit to commiting mass murder even though everyone knows it was sukuna's fault. Yuta tells him ‘its not your fault’ and he just goes ‘you don't understand’. Higurama was shocked when Yuji pleaded guilty to a crime he didn't commit, and at the end of that trial Yuji was still ‘nah, it was my fault coz I'm weak’.  Megumi however knows what to say to Yuji and instead of telling him ‘its not your fault bestie’ Megumi just says ‘its our fault dummy <3’. Yuji’s guilt is a very huge part of his character, its what his whole culling game arc revolved in. And I think it is the reason why the penalty for the binding vow didn't trigger yet. 

For Yuji, sukuna's crimes are his crimes since it was all done using his body. So for Yuji, the one who harmed everyone in that 1 min in chapter 212 was him, not sukuna. and since sukuna's condition said "I wont harm or kill anyone", the penalty didnt trigger coz the binding vow does not recognize those acts as his as long as yuji feels guilty of it.

this whole binding vow business is just making me think a lot, and i just know we havent seen the last of it yet. it will come back and nerf sukuna i think. and since it has been established that no one knows the penalty of breaking a vow that's done between two sorcerers, then the penalty could be just about anything.

(if anyone actually sees and reads this, hello! |ʘ‿ʘ)╯and feel free to debunk it ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ ))