#he saw that tag dump and just instantly recoiled

[stcries]

he senses a disturbance ... an all too familiar, red haired disturbance.

[harley-sunday]

10 Things I Hate About You [02]

Summary: Based on the RomCom ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ we follow the reader as she tries to win over Bucky Barnes so his best friend can finally go on a date.Entry for @arrowsandmixtapes​ RomCom Challenge

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (f) & Steve Rogers x Maria Hill

Warnings: Language

Word Count: 2.5k

AN: This was a fun chapter to write, hope it’s a fun chapter to read as well. Please let me know what you think :) ♥

Masterlist

You find the gym empty, which is weird for this time of day, but honestly right now it suits you just fine. You have twenty minutes before Barnes will join you for your training session and you want to get this out of your system before then. No need for him to see you like this. Although you're sure he already knows. Privacy is hard to come by here.

Setting up the target, you don’t bother replacing the Iron Man outline he must have used the last time he was here, because this time you might share whatever it is Barnes has against him. You grab the bag of knives you brought from the supply room before you make your way to the other end of the room and dump them on the floor unceremoniously by tipping the bag over. You take as many as you can hold into your hand and clear your mind, focusing on what you're about to do. There’s at least twenty feet between you and the target now, and while it takes you a few throws to get into the right rhythm, after a short while you’re hitting it throw after throw, more knives finding their way into the bull’s eye than during last week’s session. 

You’d like to say it’s because you’ve been practicing, or simply because you’ve found out you’re a natural, but the truth of the matter is that you’re pissed off and anger has always been a good motivator for you.  

Barnes comes in early and so you’re still working through your anger when he joins you, your throws becoming more and more frantic, and a sheen of sweat covering your body. Must be quite the sight, you think, but at least he’s smart enough not to comment on it. The last knife finds its way a little off center as it flies towards the target, and like his did last week, it hits the handle of one of the knives already there before it bounces off and lands on the ground.

Using your shirt you wipe some of the sweat off your face and set out to collect your knives so you can start your training session, when suddenly you feel his hand on your arm, holding you in place. 

“You ok?” 

You let your eyes fall to his hand before you look up at him. People have told you you tend to look like you’re about to hurt someone on average but you guess you really must be shooting daggers now, because he actually lets go of you and takes a step back. 

His hands go up in defense, but he actually looks worried, “That bad, huh?”

Some of your anger resolves then, because fuck, this is Barnes, the guy’s lived through enough to not have to bear the brunt of your anger, and so you shake your head, “Not really.” Then, as an afterthought, “Don’t worry about it, Barnes.”

“Bucky,”

“What?”

“Barnes is reserved for when I’m at work,” he grins, “just call me Bucky.” 

You’re about to tell him, “Ok,” but there’s a group of recruits coming in then, talking loudly until they spot you, their voices quieting down almost instantly, and so you keep quiet too. You throw them what you hope is a look that tells them to mind their own fucking business. You have a reputation to uphold after all. 

He just stares at them from over your shoulder, shaking his head before he looks back at you. “Come on,” he says then, motioning for you to follow him as he walks towards the target and collects the knives, dropping the bag off at the locker room door, muttering something about getting that later. 

As you throw one last look over your shoulder you see Nat coming in, who winks at you before she tells the recruits to stop glaring and get into position. You smile back at her before you follow him to one of the side doors that leads directly outside. The sunlight has you blinking as you try to adjust your eyes, the warmth of the afternoon sun a welcome change from the cold temperature in the gym. 

He turns around and asks you the same question again, “You ok?”

You nod this time, because you feel a bit better already, “Getting there.” 

He motions for you to sit down on the grass and when you do he joins you, sitting down so he’s facing you, pulling his knees up and letting his wrists rest on top of them, his hands playing with a dandelion he picked just moments earlier. He looks at you then, “Does this have anything to do with Steve having to join you on your next mission?”

“Babysitting me, you mean?” 

He chuckles, “Yeah.” 

Part of you doesn’t want to talk about it any more than that, because this moping around feels safe and at least no one bothers you when you’re in one of your ‘moods’, as Nat likes to call them. Bucky seems genuinely worried about you though and so you start, “Tony and I have this deal,” you look up at him and see him nod, taking this as your cue to continue, “technically I’m part of the team, but I only do solo missions.”

“Because of Padua, right?”

“Right,” you reply. He must have heard what happened, and if he hasn’t he doesn’t ask about it so you don’t bother to explain any further. “Then this morning I get assigned a new mission only to find out in the briefing room that Tony wants Steve to fucking chaperone me!” You scoff, “Gave me some bullshit excuse about quality control, that they want to know if I’m still carrying out my missions to the set standard.” You curse quietly. 

“Why?” Bucky seems as surprised as you are.

You sigh. “Last week I was on a mission to extract some files that supposedly link HYDRA to funding the 2016 presidential campaign,” you clear your throat, “I used explosives to draw my target out of his hiding place but apparently Tony thinks I blew up a civilian car just for shits and giggles, allowing my target to escape and causing substantial damage to a few public buildings while I was at it.”

“I know I made a mistake, ok? It’s not like I’ll do it again next time.” You sit up, “but now I don’t get to go on any solo missions until I prove my worth again.” You tut, “Fuck. Don’t get me wrong, I like really Steve, but I don’t need someone tagging along, watching my every move and then tell me what to do when I’ve been going at it alone for the last few years.”  

“Welcome to my world,” Bucky counters almost immediately and in such a deadpan manner you can’t help but laugh.  

“I’m working on it, Maria, ok?” you tell her before she even has a chance to say anything. She’s found you in the kitchen where you’re unloading the dishwasher rather aggressively because it’s your fucking turn today and God forbid you forget to do one of your chores around here. Thor, surprisingly, has already lectured you about the importance of taking your responsibilities seriously twice before, and that was just because you forgot to clean the lint out of the dryer after you used it, and you’re not sure you can make it through a third time without losing your damn mind. 

She holds her hands up in defense, “Not what I was going to ask, but sure.”

“Sorry,” you try to smile at her, “rough day.” 

“I know,” she replies. She leans against the counter, “I was just coming to see how you’re doing.” 

She and Steve were in the briefing room with you when Tony told you about his plan and so she got to witness firsthand how you react when you feel betrayed by the two men you trust most. Tony likened it to a tantrum unprecedented by anything a two-year old has ever thrown. Steve never said anything but looked genuinely scared of you. So to say you’re surprised Maria’s even talking to you now is an understatement.

“I’m ok,” you admit, “my training session with Bucky turned into somewhat of a therapy session, so I got most of my anger out.”

She doesn’t say anything, just smiles.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she shakes her head and starts to walk away. Then she turns around, a mischievous grin playing on her lips, “But I guess Steve’s not the only one who gets to call him Bucky anymore.”

The mission was supposed to be simple. Fly in, gain access to the main server of the facility without making too many casualties, extract the files needed, and be back before dinner. On your own it would probably take around four hours on site and so you figured now that you’re with Steve you could get the job done in just under two. You might be wrong. 

“Rogers?” you try again, pressing the comms unit into your ear a little more, “Rogers, report.” Nothing but static fills the air and you’re starting to get worried. He’s been silent for at least five minutes, and even though you agreed to split up so you could cover more ground faster, right now you wish you hadn’t. You decide to retract to your last shared location, but not before you try again, “Rogers, I have what we came for. Can you please report?”

Still nothing. 

You let out a frustrated groan. Protocol says you should go back to the Quinjet, call for backup, and then wait it out until they arrive. Of course, you think to yourself, Captain fucking America could be dead by then but at least you’ll have followed protocol. Tony would be so proud. You check your gun, confirming what you already knew, still fifteen rounds left and so you make a quick decision, muttering a quiet, “Fuck protocol.” before you set off to where you last saw Steve.

“Language.” 

“I’ll let Tony know you’re perfectly capable of going out on your own,” Steve says as he turns to you after he’s put the Quinjet on autopilot.

“Thank you,” you reply. There's venom dripping through your voice and even though it really isn’t aimed at him you can see Steve physically recoil. Great. Now you’ve upset Captain America. This might be worse than getting him killed. 

Besides Nat, Steve is the one you’re closest too, not in the least because he’s the one who convinced you to join all those years ago on his first ever recruitment mission. And while Nat was the one who got him up to speed with modern technology after he got defrosted, you were the one who supplied him with endless lists. Lists of what movies to watch, which albums to listen to, and books you thought he’d like to read. Then, for every year he missed you made a recap, collecting them all in a binder that you handed him on his first birthday after he came out of the ice. 

And while Nat always bears the brunt of your moods in stride, up until now you’ve always been careful not to be too bad-tempered around Steve. It’s hard to pinpoint why, but you guess it’s because he’s so sweet-natured that you’d feel embarrassed if he’d ever did see you lose it, even though he did get a taste of it in the conference room earlier this week, you remind yourself. Woo, boy. Not good.

“Sorry about that,” you say, your voice much softer now. 

“It’s ok,” he says, because of course he does. 

“It’s just-” you sigh. You don’t want to sound like a whiny brat, but it still upsets you you’re being supervised, “I don’t know. It feels like Tony has it out for me for some reason.” 

“Listen, don’t be too hard on Tony, ok?” Steve turns towards you with an apologetic smile. “Ross has been watching our every move for a while now, accusing us that we’re taking unnecessary risks and Tony just doesn’t want to take any chances.”

“Noted,” you reply with nod. You lean back in your chair, watching Steve out of the corner of your eye. He really is one of the good guys, you think, determined then to do whatever you can to make sure Maria can ask him out on a date. They both deserve some happiness, you decide. 

You don’t see Bucky until next Monday, the mission you went on with Steve having interfered with your Thursday session. By now you’ve moved on to actual hand-to-hand combat after you passed some sort of knife-throwing exam he had you go through at the start of the afternoon. 

“Alright,” he says as he gathers his hair and ties it into a loose bun at the base of his neck. “We’ll run through it together. Half-speed, ok?”

“Ok.” You resume your position, back towards him so he can attack you from behind after he’s explained exactly what you’re supposed to do to actually block his attack this time. Taking deep breaths to prepare you for the inevitable even though you know what’s coming he still surprises you when he suddenly grabs you. 

Remembering what he’s told you, you grab a hold of the hand that’s holding your neck, while at the same time you turn around, mimicking a punch with your other hand, before your almost kick him in the goods. 

“Good,” he says with a grin. “We’re going to try that again, but full-speed and no holding back this time, ok?”

“You sure?” you counter with a sly smile, eyeing the loose sweatpants he’s wearing. 

“Very,”

You shrug, “Alright, let’s do it.”

He has you walking from one end of the gym to the other, so the attack will even be more of a surprise and you’re almost at the halfway point when you feel his hand on your neck. His grip is tighter than it was before, letting you know you’re playing for keeps now. 

You repeat the motions you’ve come to memorize, actually punching him this time, but hesitate when you lift your foot up to kick him. 

He takes advantage of your momentary distraction and hooks his leg behind yours, taking you down in one swift move. You’re on your back before you know it, his arm across your chest to hold you in place. There’s a gleam in his eye when he says, “Should have gone for the goods, sweetheart.” 

“Speaking about goods,” you say with a wink, letting your eyes drop to where his arm is draped across your chest before you look back up at him again, “you just skipped first base and went straight to second, Barnes. I’d say you owe me a drink for that.” 

“Oh shit,” he mutters, quickly pushing himself off. His cheeks are slightly more red when he holds out his hand to you to help you to your feet. “I’m sorry-”

“It’s ok,” you reassure him, because you can tell he’s genuinely upset. He still doesn’t look convinced so you try again, “Really, Bucky, don’t worry about it.”

He smiles then before he gently pushes you towards the locker room, “Let me at least buy you that drink some time then.”

[jagger-fish]

Konan Headcanons

*We can’t just sit here and pretend like Konan was okay with everything that happened. This girl has serious trauma. Her entire organization was wiped out the same day her lover died. Nagato went crazy, too. She put on such a brave front to act so emotionless when all she wanted to do was cry as loud as she could. She is so mistreated as a character and was never mentioned again after being brutally murdered and dumped in a fucking lake. This poor girl had everything taken away from her and was probably out of it most of the time.

*She only stayed with Nagato because he was the only person she had left. She was loyal but stopped loving him when he started losing it. The same day Yahiko died, she noticed that he changed; it’s normal for a person to mourn but he took it overboard. She came back to base one day and nearly fainted when she saw a familiar face in her doorway. Tears streaked on her cheeks and she thought it was all a nightmare but was snapped back to her awful reality when she kissed Yahiko’s… no, Pein’s lips. They were so cold and dry, Konan instantly recoiled as she felt a faint aftertaste of blood. She was never okay with Nagato using Yahiko’s body. Watching his dead body being used as a tool disgusted her to no end.

*Constantly dreams of Yahiko and wants to move on, but his body gives her orders every single day.

*She tried her best to like the new Akatsuki. Itachi and Kisame were a delight to be around, Sasori and Deidara could entertain her with artistic banter, Kakuzu was quiet, yet he did have his moments… Hidan was there too, she guessed. She tried to look on the bright side every day, but these people were wanted killers, not the good willed citizens that started the Akatsuki. She knew her boundaries when it came to them.

*She loves the citizens of the rain but is a little disappointed with the whole Angel and God rhetoric that Nagato implemented. She is also disappointed with how they just all went with it. They just solved one dictatorship with another that relied on fear mongering and killing all that opposed. They weren’t that different from Hanzo. She admits that the New Rain Village was not what she envisioned; she became what she was against in the first place.

*Has tried to bury her feelings for Yahiko with a few men but it never worked out. How to you kill a lifelong bond? No man would ever compare to him. She eventually gave up on love. That doesn’t mean she didn’t get lucky every now and again.

*She wishes she had few more friends to talk to, you know, female friends that could empathize with her. She did get to trust Itachi with personal matters because he had a similar background. They would often meet up and talk gossip. Kisame tagged along sometimes, too. Still, the Akatsuki was a total sausage fest.

*She has nipple piercings. Stop fucking asking, it gets old.

*During her youth, she tried skinny dipping because she read about it in a book once. Skinny dipping in a lake in a summer night is VERY different than a lake in the cold, cruel rain. Her clothes were blown away and she caught a nasty cold. Yahiko had a good time, though.

*Has always loved romance novels but would find that life boring. She’s a woman of action and wanted a man that could win a bar fight then take her out to dinner afterwards.

*She LOVES anything with a goth style to it.

*She loves travelling to other lands and seeing other cultures. It is a nice distraction to visit a hot spring or attend festivals in neighboring villages. She wishes she could bring it with her to the rain, but it would cause an influx of people and stricter border security. She can still dream.

*When she was young, she witnessed cannibalism within desperate villagers. She remembers a man eating the remains of a starving villager in a dark alley and running as fast as she could. She also remembers watching a human hand cook over a fire when she was spying on some bandits. It was also weird that some restaurants would serve meat since it was impossible to raise livestock in an impoverished land. Poverty brought out the true monsters in people.

*The rain was a terrifying place for an orphan since they wouldn’t be searched for. Sex trafficking was also something that scared her since she had seen so many atrocities happen in Amegakure during her childhood. During one of the lowest points in her life, pre-Akatsuki, she considered becoming a prostitute to earn some money. Yahiko and Nagato assured her that they would rather starve than every turning to that.

*She has caught so many men checking her out.

*She has severe depression and has done everything to feel better. Despite all that, she is still the kind of person that is willing to hang out for a good distraction.